CanonPlot: "Jurassic Park: The OOMS"
They called it Egg Hill because once upon a time it was secluded and quiet. Nestled along the curve of a riverbed, creatures from ages past had built families here-living in a world that Alan Grant could only begin to imagine.
His knees burned and his back was aching. Despite the pads he wore, he had to confess he'd been working at this for a while. Working with a dentist's pick and a horsehair brush, he scraped away the last bit of debris and dirt-unearthing the jawbone of a baby carnivore. Yes. They hadn't found any predators quite yet amid the herds of miasaurs that roamed these lands back when the inland sea was lush and green, but if he had and if the skeleton was intact this would be the first fully intact skeleton of a baby carnivore-
"Doctor Grant!"
Alan Grant looked up from his focalpoint and peered across the desert wasteland. The shadow waving in the distance looked a little bit like Todd but-
"Doctor Grant!"
Grant sighed, grunting as he got to his feet. They rarely got visitors (Being so far out what could you expect?) But here was hoping that it was Bill back in town with another run for supplies. Either that or the computer was ready again. While he recognized the value of the machines, being around them was a bit of a chore. They were too intense and alien. It set him a bit backward from his colleagues in the field (Particularly some of these kids who seemed to have an almost sixth sense for them) But they served their purpose. After his skeleton was wrapped they could head out to Choteau-have to shower in the hotel in Dallas...
There was a mess he didn't want to deal with. First the man from the EPA appeared, and then that medical researcher down in Costa Rica had called him with an urgent fax. A fax that couldn't be possible. Unless it was a rediscovery but then again-
Too many questions.
Dirty, tired, dusty and sore-Grant waved off Todd and the kid's explinations, shooting Ellie a look of "I need a beer" He needed a beer and a shower and a nap but taking a look at the skeleton would be enough of a rest. If it really was an intact Carnivore..
Grant grimaced. Pack a few shirts, shaving kit-be back and look at this island. Their dig would be funded for another two summers at the least. Confer wtih Ellie and get her impressions before putting together a couple of pages for the old man. A snap. Nothing major.
He just wished he had more time.
Sighing, he pushed the door open.
-Digging up Eggs in Montana, Grant comes across something strange just before he has to make the plane at Choteau with his colleague Doctor Ellie Sattler.
"It's a volcanic island." Hammond was saying, "Eight miles wide at it's largest tip-that's what accounts for the fog."
[Ladies and Gentlemen, please take your seats.] the pilot looked back, a bit worried [We're about to land]
Grant found the little old man amusing, and about as harmless as Walt Disney despite whatever the EPA was saying. Gennaro was a prick (He was not, nor would he ever consider himself an "inspector") and Malcom was just odd.
Ellie was peering out the window as the plane bounced, "We've got to come down rather fast, I don't like it because it disrupts the animals but-" The old man's words were interrupted by another jolt, "...whahoo."
Grant, for his part-was having difficulty. The seatbelt that should have been easy to maintain was refusing to buckle. How late were you up?
He had two end pieces.
"-You've got to-it's on your end, I'm afraid you've got Doctor Sattler's-" Hammond chuckled, "We'll have landed by the time you get it right." Malcom was staring at the island muttering to himself while Ellie-unobtrusively tried to help.
Grant's eyes narrowed. He tied the belt into a knot across his waist and smirked at Ellie. Creative problem solving at it's finest.
Ellie smiled before leaning back. Doctor Ferrell was a lucky man. He'd miss her of course (Practically relied on her to make the dig run smoothly) but that was the way things went. He wasn't a teacup dinosaur hunter, he was a man out in the field-
Besides, Ellie'd been grooming Jerry to take over for her. She'd promised to keep in touch, swearing that her first kid would become his godchild but-
The plan touched down nose first as Grant looked out the window. The helipad was ringed by lush and tropical jungle-Great Green ferns touched asphalt as Crewmen in blue uniforms with an odd red and black logo on their chests appeared to help them out of the chopper.
"We've got a tour of the park scheduled after we take a look at the facilities-" Hammond murmured. The entire crew ambled over to a collection of parked and waiting jeeps-the same logo emblazoned on the side.
Even if this was a resort, at least it was a free vacation. Something like that magical bar-
can't think about that.
That bar? And all those people there? A hallucination.
He wondered what the dinosaur would make of this place. They'd found Utahraptors in Utah, and 65 million years ago it had been much like this island-
The Jeeps started with a roar and Grant found himself thinking. If one were to take a man and set him 65 million yeasr in the future...
Completely out of place.. Grant's mind couldn't concieve of it, Nothing about our world would be the same. We'd spend all our time trying to find something common to latch onto.
