Chương 18: Indominus Rex (18)

Conditions in the old sector were extremely limited. There were only two natural water sources: a small pond and a shallow stream. Neither offered what she needed to develop further. The pond had long since been claimed by frogs. Its opening was narrow, its bottom thick with mud, and even at full capacity, it could barely hold her body. The stream, meanwhile, reached only as high as her hind legs at its deepest point.

Its current was swift, the terrain restrictive, and no amount of digging could turn it into anything resembling a large lake. Her daily training was therefore limited to two exercises. One was submerging her head in the pond and holding her breath. The other was wading upstream with her hind legs immersed, repeating the exercise again and again to familiarize herself with the resistance of moving water. Over time, however, she discovered that these exercises accomplished very little.

Perhaps her body had grown too strong, or perhaps the training simply was not demanding enough, but neither her energy nor her stamina was meaningfully depleted. She could hold her breath for longer, but her muscles were not receiving enough exercise. She could not combine breath-holding with swimming, could not imagine how she would need to adjust her body in deep water, and had no way of knowing whether, once she grew to weigh several tons, she would still be able to float back to the surface.

There was no way for her to find out. The old sector had no large body of water where she could put herself to the test. But the strong did not complain about their circumstances. If the right conditions did not exist, they created them. She had nothing better to do anyway. After estimating the distance between the pond and the stream, she prodded the ground with a claw to test its hardness. She barely hesitated before raising her tail and beginning to dig.

If she broke through the ground separating the pond from the running water, would that not give her a large pool? And if she had to dig several feet into the earth every morning the moment she opened her eyes, was that not a form of training too? Asset dug with determination, concentration, and growing enthusiasm. Little did she know that this highly unusual behavior ran contrary to the instincts of an apex predator and left the local wildlife staring in astonishment.

In nature, foxes dug to catch mice, jackals dug to reach rabbits, and hawks clawed at the earth to seize snakes. Lions and tigers, however, did not dig for food. Their eyes remained fixed on the victor one step below them in the food chain—until they turned that victor into prey. Generally speaking, the closer a predator stood to the top of the food chain, the more dignified its life became. Hunting was no longer a matter of exhausting labor, but of overwhelming prey through sheer strength.

A predator of Asset's caliber should ordinarily spend her time napping or strolling around, moving only when large prey appeared. Yet there was no prey before her now, no natural enemy to avoid, and no disaster to escape. Even so, she had transformed into an enormous hamster and was digging furiously. To the other animals, her behavior was both baffling and completely absurd. Had this dinosaur gone insane?

Whenever Asset buried herself in her work, her collaborators would poke their heads out and observe her "suspicious activities." Squirrels climbed onto branches to look down at her. Red-backed weasels emerged from beneath the rocks. Dwarf mongooses formed a circle around the perimeter, while cattle egrets watched in silence. A dinosaur losing its mind was a rare sight, and animals enjoyed a good spectacle as much as anyone. At first, the keeper came by three times without noticing anything unusual.

But after Asset kept at it for some time, the earthy smell in the old sector grew noticeably stronger. Even the most oblivious keeper could tell that something was wrong. He hurried around the entire enclosure and finally discovered that the "Asset" was working on a major project. This was too significant to conceal, so he had no choice but to report it. Yet when faced with the Asset's abnormal behavior, even a group of scientists could not provide a definite explanation. All they could do was speculate.

"Could a parasite have entered its brain and compelled it to behave abnormally?"

"It's still growing and has a strong instinct for imitation. The enclosure contains a wide variety of creatures, including rodents. I think it's simply imitating the way they dig burrows because it finds the activity entertaining."

"That makes sense. Domestic cats and dogs have their favorite toys, and crows love collecting shiny objects. There's nothing strange about a dinosaur developing preferences of its own."

"But why is it digging a channel? Look more closely, everyone. This is purposeful behavior. It's diverting water toward the pond!"

"If it has a purpose, then we can rule out parasites. Perfect. I won't have to perform brain surgery on a dinosaur." Someone spread his hands.

"Don't look so serious. Maybe it just wants a bigger pool. The dry season is approaching, and intelligent animals know to store water in advance. Even hummingbirds know they can bathe in our fountains." Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. After an extended debate, the behavioral-instinct theory ultimately prevailed. The Asset did, after all, possess genes from water-dwelling organisms—specifically, a deep-sea octopus. Octopuses lived on the ocean floor.

They liked hiding in holes or beneath cover while hunting, and they behaved with caution and calculated strategy. Clearly, at this stage of the Asset's development, its octopus instincts had become dominant. It needed a water-filled hollow, needed mud to coat and conceal its body, and needed the pressure and security provided by a body of water.

"…So, are we supposed to build it a swimming pool?" one researcher asked.

"There's no need. It's already doing that itself," someone replied, as always eager to reduce his own workload.

"This behavior may not last long anyway. Why create more work for ourselves?"

"I don't understand. How can two creations made from the same group of genes turn out so differently? The first one neither sheds its skin nor digs. The difference between the two is enormous." The first resembled a dinosaur. The second was more like…a new species wearing a dinosaur's skin while borrowing a little from everything else.

