Chapter 12: Waiting for Wetin Next

I freeze for small time, then remove my glove, touch the wall small.

The thing smooth—not as cold as I expect, e even get small warmth.

Na so I blink, dey reason if my mind dey play trick.

I bring out geology hammer, tap the wall.

One tap, I know say something no right:

The sound wey e make no be like stone—e be like tapping steel pole for inside cathedral.

Granite get Mohs hardness 6 to 7; obsidian na 5 to 5.5.

But this cone mountain wall get Mohs hardness at least 9—hard pass tungsten steel alloy.

Na so my hammer head bend small. Wale dey look me, e eyes dey wide.

Our core drill don lost, so na only force we fit use—dey hammer.

But after we take turn hammer for long, the thing no even scratch.

Wale throw hammer, sit down dey pant:

"Old Ife, wetin this thing be?"

I shake head. "I never see this kind before. No be metal, e no look like stone too."

Wale slap the wall, joke, "E fit be man-made? Maybe na some strong material, like alien spaceship?"

I laugh, "If e come from underground, e mean say na aliens dey run come out?"

But as I talk am, I freeze.

Since I first see this cone mountain, something dey worry me.

One scary thought dey form for my mind.

"Wale."

I swallow, talk low:

"You self dey study earthquake. Antarctic Plate no fit just squeeze mountain come out by itself, abi?"

As Wale see my serious face, he stop to joke, reply:

"True. And, e no possible for earth gravity to allow mountain wey pass ten thousand meters. Also..."

"Also..." I cut in, "mountain wey plate jam cause, na earth and stone dem dey form am. But this cone mountain be like ‘natural’ ‘giant stone,’ abi?"

Wale nod again, im eye dark, dey think.

"So, this cone mountain na something wey force push from inside earth."

Wale dey bite lip, I dey see say e dey calculate like person dey do waec maths.

"The force strong reach to carry this cone mountain pass through Antarctic Plate."

I force myself talk wetin dey my mind, cold sweat don wet my thermal wear.

My mind dey run to all those village tales—if you see road wey no suppose dey, make you run. But here, nowhere to run.

"Earthquake monitoring offices everywhere calculate say the focal depth of 11·11 Antarctic earthquake na 700 kilometers."

"That one mean say the cone mountain first dey under the crust—maybe even inside mantle."

As I talk finish, na so cold just dey swallow my words, and Wale face no show smile again. For Antarctic, under that sun wey no dey set, na only two Naija boys and a mountain wey no suppose dey, dey wait. Wetin we go find inside?