"Thanks for coming, everyone." Doctor Andrews began.
Doctor Ilene Chen, Joe and Ford, Doctor Lind, Mark Russell, and Doctor Serizawa sat around a table on Skull Island as Doctor Andrews took her own seat.
"Nathan brought something important to my attention about Kong. And it happens to coincide with what we talked about the last time we were all here together. So, Nathan. Could you please?" She asked.
"Ye-yeah. Right." He said as he stood up and cleared his throat.
"Hi everyone. Um. Well, I met Walter Simmons from Apex and we had a talk about the Hollow Earth." He said.
Serizawa's jaw tightened and he glanced at the table.
"According to Simmons and Re-"
Doctor Ilene Chen loudly cleared her throat, giving Doctor Lind a dangerous glare.
"Um… According to Simmons and his colleague, the Hollow Earth looks a little something like this."
He set down the tablet which Simmons had given him from their previous meeting on the table and showed them the Hollow Earth hologram. Mark Russell, along with Joe and Ford, leaned in and looked in awe.
"It's massive. In terms of volume it's got at least as much space as both the Pacific and Atlantic put together. And if our theories about it are true it's the birthplace of all Titans." Doctor Lind continued.
"Does anyone here know about the theory of Genetic Memory?" He asked.
"Yeah. It's a theory about how all species have a drive to return to their evolutionary point of origin, right?" Mark asked.
"Yes! Yes! That's exactly it, mister Russell! And that's why I asked Ilene to help me move Kong to the Hollow Earth." Doctor Lind said.
"Wait. What?!" Doctor Chen said loudly.
"Yeah! If we can move Kong to the Hollow Earth, we won't just be able to find him a new home. We might be able to find the source of all the energy that's helping sustain the Hollow Earth. And if we do that then we can-"
"Create a weapon to kill Gojira. Right?" Serizawa said in a low, angry tone.
Silence.
"Uh… No, I… I mean. We could harness it to create new devices to repel him." Doctor Lind said.
Serizawa stood up and walked around the table, pausing in front of him with a cold stare.
"I know Simmons, Doctor Lind. He's not interested in just repelling Gojira. He wants to destroy him." Serizawa growled.
"That's not what he told me though. He just said we could create a machine to defeat him." Doctor Lind urged.
"So, you admit then that it is about weapons?" Doctor Chen asked, glaring Doctor Lind down.
"I-… I don't know. I just want to get Kong a new home and reach the Hollow Earth. And-…"
Doctor Lind took a breath.
"And finish the mission my brother started to see it and document it."
Serizawa slowly turned and walked back to his seat.
"If Simmons wants in on this mission, then I want nothing to do with it." He said.
"But Serizawa. If we can get Kong to the Hollow Earth he'll be safe. Despite having had access to the tunnels leading to it, Godzilla's shown no signs of wanting to go there. Kong will be safe." Doctor Andrews urged.
Serizawa gave her a hard glare.
"This isn't about Kong right now, Ilene. This is about Simmons and his reasoning for sending Doctor Lind and his so-called HEAV vehicles to the Hollow Earth. He wants the energy for himself to make weapons because Apex's technology division wants to monopolize the industry. He's made no real attempts to hide that effort. And it's no leap of the imagination to think that he'd weaponize such a power source the moment he got his hands on it." Serizawa said firmly.
Doctor Andrews let out a sigh.
"I care about Kong, Serizawa. If this is what it takes to give him a new and safe home to live in, then I'm in." She said, crossing her arms.
Serizawa looked to Joe and Ford.
"Gentlemen. What do you think?"
Joe shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck.
"I mean… I'm not exactly in the know about Simmons or Apex. I only just heard about them recently because I've been more focused on more important matters." Joe said.
"Like being part of the family again." Ford said, giving his dad a pat on the shoulder which made Joe smile.
"But as far as what Serizawa's saying, I agree." Ford continued. "It's no secret that people in powerful positions want to weaponize anything they can to get ahead in the world. I actually met a guy once who was a self-made entrepreneur, and when I pointed out after his rambling that he admitted to his success coming at the expense of other people's livelihoods and sometimes even their lives, he just scoffed at me and said there was nothing wrong with stepping over others to ensure your own success and future."
Serizawa nodded slowly with tight lips.
"All due respect, mister Brody, I think it's a bit of an unfair generalization that all people would behave like that or think like that one guy you met." Doctor Lind said calmly.
"Maybe so. But the main point here is that when people find power, it's a safe bet they'll weaponize it in some way." Ford concluded.
"I agree. We've seen it time and again in people like Jonah five years ago. The moment he got his hands on the Orca he set Ghidorah free and nearly destroyed the world if not for Godzilla." Doctor Chen said.
"Yeah, but Jonah was a psychopath." Doctor Lind said.
"Not true." Serizawa countered quickly which got more than a few odd looks from around the table.
But Serizawa sat up straighter with a frighteningly calm expression.
"Psychopathy describes people who are emotionally dead, immoral, lack empathy, and cannot distinguish right and wrong. Jonah is none of those things. He was just like us in many ways. The only main difference was how far he was willing to go to see the Titans treated the way we all know they should: like creatures of the world instead of monsters out to kill us." He said calmly.
Mark took a deep breath as his hands clenched on his knees. He had a very strong urge to speak out against what Serizawa said, but Doctor Chen's hand on his shoulder, followed by a soft squeeze, prevented him from doing so. Their eyes met briefly, and he gave her a little nod and looked back up at Serizawa.
"Doctor Lind. You want to move Kong to the Hollow Earth for his sake, correct?" Serizawa asked.
"Yes. Of course. He can't stay here on the island thanks to these storms."
"Do you have any idea how to move him safely?" Serizawa asked.
