An extremely troubling email sent by a member of South Africa’s Antarctic research team stationed at the Sanae IV base alleging that one of their number had sexually assaulted a female coworker, attacked a male one, and threatened to kill others – and they’re all stuck with this guy for at least the next 10 months – nonetheless did not say anything about them having to shoot a crazed Norwegian staff member from a nearby base in the eye after he pursued a weird Siberian husky across the vast frozen wasteland, right after the other Norwegian stupidly blew up their own helicopter.
Per the UK’s Times, the email read “Regrettably, [crazy asshole’s] behaviour has escalated to a point that is deeply disturbing. Specifically, he physically assaulted [victim], which is a grave violation of personal safety and workplace norms… Furthermore, he threatened to kill [other victim], creating an environment of fear and intimidation. I remain deeply concerned about my own safety, constantly wondering if I might become the next victim. His behaviour has become increasingly egregious, and I am experiencing significant difficulty in feeling secure in his presence. It is imperative that immediate action is taken to ensure my safety and the safety of all employees.” Which is definitely bad.
Worse would be if they found the guy’s mutilated body and covered in red, bloody slime and that’s when they realize the one who’s been attacking them is actually an impostor, so they have to dump a barrel of aviation fuel on him and light it up with a flare. Also the doctor should absolutely not for any reason use a defibrillator, no matter how convincingly a team member is faking a heart attack.
“There was a verbal altercation between the team leader and this person. Then it escalated and then that person did physically assault the leader. You can imagine what it’s like, it is close quarters and people do get cabin fever. It can be very disorientating,” said South African Environment Minister Dion George, adding that he’s going to be speaking with the members of the team himself.
It’s not clear if George meant remotely, though given the base’s isolation he almost certainly did. If he is headed there then he would do well to bring a flamethrower and some wire for testing blood samples… Just in case. This is still probably a conventional cabin fever situation. Probably.