Masrani was glad for the large crowd in attendance today, as he heard his assistants doing an last second microphone check. They needed to make sure everything would go smoothly after all, there was a lot riding on the outcome of today. They had the press corps and media here, everyone from the major news channels to local stations, and even some foreign press corps. That was to say, he believed it was going to be a big deal.
He was more than ready. It had been a long held dream of his, getting the Mesozoic project in order. There were many who had said it couldn't be done. That it was better to let the government work through it himself. But Masrani had figured that he could prove the naysayers wrong. After all, he had built a Fortune 500 company by the time he turned Forty, and had holdings around the world. If there was anyone who could figure out the 'problem' of the dinosaurs… he was hoping that it would be him.
Next to him were his top employees, Claire Dearing, and next to her was a woman in her late thirties, a brunette in a stately black pantsuit- Jessica King. She worked as head of Public relations, and was the public face of operations. Although Dearing's work was important, her focus was more internal, and now, he hoped both would be brought into a greater spotlight as his people told him that they were all set to go. Fantastic, wonderful, Masrani thought, as he stood up to the podium, seeing the assembled people out there on the lawn.
"Hello everyone, Ladies and Gents… thank you all for coming out today." He cleared his throat, as he turned, seeing the large screen behind him was working. Right now it showed a clear image of a Mesozoic scene, a tableau of how these dinosaurs would have appeared sixty-five million years ago. So that everyone assembled would understand what they were here for, as he smiled into the camera.
"First off, I'd like to thank you all for your trust over the past three years. It's been difficult for all of us, but we've managed to create workable solutions. The Mesozoic project is and has been going along rather smoothly, and I am proud to say that we have managed to make significant strides in monitoring the populations of the mainland dinosaurs."
He'd prepared what he had to say in advance, it was clear to him what he wanted to say, and how he wanted to say it. Granted, this was going to be a hard sell either way, so he had figured out how to work his way up to his main points. First off, was promoting their victories. Behind Masrani, the screen shifted to show bar graphs and pie charts, as he would recite by memory the information contained in the pictures. "We've managed to track a significant percent of the populations of these creatures. By our best estimates…we have managed to chip about 65 percent of the dinosaurs in the mainland United States."
Of course he knew that being realistic, it would be impossible to get them all. The dinosaurs bred too fast, particularly the ones such as Compys and the like. But the point was to get the bigger ones, or the ones that posed a threat to people. These were the oens that the government got worried about. Of course, he could be worried too, for his own reasons…
"However, we could always improve. When the government first gave us this contract, I had my company dive into every area that I possibly could. What would be the best way to achieve the aims of this project?" He let this sit for effect, as the slide behind him would show a picture of some of the dinosaurs in the wild, a lone Stegosaur drinking at a watering hole in Utah.
"We have managed to co-exist with these extinct beasts, but I understand that there have also been calls to figure out a permanent solution. Now I will be the first to say that containment was always on the table. Permanent containment for all species? Most likely not. But just for these that we have already run through a series of parameters to determine if they will be a good fit.
"Simply put, I would like to take this time to announce the creation of a reserve-" he heard a sudden titter of chatter in the front row. No doubt, he thought as there was a sudden flurry of flashes of cameras, as this was the thing that would grab people's attention no doubt about it. "A reserve that we can use to provide a safe haven for these dinosaurs. Not for display or exploitation, but where they can live in peace."
This was something he'd considered, and locations….too. Although quite predictably, a bevy of hands shot up. Not yet. Not yet, he thought as he held out his own hand too- "Questions will be saved for after. Don't worry, you'll have plenty of time to ask questions- besides…I haven't finished yet." That shut them up nicely, as he was still on his way to delivering more bombshells.
Pausing deliberately to take a drink from his water bottle, Masrani would turn, as the Brunette woman joined him on stage. "I would like to welcome Miss King, she has a bit more of a way with words…" As he stepped to the side, Jessica took the stage, as he watched her.
