On the way back, the cats slept soundly; the environment of the cabin was in fact more comfortable. However, it wasn't long before they started walking again. And when they returned to the base, as expected, there was another bout of stormy weather.
When Professor Dale learned that Professor Dexter had given part of the food on the ship to the penguins, his face became somewhat serious, but he didn't say much; he only instructed Dexter not to spread the news.
However, it was clear that this matter was not easy to hide, because there were so many students and crew members, and it was impossible to guarantee that no one would let slip. When people in the camp learned of this news, they all thought that Dexter had gone mad.
Some racist remarks were rampant. In this era, the power of political correctness hadn't yet taken hold, so whenever a person of color made some mistakes, it was always blamed on their skin color. Professor Dexter's personality was not strong, and he simply endured silently, which led to some people becoming more brazen.
The cats did not immediately step forward to mediate the conflict; Shiller just silently observed. Among the professors, no one echoed these remarks, although the other professors were all white; they obviously trusted Dexter's judgment more. In other words, scientists would have a better understanding of the South Pole's ecology. They were aware that if the food chain couldn't be maintained intact, the entire ecological system here would suffer a devastating blow, and the Human race obviously was not yet strong enough to escape the influences of the ecological system, so sacrificing some food to save the ecosystem was necessary.
However, some white sailors and younger students couldn't comprehend such behavior; they thought that in such a harsh environment, every bit of food was precious. Even people had to eat sparingly; how could it be fed to wild animals?
Furthermore, racial tensions were prevalent at this time, and young people were easily swayed by others' rhetoric. The camp gradually divided into two factions, one consisting of the sailors and a small group of students, the other consisting of the professors and the remaining students.
Professor Dexter appeared quite helpless, but it was evident he was unable to change this situation. He was neither able to make the sailors understand the importance of the ecosystem nor could he defend himself from a racial standpoint. He could only remain silent. But clearly, the racists bullied the weak and feared the strong; seeing him like this, they became even more brazen.
The team that went for geological exploration in the mountains had returned, bringing back a lot of valuable data. Led by Professor Dale, the professors were busy analyzing the data, so even though the atmosphere in the camp had changed, they didn't have the time to manage it and just wanted to decipher the secrets of the mountains as soon as possible.
One stormy night, it was another blizzard.
Shiller quietly tiptoed to the pile of debris on the right side of the cave, where Professor Dexter was sleeping. Although the other professors had invited him to sleep in the accommodation area, he resolutely refused to go in. Shiller could understand why—once those sailors wanted to trouble him, rushing the accommodation area might hurt the other professors, but moving out wouldn't affect others.
This matter was also a messy situation. In principle, the expedition should be led by the professors, but the sailors had weapons. Although they also hoped that everyone would be safe so they could return smoothly and receive their pay, due to their own cognitive limitations, they might blindly use force, and the professors and students, being such civilian personnel, had to be intimidated by them, trying not to provoke them.
But in such extreme environments, when people are under intense pressure, they are more prone to losing control. They needed a release, and Professor Dexter became the focal point of their emotional stress; if not him, it might be someone else. Such things weren't uncommon in the expedition team.
Professor Dexter wasn't asleep yet, still organizing his notes, and upon seeing Shiller walk in, he scooped up the cat. Shiller let out a meow but still curled up to look at his notebook.
"Can you understand this, little guy?" asked Professor Dexter. But he didn't expect Shiller to answer; he was merely talking to himself, "How miraculous—groups of krill with collective consciousness, penguin groups ferociously hunting for racial survival, and seal groups picking up a free buffet for no reason. Biology is truly marvelous; if you can understand, you would surely be interested, wouldn't you?"
Shiller nodded. This experience at sea was indeed moving, making one feel the wonders of nature, it could be considered a spectacle of life, even those who don't understand biology could appreciate its mysteries.
"Sometimes I envy you," continued Professor Dexter, stroking the cat's head, "In cat groups, there are black cats and white cats, but you are all good friends. Maybe that's the curse of human wisdom; humanity and beastliness end up being especially evident at times like this."
Shiller rubbed against his hand, pondering strategies in his mind. This was also the limitation of the times; such prejudice in people's hearts was like a mountain that they, as cats, couldn't change. Even if Professor Dexter achieved something, accomplished great deeds, they would only think it was deserved. That wasn't a good solution.
