Chapter 3

Even through the brochures and videos, Cathy was not prepared for how bright and modern the boat was. The planks were perfectly level, and even the ones bordering the curved metal of the sides of the ship were perfectly fit to the schematics. 'No expense spared' indeed. Everything in the foyer was an architect's dream, right down to the small embellishments on the column bases.

Cathy crouched down, inspecting the designs. She could probably track down the specifications of the design given enough time. The American Cruise Lines built the ships that would take them through the circuit tour of the West Coast until they reached the transfer hub in Punta Arenas. She'd seen the schematics for this particular atrium design, and in fact, they had gone through several iterations in the terms of the contract. She could only assume it was some conflict between the construction company and the PR department.

Reaching out, she traced the patterns, feeling the grooves. The columns themselves were exactly as they appeared in the designs, but it didn't include the small details. She could have traced the exact curve of the support structures, and found where the most important vents were, but here was something she had no knowledge of.

It was a little odd, like reaching into a book, and having it reach back. Even with some of the deadness in her fingers, she could feel the smooth polishing and man hours that must have gone into it. The little details were the work of humans, and not included in the diagrams.

Rapid, off tempo footsteps behind her made her jump to her feet, straightening up self-consciously. A child ran through the lobby, head whipping about energetically to take in every small detail. With their wide eyes and bright smile, Cathy could easily tell they were loving every minute of it. Something that made an unpleasant feeling curl up in her stomach.

She didn't have much of a chance to ponder on it as the parent's child swooped in and obscured them from view, ushering them off to make some unknown appointment. That was one thing that Cathy had picked up on soon after stepping on the ship; everyone seemed to be in a damn hurry. Of course, part of that was the cruise's fault. Jurassic World liners offered all kinds of on-board entertainment, and the way the pamphlets listed them it seemed like it was some kind of international crime not to enjoy them all.

Technically, she did have access to a number of them for free. No doubt as an attempt to 'wow' her with the benefits right off the bat, but she had little interest in the indoor pools or other events. Whenever she had to pass through the main deck and see all the sunbathers, she felt the need to draw her hood up and hide in the shade.

It turned out that the worst part of being onboard the ship was actually being onboard the ship.

She could recite every service the ships offered, along with the names of each one from the years of pamphlets she had collected, but that had not prepared her for actually being on the ship. There was so much activity, as families and couples and groups of every stripe moved about the ship. It was far more chaotic than observing the dinosaurs.

It didn't matter too much, she reminded herself. After all, she had work to do, even during the trip. Her luggage had gotten aboard easily, with her employment papers doing most of the talking. Nobody was really expected to be a risk to the park, after all.

Soon, she was back in her room, the click of the lock easing her nerves. The room itself had a bit of a warmer, almost rustic look to it when compared to the rest of the ship, like a midwestern hotel. Of all the amenities inside, she'd barely touched any of them. The TV was off, the remotes all in a line. The bed looked barely slept in, with only one side showing the slightest shift in the pillows, and she hadn't even touched the window. The only thing she had used was the bathroom, and for the most part, her toiletries floated in and out of the bag she kept them in.

On her excursion about the ship, she had seen glimpses into some of the other passenger's rooms. Families had unpacked some of their clothing, the mess still visible in plain sight. Others had brought along a few things, added almost unnoticeably to the aesthetic. But in every case, it seemed like everyone had brought something with them.

She was here for a different reason than most of them. Presumably, there was a good chance there were other potential employees onboard, heading to the park the same way as her. Given that the academic year had just ended, there were likely dozens of applicants, and the company was bound to need some new employees.

Cathy paused halfway through opening her laptop as the thought hit her. There might be some other new recruits, or interns, and she would likely be expected to participate in the orientations with them. To her, they were a greater risk than almost any of the scientists already there. They would ask more questions, and want to build connections, just like the other students she had worked with. Her superiors would more than likely show her the ropes, and get her going, rather than ask too many questions about her individual research. After all, this was a park foremost; research was largely into the demographics and projections for business.

A sneer curled onto Cathy's face the more she thought about it, and she shrugged it off in favour of continuing with her project. The scarcer she made herself these few days on sea, the better. After all, she didn't want anyone prying into her business if she could avoid it.

In the meanwhile, she had more important things to do. She wasn't quite going to risk digging through her hard drives just yet, but she could relax and prepare at the same time. Pushing her laptop aside to where she could keep an eye out, she picked up her copy of Die Funf Todesarten, smiling as she easily navigated to where she had left off.

It was a few hours later when a knock came at her door. Glancing up from her book, she watched it for a moment, waiting for whoever it was to make the first move. To her surprise, a slip of paper was pushed under the door. She couldn't make out any real details, so she reluctantly stood up.

