Surviving Antarctica Read Online Free PDF Page B

kid.
    Except for Polly, the other children grinned.
    “All of us are alive,” Hot Sauce said irritably. “I mean a special gift that you alone in this room may have.” She spread her arms. “That you alone in the country …” Before becoming the youngest Secretary that the DOE had ever had, the Secretary had been a popular talk show host on another show that Steve hadn’t much liked.
    Andrew’s face grew even redder. “You may have the wrong guy,” he said finally.
    “No, I am telling you that you scored remarkably on one portion of our test. The scientists couldn’t even believe it. Do you have anyidea what I am talking about?”
    Andrew shook his head. He looked so incredulous that Steve wanted to laugh.
    “You will.” Hot Sauce smiled at the audience. She turned to a small, quiet, dark-headed boy on the end. “What part of the testing did you like best, Billy?”
    “The computer games,” Billy said. His fingers twitched as if he were sitting in front of the controls for one.
    Hot Sauce looked into the camera. “Our contestants faced real-life survival situations on a computer. Their answers were analyzed by hundreds of scientists. In addition, they climbed rock walls, used navigational instruments, and spent some time in a freezer and a day at a farm. We have a very special group here before you. Grace, why do you think you were chosen?”
    Grace stiffened and tossed her straight black hair. “I’m not sure that I want to talk about it.”
    The Secretary frowned. “What do you mean? I’ve asked you a question. You’re supposed to answer. I’m an important figure in your government.”
    “On the reservation, they call my people dirty. I’m an Iñupiat Eskimo. We are a people of ice and snow. I guess that’s why I was chosen,” the black-haired girl said.
    Steve felt sorry for Grace. He knew how cruel kids could be. After his parents died, his old friends shunned him. It was as if they couldn’t bear to be around so much sadness.
    “Perhaps.” The Secretary smiled in a way that made Steve doubt whether any of the kids had guessed his or her true gift. She turned to the strongest-looking kid, the only African American. “Now, Robert, why don’t you tell the audience about your very thorough checkup?”
    “We’ve been examined by lots of doctors,” Robert said.
    You’ve been operated on, too, Steve thought grimly.
    “And they’ve all given you a clean bill of health?” the Secretary asked Robert.
    “Yeah. I’m fit for anything.” Robert grinned. He was the only kid who seemed happy to be entered in the contest.
    “Where are you from?” the Secretary asked.
    “Houston, Texas,” Robert said. Steve thought he detected in Robert’s voice a slight twang.
    “So you don’t know much about snow and ice.” The Secretary winked.
    “No, ma’am.” Robert grinned. “But once, when Houston flooded, my family lived on water moccasins for months. I caught driftwood as it floated by and pieced together a raft.We all sailed away on it. I’m ready.”
    Steve would bet on this kid’s survival instincts.
    “I’m sure you are,” the Secretary said. “I think the only player with serious snow-and-ice experience is Billy.” She turned to the slight, quiet boy at the end of the row.
    Billy smiled uncomfortably. “That’s right. I don’t have to guess why I was chosen.”
    Polly raised her hand.
    The Secretary frowned but nodded.
    “I have a question,” Polly said. “How can kids make it to the Pole if grown men couldn’t?”
    Smart girl, Steve thought. Like me, she ought to be able to afford an education.
    “Glad you asked that question,” the Secretary said in a sugary voice. “We’ll go over this more thoroughly later, but we are going to give you a number of breaks.
    “In Scott’s day, the continent of Antactica was partly surrounded by ice. Much of the ice has melted, but since scientists haven’t been there since the Big Bust, no one knows exactly how far inland the Pole