I cleared my throat. “This sounds like something that has been documented before.” Several heads nodded. For Reed’s benefit I explained. “There is precedent for this. Dolphins have been documented responding to the distress vocalizations of other species before.”
“Your encyclopedic knowledge is impressive, Doc.” August smiled. “Here’s where it gets interesting. On that iceberg, as the vessel approached, they spotted a single penguin.”
Viktor sat up straight. “A penguin?”
August nodded.
“What kind of penguin?”
“The team thinks it’s a single Adélie. A highly unusual sighting. It’s away from any known colony. So I asked twice because I knew you would want to know.”
A murmur moved through the room. Everyone had heard about the lost mama penguin from Viktor’s research. Losing wildlife was nothing new, but Viktor’s penguin couple, Blue 47 and 48, was special. My roommate had formed a bond with the male bird, Blue 47. The news of the bird losing his mate had hit us all in some way.
“Oh my god.” Viktor put his hands on his head.
The room broke into discussions. I caught fragments from every direction. Someone said the wordsinterference protocol. Someone else saidcoordinated interspecies response.
Reed leaned toward me. “What’s interference protocol?”
“We’re not supposed to intervene with wildlife,” I said quietly. “Standard Antarctic policy. Under Article 3 of the Environmental Protocol, we are not permitted to take any action that interferes with Antarctic wildlife or alters their natural behavior.”
“But this is different. This is about helping them, right?” Reed asked.
“I know. The rule here is no interference, even when the intent is to help.”
He looked aghast.
August raised a hand, and the room quieted again.
“I know what you’re all thinking. And yes, this sits in a grey area. Which is why we’re all here and not just me making a call.”
He picked up the radio. “Nate, you still with us?”
The handset crackled. A voice came through, thin with static. “Still here, August.”
Beside me, Garrett suddenly went unnaturally still. I looked up at him, but he was staring straight ahead at the radio set.
“You’re on speaker, Nate. We have a whole team of brilliant scientists and tech personnel here. Tell them what you told me.”
There was a beat of static. “Hey guys, so I know this is a tricky topic. I’m a whale researcher, not a penguin biologist, so I won’t pretend I know better. But this is bizarre. That bird is up there and won’t leave. There is nothing keeping it there. It can jump. The iceberg is gigantic, and I am not sure how it got on top of it.”
“Hi Nate, Viktor here. I am a penguinologist. Is the bird moving?”
“Yes. We have been tracking it. It looks healthy. Alert. Moving. It keeps crying out to us and to the sky. The dolphins are here too, circling the berg.”
Garrett turned to me. “Do you know his last name?”
“Whose? Nate’s?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
“Uh, no. Why?”
“Just something…” Garrett rose from his seat and walked over to August. I watched him with curiosity as he conferred with the chief in a low voice.
“The iceberg is completely vertical on all sides, so we can’t dock. But we did manage to get close to its base, and that’s the actual reason I am calling,” Nate continued. “We can hear a roar-like sound coming from the center of the berg.”
I glanced at Reed. He shrugged. Yeah, this was an interesting situation.
