Ch. 4 Laboratory

Ch. 4 Laboratory

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= THE GROUP makes their way into the genetics lab. All around them, scientists are hard at work doing what needs to be done to bring dinosaurs back into existence.

Madison enjoyed spending time in here when she was younger, loving the idea to spend everyday with tiny baby dinosaurs that grows up to trust her. She loved the holy sight of an egg hatching.

"A reminder; The boat for the mainland will be leaving at nineteen hundred hours. All personnel be at the dock no later than eighteen forty-five. No exceptions." The voice of Ray Arnold over the PA fills the females ears as her Uncle walks up to the head geneticist, Dr. Henry Wu.

"G'day, Henry." Hammond greets the scientist who finally notices them all.

"Good day, sir, Madison." Wu greets both the Hammonds with a bow of his head while Ellie gasps loudly, patting the arm of her male companion.

"It's turning the eggs." She tells them and Madison notices one of the eggs shaking, she looms over, head levelling with the object as her interest is peeked.

"Oh, perfect timing. I was hoping they'd hatch before I had to go to the boat." Wu chuckles.

"Henry, Henry! Why didn't you tell me? I insist on being here when they're born." John practically whines and positions himself beside Madison, watching the shaking egg while Alan was on the other side with Ellie.

"You can do it little guy." Madison whispers, cooing as the egg began to crack and the dinosaur inside the shell pushes its way out.

"Very good. Push." It was now somehow John's turn to encourage the dinosaur as he spoke like a proud father of some sort.

Madison could hear Ellie release a sharp breath with slowing heartbeats. "Oh god..."

"Push. Come on. Come on. Come on, then." John continues to encourage the small dinosaur and they push its way out of the shell, its small head coming into view.

"Mummy's here my dear..." Madison whispers, gently picking the tiny shell that fell onto its head.

"They imprint on the first creature they come in contact with. Helps them to trust us. We've been present for the birth of every creature on this island." John explains to the group while Madison was obsessing over the tiny creature.

"Well, surely not the ones that have bred in the wild." Ian comments with reluctancy.

"Actually, they can't breed in the wild. Population control is one of our security precautions. There is no unauthorised breeding in Jurassic Park." Henry Wu explains to the male, Madison knew herself there would be unauthorised breeding but couldn't say anything. Not to anger the group of scientists.

"Uh, and how do you know they can't breed?" Ian then goes to attacking the group of scientists with even more questions.

"Well that's because all the animals in Jurassic Park are female. We've engineered them that way." Henry gives the man a tight smile, not enjoying the 'rockstars' pestering.

Madison who is helping the baby dinosaur free from the shell coos a few more times. "There you are." She whispers.

"Oh my god. Look at that." Ellie whispers.

Alan Grant was the one to pick up the tiny creature, commenting what he could feel from the body. "Blood temperature seems like about high eighties, maybe."

John Hammond turns to the scientist. "Wu?"

Henry Wu checks his clipboard and nods. "Ninety-one." He informs that. Grant picks up the eggshell to study, only for it to be snatched away by the robot arm.

"Homeothermic? It holds that temperature?" Ellie asks the man who nods.

"Yep."

"But, uh, again, how do you know they're all female? Did someone go out into the park and, ah, lift up all the dinosaur's skirts?" From his words, Ian receives a definitely confused look by Madison abandoning the tiny creature to walk over to him. Grabbing her drink on the counter made by a nearby scientist.

"You have the strangest word Malcolm." She responds, leaning against the counter while the black headed male only smirked up at her.

"We control their chromosomes. It's really not that difficult. All vertebrate embryos are inherently female anyway. They just require an extra hormone given at the right developmental stage to make them male. We simply deny them that." Henry explains to the group while Madison rolls her eyes.

Ellie gives him a look of nearly offence. "Deny them that?"

"Hammonds, the kind of control you're attempting here is, uh, it's not possible. If there's one thing that the history of evolution has taught us, it's that life will not be contained." Ian began explaining, moving his hands as he speaks comfortably. "Life breaks free. Expands to new places and crashes through barriers. Painfully, perhaps even dangerously. But... uh well, there it is." He claps his hands once he finishes.

"There it is." Uncle says.

"You're implying that a group composed entirely of females will... breed?" Henry asks the 'rockstar' curiously.

