Arctic Inferno by Geza Tatrallyay
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About Arctic Inferno:
Excerpt:
Chapter 3
Nuuk, Greenland—Midweek, Late September, 202-
And what of the Arctic now? Hanne mused as she sat, eyes closed across from a sleeping Prime Minister Rorsen on the plane taking them from Ottawa to Nuuk. If Gusanov’s counterrevolution succeeds, no doubt the Russians will abrogate the treaty and move aggressively to exploit the riches up there. Their military resources across the north were unmatched and they would pretty well have free rein. Gusanov would no doubt reiterate his claim to the entire Arctic from either end of Russia right up to the North Pole—the old Soviet, and come to think of it, Canadian, Sectoral Principle. And who knows, heaven forbid, maybe even beyond?
Also, what will happen to Greenland, her adopted homeland? Which, now that it had thrown off the colonial yoke and declared its independence, and with its tremendous natural riches, had so much hope, so much new-found energy. It seemed, though, that it was likely to become a battleground: certainly, the Chinese, whose twenty-five-billion-dollar commitment to finance resource extraction had underwritten the polar country’s independence and who had already commenced mining operations up at Citronen, were set to play a role. And of course, a Gusanov regime, if the former FSB head regains power—they had already invaded once up north with six submarines, ostensibly to protect Greenland from Chinese incursion. The Americans, too, no doubt wanted in—hadn’t they already made a ridiculous offer to purchase Greenland from Denmark under a previous president? Whose successor on the right now seemed like he might be reelected, if all the polls were to be believed.
Just a few days ago, she had been so full of hope, of optimism. Now, Hanne felt that had all been washed away. She knew though, that she could not fall into dejected inactivity. There was so much that needed to be done to stave off disaster for herself, her friends, her new country and the world. Where to start?
*****
After a close to four-hour trip, the Dash penetrated the low cloud cover and landed in Nuuk in pelting rain. Prime Minister Rorsen offered to drop Hanne in Qinngorput, the newest suburb of Nuuk where Hanne’s assistant had found a large and bright, fully furnished apartment for her. Before leaving for the momentous treaty signing, Hanne had quickly dropped by to approve of her new digs, and the efficient Aniuk arranged to move her few belongings over from the Hans Egede Hotel during her absence.
“Great job in Ottawa, Hanne,” Malik said, as she was getting ready to climb out of the car. “I’m sure you will be comfortable in your new home. When you’re settled in, you will have to have Nanurjuk and me over.”
“Thanks, Malik. Of course.”
“And take the rest of the day to settle in. In the morning, come by my office for a debriefing over coffee before you tackle your workload. See you then.”
“Bye, Malik. Thanks for the ride.”
*****
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About Geza Tatrallyay:
Geza’s professional experience has included stints in government, international organizations, finance and environmental entrepreneurship. Since 2004, he has been semi-retired, managing a few investments mainly in the clean energy sector and devoting himself to his family and his writing. He is an author and a poet, with sixteen books published (six thrillers, five poetry collections, three memoirs, a short story collection and a children’s picture story book) and another poetry volume, and a murder mystery to be published in 2023/24. His poems, short stories and articles have appeared in journals, magazines and anthologies in Canada and the USA. Geza is a citizen of Canada and Hungary, and currently divides his time between Barnard, Vermont, and San Francisco. He is married to Marcia, and their daughter, Alexandra, lives in San Francisco with husband David, and two sons, Sebastian and Orlando, while their son, Nicholas, lives in Nairobi with his Hungarian wife, Fanni, and his granddaughters, Sophia and Lara.
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