Wait. WHAT?!
"Yeah, I know," Jones said, making a note to hold the satellite phone a little farther from his ear when he told people where he was.
A big freakin' island in the middle of the pacific ocean. You know, we have satellite pictures, right? There's no freakin' way. You're out of your mind. Check your GPS again.
"Boss, do you think I would be calling you with this news if I hadn't checked everything out?"
I should hope not, but, well... you must know what it sounds like. You've gotta back this one up. If you're right, think of the opportunities... Take me there.
And that was the beginning. First one person, then two. Then the news crews and the politicians started pouring in, representatives from all over the world. The corporations were right on their heels. Rules were quickly established: no one but responsible explorers and scientists - a multicultural, multinational crew appointed by the UN (and Dillan since he discovered the place) - could step outside of the temporary settlement on the beach (which had been accidentally designated Litigation Beach... no going back from that one) until ownership disputes had been settled.
Argentina wanted it because of proximity, disregarding the British-claimed Falkland Islands that were technically closer. America wanted it, as it wants everything. The EU coveted it, explaining their plans to keep it in pristine natural condition while allowing tourists to safely explore its untamed wilds at the same time, an obviously flawed argument. Many companies, including Jones' company, BP, wanted to privitize it for various reasons. The WWF had basically the same story as the EU. A crazy political faction in the US were also claiming it as a place to settle and escape from religious persecution in their homeland, to create a new haven were real freedoms can roam free from things like gay marriage and non-Christian ideals. Dillan Jones didn't really care. To him, it was his island. The news certainly liked that angle.
"How big is your island?" the reporter said, sweating profusely underneath her professional suit.
"Some early estimates put it at around 250,000 square miles, but more surveys need to be done. We haven't finished exploring it yet, you see, but they've got the satellites working on it."
"How was this island formed? Volcano? Broke away from other landmasses? Flooding?"
Jones walked a bit to the left away from the newscaster, as they had rehearsed earlier. The camera panned up a bit, keeping his head in the shot but also getting a view of the incredible mountains in the background.
"As you can see by these volcanoes behind me, this island formed at least partially from volcanic activity. The seismologists and volcanologists say that they are still active, too. More work needs to be done, but some scientists think the land mass, in a much smaller state, also originated as part of South America countless millennia ago."
Jones knew that last bit wasn't true, but it was good news. It called some interesting things into question about ownership. Argentina was using that as more evidence towards their sovereignty. The truth was... they weren't sure where it had come from. Yeah, active volcanoes. Jones had seen the lava floes himself. Still, for something so huge to never be discovered until now?
"Interesting! For our viewers at home, where exactly is your island? Is it close to a larger land mass or part of an island chain?" the reporter asked after shuffling back over to where he was standing.
"It is in between South America, Africa, and Antarctica where three tectonic plates violently collide. There are several little islands right off of the coast, so you could call it a chain. It's pretty isolated, though."
Partly true, Jones thought. Those plates he mentioned are actually pulling apart from each other, making volcanoes... impossible. The committee of scientists sure had a field day bickering over that one. He was sure they were still going over the data in their tents.
"What sort of plants are on this island?"
"Botanists and ecologists have already praised my island for its incredible biodiversity! Many of the species are unique! The volcanic soil causes the fauna here to absolutely thrive. They are holding off on the names until the island has a name. It's got several different climate zones ranging from arid desert to subtropical. There are pockets of true rainforest, too, which is especially exciting because of the sheer number of plant and animal species waiting to be discovered."
"Speaking of animals, what sort of animals are on this island?"
Here's where the public really becomes interested. The cute, adorable wildlife, Jones thought sarcastically while walking again to the left where a few hastily-set-up observation pens were.
"Glad you asked! We're still discovering quite a bit about the wildlife here, of course, but we have a few to observe here. In this aviary, you can see the incredibly colorful birds that were captured on the northern, wetter part of the island. And some remarkable burrowing lizards which, well, they're hiding in their burrows right now. And the mammal species on this island are something else."
The camera followed him as he walked towards an open pen. He reached in and lifted out a juvenille monkey/ape of some sort. It somewhat resembled a giant capuchin with a startlingly human face like a chimp's.
"Then there's this guy! The camp has adopted him after he fell from a tree and was abandoned by his family."
What he didn't say was that the team had originally mistaken the family of primates as humans. When the team was noticed, the family started making a ton of loud noise. Loud, but structured. Like a language. It was only speculation at this point, but the harpoon-like shard of metal in the geologist's leg definitely pointed to intelligence, as did the... artifacts they had found. Nothing resembled man-made machinery, but the UN had flown in some engineers to look at it.
There were plenty of other animals to gawk at. Several distinct species of frogs, something the world severely needed more of. And those were only from the parts of the island that were discovered. Reports had come in of large beasts roaming the deserts in the mountain valleys. The strangest sighting was that of a partly feathered partly scaled lizard, but no one has seen one of those since the initial sighting.
"Dillan, are there any humans that live on this island?"
"Not that we've seen. This seems to be the last place on Earth untouched by human hands."
He cleared his throat briefly, a nervous tick.
"I hope it stays largely that way! Is this island owned by a government or another country?"
"Well, that's where things get complicated," he said as he continued his slow circle. The giant conference tents were behind them, now.
"That's what these guys are still trying to figure out."
"Let's leave that for another time and continue focusing on the island for now. What sort of weather frequently hits this island? What might be unusual weather?"
"We haven't known about this island for too long, but the scientists have already charted out a lot of the island for the various climates. Parts of the island are incredibly wet, but we have a rainshadow effect that makes others parts quite dry. We're too far South for it to get too warm. We think it will get quite cold in the winter and hope to see how the ecosystem adapts to that change!"
"Thanks, Dillan. This has been a report brought to you by..."
His job done, Jones headed back into his personal tent, taking Chuckie, the strange primate, with him. With a sigh, he sat down in front of a heater while Chuckie grabbed himself a beer, popping the tab with no problem at all. Jones chuckled. So many unanswered questions.
