For a few days, business continued as usual. Ellie's mother had not yet departed (indeed, they couldn't have her blabbering about all of their secrets), and Wu was still as sassy as ever. Seriama, too, had adopted this attitude to some extent, which made for two very grumpy prisoners. Crusher still wasn't allowed to guard them, though he was not enraged, but rather, disappointed by Ellie's lack of faith.

Speaking of which, Ellie was having a lot of trouble coping with her pregnancy. True, Alan was helping out more, and Ian too, but she had no one to consult about her problems. She tried asking Val, but it soon became clear that the raptor method of parenting was less than desirable in this situation. Not that it wasn't fine for a velociraptor . . . sort of. On a similar note, Lance had taken to boasting about the scar on his snout, though he switched up the story every time. He certainly wasn't fooling anyone with his tales of monsters and great battles, but whatever kept him busy was a distraction that Ellie wasn't about to argue with. All this aside, it was still very hard to find a mother with experience, much less wisdom. The simple fact was that Nublar was short on human parents, and there weren't any recent dinosaur births for Ellie to learn from.

That is, until a cold and misty morning, when Ellie and Robin stood over a giant nest, which cradled fifteen Allosaurus eggs . . .

***TSJPFEW***

"I don't understand, Robin. You said-"

"That I was barren? Yeah, I thought I was, but I guess I was just super, super un-fertile."

"Infertile?"

"Semi-fertile."

Ellie sighed.

"This is interesting. What are you gonna do with them?"

"I'm thinking scrambled or hard-boiled . . ."

"Ro-bin!"

"Just kidding. But seriously, I have no idea how to be a parent, much less a parent to fifteen dinosaurs."

"Don't count them before they've hatched," Ellie said wisely.

"Why not? You've told everyone to stay away from ovo-predation. You'll protect them . . ."

"I'll try, but I'm only one woman."

"Unless you undergo multicellular mitosis."

Although Ellie was used to Robin's quirkiness, there were times when even she didn't know how to respond to her serendipity. Usually, nodding was a safe bet.

"It's strange, Ellie: we seem to be having a lot of surprises lately . . ."

"Yeah, I know."

"Do you ever get the feeling that there's someone up there who has it in for you?"

Ellie snorted.

"More like someone who needs a good laugh. Did you ever expect that you'd end up where you are today?"

"As a giant yellow dinosaur, you mean? It crossed my mind, once or twice . . ."

Ellie didn't know whether she was joking or not.

Robin gave a doleful sigh and collapsed to the ground, her tail drooping dismally at her rear. She prodded the eggs gently with her snout as the morning sun began to silhouette the embryos inside. Ellie sat down beside her and placed her hand on Robin's neck in solace.

"I guess I'll have to tell Yannick, huh?"

Ellie nodded.

"What should I say?"

Ellie grinned.

"Yannick, dear! Remember that night-"

"Oh, quit rubbing it in!"

***TSJPFEW***

Eventually, Robin did tell Yannick about the eggs. Unlike Ellie, who had been trying to keep her pregnancy a private matter, Yannick seemed dead set on announcing his accomplishment to the entire world. His conversations often began with "Have you heard that I'm going to be a father?" or "Did you know that I'm going to have fifteen children?". Not since the nativity had a birth been so widely discussed, and it was getting rather irksome for certain parties. Ellie was just glad that the collective interest of the dinosaurs had shifted away from her own issues. It was hard enough to run the island without everyone pestering her about her delicate condition. For this reason, she didn't object when Yannick started floating around Raptor Valley in order to reach a wider audience.

"You know, Robin and I didn't always get along . . ." Yannick recounted to no one in particular, "In fact, one might say that we hated each other. Isn't that right, Robbie?"

Robin nodded.

"We were like cats and dogs, Holmes and Moriarty, Coke and Pepsi . . ."

"So basically, not friends?" Lance snapped, having clued in on the meaning long ago.

"Yeah . . ." Yannick sighed whimsically, "Though, I have to admit, there were times when I almost fell for her . . ."

"Really?" Robin asked with surprise.

"Oh, sure! Remember the Christmas party back in '92? You came walking down the stairs in that gorgeous red dress . . ."

"I bought it on sale."

"It was amazing!" Yannick insisted, "Anyway, the mechanics had put Christmas lights on the fossil display, I remember, which lit you up like a-"

"Crappy simile?" Bucky suggested. Yannick frowned. With a sheepish grin, Bucky waddled away to tend to his family.

