"Darius!"

Liam's scream of surprise was well motivated, and Darius couldn't blame the boy when he ran to hold him in a bone-breaking hug. Even though it had already been a month since he, Harris, Grace and Pauline had returned from the Great Republic of Beleriard, the tycoon hadn't had time to physically return to the Tanz industries. Up until now, he'd just made phone calls and let his subordinates and Harris's do the work. After all, as prime minister, he could not fail to attend the drafting of the new constitution, and consequently he hardly ever left the royal palace.

Obviously he had contacted Liam, at least to assure him that he was okay, but hearing someone's voice over a phone was different than talking to him in person. Therefore Darius could only return the embrace of his protégé as soon as he saw him. "Sorry it took me so long" he simply said.

"Do not worry. I guess you've had your work cut out" Liam replied letting him go. "With everything going on, I'm surprised you managed to come and see me. In short, between food, the new Constitution, the queen announcing peace with the dinosaurs..."

Darius obviously had mentioned to Liam what they were preparing to do, but for fear that their phone calls might be intercepted, they both agreed that it was best to postpone the explanations until they met in person.

"I'll explain everything, don't worry. After all, we have a journey ahead of us" he said with a smile.

"A trip?"

"Yes, and quite long. We will have time to talk on the plane. Where is Jillian?"

"Oh… it's in her office. She is still evaluating and studying the resumes of those who might take place on Salvation. She took the task you entrusted to her very seriously..."

Darius smiled. Once again he had the confirmation of being able to read people well: Jillian was the right girl for that difficult task. He quickly climbed the stairs and reached what was the office he had entrusted to her; opening the door he found Jillian sitting at the desk submerged in piles and piles of paperwork. "Girl, you should slow down. You will be exhausted like this"

Jillian jumped and looked up sharply at her voice. "Darius!" she exclaimed getting up and running to hug him in her turn. "When you are…?"

"He swooped in here a few minutes ago" Liam said, appearing behind them out of breath.

"Do not look at me like this. You know what I'm made of, I'm a guy who likes to surprise people"Darius laughed, tapping Jillian's forehead, who pushed him away annoyed by her attitude, even though she didn't stop smiling. "You are working hard. You must be proud of it"

Jillian looked at the pile of resumes on the table with sad eyes. "I wish it were easier. It's not like in the movies... even though I know that the future of humanity could be at stake, it's hard to decide who should live and who should die"

Darius bit his lip, feeling a little guilty. Jillian was the right person for the task, she knew it, but still she had placed a considerable weight on her shoulders to carry. "I know, girl. It's never easy" he consoled her. "But the cards are changing now. You can carry out that task with the lightest heart, because the chances of disaster have been drastically reduced. Going to the dinosaurs was the right choice"

"Seriously? Do we have the possibility of avoiding nuclear war?" Liam exclaimed unable to contain himself, imitated shortly after by Jillian.

"Yes. We have the ability to avoid it. But I'll explain everything along the way. Now pack your bags, there is a plane waiting for us"

"Where do we go?"

Darius's smile widened: "To meet an old friend"

********

"This is extraordinary news" the old man murmured with a satisfied sigh.

Darius felt a sense of warmth at that scene. Even though he could no longer even sit up, John Hammond still gave off a feeling of vitality that was impossible to ignore.

The journey to the old tycoon's mansion had been quite long, which allowed Darius to tell Liam and Jillian in detail everything that had happened on Maakanar. The two boys were left speechless at the colorful descriptions of dinosaurs living together, eating and working with humans, and if those words hadn't come out of their idol's mouth they probably would never have believed it. When Darius then described to them the miraculous mangers, the same ones that were responsible for the defeat of the famine in the Kingdom of Niger, they were even more shocked.

But their amazement at such stories was nil compared to what they felt when Darius described to them what was boiling in the pot: the birth of a new international organization contrasting with the NMWA, more equitable and united, which would have prevented the outbreak of nuclear war.

Liam was shocked by that proposal. Jillian was even more so; as she was more versed in politics and human relations than her fiancé, she could easily understand the implications and changes that the birth of the Eden Union would bring.

The plane had landed after several hours of flying in the Confederate States of Vinland; a car came to the airport to greet them and took them to Hammond's mansion, where the old tycoon was waiting for them.

John Hammond was clearly almost at the end of his days now: old, tired and now forced to stuff himself with medicines, all the doctors assumed that he would die within a year at the most. Hammond was not worried about death, but he was very afraid of the future he would leave to the new generations since despite his best efforts, peace with the dinosaurs seemed very far from coming true.

During those three years, the movement he had founded had gained more and more support and many other companies had come to support him, both because they were genuinely interested in his values and out of necessity (with oil and coal that were increasingly shrinking there were many companies who had found themselves forced to use other sources of energy, willingly or not); however, Hammond felt it was still not enough. He felt that something more was needed, something more concrete, and he was afraid of dying before seeing it.

