When Dinosaur Worlds Collide

by Nate The Ape

It's one thing to see and interact with the cloned dinosaurs on Isla Nublar. But for Wu, Muldoon, and Nedry, it's a whole different ballgame to find themselves in the bodies of actual dinosaurs in Early Cretaceous Texas. And to make things even crazier, there's these four random teens in the same predicament too, who swear the trio are characters in a novel. A Dinoverse crossover.

21. Chapter 21

Here we are everyone. The chapter where the truth about Nedry's intended duplicity and the ensuing disaster at Jurassic Park all comes out. Prepare for hell to break loose.

---

Henry.

(Bring what about?) Nedry replied. He gave a disbelieving laugh as Wu stared at him from his right eye. (I mean, this is crazy. Muldoon, will you just listen to Henry here?)

(I am, and I frankly have no idea what to make of it,) the game warden replied.

(Well, that makes two of us,) Nedry griped. (So why won't you screwballs just back off?) he challenged, glancing at Wu, then at Patience. (I have no idea exactly what the hell both of you were doing when you were off getting this amber key back...but I'll tell both of you right now, cooking up a plot to slander me really isn't cool!)

(And what's this about "what really happens to the park" that you just said, Henry?) Muldoon said in bafflement.

(Patience and Zane have read the book we're all written about in,) Wu replied, jerking his head meaningfully at the two larger dinosaurs. (I guess we'd better hear it from them.)

(Yeah, a book,) Nedry grunted scornfully.

(You mean that both of you actually knew more then you were telling?) Muldoon asked them as he looked up at the duo. (Or that you weren't being honest with us, in other words?)

The acro and the sauropod both shared a pained, uncomfortable look for a few seconds. Then Zane's huge shoulders slumped.

(Yeah,) he confessed. (We did. So does Mr. London. We're sorry.)

Patience nodded slowly. (I already told Wu here that the park ends up collapsing in the novel, and the dinosaurs escape.)

(They escape!) Muldoon said in shock as a disbelieving chill swept through Wu. (Are you bloody serious?! Ah, Christ in Heaven.)

(Repeat that again,) Wu said, with a dark skepticism, tilting his long head.

(They escape,) Zane said again.

(But-but that's impossible.) Wu declared flatly, refusing to accept it. (It just doesn't make sense! We have a complex system of both high-voltage electric fences and physical barriers that have proven extremely effective at keeping the animals in containment.)

(And the dinosaurs have already been abundantly "conditioned," let's just say, to avoid the fences like they were a rabid dog,) Muldoon added.

(Don't listen to them Henry,) Nedry flippantly assured him. (They're just trying to screw with your heads, freak you out.)

(And what would Patience or I possibly stand to gain by doing that?) Zane replied, shaking his head in denial and a little disbelief.

(Hey, don't you start deflecting your guilt onto us!) Patience growled accusingly.

(My guilt?) Nerdy replied, blinking and cocking his slim head. (Why would I ever do a thing like that?) he laughed. (There's nothing for me to feel guilty about!)

(How about turning off the park's security systems so you can steal embryos for BioSyn? You feel guilty about that at all, Nedry?) Zane said, lowering his head in what seemed like accusation.

For a few long moments, Wu and Muldoon were both struck speechless, heads slowly turning to look hard at Nedry, who'd also frozen in place.

(Is that true, Mr. Nedry?) Henry found himself saying quietly, his conical tree-trunk tail beginning to slowly lash. (Are you a-a traitor to us? To InGen?)

(Would you do that Dennis?) Muldoon said gravely. (Is that accusation Zane just made as fanciful as it seems…or is it all too close to the truth?)

(Of course not!) Nedry denied in shock, eyes widening. (Me, turn against InGen and put other people's lives in peril like that? What sort of man do you take me for? And as for BioSyn, I've never even heard of them before, much less gone over to them.)

(Bullshit,) Patience snorted. (Henry, Rob, don't listen to a word he-)

Nedry's crest of feathers sprung erect then as he wheeled, and with a piercing shriek, shouted, (No Patience! It's not bullshit! You want to know what truly is bullshit?) he yelled, hissing. (Making slanderous accusations that I'm committing fraud and industrial espionage for a rival! That's called libel, Patience, and if we were back in the 20th Century right now, I would have every right to have both you and Zane prosec-)

(Hey, don't get pissed off at us,) Patience cut in, shrugging her great shoulders and yawning in a thinly veiled threat. (We're just telling the truth about what sort of character you are in both the book and the movie. And in both versions you're a traitorous little weasel!) she snapped, lowering her head to glare at him.

(I know you are, but what am I?) Nedry mocked in a sing-song voice.

(Another Pee-Wee Herman's Big Adventure fan,) Zane offhandedly commented.

(Anyway, this is ridiculous,) Nedry snorted, shaking his red head. (I mean come on, I'm being accused of stealing dinosaur embryos for some rival genetics company I've never even heard of by you two based solely on what you've apparently read in a fictional novel written by an alternate universe's version of Michael Crichton. Surely you guys don't seriously believe them?) he asked, cocking his head and seeming to grin hopefully as he looked at Wu, then at Muldoon.

(It is a pretty wild claim,) Muldoon admitted.

(Yeah,) Wu nodded. (Although personally, I really don't know what to think right now,) he said, flicking his thick tail.

(Henry, Rob, we're not lying or crazy,) Patience pleaded. (We know full well that an accusation like this is very serio-)

(Damn right it is,) Nedry hissed, (especially when I've risked my life to obtain this amber key,) he snapped, holding it up in the air for emphasis, (and came along to help res-)

(Dennis, calm down,) Wu cut in neutrally. (What ultimately matters is what Muldoon and I think about this accusation.)

(Anyway,) he went on, turning his attention back to the acro as he stood erect, (let's just review the facts here. The bare facts. You and Zane are claiming that Nedry is intending to commit industrial espionage against InGen-)

(Which again, I would never dream of,) Nedry interjected. (I thought we were all friends, guys,) he said in a hurt tone. (Why would you do such a thing?)

(-based solely on information from works of fiction in your world. That sounds like a pretty shaky-and to be frank, dubious-claim from where I'm standing.)

(Well, until a few days ago the idea that we'd be interacting with people from a whole different universe, or that human minds could actually be transported into the bodies of living dinosaurs sounded like a far-out, impossible idea to us, too,) Zane pointed out, (as silly as the idea that a person could turn into a bear or that woolly mammoths still walked the earth. But hey, here we are in this Saturday morning cartoon come to life,) he said, swinging his banded neck meaningfully.

Muldoon then spoke, thoughtfully.

(It's a puzzle,) he agreed. (While you both are obviously convinced of Nedry's guilt and intention to commit crimes against InGen, we have no ability to prove it one way or the other.)

(And they never will,) Nedry stridently insisted, (because I'm loyal and innocent, so there's nothing to prove! To quote Nixon, I am not a crook.)

(Talk about not recognizing the irony there,) Zane commented.

(I'm sure that's probably the case,) Muldoon replied.

(Rob, you're making a huge mistak-) Patience began.

But Muldoon cut her off.

(But,) he added, (we've only known you for a matter of days Nedry. So we-meaning Henry and I-know very little about your character, your motives, your relationships-)

(Oh, for the love of God Rob, don't tell me you're siding with them in this prehistoric kangaroo court!) Nedry protested as he turned to glare at Patience and Zane.

(None of us are Dennis,) Wu replied, meeting his gaze with his right eye. (Rob and I haven't made up our minds either way just yet. Muldoon was simply saying that compared to the rest of the staff at the park, you're a closed book to us, more or less.)

(Fair enough,) Nedry grunted. (But really guys, I promise I didn't do-or intend to do-anything.)

Patience gave a drawn-out sigh. (You know Nedry, why don't you just come clean? Stop lying, because it's getting to the point where it's just not funny anymore.)

(And neither is randomly being accused by you of treason!) Nedry hissed. (And you know that I'm intending to engage in espionage how? On the basis of a sci-fi thriller novel? What a preposterous idea!) he chuckled, holding out his plumed arms.

(But there's already a lot of accurate information they've obviously gotten from it too,) Wu pointed out, deciding to play devil's advocate. (Their reaction to our names. The fact that they knew what the park was called, and that we've been cloning dinosaurs there, a year before we're scheduled to open.)

(We can tell you way more true facts than just those if you're interested too,) Zane chimed in.

(Okay,) Wu replied as he turned to face the astrodon. (Then let's do a test.) After thinking for a moment, he asked, (To date, how many species of dinosaurs have I successfully cloned at Jurassic Park?)

(Fourteen,) Zane promptly said. (If you count the cearadactyls-which are actually pterosaurs, to be precise-fifteen.)

(Damn, you're good Zane,) Patience grunted in impressed surprise as she looked at him.

Wu was amazed. (That's right,) he confirmed in wonder. (I even tried to trick you by only saying dinosaurs, but you were too clever to fall for that. Well done.)

Zane's purplish brown eyes seemed to beam as he nodded.

(Yes,) Muldoon agreed. (Very well done. Now here's a question to test you, Patience,) the game warden turned Sauropelta proposed as he turned his flat body to face the massive acro.

(Go ahead.)

(Of all the dinosaurs at the park, which ones do I fear and hate the most?) he said grimly.

