Part 1, if you missed it. And Part 2. And Part 3.
“The whatening?” asked Stumpy.
“The Icening.” Ida turned to the bench, giving it more rapid taps. “Are you hungry? I imagine rewriting the course of both human and penguin evolution could really take it out of you.”
“I–” Stumpy got no further before the door opened, and a woman, this one much taller and plumper–even for a penguman–than Dot, came in, carrying a heavy tray heaped with food.
“I’m Janine” the woman said, “and Mark made you all kinds of things, the readings didn’t work very well for you for some reason.”
“Readings?”
“This place gauges preferences, but yours were a little…simplistic? Raw fish, raw krill, early Cenozoic chic interior design. It’s all very Anarctithal, so Amelia’s checking the settings.”
“I like fish and krill,” said Stumpy, eyeing the tray, the smells drawing her so far forward her belly rested on her legs.
“Of course, who doesn’t?”
“Me,” muttered Ida.
“Mark made a squid and jellyfish jumble, live krill cakes, fish gut galette, and crustacean brûlée for dessert. Oh and there’s a mackerel martini, non-alcoholic, of course, as we’re a dry facility.”
As the full-throated scent of fish left for days to its own devices filled the lab, Ida attempted to conceal a gag, followed by another, though Stumpy noticed.
“Ida,” I’ll be back with yours.” Janine turned and bent toward Stumpy, dropping her voice. “She’s a very picky eater.”
“Only in this timeline,” Ida said, “and who could blame me.” She eyed the galette and the martini as though they’d physically attacked her. “Please, eat,” she said, taking several steps back.
In that moment, Stumpy realized she was famished, and dug in, every dish tasting more delectable than it smelled, if that were possible. She gulped at the martini.
“Better?” Ida said, her nose wrinkling as she tried to maintain her smile. “Because we need to get back to how we’re fixing The Icening.”
“We? Also you have to tell me what that is.”
“Penguman kind likes things on the cooler side on the planet. City sunblockers; chiller domes; the Great Lakes Dewarming project.”
“The great what?”
“It’s supposedly a source of energy, removing the heat from bodies of water, but the side effect the Penpublicans really like is the freezing.”
“The who?” Stumpy chewed slowly, everything sounding like nonsense.
“The Penpublicans. One of the major political parties of the United Skates of America.”
“Oh…kay…” said Stumpy, using a spoon that slipped over the end of her wing to crack the beautifully toasted shell surface of the crustacean brûlée.
“As opposed to the Demoguins? Any of this ringing a bell?” Ida shook her head, the stray bun hairs waving their disapproval. “No, no, of course it’s not, you only just got here.”
“I don’t understand what I’m supposed to do.” Stumpy savored the dessert, the flavors more complex and satisfying than anything she’d ever eaten. “This is amazing.”
“Yes, yes, Mark is very talented. Usually.”
Janine reappeared, this time carrying a tray with scant plates filled with things Stumpy had never before seen, all very dull compared to her feast. She shot a fraction of a side-eye at Ida as she dumped the tray on the lab bench closest to her and left without a word.
“I don’t understand the problem, this all sounds great to me.” Stumpy stared at the empty plates in front of her wistfully.
“Because you’re a penguin.”
“That sounded like an insult.”
“It wasn’t,” said Ida, spinning toward the bench. She hit a part of it and black rose from inside, forming a keyboard. She typed rapidly. “Not entirely, anyway.”
A huge screen lowered from the ceiling, and on it, a flashing map of the world, in yellow and orange and blue. Mostly blue.
“At this rate,” she said, “the entire planet will be frozen within a decade.” The blue on the map spread and spread, first the orange fading and then the yellow fading, until the whole thing, top to bottom was solidly blue.
“Still not seeing the problem.”
“And you’re still a penguin. But what about if you weren’t? What about if you were a seal. Or an otter. Or a parrot. Or a penguman.”
“I don’t know what a parrot is.”
“This whole thing has been exceedingly difficult for me, but I think the worst part of all it are the bird brains.”
“Hey,” said Stumpy.
“You literally have a bird brain,” said Ida. “But we digress. If The Icening continues, most life, if not all life, on this planet will cease to exist.”
Over in its tube, the egg within an egg within an egg twitched, lightly clinking the glass.
“OK, so even if I believed it was a problem, what am I supposed to do about it?”
“I thought you’d never ask,” said Ida.
TO BE CONTINUED
A Bit to Read 
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