Is it now possible to undetectably cross the Arctic Ocean on ski/kayak?
Consider current level technology - surveillance satellites, patrol boats, coastal guards, both USA and Russian anti-submarine jet aircraft patrolling skies of Arctic Sea.
I have a big group (~1000) of genetically enhanced people (in my setting they are a vanguard part of interplanetary invasion - in vitro born chimeras with ~99% humans DNA and mind copied from alien), they have much more endurance and strength than average people (they can jog 100+ miles (160km+) per day with 250lbs (113 kg) backpack), they can see in dark clearly, and they have perfect sense of direction, so no GPS or compasses required for them, alongside with night vision goggles and flashlights, but they are still flesh and bone - they can freeze to death (after few hours in cold water), they can starve, orcas and white bears consider them delicious, but, on the same time - raw orcas and white bears meat are considered edible by invaders too.
Also, my invaders don't have any alien tech with them - because aliens do not want humanity to understand interplanetary invasion is happening.
They want to move secretly from Canada to Russia (and back) using skies, kayaks, dog sleds, snowmobiles, rubber boats, etc and other items, vehicles, gadgets they can get from good general stores popular among hikers. Probably the best time for them is during the polar night.
My ideas:
Using passenger jets and other usual means of transport usable by people is not an option, because none of my invaders have government-issued ID (but they have cash and anything they can steal), and all they look quite suspicious - I mean, you'll find there is something not right with this person even if you have no idea who he/she is. Also hijacking passenger planes is not a good idea - there are a lot of USA/Canadian/Russian jet fighters that can take down any plane in a few minutes.
They can mimic native people (Inuit or Chukchi people), but it's quite a big group of invaders, and they don't look like native people.
Big groups of invaders can spread to smaller groups, not a problem.
Unfortunately, building a flying saucer vehicle on the closest scrapyard is not possible - they don't have both nano fabricators and element -1 reserves, they have to use present technologies and resources.
So the question is:
How they can pass through Arctic Sea undetectable by Russia/Canada/USA/Norway and back?
It's OK if the journey took few weeks, but they have to make it undetected.
It's possible they can free ride a cargo ship or hijack a plane but I want them to exactly traverse Arctic Sea by their own, without drawing attention.
It's OK, if the solution sounds a little stupid - like put on white fluffy clothes and move on 4 to mimic white bears - probably, it's good tactics to trick air patrol with thermovisors.
It's OK if the solution is something out of the box, like making underwater habitats pulled by orcas (but, IMHO, it's very unrealistic).
This post was sourced from https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/q/157714. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1 answer
@M_A_Golding notes:
An objective outside observer might consider orcas and other cetaceans to be intelligent beings
This suggests another possibility. If you can engineer "humans" with alien minds, why not whales? Then your near-humans could collaborate with these near-whales to cross oceans somewhere warmer (or not, if they have sufficient protective gear, but this is probably difficult).
(Framing challenge? Why Canada and Russia? If your ultimate goal is just having them cross between the east and west hemispheres, and you picked those because it seemed like the easiest crossing, well... read on, and consider say Mexico and China instead.)
Let's look at the individual issues you have:
Can they get in and out of the country undetected?
A handful of near-humans go to a crowded beach and swim out a ways. Nothing suspicious here; everyone is doing it. If there are enough people around, it's unlikely the muggles will notice if a few invaders swim out and never come back. Or, if they do it on a secluded beach, they probably won't be noticed at all. Same thing at the other end; a group that goes out swimming and comes back with more people probably won't be noticed, as long as you're avoiding e.g. known drug smuggling routes that are on alert for that sort of thing.
The one caveat is that you'll need to leave someone behind, and have someone placed in advance, or else be very careful that they take public transportation to and from the beaches and don't leave vehicles or other unattended possessions lying around.
Can they cross the ocean at all?
You indicated that "they can freeze to death (after a few hours in cold water)" (emphasis added). Since normal humans can freeze in minutes, or even seconds, this implies they have super-human resistance to cold water. If you can combine this with not swimming in freezing waters in the first place and proper use of equipment (and having engineered your near-humans with this method in mind), it doesn't seem implausible that your near-humans can make an oceanic crossing with their near-whale buddies. Especially since the near-whales can share food with their passengers (you mentioned they like raw orca, so it seems likely they can eat whatever their near-whale companions are eating). Plus, the near-whales can help with ferrying other supplies.
Can they cross the ocean undetected?
Almost certainly... because they don't need to evade detection, as such. Migrating whales aren't interesting. You just need to hide that there are near-humans with the near-whales, and unless someone gets a good, up close look, this shouldn't be hard. I can think of plenty of ways, especially with some bio-engineering hand-waving, that your near-humans can stay underwater for 10+ minutes, which is going to tend to put them safely in the realm of "couldn't possibly be smugglers". Remember, even if you don't use some sort of harness, the near-human just has to hang on. Or you could use some sort of air-tight pouch...
As long as you avoid any metal (which is going to raise all sorts of suspicions, if noticed, and can be detected various ways), your near-human, near-whale pair is going to be far outside the parameters of what coast guards and whatnot consider a possible threat.
For added bonus points, you can write a scene where they are "detected", and the humans decide there is nothing suspicious or concerning. The best place to hide, after all, is often in plain sight. As David Weber wrote, "surprise is usually what happens when someone misinterprets something he's seen all along". (Pretty sure this isn't the first use, but this was the instance that Google found.)
Can they hang around on land without being detected?
This is where your real problem is going to bem if your near-humans are "inherently shifty-seeming". But this wasn't the question...
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