The Jeeps stopped.
"...Alan, this species of veraformin has been extinct since the Cretateous period...."
He turned his head to the left, following the gaze of the driver. Why stop in the field unless there was something important to see?
And then he saw it. Above the treetops, moving gracefully amid the foliage.
A dinosaur.
A brontosaurus. More appropriately called apatosaur-
"-It shouldn't be here-"
He stood on the seat, craining his neck upward. No, this wasn't right-it was-impossible. Unless-
Memory brought him back to the utahraptor and her offspring. What had that man stanz called it? Scribble?
Grant grabbed his student's head, forcing her to turn away. Ellie grimaced, peering up at him with a puzzled frown before-"-Alan it-what?"
And then she saw it too.
A whole heard of them, meandering carefully along the riverbank. The first reared back on it's hind legs, nipping at the leaves before crashing down and filling the human world with thunder. Out of the car before he could even think, Grant ran across the field-
It was there.
It was real
He was looking at a dinosaur.
---------------------
Moments later, Grant had to reflect on the obvious conclusions to his previous encounter with dinosauria. The UtahRaptor couldn't have come from the past or the future as they speculated. It had to have escaped from here some how.
Even if tamed, if it had escaped that meant there was the possibility for others to have escaped as well.
-Grant, Sattler, and the rest of the cast discover a creature 65 million years in the making. Dinosaurs and Man thrown into the Mix Together.
The labs were cold and sterile, the very image of what one pictured when one imagined the new resource of genetic engineering.
To say that Jurassic Park was impossible was one thing. To say that Wu's explination was far fetched was another.
It could work. My god-it could actually work.
"...you extract dinosaur DNA from Fossilized Amber." Grant's voice was slow, "And then clone it?"
"We grow them in these ostrich eggs." Wu held up an egg, then frowned at it, "Perfect timing." He set the egg back down carefully, " I'd hoped he'd hatch before I left for the boat."
"Henry, Henry, Henry-" Hammond was snapping on gloves, "Why didn't you tell me? You know I want to be here when they're born."
An actual birth. Grant hurried forward, taking an offered glove from Wu. The egg was warm-
He withdrew his hand quickly.
"-We control their chromosomes. It's really not that difficult." Wu murmured.
"....It allows them to imprint on me. Helps them to trust me." Hammond was smiling as the egg began to move, "-I've been present for every little creature on this island."
-InGen. Five billion dollars can buy you massive amounts of Dinosaurs. But of course they're not real dinosaurs, they're genetically engineered...half frog things.
Grant was too overwhelmed by the enormity of the labs before him, and the sheer accomplishment that Wu and Hammond's team had built out of nothing.
So when they'd finally gotten settled, he'd found himself outside in search of a break. He wasn't a smoker, but for once he wished that he had some way of calming his nerves-
He had to talk to someone. Find a way back. Try something, anything, especially to warn the people that their dinosaur was an escaped lab experiment.
He'd tried to explain to Wu that dinosaurs were breeding, not simply because the science illustrated it but because-
Uh huh, and how do you think he was going to take that? "I'm sorry Doctor Wu, the people at a large fictional bar have one of your dinosaurs and it has young?" The thought that the dinosaur might not belong to them was inconcievable.
"-How ya doing doctor?"
The smell was easy enough to spot. Only one person had smelled that bad on the flight over.
"-Mr...Nedry." He swallowed. A large man had appeared a few steps behind him, wiping a candybar on his thighs. The man beamed a sticky grin in Grant's direction.
He could tell about people, instantly (a bit of a gift) He had no people skills besides that, nothing for the nessescities that the professors and the rest of his colleagues in the field embraced.
"....You look a little sick." The fat man frowned, "You okay?"
"Fine." Good god, the man was just overpowering.
"You see them Raptors?" Nedry snorted, "Something else huh? They're dumb though." Nedry had another candy bar, "-Dumb as a post. Must be pretty boring digging up animals."
"....It's-different." Why wouldn't he go away? Grant sidled to the side.
Nedry smiled, "-You look like you've seen a ghost, man." He was enjoying this, "I bet Wu put the big spin on it right? About how docile and tame these animals are?" Nedry smirked, "Doncha believe it."
Despite the man's repulsive nature, and despite his disgusting appearance, Grant was intrigued, "-What do you mean?"
Nedry smiled, "-They've killed three people."
Grant stared, "What?."
"You heard me right." Nedry smiled, "-Three people. One of um fell into the Raptorpaddock when they were moving in one of the juveniles. The poor bastard got dragged into the pen. Muldoon couldn't get a clear shot at the bitch so the bones are still there."
