In June 1831 an undersea volcano between Sicily, Tunisia and Libya threw up a small barren island of ash. While sailors and people on the nearby coasts feared a monster waking, the new territory drew the curiosity of scientists and the appetite of the European powers, each intending to claim its strategic position. The competition turned out to be short-lived: within months the island had gone back under, and Cogitore works that episode as a figure for sovereignty, appearance and disappearance.