A NEW HOPE
4 - Working Out the Finer Details
Pet quietly sat at Grant's small dining table and tried to process the details of what she just heard. Her head was spinning and her thoughts a whirl. She couldn't believe it. But Simon was determined to make the park concept work and was willing to do whatever and spend however much to make it happen. He was all ears to suggestions on how to improve both animal and human safety, except for the part of it being best he not make another park.
Even Muldoon gave up trying to demotivate the other man. It seemed as though Masrani refused to accept 'don't do it' as an explanation over the word vomit he kept spewing about how he could do it right. The ex-game warden just stood there, racking up the stupidity points against the foreign man.
Billy already left to go lay down after another dose of prescription pain killers as well as not wanting to hear any more of what was being said. But he wasn't about to admit that. If this guy was genuine on funding the dig site, Billy didn't want to screw it up. He already felt like he did enough of that while at Site B.
Terrence questioned. "When is construction to begin on this...new park?"
"Hopefully never," quipped Pet.
"Soon," answered Simon, ignoring the hybrid. "If plans work out, I'll have a new construction company formed within my own company to aide in building. I already have one company, Axis Boulder Engineering, to oversee much of the electrical work."
Pet tapped a clawed finger on the table top impatiently. "You're going to go with the electrical fencing as was with the first park?"
"Sort of." A scheming smile lit up Simon's face.
Grant spoke up. "We all saw how well the electrical fence worked on Jurassic Park. Well, almost everyone."
"I'm more going with the idea of tracking devices." Simon continued. "One of the issues of the first park were some of the smaller animals crossing over into a neighboring paddock. It seemed the high voltage fencing wasn't enough." Simon aimed a finger at Muldoon. "I liked your idea you proposed to Mr. Hammond with fitting radio collars on...what as it..."
Pet answered. "Velociraptors."
"Right." Simon nodded and gave a casual glance to the woman's sickle claws. So fascinating!
Muldoon spoke up. "The problem with the collars were the raptors chewing them off."
"As I remember reading in a few notes. So," the billionaire clapped his hands together, "an idea was made using the motion sensors placed around the paddocks as well as the idea of the collars. Tracking beacons."
Derek furrowed his brow. "What?"
"They would be implanted just under the skin, in a place the animal wouldn't be able to reach." Pride of the idea shined brightly in the man's dark eyes. "That way, should something happen, the animal itself can be tracked no matter if it's in its own paddock or happens to venture into a separate one." Before anyone could predictably voice their objections and or concerns, he continued. "The tracking beacons will also serve as a type of shock emitter. Should an animal with an implant near its enclosure's perimeter fence, it'll receive a shock charge to hopefully deter it from escaping. Although, I am hoping that with the help of those present, I will not have to worry about paddock escapees."
Muldoon shifted his weight from one foot to another. "Exactly how did you plan on doing this? Certain species, such as the raptors, are highly intelligent while other larger ones like the Tyrannosaur and Brachiosaur, know how to use their weight to their advantage should they decide to try and escape."
Simon didn't hesitate in a response. "Heavily fortified, concrete barriers with reinforced metal perimeter fencing."
Pet scoffed. "At least it sounds a lot better than that electrified chicken wire, crap set up Hammond used."
Grant anxiously cleared his throat. "What about in the case of a power failure and say, a dinosaur or two...or more...break out of their enclosure. How do you plan on tracking them?"
Muldoon interrupted with his own question. "Better yet, how do you plan on taking certain species down, should they escape? Say, like for the Tyrannosaur?"
Grant chided, "Or a Spinosaur, should you decide to feature one of those to the public..."
Derek inquired. "Basically, something big and dangerous. Which seems to be the only thing InGen really focuses on creating. Big, bad and scary."
Pet answered. "People love big, bad and scary. More people at the zoo in Kenya would visit the feral cat enclosures more than they would anything else. Secondly came the reptiles. People loved the venomous snakes and pythons." She turned her attention back to Simon. "Where were we? Ah yes...escaped dinosaurs and ways to bring them down."