He was clearly enjoying this. Grant's look must have provoked some distant memory, "Not the Rex or any of those-just the Raptors-oh and the Ptero-pero-"
"Pterodactyls." Grant's tone betrayed a hint of disgust, "...What did they do?"
"They're territorial." Nedry snorted, "Or something. Ask the Eggheads. Anyway, they're delaying the restaurant and stuff you'll see on the tour cause' of that. Oh-and the river ride with the spittersauruses-or something like that." Nedry waved a hand, "...Gah. I gotta get back to the control room. Have fun!"
Grant watched Nedry waddle off, thinking.
"...Hey, you okay? we've got to get to the tour." Ellie came up behind him, "-What's wrong?"
Grant continued staring at Nedry's retreating figure, "He said that they've killed people."
Ellie's brow contorted, "...Who killed who? What?"
Grant still can't get his mind around that, "He said they tore a man apart."
"Alan...-" Ellie's voice was harsh, "Who?"
"...Nedry said..." Grant's voice was soft, "-They killed three people."
"....Who?" This mysterious force could be anyone from InGen to Nedry himself, "Alan, c'mon-"
"The Raptors." All Alan could see in his mind's eye were a pack of them, bringing the massive dinosaurs down, "-The raptors."
-Grant has a creepy encounter. Some things are inherently dangerous.
Rain pounded into the pavement, turning dirt into mud as Dennis Nedry dove for cover. The only vending machines in the building were outside, and nobody was going to help him.
Well that was fine.
Two workman walked in, one waving cheerfully to Nedry. He couldn't make friends with these guys. As soon as he made his escape he'd be sipping margaritas on a beach in San Jose.
Nedry squeezed back inside and peered around, Nobody looking. The Control room was focused on the returning tourcars. Hammond was probably laying out that fabulous buffet in the dining hall...
Pity he wouldn't be there to see it.
But he'd done more then enough for this company, and this would be one big final finger in the direction of InGen. Thanks for the cheap laughs dickheads. You shouldn't have underpaid me.
[A Reminder. The last boat for the mainland leaves in five minutes.]
"Time for magic."
access. prog.white_rb_obj.
Systems administration explained easily. Every hacker built a trapdoor into the systems that they built. It was a way to fix things (in case an idiot decided to screw things up so badly that it required taking the system apart) easily, but it was also a sort of signtaure.
I was here.
He set his watch, staring at his computer's clock. Let um enjoy playing his game.
"....Anybody want a soda or something?"
His own soda sat on the desk.
"-Cause Um-I'm going up to the vending machines and I thought I'd get something Salty for myself. I get something sweet for someone else I'm gonna remember-"
Arnold and Hammond were staring at him.
"...Oh! ah, I finished debugging the phones. So ah-you might get a few systems going off and on but that's just normal. I'll debug um when I get back okay?"
He smiled.
They ignored him. Perfect.
Nedry took one last look around the control room, marvelling in his handiwork-and how much chaos he was going to cause.
Then waddled away.
-The Dream Dies.
In the desert, one forgot what the words "Force of Nature" really meant. Out in the Jungle, in Costa Rica-it was easy to see how people could have called this planet violent. Violent and Unpredictable.
Not to mention the Tyrannosaurus Rex that was now outside of the electric fence and heading toward the first car.
"-Holy..."
lights. One of the kids must have gotten ahold of the flashlights in the back. It cut a path through the rainy darkness, a big "Here we are!" to the T-Rex.
Grant swore, "Turn the light off, turn the light off-"
It was attracting him, waving it around like a goddamn beacon...
Leaping to the back of the car Grant dug desperate for something to fling at it, something that would make this monstrosity of science gone wrong and nature's pure cruel force go away...
"I'm going to-try-something."
Malcom blinked, facing Grant, "-....what?"
It was better then sitting there and doing nothing. Better then waiting for help that obviously wasn't coming-
Gotta move fast
He watched the Rex for a few more moments. Someone, probably Tim-turned the light off. Stay down kids... Grant opened the driver's side door Stay down...
Observation and calculation were part of the scientist's trade. Even after first seeing, first accepting that dinosaurs had once again been brought back into the mix, pitting the two dominating species of earth against one another in a tour de force that was worthy of a deathcage match.
Or at best, a blockbuster movie.
Flipping a hand up, Alan ignited the flare, hoping-praying-
The T-Rex turned a head toward him and Alan froze.
It's eyes it's horrible eyes-
Grant put a hand back to steady himself. What the hell am I doing? What the hell is wrong with me? What the hell-what the-
He stayed still as the Rex bellowed-a frightening sound that brought back horrible memories. Everything in his life that had scared him, every frightening moment he'd ever experienced ...
