Chapter 16: A Poisonous Dinosaur?
Hammond had no choice but to follow the lab technician, who looked nervous and almost scared.
They hurried down the hall to the lab, where the technician swiped his keycard in the slot and waited for the door to hiss open. He lead Hammond through the labs into and past the Hatchery and finally all the way in the back of the Visitor Center, where the Nursery was. Upon arriving, Hammond saw that the Nursery was in a state of chaos, with the few attendants running around, trying to figure out what to do. He turned once more, and he saw why everyone was in hysterics.
There lying on the ground, writhing in pain, was one of the Nursery attendants, screaming bloody murder with a thick black substance covering both of his eyes. The man was yelling incoherently, the only words Hammond was able to understand where "crests" and "hooting". Seemingly appearing out of nowhere, Wu walked up to Hammond from the back of the Nursery.
"Wu, what happened?" he asked, trying to ignore the cries of pain and misery from the downed victim.
"We're not exactly sure sir. Everything was fine, and than we heard the screaming. I ran in here, and saw the worker on the floor, the thick black substance over his eyes. He was screaming as if the substance was burning. I took a quick sample and ran some tests on it. That black stuff is just a thick combination of neurotoxins. Potent as anything. I ran tests and compared it other recorded animals, and this mix is the most dangerous that has ever been discovered. It beats every known spitting snake. Truly remarkable, dangerous stuff,"
"Which infant did it?" Hammond asked, looking around the nursery.
"The infant Dilophosaur, sir. We found him on the floor in front of the containment unit holding her, with similar black substance covering one of the sides. I ran a quick search on the Dilophosaur genome and it turns out that the DNA used in their sequence was not the African frogs we used for the other animals, but somehow we acquired poison arrow dart frog genetic material and used that. It might have been more compatible, it's hard to say why that one in particular. We also think that it has a fleshy frill around the neck. We are not sure what it will do with it, most likely use it as intimidation, or to surprise prey so that it has a chance to spit this venom, which you can see based on what happened to that worker, is a lethal combination. Neurotoxins as strong as the ones that she possess, easily lead to blindness, and than probably paralysis if the venom is not washed out," he said grimly.
Hammond thought about it for a second.
"Okay, this needs to be common knowledge. We shall have to warn every animal handler, and do something for the tour. Maybe attach signs to her Paddock fence so that the guests keep their windows rolled up. All we need is a guest to get hit with this venom."
Wu was nodding, agreeing with Hammond's ideas when he noticed a rocking motion through the glass window on one of the tables.
"Mr. Hammond, a batch of eggs is hatching, would you like to stay and watch?"
Hammond looked at his watch, than turned to Henry.
"I'm in a hurry, I have to get back to the lagoon architects before they kill each other, will this take long?"
"It shouldn't, I can see cracks in the egg shell from here."
Wu lead Hammond back into the hatchery, and they stopped at the table. Hammond looked down at the sign on the table to see what was going to hatch, and noticed that the table was labeled "Velociraptor." He turned to Wu.
"I thought I asked you to stop cloning this species," he said frowning.
"This is the last egg from the few that I told you about. The others didn't hatch, so we weren't sure if it was going to hatch or not," he answered, staring at the egg.
As Wu finished speaking, the smaller cracks started to widen and pieces of the shell begin to chip away. The sides of the egg fell off, exposing the infant to the world. Unlike every other infant born so far, this one seemed to be a little bit bigger, and right after it hatched it attempted to leave the table!
The lab assistants went to pick her up, but she bit down on the first hand, drawing blood and causing the lab technician to call out in pain. All of the scientists stared at the infant in wonder and amazement, at the little raptors attitude. The raptor strutted around the table, cawing and growling.
Hammond turned to Wu.
"Why is it acting like that?"
"No idea sir, most infants are playful…this one is practically bloodthirsty."
"Well, keep it separate. We don't want anything to happen," Hammond said, turning away.
He left the hatchery and went in the direction of the meeting room, all the while praying to himself that the designers got their act together.