Chương 11: Indominus Rex (11)

The old enclosure was woven from electrified fencing—bright, spacious, and expansive enough to offer the illusion of freedom. Vegetation had been growing wild here for ten years. Depressions in the ground had filled into pools. Forest birds nested busily among the trees, and the untreated skulls of cattle and sheep lay half-buried in the soil. The scents of the previous "inhabitants" had long since faded, but traces of the lives they had once led inside the enclosure remained.

There were four rust-covered transport crates, a broken claw lodged beside the electric fence, bloodstains that had seeped so deeply into cracks in the rocks that even the rain could not wash them away—and a small golden ring lying among a pile of stones. It was a ring. Asset had seen similar bands on the researchers' hands and knew that humans favored them as ornaments. Curious, she carefully hooked it with the tip of one claw and raised it before her eyes. A short word had been engraved inside: Aileen.

It was a person's name. She did not know how the ring had come to be there. Perhaps a keeper had lost it ten years ago. Perhaps it was all that remained of some unfortunate soul dragged into the enclosure and eaten. Or perhaps the current had washed it into the habitat and carried it through countless twists and turns until it finally reached her. With the ring hooked around one claw, Asset waded upstream toward the source. Along the way, she passed numerous ant nests and found plenty of signs left by rodents.

At her approach, they scattered at once. Once she pushed through the broad leaves and moved on, they quickly returned. A peculiar balance existed between them. Asset did not regard them as food, and they sensibly repaid her restraint by cleaning up the remains of her meals and keeping the enclosure tidy. In the end, she could not follow the stream all the way to its source. The electric fence blocked her path. But after tracing it to the edge of the enclosure, she discovered that the stream was not artificial.

It was a naturally flowing waterway. In other words, if she was patient enough to dig along the streambed, it was only a matter of time before she created a tunnel and escaped. But she did not want to do that. Digging held little appeal for her. She was far more interested in breaking through the fence. She tilted her head back and followed the electric grid upward with her eyes. The mesh divided the sky into countless little squares. The sight felt oppressive.

As though afraid she might fly away, the humans had even placed a "lid" over the enclosure. Ridiculous. When humans created life, they acted without restraint. They were bold, reckless, and willing to devote everything they had to the task. Yet when the time came to raise that life, they became hesitant and afraid. They found countless ways to hinder its development and guarded against it at every turn. Did that not exhaust them? If raising dinosaurs was so tiring, why had they resurrected them in the first place?

They gave these creatures life but denied them freedom. Then they offered them freedom only to surround it with a cage. They intended to control their creations' destinies forever. That did not sound remotely realistic. After all, life found a way. And Asset was willing to touch the electric fence. If the humans would not give her another electric eel, she would create one herself. Her determination to win left no room for fear of pain or death. Without hesitation, she reached out and grabbed the fence.

As expected, she failed to overcome human technology. A powerful electrical current tore through her body. Even with her extraordinary constitution, she could not withstand it. She lost consciousness and collapsed instantly. Startled birds burst into noisy cries among the trees. But Asset had fallen inside one of the surveillance cameras' blind spots. No one was going to notice that anything was wrong. After lying unconscious for nearly two hours, Asset slowly awakened to the sound of Susan calling her.

She climbed unsteadily to her feet and staggered toward the feeding area. Before long, her mind had cleared. The feeding crane hung overhead, lowering a fully grown wild boar into the enclosure. Susan stood on the elevated platform and looked down. The dinosaur waited obediently for her meal to reach the ground, looking almost like a child at home waiting to be served dinner. Susan could not help smiling.

"Good girl, where did you go to sleep? I haven't seen you all morning." Knowing there would be no answer, she continued naturally.

"You know, out of all the dinosaurs I've cared for, you're the most unusual." This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. The boar reached the ground and immediately bolted, apparently terrified by something. Asset did not chase it at once. Instead, she looked up at Susan and gently swayed her long tail, as though listening carefully to every word. Leaning against the railing, Susan smiled.

"Yes. Just like that."

"You don't rush to eat the way other carnivores do. You don't attack the feeding crane before it finishes lowering your prey, and you show no interest in the people standing above the fence. You even wait until the prey touches the ground before you make your move."

"You have your own rules for hunting, almost like a knight among humans." Resting her head on one hand, Susan gradually wandered away from the subject.

"My granddaughter loves knights. She has an entire row of knight figurines. I ordered every one of them for her…" Unfortunately, Susan could not leave the island, and her family could visit only occasionally. But as a mother and grandmother, she did not want them coming to such a dangerous place, even for a holiday. For reasons she could not explain, Susan always felt that the tragedy of ten years ago would one day repeat itself on Isla Nublar.

"Ten years ago, I was one of the keepers assigned to this enclosure. Four velociraptors lived here back then." Susan was truly lonely. Once she began talking, she hardly paused.

"The safety measures weren't very good in those days. One of my colleagues fell into the enclosure during feeding. Unfortunately, the velociraptors tore him apart."

"Poor man. He died and left behind Aileen and their two children. He didn't even have the chance to leave them any last words." Aileen? Asset tilted her head. Then she turned and disappeared into the depths of the forest. Before long, the boar's screams echoed through the trees. They ended moments later. The unnerving sound of chewing followed. Susan gathered her equipment and slowly descended the stairs. She removed the empty feeding crate, then brought her chair over and sat in her usual place.