What the hell?
The Rex bellowed and took a step toward him. It twisted it's head (Huge, impossibly huge) turning this way and that, roaring and snarling-
It can't see me.
The flare was almost out.
HE waved the flare to the left, and then to the right. The rex refocused on him, watching the lit end of the flare...
Get rid of it!
He flung the flare away-the stick bouncing off the hood and landing against the wall only a few feet away.
I guess that's why I never played baseball..
Actually that was Tommy Saunders and his determined hatred but-
The rex was four feet from him? Two feet? The creature lumbered past him, anticipating meat, light-something-
The creature roared.
Everything dropped away, just the rex. And himself. And-
"Oh god."
Football players had nothing on the Rex.
One minute he was standing there-tense and ready for anything, and the next minute he was flying through the air before everything went black.
-------------------
Moments later, the world exploded in a world of mud, wet, and pain.
Alan groaned, pulling himself to the side. His head felt like it was about ready to explode, pounding a jungle beat into his brain in tune with the pouring force of nature surrounding him.
The Rain faded.
He twisted to one side, vomiting before he law back on the moist earth-content to just stay still and looked up at the stars. Kids? What kids. Ellie and the Kids faded from his mind, Hammond, Gennaro-Kids.
Kids
Grant sat up and winced. pulling open his shirt he stared stupidly at the laceration that traced a neat line down his chest. Blood.
That really wasn't a good sign. Someone should really put a bandaid on that.
Reaching around, Alan grabbed a handfull of big wet bananaleaves-jamming them stupidly against the wound and holding them there-wincing. He coughed-the spasm sending waves of pain up and down his chest.
No rationality.
Nothing but dark thick wet jungle and the beasts that lived in it. Man didn't square off against dinosaurs or bend them to their will as they did in cartoons and movies. Man hid, because dinosaurs were the be-all-end-all. The only other species to dominate the planet completely and utterly.
Because if they didn't hide, they were fucked.
Grant stifled a chuckle as he tried getting to his feet.
Not so good.
There had been that time where'd he'd gone out to the South Hill Four. The Rock'd been unstable, throwing him and his truck into a ravine. He'd been unconcious for a good few hours before getting up and walking back to camp. Of course he'd had a broken leg and it was four days back to the camp but-
This is easier. He winced when his hand connected with mud, "-Oh."
A Long red scrape ran down his palm and left side. He'd fallen in a puddle of some kind, so his left side was unduly soggy but other then that....
Take it easy and get back on your feet. He ran both hands over his arms and legs. Miraculously-nothing appeared to be broken. Just the scrape across his side and the claw...
"He kicked me."
Grant coughed, and set about the task of getting to his feet.
Time had passed. He found his hat pinned beneath a section of underbrush. Looking up-he followed the fence above him, looking for the point where the Rex had punched through. He'd picked up and thrown the other car (or had he?) But one way or another it would give him a path through the road-
Grant didn't have alot of experience with death. His wife had passed away years ago and he'd made his peace with that. Marissa had told him to in her final hours before-
"-Heellloooooo? Doctor Grant? Doctor Graaaannnnnt-"
Lex!
He broke into a run.
"Lex! Tim! Lex!" The girl was alive. She wasn't hurt or in pain, she was just calling in her naturally insistant way. That was alright, it was perfect. They could yell and kick and scream all they wanted. That was what was great about kids. They'd stare in awe at dinosaurs (How could they fear them? They understood them as well as he did-if not better) and then they'd yell and cry and demand a trip to the museum giftshop, growing up to become students that he might cross paths with someday and-
"Lex!-Tim-"
And the Junior Rex was there.
They had said there were two Rex's. The Junior Rex was in the same paddock as the older Rex (That had brought up all sorts of questions that Grant had wanted to ask) but supposedly the creature's territory was far to the south and-
Were they even territorial?
Knowledge, rationality, and wisdom fled in an instant as the Juvenile Rex lunged
"....Holy shit."
Grant Ran, heedless of the burning in the lungs and the lancing fire going up and down his ribs. There they were!. Lex and Tim and-
"Run!" Grant screamed, "Run!"
He bolted toward them, grabbing Lex's hand and glancing back to Make sure that Tim was keeping up-the three darted across the road. The Baby Roared-it's sound far less chaotic then the adult's-
Shed.
He jogged for the thread and threw the door open.
-Grant, Ian, Lex and Tim Face off against the Escaped T-Rex and the Juvenile Rex. It's book Canon after all.