l 〃death；〃 and the Intelligence Convergence Group。
〃Hey；〃 Trent said suddenly from across the room。 He held up Cameron's SETI notes。 〃Where did you get these？〃
Pete broke off from Alison and looked at the notes he had made at SETI。
COPY 134625
CONTACT LOST…》 IONOSPHERIC DISTURB。
FORWARD TEAM
SCARECROW
…66。5
SOLAR FLARE DISRUPT。 RADIO
115； 20 MINS； 12 SECS EAST
HOW GET THERE SO…SECONDARY TEAM ENROUTE
Pete told Trent about his visit to SETI； told him that the notes were his record of what had been caught on the airwaves by SETI's radio telescopes。
〃And these coordinates；〃 Trent said； pointing to the words 〃…66。5〃 and 〃115； 20 mins； 12 secs east；〃 〃they refer to a research station in Antarctica？〃
〃That's right；〃 Pete said
Trent looked hard at Pete Cameron。 〃Do you know anything about Marine Force Reconnaissance Units； Mr。 Cameron？〃
〃Only what you've told me。〃
〃They're a forward team；〃 Trent said。
〃OK；〃 Pete said； seeing the words 〃forward team〃 on his notes。
〃Scarecrow。。。；〃 Trent said； staring down at the notes。
Pete looked from the notes to Trent。 〃What's a Scarecrow？ An operation？〃
〃No；〃 Trent said a little too suddenly。 〃Scarecrow's a man。 A Marine lieutenant。 A friend of mine。〃
Pete Cameron waited for Trent to say something more； but he didn't。 And then suddenly Trent looked up into Cameron's eyes。
〃Son of a bitch；〃 Trent said。 〃Scarecrow's down there。〃
〃What do you mean？〃 Alison said a few minutes later。 〃You think there are Marines down at that station？〃
〃We think so； yes；〃 Cameron said； excited。
〃Jesus； there's a secondary team en route； too；〃 Trent said； looking down at the notes again。 〃Shit。〃
Trent turned to Cameron。 〃Hang up for a second。 I have to make a phone call。〃
Cameron told Alison he'd call her back。
Trent quickly dialed a number。 Cameron just watched him。
〃Yes； hi； Personnel； please；〃 Trent said into the phone。 He waited a second； then said； 〃Yes； hi。 I was wondering if you could tell me where I could find Lieutenant Shane Schofield； please。 It's a family emergency。。。。 Yes； I'll hold。〃
Trent waited a full minute before someone returned to the line。
〃Yes； hi；〃 Trent said。 〃What…oh； I'm his brother…in…law； Michael。〃 There was a pause。 〃Oh； no；〃 Trent said softly。 〃Oh； my God。。。。Yes； thank you。 Good…bye。〃
Trent practically slammed the phone down。 He turned to Cameron。 〃Holy shit。〃
〃What？〃
〃According to the United States Marine Corps Personnel Department； First Lieutenant Shane M。 Schofield died in a training accident in the South Pacific at 0930 hours yesterday morning。 Arrangements are being made to contact his family right now。〃
Cameron frowned。 〃He's dead？〃
〃According to them he is；〃 Trent said softly。 〃But that doesn't necessarily mean it's true； now； does it。〃 Trent paused。 〃The secondary team。。。〃
〃What about it？〃
〃There's a secondary team on its way to Wilkes Ice Station right now； right？〃
〃Yeah。。。。〃
〃And according to the United States Marine Corps； Shane Schofield is already dead； right？〃
〃Yeah。。。〃
Trent thought about that for a long moment。 Then he looked up suddenly。 〃Schofield's found something。 They're gonna kill him。〃
Cameron got Alison back on the phone。
〃Quick； send it through now；〃 he said。
〃All right。 All right。 Just hold on a second； honey buns；〃 Alison said。 Cameron heard the clicking of puter keys at the other end of the line。
〃OK； I'm sending it through now；〃 Alison said。
On the far side of the living room； Trent flicked on his puter。 He clicked through several screens； came to his e…mail screen。
A small information bar at the bottom of the screen blinked：
YOU HAVE NEW MAIL。
Trent clicked on the 〃Open〃 icon。
A list appeared immediately on the screen：
ALL…STATES LIBRARY DATABASE
SEARCH BY KEYWORD
SEARCH STRING USED：LATITUDE …66。5°
LONGITUDE 115° 20' 12〃
NO。 OF ENTRIES FOUND： 6
TITLE
AUTHOR
LOCATION
YEAR
DOCTORAL THESIS
LLEWELLYN； D。 K。
STAMFORD； CT
1998
DOCTORAL THESIS
