In the winter of 1982 these men were commissioned by the United States National Science Foundation to gather data concerning the physical and natural sciences on the continent of Antarctica.
THE MAIN COMPOUND OF U.S. OUTPOST #31
The interior is a cramped and never ending maze of hallways, passageways and doors which connect the many rooms and compartments within the compound. Sturdy, but prefabricated materials have been used in its construction.
There is a laboratory. An infirmary. A kitchen and mess hall. A communications room and sleeping quarters. Other cubicles are for storage and supplies.
The most spacious area of the building, and the main center of activity, is the Rec Room. Of the many entrance ways to this room can be seen the small work chambers with their sophisticated computers and other scientific equipment.
The below quarter houses the generator and still other compartments for storage. A long underground tunnel connects the main compound to the dog kennel.
FADE IN: A STARRY BLACKNESS. From out of the billions, the smallest of specks drives slowly forward.
It closes; getting larger; its features becoming more identifiable: a vessel.
It passes; flip-flopping; out of control. Its stern roaring with flame.
The craft nears the atmosphere causing a stream of flames.
FADE TO: BLIND AND FERAL WHITENESS. . . . Glacial desert . . . gusts of snow.
ANTARCTICA 1982 WINTER: A SOUND. Loud and strident. A helicopter streaks across frame.
The copter travels precariously close to the ground; its chassis battered and swayed by the wind.
Two men: One carries a rifle and searches the horizon with binoculars. The other pilots.
Their unkept faces notate a wildness. The man with the binoculars sights something.
HORIZON - A DOG: It's trying it's best to run at full speed in the deep snow.
The dog turns and sees the craft some fifteen hundred yards to its rear. Then whirls and gallops off.
COPTER: A blast of rifle fire as the man takes issue with his prey.
The craft swoops lower and the engine is put into full throttle.
THE DOG: Running feverishly. Another gun blast kicks up snow at its heels.
The man continues firing, but the speed and the sway of the copter is making it a challenge to get a direct hit.
A weather-beaten, wooden sign: U.S. National Science Foundation - Institute Station 4.
U.S. OUTPOST #31 COMPOUND: A large, almost snow-covered building. Not far from that a tall, meteorological balloon tower. A scattering of several small shacks at varying distances from the main compound. The smaller hovels are connected by wooden planked walkways and steadying ropes.
Multicolored pennants stick out of the snow marking pathways and directions to outdoor experiments. A tractor and two helicopters sit idle, covered with mounds of continuously mounting snow.
| 
