Chapter 9
Gingerly, Cathy lifted the frond of the cycad, inspecting the underside. Cocking her head, she followed the length back to the base before glancing at the book in her other hand. A Treatise on Paleobotanical Specimens by Dr. Sattler. It had been a borderline impulse purchase back when she had obtained it, but she figured she might as well get some mileage out of it.
Careful to avoid slicing her hand, she let the frond down, standing up to look down at the plant. Definitely a small cyatheales, but not the veriformans found on Sorna. Reassuring, and yet, infuriating.
Every time she looked for some sign of obvious slip ups or just pure lack of regard, she came up wanting. The first park had been stupid enough to introduce a prehistoric, poisonous plant into general public areas, but Jurassic World had better oversight than that.
Then again, with someone as meticulous as Dr. Wu, she wasn't entirely surprised. Despite his focus as a geneticist, he had some skill with botany, as his first genetic experiment had proven.
The entire facade of the park was carefully maintained and covered with just the right assortment of plants. Closer to the metaphorical heart of the park, modern plants took over, with a couple of palm trees overlooking the squares. But the entire divide from the park to the "wilderness" was framed with a seemingly impenetrable wall of older plants.
Pulling off a sticky note, she marked the page for later before tucking the book into her backpack. She couldn't really afford to waste too much time. Luckily, it was still too early for bulks of people.
It was especially noticeable as she stepped into the transit centre. The place was almost eerily silent; no thrumming crowds, no whizzing drones, nothing. Fortunately, the rails operated fairly early in the morning, so she'd been able to pass the small waiting period with her observations.
Checking her watch, she mused about what the others must be doing. So far, they'd been pretty set in routines, with a few getting up around now to have breakfast. They'd made a sort of unofficial group around it. The ones she found more interesting were the ones staying up later. They wouldn't last long, seeing how they structured their times.
Cathy herself had a shift later in the day, even though it was technically her off day. She didn't really need to socialize or anything like that, so it was worth getting the overtime, and more importantly, the good graces.
Finally, the destination board came up, and she approached the monorail, smiling as the doors slid open. Not bothering to sit, she grabbed a hold of one of the poles in preparation. After a minute or two, the monorail lurched forward, and began rushing off towards the coastline. Nice thing about having beachsides is that there was always transport to them.
Admittedly, she didn't like the idea of a camera bearing down on her from somewhere in the train, but ultimately, she doubted anyone would care much. They'd see her headed for the beach, and any assumptions they made about what she wanted to do there would only help her. She'd even bothered to bring her sunglasses, just to sell the part a bit more.
It didn't take long for the monorail to get to its destination, and without incoming crowds, she was able to exit quickly. The platform was freshly cleaned, but further ahead, she could still see the marks of hundreds of guests treading up and down the path routinely. Stepping down onto the grass, she breathed in a lungful of the salty air. Part of her hoped that Sorna shared the smell; it was somewhat pleasant.
Still, she would know soon enough.
Shouldering her pack, she headed down towards the beach, retracing her steps from the other day. Without as many people around, it was much faster to work her way to the lonely shore. Setting her pack down in the sand, she pulled her phone out, shutting it off.
On the off-chance they could track it, she had to go dark.
Still, she was more than prepared. Tapping her watch, she set a timer. She could afford to spend approximately an hour heading out, and then she'd have to head back. Hour in, hour out, with a little bit of time between to do other things.
Putting away her phone, she traded it for her compass. Without her map on hand, it would be a little less precise, but she knew it well enough to get the idea of where she was. Tucking it into her front pocket, she approached the wall, figuring the best way up.
Grabbing hold of a couple of thin ledges, she tested their strength, surprised to still find them in excellent condition. Considering how long ago the tribals had been on this island, and how much renovation Jurassic World liked to do, she'd expected to find them worn away. Still, the better for her.
Pushing off of the sand, she was able to find a foothold quite easily, and focused her silent attention to working her way up the wall. It was a bit harder than she might have liked, but considering the natives had used it fairly regularly, it made sense it wasn't the most grueling thing in the world.
Once her hands felt the grass growing on the edge, she was able to leverage herself over, heaving a sigh of relief. The first time up was the hardest, and from now on she could just perfect the path until she had it down pat.
Pausing only to dust off some of the grass sticking to her pants, she looked out into the jungle, an anticipation swelling in her chest. This was it. Any further, and she would be committing espionage on the island.
The jungle swallowed her up quickly, but she had anticipated that. Still, despite all she had read, it wasn't quite enough to prepare her for the feel of it. Even keeping her vision directly ahead, she found herself slightly weaving around and through the undergrowth.
