- - CHAPTER 20: A Tree For My Bed - -
PARK GROUNDS NIGHT
Dr. Grant, Lex, and Tim make their way through Jurassic Park. Far in the distance, there's a ROAR. Dr. Grant hears it, but tries not to show it.
Are you hearing this? Lex asked.
No, I didn't hear anything.
They keep walking, but now Dr. Grant is looking around for a safe place to hide. He looks up, to the towering trees around them. He looks down at the children. They've all been trekking for hours now and both children look exhausted.
You both look pretty tired. Why don't we find someplace to rest.
He hears another ROAR.
Like about now. C'mon! Hurry up! Like this tree.
Why are we hurrying if there's nothing wrong? Lex asked.
What if we fall? I hate trees. Tim commented.
TREE NIGHT
Lex, Tim, and Dr. Grant climb. Dr. Grant is behind, watching the other two, giving them a push up when they need it.
I hate trees! Tim moaned, as he and Lex begin to climb
Lex, always one to be safe from scary things, is ahead within seconds, desperate to get free from anything that could hurt her.
Smirking, she looks down to Tim.
They don't bother me! She gloated.
Yeah, you weren't in the last one.
Now, near the top of the tree, the three of them sit there, dangling their legs, looking out over the magnificent park.
It's an incredible view. They can see in all directions. And with the full moon, there's a lot of detail.
Most striking of all are dozens of sauropod heads, at the end of long necks, that tower over the park in the distance.
Hey! Those are Brontosauruses - - I mean, those are Brachiosauruses.
It's okay to call them Brontosaurus, Tim. It's a great name. It's a romantic name. It means "thunder lizard". Dr. Grant said.
"Thunder lizard!" Tim said, digging it.
Dr. Grant finds a solid web of branches and settles himself in it, leaning back against the tree, with a little room on either side of him. Lex and Tim nestle up next to him on either side of the branch. Dr. Grant is surprised, but accepts it.
Silent for a moment, the three can hear the HOOTS of the animals as they call. Some are almost musical.
Listen to that! They're singing!
He moves over to a higher branch.
Of course no one's ever heard one from a dinosaur before, but - - I could swear that sounds suspiciously to me like a mating call. In an all-female environment - -
He smiles, enchanted. He closes his hands in the required position and HOOTS himself, trying to imitate one of the calls. Immediately, five or six of the heads turn in their direction and HOOT back.
No, no, sh, sh, sh - - stop! Stop! Stop! Don't let the monsters come over here! Lex said, SMACKING the leg of Dr. Grant, desperately, scared out of her wits.
They're not monsters, Lex. Dr. Grant said, returning to the place he'd originally taken when they'd climbed into the tree.
They're just animals. And these are herbivores.
That means they only eat vegetables. But for you, I think they'd make an exception. Tim teased.
Oh, I hate the other kind. Lex replied.
They're just doing what they do. Well the other kind - -
- - just do what they do.
Dorkatops! Lex said.
Straight-A brainiac! Tim replied.
Could you guys possibly cool that for a - -
Satisfied, Tim settles in for the night. Dr. Grant shifts too, getting comfortable, but something in his pocket pinches him. He WINCES and digs it out. It's the velociraptor claw he unearthed so long ago in Montana - -
- - Yesterday, actually. He looks at it, thinking a million thoughts, staring at this thing that used to be so priceless.
What are you and Ellie gonna do now, if you don't have to dig of dinosaur bones any more?
Dr. Grant TWIRLS the Velociraptor claw.
I guess we'll just have to evolve too.
What do you call a blind dinosaur?
It's Tim who asked the question, in an attempt to cheer everyone up; Dr. Grant and Lex look to each other, smiling for a moment.
I don't know. What do you call a blind dinosaur? Dr. Grant replied.
A Do-you-think-he-"saw"rus.
Dr. Grant chuckles.
What do you call a blind dinosaur's dog?
You got me. Dr. Grant admitted, smiling.
A Do-you-think-he-"saw"rus Rex. Tim chirruped.
Dr. Grant laughs, as does Lex. Both kids finally close their eyes, but after a moment, Lex pops hers open again.
What if the dinosaur comes back while we're all asleep?
I'll stay awake. Dr. Grant said.
All night? Lex asked skeptically.
All night.
Tim and Lex snuggle down, Tim curling up close to Dr. Grant and Lex settling herself in the crook of his arm. Dr. Grant looks at his raptor claw. He remembers his conversation with the kid at his dig in Montana. Realizing that he has become accustomed to Lex and Tim Murphy.
Once he is sure they are both asleep, Dr. Grant tosses the Velociraptor claw, watching it tumble, uselessly, to the ground below.
GALLIMIMUS GIFT SHOP NIGHT
We see a stuffed Tyrannosaurus Rex. We PAN left to see a shelf with Jurassic Park pajamas and souvenirs. Then a small table with cups, books, and various other trinkets. A cash register with a rack of gum and candy. We continue to PAN until the Cretaceous Cafe comes into view.
CRETACEOUS CAFE NIGHT
John Hammond sits at a table, alone. There is a bucket of ice cream in the middle, and he's eating a dish of it, staring down morosely.