Professor Dexter suddenly flipped the cat up, letting Shiller face him, and he lifted Shiller, looking into his eyes and said: "I want to lead a small team, circumnavigate from the Weddell Sea to find more inland species, including the Ross Seal and thief gull. What do you think?"
Of course, Shiller thought it wasn't a good idea. Splitting forces at this time would only have one outcome, but under the current situation, if Dexter didn't leave, it might not be splitting forces but splitting apart.
If the cats were still human in form, there would be no need to pay attention to the sailors, as they all knew how to sail. But since they are now cats, they cannot maintain the fleet's operations and still need to rely on the sailors, escalating conflicts is not a good choice.
Shiller nodded, as if affirming this suggestion. Professor Dexter breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "Tomorrow I'll talk to Professor Dale. He might strongly persuade me to stay, and you should help me to persuade him as well."
Early the next morning, Dexter picked up Shiller, who was still dreaming, and they both went to the working room. Professor Dale was analyzing rock samples, and upon seeing them, he invited them to sit down and said, "The base is close to stabilization now, and we're preparing to explore deeper. I'll take as many sailors as possible. They won't be able to do anything to you."
Dexter was stunned. He had no idea that Professor Dale was already prepared, even planning to take the sailors away. He opened his mouth but still voiced his own plans. Professor Dale looked at him disapprovingly.
"I know you mean well," Professor Dale said, "but in extreme environments, people are more like beasts than civilized humans, and beasts love to bluff and bully the weak. If you show weakness, they'll surely follow up with attacks."
"If you leave, they won't let you leave gracefully, won't let you take students, and won't even want you to take supplies. Ideally, they'd kick you out alone to freeze to death in the icy wilderness of the South Pole."
Dexter was a bit dazed, as he hadn't considered such a possibility. But Professor Dale had much more experience, and he said, "The more extreme an environment, the less you can compromise with fools. Otherwise, they will harm all of us. The consequences of letting ignorant people hold the power of speech are terrifying, we cannot back down."
"Then you..." Dexter hesitated to continue.
"They still have the strength to make things difficult for you because the environment they're facing isn't sinister enough," Professor Dale's tone was calm, completely ignoring how shocking his words were, "Your only mistake was not throwing away all the food; if a food shortage crisis truly occurs, they'll only think of ways to hunt."
Dexter was a bit speechless, but he had to admit that the seasoned Professor Dale made some sense. However, he still said, "We can't push them too hard, they have guns..."
Professor Dale stopped what he was doing and turned to look at Dexter, with an inexplicable strength in his eyes, he said, "The human race has indeed developed to a point where we can be proud of our civilization, but most people have not truly stepped into nature, blindly believing that we have conquered this planet, and from now on can sleep soundly, using guns to kill all threatening creatures, even including humans themselves."
"But no, Dexter, maybe you also lack such experience so you don't understand, there are many dangers in nature that weapons can't solve. At that point, even with the most advanced human weaponry in hand, the only feelings you'll have are your smallness and that unspeakable fear."
Dexter seemed subdued; he believed the veteran professor wouldn't speak without reason or deliberately exaggerate. He admitted he indeed lacked scientific expedition experience, as he was never part of major research teams. However, Professor Dale, who spent most of his life in field research, was an authority in the field—what led him to such conclusions?
Dexter felt his hairs standing on end. He recalled the krill swarms that exhibited collective awareness—those things shouldn't exist, nothing was normal. And that was just creatures living hundreds of meters below the sea; the depths of thousands of meters remain unknown to humanity—what's really down there, no one knows.
There must be something. Dexter suddenly realized that they really didn't have time to dwell on racial issues anymore. Something was gradually surfacing with the melting icebergs. Humans have not yet conquered nature, haven't even glimpsed its entirety, yet have already been blinded by temporary victories, possibly treading toward a path of doom.
"I understand." Dexter took a deep breath and said, "I will stay at the base and arrange everything here, Professor."
Professor Dale nodded without saying much more. He then turned to Shiller and said, "We will take a plane, moving hundreds of kilometers deep into the mountains. I hope you can accompany us."
Of course, I have to go, Shiller said to himself. Even if he doesn't immediately encounter an Ancient One, who knows how many bombs Nya has planted in these mountains, he must find a way to defuse them.
Although it seems a bit unscrupulous to use Nya's strength to thwart Nya's actions, maybe this is what Nya wants to see. His friends always say Nya is as unpredictable as nature, so use nature to fight nature—it will be fair enough.