In town for a few days, on their way somewhere else. But Transients are here with a purpose. Otherwise, they'd be Super-Transients who the NSF would put on the next plane out of here. Our colleagues on the Polar Star, Wendy Ehnert and Chris Wyatt, were Super Transients. Though they wanted to stay a few days in McMurdo, they were ushered out on the next flight.
Transients seem to talk about home a lot, or where they're going next.
Of course, these are broad-brush generalizations. The twain do meet and mix a bit. But it is remarkable how much people want to stick to their own here, though I couldn't say it's more or less than in the real world. It's just a more limited sample here. Of course, I'm just a Transient, and I could be wrong.