(The velociraptors,) she said without hesitation. (Because they're so smart, vicious, hunt in packs-)

(That's plenty good,) Muldoon said, cutting her short. (You got the right answer. I don't know how your universe's version of Michael Crichton could possibly have known, but what he wrote was dead on.)

(That still doesn't mean anything when it comes to these crackpot accusations of me betraying InGen and shutting the fences down,) Nedry cut in, now starting to sound suspiciously harried and going into a half-crouching stance on his boulder. (I mean, who do you guys take me for, The Joker?!)

(Maybe not,) Wu replied, now beginning to regard the programmer with suspicion himself, (but Dennis, although neither Rob and I are entirely convinced yet that you plan to commit sabotage-well, as the saying goes, if it walks like a duck, has feathers like a duck, has webbed feet, a beak, and quacks like a duck…) He let the sentence trail off as he gave a cool, meaningful shrug of his stocky shoulders.

(This is utterly absurd,) Nedry growled, Wu noting how he was uneasily bouncing on his feet and that this particular denial was being proclaimed from shakier ground than before. (I can't believe this. But okay, even if I hypothetically was planning to betray InGen and Hammond-)

(Oh, it's way more than hypothetically,) Patience muttered.

(Shut up! Just...shut up!) Nedry snapped, starting to lose his composure. (This was entertaining for a while, but now I've had more than my fill-)

(What's wrong Dennis?) Zane asked smugly. (Starting to crack at last? Feeling the walls closing in around you?)

(Oh, go jump in a gorge,) Nedry growled. (I've got nothing to crack about, you overgrown giraffe!)

(How rude.)

(Anyway,) Nedry said half-smugly, (even I was intending to play Benedict Arnold, how could any of you possibly prove it for sure? Is my computer terminal here for Henry here to search through for anything that could be considered evidence? No! Can my whereabouts during, say, the past three days before taking my flight to Isla Nublar be tracked and investigated? No! Can you get your hands on somebody from this "BioSyn" outfit and interrogate them to learn if I've ever been in contact with these guys? No! So none of you can pin anything on me, even if I was planning some extinct lizard embryo heist like you two jerkasses are claiming.)

They were all silent for a few moments.

(He has a good point, you know,) Patience said reluctantly to Zane. (We can tell them what he's going to do to the power grid and about his plans as much as we want, but we don't have any actual proof to back it up.)

(Like I said, you teenage meddlers just hit a brick wall there,) Nedry grinned gleefully. (Nice try, but now it's time for you two kids to shut your faces and get back to minding your own business.)

(This is everyone's business, Nerdy,) she snarled back, glaring.

(Actually,) Wu said meditatively, (I think there is a way that Patience or Zane could conclusively prove whether or not Nedry is planning sabotage and theft for BioSyn.)

(Yeah, maybe if they have psychic mind-reading powers like those crackpots on Unsolved Mysteries!) Nedry snorted.

(And how do you know we don't?) Patience said pointedly, lowering her gigantic head. (This telepathy we're using is already a psychic power.)

Nedry seemed to become distinctly apprehensive at that point, eyes flicking between the other members of the party, at an obvious loss for words.

(Well, well,) Muldoon said softly. (Looks like this little sod just may have something to hide after all.)

(Listen, Dennis,) Wu began.

(Don't listen to them Henry,) Nedry growled as he glanced at the geneticist, breaking the awkward silence. (Don't even go there. You too, Rob.)

(Sorry Denny, but he is,) Patience replied, almost gleefully.

(Shut the hell up!) Nedry screamed in frustration. (Shut up! That goes for you too, Henry!) he shouted, a desperate quality creeping into his voice.

(How are you going to make me?) Wu asked laconically, rearing up, producing the eerie popping sounds, then dropping onto his front feet again to emphasize his size before continuing on.

(Oh, I see,) Nedry said dryly. (Going to throw your superior muscle around if you have to, huh? Really classy, Doc.)

(Anyway,) Wu went on, (what would be best in this situation would be not to resort to the paranormal, but to ask him a very specific, pointed question, one with an answer that Patience and Zane would know from the book we feature in, and that he would obviously know...but it would be something which not just any member of InGen's staff, even those working at the park itself, would know.)

(Fire away whenever you think of one,) Zane said, before then proceeding to do a brief scan of the area to check on Runt, who was peaceably munching on a clump of bushy conifers seventy yards off to the left.

(All right,) Wu replied. He thought for a few moments, tail gently flicking side to side.

(This is all just such a supreme waste of time,) Nedry yawned, exposing his ivory triangles of teeth. He then pretended to inspect and groom his tail in what seemed to Wu like feigned unconcern.

(Who,) the geneticist asked, (is the head of BioSyn, and presumably, the man pulling the strings behind Nedry's impending espionage attempt?)

Zane just looked at them, blank-faced, and at a loss.

But Patience's reply was almost immediate.

(Lewis,) she said coolly. (He's working for Lewis Dodgson.)

If Wu's Iguanodon body had possessed facial muscles, his eyebrows would've gone straight up. As it was, immediate recognition coursed through him at the name, accompanied by a wave of disgusted contempt and even some fear. And he felt sick as well, even as he took a step back. Sick that Nedry was betraying Hammond and InGen. Sick that he was actually working for that thieving, maniacal rat.

Zane, with his huge, high-mounted eyes, noticed his reaction right away.

(Looks like you've heard of him too Henry,) he dryly commented.

Yes. Wu had no idea how they both knew, but they did know all the same.

Nedry stared in shock at Patience, dark finch eyes wide. Then they narrowed.

Muldoon's own little straw yellow Sauropelta eyes did the opposite of the programmer's, rectangular pupils dilating. He snorted, in a gesture of what might have been either contempt or because he was impressed by Patience's knowledge.

(Son of a bitch. If that's not a telling reaction that you just had, I don't know what is,) the ranger said darkly. (You little Judas,) he growled. And Wu agreed.

(I'm not a Judas,) Nedry whined in a last-ditch attempt. (I'm just stressed and upset by all this crap I'm being unfairly and pointlessly subjected too, okay? So for the love of God, can everyone just lay off me and quit prying?) he pleaded.

Wu decided he'd had enough. And he knew better. After all, if it walked like a duck...

He was angered by the thought of Nedry's repeated denials, by the idea that he would leave others vulnerable by switching off the fences, by the idea that he would act the turncoat for BioSIN and Dodgson. Most of all, he was hot under the collar about the thought of Nedry, or anyone for that matter, stealing his team's hard-produced dinosaur embryos, something they had no right or permission to.

His Iguanodon body weighed three and a half tons, as much as a large car. But it was also amazingly fast. He knew just how fast it could move when it wanted to. And Nedry was only a dozen yards away…

Without a sound, the geneticist rocked back on his three-toed feet and charged on two legs like a quarterback, torso lowered as his splayed hind feet crushed ferns and conifer seedlings.

In a flash, he was on Nedry, who had only enough time to give a barking scream of surprise and leap off the rock before Wu caught up. Lunging forward, Wu grabbed the terrified troodontid in his horny beak and lifted him off the ground as the amber key fell into the gravel with a gentle little crunch, writhing and kicking and squealing as Harriet ran closer and tried to distract him, darting around and croaking, nipping at his ankles.

(Wu, don't!) Patience roared, surging forward.

(You idiot, put him down!) Zane trumpeted.

(Henry, don't do it, you bloody crazy fool!) Muldoon honked.

(Listen to them! Don't kill me!) Nedry squealed.

(Everyone be quiet!) Wu shouted. (And Patience, back off,) he commanded. (I'm not going to kill him, I promise.)

But Patience wasn't convinced. (Drop him,) she firmly ordered, stomping right up to the geneticist and stretching her wicked hands apart. (Right now. Or I'll shove these hand claws right through your cheeks if I even think that you'll bite down.)

(Do as she says. And Patience, have I ever told you how awesome you are?) Nedry said obsequiously.

(Don't worry, I will in a second,) Wu calmly, coolly promised her. (First though,) he lightly growled, (you Nedry, are going to tell everyone the truth, once and for all, whether you like it or not.)

(And what if I don't?) Nedry replied as he panted. (You know you'll screw everyone over if you kill me.)

(Henry, you really don't want to do that,) Zane begged.

(Just drop him Wu. Right now,) Patience ordered, Wu managing to somehow stand his ground even as she glared and growled right in his face.

(Which is why I'm not going to,) he said reasonably to Nedry. (But I can still injure you. I don't think a broken arm or set of ribs, for example, will be any fun. Now tell the truth...and Patience, don't interfere. In fact, could you please pick up the key and hold it yourself? I don't trust Dennis not to go smash it out of spite after I release him.)

Hesitantly, the mammoth acrocanth backed away a few steps and crouched down, picking up the piece of amber while never taking her eyes off the quaking Nedry as he struggled in Wu's beak. Primed to strike.

(Anyway,) Wu went on as he increased the pressure slightly, (I hate to extract confessions under threat of violence, but tell me Dennis, are you planning to hack the park's computer system and steal embryos for Lewis Dodgson? Simple answer now,) he prodded, increasing the pressure a little more.

(Go to hell!) Nedry defiantly snapped.

Wu squeezed his jaws together a bit more. (How difficult do I need to make this?)

(I've never heard of the guy, I swear!)

Wu clenched his beak a bit harder, the points on its edges beginning now to pierce Nedry's flesh.