Smiling broadly, the woman cleared her throat for a second, before addressing the crowd in a clear voice. "We are currently planning on creating the reserve in land that has been generously donated to us by the government. While the location is currently under wraps for now, I will say that we have taken into consideration the care and welfare of the animals. We estimate that the reserve's first residents might inhabit it as early as next year."
It was a promising timeline, one which Masrani hoped that they could stick to. After all, they really had something to prove here. That they could create something where Hammond had tried but failed. On Nublar where it had been attempted with fences…on Sorna, where the animals had flamed out without fences… but here, this could be a more natural way, at least he hoped so.
"Of course, this brings us back to what Mr. Masrani was addressing earlier," she continued, onto the next part of the speech. The one that would hopefuly get people to sit up straighter. At least, it had when Masrnai had first seen the results for himself. It was something that he'd never thought possible, even when the idea had first been pitched.
"As part of the Mesozoic project's goals, we have hitherto assisted in relocation efforts for dinosaurs that have intruded into cities or come into conflict with humans." They had gotten lucky with the pachy incident, that hadn't gone out as much as he'd feared, and Jessica was selling it so well after all. This could actually go well, Masrani allowed himself to be a bit calmer now, even as he looked out at the crowd. Their faces…the doubt was still written all over them.
"We need to have the tools to be able to deal with challenging and evolving times. Not every one of these animals is going to be docile- we've all seen that. So what we've decided is to fight fire with fire." As she spoke, four animals appeared on screen, four velociraptors. The crowd seemed to grow quiet, enough to hear a pin drop, as Masrani could practically see some in the front…leaning forward.
"Meet Blue. Charlie. Delta. And Echo." As Masrani watched King talk, he looked over at Dearing. She had been briefed that this was on the agenda, but there was still a worried look on her face. She had spoken to him before about her concerns, since speaking with Grady something seemed to have put her off. However, he was too far in to stop now, and he needed to show the public some progress.
"These are informally… the Raptor Squad. Formally… Integrated Behavioral Raptor Intelligence Study. These animals are the product of specialized research carried out by the Mesozoic project. It is the decision of Mr. Masrani to formally disclose this in the interest of full transparency." Indeed, it was really to prevent negative press regarding anything of this nature being held back.
The quickest way to defeat that, was to beat the press to the punch, announce it yourselves and make it sound like a net good. "These animals are currently trained by top experts in the field with the goal of teaching them how to operate as a unit. We want them to be perfect in the field, when we use them to help us capture dinosaurs."
Althoug Jessca was being very calm about it, again he might be able to detect a note hesitancy in the crowd. Masrani looked closer, and now he might be able to also see some faces in the crowd. Was that Ian Malcolm in the front row? He frowned slightly , as he did remember having made invitations to attend to several of the people associated with the Island incidents.
In that case, god knew what was going through his head right now as they talked about training raptors. It was always going to be controversial, as he shuddered to think of what the question and answer session would be like. Regardless- Jessica was continuing, confident, so very much so- almost like this was her press conference, as she seemed in her natural element. Which was just as well, as that was exactly what he was paying her for.
"With the guidance of our animal behaviorists, we have managed to utilize these raptor for the purpose of assisting us with dinosaur retrievals. They will be a more efficient and natural means of rounding up these animals, in a way that we have not seen before."
The screen behind her shifted to a mock up concept art, which showcased the animals taking directions from a trainer.
"This initiative will begin trial operations responding to distress calls sometime this week. I hope that this will lead to a greater understanding of the animals, and their utility for the future." She smiled, as she stepped back from the podium, as it was now time for the reporters to begin with their questions.
In the audience though, Malcolm turned and stared for a long time at Levine, who was seated right next to him. Neither man had said a word throughout the entirety of the presentation, but it was clear now that there was something else in the air, something different. "That Son of a bitch," Malcolm said as he got up from his chair.