We eat lunch at a long table in the visitor's center restaurant. There is a large buffet table and two waiters to serve them. The room is darkened and John is showing slides of various
scenes all around them. John's own recorded voice describes current and future features of the park while the slides flash artists' renderings of all them. The real John turns and speaks over the narration.
"None of these attraction have been finished yet. The park will open with the basic tour you're about to take,
and then other rides will come on line after six or twelve months. Absolutely spectacular designs. Spared no expense." John said. More slides click past, a series of graphs dealing with profits, attendance and other fiscal projections. Donald, who has become increasingly friendly with John, even giddy, grins from ear to ear.
"And we can charge anything we want! Two thousand a day, ten thousand a day, people will pay it! And then
there's the merchandising"
"Donald, this park was not built to carter only to the super rich. Everyone in the world's got a right to enjoy these animals." John said.
"Sure, they will, they will." Donald laughs.
"We'll have a coupon day or something." I looked down, at the plate I'm eating from. It's in the shape of the island itself and the drinking cup got a T-rex on it, and a splashy Jurassic Park logo. There are a stack of folded amusement park-style maps on the table in front of me. I pick one up. Boldly, across the top it says, "Fly United to Jurassic Park!"
"from combined revenue streams for all three parks should reach eight to nine billion dollars a year" Tape John said.
"That's conservative, of course. There's no reason to speculate wildly." John said to Donald.
"I've never been a rich man. I hear it's nice. Is it nice?" Donald asked.
Ian, who was been watching the screens with outright contempt, snorts, as if he's finally had enough.
"The lack of humility before nature that's been displayed here staggers me." Ian said. I turn and look at him.
"Wait - we were invited to this island to evaluate the safety conditions of the park, physical containment. The theories that all simple systems have complex behavior, that animals in a zoo environment will eventually begin to behave in an unpredictable fashion have nothing to do with that evaluation. This is not some existential furlough, this is an on-site inspection. You are a doctor. Do your job. You are invalidating your own assessment. I'm sorry, John" Donald said.
"Alright Donald, alright, but just let him talk. I want to hear all viewpoints. I truly am" John said.
"Don't you see the danger, John, inherent in what you're doing here? Genetic power is the most awesome force ever seen on this planet. But you wield it like a kid who's found his dad's gun. The problem with scientific power you've used is, it didn't require any discipline to attain it. You read
what others had done and you took the next step. You didn't earn the knowledge yourselves, so you don't take the responsibility for it. You stood on the shoulders of geniuses to accomplish something as fast as you could, and before you knew what you had, you patented it, packages it, slapped in on a plastic lunch box, and now you want to sell it." Ian says.
"You don't give us our due credit. Our scientists have done things no one could ever do before." John said.
"Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn't stop to think if they should. Science can create pesticides, but it can't tell us not to use them. Science can make a nuclear reactor, but it can't tell us not to build it!" Ian said.
"But this is nature! Why not give an extinct species a second chance?! I mean, Condors. Condors are on the verge of extinction if I'd created a flock of them on the island, you wouldn't be saying any of this!" John said.
"Please, let's hear something from the others. Dr. Grant? I am sorry, Dr. Sattler?" Donald asked.
"The question is how much can you know about an extinct ecosystem, and therefore, how could you assume you can control it? You have plants right here in this building, for example, that are poisonous. You picked them because they look pretty, but these are aggressive living things that have no idea what century they're living in and will defend themselves. Violently, if necessary." Ellie said. Exasperated, John turns to Dad, who looks shell-shocked.
"Dr. Grant, if there's one person who can appreciate all of this" John says.
But Dad speaks quietly, really thrown by all of this.
"The world has just changed so radically. We're all running to catch up. I don't want to jump to any conclusions, but look
dinosaurs and man, two species separated by 65 million years of evolution have just been suddenly thrown back into the mix together. How can we have the faintest idea of what to expect?" Dad asked, leaning forward.
"I don't believe it. I expected you to come down here and defend me from these characters and the only one I've got on my side it the bloodsucking lawyer!?" John said.
"Thank you." Donald smiled. Poor guy, doesn't know that John is being sarcastic. One of the waiters whispers to John.
"Ah they're here." John smiled. Whose here?
We finished our lunch, walk out the restaurant and into the lobby of the visitors centre.
"You five are going to have a little company out in the park. Spend a little time with our target audience. Maybe they'll help you get the spirit of this place." John said.
"What does he mean by "target audience"?" Ian asked me, I shrugged.
John turns toward the door of the center and throws his arms out expansively.
"KIDS!!" John bellowed with a smile on his face. Two kids standing in the doorway to the center break into a broad smiles.
"Grandpa!" They grinned. Ellie smiled at Dad who looked annoyed. I'm glad, there're here, now I have someone my age to talk too.
"TIM & LEX!" John yelled happily.
They race across the lobby and into John's arms, knocking him over on the steps.
"We missed you." Lex said, smiling.
"Thanks for the presents." Tim thanked.
"You must be careful with me. Did you like the helicopter?" John said.
"It was great! It drops, we were dropping!"
YOU ARE READING
Jurassic Park: Grant's Daughter
FanfictionA 14 years old girl is sent to Montana to live with her Dad and his girlfriend. They get invited to a theme park by the famous, John Hammond. Join them as they go through bumps through the park.