(Ahh!) the programmer yelled in fear and pain. (Okay! Okay, you win! It's true! I planned to give Hammond the Cheap Bastard the shaft by smuggling embryos through a contact to Dodgson. He'd reward me with a million and a half bucks in return. Is everyone fucking happy now!?)

(You little backstabbing bastard,) Muldoon said.

(I'd say so,) was Wu's reply as he opened his mouth and stood as high as he could before letting Nedry fall to the ground with more than a little force on impact, grinding the Iguanodon's leaf-shaped teeth in a sliding motion to display his anger. (So to speak. Interrogation's over.)

The troodont immediately zipped away from him, eyes wide, running forty feet in the opposite direction before coming to a stop, shaking and panting as Harriet followed, inspecting her mate to see if he was alright and trying to groom his besmirched feathers in a gesture of concern and reassurance.

(Jesus H. Christ,) Nedry said shakily, helplessly, breathing hard.

Then the feathers along his troodont spine went right up, and he whipped around to glare daggers at Zane and Patience as he held out his clawed tridents of hands and gave a piercing shriek of disbelieving fury that made Harriet leap seven feet into the air and give him a wild-eyed look like he was insane.

(You!) he bellowed at the acrocanth and astro. (HOW! How-how did you know! God damn it, how did you fucking know!)

(Hey, don't get pissed off at us,) Patience snapped, in more ways than one. (We're only saying what the Michael Crichton in our universe wrote about you.)

(Did it ever occur to you kids that maybe you should still keep quiet anyway? That any dealings between me and BioSyn were and are none of your damn business?)

(Not when it has serious consequences-like the freaking dinosaurs escaping!) Patience shouted.

(Jesus Christ,) Muldoon muttered, shaking his scaly head.

(Well I'm sure glad they did,) Wu snapped, quivering and grinding his teeth again while pawing the ground with a forefoot like an angry bull. (And even if it's ultra-unlikely that the animals would break loose, they had a moral obligation to let Muldoon and I know what was coming.)

(Such as a lot of death,) Zane commented.

That got the geneticist's attention.

(What.) Wu said simply, voice infused with shock as his head swung up, left eye focusing on the astro.

Muldoon shut his armored eyelids and sighed.

(Christ have mercy. There's a lot I'm still not understanding about all this,) he said, raising a forefoot as if in thought. (I certainly know now though that Nedry has been shown to be a sneaky, backstabbing son of a bitch-)

(Who we are going to call a police launch from the mainland for the minute we get sent back home,) Wu interjected harshly.

(Thanks so much guys,) Nedry grated as he gave the two teens a look of pure, resentful fury. (I hate you! You hear me! I fucking hate you!)

(-who we evidently just dodged a major bullet from. But there's a lot more I'd like to know about this matter. For one thing, who is this BioSyn outfit and this Lewis Dodgson fellow?)

(BioSyn is a corporate rival of InGen's,) Zane supplied.

Wu nodded his beaked head. (Right. They're located in Cupertino, and are basically the black sheep of genetic engineering companies in our time Rob. As for Lewis Dodgson-he's the head "scientist" for BioSyn, if you can call him that. Not that he really deserves the title in my opinion,) he snorted contemptuously. (He's ambitious and driven, but he's also an unscrupulous opportunist who would rather basically plagiarize and steal the products of other's hard work, and then alter it just enough to make it his own special version.)

(Ah, so it's a case here of a thief working for an even bigger thief...and a lazy one at that,) replied Muldoon, glancing coolly at Nedry. (How does it feel Nedry, being a jackal who does the bidding of a hyena?)

(Better that than being a dog who takes orders from a child,) Nedry retorted.

(Are you saying that that's what we're like?) Wu snapped, forcefully snorting.

(That's exactly what all of you are like,) Nedry spat. (Ever seen that cane he walks around with, with the amber ball on its top?! I don't know about you, but it makes him look like a pimp to me. And guess what Henry, Muldumb? You two, Arnold, Harding, Regis, you're all his obedient, well-behaved little who-)

(How dare yo-)

(Plus, Dodgson also has a nasty temper and just doesn't give a damn about who might get hurt in the process of reaching his goals,) Zane added quickly, wisely cutting Nedry off before the subjects of his insult could explode. (Like that airborne rabies test thing in Chile.)

(Exactly,) Wu nodded gravely, growling at Nedry again. (That was extremely irresponsible of BioSyn, to say the least. And I've heard several stories about just how vicious his temper can be myself-indeed, even rumors that Lewis has either killed people that failed him or would've interfered with his plans, or had someone else do it for him under orders. I frankly wouldn't put it past him myself. So be careful what type of pimp you choose to work for Dennis,) he added with a glare.

(Pfft, Lewis is no killer,) Nedry denied. (Hot headed at times maybe, but he's not some General Woundwort type villain you know.)

(Wanna bet?) Patience said.

(Did he ever try to persuade you to go over to him, if I may ask Henry?) Muldoon said, addressing Wu.

(Oh, of course,) Wu replied, remembering the half-dozen cajoling phone calls he'd received from the hawk-faced man. (But I had the moral fiber and intelligence to turn them down,) he added pointedly as he turned to give Nedry a dirty look.(So who's a whore now, Dennis?!)

(Whoa,) Patience said, blinking and gaping in shock. (Now that was a shot fired, people!)

(Oh, get off your high horse,) Nedry hissed at Wu, eyes narrowing. (I bet he just didn't offer you the right price.)

Muldoon ignored the outburst as he nodded. (Good on you Henry,) he replied in praise.

(Anyhow,) he went on, (that told me what I need to know about BioSyn and this Dodgson weasel. Now I too, want to know more about how this supposed collapse of the park comes about,) he said as he turned away from Nedry and craned his spike-edged neck up to fix Zane and Patience with his gaze. (We'll deal with you in good time Dennis, so don't get too relaxed.)

Nedry hissed and gave Muldoon an upraised clawed middle finger in reply.

(Um, we're really not sure where to start,) Zane said, shuffling in place and looking about.

(Just begin at the beginning,) Muldoon said simply, calmly. (Treat it like a chapter book, giving us one thing to review and process at a time until you two get to the end. Then stop and let us sort things out.)

(Okay, but you three aren't going to like it,) Patience sighed, looking directly at Wu.

(My future and my life are already ruined now because you two couldn't just leave well enough alone and keep your damn mouths shut,) Nedry resentfully whined. (I don't see how things for me could get any worse than this.)

Now Zane too, turned his banded neck to look directly at Wu as well. While both dinosaurs lacked the facial muscles of mammals, he still thought he could detect some intangible quality in their eyes. Sadness? Reluctance? Pity? They were certainly hesitant, and it began to bother him.

Did he really want to hear their news? After all, even if the park did suffer a failure and the dinosaurs somehow broke loose, they could still always manage to get them back under control and the system back on its feet again, right?

Unless they couldn't…

Or God forbid, if the raptors somehow managed to break free… No. He wasn't even going to consider that possibility.

Screwing up his courage, he looked back at Patience and Zane, and said gently, (I think it's safe to say that we've developed a bond of friendship among each other by now. If that's true, don't be scared to just tell Muldoon and I flat-out, what you know about both our fate and that of Jurassic Park in the novel.)

(Okay,) Patience said, inhaling. (This'll knock you guys off your feet, so to speak, but here goes.)

(And keep in mind,) Zane quickly added, (now that we're telling you three all about it, the events in the novel aren't set in stone anymore. Now you have a chance to possibly change the outcome for the better in your universe! Keep that in mind if you get upset by anything we tell you.)

(Too late for me either way,) Nedry lamented, putting his head in his hands. (I'm screwed, finished. Hope you two are happy!)

(That's certainly a good perspective to consider,) Wu agreed. (Now for the bad news.)

(And it's very bad,) Zane sighed, shaking his head.

(First thing you all need to know,) Patience began, (is than even before Nedry turns off the power, an interesting fact is discovered about some of the park's supposedly all female dinosaurs…)

---

Zane

It wasn't the easiest task for Zane to read the mostly stone-faced visages of his dino companions for signs of emotions. He'd quickly figured out that gestures and pupil movements were a better bet. But he was pretty sure that Henry Wu had been just majorly bowled over by the news that some of his lab's dinos could breed after all.

(They can't be breeding!) Wu insisted, shaking his long head. (We've controlled their development to see to that, and dosed them with X-rays for good measure.)

(And I certainly haven't come across any signs of nests out in the park,) Muldoon added.

(Well, some of them are anyway,) Zane replied.

(Life finds a way,) Patience muttered.

(But Zane,) Wu said. (They're all female. It's impossible. The idea that some of them would somehow magically turn male makes about as much sense as you or I suddenly sprouting a set of wings and being able to fly.)

(Why not?) Zane replied. (There's a bunch of kinds of tropical coral reef fish-like bluehead wrasse, for instance-where if all the members of a school are female, one will change sex to become male. I learned that from the Trials of Life video series,) he explained offhandedly to Patience.

(Yes, but fish development is far different than that of dinosaurs, and-)

(It's not fish DNA that does it,) Patience cut in. (Makes some of the species able to breed, I mean.)

(Then what exactly does?) Nedry sourly asked.

(Frog DNA,) Zane replied. (The DNA from frogs is the reason that some of them can breed-like the raptors and the maiasaurs, for instance.)

(Christ,) Muldoon moaned in distress. (The damn raptors are breeding?)

(They can't,) Wu insisted to Muldoon. (And they aren't.)

