Animalia had progressed greatly in its relatively short period of existence, going from a small town in northwestern Nevada with largely uplifted Animals and a modest number of converted humans to essentially the nerve center for a community that was growing with "colonies" in other countries and a spreading presence around the United States, even outside of Lyre/Animalia. All of the colonies largely had to abide by the local laws of the country they were in, which presented its fair share of political hurdles in some countries, but for the most part those hurdles hadn't been completely insurmountable.
It had also provided a great deal of success for Horizon as a company in that a program to improve beef production in a way that would provide what would essentially be a nutrition supplement for ranchers to provide their cattle that would provide for healthy cattle and stop things like "Mad Cow Disease" would turn into something that would provide many new fields of genetic science that had provided many new opportunities that Horizon was quick to jump on. In time this included various de-extinction projects, with Project Mesozoic being the most popular, even while it'd been in its testing phase. But the project that had most of the real developments that were still coming was a project that became open earlier than Project Mesozoic but had also been less popular, Project Cenozoic.
"And the region that could be arranged for is only in British Columbia?" Doctor Stein asked to the man that presently sat across from him, a representative of the Canadian government.
"It is toward the interior of the country," the man answered, "to the northeast of Fort Nelson, and that many of the people who are there would be more than happy to work with your scientists and staff on the project and looking after the animals you plan to recreate. That should be of benefit, so long as it's not mandatory that they have to become Animalians."
"Well, US Law presently requires that all conversions be voluntary," Doctor Stein answered, "we can't force anyone, and any accidental conversions would probably end up requiring some investigation to make sure that there was no intent to force someone to become an Animalian."
The Canadian representative slowly nodded.
"But with regard to territory... we were hoping for more something on the north coast," Doctor Stein commented, "Like the Northwest Territories or Nunavut, where there would be fewer people and there would be less imperative to actually fence the animals in."
"I understand, and even the Prime Minister understands," the Canadian representative gave a sigh, "but many of our First Nations in that region don't want the potential ecological damage that a bunch of resurrected mammoths might do with regard to their own hunting and homes. Not to mention that we can't just let them loose onto our National Parks where we're also trying to preserve the wildlife that is already facing difficulty... not to mention the problems of trying to bring "indoor plumbing" into areas where that would have the potential to do damage to the permafrost. The spot in British Columbia wouldn't have that issue... at least not to the same degree. You'd also be closer to a main highway that would allow you more direct contact with the US and your offices here."
Doctor Stein gave a heavy sigh at that. While much of Project Cenozoic was to create Animalians that were based off of the animals that roamed the Earth from the demise of the dinosaurs to rise of modern man and Earth's present ecology, there was also the idea to include it as part of various scientific attempts to essentially recreate the Wooly Mammoth. As with discoveries on islands off of northern Siberia, there were pygmy Wooly Mammoths that survived the Pleistocene before going extinct around 4,000 years ago. So far the production of a successful Wooly Mammoth clone had been limited by the degradation of DNA over time and issues with the compatibility of Wooly Mammoth DNA with the Asian Elephant DNA that was often used as the original base, since the Wooly Mammoth and the Asian Elephant were fairly closely related as far as many scientists were concerned. The compatibility issues, however, had often slowed things, as previous attempts had resulted in either the eggs not fertilizing or the resulting calf not living for long.
However, the success that Animalia/Horizon had displayed with regard to Project Mesozoic had raised some hopes with the other scientific institutes trying to bring back the Wooly Mammoth. There was some hope that the Animalia Virus could help serve as a stabilizing element with regard to the degradation of the Wooly Mammoth DNA as it had done with the specific strands of the Animalia Virus that were made for various extinct creatures, though while it did it would also likely mean that the new Mammoth would also be an Animalian. The only "good" news with regard to that development was to tinker with the Animalia Virus itself in removing certain aspects of it and adding the vaccine to the virus before introducing into donated tissue and blood samples to see how that would affect the cellular growth and development of any potential cloned Wooly Mammoth. Some of that had some promise, but it was slow work given many of the laws that regulated genetic science and the complexity of the Animalia Virus to begin with. If the attempts to use the Animalia Virus only produced signs of leading to a new Animalian, using it to heal the degradation issue wouldn't work.
"And this site in northeastern British Columbia is the only one you could manage?" Doctor Stein wondered.
"The only area where the people were willing to allow for you and Animalia to build a sort of colony town to be the central hub of the operation," the Canadian official spoke, "and would be willing to help with the project as it gains momentum... again assuming that the people there won't lose their right to be human if they don't wish to become Animalians."
"Well, as I said before, that was never an issue," Doctor Stein sighed, "the real thing is to make sure that some of the ranchers may have to realize that if successful... the fences they have to keep their cattle contained probably won't work with Mammoths once they're fully grown."
