Jurassic World: Return to Isla Nublar – Chapter 3: Hammond's Abode
Alexis "Lex" Murphy walked up a flight of steps towards the large mansion that lay before her. This mansion belongs to none other than the CEO of International Genetic Technologies himself – Dr. John P. Hammond.
Over the past few years (2001-present), the once-thriving genetic-engineering company, InGen, has mostly been a defunct company. InGen had been on the verge of Chapter 11 ever since the "Jurassic Park Incident" of 1993; the original CEO of InGen, John Hammond was replaced by the board of directors with his money-greedy nephew, Peter Ludlow, and to save their operation, they wanted to exploit their "factory floor", where the creation the dinosaurs for the park actually took place – Isla Sorna, also known as Site B. They had wanted to recreate the original park in the form of Jurassic Park: San Diego, which would be placed in San Diego, California as its name suggests. But their plans were foiled when the father and T. rex they brought back from Isla Sorna escaped and stormed through the city and Mr. Ludlow met his demise. The T. rex's story ended happily, as he was returned to Isla Sorna, which was turned into a nature preserve that continues on to this day, but InGen fared differently – they went almost bankrupt and by 2001, they spent their dwindling money reserves on continuing to keep Isla Sorna a nature preserve. John Hammond meanwhile, took to being CEO of a smaller operation to spend his time on: the San Diego Museum of Natural History.
Lex was present during the famous "Jurassic Park Incident". She and her younger brother Tim Murphy had been invited to the park by their grandfather (John Hammond), and they barely escaped with their lives from the claws and teeth of raptors and tyrannosaurs. Now 33, she and her husband Lester Murphy, had a company of their own called Lexico, and now, among other governmental duties, they had possession of Isla Sorna and the responsibility to make sure the dinosaurs and other once-extinct creatures remain on the island and that humans stayed off. It was her company's job to make sure another Jurassic Park related accident didn't occur. Since the Kirby-related Incident in 2001, they had been doing a successful job. But today, she had a completely different, non-Isla Sorna-related matter to discuss with her grandfather in his house.
She walked up the steps and toward the doors of John Hammond's Abode and rung the doorbell. After waiting no more than ten seconds, an older gentleman in a suit opened the door.
"Oh! Hello, Lex!" the man said. "You're here to see your grandfather I presume."
"That would be correct," Lex answered.
"Go right on up, he's in his bedroom."
Lex opened the door to see her grandfather sitting in his bed, just like he usually did when she came over. And also like usual, he was staring out the window next to his bed.
"Grandpa?" Lex asked.
Hammond whipped around to see his gorgeous granddaughter standing in the doorway.
"Ah! Lex!" he exclaimed. "Long time no see! Come on in!" Lex obeyed and walked toward her grandfather. Hammond turned himself to face the side of his bed and fastened his slippers on. He grabbed his amber-topped cane that was leaned up against his bed and stood up with ease.
Despite reaching his latest birthday, Hammond was as active as he was back in 1990's. His family and friends were always cautioning him not to be so active, but Hammond was undeterred and often said, "If I die due to my activities, then I'll die a memorable death. Why, one must die of a worthy cause, wouldn't you agree?"
Hammond sat down in a chair next to a small coffee table with a lamp and a picture of a younger Lex and Tim on it. Lex took the seat next to her grandfather and smiled. "So, how have you been?" she asked.
Hammond put both hands on his cane and held it in front of him. "I've been fine. Lately I've decided to catch up on a few things. You know, going through old boxes of my personal things and stuff like that."
Lex nodded and scanned her grandfather's room with her eyes. "You've redecorated again?"
"Yes. Actually, I've hired some new people to decorate the mansion, spared no expense." Mr. Hammond sighed to himself and looked at the photo of his grandchildren on the coffee table. They had grown and changed so much since the photo was taken in 1993. Come to think of it, everything had changed since 1993. Before the famous "Jurassic Park Incident", he had been at the top of the world, almost ready to reveal his creation to the public, and within a few hours, the park had been dismantled. Now, he was in charge of a museum. It wasn't Jurassic Park, but it was still a nice occupation to keep him occupied.
"Time's past quickly since Jurassic Park, hasn't it?" he asked.
Lex nodded in agreement. "Yes, it has. But we've been using time wisely at Lexico. Ever since InGen went bankrupt, the United States and Costa Rican governments, Lexico and the Costa Rican Department of Biological Preserves have been collaborating to keep Isla Sorna a nature preserve."
Hammond grinned. "Yes, you're right. They have been doing a good job at it, but we could be gaining so much more from this opportunity than we realize."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, first of all, we could be studying the dinosaurs instead of just protecting them, I mean, we have a right to learn more about these animals."
Lex looked thoughtful. "I don't know if a scientific home base on Isla Sorna to study the dinosaurs would appeal to Lester, but right now, I have another problem on my hands."
Hammond sat up in his chair as she continued. "Last Friday, about a week ago, three men went missing in the Pacific Ocean almost 120 miles away from the coast of Costa Rica."
"So? People go missing all the time," Hammond argued. "Now is no different."
"But did you realize where I said they went missing? Almost 120 miles away from Costa Rica. And that's not all, recently, a chunk of flesh was brought to the surface from a trawling ship." She took out a picture and showed it to Hammond. Hammond grimaced when he saw the photograph of a large chunk of meat sitting in a trawling net on the deck of a boat.
"DNA tests confirm this is the remains of the men that went missing," Lex concluded.
Hammond stared at the floor as he slowly nodded his head. "Well, anything could have happened to them."
"True, but it happened 120 miles away from Costa Rica, doesn't that location seem familiar to another famous place you were involved with in the 1980's and 90's?"
"Yes . . ." Hammond paused, "but Jurassic Park and the island it was built on, Isla Nublar, were both destroyed by napalm bombs in 1993. The dinosaurs were destroyed too."
Lex sighed. "That's why I came today. I need to know if this is something we should be concerned with."
The older man continued to stare at the floor when suddenly, he got up and said, "Oh dear, I almost forgot! I have a lecture to make at the museum! I must get going!"
"But it isn't until two o' clock right? It's one o' clock now and it only takes you fifteen minutes to get to the museum."
"True, but I need to get there early. Sorry to cut the conversation short, but I really must get going." With that, Hammond got his coat, cane and straw hat and left his room, leaving Lex sitting alone.
"So much for that," she sighed as she got up and started toward the door. There was something her grandfather was hiding, and she was determined to do whatever it took to find out out . . . whatever it took!