Chapter 12

Returning to her room the next day was both an exercise in cataloguing, and a relief. After carefully confirming that nobody had entered her room or taken anything, she could feel her paranoia relax. Slightly.

Now that damage control was over, it was time to focus on moving forward. Wu's threat had caught her off-guard, but she wasn't going to let it stop her. She'd just have to be careful; change things up a little.

There were still a few goals that needed to be accomplished. Firstly, she needed to find a way past the fence. So far, no avenues of access had presented themselves, or at least, feasible ones. True, there was nothing physically stopping her from approaching the fence, but the cameras would nab her easily. Only at her safe distance could she take her measurements.

Briefly, she thought about the very edges of the fence, where it met the ocean. On both sides, the fence ran right up the cliff side, with a little bit of shoring to ensure that it wouldn't go tumbling into the water. In theory, she could scale the cliffs down and around. But there was both the risk of being sucked into the water and killed, and the fact that they likely had cams there too. She wouldn't have doubted stories about young, dumb couples taking their boats around the fence to the north beach.

It looked like her best way through was to go directly through the fence rather than around. But so far, she'd had no luck finding an opening.

Sighing, she went to the window, staring out at the park. Taking a deep breath, she refocused her mind. She needed to prioritize her thoughts, not spiral off endlessly.

After she found a new path to the fence, she would observe it. Once she circumvented it, that was when taking samples came into play.

Firstly, she had to get samples from the dinosaurs: biological material of any kind. Blood was preferable, but getting reptiles to bleed was hard enough, not to mention that it would leave noticeable wounds for the vets.

Second, not every dinosaur would just sit there and let her get material. The carnivores were an obvious one, since without the "invisible fence technology" around her, they would likely have no hesitation attacking her. Even the herbivores weren't a cakewalk. A Stegosaurus or Triceratops would kill her just as easily, and wouldn't even need to use their weapons. Just step on her.

The image of a raptor on Sorna came to mind, disappearing under one of the large herbivores. The audible crunch made sure she never made that mistake.

And not every dinosaur was equally available or present on Nublar. The Tyrannosaurus was constantly observed, and the raptors were in their own secure pen. Some of the dinosaurs on Sorna hadn't been used in the new park, meaning she couldn't get their genetic samples in the wild.

Wu flashed into her mind. As head geneticist, he no doubt had access to any sample she could ever hope for, and more. But it wasn't a simple matter of walking up and asking him.

Excuse me, can I have your entire genetic library?

Oh, sure. And while you're at it, here's a personal escort to Sorna. Have a nice day.

As if that would happen.

Some samples would be easy to obtain, though. She had just the right source available at her disposal; the Gentle Giants. A bunch of young, growing reptiles. Inevitably, they would shed scales. Hell, that was sometimes a job that the keepers assisted with. The shed scales were rich in DNA if you could just extract it. She didn't have that capability yet, but she did have the capacity to store it. Sorna would do the rest.

That got her herbivore samples, but not carnivore ones. It would likely be awhile before they needed to grow a new carnivore, and she didn't want to be here that long. If need be, she could, but she hoped that she could figure something out before then.

As it was, her idea had been to get a dart rifle, one of the ones modified to take blood samples for scientists. They weren't illegal, and relatively lightweight. Once her boat got here, she could have it shipped to the mainland, and then smuggle it onboard her ship on the way back.

Nodding with satisfaction, she looked over the park below her. From her room, she could see the fenceline in the far distance, peeking up over the trees. She wished her device was accurate enough to measure distances from here, but that simply wasn't an option. She'd need to find somewhere else, a way she could get to the fence.

She could see the Innovation Center, and Main Street extending from it. Anywhere near the Innovation Center was probably highly watched, and not just for security reasons. As the most densely visited part of the island, that was where the most children were, and children tended to get lost. So the park kept an eye out like a good lawsuit-evasive industry.

Her next idea to approach the fence was the bamboo garden, but she dismissed that almost as quickly. A dense forest full of adults meant there were likely incidents of public indecency to worry about, which meant security would be there as well. Maybe when the park had first opened, but now it had learned. Not to mention it was too far southwest in the layout. At some point, she'd have to cross a road, and then she might as well have started there.

As she looked at the park, a detail caught her eye. There were a lot of drones flying around the park. She had dismissed it as one of those modern trends like selfie-sticks, but an idea formed in her head. A drone could get passed the fence easily. She wondered if there were versions that had an in-built dart gun. If so, then a lot of her problems were solved.

Given that the park sold drones for kids, she also knew there were likely procedures in place to deal with them. People flying drones over the fence would be nothing new, but she doubted that they destroyed them. There was probably a camera for spotting them. If the intrusion was accidental, then they could retrieve it, but if it was intentional, they could ID the drone. She got an amused chuckle out of the fact that the park would likely take only token measures, seeing as the rich assholes who flew them probably would throw a fit if they damaged the drone.

