Eli's smile broadened a little. Why hadn't he thought of this before? Inquisitive journalists were the perfect tool to begin making inquiries into the lives of the people on the islands, and their purposes. He sincerely hoped that he'd piqued Sebastian's interest enough to inspire him to ask some questions of the other scientists, although he knew they wouldn't tell him much. Hopefully the boy would be clever even to follow his nose back to him, though. Eli would dearly have loved to sit him down and tell him the whole story from start to finish, but sadly, that wasn't an option.
"I studied biology. Genetics, specifically. There's a lot to be done in that field, let me tell you. Not the most ethical things, either. I felt sorry for the poor mice we'd experiment on, sometimes." This was partially a lie; Eli's degree had certainly been in biology, but he'd only taken a few courses in genetics, and he'd been more of a plant man then a specialist in genetic therapies for living people. Still, it was a good way to get the idea into the young lad's head.
Eli seemed to relax a little when Sebastian shut the tape recorder off. Draining the iced tea left in his glass, Eli looked straight at him and said, "This island was uninhabited thirty years ago, young man. Your parents and their friends settled here to build a new community."