This means that the scope of each person’s activities will be limited, so that there will be almost no interference between the various research stations.
Charlie then asked about the aurora borealis. Charles told him that Antarctica had recently entered aurora season, but it hadn’t yet reached its peak. Therefore, at the Nordic research station, auroras could be seen every two or three days. However, once the polar night arrived in April or May, auroras could be seen almost every day, even for several days in a row.
This was almost the perfect environment for Charlie to cultivate in seclusion.
The snowmobile drove for several hours in the Antarctic night before finally coming to a stop amidst a group of low buildings.
This research station in Northern Europe looks ordinary and even a bit rundown from the outside. In front of it is a row of bungalows on stilts about 100 meters long. On the left are several curved buildings of the same shape and size, arranged very neatly. On the right, there are several special buildings with various kinds of equipment installed on them, including communication equipment and climate monitoring equipment.
In the middle of the building complex, several specialized vehicles of various types are parked. Whether they’re transport vehicles, loaders, cranes, or excavators, they’re all tracked vehicles.
After the vehicle stopped, Charlie and the others got out of the warm car. Although they had only traveled a little over 100 kilometers inland, the temperature was much cooler than when they had just descended because the sun had been shining for several hours.
Subconsciously, Charles had regarded Charlie and the others as military personnel involved in national security matters, so he said very politely and kindly, “The temperature has dropped sharply now, and the four of you are probably not used to it. Let’s go inside quickly!”
Charlie nodded. The three women beside him didn’t feel the slightest bit cold. They looked around curiously. After all, most people wouldn’t have the opportunity to come to a place like this, especially in winter.
Charlie said to Charles, “Can you first give us a detailed introduction of the entire research station and its operations, such as what hardware facilities it has and the basic operating methods of the equipment needed?”
Charles nodded and introduced the four of them: “The main building in front of us is the research station’s daily living and working area. All indoor spaces are equipped with electric floor heating, fresh air heat exchange equipment, and 24-hour humidifiers. Furthermore, there’s a molecular sieve oxygen production system, essentially achieving constant temperature, constant humidity, and constant oxygen.”
After saying that, he pointed to some curved buildings on the left and said, “Our generators are in the first equipment compartment on the left. There are a total of five diesel generators, three main and two backup, as well as an energy storage system to ensure uninterrupted power supply.”
“The second equipment compartment houses our ice-melting and water-storage equipment. We use heat and electricity from diesel generators to slowly melt the stored glacier ice. Once purified, the ice is stored in water tanks and transported to various rooms through underground pipes.”
Charlie asked him, “Are all these devices automated?”
“Yes,” Charles said. “All the equipment will operate automatically once installed. The diesel generator will adjust its power according to the electrical load, and the same goes for the meltwater equipment. This equipment stores a large amount of glacier ice, at least a thousand cubic meters, plus an underground reservoir of nearly a hundred cubic meters.”
Charlie nodded. A little over a thousand cubic meters of water should be enough for the four of them to use during the winter.
Charles added, “Our oil storage tanks are all built underground around our main building, with adequate fire and explosion prevention measures. These tanks can store up to 500 tons of high-quality diesel fuel. In addition to generators, all vehicles are also diesel-powered.”
Charlie asked him, “Then how do we refuel these vehicles?”
Charles led Charlie to the central parking lot, where four refueling machines specifically designed for the polar regions were located. Showing Charlie how to refuel the vehicles, Charles explained, “The fuel here is ultra-low pour point diesel mixed with aviation kerosene, which can flow normally even at temperatures of minus seventy degrees Celsius.”
“All vehicles have also been modified for the Arctic region. Aside from requiring a little more pre-warm-up time, their use is not much different from vehicles in the interior.”
Charlie specifically asked him how to operate the enclosed snowmobile. Once he understood everything, he asked Charles to take everyone inside the research station to learn more.
Although the outdoor temperature is below -50 degrees Celsius, the temperature inside the main building of the research station reaches an incredible 26 degrees Celsius.
The building covers over 4,000 square meters and houses not only several professional research facilities and laboratories, but also 20 rooms. Like a research vessel, these rooms range from four-person rooms to single-person rooms, each equipped with a simple toilet and shower.
The wastewater has an automatic recycling system, and the settled sludge and solid waste are automatically collected and transported back to the country of origin for processing using supply vessels.
The restaurant and kitchen were well-stocked. While it wasn’t enough for the research station to operate at full capacity throughout the winter, fortunately, among Charlie and his group of four, only Maria Lin needed to eat, while the others could fast. So, supplies were quite ample.
Charles also told Charlie that in addition to daily necessities and supplies, there were also television, telephone, and satellite networks. All communications were conducted via satellite, and their efficiency was no slower than on the mainland. In any situation, Charlie could immediately contact the outside world, and others could also immediately contact him.
However, this network coverage is limited to the research station area. If you leave the research station to work in the field, vehicles outside are equipped with Musk’s Starlink system, which provides signal coverage across the Antarctic continent and offers speeds exceeding 100 megabits.
Charlie was quite surprised by Starlink’s range and speed. He had never encountered a product like it before, and he didn’t expect such comprehensive network services to be guaranteed even in polar regions.
Even if the first phase of Abren Lang’s satellite communications system is completed and deployed, it can only ensure basic communications worldwide except for the two main polar regions. To achieve high-speed network coverage without blind spots, the number of satellites will need to increase exponentially.
While Charlie mastered the operation of the research station’s equipment and vehicles, the oil tanker continued to shuttle between the research vessel and other research vessels. They spent a full thirty hours refueling and restocking with other essential supplies. After replenishing supplies, they loaded a large amount of waste onto a truck.
Three days have passed since the last truck was filled and the haul was completed.
During these three days, Charlie witnessed two aurora borealis events, but because the others were still working non-stop, he did not leave the research station for those three days.
As the supply team and the three remaining personnel finished their work and prepared to return, Charlie watched their vehicle leave outside the research station.
After leaving the research station, everyone completely forgot about Charlie. In their subconscious, the research station had entered an unmanned operation phase, and others would return when Antarctica entered summer in the second half of the year.
After the men left, only the four of them remained within a radius of several hundred kilometers around Charlie’s research station.
Charlie joked that this might be the loneliest place in the world, but interestingly, none of them felt lonely. Instead, all four felt that this was a rare opportunity to completely escape the hustle and bustle of the world.
Just as the four men had settled in at the research station, a Japanese research vessel sailed from the port of Ushuaia.
In the vast ocean, a fishing boat drifted and swayed. Wu Bolin sat cross-legged in the cabin, meditating with his eyes closed.
At that moment, Wu Siyuan ran in happily and said, “Elder, the research ship you have been waiting for has arrived!”