Revelations: Resident Evil SV

Chapter One: I Dream of Terragrigia

Mediterranean Sea, just south of Malta

April 15th, 1999

"Jesus, will you hurry the hell up?" The dark haired reporter asked impatiently. "Ms. Ashland doesn't have all day, and we need to send the footage by two."

"Hey, I'm going as fast as I can, all right?" Her cameraman replied, carefully setting up his equipment. "And it's not like she's going anywhere… I mean, where the hell is there to go all the way out here?"

The cameraman was annoying, as most of them were, but in this instance he had a good point. After taking an hour long helicopter flight from Malta's southern coast, the two of them had been brought to what looked like the remains of an old oil rig that had been left abandoned in the relatively shallow waters of this part of the Mediterranean Sea for what looked like decades. This didn't mean that the place was abandoned, though, since thanks to the very deep pockets of a woman from the southern region of the United States, a massive construction project was underway.

Crews were removing defunct machinery and equipment from the rig, while surveyors were checking the supports, and some transport vessels were bringing in construction materials as if… as if the rumors about what had been happening out there in the sea were actually true. With the remaining platform rendered mostly flat from the removal efforts, it was easy for the reporter to find her subject… standing over toward the edge, gesturing outward into another part of the sea with her arm while a bunch of men in hardhats took notes… right, as if all these men took a lady boss seriously.

"Do a quick test, Roberto." She said, checking her makeup in a compact before standing in front of the camera. "Is it all set up? How's my hair?"

"Your hair can't possibly move with all that spray you put in it." The cameraman replied, adjusting the focus to prepare for the shot. "Video is good, but give the microphone a few words."

Everything was fine when the microphone was tested, so the two of them made their way across the old, cracked concrete of the rig platform. The sky was cloudy, not looking like rain, but just enough to stop the sun from shining… which was not ideal, since it was only April and the winds left over from wintertime were still pretty cold, and down below the platform there were large waves crashing against the supports. For a moment the reporter wondered how the surveyors managed to continue working down there, but then their subject came into view, and it was time to focus.

She had heard that Ms. Ashland was pretty, and the rumors were right, and… yeah, this woman definitely came from someplace like Louisiana, with her tight fitting blue jeans and flannel shirt. In Italy most women wore their hair long, so it was odd to see one who had cut it to shoulder length, but this style probably made it easier for the brunette woman to wear a hardhat. The reporter had also expected the men around their boss to be ogling her or just kind of laughing off what she told them to do, but again this was not the case.

"Well sugar, the central platform's gonna be a big ol' circle, like I said." Ms. Ashland said in a really thick southern accent. "So we're gonna be needin' that many supports all the way round', now aren't we?"

"Yes, ma'am, anything you say." The man closest to her quickly replied. "We're gonna have our crews working around the clock, aren't we lads?"

The others all nodded their heads, eagerly expressing how hard they and their teams were going to work to achieve this vision of hers, and… and if the reporter hadn't known any better, she would have thought that the men almost seemed afraid of her. That was ridiculous, though, since what reason would any of them have had to be scared of a skinny little American girl like that… no matter how rich she was? All right, there was a deadline to meet, so it was time for the reporter to put all personal feelings aside and get serious.

"Excuse me, Ms. Ashland? I'm Sofia Russo from NTS News." The reporter said, walking up to her. "I really appreciate you taking the time to give our network an interview like this, and… things really seem to be busy out here."

"Lovely to meet ya, darlin'. And please… call me Amelia." The brunette woman replied, shaking hands with her. "Gotta stay busy; them big ol' dream ain't gonna build themselves… somethin' my dad and brother never figured out… God rest'em."

For a billionaire business tycoon, Amelia was really polite, but Sophia had heard that about people from America's rural south, and the brunette woman continued this trait by asking them if it was better to interview her outdoors or undercover because of the wind. Referring to Roberto's knowledge of the equipment, it was decided that the camera would get a bunch of footage of the crews working outside, before the actual interview took place indoors. This however, didn't mean that the reporter couldn't get a few personal details about this amazing woman who had quite literally… appeared out of nowhere.

