Death Finds a Way
Alan looked old, Ian reflected.
Granted, he was old. They were both old. They were both in their sixties, and had seen more in their lives than most had. Human beings got old, and when they got old enough, they died, provided some mishap didn't end their lives early. Perhaps millions of years from now, when mankind had become extinct, a new species would come to dominate planet Earth, clone humanity, and put them in some kind of simulated environment for their amusement. Or perhaps not, since consciousness emerging at all seemed to be the exception rather than the rule in Earth's history. When they died, they weren't coming back.
But even so, Alan Grant looked old – far older than mere age would suggest. Most of all it was his skin – weathered, was the word that came to mind. The type of skin that came from spending decades in the sun in places like Montana, and not in San Diego for hearings concerning the fate of Isla Nublar. Not even having beers together on the waterfront, both men dealing with the summer heat as best they could.
"How's Sarah?" Alan asked eventually.
"Ah, yeah, good. Very good."
"And Kelly?"
"Um, good. Fine. Still teaching gymnastics."
"Hmm." Alan took a sip of his beer.
"How's things in the badlands?"
"Hot. Dry. Barren."
And expensive, Ian reflected. But he didn't say that. He knew the predicament that men like Alan Grant were in. Even back in the 90s, palaeontologists had to beg and kneel for funding. Nowadays, who would want to see the skeletons of dinosaurs in museums when they could go to Jurassic World, or if they were daring, take another unsanctioned ride to Isla Sorna? Course with the park having gone under four years ago, one might have thought things would have picked up, but Ian could see the nature of the world – no-one cared about dinosaurs anymore. Not the real thing, nor the clones that had been cooked up in a lab. He could have lived with that, but still, that meant that men like Alan Grant would find it harder to find a job. He didn't know if he could call Alan a friend, but as an acquaintance, well, he could wish him well.
"Do you think they'll listen?" Alan asked.
"Ah, what, that we should let nature take its course and leave Isla Nublar to burn?"
Alan took another sip of his beer.
"Ah, well, um, I think they may, ah, consider it."
"Hmm." Grant rested his beer down on the table. He'd already gone through half of the beverage, while Ian had barely touched his. He wasn't a heavy drinker these days. Having a family could do that to a man. Alan though…well, he knew not to go there. The only families Alan Grant spent time with these days were those of the extinct kind.
And why were they even in San Diego at all, he wondered? The people of the world hadn't listened to him when he'd tried telling them about Jurassic Park, that John Hammond had created dinosaur clones for shits and giggles, and that people had died when the giggles stopped and the shit hit the fan. They hadn't listened, and had only started listening when InGen had accidentally set a T-Rex loose in the streets of this very city. They might have stopped sneering at him then, but no-one had listened to him when he'd said that trying again was a bad idea, and lo and behold, four years ago he'd been proven right, only with more people dying this time. And now, corporate and government bigwigs wanted men like him and Alan Grant to testify on the feasibility and worth of saving Isla Nublar's remaining dinosaurs. Apparently, only now did their experiences with Hammond's dino-spawn count for anything.
And would they even listen now? He didn't know. He'd expressed the idea that they should let nature take its course. The dinosaurs might die horribly when Isla Nublar erupted, but they were creatures that should have never existed in the first place. Certainly not creatures that human lives should be gambled with in an effort to save. Because if experience had taught them anything, it was that running and screaming always ended up happening on those islands. Sometimes later rather than sooner, but still, it happened.
Alan took a sip of his beer. A sip so big that he drained what was left of the pint. He put down the empty glass. Ian wanted to make a glass half full joke, but couldn't think of a good punchline. Alan's glass was empty. It had been for a long time.
"Funny," Alan said.
"Hmm? Ah, what?"
"That the volcano erupts now. It was meant to be extinct, but now, it decides to become active." He gave a small, regretful smile. "Guess it's not a good place for real estate."
"Yeah, um, ah, yeah. I mean, did you hear what Doctor Pine said? That nature itself is removing dinosaurs from the world? That it's only active because the dinos and there, and, ah, they need to go? Like, ah, death finds a way?"
"I heard." His smile changed slightly. "Guess he read your book."
"Hah hah." Ian took a sip of his own beer. "Life finds a way. He'd meant that as a warning to Hammond, and the man's creations had validated his fears. Few years later, when Hammond had pushed for Isla Sorna to be listed as a world heritage site, he'd co-opted his words to his own ends. Well, as it turned out, life had 'found a way' a third time to inflict pain and misery on the people who toyed with life, and where was Hammond then? Dead, while a bronze statue of him stood on Isla Nublar, smiling like Walt Disney. And even Mickey didn't run around killing people.
Not that he'd heard of anyway.
"Well," Alan said, getting to his feet. "I'm off."
"Heading to, ah, hotel?"
"No. Off." He adjusted his hat. "More dirt, more digs."
"You're not staying for the verdict?"
"Doesn't matter," Alan said. "Whatever happens to Isla Nublar, it isn't going to solve my funding problem."
Ian gave a small nod. Money made the world go round. Always had, always would. Even creatures from 65 million years ago couldn't escape that fact.
"See you Ian." He held out a hand.
"Yeah, ah, see you." He shoot it. "Like, hey, um, don't forget to call, now and, ah, then."
Alan gave a smirk before walking off. That left Ian alone on the bayside. A cool breeze blew from the ocean. A change from what the sea had brought to this city before. What he feared it might bring again if any of the dinosaurs got to the mainland.
Fear, that he feared, would go unheeded.