The archives were icy cold.

Keeps all the documents and artifacts better preserved, said Winston, the chief archivist at the RWA,

the Royal World Archives in London, who was inducting me into my new job.

You'll need one of these, he said, gesturing to his scarf with a smile.

Right, I said, shivering.

He walked me into his office, where it was slightly warmer.

As my junior archivist, I'll start you with mostly support work,

assisting me in keeping the records ordered and, I'm

afraid, a lot of boring admin, he said, sitting down at his desk and pulling up a chair

next to him. Please, sit. I sat. I took the remote from his drawer and turned on the TV that was hanging on the wall.

Nice to have something on in the background while we work, he said.

The news was reporting on the upcoming G7 summit.

Leaders of the world will be meeting in Cornwall, England, this week, to discuss actions which must be taken to curb the growing climate

crisis. The IPCC warns the Earth could enter a new ice age if we don't step up measures

to reduce...

It won't be the archives that are cold if we don't do something soon, Winston quipped.

Then, scrolling through the archival contents of his computer screen,

he froze. That's strange, he said. What's that? I asked. Hmm, he said, scrolling and

clicking his mouse. Probably nothing. Winston went a bit quiet after that. He was usually quite casual and chatty while

working, but he then became completely engrossed in his screen. Just familiarize yourself with the

record system, he said. I need to look into something. He spun on his chair so his back was turned to me and called someone on his phone.

Their voice was faint on the other end, but I could just make out their words.

...