"Treat them as individuals." Dr. Wu entered the laboratory. No one knew how long he had been listening. Wearing his usual mild smile, he continued, "Even twins dislike being treated as the same person, and these two hatched three weeks apart."

"They were born different—similar, yet distinct. Wouldn't you agree?" In the end, the humans neither interfered with Asset's digging nor offered her any assistance. They made the same choice as the animals: they stood back and watched. In that sense, humans and animals were not so different. Both loved a good spectacle. With unseen audiences watching from both sides, Asset dug diligently for a full month and finally carved the channel into shape.

She carefully directed the stream into the pond, fully expecting to gain a personal soaking pool— Only to discover that water flowed, and flowing water eroded. The stream descended from the mountain with considerable potential and kinetic energy. Even after being diverted, it struck the soil with considerable force. Through mechanical erosion, it altered the channel, steadily widening and deepening the trench.

The instant both ends were connected, Asset's brief excitement gave way to stunned disbelief as she watched the channel expand, soil wash away, and the surrounding terrain collapse into chaos. The rushing water swept away loose earth, escaped its intended course, and flooded the rodents' burrows. It began flowing toward lower ground, overflowing the pond and carrying off an equally bewildered extended family of frogs. Within fifteen minutes, Asset had lost one-third of her territory.

Only then did the water finally reach a point of equilibrium, gradually slowing and settling into calm. She had obtained the large pool she wanted. Somehow, though, she could not bring herself to feel pleased about it. For reasons she could not explain, the combination of a large pool and an electric fence gave her a distinctly ominous feeling. * Her instincts were correct.

The pool had been built beside the electric fence, and whenever the season of heavy rain arrived, she found herself being electrocuted far more often. Ready or not, nature always struck back. Between the lashing rain and repeated bolts of lightning, it made sure Asset's childhood came with the full package. She was numb—literally. The electricity had seen to that. Every storm season brought another lightning strike.

Even the fresh dinosaur meat she received the following day could not heal the damage to her body and soul. After all, nature had beaten her thoroughly. Still, the experience was not entirely without reward. At the very least, she now had a pool large enough to hold her. Two storm seasons passed this way, and Asset crossed the threshold of her sixth year.

As her growth entered its peak, she finally shed the label of being small and lightly built, developing into a massive creature twenty-one feet long and weighing three tons. When she encountered familiar animals with her new physique, she suddenly discovered that the troublesome "opponents" of the past were no longer opponents at all. She could crush them with superior speed and strength, pinning them firmly in place on her menu. Once, she had been unable to reach a giraffe's neck.

Now, she could seize its throat with ease. Once, she had been unable to withstand the heavy paws of a man-eating tiger. Now, she could bring one down without difficulty. Even a rhinoceros charging at full force could no longer pierce her belly. A crocodile's enormous jaws could hardly be considered an attack. For the first time, she understood what it felt like to possess overwhelming strength and an unrivaled position. The pleasure did not come from being able to torment the weak at will.

It came from the security of knowing she would never again have to fear becoming prey. She no longer needed to hide in the shadows when she rested. She no longer needed to sleep lightly in case another carnivore attacked. She no longer had to worry about what might be lurking beneath the water whenever she lowered her head to drink. She could lie on her back and expose her belly to the sun. She could leave unfinished food beside her without concern. She could drink whenever she pleased.

Now, the others had to stay out of her way. Asset had never felt better. Unfortunately, her good mood lasted only until the day she grew too large for the pool. In the end, her pool became little more than a largely useless fishpond… At dusk, Susan arrived with two other keepers to deliver her food. Two years earlier, the three of them would stand on the lift and watch the Asset eat. Now, they could only deliver her meals while hiding inside an iron cage. There was no helping it.

She had grown so large that even standing perfectly still and minding her own business was enough to terrify people. Keepers were human too. It was only natural for them to be afraid. Yet no matter how monstrous Asset's appearance became, Susan's attitude toward her never changed.

"Good girl, you need to eat more," Susan said with a smile.

"The more you eat, the bigger and heavier you'll grow." The keeper gave a strained smile.

"Susan, she already weighs three tons."

"Only three tons. She obviously isn't getting enough to eat." In Susan's eyes, three tons or thirty, Asset would always be a poor, underfed child.

"The other one weighs 4. 4 tons, while she's only three. Has Director Claire been cutting back on her food? Oh God, unbelievable! Are they actually mistreating a dinosaur? I'm filing a complaint!" The keeper was left speechless. At last, he sighed helplessly.

"Susan, sometimes you really remind me of my grandmother… If you have the time, you should visit your family. She's only a dinosaur. You can't raise her as though she were your granddaughter."

"Listen, young man. I will never allow my family to set foot on this island. Never! And I strongly advise you not to bring yours here either."

"What? Why? Dinosaurs are every child's dream."

"Yes, a dream. But only in books. In reality, they're a living, breathing nightmare." The iron cage rose, and the three of them drove away, apparently continuing their argument. Asset withdrew her gaze. Then she reached out, closed her claws around the electric fence, and gave it a shake. She endured the current without expression. Then, still fully conscious, she released the fence. This time, the pads of her claws were completely unharmed. It seemed… This fence could no longer hold her.