Picking up the slip of paper, she squinted at the font. It seemed fairly well designed, so it was either an official piece, or made by someone with experience. Jurassic World Recruit Meet-Up.

"Just my luck," Cathy muttered, turning it over in her hands. Location: Third Floor Activities Lounge. Her frown deepened; this was official. There was no indication if it was limited to just the vet staff, or if it would be broader, and that troubled Cathy deeply. It could be a small, formal event, or a larger, more chaotic one.

Setting it down at the table, she picked at the small details. The formatting was very standard, with straight to the point vocabulary. Not necessarily something an advertiser would have done. This seemed more like an internal message, which meant it probably came from someone in the department.

If that was true, then it meant she would mostly be worrying about meeting other veterinary staff. With a smile, she assured herself that she could handle that. She had plenty of experience deflecting inquiries into her work, even by specialists. This would just be another test.

It also meant that it was a less formal event, so she would be free to show up as she was. Turning the slip over in her hand, she glanced at the time, mentally routing her way as well as the deadlines. She had some time until then.

Tossing her coat aside, Cathy allowed herself to fall gracelessly on her bed, ignoring the pulse of pain that accompanied it. Her scars were acting up again. She didn't have the energy to care right now.

The event had been required, and of course, a complete waste of time. She had shown up at almost the perfect time; not too early so as to be stuck with others alone, not too late as to be noted. It had been easy enough to skirt through, feigning an exhaustion that became more real as the night progressed.

Aside from the event organizer, who had been a basic pencil pusher, there had been a few other people, but none were worth mentioning. They all seemed content enough to be at the event, asking boringly predictable questions.

What will our first assignments be like? Standard practice was to have the interns observe, and then begin rotations. It was just common sense. Other questions had wanted to make her roll her eyes, or even laugh at the idiots.

What are the benefits like?

Do we get discounts at Main Street?

One or two had asked some leading questions to try and earn brownie points with the organizer, but she didn't particularly care. She just needed to be good enough to be kept on board. If the others got the spotlight, it would keep the attention off her for just that little bit longer. She didn't need to be an interesting hire. She just needed to be competent.

Rolling over, she smiled to herself. This would be too easy. Despite all their efforts, none of the others had the slightest idea how it worked. Jurassic World, for all its high-tech and glamour, had a heavy focus on consistency. Despite the claims of ambition, they were all about the numbers, and making the required jumps in attractions to keep the numbers up.

Her smile faded as she thought about the one person that had caught her attention. Maria Garcia, another one of the hires. She had been the only face in the crowd that Cathy had recognized, and for good reason. Even though they had never met, Cathy knew Maria's face. The latter's work on genetics was...interesting.

It had been during the early part of the summer break when Cathy had read her thesis. Trawling through papers had become a pastime of Cathy's, and the title had instantly caught her attention. The topic was a treatise on being able to expand genetic pools for research outside of the close relatives to a species. Fundamentally, it was brilliant.

In practice, Cathy could only see it going horribly wrong. Lack of understanding the genetic stability of animals had been what led to the first park going under, and adding yet more unknown genes to the dinosaurs would only worsen the problem. And Jurassic World would pay for it.

Their efforts to stockpile dinosaur DNA had been admirable, and almost redeemable. Even by her own admission, the efforts to try and reconstruct whole strands was impressive, but it didn't matter when they used the completed base strands as templates, rather than the actual blueprint.

The pop of a firework startled her out of her thoughts, and she tilted her head back to glare out the window. Over the bottom, she could see the dim glow of the coastside town, and in the wake of the explosion, cheers lifted through the air as the celebrations started in earnest. Reaching over for her pillow, Cathy pressed it over her head, trying to drown it out.

It had been like this almost every night along the way. The liner would stop at a port, and people would disembark to enjoy an evening on shore. Most of the families were back at a reasonable hour, but the couples and large parties of younger people were taking advantage of the late night south-of-the-border hospitalities.

It was going to be another long night.

Cathy was not sad when it came time to switch ships. The cruise liner had pulled into port with most of its original passengers, and everyone had gotten off in a big mess.

Glancing behind her, she couldn't see the port anymore, though she honestly didn't care how long it had been since she could. What mattered was ahead of her. It was the last leg of the journey, and despite her fears, she couldn't help feeling excited. It didn't matter that there were too many people around her, or even her worries about getting into the park.

She was almost there. Somewhere ahead of them was the island.

Cathy allowed herself one deep breath of relaxation before turning away, switching gears. Adjusting her suitcase so it was tucked securely behind her legs, she opened her journal, turning to the newest blank pages.