"Aaa-nyway, I had told them that it was okay to put a little extra weight on the fossils; I set them up so that they could withstand an enormous amount of pressure-"

"Specifically, the weight of four people and a raptor?" Alan asked as he walked by.

"Stop interrupting!" Yannick barked, "So, there I was, smitten at the base of the staircase, watching you stroll down like a queen, and Jay- He was standing next to me- Jay says, 'She's my half-sister, you know. Not much to look at, but it's about time you found yourself a woman.' and I remember thinking that maybe he was right . . ."

"Jay said that? What an asshole! . . ." Robin spat.

Suddenly, Charlie came waltzing by with Kelly at his side and Kipper's daughter struggling to catch up. The tiny raptor yapped angrily and nipped at Charlie's tail to slow him down.

'Cha-wee! You pwomised dat you would pway wiff me today!' she whined. Charlie rolled his eyes and bent down to her eye level.

'Sorry, Annabelle. Kelly's leaving in a few days. This is kind of important . . .'

"Charlie? You coming?" Kelly shouted from the Big Tree. She swung on the branches like a monkey, practicing her gymnastics in a semi-boastful manner. Charlie grinned and wagged his tail.

"Be right there!" he shouted. Annabelle yanked on his tail again. She held on with her teeth as he continued to wag.

'Cha-wee!' she shrieked.

'Listen, I'll play with you later, but right now, I want to spend some time with Kelly.'

"Charlie?"

"Coming!"

He skipped away gleefully. Annabelle growled and resumed her hot pursuit.

"Kids are so cute . . ." Robin trilled.

"I thought you said you hated kids . . ." Ian remarked. Robin rolled her eyes.

"That was when I was barren. Now that I CAN have children, it's different," she declared.

"Is anyone gonna listen to the rest of my story?" Yannick snuffed.

"What more is there to tell?" Robin wondered, "I danced with Mike Johnson, he ran off with Trixie, and I cried in the girl's washroom for the rest of the evening . . ."

Yannick pouted.

"But we spoke that evening-"

"Did we? I don't remember . . ."

"Sure, we did!" Yannick insisted, "I said 'Hi, Khmelnitsky!' . . . Yeah, I didn't know your name back then. It took me forever to figure out your REAL surname-"

"So, what is it, smart guy?" Robin chuckled.

"Kleymissky!" Yannick declared proudly.

"Nu-uh! I can't believe that after all of this time, you still haven't learned my last name. It's shameful, really! How hard is it to remember 'Smith'?"

Yannick blushed.

"Hehe . . . I guess it's easier than my last name. Speaking of which, since we're dinosaur-married, shouldn't we stop using your maiden name?"

Robin's eye twitched. Yannick nudged her nervously.

"Is something wrong? . . ."

"NO!" she replied, a little too quickly, "But don't you think that in this day and age, a woman should be allowed to keep her name?"

"You can, if you want to. I'm just asking . . ."

"Well, STOP!" Robin shrieked nervously, "Because feminism and- and equal rights- . . . I have to go!"

She dashed away, leaving a very confused Yannick in her dust. He cocked his head and frowned.

"What was THAT all about?" Bucky wondered.

***TSJPFEW***

Deep in the underground lab, Ellie typed on a computer keyboard with exasperation. Behind her, Robin twiddled her fingers anxiously, hopping from foot to foot like a gimpy pigeon with a full bladder. After clicking through a few files, Ellie sighed.

"Are you sure this is necessary? Can't you just ask him? . . ."

"No!" Robin shrieked, "If Yannick found out that I don't know his last name, I'd never hear the end of it! We need to search the computer's database for his portfolio. There's no other way . . ."

"Haven't you been married for, like, two years?" Ellie estimated.

"Oh, shut up! I'll bet you don't know everything about Alan," Robin huffed.

"Try me."

"Last name?"

"Grant."

"Middle name?"

"Nigel."

"Favorite dinosaur?"

"Triceratops."

"Favorite color?"

"Blue. Or purple. He's colorblind."

"Age?"

"Thirty-six."

"Date of birth?"

"September fourteenth."

"Phobias?"

"Spiders, needles, and dogs. And he dry-heaves whenever he hears the word 'sponge'."