(Yes they are,) Patience said sternly, whacking a tree with her tail to produce a hissing sound. (Stop thinking everything is peaches and cream Henry, because it isn't, and we're just trying to set the record straight for your own good. Don't deny the truth about what's really going on, that we're taking the time to warn you about, just because it doesn't agree with you!)

(All right,) he conceded. Very reluctantly. (Just the idea that things went-could go-that off-kilter is a huge shock to me all the same though, and I'd rather see the evidence for myself before accepting such a claim.)

(Understandable,) Zane replied. (It really is true though, sad to say, despite the fact that you tried. And even if you hadn't used frog DNA, it's entirely possible that some dinosaurs might've had the ability to produce young without a male in certain situations, and you'd still get babies. Just like some geckos and other lizards do.)

Zane noticed that Patience was looking at him in something like baffled wonder as Wu nodded. (Yes, parthenogenesis. Flowerpot snakes and whiptail lizards are well known for producing young in that manner, and it would stand to reason that some dinosaurs might've as well. As for your claim that the dinosaurs are now able to change sex and breed, it seems like a long shot to me, but I'll humor you and listen. I'm not entirely sure how the frog DNA you mentioned plays a particular role though.)

(Well, in both the book and the movie,) Zane told him, (Dr. Grant talks about how some West African frogs, when maintained in captivity in a group that's all females, some of them will become more and more male-like until they can actually mate with females.)

(Sounds almost like the bar scene in San Francisco to me,) Nedry weakly joked.

(Speaking of which, what type of frogs did you use exactly in your lab to splice and fix the dinosaur DNA?) Patience asked, flicking her head to shoo away some flies. (And were they from West Africa?)

(They actually live primarily in central and east-central Africa, not really the western portion,) Wu replied, (and they're known as common reed frogs.)

(There's a fitting name for them,) Muldoon replied. (If you're ever out in the African bush during the rainy season, especially near a marsh, creek, or any other body of water, you'll hear the males calling out by the dozens, these lovely xylophone-type calls. And they come in a regular painter's palette of colors and patterns.)

(Common reed frogs!) Zane said in excitement, raising his head. (They're the ones Mr. L talked about from the West German study Patience, when he did that three-day The Science of Jurassic Park series recently for science class, remember?)

(Yeah, now that you mention it, I do,) she thoughtfully nodded.

(What's this about a West German study?) Nedry asked in confusion.

(The one that showed that species of frog could change sex in an all-female group,) she said.

(I'm just curious,) Zane said as he turned back in Wu's direction, (what exactly made you and your team decide to use some animals as a source of DNA to fill in the gaps for the dinosaurs and not others?)

(It had to do with a couple reasons,) Wu told him. (A huge part of the decision had to do with how closely related that modern animal was to dinosaurs. That's why we used a lot of avian and crocodilian DNA, as well as DNA from modern lizards that are semi-bipedal, like basilisks and frilled lizards. In the case of the reed frogs, their DNA was used because scientists have studied the development of frog and toad embryos in great detail for over a century, and we now have a fairly good idea of when certain genes are switched on-or off-during the process, and how those important genes are then physically expressed.)

(Frogs are also very basal, or "primitive" tetrapods, so it made sense that given DNA's innate conservativism as a molecule-we humans share eighty-six percent of our DNA with chickens, for example-they could easily fill in for many of the genetic commands which are responsible for the development of properly functioning and essential organs that all land vertebrates require to survive, such as being able to extract sufficient amounts of oxygen through lung tissue, a liver which can filter out environmental toxins effectively, a backbone that has knit together over the spinal cord, and so on.)

(Makes sense,) Patience yawned, the sight making Zane's inner astro cower and want to run in terror.

(Of course,) Wu added, (there's also the practical aspects of obtaining and properly housing animals intended for lab use as well. Fortunately though, common reed frogs have a lot of characteristics which make them ideal in that regard: they only reach about an inch in length, are easy to obtain through the pet trade, and are easily maintained on a diet of house flies and mid-sized crickets. Several of them can also live comfortably in just an eighteen cubic inch glass enclosure with a screen top, a heat source, a few pieces of driftwood or bark, and only wet paper towels on the bottom…and perhaps most importantly of all to someone in the field of genetics, they mature and breed relatively quickly. The same can't be said for the emus, spectacled caimans, and American crocodiles whose ova we utilize for embryo development though,) he muttered.

(I thought in the book you use special fake eggs with plastic eggshells made of porous plastic or whatever,) Zane said, puzzled.

(Oh, we do,) Wu replied. (But after hundreds of millions of years of experience, we've found that nature is a lot better at this type of thing than we are, and we also insert the dinosaur embryos into unfertilized chicken or emu eggs to develop, depending on their eventual size as hatchlings. Crichton must've been incorrect on that part, I suppose.)

His sheep eyes twinkled and his beak parted slightly in what seemed like a smile. (It's really quite something, you know, to have a huge, green-blue emu egg start hatching in the incubation room-but instead of this fluffy emu chick tumbling out with tan and white stripes, out comes a baby styraco-)

(This is all really interesting to listen to,) Patience grumbled impatiently as her tail swished about, (but the point is, because of the reed frog DNA, five species of dinosaurs are able to breed now.)

Wu seemed rather freaked by the idea, from what Zane could tell. Zane thought he knew why. After all, if some of the dinosaurs could breed when they weren't supposed to, then that brought a lot of other so-called failsafe precautions into question, made the foundation just a little more shaky.

And now the bottom is going to drop out from under you very shortly, buddy, Zane thought.

(Anyhow,) Zane went on, (that's only a side issue, really, the dinosaurs being able to breed. What really makes things start to suck is when Nedry here turns off the security system and the perimeter power.)

(Little bastard,) Muldoon snarled at the troodont, Sauropelta beak bared as he swung his long, tapering tail about, like an angry cat's.

(Fuck you,) Nedry defiantly spat back. (Fuck everyone here!)

(You watch your mouth Dennis,) Wu hissed, jabbing the air in his direction with a thumb spike in warning.

(Oh, I'm so sorry teacher!) Nedry mocked. (Am I going to get my mouth washed out with soap for that now?)

(Anyway,) he growled bitterly, (since you goody-goodies just had to play detective and hang me over the barrel, I might as well admit that I don't really know how that would become a problem, since the intent of my now-blown-to-pieces plan was to only have the power shut down for fifteen, maybe twenty minutes before delivering the embryos to Lew's man, then showing back up at control and fixing things.)

(That's because you never do come back,) Patience replied, almost gleefully, opening her mouth in what seemed like a grin. (Instead, you get your just desserts at the claws of a Dilophosaurus. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy either,) she mocked.

Wu and Muldoon knew right away what the gruesome outcome of that would be, and flinched in horror as they glanced at both each other, then at Nedry.

(Holy Christ,) Wu said simply.

(That's a nasty end,) Muldoon agreed. (I almost feel sorry for you there, Dennis. Almost,) he amended pointedly.

(You mean-,) the flabbergasted programmer began, Zane almost seeing the gears working and grinding in his triangular skull, (I end up fucking dying?! I get killed by one of these Dilopho-whatevers? And then eaten?)

(Oh yes,) Patience confirmed with sick enthusiasm. (In both the book and the movie, it spits venom into your eyes and blinds you, then runs up to you and rips you open so that all your guts-)

(Oh my God! Can you really not tell me things like that?!) Nedry yelled in desperate horror. (That's too much information, okay? I mean Jesus, I get blinded by some poison-spitting lizard and then gutted like a fish?) he said thinly, entire body quivering as he closed his eyes and clutched himself, almost as if he was reflexively trying to protect them.

(You wanted to hear the truth,) Patience said simply.

(Not to that degree! Jesus,) Nedry said again.

(Karma sure is a harsh mistress, isn't it, Dennis?) Wu pitilessly commented.

(Oh, stuff it with the self-righteousness Henry,) Nedry hissed. (At least when Hammond pisses on me and tells me it's raining, I don't just sigh and reach for the nearest umbrella while giving him a fake sm-)

With a growl, Wu charged at Nedry again, covering ten yards in just seconds before stopping as the troodont darted out of the way. It was a warning shot.

(One more word, Dennis,) Wu coldly challenged. (I dare you. One. More. Word!)

(Okay, okay,) Nedry placated, panting as he held up his hands. (Calm down. You're way too tense. You'd better lay off the high-caffeine horsetails or whatever.)

(More like you need to quit talking trash and being smart-mouthed,) Patience growled.

(Oh, quit acting like you're all so much better and purer than me,) Nedry hissed. (Anyway,) he went on, (nasty and upsetting as that little fact about my fate you just shared is, at least now I have a heads-up about it-like Zane here just said,) he added, glancing up briefly at him. To Zane, he seemed little bigger than a sparrow would be if he was in his human body. Very insolent, to say the least.

(But what I don't understand,) Nedry continued, confused, (is how one of these Dilopho-whatevers-)

(Dilophosaurus,) Zane helpfully corrected.

(-Dilophosaurus could possibly get to me while I'm in a Jeep and driving on one of the park roads. That makes no sense.)

(Unless you got out of it,) Muldoon said simply. (At a place close to the river.)

(Which is exactly what happens in the book,) Zane nodded.

(Hey, news flash,) Nedry said. (My itinerary was to go to the east dock and then right back to control. That route takes me nowhere near the damn river! And even I know how the system of roads on the island is laid out,) he added.