Well, now she had a new project. Firstly, find and order a drone for her own usage. Second, find out if anyone had attempted to get past the fence before, and how. And third, learn to use the thing so she could carry out her own operations.

Cathy smiled down at the park. Her day had just gotten significantly better.

"Hey! There you are!"

Cathy turned, squinting from under her baseball cap. She smiled as she saw Sarah approaching, expertly weaving through the crowd. Raising a hand in greeting, she noted that Sarah had arrived approximately on time. A good trait.

"Thanks for coming on time. Now we can get out of the sun," Cathy greeted, motioning to the door of Yoshinoya's. Sarah nodded, ducking inside, with Cathy following her inside.

The atmosphere was disorientating to say the least. The air grew warmer from both the cooking and the crowds of people, with only a hint of a cool moisture countering it. While the boardwalk was never quiet, the small building captured it all within the orange walls.

Still, social events were like this, Cathy reminded herself, forcing a smile. At least she could eat here. It was necessary to keep up the appearance of being friendly. Anti-social people were less likely to get hired.

"Any idea what you're getting?" Sarah asked conversationally.

"Something with lots of meat. Probably beef. You?"

"Never was one for heavy meats. Probably egg on rice. Big beef fan?"

"Dietary thing. I need to eat a lot of protein," Cathy half-explained.

"Huh. That much of a problem for you here?"

Cathy looked at Sarah in confusion for a moment before she realized how she meant it. "It's...not convenient, but very manageable. It certainly encourages me to do shopping rather than eating out."

Sarah laughed, and Cathy couldn't help but smile along. "Bet that saves you a bunch. You would not believe...well, maybe you would, but you would not believe how many interns I see blow through their savings on this island."

"I could see that," Cathy agreed. Jurassic World's prices were not exactly friendly things, and being social had a cost. "But don't worry. I've got budgeting skills."

"You don't have to pay for my meal-"

"I insist," Cathy interrupted. "Besides, you're paying me back with your time. But we should probably wait to talk about business until we're out of here."

Sarah silently agreed, and they spent the time in line making idle small talk. As much as Cathy wished she could just dismiss it, she paid attention, trying to retain at least some of the information. Being social had its own price for its rewards.

After far too long a wait, they were finally outside once more, and the scorching Nublar sun felt positively chilly compared to their time inside. There'd been too much jostling for Cathy's tastes, and she could feel one of her scars flaring up from where someone had bumped her.

"Where to now?" Cathy asked. Sarah likely knew the park better than her, and if they went somewhere quieter for a private conversation, that same location might be a good place to get outside the park.

"There's an employee rest area not far from here. Good way to stay out of the crowds. General employee, so you should be able to get in any time you want." Sarah started leading, and Cathy held in a sigh, containing her disappointment. Not what she had hoped for, but better than sitting in the open.

The rest area was located off to the side of the boardwalk, the path nestled between two stores. A solid metal door with a keycard scanner, and a camera overhead. The rest areas were definitely not the way to escape the park, Cathy noted. The inside was similarly utilitarian, with some simple benches in front of a row of lockers on one side, and a table surrounded by metal chairs under a TV in the opposite corner.

"Make yourself cozy," Sarah invited, grabbing a chair. Cathy sat opposite her, taking a glance around. Part of her was wondering what might be in the lockers, but decided that was a question for another time. Opening her meal, she smiled at the heaps of beef on top.

"So, how are things at the Gentle Giants?" Sarah asked, taking a bite of her own meal.

"It's going well. We're learning a lot about taking care of the animals, and getting into the routine," Cathy explained, poking to find a large piece. "Looking forward to when we get to rotate to our next thing."

"If I had to guess, they'll probably organize some rotations for you to shadow one of the vets on a trip to the north side. Maybe have you help in the Pachy Arena," Sarah guessed, tapping her fork against her lips as she thought. "They tend to save things like the food management for later, after they've shown off some of the more glamorous things."

"Nothing like logistics to ensnare applicants."

"You can say that again. You wouldn't believe the logistics of running the Mosasaur show. I'm just glad that I don't have to worry about the mechanics of it. Oh, speaking of, thought you'd be interested to read this." Sarah paused, reaching into her pack to pull out a folder. She quickly thumbed through it, opening to a page before handing it to Cathy.

Looking closer, it appeared to be a ledger, separated by dates and times. Each one corresponded to a show time, and had some weights. Some of them didn't have any numbers. "This a feeding chart?"