So when he learned that the Queen of Prettania had made a peace deal with the dinosaurs, his heart nearly stopped; soon after he had been contacted by the country's prime minister, Darius Tanz, whom Hammond knew well because, being both tycoons, they had interacted quite a few times in the past. Darius had asked him for an interview and Hammond, who despite his age could still understand when an event was important, had not hesitated to accept.

When they arrived, Darius, Liam and Jillian had explained everything to Hammond in detail; the old man had been terrified by the discovery of nuclear weapons, but then, when the trio got to the good part of the tale and explained Sobek's intentions to achieve world peace through Eden Union, Hammond's soul was changed becoming extremely happy.

"I'm glad you think so" Darius said. "In the next few days, Pauline will meet in secret our allied nations to form the first nucleus of the Eden Union, so as to present herself before the NMWA at the head of a strong front. Based on our speculations at least a hundred nations will support us and many more will join us after your speech before the NMWA. My task at the moment would be to contact the scientific community and convince them to support us, so that when the Eden Union is formed we can start a plan to convert our factories, motors and power plants into alternative energy, so as to solve the energy crisis that grips us once and for all. The support of the scientists will be very useful, but your support could be even more helpful, John. If even the richest company on the planet and the dinosaur coexistence movement support us, the future could look very bright. The queen even thinks that if we stand united (the first nucleus of the Eden Union, the scientific community and the coexistence movement) we could win the support of more than a third of the world's nations in a single month, and even the Republic of Meilong could stand by our side"

"With two superpowers on our side, nuclear warfare would be an even farther ghost" Jillian explained. "Furthermore, using the influence of the coexistence movement, we could ensure that the Confederate States of Vinland elect a president to stand alongside us at the next elections"

"At that point the risk of nuclear war would be virtually averted" Liam said. "The Gardarikian Federation and the Almagna Empire won't dare to go to war against three superpowers. We'll just have to wait: over time, even the most repeat nations will join us, and those who don't will end up prey to coups and riots. When all the nations of the world join the Eden Union, then even the war with the dinosaurs can be defined as over forever"

Hammond seemed to sink into his thoughts. In the past he probably would have massaged his chin with one hand, but now he no longer had the strength to raise his arms. "What do you two think?"

In an instant, all eyes were on the other two people in the room, Simon Masrani and Claire Dearing. Hammond had summoned them as soon as he learned that Darius was coming to see him and allowed them to stay and listen to the conversation. It was only fair that they were present too, since Simon would soon become the new owner of the Hammond empire, while Claire was the leader of the entire coexistence movement.

At the old man's question, Simon nodded vigorously: "I think accepting is the best choice. If we are really running the risk of a... 'nuclear war', then we are really on the verge of extinction. Creating this Eden Union is a gamble, but it could be the only solution. If we want to preserve the planet, then we should give our support"

Hammond chewed his dry lips. "And you, Claire?"

Claire shrugged: "As a leader of the coexistence movement, I would say that not supporting this plan would be an insult to our own ideals"

"So we all agree. Perfect!" Darius exclaimed clapping his hands, only to realize that Hammond hadn't spoken yet. "John?"

The old man sighed: "Don't worry. You have my support, Darius. I'll help you as best I can" he said. "However, there is one thing I would like to talk to you about. Could you give us a minute?"

Simon and Claire looked confused, but obeyed. Liam and Jillian looked at Darius, who was silent for a moment, then nodded and waved them out. Once they were alone he asked Hammond: "What would you like to talk to me about?"

Hammond bit his lip: "I know it's not a good thing to do, but… I want to ask you to reserve three seats on your Salvation. For Lex and Tim... and for my goddaughter"

Darius opened his eyes wide in surprise: "Why? I have already told you that we have the possibility of avoiding nuclear war..."

"The possibility, exactly. Not certainty" Hammond interrupted. "I have lived long enough to learn to always expect the worst from human beings. I know mine is a selfish desire, but a grandfather cannot ignore the danger that hangs over the heads of his grandchildren. I don't care about my life, I'll die soon anyway, but Lex and Tim have a whole existence ahead of them... and Jocelyne has endured enough suffering for one single life... so please, Darius, satisfy this old fool. Wouldn't you do the same for that boy?"

"Liam?" Darius shook his head. "He is not my son or my grandson"

"But you treat him like he is. I know you, Darius: do you want me to believe that you haven't already booked him a seat on the Salvation?" Hammond asked.

Darius could not deny that statement. Ever since he had started building Salvation he had made a promise: Liam would go up there. She had reserved a seat for him, Jillian, Harris and Grace. He, Darius, had no problem staying grounded, dying on a collapsing planet, but as Hammond said it was impossible to ignore the people he loved. "You're right" he admitted. "Okay, if nuclear disaster is inevitable, your grandchildren and your goddaughter will have a place on Salvation"

"I thank you. I will pray that such an eventuality never occurs" Hammond said with a smile. "This old body of mine will kill me in a few months, but I'll do my best to use the time I have left to help you and the Eden Union"

Darius nodded. "So, first of all I ask you to put me in touch with the major minds of the scientific community and help me convince them" he said. "I'm obviously talking about Mitch Morgan, Robert Oz, Alan Grant... and, of course, Ian Malcolm"