(Ahh, but that's where the fateful tropical storm comes in,) Patience said knowingly.

(Oh damn it,) Nedry groaned. (You mean even if everyone at the park was still none the wiser when I got sent back, or this crap had never happened to me, after all my careful planning, I'd have to deal with some random frigging downpour?)

(Yep,) Zane said. (And it causes you to get lost.)

Wu and Muldoon started laughing together in sick glee at the idea.

(It's not a laughing matter to me!) Nedry snapped indignantly. (And just remember Henry, I'll have fifteen of your lab's precious lizard embryos with me already, so those'll be lost forever too.)

(A small price to pay.)

(Think about it after all,) Patience said reasonably. (It's raining cats and dogs on a tropical, jungle-covered island you've never been on before, you're driving a Jeep at full throttle on roads you've seen on maps, but never actually traveled. The chances of making a wrong turn would be high under those circumstances.)

(I can definitely see why it would happen to me then in those conditions,) Nedry conceded. (But there's still no way in hell I'd be dumb enough to leave the protection of a Jeep with some killer prehistoric lizard around, much less give it a chance to spit on me-which is seriously creepy and gross to think about, for the record,) he added. (Even without the venom aspect.)

(That's because it isn't at first,) Zane replied. (Prowling around, I mean. To make a long story short, in the book you get out of the Jeep to get your bearings, walk for maybe a few dozen yards, realize you're at the river, and then hear the dilo close by. So you naturally run like hell back to the Jeep-)

(Yeah, no shit!)

(-where you find the dilo is already standing there, watching you from a respectful distance. Forty feet away, I think.)

(Sounds just like something from a bad dream,) Muldoon commented.

(Jesus in a shit heap! And then it nails me, right? From that far away?)

Zane shook his head. (Not right then. She watches you for a sec or two, then spits on your chest, twice.)

(Yuck.)

(But then,) Patience said, taking over, (in a beautifully sick irony, just as you're opening the car door, just as you're almost safe, you turn your head to look at the dilo one last time-)

(Not a smart move there Dennis,) Muldoon said.

(And the lizard puts the lights out at that point,) Nedry stated grimly with a shudder. (Permanently. All because I look back over my shoulder like a goddamn moron instead of just getting out while the getting's good,) he chided. (You're a dumbass, Dennis,) he told himself ruefully.

(Not to change the subject, but that reminds me of something my foster dad, Stan Mushnick, has told me about hunting coyotes,) Patience commented. (If a coyote sees or smells a person within shooting range-or even just sees a car start to pull onto the shoulder of the road-they'll be out of there in a flash. Quite often though, after running flat-out for several seconds, they'll stop to just quickly look back over their shoulder…and that's the end of them.)

(Run Wile E.!) Zane cried in a falsetto voice. (Don't look back!)

(Oh, from the infamous Bambi's mom scene, am I correct?) Wu replied knowingly, eyes shining with mirth as his head swung. (That part just utterly traumatized me and my siblings as children, especially my sisters. The waterworks we-)

(I'd like to think I'm a little smarter than a coyote,) Nedry grumbled petulantly. (But okay, I end up being agonizingly slaughtered. I'm guessing that means the park is now up shit creek big time without yours truly to fix things, huh?)

(Yeah,) Zane sighed, turning his head away from Wu once more to stare down at a boulder. (To say the least.)

(That's not automatically a disaster though,) Muldoon pointed out. (The dinosaurs know full well that the fences hurt when they are touched, and that they can never be trusted as benign. And it's also worth mentioning that in my experience, animals that have become acclimated to an enclosure soon come to think of it as their territory, the place where they belong and are secure, to the point where if they escape or are released, they will often later "break back in" to their former pen. Even crocodiles will do that,) he added. (I've seen it.)

Wu nodded his heavy-jowled head, like a pleased horse. (And even if the dinosaurs hadn't experienced any negative conditioning from the electric fences at all, they'd still probably be effective as both physical and psychological barriers, structures they'd have no idea what to make of or how to get around. Totally beyond their experience.)

(Huh, the raptors certainly don't seem to be all that bothered by the "negative conditioning" from their electric fences,) Patience said dryly.

Wu gave Muldoon an awkward, nervous glance before lowering his head and shuffling in place.

(No, they're a strange-and worrisome-exception,) the geneticist agreed. (They must have an incredible pain tolerance, since they repeatedly charge the fences every time a person comes close. But amazingly, they never touch the same-)

(Place twice,) Zane cut in. (We know that already.)

(They're clever girls all right,) Muldoon conceded. (And brazen as hell too. Too clever to really be kept around, I'd say…) he trailed off, giving Wu a pointed look.

(You know Hammond would never possibly agree to having them put down,) Wu said as he raised his head. (Since they're his "precious animals." And frankly, after all the time and sweat my technicians and I put into them, I'm rather ambivalent about the idea of having them destroyed myself, let's just say.)

(I don't think that's a wise position to take Henry.)

(We'll find an effective way to keep them contained and safe,) Wu insisted. (We just need to talk Hammond into allowing firearms on the island-twist his arm if we have to-and letting my lab produce a more docile, manageable version of the raptors.)

(Hah! May as well try to work at producing a more docile version of a crocodile or leopard,) Muldoon snorted.

(Just hold that topic for now guys, okay?) Patience cut in.

(All right,) Muldoon agreed. (Then what goes on after that, with Nedry out of the picture and the park sabotaged?)

(Even though I know it doesn't make sense behavior-wise,) Patience informed them, (both the T. rexes somehow figure out the fence is turned off and break loose, right as Grant and the others are stopped by their pen.)

(Talk about making a bad impression on the guests,) Nedry commented dryly.

(Preposterous,) Wu said flatly. (Even with the power off, there's no way in hell that the tyrannosaurs would recognize that it was safe to approach the fences, or be able to understand that they could make a hole in the barrier and break free, because they've never experienced the concept of something being open or closed since they were hatchli-)

(Maybe so, but it happens,) Zane said simply. (The little rex busts loose first and heads into the woods under the cover of the storm. Then the big rex smashes through the fence a few minutes after, and causes all sorts of mayhem, just pounding the snot out of the Land Cruisers and tossing one like a Frisbee.)

(Jesus,) Muldoon said thinly.

Nedry laughed. (Lord help me, but that would be pretty damn cool to actually see. I mean, like in the movie version or something,) he amended.

(It's actually one of my favorite movie mayhem scenes of all time,) Zane admitted. (The roar they gave the T. rex was so freaking bad-ass, and it was hilarious when she ate the lawyer off the toilet,) he chuckled.

(Same here,) Patience added, laughing herself. (It made a big impression, let me tell you.)

(And that part where she was right in front of Grant and Lex, looking for them, and they're quivering in terror as they try to keep still…)

(My God,) Wu said in revolted horror. (The big rex…are you saying she kills Gennaro? And you actually thought it was funny? What's wrong with y-)

(Don't worry,) Patience said quickly, (Gennaro only dies in the movie version. In your world, he isn't even around by that point. Neither is Ellie.)

(You mean they're already dea-)

(Oh Christ,) Muldoon said. (That didn't take long at all for the bodies to sta-)

(Wu, chill!) Zane urged. (She didn't mean it like that! They'd already both decided to go back to the lodge with Harding in his Jeep, and aren't in any danger.)

(Just as well for them, I'd say,) Nedry said grimly.

(There's an understatement,) Patience agreed. (To make a long story short, the big rex goes all Godzilla on both cars, biting Malcolm-but not killing him. Lex, Tim, and Grant all get a serious scare, and Grant has the big rex practically kick him to the moon, but they all survive pretty much okay.)

(Thank God,) Wu said in shaky relief. (Thank God at least the kids make it. Hammond would be completely devastated if either of them came to harm. I'd feel pretty awful too,) he added.

(That's a major blessing,) Muldoon agreed. (But what of Ed?)

(I was gonna ask the same thing,) Nedry said.

(The young rex gets him,) Zane said bluntly. (And it's not a pretty scene.)

(Considering what I've seen of how young lions and other adolescent big predators go about clumsily dispatching prey, I'd imagine it would be messy,) Muldoon replied gravely.

(For what it's worth,) Nedry cut in softly, (this is something I never wanted to happen to the park or anyone working there guys. You believe that much from me, don't you?) he said hopefully.

(Save your apologies and remorse for later,) Muldoon said harshly.

(Hey, Muldumb, I-)

(Go on,) Wu addressed them. (Might as well get comfortable,) he sighed, shifting his weight back and lowering himself onto his lower belly, thick tail gently swishing through the ferns.

(Well, Grant and the kids see the younger rex attack and kill Ed Regis,) Patience said, (and they have to flee deep into the actual park itself, where they try to make their way back to the safety of the lodge, while trying to steer clear of the big rex, which they have several scary run-ins with.)

(But they survive?) Wu asked tensely.

(Yeah,) Zane assured him. (Barely in some cases, but they all make it.)

(I'm relieved to hear that,) Muldoon replied gratefully.

(And me too,) Nedry added sincerely.

Wu though, was silent, only distantly nodding in agreement as he meditatively ran his left forefoot through the dirt and ferns from side to side.

(This is all an awful and regrettable outcome,) he said at length, (and I don't doubt Gennaro and the other investors wouldn't look very favorably on such events.)

(To say the least,) Nedry snorted.