Simon wasn't sure if the hybrid was serious or not and figured he'd ask anyway, given her and her guardian's past experience on the doomed island. "What did you have in mind?"
"Rocket launcher," Muldoon hastily answered. This surprised Grant and he had to do a double take of the scarred man. Given the nature of this man, Grant knew he shouldn't be that surprised.
Simon wasn't as familiar with Muldoon as the others were and was taken back by the response. Okay, this guy had to be kidding, right? A rocket launcher? "Pardon?"
Pet rested her head on the table and sighed. "Not this again, Robert..."
The ex-game warden went into detail. "Apparently you've never seen how difficult it can be to take down a full-grown elephant when enraged. Imagine that, but in something weighing tons more. You're going to need heavy artillery as a backup should there come a time you need it."
Pet didn't bother raising her head when questioning her good friend. "Are you going to black mail this guy into saying yes like you did Hammond?"
Simon rolled his eyes off the woman and to the probing stare of Muldoon. The look in those grey eyes let the billionaire know this guy wasn't joking.
"Fuck it," broke in Derek. "Go get some heavy-duty SUVs and equip those bad boys with turret guns. Sort of like what the military uses in convoy duties in the desert."
"It could work," Muldoon added in, in a quiet tone of voice.
Simon slimmed his gaze down on the man. "Are you serious?"
Pet nodded. "Yeah, he's serious. Go fly back down to Isla Sorna and take a good look at what you're wanting to show off in this park of yours. Or just listen to what those of us that have survived the fiasco of the park have to tell you. I'm sure there's also several video files from San Diego to help-"
"Alright, I understand." Simon was now sounding a bit annoyed.
What he hoped would be an accepted idea with his plans of improving certain aspects was turning into a headache. But, the questions and possible scenarios he was being told were understandable and things that should be addressed. He took in a deep breath to calm his racing mind. Maybe he was approaching the group of people at the wrong time, being so soon after their recovery off Isla Sorna.
"Other than a rocket launcher," Simon turned his attention to Derek, "and weapon enhanced vehicles, what are some other preventative measures I should look into?"
Pet answered. "How about a team of trained game wardens to assist in taking down the animals in an event of an emergency? Too many times in Kenya, Robert and I were the ones called in to go out and bring back escaped animals. Then, when we were at the park, a number of 'game wardens' didn't have a damn clue what the hell to do when it came to taking down or securing a dinosaur." The woman stared the man deeply in the eye. "Make sure all park employees working in the field and or around certain species and paddocks know what the hell to do in case of an emergency involving that species. Please, please, please. Keep people posted near or at enclosure fences to ensure expediency in reporting and handling procedures. These are dangerous animals, Mr. Masrani. Both the carnivores and the herbivores can pose harm if they feel threatened or their territory unrightfully intruded upon."
Simon was momentarily lost on what to say. "Is there anything else I should know?"
"Oh yeah, but we'll get to that later on. There's always going to be stuff to know later on, especially when dealing with dinosaurs."
"I'll keep that in mind..." The man flatly said.
He had read the notes over and over again and thought he had learned a good bit from others' mistakes. Now, since hearing what he had, he wondered if more things had happened that hadn't been recorded or written down. Hopefully in time, he'd learn all he'd need to know to properly run his Jurassic World.
Days strolled by, the dig site trying to return to normal as best it could. It didn't help the occasional news broadcaster or newspaper editor came by asking questions about the latest occurrence at Isla Sorna. Apparently, someone somewhere found out about it, seeing how the U.S. military was deployed to handle the situation. Now, it was all anyone could talk about at the dig site. Grant had taken to closing himself off in his trailer and refused to answer the door except for certain people. The whole question and answer sessions being demanded on him by the many unwanted intruders kept the scientist on edge and irritable.
The handful of times he actually gave in and answered a few questions were all full of complaints about how InGen lied to the public. He would go on a tangent saying how prehistoric animals not on the original publicized list had been illegally created and bred on the islands and without the authorization or knowledge of the officials overseeing the Gene Guard Act or of Simon Masrani. Grant made damn sure to add in the last bit, seeing how his dig site's success relied heavily on the billionaire's funding.
