The Big Bang Symphony: A Novel of Antarctica

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185 27 Alice knew there’d been a man with Rosie last night. She could smell him. Also, Rosie slept naked, her pajamas on the floor beside the bed. Then there was the white T-shirt she clutched under her chin as she slept. Rosie groaned, rolled onto her back. She pushed her face into the T-shirt, then flung it away. She sat straight up and declared, “Oh, boy.” Alice had been waiting for her roommate to wake up. Rosie wrapped herself in the sleeping bag and went out to the bathroom . When she returned to bed, she rolled on her side, and said, “You’re up.” “Yeah.” “I was worried about you last night.” “I went out to Scott Base for the party. It was the stupidest thing I’ve ever done in my life.” “What happened?” “I had sex with a lab technician.” Rosie shook her head like the information was a glass of cold water thrown in her face. “Uh.” Alice waved the confession away with her hand. “I’m not really as naïve or innocent as I look.” “I know,” Rosie said, but her voice was tentative and Alice figured she was thinking, two Franks do not make for sophistication. “I need coffee. I’m going down to the lounge to make some. Be right back.” Rosie swaddled herself in the sleeping bag and left the room. A few minutes later, she returned with two cups, the sleeping bag dragging behind her, and handed one to Alice. “Are you okay?” Alice said, “You’re a people person.” Rosie looked dubious. “Can I ask you for some advice?” “I guess so.” “It’s about men.” “Oh, my area of expertise.” Alice knew that was a joke but couldn’t manage a smile. “You seem so easy with people, like you know what to do.” “I never know what to do.” The sleeping bag, the man smell, Rosie’s nakedness suddenly made Alice shy. She tried to drink some of the coffee. At least it was black, if weak. “So,” Rosie prompted. “Does the advice you want have something to do with what happened last night?” Alice nodded. “New Year’s Eve is a brutal holiday.” “What’d you do?” “Tell me what happened,” Rosie said, deflecting the attention away from herself. “I don’t know how.” “What do you mean?” “It’s just so . . . complicated. There are so many factors and causes for what happened. I can’t sort them out. I’m not good at people stuff.” “Pretend you’re a scientist—” “I am a scientist.” “Right. I know. So I’m saying, just tell me what you observed. As a scientist. Last night.” “Okay.” The idea cheered Alice. “First I would have seen a woman board a van on the road between McMurdo Station and Scott Base.” Rosie laughed. “I can vouch for that part of the story.” “The woman gets out of the van at Scott Base where there’s a 186 big party happening. She stops just inside the door and listens. Oh darn.” “What?” “You see, this is precisely the problem with science. What I need to tell you next is what the woman was thinking, but a scientist observing an organism can’t know that, or even know if the organism thinks.” Rosie made a small exasperated sound. “I know. But if I were to try to tell you, just as a person, as me, what I was thinking, that’s where my story gets all balled up.” “Okay, fine. So stick to observation.” “Okay. So she’s looking around the party at Scott Base. A careful observer might be able to tell that she’s looking for someone in particular. In fact, a man walks up to her and guesses, ‘Looking for someone?’ She says, ‘Yes. No.’ He says, ‘Wait here.’ He returns with drinks.” “Uh-oh,” Rosie said. “Should I describe what he looked like?” “Is it important?” Alice considered. “No.” “Go on.” “They sit on a couch in some room and talk for a couple of hours. She likes him. He gets more drinks. She lets him lean into her and she leans into him. She—” Alice broke off her narrative. “This is the last thing you want to hear, isn’t it?” “Actually, I’m quite engaged. But I have a question.” “What?” “Who was she looking for?” “An observer couldn’t...