"Political views?"

"Center-right."

"Turn-ons?"

Ellie frowned and went back to typing. Robin giggled like a ninny.

"Found him," Ellie announced casually. She clicked on Yannick's name and brought up his profile. Robin leaned in and squinted her eyes in confusion.

"The file must be corrupted. That doesn't look right . . ."

"Nope, that's his last name. It says so right here . . ."

Robin scrunched up her nose.

"Ilnyckyj? That's not a real name!"

"It must be . . ."

"Maybe the nurse who wrote his birth certificate passed out on the keyboard . . ."

"Unlikely."

"But possible. How would you even say that?"

"With your vocal cords?" Ellie sassed.

Robin chuffed and rolled her eyes. With a smug grin, Ellie closed Yannick's profile. She was about to shut down the computer, but something caught her eye. She scrolled down the staff list with a puzzled expression. The monitor's light reflected off of her glasses in shrunken fractals.

"That's odd . . ."

"What?" Robin asked.

"It says here that this person's name was redacted . . ."

Ellie clicked on a line of yellow text to further explore the issue. When she attempted to retrieve the file, however, it asked for a password.

"Strange. I thought Ray removed all of the extraneous security. The files should be up-to-date . . ."

"Not this one," Robin stated, pointing to the most recent date of modification, "This was made six years ago."

Ellie watched as the password cursor blinked tantalizingly. Who was this missing employee, and why had they been removed from the staff list?

Ellie's hands hovered over the keyboard. She took a deep breath and began to type. Her fingers clicked against each key with an otherworldly feel, as though she was being guided by her subconscious.

"What are you doing?" Robin asked.

"Trying a password."

"Ha! Good luck! What are the odds that you could guess it on the first-"

The file opened.

". . . Try . . ."

Ellie frowned with confusion. Instead of a profile, there were dozens of documents, all neatly organized into separate folders. Robin read the first title out loud with confusion.

"Diaeresis? What's that, some kind of bowel irritation?"

"No, it's a letter ornamentation. You know: the two dots that you use for words like maïs, naïve, or Troö-"

After a beat, Ellie clicked on the folder to examine its contents. The dialogue box had several entries, all written in numerical code and computer commands. Ellie went back to the main bin and scrolled down. She clicked on a folder that bore the name "canon_edits". A stream of commands poured down the monitor.

delete_1023

Delete Novel? Y/N

Y

Move to storage bin? Y/N

Y

Complete.

insert_3120

Insert Film? Y/N

Y

Complete.

"What does it mean?" Robin asked.

"I don't know . . ." Ellie replied with confusion. She clicked on another folder, entitled "SP_dialogue", and scanned its contents.

Are you sick, Ellie Sattler? The real question is: what do YOU want? I am a manifestation of your subconscious. I will help you face what you choose to ignore. Do you know why I am here, Ellie Sattler? That is true, but I refer to a deeper meaning. Something more . . . spiritual, if you will. Why do you think you chose a pteranodon as your spirit guide? You forget that I am a reflection of your innermost desires. I cannot give you any advice outside of your own intuition. Many people choose to ignore their instincts. You only let yourself see so much . . . And yet you lie to yourself. You cannot fool me, Ellie Sattler. I am not Alan, I am not Ian . . . I am YOU. Why do you choose to dismiss me? Do I frighten you? Why are you afraid to become a raptor? That is part of the reason. You already know. My time here is coming to an end . . . The effects of the seawater are wearing off. You may not be able to face the truth right now, but there will come a time when you must decide who you really are . . . No. But there's something you should know . . . There's a starfish on your face. I have returned to tell you this: there is a truth you must face. No. You have only just begun. These raptors are your friends, yet you shun their kind . . . Yes, and why do you choose to do so? No. You do this for yourself. Self-discovery. I warned you about denial . . . Because I AM you. You must understand this. You are correct. However, this is not to be taken lightly. Who are you, Ellie Sattler? WHAT are you? There is a reason you choose to help these raptors . . . And yet you were willing to give your life for them. You could have run. There are plenty of good people on this island. Only YOU chose to sacrifice yourself to the dilophosaurs. You didn't have to do that . . . But WHY are you so kind to these raptors? Love? Why are you afraid to become a raptor? Why are you afraid to become a raptor? Why are you afraid to become a raptor? Why are you afraid to become a raptor? Why are you afraid to become a raptor? Why are you afraid to become a raptor? I am satisfied with that answer.