When the leaves began to rustle, she unfolded her newspaper and prepared to read— A golden streak suddenly flashed through the air. A ring passed neatly through one of the gaps in the electric fence and landed on her newspaper with a sharp tap. Susan jumped. First, she called upon God rather loudly. Once she had calmed down, she picked up the ring. A moment later, her eyes widened.

"Aileen… Aileen?" She remained frozen for a long time. When she finally recovered from her shock, she immediately turned toward the enclosure. But human eyes could not penetrate Asset's camouflage. Asset had already blended into her surroundings. All Susan could see was a dense expanse of forest. Yes, Asset had learned the other dinosaur's technique— Camouflage. And the main reason she had managed to learn it was that she kept touching the electric fence.

The current passed through her body and inflicted terrible pain, but it also carved open the abilities hidden within her and awakened the potential encoded in her genes. The strong adapted to any environment. And Asset had the patience to grow slowly.

"Electric shocks—or electrical stimulation—can indeed promote the growth, differentiation, and repair of biological cells. But the procedure must be performed under carefully controlled conditions."

"For example, take this dinosaur egg. The embryo inside has already formed, but its vital signs are weak." Dr. Wu guided the researcher through the procedure.

"We can use a microcurrent to stimulate its vitality."

"The body contains many different kinds of cells, and some of them respond to electrical fields. Our nerve cells, bone cells, and muscle cells, for example, repair themselves more effectively and multiply more quickly when exposed to tiny electrical currents."

"Dinosaurs are no different, although their tolerance for electrical stimulation is far greater than ours." The genetic experiments continued. Under electrical stimulation, a new batch of herbivorous dinosaurs broke free of their shells. The hatchlings cried noisily. The researchers quickly sorted them and transported them to different parts of the island. Those that died immediately after hatching were thrown into waste containers and processed into feed for the carnivores.

At first glance, they seemed less like newborn lives and more like toys fresh from a factory. The intact products were shipped out for sale. The defective ones were casually discarded. The laboratory seemed to be staging an elaborate and absurd pantomime. Its researchers created life and destroyed it, all in the name of scholarship and miracles. Dr. Wu's demonstration ended, and the researchers began their practical work.

Beyond the bustle of the laboratory, a package passed through the island's security inspection. Company personnel carried it off the island and sent it to a distant destination. Susan stood at an elevated vantage point and stared into the distance. Countless thoughts passed through her mind, and tears filled her eyes. In the end, all she could manage was a sigh. She did not know how many more decades she had left. One, perhaps two. Certainly no more than that. But at least…

At least while she was still alive, she wanted to do what little she could.

"She possesses intelligence. My God."

"She understands what a ring means to a human. She possesses a degree of empathy. She isn't—and will never become—the kind of monster that lived at Camp Cretaceous."

"God… it—no, she is a good girl."

"She isn't a dinosaur." Not merely a dinosaur. Susan told no one about the secret. She continued working as an inconspicuous keeper, silently traveling between the new and old habitats each day to feed different dinosaurs. But the amount of time she spent with Asset increased noticeably. Whenever she had a free moment, she came to Asset's enclosure carrying more things to share.

From newspaper gossip to fairy tales, from stories of her own life to the history of the park, Susan continued feeding Asset information for months. Eventually, Asset pieced together some of the relationships between the people around her and committed many hidden secrets to memory.

"Dr. Wu is a genius from Ohio. When it comes to genetic research, no one can match him. Yes, for more than a decade, he has been the chief scientist everywhere he's worked. But his luck has always been terrible…" In 1993, Dr. Wu worked for Hammond. He resurrected large numbers of dinosaurs and helped create Jurassic Park. His future should have been brilliant. Unfortunately, his employer was careless enough to invite a spy onto the island.

During a stormy night, the man shut down the electrical grid, allowing numerous dinosaurs to escape and causing a devastating disaster. Afterward, Dr. Wu ended his partnership with Hammond and entered into an agreement with Simon. But his second employer was even less reliable. He demanded results without ever considering the necessary conditions. That was how the Scorpios rex was born. That was how the Indominus rex entered the stage.

Yet Simon had no idea what class of monsters the laboratory was actually creating. He simply kept sending Dr. Wu more funding while demanding dinosaurs that were bigger, scarier, and cooler.

"When I saw a dinosaur for the first time, I thought genetic experimentation was something beautiful."

"But when I saw the Scorpios rex, I suddenly realized that it was the work of the devil."

"They had begun to desecrate life." That day's storytelling came to an end, and Susan slowly walked away. Asset watched the old woman disappear into the distance. Then she rose and began circling the enclosure. Late that night, when the surveillance camera turned toward its blind spot, Asset calmly raised one claw and touched the electric fence. This time, she endured the current for eight full seconds before losing consciousness. When Asset turned one year old, Susan disappeared for several days.

When she finally returned, her right hand was wrapped in gauze, and bandages covered part of her face. Sounding half aggrieved and half resigned, she told Asset what had happened.

"The people in charge sent me to feed the other one of your kind."

"It looks so much like you that I forgot to keep my guard up. It nearly dragged me into the enclosure."

"That was close." Susan spread her hands.

"The other one of your kind… is extremely vicious. I could feel it. I won't be going back to that habitat. It gave me nightmares for several nights." Asset said nothing. She merely lay beneath the broad leaves and quietly examined Susan's scent. She knew why Susan had been attacked. Susan carried Asset's scent. A keeper bearing Asset's scent had entered the other dinosaur's enclosure. To it, that was an intolerable provocation. But its attack on Susan also told Asset something else. It had not forgotten her.

It still wanted to eat her.