Jotting down a few last notes about some of the other hires, she mentally switched tracks inwards. Even with some cover in the mass of hires, she would have to temper her own behaviour until she had things down pat.

To that end, she had already worked on her standard responses and cover story. She was just an above-average student who did a project related to the park and found dinosaurs to be "cool." She didn't have any particular interest in any topic, and was just happy to help out where she could, maybe get a good mark on her resume.

A small smile worked its way onto her lips as she thought about how disgustingly typical it was. No one would think to look at it twice. No doubt, there were dozens of people who had worked at the park for the same reason, even if they did not admit it to themselves. She could use that to her advantage.

A bump forced Cathy from her thoughts, and she turned to glare at whoever it was, but everyone was moving. It took Cathy a moment, but she quickly realized that they were arriving. Leaning over the edge of the ship, she could see the island up ahead, and she realized with a smile that everyone was struggling to get to their stuff.

Cathy stood up calmly, planning her exit. She knew for a fact there were a few other employees on the ship, and they would no doubt be clambering over each other in order to get there first. With her preparation, she could easily beat them all, but she didn't want that honour. It would actually be more enlightening to see who did scramble for it. She also didn't want to be last, or if she did, to play it off incidentally.

Weaving through the crowd, she kept her hood up, trying to ignore the people brushing past her. It wasn't until she reached the door to the inside of the ship that she realized she had been holding her breath. Carefully, she worked her way passed the rushing people, moving to take a seat on one of the couches by where they would let down the gangplank.

Pulling out her phone, she tried her best to look zoned out, going so far as to put in some headphones. Meanwhile, she tried her best to keep an eye out for some of the others she had spotted during the meeting. Once a couple of them had left, she could make her move.

It didn't take long before the lobby started getting crowded, with the aggressive types pushing to the front, their bags affording them the bare minimum amount of clearance possible. A few families formed an almost defensive band around them, and she spotted her first couple of employees, fidgeting over their hair or outfits. With a sigh, she stood up, her spot having afforded her a nice spot in the band just behind them.

Soon, the announcement came over the speakers, and everyone began pushing forward, stutter-stepping. Straightening her back, she did her best to avoid getting pushed around, thankful that she was only a single person in a group of families. The overly alert bundles of people had a strange way of reigning their kids in when their space overlapped with someone else's.

Stepping out onto the dock, Cathy was temporarily blinded by the brilliant ocean so close to her feet, and pulled her hood tighter over her head for a moment before pushing forward, feeling the sun's rays on her thin coat. The salty spray of the ocean hit her immediately, but a thinner scent caught her attention, stirring mixed emotions in her. The scent of reptiles.

Taking advantage of the gangplank's height, she scanned the pier, looking for where she was supposed to go. It didn't take her long; the park staff were routine to a fault. It was the same spot laid out in the official handbooks. They were practically at the base of the gangplank, cordoning off one segment of the end with a couple of buggies at the ready. A well groomed woman in a suit stood at the mouth of the ropes, shaking the hand of the second person Cathy had spotted aboard the ship. Cathy glanced behind her, noting another one hot on her tail. Perfect.

Swinging towards the ropes, she quickly removed her hood, trying to blend in as much as possible. She'd already taken care of her appearance earlier that morning, and with the jacket wrapped around her waist, she had a proper "go-getter" look.

"I take it this is where we are supposed to meet?" she asked, trying her best to look confused.

"That is correct. You must be Ms. Bowman, correct?"

"That's right," she affirmed, though didn't say anything else. She felt a sense of relief when the woman's eyes flicked behind her, narrowing for a moment in recognition. Good, the next person had her attention.

"Right this way, we'll be off in a moment," the woman instructed, stepping aside to let her in. The two that had entered before her were talking, but she took advantage of their distraction to head towards the cars, where some of the staff waited. One noticed her, and moved to take her bag.

Despite the skipping of her heart, she tried her best not to look too pained in handing it over. Thankfully, the man didn't seem to pay attention to her much, and fastened the bag into the carrying car carefully.

It would be a moment before they got underway, and she needed to keep people from talking to her. Taking out her phone, she opened up the camera, and began taking pictures of the pier, trying her best to look excited. No one wanted to talk to an over-enthusiastic shutterbug.

It didn't take long before everyone met up, and she noted thankfully that it seemed like Maria was not in this group. The woman in charge began speaking, trying to round everyone into one group. Putting away her phone, Cathy made a note to delete the images later; she'd need the memory for other things.

"Alright people, glad to see you all made it safe and sound! My name is Jacklyn Russell, and I am going to be your supervisor. Over the first part of your time here, I will be the one who helps organize and direct your efforts. For today, I will be showing you around the park, and giving you a general understanding of what we do and what you can look forward to. Now, let's get underway."