Bob Watson could still feel the hypnosis of alcohol on his mind when he woke up that morning. Around him the senior advisors to the mission were frantic; he saw a number of people dressed in gear to brave the summer as they walked towards the entrance. 

Had he overslept that long? Why had no one forced him to wake?

He shrugged his queries aside and quickly got to his feet; the sudden movement sent a pound through his very being. Next time he promised to try to control himself a little more, again. 

His efforts to regain his footing were met with simply being tossed on the cot again as more interns and frantic scientists rushed past him. 

As he made a second attempt to get ready for the remainder of the day, he noticed his watch that stayed stuck at 1:13; he had to purchase a new battery once he returned home. Nevertheless, he dragged himself through the bathrooms and got dressed. After completing his routine, he returned to his cot. Usually his direct superior for the week would command him to complete some mindless task which he would then fantasize to be of utmost importance; nothing happened. They continued to pass him by as he sat and waited. 

Was he even supposed to be there?

Yesterday-or was it the day before that- they allowed him to handle sensitive equipment and today he sat. 

Had he done something wrong again? Had he somehow messed up the whole mission, his whole life again? 

Finally another leader took notice of him through the panic that ensued the base:

“What are you doing?”

Was the voice talking to him?

“Do you not see everyone else working?”

Who was this guy?

“How pathetic can you be?”

He indicated towards a group of interns who were in the communications area.

“Go over there and ask one of your peers what’s going on if you're lost.”

Bob made the executive decision to assume that the man was directing him so he stumbled across the floor and asked one of his associates for an update as to what could have possibly happened.

“What? Oh, did you just wake up? Well the slab we excavated yesterday from the iceberg seems to have been important to the overall structural integrity. Our proximity to the area leaves us with a potential threat.”

“So now what?”’

Why wouldn’t they just put the rock back? 

“Well the boss says to construct support beams.”

The ground began to shake as the radios began to shout cries of warning. 

Watson was soon instructed to study the slab:

“Just don’t mess it up.” they threatened.

Had they known he studied engineering and not geology?

He climbed into his layers, pressed the sunglasses against his head and stepped out into the darkness. A truck waited for him and his gang outside and transported him to the excavation site.

As he studied the mysterious object he could not help but consider the purity of the rock. It had been buried below the surface of the earth, perhaps it had been unbothered for centuries.

Fifteen feet long. As civilization grew it rested peacefully in the ice, however slowly being forced to get closer and closer to the light through natural erosion. Black. All of a sudden it was hoisted from its home and brought here. Resembles a boulder. Now the glacier was vulnerable without it. Glowing with a green hue. He placed a sharp knife alongside the skin. How could he take a sample without breaking it? 

The earth began to tremble, the crew was failing. 

His radio commanded another unit of materials be brought to the site; he could hear the chemistry and the engineering interns argue over who should be given the opportunity to complete such a task. 

Around seven feet tall.

How could he carbon-date it without taking a sample? 

He chuckled. 

Why did the geologists need to study this rock? 

What did they expect to find- a watch battery?

It lived its life in a glacier-what else?

It was not pressured to turn to dust nor was it thrown in at random. He could feel the echoes of the glacier crumbling. This was all in due time of course, the slab was bound to be excavated by the civilization thousands of miles away at some point.

Either way it would have been his fault.

The senior geologist, Dr. Cu, began to walk around the room whispering to the other individuals. Watson continued to work, or at least pretended to. He had already extracted all the information his limited geology expertise could allow- what was he doing there?

Slowly the other scientists left their posts. They hurried to the exit one after the other as Dr. Cu carefully neared Watson.

“The glacier is collapsing. It will soon break off. Return to the base where it is safer and await further instructions.”

“How much safer could I be?”

“That was an order.”

The slab! The slab that was taken away for nothing. The deafening sun shone on the dry landscape. The slab will be taken down with the storage facility. It had no chance against the raging tides of the Arctic. It was placed in the glacier for survival, now it will be tossed around until all that remains is dust. 

Bob climbed onto the vehicle that waited for him. Ten other people. When Dr. Cu climbed in they left. Some individuals clung to bags and equipment. 

He stared at the tire tracks they left behind as well as those that were left from the previous commutes. The trip looked better last month. 

A few more kilometers to go and the rock was still on his mind.

Yesterday his work to aid in the excavation of the specimen was supposed to make him a threat to other interns. Maybe it was the key to a job opportunity back in a land where stuff mattered. They will likely be nothing in a few hours. 

It, not they. It was an object. It had to be put under the microscope, in the box. It did not care about the glacier. 

Watson didn’t. 

What was there to care about anymore- ever really?

In one motion he fell onto the tracks.      

His vision blurred.

Bob Watson needed a new watch battery.