Welcome to Antarctica - Conspiracy Creative Writing Contest II

Antarctica has this mythical weight.

It resides in the collective unconscious of so many people,

and it makes this huge impact,

just like outer space.

It's like going to the moon.

John Krakauer

image via @animate

It’s that time again.

The second installment of my Conspiracy Creative Writing Contest.

The original contest – “What happened to Malaysia Flight 370?” - exceeded all expectations and was a huge success.

If you missed out on the first contest, here’s your chance to showcase your talent.

Edit: For reasons that escape me, I forgot to mention the previous winner -

and the amazing winning submission

I urge you to have a read through, fantastic through and through, it may even help inspire some writers for the current contest.

This time I'm teaming up with Minnow Support Project (MSP) moderator extraordinaire @rhondak who runs the Fiction Workshop, the Steemhouse Fiction Trail (SFT) and the driving force behind Steemshelves.com to help judge your fine-ass submissions!

Equally exciting is the fact that Carol, who's a book critic and editor with Perihelion Science Fiction, has also expressed interest in selecting La creme de la creme!

Let’s get right to it then…

Wild Conspiracy Theory Creative Writing Contest

Writing Prompt

• What’s happening in Antarctica?
• What’s behind the heightened attention world leaders are directing towards the polar region?

Background

• Over the span of the last 2 years prominent figures from all over the world have made pilgrimages to the frozen continent, but for reasons unknown.

Recent High-Profile Visitors

Secretary of State John Kerry

• Visited McMurdoc Station / Ross Island Shelf / Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station
• He was the first Secretary and the most senior U.S. government official to ever travel to Antarctica.

Russian Orthodox Religious Leader – Kirill

• Visited South Pole after meeting with Pope Francis in Cuba
• Performed Religious Ceremony

2nd Man on the Moon – Buzz Aldrin

• Medically evacuated from Antarctica

Rumors that former NSA director James Clapper and President Obama have also made clandestine visits.

Rules

Must resteem this post
Must keep submission to 1000 words or less.
Limited to 1 contest entry per account
Submissions must be made in a separate post (not in comments please)
Submissions have to include the lead tag: “antarctica”

Winners

• The winning submission will meet the rules criteria
• Winners will be announced 7 days from the time of this posting (7-day payout)

Prizes and Categories

Overall Best (First Prize - 50SBD)
Most Humorous / Funny AF (10 SBD)
Most Realistic (10 SBD)
Best Style / Tone (10SBD)
Best Line (10 SBD)

Bonus @v4vapid upvotes/resteems also in the mix

All Kinds of Entries are welcome - Just be sure to include some conspiracy elements!

Special thanks to @animate for lending their amazing talents.

Antarctica is a very alien environment,

and you can't survive here more than minutes

if you're not equipped properly

and doing the right thing all the time.