Mystery

William sets a heaping plate on the table. You catch it before it slides off, and dig in.

"So here's what we've got," Claudia says. "The expedition -- they picked up camp, right? The anthropologists found out where they went -- to an ice shelf down the coast about half a kilometer. Here." She points at a map.

"Where they lived happily ever after," you say.

She gives you a look. "No. They haven't excavated very much, but it looks like the camp burned up."

"Fire," William shakes his head. "Kaulertanerpok. Very big danger out here. I can explain why if you want.

"So, Claudia, now you know what happened to your family's expedition," he goes on. "A tragic but common accident."

"No." She shakes her head. "No, not at all. What happened to my family's expedition," she says slowly, "was madness."

An Access Excellence Science Mystery sponsored by Genentech, Inc.
Copyright © 1997 Genentech, Inc.; all rights reserved.