Page 33 - Demo

Natch!19%u201cYou%u2019ll see that this is a very aggressive timetable,%u201d Natecontinued. %u201cI won%u2019t sugar coat it. We%u2019re going to be putting insome long hours, but the stakes...%u201d he scanned the room, seemingto look at each team member for emphasis. He lingered onLucky, who was busily spreading butter on his muffin. %u201cThestakes could not be higher.%u201d He set the hot pink sheet down andpulled out a blue one. %u201cBetty?%u201d%u201cThe blue sheet shows two maps of the target design area. Thefirst shows the system as it has existed more or less unchangedfor the past 25 million years. The green dots indicate populatedareas. You will note how few dots there are, and nearly all arealong the perimeter. Rumor had it that a few species hadsurvived in the intense cold of the deep interior, but that turnedout to be cargo, left behind by one of the early Homp exploringparties. What we%u2019re looking at is almost entirely pristine, for lackof a better word. With the ice in rapid retreat and the climatecontinuing to warm, much of the newly exposed lands will soonbe inundated with refugees. EWA will be looking for a place toput down roots. We%u2019re not unsympathetic to their needs, butwe%u2019d like the repopulation of these lands to take place withinintentional, well-conceived design parameters.%u201d%u201cThe Folks Upstairs have given us carte blanche,%u201d Nateinterrupted impatiently. %u201cThey%u2019re open to retrofitting existingspecies that might work well in this new habitat. They%u2019re alsoopen to something new. Frankly, after Madagascar, I%u2019m excitedabout what we might come up with.%u201d Jean noticed that theimages on the screen had suddenly all turned to shots of variouslemurs. Everyone around the stump turned meaningfully to Will,who remained keenly studying his blue sheet.%u201cThere are two caveats to throw into the mix,%u201d Betty onceagain took the floor. %u201cThe first is that the land itself is shifting.Without the massive weight of all that ice, the land has begun torise and drift%u2026 what would that be%u2026 north?%u201d She tilted her blue