45 THE FAR NORTH

CHAPTER 45 THE FAR NORTH The far north was a place of extremes. Entire seas froze over and then melted with the changing seasons. There were months of constant daylight followed by months of constant darkness. Many land animals lost their summer color and turned white to blend in with winter, though the winters weren't as white as they'd once been. Our robot was swimming through the northern ocean, under a sky filled with stars. Fear of the poison tide had driven away countless ocean animals. There were fewer fish, fewer squid, fewer seabirds. Some of the larger animals remained, for now. Roz's head dipped underwater, and she heard a flurry of clicks and whistles, and when she popped up again, she spotted a family of whales glistening in the starlight as they raced through the waves. They were narwhals. Each of the males had a long tusk extending from his head. Roz wondered where the narwhals were going. Were they moving south to a place where they wouldn't have to live in fear?

The farther Roz swam, the higher the guiding star climbed in the sky, until at last it was directly overhead. The robot stopped and treaded water. Roaming somewhere in the depths below was the Ancient Shark.