Dr. Sattler draws up to the table and Hammond looks up at her. His eyes are puffy, his hair is messed up - - for the first time we've seen him, the fire is gone from his eyes.
They were all melting…you know, Maria makes the most wonderful ginger ice cream. Hammond said.
Dr. Sattler just nods.
Dr. Malcolm's okay for now. Dr. Ayala gave him a shot of morphine.
They'll all be fine. Who better to get the children through Jurassic Park than a dinosaur expert?
Dr. Sattler nods again. Another pause. Hammond breaks it again.
You know the first…attraction I ever built when I came down south from Scotland…was a Flea Circus, Petticoat Lane. Really quite wonderful. We had, uh, a wee trapeze, a roundabout - - a merry-go - - what you call it?
Carousel. Dr. Sattler said.
A carousel - - and, uh, a seesaw. They all moved, motorized of course, but people would swear they could see the fleas. "I see the fleas, mummy! Can't you see the fleas?" Clown fleas, high wire fleas, fleas on parade…
He trails off.
We FADE into - -
LONDON - PETTICOAT LANE MARKET - DAY
The crowded Petticoat Lane Market in London. The scene is in black-and-white. The time period is the late 1940s. Shoppers walk up and down the street, browsing and purchasing items at vendors. One row of tents has small entertainment venues on display with children and their parents watching: a Punch and Judy show; a magician's act; and one that we focus on, a flea circus.
The man at the flea circus speaks in a Scottish accent. He is a young John Hammond, mid-twenties, the future founder of Jurassic Park, before he became a billionaire. He wears a cheap tweed suit with patches on the elbows and a fedora.
Step right up! Step right up, ladies and gentlemen and see the Amazing Flea Circus!
The banner above the tent reads "JOHN HAMMOND'S AMAZING FLEA CIRCUS!"
Parents and their children watch the motorized circus inside the glass case. The parents know it's fake, but the children are amazed.
A little girl looks at her mother.
Mummy, can't you see the fleas?!
Yes, darling, I can.
She looks at Hammond.
Are they real?
Hammond gives a bright smile to the little girl.
Oh, of course they are! I trained them myself you know, and spared no expense in doing so!
The girl and her mother put a pound sterling in Hammond's basket and leave. A man approaches and looks in.
How do you really do it?
They're all motorized, just an illusion.
But if you could, would you give people something that they'd be amazed by that's not a illusion?
Of course I would, that's been my life's dream, actually. But what could I do to amaze people that already hasn't been done?
The man simply shrugs an puts a pound sterling of his own in Hammond's basket. Hammond looks at the few pounds in there and sighs.
LONDON - CROMWELL ROAD - DAY
A taxi pulls up in front of a shabby apartment building on Cromwell Road, across the street from the London Natural History Museum. Hammond gets out with a suitcase and closes the door. The cab drives off as Hammond heads towards the apartment building. As he's walking, an excitable little boy dragging his mother by the hand passes by him.
Come on, Mummy, I wanna see the dinosaurs!
Alright, Charlie dear, slow down now.
They head towards the crosswalk as Hammond looks over at the museum with a curious smile.
Dinosaurs?
Hammond heads up the steps of his apartment building and puts his suitcase down in front of the doors. He then hurries across the crosswalk and towards the museum.
LONDON NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM - ENTRANCE - DAY
Hammond is now in the museum's entrance. He looks up in awe at what greets him, a skeleton of the dinosaur Diplodocus. He heads toward a flight of stairs.
LONDON NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM - HALL OF DINOSAURS - DAY
Hammond walks around the museum's hall of dinosaurs, where various dinosaur skeletons and fossils are on display. Hammond is amazed by them, apparently never having seen them before.
Amazing.
He walks up to a display case, in which fossilized dinosaur eggs can be seen. Hammond gazes at the eggs in curiosity.
We FADE OUT - -
CRETACEOUS CAFE NIGHT
Dr. Sattler just looks at him, not sure what his state is. He goes on.
But with this place, I - - I wanted to give them something real, something that wasn't an illusion, something they could see and feel. An aim devoid of merit.
But you can't think through this one. You have to feel it. Dr. Sattler said.
You're absolutely right. Yes, you're right. Hiring Nedry was a mistake, that's obvious. We're over-dependent on automation, I can see that now. But that's all correctable for the next time around.
John, John, John, you're still building onto that Flea Circus, that illusion. And now you're adding onto it by what you're doing here. That's the illusion.
Once we have control again we - -
Control?! You never had control! I was overwhelmed by the power of this place! I made a mistake too. I didn't have enough respect for that power, and it's out now! You're sitting here trying to pick up the pieces. John, there's nothing worth picking up. The only thing that matters now are the people we love. Alan, Lex, and Tim. And John, they're out there where people are dying - - people are dying, you know?
There is a long pause. Hammond avoids her gaze. Dr. Sattler wipes away a tear, reaches out and takes a spoon out of one of the buckets of ice cream, and licks it. Finally:
It's good.
He looks up at her, and his face is different, as the unhappy irony of what he's about to say finally hits home.
Spared no expense.