(Just don't forget whose fault it is,) Wu grumbled testily. (Still, as bad as the situation would be, it still wouldn't be impossible to salvage. Between Arnold and me, we could probably figure out what exactly Nedry did to the security power, and then use that information to get it and the fences back online. In less than ten hours, I'd estimate in fact.)

(And me and the workmen would go out and fix any damaged portions of the fencing,) Muldoon added, (while Gerry with his rifle would then proceed to dart the rexes and any other dinos that had flown the coop, which would then wake up back in a secured paddock. A touchy business, to be sure, but still doable for all that.)

(Yeah,) Wu nodded thoughtfully. (We'd have some serious egg on our faces and explaining to do, but if we worked really hard on damage control and made it very clear that the incident was all due to Nedry's actions-)

(Oh, really nice guys,) Nedry spat contemptuously. (How classy, tearing down the character of a dude who's not even alive anymore to defend himself!)

(You don't have a leg to stand on,) Wu hissed.

(Yes I do. I have two of them. See? I also have my reasons.)

(Guys.) Patience growled firmly, redirecting their attention. (Just stop and listen.)

(Yes Mom,) Nedry replied sarcastically. (Geez, talk about being on a power trip, young lady. I bet that if things were reversed, there wouldn't be a peep from your m-)

Zane sighed again.

(I hate so much to do this to you guys, but it turns out that things get even worse after you get everything more or less patched up.)

(Worse?) Wu said in confusion. (How could that happen?)

Zane and Patience looked at each other again.

(Well,) Patience said at length, (it's really super-complicated, but if I remember correctly, Arnold ultimately has to turn the main power grid off to reset the system.)

(That makes sense,) Muldoon replied. (Except something tells me there's a hidden glitch to the matter.)

(To put it mildly,) Nedry said pointedly. (And yeah, that's a huge problem.)

(How do you figure?)

(That's because the system is designed so that if it's ever completely shut down,) Nedry explained, (the backup generator is the one that gets turned on, not the main one. That's because the main generator takes a serious jolt of juice to start up.)

(So…) Wu began as the awful implications sunk in, (that means that the entire park would actually be running on auxiliary power the whole time?)

Zane, Nedry, and Patience all nodded gravely.

(Oh my God!) Wu yelled in mounting horror as it all hit him. (I'm a goddamn idiot!) he loudly chastised himself. (No, Arnold would be just as much to blame too.)

(Don't call yourself an idiot Henry,) Patience said softly. (Even people who are extremely smart make mistakes sometimes. Just look no further than Mr. London.)

(You're most certainly not an idiot Henry,) Muldoon agreed. (And neither is Arnold. But I don't understand, why would it be a bad thing for the park to be running on auxiliary power for any length of time?)

Nedry sighed and lowered his crimson head, prodding a stone with his right foot as he explained, (That's because backup power doesn't generate enough amps to power the electric fences, so they wouldn't be working anymore from the moment the grid was reset.)

The Sauropelta's eyes widened in shock. (Bloody hell. You mean the electric fences would be down for all that time?)

(In so many words, yes.)

(I think it takes five hours before you guys notice.)

(Diu,) Wu said softly. Zane was pretty sure he'd said something rather nasty in Cantonese.

(That means then that the velociraptors would have plenty of time to get out,) Muldoon realized as he shut his eyes. (Jesus Christ.)

(No kidding,) Nedry agreed grimly. (Even I know how insanely dangerous those ninja lizards are-and know better than to ever screw with their holding pen's fences.)

(Great,) Wu said tensely, shaking his head. (Just great. Talk about shit hitting the fan.)

(Things get pretty nasty,) Zane agreed simply. (Jurassic Park basically becomes a freaking war zone at that point.)

(I'd imagine so,) Muldoon said grimly. He sighed again, ruefully shaking his head as he muttered, (I told Hammond again and again that if he wanted to keep the raptors around, then we needed high-powered rifles in each building, and an exhibit that had steel bars, a pit surrounded by concrete walls, a moat they couldn't leap over or out from.)

(Like your typical tiger or lion enclosure in a zoo,) Nedry commented.

(Essentially. But bloody stupid Hammond didn't want any harm to come to his animals, and Lord forbid any of them would ever be kept in a setting that looked "blatantly unnatural" or would be "ugly and depression inducing for them and the visitors." Had to be as evocative and natural as possible,) he snorted.

(Nor would he ever consider actually, you know, paying me a fair wage for my services,) Nedry huffed.

(Never mind the fact that none of the dinosaurs or pterosaurs at Jurassic Park are truly natural,) Wu dryly chimed in. (Not like the real things we're currently trapped in and observing.)

(Anyhow,) Muldoon said as he addressed the teens, (the vicious velociraptors proceed to break free, and no doubt we'll still be trying our best to get the power back on and things under control. I'm sure not everyone gets out of it alive.)

(Sad to say, the body count is pretty big,) Zane admitted.

(Well, we already know I've gotten knocked off at this point,) Nedry commented. (Any other names to be named? I dearly hope Hammond the Cheap Bastard gets turned into-)

(Nedry!) Wu chided sharply, voice filled with shock and anger. (You disgusting puk gaai! I know we all have our issues with Hammond, but that was uncalled for!)

(That wasn't even remotely funny!) Patience growled.

(Dennis, try,) Muldoon commanded. (Show some decency.)

(Yeah well, I'll do that the moment Hammond displays that quality to me.)

As he spoke, Zane saw Muldoon suddenly raise his navy blue striped iguana head and glance at the sun.

(Ah, don't look now guys,) he said, (but I think this account of our potential future and the park's is one that will have to be finished on the move. We have a lot of distance still to reach Ground Zero, and time's slipping by.)

(Yeah,) Patience agreed. (No time for dallying.)

Zane looked around for Runt, and saw the younger astrodon a hundred yards off to the west. Runt had found a new friend, a large mud-brown tortoise that looked to be about sixty or seventy pounds in weight, peering intently at it as it plodded along, sometimes using one of his front feet to poke at it or tap on its shell. He was clearly getting a lot of enjoyment from this puzzling living toy tank. But when Zane gave a droning call from his nasal chambers, Runt jerked his head up and immediately jogged over to his big brother as they began to walk again.

As their group got underway once more, Wu said, (So, what happens next in this comedy of errors after the raptors break loose?)

(Well,) Zane replied, (Muldoon and Gennaro go out to kick some velociraptor ass with a grenade launcher, while Arnold goes for the maintenance shed…)

---

Wu

Henry Wu simply couldn't believe what he was hearing from Zane and Patience as they gave him a running account of how the park, all for want of Nedry's return and failure to immediately turn the main generator back on, would have spiraled deeper and deeper into disaster and chaos.

It was ridiculous, inconceivable, a path filled with incredible coincidences that simply couldn't-no, wouldn't!-be possible or make sense. And all this from a novel? Surely at least some of these events described in it simply had to be wrong, be simply embellishments by Crichton for drama.

But he had to admit that although so much of the unfolding disaster they were rattling off to him made no sense at all, defied logic, it also followed a sort of logic as well. And didn't the position they were in defy logic to a far greater degree? Then too, he trusted Zane and Patience, and they seemed quite sincere about what they were telling them.

His head was filled with all types of uncomfortable feelings. Doubt. Horror. Denial. Fear. Shock. Anger. A degree of sadness.

That was understandable, for he'd just learned from the astro and acro that the now-at-liberty raptors would kill his friend and colleague John Arnold-and before he could at least get the power back on.

Yet it had been a relief to learn that Grant and the kids would have made it to safety, and he was oddly delighted and warmed to discover that he played an unexpectedly heroic role by jumping behind the wheel of a Jeep, driving the raptors off, getting the crippled Muldoon to the relative safety of the visitor's center, and then talking Grant through the steps he needed to take to get the power back on again. Very much like what he'd already done twice to be a hero for Patience, getting help for and then participating in her rescue from the flooding swamp, and then following her into the midst of an acrocanth "camp" all to make sure she'd be safe…

Now that was an unlikely hero, folks.

The tale of collapse wasn't over yet though, and Wu and his fellow staff members now listened with baited breath and gave each other uneasy glances as Patience and Zane described how some of the raptors had them pinned down in the lodge, trying to chew through the bars over the skylight to get to them and a wounded Malcolm.

In order to give Grant the chance to get to the maintenance shed safely, Ellie had very courageously volunteered to go outside and bait the raptors that were outside the fence, getting them to chase her and then keep their attention once she'd made it inside the fence.

As they spoke of these events, it didn't escape Wu's notice how both teens were giving him increasingly awkward, even commiserating, glances. It troubled him, made an awful suspicion creep through his mind.

Once more, he decided to be blunt and get the uncomfortable subject out in the open and done with.

(So Grant finds Gennaro hiding in the truck,) Zane was saying, (and it turns out…)

Wu gave a long sigh. (You know, just say it you two,) he told them. (I die in this book/scenario, don't I?)

Both teens stopped, visibly startled.

(Yeah,) Patience said softly. (How did you know?)

An awful chill ran down Wu's Iguanodon spine as he tensed, and he felt the display quills on his nape rise at the confirmation. Right then, the world seemed to stop turning for a few seconds.

Jesus.

(I'm a scientist,) he said simply. (And let's just say you've been giving me a lot of non-verbal cues.)

(Jesus on his golden throne,) Muldoon said, voice both commiserating and horrified. (I'm bloody sorry, Henry.)