AUSTIN； B。K。
STAMFORD； CT
1997
POSTDOCTORAL THESIS
HENSLEIGH； S。 T。
USC； CA
1997
FELLOWSHIP GRANT RESEARCH PAPER
HENSLEIGH； B。 M。
HARVARD； MA
1996
THE ICE CRUSADE： REFLECTIONS ON A YEAR SPENT IN ANTARCTICA
HENSLEIGH； B。 M。
HARVARD； MA
1995 AVAIL： AML
PRELIMINARY SURVEY
WAITZKIN； C。 M。
LIBCONG
1978
It was the list Alison had got from the All States Database。 The list of every work that referred to latitude…66。5° and longitude 115° 20'12〃。
〃All right；〃 Pete said。
〃What are you going to do with it？〃 Alison's voice said over the speakerphone。
〃We're gonna use this list to find their addresses；〃 Trent said； typing quickly at the keyboard。 〃The e…mail addresses of the academics down in Antarctica； so we can send a message to Schofield。〃
〃We figure that most university professors have e…mail；〃 Pete said； 〃and we're hoping that Wilkes Ice Station is patched in to a satellite phone so that the message can get through。〃
Suddenly Trent said； 〃All right； I got one！ Hensleigh； Sarah T。 The e…mail address is at USC in California； but it's been routed to an external address： sarahhensleigh@wilkes。edu。us。 That's it！〃
Trent typed some more。
〃All right；〃 he said a minute later。 〃Excellent。 They've got a universal address down there： allwilkes@wilkes。edu。us。 Excellent。 Now； we can send an e…mail to anyone who has a puter at that station。〃
〃Do it；〃 Cameron said。
Trent typed a message； then did a quick cut…and…paste。 When he was finished he practically slammed his finger down on the send button。
Libby Gant stood in front of the heavy steel door set into the small ice tunnel。
It had a rusty pressure wheel attached to it。 With some difficulty； Gant turned it。 She rotated it three times。
And then suddenly she heard a loud clunking noise from within the great steel door； and the door creaked open a fraction。
Gant pulled the door wide and shone her flashlight beyond it。
〃Whoa；〃 she said。
It looked like an airplane hangar。 It was so big； Gant's flashlight wasn't even strong enough to see the far end。 But she could see enough。
She could see walls。
Man…made walls。
Steel walls； with heavy reinforcing girders holding up a high aluminium ceiling。 Huge yellow robotic arms stood silently in the gloom； covered in frost。 Halogen lights lined the ceiling。 Some metal girders lay at awkward angles on the floor in front of her。 Gant saw that several of them had jagged marks at their ends…they had been broken clean in two。 Everything was covered in a layer of ice。
Gant saw a piece of paper at her feet。 She picked it up。 It was frozen solid； but she could still read the letterhead。 It read：
ENTERTECH LTD。
Gant walked back to the small tunnel that led to the main cavern。 She called to Montana and Hensleigh。
A few minutes later； Montana rolled through the horizontal fissure and walked with Gant into the giant subterranean hangar。
〃What the hell is going on here？〃 he said。
They entered the hangar； their flashlights creating beams of light。 Montana went left。 Gant went right。
Gant came to an office…type structure that seemed to be overgrown with ice。 The door to the office opened with a loud creak； and slowly； very slowly； Gant stepped inside。
A body was lying on the floor of the office。
A man。
His eyes were closed； and he was naked。 His skin had turned blue。 He looked like he was asleep。
Gant saw a desk on the far side of the office； saw something on it。 Moving toward the desk； she saw that it was a book of some kind； a leather…bound book。
It just sat there on the desk all by itself。 The rest of the desk was bare。 It was almost； Gant thought； as if someone had left it there deliberately； so that it would be the first thing a visitor found。
Gant picked up the book。 It was covered in a layer of frost； and the pages were hard； like cardboard。
She opened it。
It appeared to be a diary of some sort。
Gant read an entry near the beginning：
2 June 1978
Things ar