The Thing in the Snow

Not a mystery, but darn mysterious. The Northern Institute is located somewhere in the far north, the only place on the planet where the temperature continues to drop while the snowfall continues to increase. At some point, the vast building held hundreds of scientists, who were presumably studying life in such an extreme climate. But after an unexplained incident, the great building was quickly shut down to researchers. Today, the only residents are three caretakers, led by supervisor Hart, and one remaining scientist. Contact with the world comes from a weekly mail drop that, in addition to food, gives them their assignment for the next week; testing all the doors to determine if any squeak is a prime example. Life for the caretakers is so unspeakably dull—except for Hart, who’s sadly consumed by becoming a better manager—that when a strange object appears in the snow, where there is nothing else on the horizon except snow, the caretakers become obsessed with it. Forbidden to ever go outside, the mysterious snow sickness is given as one reason, the three gaze longingly at the object. Is its color changing? Is it moving? While they are instructed to ignore the object, that eventually becomes impossible, even for manager-in-training Hart, and the three venture out to confront their visitor. A satirical take on corporate life and a darkly suspenseful tale of isolation.