"Well... we do brand our cattle in Canada," the Canadian official answered, "so... so long as the planed containment fence around the outer edge of the territory for this Mammoth Preserve you want to create can't contain the cattle, I'd think any ranchers should manage to do alright. And if any Animalians that move up there to monitor the mammoths then help with the "roundup" they'll have no issue."
Doctor Stein nodded and looked down at the map that the Canadian official had provided and presented. Based on the map information, the location would easily cover the largest land area that Animalia would be working with. There were also a few small towns and villages within the zone, along with small to modest ranches as well, which would essentially make the new location one very much like what would be done with "Dino City" being built in Texas. The one difference was that here the people would also have to deal with recreated mammoths, though, given what humanity knew on the behaviors of African and Asian Elephants, it was figured that the cloned Wooly Mammoths could be reasonably controlled and that they wouldn't have a "Jurassic Park with Mammoths" type of situation.
"So... how are you guys actually doing with the project? And what do you plan to do with it?" the Canadian official asked.
"Well... I think we've had some ideas that might help make it work," Doctor Stein spoke, "Though... once we get to point of actually doing it, we'll need to have the habitat area ready for them. And it'll be expected that they'll grow up quick."
"So... if I may be curious... what is the purpose of bringing the Wooly Mammoth back?" the Canadian official wondered, "Doesn't Animalia already have a Wooly Mammoth Animalian?"
"We do have a Wooly Mammoth Animalian, but as an Animalian, he wouldn't quite fit in with idea that relates to bringing it back, as the Animalian would live out his life like you or I," Doctor Stein commented, "Restoring the Mammoth would actually return an animal that early man lived alongside and survived to as late as 4,000 years ago. With the center in Canada, we'd be able to establish a living herd. There have been some scientific discussions on eventually moving them to Pleistocene Park that the Russians want to establish as a wildlife preserve that would try to recreate the tundra as it was in the last major glacial periods. It may provide some measure of fighting global warming if it works..."
"So it's all part of a grand anti-global warming project?" the Canadian official wondered.
"Or to at least restore an animal that once lived alongside our ancestors," Doctor Stein commented, "which could give paleontologists of the Cenozoic Era things they can look to study in a way that could go beyond what is in the fossil record... and depending on your viewpoint, restore an animal that our ancestors could have hunted to extinction."
"But did they?" the Canadian official asked curiously.
"That's been the thing that has been up for debate," Doctor Stein commented, "mankind with the Clovis Point certainly had the capacity to kill a mammoth... which means it's possible that man hunted mammoths, but we haven't found anything that would say with certainty that man was solely responsible... and the fact that some managed to survive until 4,000 years ago would be of some indication that it survived human hunting for quite some time."
"I see," the Canadian official blinked, "and dare I ask... what you will do if something fails? That you can't recreate the Mammoth?"
"We may still with to establish a headquarters and offices there," Doctor Stein said slowly, "and provide some help for the local ranchers, given that many will be making some sacrifices in expectation of the present project."
"And what kind of Animalians will want to live there... all the prehistoric mammals?" the Canadian official wondered.
"It'll probably be just those that were known to be found in the fossil record from the Pleistocene period and were from areas that we know were cold back then," Doctor Stein answered, "though that would be assuming it becomes a full fledged colony. And even there, any Animalian that wants to move there would be free to under our policy if they want to. The only "hinderance" would be on how well they would handle the process your country has with regard to its immigration laws."
"I see," the Canadian official commented with a shrug and then gave a small smile, "well... provided all the laws and paperwork are followed, I'm sure they'll be welcomed. So... you'll agree to the payments for the land and construction now?"
"Not immediately," Doctor Stein said slowly, "we are still working with the testing and development with regards to the genetic aspects of recreating the Wooly Mammoth, but while we think we are making progress... we don't want to rush into anything until we're certain we can do it. Once we're ready, we'll let you know and see how long it will take to handle all the necessary construction... both the for the fencing and for the likely housing for the Animalians that would come to live there. We'll then try to time the actual procedure so that the first Wooly Mammoth to live in the modern day will be ready to move into its new habitat as soon as possible. If the cost of the work and the land changes... we can meet those costs."
"Well... that is good," the Canadian official smiled and he and Doctor Stein shook hands.
It might not be the most obvious development, but it was something that played heavily to a big part of Project Cenozoic. And there were a few applications that had come in regarding Cenozoic animals, but a few of them were also for animals that lived in warmer parts of the globe or during periods that were thought to be much warmer. So far as Doctor Stein knew, that was still in the reviewing process along with the appropriate requests for the fossils needed to generate the DNA needed for new strands of the Animalia Virus. That still made it small in comparison to the progress toward recreating the Wooly Mammoth and being able to legally acquire the lad needed for the project to work.