"No, I'm simply saying that life... uh, finds a way." Ian responds.

Alan is now taking another look at the baby dinosaur. Madison notices a suspicious look falls upon over her face.

"What species is this?" Alan asks Henry curiously.

Henry confirms the man's suspicions with a smile. "It's a velociraptor."

"You bred raptors?" Alan looks to the scientist with shock, sparing a glance to an approaching purple and pink headed female who looks at the tiny creature. Wu nods slowly and Alan looks down at the baby raptor. Both he and the others knew that, the small little dinosaur cradled in his hands will one day grow up to be an incredible killer.

Next, John takes the group of dinosaur lovers to one of the many pens in his park per Alan Grants request. A pen even Madison enjoyed staying at but without making contact with the animals deep inside.

"Dr. Grant!" John Hammond calls out to the Paleontologist as the others follow Alan up to the staff viewing area, a long walkway wrapping around the concrete structure.

John Hammond clears his throat loudly. "As I was saying, we've laid on lunch for you before you set out into the park, our gourmet chef Alejandro-"

"What're they doing?" Alan points a finger to a crane, finding that a black cow was being lowered into the covered and mainly tiny cafe. Lowering in their sights, crying out loud with fright.

John Hammond chuckles. "Oh, feeding them. Alejandro is preparing a delightful menu for us: Chilean sea bass, I believe. Shall we?" He gestures back to the two cars.

The group watches as the cow gives out a loud low of fright, and soon, snarling noises take over, followed by horrible noises and the cow squealing in pain and terror. The trees in the pen violently shake with velociraptor calling voices heard.. The scientists watch with interest, but in Ellie's perspective it was evident she looked at them in disgust.

"They should all be destroyed." The familiar voice ignites familiarity to the white-eyed girl, turning around to find a familiar man clad in a safari outfit with very short shorts.

"Robert, Robert Muldoon, my game warden from Kenya. A bit of an alarmist, I'm afraid, but knows more about raptors than anyone." John laughs, introducing the man to the group of people.

The others move to look deep inside of the cage while Madison goes and welcomes Muldoon into a warm hug. He and her would always exchange talks about the dinosaurs and all their concerns so during their time here. They've become like good brother and sister.

"Good to see you back on the island Madison." Robert tells the girl once they pull away to fist bump one another. Doing their secret handshake which was first one fist bump, two kicks of their feet against the side of the others legs and then two fist bumps.

"It's great to see you as well Roberto." Madison responds, their heads turning to see Alan wandering over.

"What's their metabolism, whats their growth rate?" Alan decides to ask the Muldoon man.

"They're lethal at eight months. And I do mean lethal. I've hunted most things that can hunt you, but the way these things move..." Robert could only trail off from his words.

Alan then goes for a second question, Robert noticing how the man nudges himself closer to the purple and pink headed girl. Something the man narrows his eyes at. "Fast for a biped?"

Sighing. "Cheetah speed. 'bout fifty or sixty miles per hour if they ever got out in the open -- and they're astonishing jumpers." Muldoon responds.

John Hammond claps his hands and nods his head. Trying his best to sell the park to the eyes of these visitors. "Yes, yes, yes, that's why we're taking extreme precautions." He turns to Ellie. "The ah, viewing area under here-"

Alan Grant turns back to Muldoon. "Do they show intelligence?" He asks.

"They're extremely intelligent. Even problem-solving intelligent. Especially The Big One. We bred eight originally, but when she came in, she took over the pride and killed all but two of the others." Robert answers with a stern and affirmative nod.

"That one, when she looks at you, you can see she's working things out. That's why we have to feed them like this. She had them all attacking the fences when the feeders came."

Ellie Sattler who hears the man, glances to the man with uncertainty then back to the fence. "But the fences are electrified though, right?"

Robert Muldoon nods. "That's right, but they never attack the same place twice. They were testing the fences for weaknesses systematically. They remember..."

The crane moves, lifting the harness that held the cow back up and much to those who hadn't seen it before, horrifies. The harness is destroyed, covered with blood, and there's nothing left of the cow.

Upon seeing the sight of the now nonexistent cow, John Hammond believed it was best to ask the group a question he deemed was so important. Watching Madison walk over to him, back hunched while she licks her dry lips.

"Yes, well, who's hungry?"

END OF CHAPTER FOUR