"Well, no. I mean we can move him by ship while avoiding Godzilla's known territorial waters. Ilene said you guys have the tech to create some kind of dome around him to cancel his audio frequencies so Godzilla can't hear him, right?"
Serizawa shook his head.
"Such a thing is impossible on something as small as a ship." Serizawa said quietly.
"Why?" Doctor Lind asked.
"Because Kong's too big for that." Mark said, drawing all eyes around the table. "He's just too big. If you put him on a ship and then inside some kind of tiny dome enclosure, it'd be like trying to put an elephant in your bedroom. It might just fit. But the psychological damage you could inflict on him by trying to force him to endure a trip like that in such a tiny space is nothing short of cruel. I wouldn't ever wish such a thing on him."
Silence.
Doctor Lind sat down and sighed.
"Doctor Serizawa." Doctor Andrews began, drawing all eyes. "You said last time that we'd need to put our faith in Godzilla. To show submission when he comes for Kong and hope that Kong plays along by not presenting himself as a threat. Right?"
Serizawa nodded, and Doctor Andrews glanced around the table.
"Then that's what we do. We'll load Kong onto a freighter and move him to the Antarctica entrance to the Hollow Earth. If Godzilla shows up on the way then we let him approach and do everything we can to keep Kong calm and get him to play along with the idea that submission is the safest route." She said.
Serizawa looked at Doctor Lind.
"Doctor Lind. I will accompany you all on one condition."
"What is it, Doctor?" Doctor Lind asked.
Serizawa stood up.
"I want you to do everything you can to distance yourself from Simmons. If he gets his hands on that energy source there's no telling what he'll use it for."
Doctor Lind took a breath, but looked firmly back at Serizawa.
"Sorry Doctor. But I believe Simmons when he said he wants to make a device to defeat Godzilla or at least repel him. If he goes ballistic on humanity again, we need something to protect ourselves."
Serizawa's jaw tightened.
"But I will promise this, Doctor. I will promise that once we're in the Hollow Earth, I won't do anything other than observe and document as my brother originally intended."
Serizawa shook his head.
"Not good enough." He growled softly.
"Not for me either." Doctor Chen said as she stood up and stood next to Serizawa.
Ford silently walked over and stood with the pair, and was then joined by Joe as well. Doctor Lind looked sadly at everyone gathering against him. Even Mark eventually stood up and joined the others in standing against what he'd said. And somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that there really wasn't anything he could do to convince them to come unless he gave in.
But… How could he? He believed Simmons. Right? Yeah. Sure. Why should he not? He was head of a technological giant, sure. But he wasn't in the weapon's business. And even if they got their hands on this new energy how could it be used for weapons? It was just energy.
Doctor Andrews heaved a heavy sigh and stood up to stand beside Doctor Lind.
"If you all won't come with us, then I guess this is where we all say goodbye." She said.
"It would seem so, Ilene." Serizawa said quietly.
"I wish you'd come with us, Serizawa. You know Godzilla best. If you were there I'd feel better about all this." She continued.
"Is there anything we can do to convince you to come?" Doctor Lind asked.
Serizawa glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.
"If Simmons has demanded that any of his people are coming, turn them away. Only we, the people here, and those we trust come with us." Serizawa said as he pointed to the people around him.
Doctor Lind cleared his throat.
"I don't know if we can make that demand. Simmons is supplying the HEAVs. And he's insisted that his people come along to both pilot the vehicles and serve as security in case we find anything aggressive in the Hollow Earth. I asked if that was really necessary, and he said "my people don't go, there is no mission." It was kind of playful. But kind of not at the same time."
Doctor Andrews rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"Serizawa. You've had to work with people you don't like before. Please. We need you. Kong needs you."
"So does Godzilla." Doctor Lind added which drew Serizawa's attention much faster than anything else in the entire conversation.
"I mean, think about it Serizawa. The Hollow Earth is likely where Godzilla, like all Titans, was born. There might be clues to his power and his origins down there to give you more insight into what he is and how best to help him if your fears about a weapon come to pass. Right?"
Serizawa took in a breath.
"That's low, Doctor Lind!" Doctor Chen barked.
"Actually, I agree." Mark said which made Doctor Chen's eyes widen in shock.
"Think about it Ilene. The more we learn about Godzilla the more we can do what Serizawa's always said is possible which is to live in harmony with him. The reason humanity's been so resistant to him and the other Titans is because they don't understand them. And fear of the unknown is probably the single greatest source for aggressive reactions by humans in history. Understanding breeds acceptance. The more the world understands the Titans, the more easily we can help the Titans live in peace with us."
Doctor Chen's teeth grit and she slowly shook her head while Serizawa watched quietly. Joe glanced up at Ford who was already looking back to him with quiet understanding.
"Serizawa?" Joe said quietly.
Serizawa looked at Joe.
"As much as I want to make a better informed decision on this, the logic in Mark's statement is actually really sound. One of the reasons a lot of people around the world fear nuclear energy is because they don't understand how safe it really is and how well we've come to understand it in our nuclear facilities. If we did a better job educating people about nuclear power and how safe it is and how basically nobody's ever died while working at a functioning nuclear facility in history, a lot of fear around it would go away." He continued.
Serizawa listened in silence as Doctor Lind and Doctor Andrews nodded in agreement.
"Serizawa?" Doctor Chen asked, seemingly the only one not convinced about all this.
Serizawa took a breath and looked back to Doctors Andrews and Lind who looked back at him pleadingly.
Finally…
"Very well." Serizawa said quietly.
Doctor Lind and Andrews sighed in relief.
"I will go with you. If Gojira comes as you fear, I will handle the response effort." He said.
Doctor Chen let her head hang slightly as she nodded in agreement, and everyone confirmed their plan of action to move Kong while being wary of Simmons' ulterior motives for the energy source within the Hollow Earth.