(Don't be,) Wu said good-naturedly. (After all, just like that man about to be put on the corpse wagon in Monty Python and The Holy Grail, "I'm not dead yet",) he chuckled as they began walking again. (I dodged a disturbingly close shave though.)

(Hilarious scene from a hilarious movie!) Zane said enthusiastically.

("I'm getting better!") Nedry quoted.

("No you're not, you'll be stone dead in a moment",) was Muldoon's deadpan reply before he laughed as well. (My dad and I both love that movie too,) he chuckled.

(I always liked the killer rabbit,) Patience added, showing her teeth in a sort of grin. ("That's the most cruel, foul-tempered rodent you ever laid eyes on!")

(At any rate, disturbing as the idea is,) Wu said as he shuddered, (how do I end up dying by raptor?) he asked querulously. (One of the velociraptors is responsible, I assume.)

(Hmm, killed by one of his own creations,) Nedry mused in mocking thoughtfulness. (And on a remote island. I think Dr. Moreau might like to have a word with you there, Henry.)

Wu spun in fury.

(What I've been doing by cloning dinosaurs is nothing like Moreau's pointless experiments to make freak hybrids! How dare you compare me to him, like I'm also making hybrid carnival freaks when-)

(You sure about that?)

(Yeah, one of them is responsible,) Zane confirmed. (As for how it goes down…Patience, you tell him,) he said softly. (I can't bring myself to do it,) he said, closing his eyes and deliberately looking away.

Wu looked over at the acro questioningly.

Patience held his gaze for a moment.

Then she said calmly, (It wasn't what you deserved, but here goes. First, you have to keep in mind that there were a lot of things going on, and the raptors are divided at this juncture into two different groups, all acting like living chess pieces on a board. Two are still working on the skylight, while three are bluff-charging Ellie as she runs about on the inner side of the fence.)

A dark suspicion crept into Wu's mind. Bluff-charging Ellie again and again, even though they knew they couldn't possibly get to her, with two raptors inside the fence focused on the skylight. For the moment…

From a young age, Henry Wu had always enjoyed playing chess. But certainly not the idea of that type of chess game...one played for keeps.

(My God,) he realized. (They were setting her up for the other two, keeping her distracted even as she thought she was distracting them.)

(Exactly,) Patience nodded as they walked. (And that's just what you also realize in the novel after Harding tells you the raptors have left the skylight. You nobly-but unthinkingly-rush out to warn her, and that's when in this particular game of chess…Checkmate,) she said grimly.

(Like a leopard springing down onto an impala,) Muldoon said sickly.

(Oh my God!) Wu moaned as he came to a stop, actually feeling weak-kneed with horror and anticipated agony. He'd seen how the raptors killed the goats and turkeys that were dropped into their pen at feeding time, read about Ostrom and Bakker's gruesome speculations on just how they used that sickle claw on prey-and had no illusions about exactly how they'd use it on him. Nor would they have the grace to wait for him to shuffle off his mortal coil before eating. A nightmarish thought in every way.

In spite of the blistering tropical heat, a supreme, visceral chill passed through the geneticist as he swiveled his head to look over and down at Muldoon.

(They'd take me just like hyenas or wild dogs with a wildebeest or impala,) he said meaningfully.

Muldoon gravely nodded. (Exactly,) he replied, long tail quivering in agitation. The Sauropelta's eyes became harder then, and Muldoon's voice was thick with a sudden, terrible determination as he said decisively, (That bloody tears it. When we get sent back to the park and our own bodies, I don't care what Hammond says. After we deal with you Dennis,) he said sharply, (as soon as Hammond gets around to leaving the island again, I am going to go to the raptor pen and kill every sodding one of those psychotic bastards, consequences be damned. Kill them for Arnold and for you Henry-and if you have any sense in your head, you won't lift so much as a finger to stop me.)

(Oh, I'm not feeling like putting up any opposition against that anymore, believe me,) Wu said flatly. (In fact, I'll get some of the poisons from the lab and help you. I'm sure it should be little trouble to jury rig some of the tranquilizer darts.)

(I'd like to see that,) Zane wryly commented. (Muldoon with the grenade launcher, Wu with the poisoned darts, just smoking the raptors one by one-it'd be like something from an awesome PlayStation game!)

(I know I'd be having a lot of fun,) Muldoon admitted.

(I'm sure you would,) Patience replied. Then she gave a strange giggle. (For extra coolness points, you guys should be wearing sunglasses and black formal suits too,) she suggested with a levity Wu was currently not feeling at all.

Zane laughed. (Yeah, like Travolta and Jackson in Pulp Fiction! That's a super-violent movie which hasn't come out yet in your past time,) he added.

(Anyway, even though it sucked to tell you that, yeah, you don't get the nicest kind of death,) Patience said as she met Wu's gaze in what seemed like sympathy.

(Jesus,) Wu said again. He thought of his parents, his brother, his sisters. If this situation had come to pass, would they ever know what had happened to him? Or would his remains be disposed of secretly, as part of a cover-up? Would the raptors leave any remains at all?

(Hey, at least your death by dino-cringe inducing as it is-serves what could be called a heroic purpose,) Nedry said in an attempt to be comforting as he drew close to the Iguanodon. (Giving Ellie a heads-up and saving her bacon I mean. I just get pointlessly slaughtered like some dog in the street, alone and hated by everyone.)

A white-hot burst of fury arose in Wu then, and he deliberately kicked at the troodont with a back foot like a horse, nearly hitting him.

(Get the hell away from me,) he snapped, fixing Nedry with his right eye as the programmer darted away with a barking squawk. (This is all your damn fault!)

(But I haven't had the chance now to do anything!) Nedry protested. (And it's not like I was planning to get brutally killed by the Dilophosaurus, ya know! Once again, I'm not exactly happy about hearing this myself Henry! I'd never want anything like this to happen in a thousand years, believe me.)

(That doesn't matter,) Wu snapped. (I don't want you to say a word to me right now. In fact, I don't want to even see you looking at me, got it?)

(Fine!) Nedry spat. (Be that way Henry, and excuse me for trying to be helpful!)

Pointless, Wu fumed as the weight of it all hit him. What right did Nedry have to talk about a pointless death? Getting eviscerated and eaten alive in the prime of one's life! Dying because of some uncharacteristically rash act on his part-and wasn't that always how it went? Never being able to publish or talk about the groundbreaking procedures he and his team had carried out in the lab. No papers. No conferences. No respect and adulation from the rest of the scientific community. No books or magazine articles. No watching the throngs of visitors pour in to squeal and marvel in awe and delight at what he had done, brought their dreams to life. Leaving his parents without a son, his siblings without a brother. Now that was pointless.

And all of it Nedry's fault. Or Hammond's, with his fingers-crammed-in-ears stubbornness.

But not his. Never his.

He now just went through the motions and mostly listened as Patience and Zane finished with their awful litany, like a pair of ravens croaking out messages of prophesied doom and destruction, each one another psychological bomb.

Hearing that he ended up dead was bad enough. But then there was the revelation of Hammond's own death by the procompys. While the two of them often had their differences, and John's behavior, his refusal to see reality, was often deeply frustrating, the last thing Wu would ever want would be to see his boss dead. At least there was the cold comfort that the venom of the compys acted as a soporific, so Hammond wouldn't have suffered. Unlike him.

And then the icing on the cake, something that once again, Zane didn't have the heart to tell Wu. Neither did Patience, for that matter, but she stepped up to the plate and told him anyway.

(WHAT!) Wu shouted in a combination of rage, disbelief, horror, and even heartbreak at the very concept, the apocalyptic conclusion of this dinosaur disaster.

(No, it's not true,) he fervently denied. (Please Patience, tell me what you just said they do to the island isn't true.)

(It's true,) she said reluctantly. (The Costa Rican army firebombs the place. I'm sorry Henry.)

(If it's any consolation,) Zane said, (nothing happens to the park in the movie version, and that part of the book sucks for everybody who reads it as much as I know it does for you to hear it.)

(Five years,) Wu whispered sadly as his great body shuddered. (All that time, energy, false starts, sleepless nights…and it's all heartlessly wiped off the map by some bastards in helicopters!)

He went silent then, and stared blankly at the horizon, beak soundlessly working.

(See?) Zane said sadly to Patience. (I told you he was going to take the news hard.)

(I think you broke Henry guys,) Nedry said in shock.

And the geneticist was broken.

(But-) he said haltingly, (Hammond bought that island from them… They have no jurisdiction over the activities there…the dinosaurs were no threat to anyone so far out at sea…they could've just been rounded up instead of being cut down!)

(Henry, snap out of it, buddy,) Nedry urged. (The dinosaurs being destroyed is a jerk move, yeah, a tragedy, but it only happens in what would've been your future-but now you know what', s coming, and can take steps to prev-)

Wu knew academically that goddamn Nedry was right. He now had the chance to turn things around so that both he and the dinosaurs were kept alive.

But he also felt something weigh down his shoulders, and something inside crack.

Suddenly, everyone jumped back as Henry Wu, Iguanodon, came to a stop.

Facing the horizon, he threw back his long head and gave an eerie, nasal, screeching moan that resounded through the muggy air. It was a cry of emotional distress and pain, the sound of a creature in emotional suffering, a protest at the unfairness of life and of success forever deferred.

