INTRODUCTION

Mankind has always obsessed over control. Many go their entire lives in pursuit of it, civilisations are built on it, and laws exhibit the attainment of it. One might say that the desire for control is deeply imbedded within our psyche; a part of human nature. Because it is our ability to imagine a world which does not exist, and may only ever exist in our own minds, which gives us the potential to have control within our grasp. It is our imagination which sets us apart. This is the only thing which raises us above the rest of the animal kingdom. As, of course, our bodies are frail and defenceless in comparison to the vast harshness of the animal kingdom.

Some would have themselves believe that with control comes power, and that with it they have taken a step towards the divine. It is only in the moment on freshly endowed control that you can see man's true desire to play God, and how poorly we live up to it.

It turns out that an individual can rarely be trusted with, nor can they handle more power than the collective. A single person will quickly stray from morality and even their very nature when confronted with a sudden superiority over their peers. Only when control is dispersed evenly over the collective society can power be properly regulated and used to positive ends. This is why secrets often flail and crumble, why forbidden acts have far larger repercussions that logic would indicate, and why hopeless endeavours are only conducted outside the realms of law and general approval. An example of which would be democracy, where each individual has an equal say in how the civilisation operates. It is true that in time a government can be bought, overrun and corrupted by the underworld of society. But in a dictatorship the single individual will find that they are ill equipped for such a gift, and will corrupt themselves far more quickly.

These ghosts in the human psyche may be remnants from our tribal ancestry in Africa. This is perhaps driven by territoriality, or an example of the necessity of a group to work together. Wherever this behaviour comes from, it remains that in the here and now; humans continue to lust for power. The idea of controlling nature has existed for thousands of years.

Ancient gods were granted power over the elements in many faiths and cultures. This, consciously or subconsciously, allowed the worshippers to project their human likeness onto these powerful figures, to allow themselves to believe that, in part, they could harness the power of the natural world.

To this day there are very few who would deny themselves the power to change the world around them to however they see fit. Mankind as a whole has been changing the world to suit its own needs since it first evolved, by cutting down the Earth's forest, and causing mass extinctions of animals which were deemed undesirable or dangerous. But it is only within the last century that the ability to change the world at a basic, fundamental level has been seen on the horizon. Genetic technology is, quite literally, the most powerful force that the world has ever seen; to be able to change the building blocks of the natural world is as close as one could ever get to God.

The first example of genetic engineering was displayed in simple projects such as tampering with the genetic code in order to make small changes to several species of animal, such as making trees closer to quadrilateral forms in order to make lumbering timber easier, or to give game animals more vibrant skin tones to make them easier to see. These tests however were often expensive, largely unsuccessful and resulted in the bankruptcy of several of the earliest biological technology start up companies.

After some time geneticists gained understanding of the makeup of the genetic code, and compiled increasing knowledge about how to engineer more complex abnormalities. However, most of these experiments were conducted in secret, in obscure countries, away from the view of the public. In previous divisions of science there had been a general positive attitude towards other departments, and other scientists. A steady flow of exchanging information had run through the scientific community in order to achieve large ventures. But the genetic research saw a sudden increase in secretive projects; companies were often found scurrying from the view of the press in order to conduct their experiments.

But it was only a matter of time before the next step was made. The question was if it would be done with the approval of the collective, or whether it would be done in secret. In hindsight it is painfully obvious that the latter was far more likely.

It has been known to the majority of society for several hundred years that in evolutionary terms the vast amounts of life forms are now extinct. Almost 99.9% of the species which ever evolved have now died out, an extraordinary figure by anybody's reckoning. The droves of animals from the bygone eras offered a potential gold mine of genetic material. For anybody who considered it, it became almost immediately clear that the secret did not lie in the present. It lay in the past.

It was then that scientists set about attempting to engineer contemporary species to take on the appearance of extinct animals. The most notable of which would be tampering with DNA of several bird species, in order to give them longer tails or a lack of feathers. However, it was clear to most that it was a fool's errand.

To put it another way, it was comparable to attempting to engineer a lion to take on the appearance of a giraffe. You could give it a longer neck and make it larger, but for all intensive purposes it would always be a lion.

In the late 1970's there were rumours of the first considerations of research being done on extinct animals. Yet this was very limited. As, naturally, for all intensive purposes it could not be done. Genetic material is almost entirely absent in extinct animals. The fossilized remains did bare fragmented pieces of the DNA, but there was nowhere near the required quantity to use in any practical applications. It soon became apparent that using fossils was inefficient, and a dead end as far as scientific progress was concerned. Soon after this the world was changed when a new biotech company was established in the early 1980's, named International Genetics Incorporated.

The capitalist, John Alfred Hammond, produced a miraculous revelation on the subject of Biological Technologies concerning the engineering of extinct animals. In 1982 I was employed by the company after I graduated from university. John Hammond revealed his adventurous endeavour to the small group of assorted employees of the company. As surprising as it had seemed at first, there had never been any denying that it was a stroke of genius; to recreate the past instead of attempting to copy it.

It turned out that it was easier than I would have imagined for Hammond to procure investors for such a prospect. It was soon after I was convinced of the brilliance of the idea, and of the proposed project as a whole.

We had dreamed of creating the most awesome sight that the world had ever seen.

And we succeeded.