"It's very simple. Look at the slopes. If the south-facing slope gets sunlight year-round, that means you're in the Northern Hemisphere. If the north-facing slope gets sunlight, you're in the Southern Hemisphere. Then there's the direction of tree shadows at noon. The sun's direct rays move back and forth between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. If the tree's shadow points north, you're in the Northern Hemisphere; if it points south, you're in the Southern Hemisphere."
"When we practiced Sniper Shooting, we learned that long-range sniping required calculating the Coriolis force. Horizontally moving objects would veer off course—the deflection was to the left in the Southern Hemisphere and to the right in the Northern Hemisphere. Bullets don't lie."
"In short, we've confirmed that we're in the Northern Hemisphere, probably somewhere near Europe. Later, we learned some things about plants and saw some flowers and grasses unique to Europe near the zoo."
Otter finished speaking listlessly, tilted his head back, and shouted, "Thirsty!"
The interrogation-room door immediately opened. A stone-faced soldier entered carrying a large milk-tea cup. A straw was sticking out of it. He slapped the cup onto the table in front of Otter.
Otter strained to extend his neck, clamped his mouth around the straw, and drank.
Song He kept his wits about him and glanced beneath the interrogation table. Sure enough, a thin tube-shaped bulge protruded from Otter's trouser leg. They had probably inserted a urinary catheter so he could be interrogated for a long time.
"You've lived in the zoo your entire life?" Song He asked. "How long did you stay there?"
"Twenty-two years." Otter released the straw and continued, "I'd been trained there for as long as I could remember. I wasn't released until I was twenty-two, when I was assigned my first