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Having a plate of grilled chicken with a side salad sat in front her, Marlene bit the inside of his cheek as she made eye contact with Ellie, who both had a look of somewhat grimace.
"None of these attractions are ready of course, but the pair will open with the basic your you're about to take." John explained. "And then other rides will come on-line six or twelve months after that. Absolutely spectacular designs! Spared no expense."
"And we can charge anything we want." The lawyer mentioned casually, a greedy smile on his face. "2,000 a day, 10,000 a day. People will pay it! And then there's the merchandise-!"
"Donald, Donald!" John scolded. "This park was not meant to cater for the super rich. Everyone in the world has the right to enjoy these animals."
"Sure. They will. We'll have a coupon day or something." John laughed, shaking his head at Donald.
"Gee, the lack of humility before nature that's being displayed here, um, staggers me." Everyone looked at Ian when he said that, Donald raising a brow.
"Well thank you, Dr. Malcolm, but I think things are a little bit different than you and I had feared."
"Yeah, they're a lot worse."
"Now wait a second, we haven't even seen the park yet!"
"No, no. Donald, let him talk." John raised a hand at the lawyer before looking at Ian. "I want to hear every viewpoint. I really do."
"Well... don't you see the danger, uh, John, inherent in what you're doing here?" Ian asked, stuttering over his words slightly. "Genetic power's the most awesome force the planet's ever seen, but you worked it like, uh, a kid that's found his dad's gun."
"It's hardly appropriate to start hurling generalizations-!"
"If I may, um, I'll tell you the problem with the scientific power that you're using here. It didn't require any discipline to obtain it. You know, you've read what others have done and you- and you took the next step. You didn't earn the knowledge for yourselves, so you don't take any responsibility... for it. You stood on the shoulders of geniuses to accomplish something as fast as you could, and before you even knew what you had, you patented it, packaged it, and slapped it on a plastic lunch box. And no-" Ian banged his fist on the table, the silverware making a clanking noise, "you're selling it! You wanna sell it. Well-!"
"What?" Donald chuckled, shaking his head at Ian's words. Marlene flashed him a hateful stare, rolling her eyes at the lawyer's juvenile reaction.
"I-I don't think you're giving us our due credit." John stammered out, a strained smile on his face. "Our scientists have done things in which nobody has ever done before."
"Yeah but your scientists were so preoccupied in thinking that they could, they didn't stop to think if they should!"
"Condors. Condors are in the verge of extinction. If I was to create a flock of condors on this island, you wouldn't have anything to say!" John pointed at him, Ian rolling his eyes.
"Hold on. If I may speak," Marlene interrupted, shaking her head, "we aren't discussing a species that was obliterated by deforestation, or the building of a dam."
"Exactly! Uh, dinosaurs had their shot and nature selected them for extinction." Ian stuttered out, turning his head to Marlene. She flashed him a small smile before it dropped as John scoffed.
"I simply don't understand this Luddite attitude, especially from a scientist. I mean, how come we stand in the light of discovery and not act."
"Oh what's so great discovery? It's a violent, penetrative act that scars what it explores. What you call discovery, I call the rape of the natural world."
"Well, my question is how can we know anything about an extinct ecosystem?" Ellie asked, straightening her posture. "And, therefore, how could you ever assume that you can control it? You have plants in this building that are poisonous. You picked them because they look good, but these are aggressive living things that have no idea what century they're in and they'll defend themselves, violently, if needed."
"Dr. Grant, Ms. Grant-!"
"I have my doctorate as well." Marlene tsked under her breath, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"If there are two people that can appreciate what I'm trying to do..?"
Alan took a breath, looking around the table before speaking. "The world has just changed so radically, and we're all running to catch up..."
"I don't want to make any conclusions, but..." Marlene took over, sharing a look with her older brother. "Dinosaurs and man are two species that have been separated by 65 million years of evolution. And they've just been thrown back into the mix with each other without a care. How can we possibly have the slightest idea what to expect?"
"I don't believe it..." John chuckled, looking between the Grants. "I don't believe it! You're meant to come down here and defend me against these characters, and the only one I've got on my side is the blood-sucking lawyer!" He gave out a short laugh, clapping his hands in the irony of the situation.
Marlene frowned, feeling a tinge of pity for the old man. She knew he just wanted to share a marvelous idea with the world, and while it was very spectacular it was also very dangerous. It was risky to have two species just inhabit the earth like that without any kind of evolution from one of them.
Looking over at Dr. Malcolm, she watched as he tilted his head back, finding the last of his whiskey before slamming the glass on the table, scratching his nose. 'For a pest, I suppose he is rather intelligent, insightful even...' she thought, thinking about his words from earlier in the conversation. She then looked him down and up before moving her sight forward. 'And the fact that he's cute is just a bonus.'
Seeing a waiter lean down to John, she watched how his face went from stressful to somewhat relaxed, happy even. He stood up, clapping his hands together as he looked around the group. "Well, they're here." He chuckled. "Please, follow me."
***
Following him back to the main lobby, the group listened as John talked about what was next on the itinerary. "You are going to have a spot of company out in the park." John warned, his cane clicking against the stone steps rhythmically. "Spend a little time with our target audience."
"Grandpa!" Two voices shouted from the bottom of the steps.
Dropping his cane, John's smile widened as he opened his arms out for them. "Kids!" He called back, laughing as the kids quite literally tackled him down for a hug. "Careful with the old man!" He playfully scolded, the girl and boy just looking at him with bright smiles.
"We missed you!" The girl said, the boy nodding in agreement.
"Thanks for the presents!"
"We loved the presents!"
"They were great!"
As the kids rambled to their Grandpa, Marlene couldn't help the lovely grin taking over her face, a hand placed on her chest at the sight. Unlike her brother, the auburn-haired girl always did have a soft-spot for children. Turning her head, she saw the others watching them as well, some with grins (Ellie) and others with neutral expressions.
Making eye contact with Ian, her grin grew an inch wider as she quickly looked back down, moving her hands to cover her cheeks as she felt them heating up.