If his Iguanodon body had possessed the capacity to weep, he would've done so. Jesus, all those marvels and fruits of his labors, the lab that had produced them, napalmed and dead! It was not going to happen now, but it was also too much to bear.

Wu gave the cry again. And again.

As he began to produce the eerie moan a fourth time, he was suddenly jolted out of his sadness and anguish by the sight, then feeling, of Patience coming up alongside him and gently nuzzling his right flank.

She then spread her arms about and gingerly hugged him, telling the geneticist, (Hey, don't worry Dr. Wu. It's okay now. It's okay dude. I know that really sucked to hear, but you'll be all right now because we told you about this. And the park and the dinosaurs will be all right now too. You've got the chance to stop this.)

Zane paced over to Wu's left flank and then, like a horse, lowered his head and used it to stroke his side up and down. Even Runt seemed to sense someone in their group was upset, and jogged over to Wu, where he then parked himself alongside the scientist and lightly leaned against his legs, dry and warm to the touch. Just being there.

(Yeah Henry,) Zane said reassuringly. (The future's going to be a lot better now for you. Thanks to us, now all of you can work together to save lives and avert, well, chaos.)

(It's not fair,) Wu mumbled. (A goddamn cosmic injustice.)

(No argument here,) Muldoon replied.

Wu then perked up as a new thought struck him. It wasn't just the comforting knowledge that he had the heaven-sent opportunity to create a better outcome.

(Do they ever find out about what we're doing on the neighboring island, Sorna?) he asked hesitantly.

(I was wondering that myself,) Muldoon said.

(Sorna?) Patience said, backing away from him slightly and cocking her head in puzzlement.

(Oh, Site B!) Zane said in understanding.

(Yes,) Wu told him. (That's exactly it. Wait a moment, if you know about our other facility on Sorna,) he mused, getting a sinking feeling, (then it must be mentioned in the Jurassic Park novel about us too…)

(Nope,) Zane replied as he shook his head. (In our universe, Michael Crichton wrote an entirely different novel, about an adventure that takes place on Isla Sorna six years after the first book.)

(Does the military get at that island too?) Wu asked darkly, not really wanting to know the answer.

(You'll be pleased to know the answer is a big no,) Patience replied as she lowered her head and nuzzled him again. (The dinosaurs there are kept a secret, and left in peace. So even if Zane and I never told you what goes down in your world, your hard work and creations would still live on there after your-well, you know.)

An immense torrent of relief and gratitude flooded through Wu at the idea.

(I'm very glad to hear that,) he told them. (Yes, very glad. You can all back away now,) he gently told them. (I feel better now. Thanks for the reassurance-including you Runt,) he told the young astrodon, inwardly weakly smiling.

Runt just vapidly grinned back in response.

(No problem,) Patience told him as she turned away and returned to walking. (After all, isn't that what families are for?)

But Wu's assurance was only partially true. In his human mind and soul, a scalding pool of hurt and bitterness still swirled, festering and fed by the unbearable idea of both him and his dinosaur creations being cut down together in this Ragnarok. It needed some sort of release.

Wu had enough rationality remaining to remind himself that he couldn't take it out on Nedry. If they'd both been human, Wu would've gladly given him a good taste of his knuckles. So what to do with that acidic rage and hurt?

Out here on the fern and horsetail covered plain, spotted with cycads, bushy conifers, and flowering bushes, large herds of Tenontosaurus were grazing. Like zebras or wildebeest on the African plains, many of them had drawn close to their band and were attentively staring from just two hundred and fifty yards away, partly out of curiosity at the sight of such a bizarre herd, and partly out of an instinctive prudence to keep a constant eye on what Patience's acrocanth body was up to.

Abruptly, Henry Wu made the Iguanodon break away from the others, and headed west towards a nearby band of Tenonotosaurs, rising up on his hind feet as he did so.

As he curved away, Zane asked, (Um, Wu, where are you going dude?)

(To drown my sorrows with some greens,) Wu lied. (I also just need to be alone for a few minutes, okay?)

(Hey, that's cool,) Zane said. (You deal with the bad news however you need to.)

(Yeah, do whatever works best,) Patience agreed.

(Just don't take too long about it,) Muldoon.

Wu ignored them all as he stiffly approached the nearest herd of Tenontosaurs, their long tails slowly lashing. Their blue eyes regarded him with interest, but displayed no real concern about the approach of a fellow plant-eater. Until Wu, without any sound or warning, suddenly shifted gear and charged at them like a fighting bull.

Eeni meeni miny moe, a savage little gremlin chanted in the geneticist's Iguanodon skull, demented and unexpected and straining for release. Catch a dead dinosaur by the toe!

He was among them in an instant, the Tenontosaurs bellowing in shocked surprise and stampeding. One large bull had had his head lowered to feed, and was just a few seconds slower to react than his fellows. Wu chomped down on the long, scaly tail, feeling the bones crack as he yanked the Tenontosaur to him.

(Henry, no!) Zane yelled in horror as Wu bit down again, right into the flesh of the other dinosaur's back, and then flung it away from him. He kicked the bull right in the chest with a front foot as he writhed and groaned, hard. The Tenontosaurus tried to bite him, and Wu responded by growling in fury and kicking him right in the head, then stabbing his black thumb spike right through one of the dinosaur's cheeks, blood gushing out over it.

He kicked the bull again as he tried to get up, tried to run away, and then lightly stomped on his left flank, hearing ribs crack as the dinosaur, blue eyes wide with helpless terror, bellowed from its beaked mouth. Wu could've put the Tenontosaurus bull to death several times over already. But he wanted him to hurt first, suffer like he was inside.

The shocked protestations of Zane, Muldoon, and the others were irrelevant to him as Wu once more bit into the back muscles of the horse-sized plant eater, picked him up, and flung the bull away from him like a sack of grain in an astonishing display of power. Then he gave a cavernous bellow and was on the Tenontosaurus again, beak descending toward his twisting neck...

But then Patience was suddenly grabbing him, holding Wu with her clawed forearms, sliding her weight over his back from behind and using it to pin him to the ground. Wu cried out in surprise himself then, and struggled for a few moments, waving his tail and trying to push up with his powerfully muscled legs. But Patience bore down harder, voice firm yet understanding as she told him, (Chill out, Henry. I know it hurts bad, but that isn't the way to cope. Just breathe, and be okay. Let him go. Let everything go and remember that it's not a done deal anymore.) And that's what Wu forced himself to do, closing his eyes and becoming still in the grip of his Iguanodon body's natural predator.

He opened them to see the Tenontosaurus bull shakily get to his feet, blood soaking into, caking his feathers and trickling off his lower jaw from the soda can sized hole in his cheek, breathing pained and shallow as he stood erect and clumsily made his getaway, fleeing in the direction of his herd. Wu just dully, uncaringly watched him go as Patience carefully slackened her grip a bit and took some of the weight off. The attack had to have been both unexpected and shocking for them, coming from a fellow herbivore. Muldoon certainly felt that way.

The Sauropelta's pupils were wide, and his tail swung in S-curves as he arrived on Wu's left, saying in a firm, paternal voice that was also tinted with abject surprise and maybe even concern, (Henry, that poor bastard of a Tenonto you just went after didn't have a bloody thing to do with Nedry's deceit or the Costa Rican military. Don't you realize that, that that poor creature was totally innocent?)

Wu just weakly nodded. Above him, he heard Patience suddenly growl in fury and leap to her feet, releasing Wu from her strange embrace before stepping away and turning to roar at Muldoon.

(Of course he understands that, you nincompoop!) she snapped. (I mean holy Christ, can't you step into his shoes for a moment, understand how he might feel about even just the thought that he would've lost everything, all he's ever worked for?! He's hurting terribly Rob, and sometimes when life really sucks, you can't stop yourself from taking it out on somebody else. I know what that sort of pain feels like perfectly well, trust me. Way too well,) she distantly added, growling in a softer tone.

(I can sympathize,) Muldoon replied. (Shame about that Tenontosaurus though. That seemed like rather wanton violence to me.)

(Well, it can't be changed now,) Zane said reasonably. (And at least Patience stopped him before the Tenontosaurus was killed. He might still make it.)

Wu nodded in agreement as he stood up and shook himself. (And far better to take it out on him than on Nedry himself.)

(Yeah, very far better,) Nedry quickly agreed. From a prudent distance.

(Well, I guess we'd better get going,) Wu said, sighing. He felt a strange combination of remorse over what he agreed had been wanton violence, shock at the unnatural savagery he'd displayed, and a sensation of drained relief from having vented his bitterness and anger. (I don't fully know what came over me there, but it's run its course, and now I think I'm feeling a lot calmer. I truly mean it this time,) he added.

But all the same, as their strange caravan crossed the landscape, Wu couldn't really find it in him any longer to do much talking. And instead of being near the front or in the middle, he now trailed a good distance behind.

Nedry too, did the same.

Neither of them looked at each other as they traveled, Wu out of residual anger or listlessness, Nedry out of guilt.

It helped prevent confrontation, maintained the standoff.

But all the same, now and then, the air carried a sound like popcorn popping, or that of an Iguanodon bull's batteries of teeth, grinding together.

---

Well, yeah, there it is. Hope everyone enjoyed this "hour of reckoning" chapter. If you liked or disliked something about it, please let me know. Hopefully I was able to keep all the JP boys true to canon! *fingers crossed*

Practice the two R's everyone!