Mathieu turned on the machine. Hidden in his lair, he watched his giant screen. Bright dots appeared on the map. These were reserves of raw materials, metals, and precious minerals located all over the planet. But just when Mathieu thought he had seen everything, a red light flashed. He thought his software had crashed. The location indicated by the light did not correspond to any place listed. Connected to a communications satellite, Mathieu enlarged the map. It was an island, he wasn't sure, but it had certainly escaped the attention of all the experts.

He called his manager, Harmonie. She was a very busy woman, much in demand thanks to her skills and charisma. She leaned over Mathieu's shoulder, making the young man uncomfortable. She asked him to do all the checks he could. In the meantime, this discovery had to remain secret. If the island had been spotted by the software, it must have been hiding many treasures.

Mathieu spent the whole night trying to locate the island in question. Upon her arrival, Harmonie went straight to Mathieu's hideout. Before reporting to the SIÉMP (International Society for the Study of Precious Materials), Harmonie wanted to organize a reconnaissance of the site. The lost island had been provisionally named “Precious.” The manager decided that an expedition should be sent to the island.

An exploration with drones was recommended before landing in unknown territory.

Mathieu was naturally part of the team, surrounded by the best specialists. He had assembled his own team: Norman for audiovisual, Billy for IT, Mary, an anthropologist, and Nicolas, a jack-of-all-trades, cook, martial arts expert, and specialist in handling all kinds of weapons. Harmonie had pulled out all the stops to ensure the success of this investigation.

Their well-equipped boat was approaching the coast of Précieusa. Night was beginning to fall. It was best for the team to sleep and recover from the 15 hours of travel it had taken them to reach their destination.

In the early morning, Nicolas prepared a hearty breakfast. Everyone woke up one by one. The intense light seemed to blind them as they acclimated. Mathieu organized a meeting to plan the day. They had four drones and computer equipment connected to the satellite. They were in contact with Harmonie almost 24 hours a day. She kept herself informed of each step.

So, a first drone took off for a reconnaissance flight around the island. The island was very small, about 200 km². There was a lot of vegetation. Then it headed towards the center. Suddenly, the drone revealed a magical scene. Waterfalls, blue pools, colorful flowers, butterflies, and rare birds. The only thing missing was unicorns to make it feel like a fairy tale. Smoke confirmed a human presence. Mathieu asked for the drone to return so he could give his first report to Harmonie.

They had to be careful. If the island was populated, the precious materials were certainly protected. In the afternoon, two drones took off to find the people who lived there. When a small village was discovered, one of the drones was destroyed in unknown circumstances. Norman, annoyed, brought the remaining drone back to the boat. Mary wanted to gather as much information as possible about this population. The whole team took the time to watch the films recorded by the drones. There appeared to be men, women, and children. They were dressed in tribal clothing. Nicolas noticed that they were adorned with numerous pieces of jewelry, gold and precious stones, rubies, diamonds, emeralds, sapphires... It was incredible.

The precious materials tracking software had identified numerous locations for all its treasures. They had to think about the next step: how to get there and make contact with the island's inhabitants. They began to prepare the necessary equipment for the expedition. Billy had to stay on the boat to keep in touch with Harmonie and ensure communication with the team, so they could organize a repatriation operation if necessary.

All motivated, they disembarked from the zodiac with their equipment, like adventurers. As they gradually made their way into the lush vegetation, they felt they were being watched. They moved forward cautiously. Norman looked at the images from the drone on his tablet. He then saw a group of four men, armed with arrows, knives, and blowguns. A projectile hit the drone without damaging it. The team paused to consider the best way to approach these people, who were undoubtedly frightened by this intrusion. They decided to attach a small package to the drone with a note and some chocolate as a gift. The package was dropped and immediately retrieved by what appeared to be scouts. Norman followed them discreetly with the drone. They arrived in front of a woman in her sixties, with white skin and blond and white hair, while the others were all mixed race. She appeared to be the village chief.

She took the word and looked up at the drone. She made a gesture that seemed to authorize the team to join them.

When they arrived at the village, Mary, Mathieu, Norman, and Nicolas were greeted by a crowd of curious children. Mary had noticed their mixed heritage, which was clearly a combination of indigenous and Caucasian. Some had light eyes and hair, much like Melanesians. The chief, Charlène, spoke our explorers' language fluently. She told her story. She had been shipwrecked with six crew members 35 years earlier. With no means of communication, they had no choice but to stay on this paradise island. She was the youngest of the group and also the only woman. After a few years, she was proclaimed village chief after a community vote. Her knowledge of medicine and her contribution to the people had greatly contributed to her coronation, which she could not refuse. Little by little, her teammates grew old and disappeared one by one. They left behind a mixed race that redefined the new population. Charlène herself had two children with the brother of the former village chief. They all lived in peace. Precious materials were used only for decoration and to define the different clans. For them, all these precious stones had no monetary value.

That same evening, the team, back on the boat, contacted Harmonie, who began to think about how to present this discovery. But the team seemed to object to revealing the existence of this wonderful place. If SIEMP were to learn that this island held such valuable resources, it would certainly be invaded, ransacked, and pillaged. In addition, many species, supposedly extinct, were visible on Précieusa. It was certainly a major discovery for all scientists and wealthy precious mineral miners, but Mathieu and his staff did not want to reveal this wonder to the whole world. After spending a few days on the island, they disconnected for several hours.

Harmonie desperately tried to contact them. When they reappeared, all the data had mysteriously disappeared. The software could no longer locate Précieusa, which then became a legend, a fairy tale.

Our corrupt world, thirsty for power and money, was ultimately not ready to discover this incredible and majestic island...