That whole thing about the North Pole is a ruse. I mean, we’ve sent submarines there under the ice. We’d know whether there’s an island supporting an Elves’ Workshop there.
The Workshop is really at the South Pole.
The name “Workshop” is soimewhat inaccurate. Though there is considerable research and development activity there–certainly enough to impress visitors with scenes of busy Elves–the chief function of the Workshop is the coordination of the torrents of information that flow in from Santa’s Helpers around the world.
Production, of course, is outsourced to the usual contract manufacturing sites around the world.
After the Second World War, a secret treaty had been signed by the “UN” (basically, the USA, although other Powers were also present), and Santa, after one too many missile alerts due to radar bouncing off UFOs (Unidentified Four-legged Objects) in the sky.
This treaty was behind the push to internationalise the Ice Continent and make it off-limits to settlement or development. The International Geophysical Year of 1958-59 was part of this effort too–during this time, the infrastructure was laid for Santa’s modern surveillance system.
Amundsen-Scott Station at the South Pole is a front put up by the CIA, the NSA, and the Corps of Engineers during the 1950s. Visitors are told that they are at the South Pole, but they are actually up to 200 km distant. Due to the remoteness and the unreliability of magnetic compasses so close to the Magnetic Pole, visitors do not get a chance to verify their location independently.
The rise of the Global Positioning System would have created a crisis, but the US Defense Department, customer for the System, was able to build ‘spoofing’ features in to consumer GPS receivers.
I’ve said too much. They’ll be after me soon.
What’s that? A firelplace appears in my apartment? Someone coming down? Wait! That’s not Santa! It’s an elf! What are you do–
CARRIER LOST