But the thing that caught her attention first was just how untamed it was. The ground was a soft, slightly wet mix of materials, and the fronds of plants brushed by her as she intruded upon their homes. Nothing like this existed in Jurassic World, or even at home. And it was exciting.
The smell of the ocean barely managed to sneak in through the plant growth, being choked out by the smell of rain and greenery. Above her, a light ruffle of the breeze told her she was walking into the wind, though she could barely feel it through the wall of plants.
As she walked, she could hear nature take over, with birds beginning to become the dominant sounds. An undertone of insectile buzzing crept around the brush, making her glad she was wearing longer clothing, despite the heat.
It was actually rather odd; despite the overhead heat, the shade under the trees was far cooler than she expected. The humid air, which normally contributed to the ugly warmth of the park, instead felt a little chilled even, and she could tell her clothes would be a bit wet afterwards. Her beach alibi covered that, though.
What it wouldn't cover was the dirt. Kneeling, she quickly undid her shoes before removing a solid metal box from her backpack. Opening the box, she removed her hiking boots, carefully selected to be as generic a brand as possible while still being effective. If anyone ever found her tracks, odds are that dozens of other people would have her type.
After swapping her shoes, she put them into the box, before tucking it into the underbrush. It wasn't far from the shore, so it wouldn't be hard to find since she knew where it was. But more importantly, once she returned, she could change back into her shoes, and avoid having to hide her boots somewhere in her room.
It was well beyond reasonably suspicious, but she didn't care. She wasn't going to let anything compromise her. Smiling, she admired her gloves before turning to the path ahead. Now that no one would be able to link her to her path, it was time to actually take it.
The first thing she ran across was an old maintenance road. She stopped carefully in the brush, looking out and listening for potential passers-by. When only the passive noise of the forest greeted her, she carefully stepped forward into the open, where she could see better.
Standing at a corner, she could see the path to her right curved back towards the park, while the one to her left headed north, towards the perimeter. Mentally adjusting her map, she faded back into the brush on the roadside, moving parallel to it. If memory served, there was an old worker station ahead, back from phase one of the park's development.
The concrete walls of the derelict came into view, and Cathy quietly approached, despite knowing that the old roads were barely ever used. Above the door frame, she could see the slightly faded square of where a security camera had been mounted, the empty screw holes having gathered moss and dirt in the years since its usage.
The door itself had come off one of its hinges, hanging in the doorway lamely. Inside, she could see that it had begun to be overrun by the surrounding nature. A fine layer of dirt covered the floor, and plants grew over the threshold. Stepping inside, she could feel the difference as the cool air and shade pervaded the air.
It occurred to her that many of the buildings on Sorna would be like this, or worse, overrun by the jungle and the animals of the island. It was an odd thought; being here felt like stepping into the future, and yet her plans were still so far from fruition. Taking a deep breath, she relished the feel, holding onto it for a moment.
Dimly, she could detect the faint trace of reptile, and she had a feeling she knew which kind. Stepping in carefully, she listened for movement, but didn't expect to hear anything. The scent was stronger closer to the old lockers on the wall, and she could see the bottoms had been bent open, both by encroaching plantlife, and by inquisitive wildlife.
Pulling out a flashlight from her backpack, she aimed it at one of the holes, peering inside from a distance. She knew better than to poke her hand or face into one, and she could easily see the nest inside from here. Or the remains of it. Aside from a couple of flecks of egg shells and the general shape, it had been long abandoned, but the stale air kept the smell.
The shells were hardly enough to identify the species, but she guessed it was the Compies. The only dinosaur that roamed free on Nublar, though they tended to hover near the edges of the park at the closest. Probably living off left over scraps and trash, given the size of the park.
She smiled at the thought of a pack of Compies climbing over a trash can like coyotes. Fighting over a popcorn box, or ripping apart a t-shirt. Actually, now that she thought about, she would be willing to bet that she could even lure them in with food. A good chance to observe them up close.
She felt two ways about the idea. On the one hand, it was a chance to observe the dinosaurs up close, or at least, closer, but at the same time, part of her ran cold at the thought of being that close to live, wild Compies. After all, they were the ones who attacked her when she was young.
Just the thought was enough to make her scars ache. She glanced at her watch. She still had time. Taking a moment, she swept her flashlight around the room, catching spots crumbling concrete. Dimly, she wondered if any of the old buildings still had any of their equipment in them, since it seemed like this one had been cleaned pretty thoroughly. She doubted it, but then again, it might be worth checking as she explored more.
