Chapter Two

Professor Gast wiped the sheen of sweat from his brow and adjusted the lamp overhead so that more light was directed onto the large book in front of him. Around him on his desk and on the floor were scattered numerous other books and files, ranging from scientific classifications of animals and extinct species to ancient myths and legends. Somewhere inside one of these books, he reasoned, there must be a clue as to what this strange specimen is.

At the moment, he was having a particularly hard time translating an ancient volume on an extinct humanoid species who had called themselves Cetra, which was roughly translated as Ancients. For a long time their existence had been regarded as a myth, complete with rumors of a magnificent lost city, but several years ago an archaeologist much like himself had discovered several old scrolls in an unknown language with characters similar to Wutainese. It had taken years of work to translate the scrolls, but they were now believed to be accounts written by the Ancients themselves and proof that this powerful race of beings had really once existed, though some still claimed they could merely be fictional accounts themselves.

Every child had been told tales of the Ancients, and so Gast knew as well as everyone that their lost city was supposed to be located in the north, near the great crater which was now believed by many scientists to be the cause of their extinction. If this creature I found so close to the crater…no, no I must not get my hopes up. The lost city had not actually been found after all, he chided himself, turning back to the tattered pages of the book which contained copies of the fragmented scrolls.

"Cetra…" He read aloud as the translated, his finger tracing the characters as he went. Languages had never been his best subject, and so it was excruciatingly slow work. Perhaps I should have had Lucrecia assist me after all. "Now where was I…'Calamity'? Hmm, perhaps this passage speaks of the events leading to their demise. 'Cetra…Jenova…buried in…earth?'" The scrolls had been so fragmentary that it was very rare an entire passage was left intact, and even then many characters could not be read because they had become faded or obscured by stains. But this…this was something.

A Cetra…named Jenova, perhaps? Was buried in the earth…Just as his discovery had been found, encased in protective ice and Mako. Could it be that he had at last discovered physical proof of the existence of the Ancients? More than that, an actual Ancient?

The sweat that Gast now wiped from his brow was more due to nervous anticipation, and his foot tapped out a continual rhythm on the floor as he sat outside the Board Room, awaiting a crucial meeting with President Shin-Ra. If I am able to convince the President that I have uncovered an actual Ancient…he couldn't even complete the thought, instead letting his mind wander to scenes of fame and glory, and Planet-wide acclaim at his momentous discovery. I could perform tests on Jenova for the rest of my life and still not learn everything there is to know…

"Professor?" A short-skirted secretary poked her head out of the Board Room, snapping Gast out of his reverie. "The President will see you now." Adjusting his tie and wiping his cold, clammy palms off on his lab coat, Gast took a deep breath to steel his nerves before walking briskly through the set of heavy wooden doors.

"Professor Gast, welcome," the President said in a surprisingly friendly tone, gesturing for him to come closer. "Come in, come in, I'm eager to hear about this breakthrough you wrote to me about."

"Why yes, sir. I believe I've made a discovery that could really propel not only the scientific field but all of Shin-Ra Incorporated into a whole new position as a company." He began calmly.

"Oh-hoh, really now?" The President replied skeptically, though Gast could tell by the way his eyes had widened that the man was intrigued. "And what would that be?"

"Well, you see, the specimen I uncovered near the Bone Village recently appears to have incredible regenerative properties, which may be of use in—"

"We already have the Mako for that Professor," the President cut in, waving his hand dismissively. "The SOLDIER trials are running quite well using Mako showers and infusions, I've been told."

"Yes sir, but I believe this creature not only may rival the healing capabilities of Mako, but that it may, in fact be…an Ancient." Silence covered the room in a thick, oppressive blanket as the President paused to consider what Gast had just said.

"An…an Ancient, you say? Do you have any proof of this Gast?"

"Well sir, I was going over the Cetra scrolls when I came upon something which described a Cetra named Jenova who for some reason was buried within the ground, which is very similar to the manner in which I found this creature. And, as I'm sure you know, the location in which I found it is close to the rumored location of the lost City of Ancients. We of course, do not know what these Ancients looked like, but I believe further tests will prove that the being I found is in fact an Ancient. Soil samples date her to—"

"Very good, Professor Gast, very good, this is indeed remarkable!" President ShinRa exclaimed, interrupting him once again. "Yes, I believe this matter warrants further investigation. Tell me…what do you know of Mako energy, you worked on the development of the energy program for awhile didn't you?"

"Er, yes, Sir, though I was transferred if you remember," Gast said with an awkward cough to clear his throat, preferring not to talk about his perceived failures with the Energy Department. "I know that Mako is a seemingly abundant source of energy harvested from the ground…"

"Yes, our Energy Department is currently working on building a set of Mako reactors to harvest more of this energy and see if it can be converted to electricity. But you see, in order for the program to really take off, we need to find a much larger source of Mako. We would have to build many more reactors in order to see any real results otherwise. Now, you seem to be something of an expert on the Ancients, so tell me, have you ever heard of The Promised Land?"

Gast was taken aback by such a strange question, and failed to see what it had to do with Mako, but if it led to him getting funding for his experiments, he'd take a shot at it. "I—I believe, if I remember correctly that is, that this is what the Ancients were trying to reach or achieve in their communications with the Planet?"

"You see Gast, I believe that if the Ancients were so close to the Planet as legend would have us believe, that this "Promised Land" might contain an abundance of Mako energy. For this reason I am giving your project top priority. If, as you say, this—what did you call it, Jenova?—Is really an Ancient, perhaps it can lead us to the Promised Land, and therefore, to profit. Who knows, Gast, you may even become head of the Scientific Research Department!" The President said with a wide, greedy smile on his piggish face. Gast was absolutely dumbfounded. Did the President really believe this Promised Land existed? But this though was quickly erased by the prospect of becoming head of the department. Now that would be a dream come true…

"So, will you accept that as part of your objective, Professor? If your finding is indeed an Ancient, I can promise you all the funding you would need to find a way of making it profitable to the company."

"Oh, yes sir, definitely. I believe my theory will prove correct, and if so, we will find a way of using the Ancient to the to the Promised Land." That's right Gast, just tell him what he wants to hear…compromise your ideals for the sake of fame and funding, his conscience quipped.

"Well then, what will your project be called?"

"….The JENOVA Project."