Our Iceberg Is Melting: Changing and Succeeding Under Any Conditions

Alice prevails on the crisis team to invite ideas from the general colony. One penguin suggests drilling down to the cave to release pressure there, but the Professor calculates that, with every penguin digging, this would take more than five years. Another idea is to find a perfect iceberg; still another is to move onto the Antarctic land mass, though that would take the colony far from its food sources. One Leadership Council member suggests patching up the fissures with whale blubber as a temporary fix.

An older, respected colony member suggests that the extended group walk around on the iceberg, examining it with curiosity like Fred. They do so, listening to families and observing the berg. At one point, Fred points upward, and the penguins see a white bird in flight. Normally this never occurs in Antarctica, so they’re fascinated. Flying birds get them thinking about the possibility that the colony might need a new way of life.

The white bird, a seagull, lands for a while, and Buddy talks to him. The gull says he’s a scout for his clan, searching for their next place to live. The group realizes that they, too, might become nomads with no fixed home: “the team had succeeded in creating a vision of a new future, and one that seemed plausible” (66).

Louis calls for a noon meeting of the colony. Jordan prepares an elaborate, point-by-point lecture, but Buddy gets confused by it right away. Louis decides to take a different approach. He asks the crowd to remember “who we really are” (69)—respectful, disciplined, responsible, with love for each other and the young—and that these traits don’t depend on the big slab of ice on which they stand. Who they are isn’t where they live.

The Leader has Buddy tell everyone what he’s learned about the gulls, especially that they’re free to live where they like. The gathered penguins talk this over. Louis points out that penguins are stronger and smarter than gulls and can do even better at finding a new home. About a third of the penguins agree at once, half want to think about it, and 20%, including NoNo, are skeptical or hostile.

After the meeting, Alice suggests that the crisis team keep getting the message out by erecting ice posters with reminders of what they said today. The more creative and youthful penguins get involved, and, every day for a week, 20 or more posters with catchy slogans get installed all over the island and even under water. The crisis team creates “talking circles” where team members start the conversation and penguins discuss the idea of nomadic life. In these ways, the team succeeds in getting their new idea across and building enthusiasm.

The penguins begin to work in groups to plan logistics, scouting, and mapping. On the good side, optimism has increased and lots of birds volunteer to be scouts. On the bad side, NoNo’s group forecasts storms and harsh currents, a kindergarten teacher tells horror stories about killer whales that cause young penguins to suffer nightmares, and some on the Council argue over who should be chosen to direct the scouts. Also, busy scouts won’t have enough time to feed properly.

Amanda, who at first works long hours to prepare for the great scouting expedition, meets with resistance from her husband, calms nightmares in her child, and hears the drone of fears about starving scouts. NoNo lectures constantly against the nomad project. Like others similarly intimidated by all the obstacles, Amanda devotes less time to preparation and begins to avoid meetings.

Alice notices discouragement growing within the ranks and warns the crisis team. Louis appoints Jordan to follow NoNo around and badger him with the need for better weather predictions. Louis then quickly solves the scout-leadership bickering by saying, “Enough!” Buddy talks with the kindergarten teacher, who bursts into tears and confesses that she fears the big change will make her obsolete. He assures her that the children will need her more than ever in the new and different world the colony will soon discover. She begins telling her students stories about heroes who help others.

Enthusiasm among the penguins goes back up, and many begin to participate once again. Some of the little ones want to be helpful heroes, and they work with the kindergarten teacher to create “Tribute to Our Heroes Day” (93). More adults sign up to help feed the scouts.

A lot of penguins volunteer to be scouts. Louis wants to quickly gather some encouraging information about possible new homes, so Fred selects several of the most motivated and athletic candidates to do an early search.

On their return, the scouts will need a huge meal of fish—up to 20 pounds—but tradition dictates that penguins feed only their own families. Kindergartener Sally Ann comes up with a solution: the Heroes Day festival will charge an “unusual price of admission: two fish per adult” (98). The kids campaign successfully to convince reluctant parents to agree.

The first scouts head out; they’re scheduled to return on Hero’s Day. NoNo tells others that half of the scouts will get lost or become “Whale food,” and many believe him. On Hero’s Day, though, every scout returns, though some are famished, and one is injured. They tell of their adventures and of new icebergs. The kids give them ice medals, and everyone cheers. Louis awards Sally Ann the now-legendary cracked bottle for her work as the colony’s littlest hero.

The scouts’ successful outing, and the Hero’s Day celebration, creates “a short-term win” (103) that inspires the colony to continue its search for a new home.

The next morning, Louis gathers the returned scouts, and the Professor asks them detailed questions about their finds. Based on their information, Louis sends a second wave of scouts to focus on the most promising places for a new home. Alice meanwhile campaigns relentlessly to keep the leadership on track so that slackers and doubters don’t drag the colony back into wishful listlessness.

The second-wave scouts return—by now the adult penguins are glad to feed them—and they bring a strongly positive report on one iceberg. The Professor travels to inspect it: It’s solid and un-fissured, contains a snow wall against storms, floats near food sources, and can be reached by small iceberg rest-stops on the way.

As winter closes in, the penguins embark on their journey to a new home. A few get lost but are quickly found. Louis’s leadership earns him new respect, and Buddy proves valuable in calming nervous travelers. Alice works hard, Fred invents solutions to problems that arise, and the colony finds its way to the new iceberg.

Winter arrives and problems bubble up, but the penguins solve them. The following year, scouts find an even better iceberg, and rather than remain complacent or revert to simple fear, the colony moves again. Now that they know how, the penguins’ second move is much easier than the first.

In their new home, many penguins again grow complacent, but those who enjoyed participating in the creative efforts of the move now wish to keep those activities going. They establish a scouting school curriculum, give even more fish to their scouts, appoint Fred as Head of the Scouts, and select the Professor to be chief of weather forecasting. Sally Ann and her parents host an ongoing discussion group about keeping the colony from becoming complacent. Buddy finds good candidates to fill other newly important jobs; Louis finally gets to retire; Alice becomes Head Penguin.

The colony thrives and grows. It gets better at handling problems and grabbing opportunities. Louis, who now teaches young children about their community’s history, believes the greatest change in the colony is its willingness to change.