March 3, 2012

'Camerus and Crisselda': a reference to a reasonably popular spy show.

Elephants have been extinct for several centuries. The existence of Ollie is due to a group of researchers, university programs, and charitiable foundations -- collectively known as Project Second Ark, commonly called 'the Arkists' -- who painstakingly patch together old records and gene-samples until they have a decent picture of a lost ecosystem, which they then, once they have secured funding and a suitable site, recreate from bacterial and plant life up. It can be decades of trial and error before the carefully nurtured sites are able to support larger animals, which the Arkists will have spent years breeding from their limited supply of gene-samples until they have a sustainable level of genetic variation. At this point, some bright young entrepenuer will typically hack their genetic database, slap some docility, color, or pygmy gene-mods on the creature, and make millions starting a fad for the newest exotic amongst people with more money than sense.

Most people consider the Arkists harmless enough, but it's generally held they are an irritable lot that could do with more of a sense of humor.