It didn't take long for his little question and answering sessions to hit the newspapers, tabloids and news broadcasts. All of which got mixed responses. Many people who stood firm in their support of the renowned paleontologist believed him. Others listened to and believed the drabble they were being forced fed by a government official declaring the accusations 'absurd' and 'that of a desperate scientist trying to stay relevant'. The news topics soon found their way to the Kirby's, who quickly voiced themselves against InGen's illegal doings by retelling their experiences on the island regarding the Spinosaurus. It wasn't enough. Everything that was being said against the questionable company was being swept under the rug.
Over the course of two weeks since arriving back to the dig site, Pet watched Grant's relevancy as a respected paleontologist drop amongst others in the science field. She knew if it wasn't for Masrani's funding to keep the excavation alive, it would be only a matter of time before he lost everything, he worked so hard to keep.
Pet watched another news van leave the dig site after much disappointment. They tried their best to bombard the site's lead scientist with more questions regarding his thoughts about InGen's denying, but after a stern talking to and maybe an innocent threat from the hybrid, the reporters left. She snorted in seething anger and stormed over to Quarantine.
She strode inside and opened the fridge for a cold bottle of water when she saw a heavily concentrating Muldoon huddled over a large sheet of paper on the kitchenette bar. Standing next to him was Terrence. She stepped closer to the bar to see what looked like…a map of Isla Nublar? "What the fuck is that?"
Muldoon gave no visual acknowledgment to the hybrid. "Masrani is paying me to assist in planning out the paddocks for the listed species he plans on showing." His attention was still focused on studying the lay out of the island. Though it had been years ago since Isla Nublar hosted contained pre-historic animals, he still knew the terrain of the island quite well and what species were best where. "I could use your help. Terrence has been assisting me but he doesn't know these animals and their behaviors like you and I."
Pet took a place on the other side of her guardian and best friend to study the map. She could see the faint, blue lines of what used to be the old perimeter fences, maintenance sheds and visitor center. She pointed at the greyed-out portion of northern part of the map, where the old visitor center used to be. "Why is that all shaded out?"
"Masrani doesn't want to build anything there or tear anything down."
"But that's where the visitor center is."
Muldoon pointed at a light pink spot towards the middle of the island map. "No, that's the visitor center…the new one anyway."
Pet was confused. "Why build a completely new one when there's still a decent set up not too far away? And it's in a nice location. It would need some face lifting, but it should still be salvageable."
Terrence spoke up. "Just because a small graveyard is in the ideal location for a shopping mall, doesn't mean it should be destroyed."
"Aye," agreed Muldoon. "Masrani understands that. What used to be Jurassic Park will continue to stand as a remembrance to what was and could have been. To the lives lost..."
Pet frowned. "Jophrey...Mr. Arnold...that poor lawyer sap...What was his name again?"
"I don't bloody remember." Muldoon traced out a section of what used to be a Brachiosaur paddock. Afterwards, he handed Pet a piece of paper laying underneath the map. It was a list of what species of dinosaurs currently inhabited the island. "There's no real knowing how accurate the list is, seeing how InGen lied about Site B. Either way, here's what was planned for the new park and here," he pointed at one of the few sections already drawn out, "is where I was thinking of placing the Apatosauruses."
Pet cocked her head to the side. "Including them with the Triceratops? Hmm… that might work. Make some of the western and central plains area an herbivore valley or whatever."
For the rest of the evening, the three people continued to discuss their plans of where appropriate places would be for the listed species. They wanted to keep the animals as close to, if not in their staked territorial areas, seeing how there was no doubt nesting grounds had been established. There was no absolute one-hundred percent way all the animals could keep their respective territories, seeing how a swath of the land was marked off for the central visitor's portion of the park.
They hadn't completely finished everything when dinner time came around. Terrence rolled up the plans and paper clipped it closed with the species list attached. Meanwhile, Muldoon called Simon to relay the progress of the planning while Terrence and Pet began dinner.
