Today, it worked in my favor. When I finished reading my instructions and got outside, the sun was just rising. We were near the South Pole and the bay faces northeast, so we got to see the sun breach the horizon. The cliffs blocked evening light, so down by the bay night doesn’t so much fall as plummet.
But sunrise is spectacular. The oversize sun looks huge during the day, but when it splits the horizon it seems monstrous, burning the purple sky into a haze of deep green split by teal-and-aquamarine clouds and casting its reflection across the opalescent ocean. The water was fairly still compared to yesterday, barely smashing against the reefs at all, and the lagoon looked tranquil.
“The negotiator”—that was me, I was The Negotiator—stood at the top of the stairs and prepared to negoti