"Right on the nose!" Sarah confirmed. "After our discussion, I started tracking the number of times the Mosasaur was fed, and the weight of its meal. I had the guy who operates the pulley get the numbers for me. He has to track them for maintenance reasons."

Cathy nodded absently, looking over the numbers. The sharks were pretty big, and the Mosasaur seemed to eat relatively often. Part of her wondered where they got that many sharks, but for a park with cloning technology, it wasn't out of the question that they just grew them.

"So," Sarah continued. "I think with this, we can safely say that our Mosasaur is warm-blooded. Given the amount of meat it's eating to its body weight, that seems likely."

"I'd have to agree. I don't know all the numbers off-handedly, but that seems right." Cathy had to admit, she was impressed. The data seemed right, and the initiative was respectable. "How does this compare to fossil evidence?"

"Checked that too," Sarah said with a smile. "Paleontologists think that Mosasaurus was warm-blooded. So that was unaltered. But I think that's about where the similarities end."

"Oh? What did you find, aside from the size?"

"Well, that for one. It's far too large to be a natural Mosasaurus. And not like normal. It's several times bigger than any known Mosasaurus. And the colours are all wrong. It had melanin, which meant that it would have been black and white like an orca, not blue."

"Those...are good points," Cathy agreed slowly. She hadn't even considered those factors. Aquatic reptiles were a blind spot of hers, given that she didn't need them, but she still kicked herself. She would have to read more. "What else?"

"Well, its scales are all wrong too. It's all hard like a crocodile, but it should be smooth, and have keeled scales. Trust me, I get a good view of it every time it jumps up. It's clearly altered."

"You shouldn't be surprised," Cathy commented cautiously. "The real Mosasaurus probably wouldn't be as impressive."

"I can agree with that. An eighteen meter long snake with fins would be impressive, but not as impressive. Still, I can't help but feel a little robbed."

"Robbed how?" Cathy asked in surprise. It was an oddly offended statement.

"Well…" Sarah trailed off. "Remember how I said I worked with marine animals? Well...it always kinda felt to me like I was accomplishing something out there on that pier. Training it in some way. Not like a dolphin, mind you, but maybe making it learn a thing or two. But knowing that it's not a pure animal...I can't help but feel that some of the success is in its genes, you know?"

Cathy frowned, unsure of what to say. This was getting entirely too personal for her tastes. What was it one was supposed to do in these situations? Hurriedly, she tried to remember all the things she'd heard.

Step one, disagree with the assertion. "I don't think that's right. I'm sure your skill has at least some effect on it. It's not all in the genes."

Step two, undermine the negatives. "After all, you still altered its behaviour, right? And that requires skill. Besides, I don't think they could program that kind of behaviour genetically."

"You're right," Sarah agreed slowly, a small smile breaking out. "I guess it was just a little disheartening."

Step three, affirm the new, positive viewpoint. "I can get that. But relax, you're doing a good job."

"Thanks, Cathy," Sarah smiled. "Sorry, went off on a tangent there."

"It's alright," Cathy lied. "More than happy to talk with a friend."

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Sarah deflected after a moment.

"I was just thinking about how the internship has been going, and what the future is going to look like. Figured getting advice from someone who has been through it all wouldn't hurt."

"How would you say it's been going?" Sarah asked, looking relieved that her change of subject had worked. Cathy wasn't about to tell her it was because she didn't care.

"I'd say pretty well. I've gotten the hang of the job, pulled a lot of shifts, talked with the supervisors a lot."

"That's good. Haven't heard anything negative about you in office gossip either."

"That happens a lot?" Cathy asked, mildly interested.

"Sometimes. Just depends on who it is," Sarah winked. "Like...the fact that it's pretty common knowledge that a lot of the potheads among the staff like to man the Gyrosphere stations, since being so far away from the park means that when they go on break, there's no one around to catch them."

"Somehow, I'm not surprised. Guess life finds a way," Cathy quoted, mind drifting. Transport to the Gyrospheres would be monitored, but it wasn't impossible to sneak off around there. After all-

"You've read Malcolm too, huh?" Sarah interrupted. "Not surprised, since you're working here."

"Yeah, I've read a few of his works. I would have thought stuff like that would've been banned here, or at least discouraged, given his scathing criticism of the park."

"The administration has made so many statements debunking his claims that almost everyone has heard his books secondhand," Sarah laughed. "Like the book says, "Life finds a way"."

Cathy nodded silently, taking the opportunity to slip back into her previous thought. There were a few areas she could probably slink off to near the Gyrospheres, but she knew that wouldn't go unnoticed forever. Wu, and possibly others, were paying attention. Surely they'd see her go north, and then not appear on any cameras in the attractions nearby and put two and two together.

So that option was out.

