Chapter 58: Press conference

Mitch Morgan was an award-winning biologist who taught at Harkonsis University in the Confederate States of Vinland, one of the world's greatest economic powers. He was responsible for numerous scientific successes, that went from the discovery of new species to the study of the behavior of predatory dinosaurs that had made the lives of those who had to face them much easier. His name was known throughout the scientific community, and although he was not one of the most renowned scientists ever, he was still one of the most famous. For all his life he had traveled from one part of the world to another, exploring territories still untouched by human presence, discovering creatures with such bizarre shapes that it would have been difficult to believe that they really belonged to that world and were not aliens from outer space. He had cataloged, classified, studied and described every single new creature he had discovered, whether it was a dinosaur, a mammal-like reptile, an ancient synapse or even just an insect. He had studied every species that came his way so thoroughly that it almost seemed as if each one had created an obsession in him to discover every possible detail about it. Therefore, his achievements were known to the entire community of biologists around the world. This, coupled with the fact that he knew every single aspect, behavior, metamorphosis and danger of all known living species by heart, had guaranteed him a professorship in the most prestigious university in his country. Even for a renowned scientist like him, it was a considerable honor. Even though he was over forty by now and had a stable job, he wasn't afraid to return to the jungle and he was ready to take any opportunity to resume the adventure. Much of the world was still unexplored and only fools would have ventured into it lightly, but for him every challenge was an adventure worth living. After all, a life spent behind a desk was a boring life. Mitch was convinced that a true biologist must come into contact with lifeforms, even putting their own life at risk. Only in this way was it possible to learn all the secrets that nature hid, and that seemed to be waiting for someone to discover them and bring them to light. He had done his best to convey his lifestyle to his students, and in fact many of them had become adventurous personalities leading several expeditions into the jungle. This had paid off as many of them had achieved very important discoveries during their lifetime. One of them, Jamie Campbell, had photographed the largest spinosaurus ever found in nature a few months earlier. Mitch had begun to prepare an expedition to enter the place where the animal had been sighted. He hoped to be able to document it with his own eyes and perhaps study it in its habitat. Jamie obviously had offered to guide him and many more of his old students, as well as some of the new ones, had agreed to follow him. However, before they could finalize their preparations, Mitch had been invited to a conference given by a wealthy Odaria shareholder, Marcus Jersey. Not only him: several scientists had been invited. Jersey claimed to have found something sensational, and judging from the way he talked about it he seemed to really believe what he was saying. Mitch was convinced it was some new species, so he agreed to go. In the worst case scenario he would have just come home with a bad taste in his mouth. He would have liked his students to come with him, but the conference was limited and needed an invitation to enter: only a few people could come. There he had met an old acquaintance of his. "Mitch!" An old man with features very similar to him stopped him while he was entering in the conference room. "What a pleasure! How long have we not seen each other? Three years?" "Four" Mitch corrected him with a sigh. "Only four, unfortunately" "Damn, time passes really fast when you are old... aren't you glad to see your old man again?" "You already know the answer, Max" That man was Max Morgan, and Mitch really couldn't bear him. That was because he was an inveterate alcoholic, a professional con, a seducer of young girls. And he was also his father. Their relationship hadn't always been bad. It was Max who had passed on his passion for zoology to Mitch. After his graduation, they had conducted several expeditions together and shared many discoveries. Max wasn't really a zoologist: he was a criptozoologist, a researcher of animals of the folklore, but that had allowed him to found many species that were unknowing by the science. That was why in the scientific world he was considered a respectable scientist despite his unorthodox profession. Mitch was proud of him and Max was proud of his son. However, Max had a big flaw: he always had had a weakness towards the forbidden. Mitch often had ignored it, but one day his father did something that he couldn't ignore: he had stolen his girlfriend. That had been the breaking point in their relationship. In the next years Max had tried to apologize and resolve the grudge behind them, but Mitch couldn't forgive him. He constantly ignored his letters and emails and he never went to visit him. But even if Mitch had made very clear his position, Max didn't want to surrender; and even though he made it clear that his presence made him uncomfortable, his father didn't stop trying to talk to him every time they crossed paths. "We can assist to this conference togheter! You and I, like the old times, yeh?" Max muttered. "What do you think Jersey wants to offer us? I think he will try to sell us a lemon" "If you think it won't be anything relevant why are you here?" Mitch mocked him. "Because I want to scream in the face of that rich tycoon that I know that he's trying to sell us a lemon, that's why!" was his father's answer. Max had always been someone who didn't appreciate the rich. Whenever he could he ridiculed them. This had gotten him into trouble multiple times, but incredibly he had always managed to get out of it. Mitch was about to reply, begging him not to make a scene at his age, but suddenly a man went up on stage and put the microphone to his mouth: "Good morning, distinguished gentlemen. I am Marcus Jersey, the one who organized this conference which I can assure you will not leave you disappointed. Before starting, however, I would ask you to take a seat" Nobody in the hall objected; after all, they were all curious, even Max although he wouldn't have admitted it even under torture. Jersey waited patiently for everyone to sit down, then he spoke again: "You will wonder why I invited you here. The answer will surprise you. I assume all of you are aware that less than a month ago my daughter was kidnapped" Imperceptibly Mitch nodded, and with him all those present. None of them were ignorant enough to not know how things worked among the wealthy families of Odaria. Even if it was a shameful thing, kidnapping little girls and forcibly marrying them was unfortunately normal. Luckily the young Jocelyne got away with it, though no one knew how she escaped and survived in the forest alone for more than a week. Almost as if he had read their mind, Jersey continued: "I know that many of you will have wondered how she survived until we found her. Well the answer is in the video I'm about to show you" Behind him the wall opened, revealing a huge screen. "What you are about to see is the recording of the camera incorporated in the vest of my militia leader Jackson Oz. Each soldier, however, filmed this scene. Know that a single frame has not been retouched. Among you I have also invited some experts who will be able to come here on stage and examine the video, and thus they will confirm to all of you that everything you are seeing is true" Having said that, he started the recording. Initially there was nothing striking: the spectators saw little Jocelyne come out of the forest and hug her parents with tears in her eyes. Even though it was a touching scene, it couldn't be said to be extraordinary. But then everyone's minds changed completely when they saw a giant crocodile head suspended almost seven meters high! Not only that, when the animal came out, the minds of all biologists exploded! What kind of dinosaur was it? The sail on the back portended a spinosaurus, but spinosaurs weren't like that! They were stocky, aquatic and often quadrupedal animals. The beast in front of them was bipedal and seemed to be very agile too! Not to mention its size. That beast was at least twenty meters long! It was literally the largest terrestrial carnivore ever discovered! The next scene, however, shocked the scientists even more. The little girl ran towards the dinosaur and it not only hadn't eaten her, but it was even letting itself be embraced!