HOKKAIDO, JAPAN

The five of them pick up the two rental cars waiting near the helipad and drive to their accommodation — a cabin facing lake Rausu.

After freshening up they head for the sea of Okhotsk.

At the shore is a catamaran yacht. The three men on the deck notice the cars and wave.

On board, Kenzo Takahashi, a petite man in his fifties with grey hairs at the temples, gives Mason a hug. "You've grown so much. Last time I saw you, you were a little boy," Kenzo says.

"I know. It's good to see you again," Mason says, smiling. After everyone introduces themselves they sit at the large table at the back of the cabin.

"I'm really sorry again he's missing," Kenzo says. Although Mason didn't mention the whole story, he had already shared over the phone to Kenzo that he's looking for his uncle.

"We believe he was tracking a secret project. We are trying to find out what it was. You know anything about it?" Mason says.

"Hold on a moment, I've something to show you," Kenzo says and leaves the table.

While waiting, Eve looks around at the sea in front and the forest at the back.

These past days, traveling, Eve had noticed that countries and cities abroad don't always look as nice as they do on TV.

Except Japan.

It's just as pristine as she saw on those travel shows.

The weather, however, is a little unpredictable, for it changed from sunny to cloudy and back to sunny at least five times since they had arrived. Perhaps, it's because they are in an island, Eve wonders.

Kenzo returns and hands Mason a stack of papers. Eve stretches her neck and looks. It's a research paper, titled "Genesis of Elasmobranchii".

"What's this?" Mason says.

"A year ago a few students of mine and I did a full genetics research on a subclass of Chondrichthyes. Your uncle, for some reason, was very excited about it and wanted all of my research data. I gave him a copy. I asked him what it was for. He didn't answer."

Eve takes the paper from Mason and starts reading.

Mason says to Kenzo, "Did he mention it again when he visited you last time?"

"No," Kenzo says, "But he was praising me for the data my team generated, saying it was remarkable. But, again, he didn't say why he wanted it in the first place."

"Mr. Takahashi," Eve says while still reading the pages, "I thought you are a cetacean researcher, like doing research on whales, but this," Eve looks up at him.

Kenzo smiles. "Yes, that research is on sharks. We did a genetic mapping, and also, with the help of AI, we developed a hypothetical evolutionary modifier data."

"Data on past mutations?" Eve says.

Kenzo nods.

"What could uncle need that for?" Ashton says.

"Maybe it was for something else and got nothing to do with the secret project he was looking into," Brad says.

"No. It's all for the same thing," Eve says.

"What makes you say that?" Keith says.

"You know what's special about sharks?" Eve says, "They were here even before dinosaurs. And the sharks that we know of now, their blueprint is the same from pretty much the Cretaceous era."

"I would say, even Jurassic," Kenzo says, "But you're right. sharks are indeed special because they have remained the same for hundreds of millions of years."

Eve says,"They survived the mass extinction at the end of Mesozoic era. I think whatever Dr. Gold was looking into has something to do with that period of time. Earth's temperature became unusually high after the asteroid's impact, before eventually cooling down because the sun was blocked by the displaced smoke and dirt. It was a period of extreme heat and cold, one after another. Only a few species managed to survive, one being the mammals."

"So you're saying something about the animals back then that were able to survive can help us survive global warming?" Mason says.

"That's not possible," Kenzo says, "Although adaptation and genetics played a role, so did luck. If it were for the genes alone the animals would've had no chance, including the sharks."

Kenzo is right, Eve thinks. "But it's got to do something with that period, and something about genetics. If it's not the animals..." Eve says and is interrupted by the sound of water.

Everyone looks to the left side of the boat. Bursts of water come up from the surface of the sea.

"Whales," Brad says.

"You kids want to take a closer look?" One of the men with Kenzo says.

They slowly ride the yacht to where the whales are.

Eve is amazed by the size of the whales and yet Kenzo tells them these ones aren't fully grown yet.

Eve looks down at the deep blue water and wonders — There's a whole different world out there in the dark. Species that aren't affected by the shallow weathers. No forest fire can touch them. No hurricane can reach their homes. While even a degree above normal up here in summer can kill a human, it's all the same down there. In spite of our brilliant minds, just how fragile human bodies are compared to these giants that have roamed our planet for millions of years without even having to evolve.

Can humans make it through the next mass extinction?

After lunch, Kenzo tells them, "Since you mentioned genetics, years ago, I heard of a secret research in that field from a friend of mine. It had been going on for over two years then, I heard. I don't even know if it could be real."

"Where?" Mason says.

"I don't know. But my friend heard about it when he was on a business trip to Vietnam."

"Vietnam?" Ashton says, "Are there even advanced enough facilities there for such researches?"

"That's why it stood out," Kenzo says, "Why would there be rumors of something like that there of all places? Not even Beijing or Baltimore, why Vietnam? In fact, I think I might have even mentioned that to Nathan back then. It happened so long ago I forgot. Maybe he looked into it."

"Maybe," Mason says.

After returning to their cabin, the five of them talk.

"Isn't there a civil war going on there now?" Eve nervously says.

And that's why Mason hesitates. On one hand he doesn't want to leave any stone unturned. On the other hand, he doesn't want to risk his friends' safety over a lead that they are not even sure could pan out.

Eve can sense Mason is split about it. Everyone is. "Why don't we sleep on it?" She suggests. She herself is tired, and can't trust her own judgement now.

"I agree," Brad says, standing up, stretching his back and yawning. "Let's decide tomorrow."

After Brad, Keith and Ashton leave for their rooms, Eve gets up to leave too. She notices Mason is still on the couch, seemingly lost in thought.

Eve gently places her hand on his shoulder. Mason looks at her. "We'll find him," Eve says, "Wherever he is, we'll find him. Even if it means we have to comb through Vietnam."

Mason smiles and touches her hand. "Thank you," he says.

Eve takes her hand back. "But for now, what's important is I sleep," she says and leaves.

Mason chuckles and gets up. He's tired too. "Good night," he says and heads the other way.

SOMEWHERE IN AFRICA

Dr. Nathan Gold puts down his night-vision binoculars. The ruckus he heard was from a pack of hyenas stealing a kill from a pride of lions.

Nathan turns around and limps back to the iron door. A biometric scanner scans his left palm and right eye. The door opens without a sound. Nathan walks inside and the door closes behind him just as quietly. 

End of chapter