Jurassic Park

Grant returns Alice’s call and finds her claims ridiculous. He humors her though, and she sends him a faxed X-ray of the skeleton of the lizard remains. Grant sees it and cannot believe his eyes; Sattler reacts the same way. She identifies it as a young Procompsognathus, a small, raptor-like dinosaur, and she and Grant entertain the idea of a potential rediscovery similar to the coelacanth, a fish thought to have gone extinct millions of years prior until one was discovered alive in 1938. Procompsognathus was a dinosaur which lived during the Triassic period, which ended 65 million years ago—just before the coelacanth was thought to have existed.

Just then, the phone rings again. Grant thinks it is Alice calling again, but it is Dr. Hammond on the line. Hammond asks Grant if anyone came asking him about his work for InGen, and Grant admits that a man named Morris just stopped by. Hammond insists that Grant come and see the island, noting that it would be “right up your alley” (51). Grant denies the invitation at first, citing his new fossil discovery as a reason, but Hammond sweetens the deal by offering Grant $60,000 for three days’ work. Hammond asks if Sattler would come along as well. Grant cannot deny the offer because he needs funding for future expeditions, and Hammond ends the call saying he will send a helicopter to pick them up.

Donald Gennaro and Daniel Ross are attorneys at a law firm representing InGen. They discuss the risks that Hammond is posing for InGen and the future security of their finances. They believe something is deeply wrong on the island, as they have heard reports of workers dying and a general lack of control. It is implied that they know the island is inhabited by dinosaurs when Gennaro says, “Hammond’s plan was really speculative. He was really pushing the envelope. Nobody really thought he could pull it off” (54). Gennaro explains that Hammond is bringing in consultants who already know something about the island, including Grant and a mathematician named Ian Malcolm who “was openly hostile to the project from the start” (55). Gennaro plans to accompany them to the island and see if any of them will be honest about what they know. Gennaro calls Grant to let him know that he will be joining him and asks for more information about the specimen and where it is located. Grant willingly provides the information.

Grant receives a rush letter from Hammond containing the blueprint and layout of Isla Nublar, the mysterious island off the coast of Costa Rica. There is a warning of secrecy on the letter, and Grant sees that the island is laid out into a visitor’s area and a vast expanse of largely undeveloped land. He and Sattler notice that there are electrified fences and moats dividing each section of the island, which they find strange. Sattler remarks that it looks “just like a zoo” (59).All the buildings are made of concrete and the roads are above the apparent enclosures, likely so people can see inside them. Grant and Ellie prepare to leave for the island, and Grant takes time to cover up his most recent discovery, the infant velociraptor. Grant thinks about how little people still know about dinosaurs after “150 years of research” (63), and he and Ellie depart for the island.

Gennaro prepares to leave for the island, and Ross gives him a dark warning before he leaves: “I don’t know how bad this situation actually is, Donald. But if there’s a problem on that island, burn it to the ground” (64). Ross is no longer concerned about the investment or Hammond; he just wants the problem to be dealt with. On the plane, Gennaro receives a call from Hammond. Gennaro immediately thinks back to Hammond in 1983, when he carted around an elephant “no bigger than a cat” (65) and sold his ideas of “consumer biologicals” (65) to countless investors. Gennaro refers to Hammond as a born showman, but also an evasive and manipulative man. The elephant was not actually the result of genetic engineering; instead, Hammond had performed some successful crossbreeding. The elephant was sickly and not very smart, and it “acted like a vicious rodent” (65) rather than a docile elephant. Nevertheless, Hammond managed to gain the investments needed to fund InGen and his project.

During the call, Hammond tells Gennaro that they have successfully raised 238 animals of fifteen unique species. He explains that the company set out to make “biological attractions” (67) which would be the first of their kind and his hope to make a huge profit. Gennaro asks about the accidents and Hammond again insists that “everything on that island is perfectly fine” (68).

Sattler and Grant reach the airport and are met by Hammond and Gennaro in a jet. After a quick introduction in which Hammond oddly laughs at the concept of paleontology, they take off for the island. Grant gets a bad feeling about Gennaro, and Sattler feels the same way. Grant asks about the island and whether it is a secret. Hammond replies in a vague manner, remarking that the public will be “surprised and delighted” (70) when the park finally opens, and nothing is certain as the four of them head off towards Costa Rica.

Biosyn, a rival company of InGen, holds an emergency meeting to discuss InGen’s current activities on the island. The head genetic engineer, Dodgson, announces to the room that InGen has “managed to clone extinct animals from the past” (73): dinosaurs. Although this is an exceedingly difficult task, the Biosyn team reasons that it could be possible. They discuss the amount of profit that could be possible from such a venture, when one includes merchandise, the park itself, and the future possibility of selling live dinosaurs as pets. Furthermore, the genetically engineered dinosaurs would be patented so only InGen could produce them. Biosyn is concerned about falling behind in the industry, and Dodgson suggests a plan to collect some DNA from the island and create their own dinosaurs. The team agrees, and the plan is set into motion. Dodgson warns that there is little time, as “InGen is experiencing a small crisis” at the moment (75).

Dodgson successfully finds a susceptible InGen employee, Dennis Nedry, who is willing to fetch him an embryo sample of all 15 species for a hefty fee of $50,000 per embryo. They meet at the airport in San Jose. Dodgson pays him half of the money upfront, and hands the man a fake shaving foam can in which to hold the embryos. The man assures Dodgson that it will not be a problem, and the two agree to meet at the dock upon the man’s return.

The jet carrying Grant, Sattler, Hammond, and Gennaro lands in Dallas to pick up Ian Malcolm, the mathematician. He is a “balding man of thirty-five” (79) with a sharp tongue. Like his peers, Malcolm speaks with a “deplorable excess of personality” (79). He points out how pretty Sattler is right away, and nobody can understand why he is wearing all black in such hot weather. He starts talking about how the island is unworkable and should be shut down, to which Hammond responds with anger. He concludes this from current advancements in chaos theory which state that the tiniest event can have an amplified effect on turbulent forces like blood flow or weather—in other words, the butterfly effect. Malcolm explains that simple systems such as a game of pool are still not absolutely predictable because minute imperfections can change the course of any ball’s roll. He compares all of this to Hammond’s island, stating that it “will eventually show unpredictable behavior” (84) like any other initially simple system.

The plane stops in San Jose to pick up Dennis Nedry, the man who previously met with Dodgson to steal embryos. It then heads to Isla Nublar, which comes clear through a thick fog. Steam vents can be seen which create the fog—the island is an active volcano. The helicopter starts its descent through the fog and lands safely but abruptly. Regis, the man who brought the injured velociraptor victim to Dr. Carter, greets them enthusiastically. The land is covered in a thick rainforest. Suddenly, Grant spots a “big curving stump” (87) extended above the trees which begins to move. It is in that moment he realizes he is looking at a real live dinosaur.

Sattler cannot stop saying “My God” (88) over and over again. When the group notices there is a whole herd of apatosaurs, she is struck by the beauty of them all. They make “low trumpeting sounds” (88) like elephants. Gennaro immediately begins thinking about the amount of money that will be made and is left incredulous that the plan succeeded. Grant feels dizzy and can hardly believe his eyes, but he soon begins taking mental notes to add to the field of paleontology. Hammond announces that a full tour has been arranged for the group, and he will join them all later for dinner. Atop the path, a sign reads: “Welcome to Jurassic Park” (90).