"Sugar, I had my whole life all planned out." Amelia said while Roberto went around to get the shots he needed. "But then last year, thanks to my best friend an her brother, it was like I want an woke up from a big ol' nap an… I found I weren't doin' nothin' but holdin' onto what my family wanted… an it was time for a change."

So that was what she did; cashing out of her family's primary interests, the brunette woman changed her hair and got a whole new look, before setting out to start building a few dreams of her own. Apparently she was a damn good negotiator too, since every corporation she had gone to with the idea had agreed to pledge all the support she needed no matter what it took… after only speaking with her for less than an hour in each meeting. Now with the funding and resources at her disposal, Amelia had actually started construction of that dream… a dream that she called Terragrigia.

"Imagine if you will, the world's first floatin' city." She explained, putting an arm around Sophia and gesturing out across the water. "Well, it ain't really gonna float, that's stupid, but once we get this here platform extended, an then build up them others round' it, in a few years' time there's gonna be a right beautiful city sittin' right here on the water."

Continuing the explanation, the brunette woman described how the whole thing was going to be powered by a massive solar network provided via an orbital satellite that she was… still in the process of getting authorization to build. Along with solar power, this aquapolis was going to have wind and water turbine systems for backup, this in itself creating thousands of jobs for the people who were going to live in its modern twenty-first century housing.

"Terragrigia's gonna have all them comforts of any big city." Amelia described, smiling so big that her green eyes showed for a second above her sunglasses. "Businesses, shoppin' centers, restaurants, schools for the young'ins, an most important… so many people. Why, it's any scientist's dream, er… you know, like for, uh… them anthropologists who, uh… like to study folks."

Initial estimates had claimed that this project was going to take more than ten years to complete, but after wrangling her way into all the new funding and resources, the newest data showed that this brilliant new city would be ready for the first residents to move in by the middle of 2006… only seven years from right now. Such a timetable suited the brunette woman just fine, since she was only twenty three, and the mentioning of this brought Sophia into the other part of the interview.

"So, tell us, Amelia… does all this work and dream building mean you have to stay single?" The reporter asked, causing both of them to smile a bit. "I'm sure our viewers would love to know, especially our male viewers… is there a man in your life?"

"Oh darlin', there is only one man for me." The brunette woman replied. "We're takin' a little time to get our lives in order; he's got his work, an I got this here, but don't you worry none, our time'll come."

From where Sophia was standing, on the platform of a broken down oil rig in the middle of the sea, it was a little hard to imagine that in seven years there would be a sprawling metropolis sitting on this very spot. Not just that, but one that was completely environmentally friendly, even to the point where all of the cars were going to be electric. All of this sounded amazing, but the one thing that the reporter didn't understand was what the creator, herself got out of all this.

"You mean, on top'a makin' this world a better place?" Amelia asked with a smirk. "For one, I get a big ol' luxury condo to retire in one day, an I also get a quiet, secure place for workin' on my other pursuits. I know your head's jus' a-spinnin' with doubts, but in a few years' time your gonna see… it's gonna be perfect."

Well, that was just about everything that was needed for the interview, so goodbyes were said, and then Sophia and Roberto parted ways with the brunette woman, who headed back to work while they returned to where their helicopter was still waiting. This was certainly going to be a good exclusive, the reporter thought while her cameraman packed away his equipment, and sure she had her doubts about something as radical as this Terragrigia project. Still… if Amelia Ashland was somehow able to pull this off, the next interview the reporter out there would be get even better ratings.

"So, what did you think about Ms. Ashland?" Sophia asked as they got into the helicopter and pulled the side door closed. "She's really something, isn't she?"

"Yeah, I think she's hot." Roberto replied, putting on his seatbelt as the engines warmed up. "Too bad she's got a man, though… must be a real lucky guy."

Now the helicopter's rotors were spinning fast enough to lift the vehicle off the oil rig's platform, and as they got higher up above the construction site, it was getting even harder to believe that all of this… wreckage from twenty years ago was going to be the foundation for the city of the future… hey, that was a good title for the exclusive… maybe with a question mark on the end, since no one knew if the project was going to succeed.

"All right, get us back to the island." She said to the pilot. "We gotta get this footage to editing by two, remember?"