Chapter Three: A New Dream
The sun rose hot and heavy the next morning, but even the high temperature of the day was not enough to damper John's spirit or energy. It was a bright and early nine o clock when Hammond, Dr. Wu, and Ed boarded the helicopter bound for the Costa Rican waterfront and the islands that lay beyond it.
The total ride on the chopper was only about three hours, not bad considering the remoteness of the place that they were heading. As the islands came into view through the front windshield, John could help but get completely excited.
The helicopter started it's slow descend, and after a fairly smooth ride the helicopter touched down on the beach. The blades started to slow down as the pilot cut power to the engine and slowly came to a stop. The pilot gave them a thumbs up and they started to walk around, taking in the scenery and the beauty of the island itself.
"This area is considered rain forest, so it is very lush and tropical" explained Regis quickly. He took that minute to start going over the lists of people who had accepted their offer to work on the new park, and looked up holding his baseball cap down as three or four more helicopters started to come in from over the horizon.
Hammond himself looked up in shock.
"Wait, are those the architects already?" he asked, walking over to Regis.
Ed chuckled.
"No sir, not yet. The architects and building managers will be here in a few days. The people arriving on that helicopter are INGEN's terraformers. They are going to go over the island first, make a topographical outline of the island from which the other architects will work off of. There is one problem though sir, we need to go and finalize the purchase of the island first, before we start doing any actual work on it."
Hammond nodded slowly.
"Okay this will serve as the perfect place to raise the animals for a few months after they have hatched and are healthy and whatnot. Henry, I need you to continue your work in California. Two genomes is not nearly enough to get the park off the ground."
Henry nodded and sensing that his expectations were met with the island, made his way to the helicopter.
Regis and Hammond were not far behind as the first extra helicopter touched down. Hammond walked over as the sliding door on the helicopter opened and a tall thin man wearing glasses jumped out and looked around at the jungle.
"Mr. Hammond I presume?" he asked, walking over and extending his hand.
"Name's Lewis, Donovan Lewis, head of the Pal Alto Terraforming company. We have been hired to go ahead and do the topographical study of this here island. In two or three days, complete plans for your operation will be shipped to the INGEN headquarters," he said smiling.
Hammond nodded in joy and left the men to go about their business. He sat against the window, looking out as his helicopter slowly started to lift off, destined back for California and the INGEN company complex. He had a lot of work still to do, and wanted to get on it. After a few minutes of flight time, his eye caught another land mass, seemingly floating in the air above the water. It was another volcanic island in the chain, but that was the extent of his knowledge on the area around him. He tapped Regis on the arm, and pointed out the window.
"Ed, what island is that?" questioned Hammond, straining to see out the window.
"Uhh...I believe it is called Isla Nublar, or "Island of Clouds" it's just another member of this chain of islands," he said, reading some source material in his folder.
"You know what Ed, I just got an idea. Don't you think that our idea for a preserve is better off on an island, away from the noise of the US? I think this place would be perfect for the park itself, and than Sorna can be used to breed the animals. It would also cut down the transportation costs, because everything would be by boat," Hammond said, a twinkle in his eye.
"How do you think we could get a hold of it?" Hammond asked quickly.
"Well, since we already have intentions of purchasing or leasing Isla Sorna, I'm sure it wouldn't be that hard to push for the purchase or leasing of both islands. If anything it will bring in a decent chunk of change for Costa Rica, it's not the wealthiest country," he said, wiping his brow under the baseball cap.
"Well, we have an appointment anyway, do we not?" John asked, still looking out the window.
Regis checked his planner and his ledger.
"Yes sir, you have a meeting with President Vasquez at three o clock about the purchase of Sorna," he said, closing his planner.
Regis looked at his watch and saw that it was only twelve, they had plenty of time to reach the mainland for the meeting.
"I suggest bringing up the purchase of both during the meeting. The worst that can happen is that he says no and we go back to the plan with the Amphitheatre."
Hammond was still looking out the window, and just silently nodded as the helicopter continued its journey.