As soon as Ellie realized what she was reading, she closed the window and began to hyperventilate.

"What's wrong?" Robin asked.

"It's impossible. IT'S IMPOSSIBLE!"

"What's impossible? WHAT'S IMPOSSIBLE?" Robin echoed.

Ellie leafed through the rest of the folders. Some of them had unrecognizable titles, others hit close to home. The most troubling was a folder entitled "Virus". It appeared to be the earliest entry.

"What is all of this stuff?" Robin asked.

Ellie shivered and closed a folder entitled "morula_engage".

"I don't know. But I don't like it."

"Me neither. I wonder who wrote all of this . . ."

"Well, you'd have a better idea than me . . . Do you remember anyone who left InGen, perchance?"

"Plenty. But not for any secretive reasons . . ."

Ellie sighed.

"Although . . . There was this one girl . . ." Robin recalled.

"Go on," Ellie prompted.

"Well, she was very quiet. Kept to herself, mostly. She'd sometimes shield her screen when I walked by . . ."

"Did she quit? Was she fired?"

"I don't know. She sort of . . . disappeared after a while. Last I ever heard from her was just before the incident of '93. I was working in the fertilization lab- God, I hated that place! They made us tie our hair in buns and wear those stupid white suits that made everyone look like they had a dump in their pants-"

"Focus, Robin!"

"Right. So, she was just finishing up some sort of computer thing, and she turns to me- all serious, right- and says: 'Wu isn't taking the boat back to the mainland.'. Naturally, I ask her how she knows this, and she makes up some cock-and-bull story about hearing that Jay and him were planning to play hooky. Ack!"

"So, what happened?"

"I asked Wu if I could stay behind, and he reluctantly agreed. It's a good thing, too! 'Else I wouldn't have caught-"

"No, I mean: what happened to the lady?"

Robin shrugged.

"She seemed eager to leave after our conversation. My best bet is that she didn't want to be seen by the guests- HEY! That was you, wasn't it? How on earth did she know that you were going to walk out during the tour? . . ."

"Wait. This was right before we got there?" Ellie gasped.

"Yeah. She left before you entered the lab. But I was there!" Robin said in a singsong voice.

Ellie took a deep breath.

"Robin, I think we've stumbled upon something huge . . ."

"Yeah! Our paths crossed before we were even friends!" she trilled.

"No, I mean something bigger," Ellie clarified.

"Ack! Well, this sounds like shady dealings. Good luck with that . . ."

Robin turned around and opened the lab door.

"Are you leaving?" Ellie asked over her shoulder.

"Yeah. I gotta tell Yannick that I know his last name. And possibly make fun of Alan for being colorblind. I'll see if I have time. Toodles!"

Ellie rolled her eyes and turned back to the screen. She was surprised to see a new folder. It was entitled "Well, now that Robin's gone . . ." and seemed to have been uploaded a few seconds ago. Ellie clicked it hastily. Inside was a text document, which Ellie opened after taking a deep breath.

'Good evening, Ellie . . .'

Ellie's pulse quickened. Was this machine talking to her? She scrolled down.

'Yes, I am talking to you. And I know what you're thinking.'

This was impossible!

'This is very much possible. Don't bother with all of this "figuring things out" nonsense. Just listen.'

Ellie scrolled down again.

'You've been stressed lately. So have I, though by the time you read this, I think my problems will be long gone. Or much worse. Who knows? Not me. Though I do know quite a bit . . .'

Geez, this computer had an attitude . . .

'So I've been told. Though, I'd have preferred the term "quirky". Anyway, this isn't about me. How are you feeling? Pretty exhausted, I'll bet.'

Ellie blinked and scrolled down again.

'I'd love to sit and chat about your problems, but I have to leave soon. The "you" from five years ago is coming.'

Ah, so this was the "mystery lady".

'Quite right. Now, pay attention. You need someone to confide in, correct?'

Right . . .

'Robin's too brusque, Alan's a tad clueless, and Ian . . . Well, he's not the "bosom buddy" type, is he?'

Certainly not.

'So, who's the one person you can trust?'

Who? . . .

Here, the text created a chicken-scratch arrow on the screen.

Ellie turned to where it was pointing.

The interdimensional machine began to come to life.

'Yourself.'