"By the way," Sarah continued. "I heard there was a commotion at the Gentle Giants the other day. One of the babies got spooked or something."

"Oh, that? Yeah, something startled it, but they calmed it down pretty quickly. No one was hurt."

"Word is that you were part of that."

Cathy blinked as Sarah smiled knowingly at her. "Yeah, so?"

"So...I heard good things. Just wondering if you had anything to say. Let me give you a piece of advice; even if nothing happened, or it wasn't a big deal, find some way to spin it as at least a little interesting. There's a lot of "water cooler" talk around here."

Cathy considered that, and slowly started again. "I saw that the handler and one of the other interns were working on calming it, so I stepped in to help keep people away while they did the work."

"That's better!" Sarah congratulated. "Keep practicing and you'll fit right in here."

"That's good to know," Cathy laughed. "I really want to get this job."

"I can tell," Sarah nodded. "A lot of the time, we have to break interns around here, but you're doing a good job. Unlike some of the stories I've heard."

"Oh? Do share," Cathy whispered conspiratorially.

"Well, I heard a couple of the interns have already been axed for various reasons. Trying to use their privileges for personal use and all that. One of them got kicked off for subpar work in the Gentle Giants. Thought they'd be skipped straight to animal work, rather than starting at shit like the rest of us."

"I can believe that. Day one and people were already lamenting it."

"I also heard that there's a few groups popping up around the park. Sort of intern social cliques. Some are basically just drinking parties, but they do good work, so they deserve a little fun," Sarah shrugged. "Can't blame them with all the places giving employee discounts. Hell, a lot of us in the asset management division hang out on weekends."

"Any particularly noteworthy groups?" Cathy asked.

Sarah paused for a moment in thought. "Give me a sec to remember. There's the drinkers...the herbivore people...I think the one that a lot of people have their bets placed on meet in one of the board rooms in the Hilton."

"Bets?"
"Some of the security guys like to make bets on who's going to wash out. When your job is to watch other people work or have fun all day, you have to find ways to keep it interesting. They do all kinds of running tallies; how many people will try to go where they're not supposed to, how many drunks they'll have to deal with."

"Any idea which room the interns meet in? Sounds like the kind of people I should meet."

"Don't recall offhandedly, but I got a friend in security who could get it. I'll ask him next time we hang out. In the meanwhile…" Sarah said, standing up. "I should probably get going. Still have to prep for the next show."

"Take care," Cathy waved. A minute later, and she was alone in the rest area. She let the smile slip from her face, feeling a little sore. That had been a little tedious, but she got some good information out of it.

The Mosasaurus news was fascinating, if not completely useful or relevant. The rest of it was more fascinating. She now had a group of people she could potentially communicate with, and work up the ladder alongside. Devoted, dedicated individuals who she might even be able to get along with, and possibly even respect slightly.

A nice change from the average.

Cathy stood up, her mind wandering to another task. Stepping out into the sun, she kept the brim of her hat down, even as her eyes turned up. Decorating every building, she could see cameras watching the crowds, covering every angle. As she followed the east side of the boardwalk north, towards the Innovation Centre, she could see that the cameras easily covered all the alleys between buildings and roads leading off to other parts of the park.

Under the eaves of the Pachy Arena. Above the log entrance to the T-Rex Kingdom. From the auspices of the Innovation Centre. Constant camera coverage.

Heading south, the buildings were even tighter on the west side of the lagoon, with the stadium seating serving as the perfect camera array. Then, the path to the beach.

Cathy looked down the road, seeing it stretch out into the distance. No doubt there were cameras along the length of it, and more than a few blind spots. But she couldn't see them easily, and she'd just drag attention to herself if she went and looked for them.

Even so, Cathy turned down the road, blending into the crowd. It was surprisingly sparse, but given the routine monorail lines, people probably preferred that to walking. Stepping to the side as some joggers passed her, she diverted her gaze into the nearby foliage. She could see for a short distance before the jungle swallowed up her line of sight, and even before then, the dense foliage threatened to obscure anything inside.

If she could find a time and place to briefly step off the path and deposit her drone, it would be nearly impossible for anyone to see without knowing it was there.

On a whim, she continued along the path, headed towards the beach. It didn't take too long to reach the monorail station, but even there, she could see her answer. Amidst the crowd were some security officers, unflinching in the mob of people, watching the crowds with a reserved, distant presence.

She didn't have to go down to the beach itself to know that it would have a tighter watch. Even so, she wasn't entirely surprised to see that the path down to the beach had a few blind spots. They might have buffed security, but they still didn't have infinite manpower.

Besides, she didn't need to physically circumvent them anymore.

She turned back around, headed back towards the park. She had other things she needed to do now, like set up a charger on her balcony.