There were around 250 miles between Barlin and Charlie when the former arrived at the Japanese Antarctic Research Base.

Like the Norwegian Research Base, it was surrounded in bleak, icy wildlands with no neighbors in sight.

The problem wasn't in the sheer size of Antarctica either. Although there were already many countries that had established research stations there, they made sure to leave ample room for developing countries when they eventually made it there.

Moreover, staying too close t