She paused as something caught her eye, hidden by the overgrowth. A small design on the wall, or something. Coming closer, she realized it was a carving, likely made with a pocket knife or something similar. Michael and Sarah were here. Cathy had to both shake her head in disappointment at the juvenile nature of it, and applaud that they'd somehow found a way past the security to make it out here. Part of her wondered how they'd slipped security, but odds were they were picked up by security at some point or another. Probably not a reliable method, but something to consider. There were always people trying to break into the backstage at parks like this. It was no surprise that even with all the security Jurassic World had, a few would slip through.
Clicking her flashlight off, she decided she'd wasted enough time here. She needed to get moving if she wanted to make it to the fence line.
Even from a distance, and shrouded in foliage, the fenceline was impressive. Every thirty yards or so, a pylon of solid steel shot up from the concrete it was submerged in, culminating in a small light signifying the fence was live. Between every pair, the lower half of the actual fence was reinforced metal, capable of withstanding an assault by an enraged dinosaur, while the upper layer was an electric mesh in case something smaller tried to climb over.
Expensive, impressive, and most importantly, effective.
On her own, there was no way that Cathy was getting through the fence. Even if it wasn't electrified, the lower bars were too close to squeeze through and she had nothing that could bend them. And the top went well above the treeline, not to mention that she'd have no way to get back.
A further complication was the cameras. The entire fence line was monitored in order to keep tabs on the dinosaurs, and that included regular thermal cameras. The density of the foliage protected her from both varieties so long as she kept her distance, meaning she could observe the fence in relative peace.
Glancing at her watch, she saw she still had a bit of time to do just that, so she knelt down, removing her backpack. Withdrawing her field notebook, she flipped to a new page and began sketching the fence. She already had the design from the blueprints, but checking it personally would confirm the details.
Once the rough sketch was done, she dug around in her backpack for her other tools. Feeling smooth plastic, she smiled as she withdrew her laser distance measurer. Even if she couldn't approach the fenceline, she could get accurate measurements of the segments.
According to her rough calculations, the dividing fence line was approximately 221 km long, resulting in approximately 8,000 fence pieces. There was no way that she could measure them all in a reasonable time, but she could take some averages. But in order to do that, she'd have to be accurate. Setting aside the laser targeter, she withdrew a set of tools, laying them down carefully. A digital level, a small tripod, a protractor, and a compass.
Setting up the tripod, she placed the compass on the small platform in the middle, taking a moment to adjust it to line up with the needle. Then, taking the level, she made small adjustments to the legs until she'd managed to make it flat in both directions. Then finally, she clipped the laser targeter into the top, taking care to note where she'd attached it.
With a satisfied smile, she leaned in close, careful not to bump the set up. Using the handles on the tripod, she carefully turned the targeting reticle towards the top of one of the fence posts, aiming for the very top. That would be a good standardization. Holding down the button, she waited until the number flashed up, then entered it into her notebook.
Humming to herself, she took the level and mounted it on top of the laser targeter, recording the angle of elevation, before glancing at the angle it formed with the north facing needle. Once she took a few more measurements, she'd be able to accurately estimate the size of the fence precisely. Then it would just be a matter of a few details.
She was just about to turn the radar when she heard a sound ahead of her. Holding her breath, she crouched down lower, peering through the foliage. Straining her hearing, she tried to identify what it was. There was a low rumble, and a shuffling, so she guessed it was some kind of herbivore.
Risking a small peek, she glanced over the ferns, trying to peek through the trees to see the creature. She smiled as she beheld an adult Stegosaurus behind the fence. The tan skin was quite evident against the green grass, and its large size certainly didn't help camouflage it.
Using the laser targeter to get a better look, she took in the sight eagerly. With the magnification on the lens, she could see the slight bumps on the scaled skin, almost like goosebumps. The memory of sensation ghosted across her fingertips as she thought about the young stegosaurus' at the Gentle Giants attraction.
Looking back at the tail, she could see that like the young ones, their tails dropped uncharacteristically low. In reality, the Stegosaurus tail was raised much higher, with a slight decline at the end. With the shift in balance, she wasn't surprised at how slow they moved.
Leaning back for a moment to relax, she wondered how often that arrangement caused joint problems for the vets to deal with. It would certainly help to know for when she got to making her own. Even the ones on Sorna were imperfect, with no ossicles on their shortened throat, and their tails failed to curve down at the tip. That, and they were still too large to be accurate.
Her timer beeped, and Cathy sighed as she started packing her stuff back together. She had hoped to be able to take more data, but even she was prone to getting sidetracked. Next time, she mused, taking one last glance at the Stegosaurus. Even with all its inbuilt failures, it was a sight to see. The first steps towards the perfection of genetic reconstruction. A path she intended to take the next step on.