Chương 19: Indominus Rex (19)

For as long as Asset could remember, her impression of humans had been overwhelmingly negative. They had no claws or fangs and needed utensils to eat. They had no fur and relied on clothing to stay warm. They lacked the speed to travel any real distance on foot and depended on vehicles instead. They possessed little physical strength and even needed mechanical lifts to feed her.

They were almost entirely useless, yet somehow embodied every flaw imaginable—arrogance, conceit, neuroticism, and an absurdly fragile sense of pride. They were gamblers forever drifting along the line between stability and madness. She despised their self-importance and their grandiose excuses. Most of all, however, she despised herself for allowing a group of weaklings to keep her trapped in a cage.

Once the electric fence ceased to pose a threat and tranquilizers began losing their effect, the thought of leaving took root in her mind and grew stronger with every passing day. But animal instinct was one thing; rational thought was another. Whether she liked admitting it or not, a group of weaklings had successfully kept her captive for six years. Their weapons and tools had restrained her all that time.

Now that she finally had a chance to turn the tables, charging out without first measuring the strength of both sides could lead to consequences she was unable to bear. Besides, if gaining power meant she could do whatever she pleased, how would she be any different from the proud and arrogant humans she despised? Asset suppressed her restless ambition and temporarily spared the fragile electric fence. Pretending that nothing had changed, she returned to waiting, watching, and hiding her true capabilities.

Unexpectedly, only a week passed before she became deeply grateful for that decision. It was a ball. A perfectly round ball made entirely of transparent glass. It drove into the old sector like a vehicle and approached her at a rapid, steady speed. No matter how rough the terrain became, it moved with remarkable stability. Susan and another keeper sat inside.

They brought the sphere to a stop in front of the electric fence, praising the convenience of advanced technology while complaining that the laboratory researchers never used their intelligence for anything sensible. Would inventing useful tools not be better than creating hybrid dinosaurs? They opened the cockpit and climbed out, then unloaded the food being towed behind the sphere and struggled to place it on the lift. As they worked, Asset pieced together the explanation from their conversation.

This vehicle, which possessed all the functions of a car, was called a Gyrosphere. The concept had originated in the laboratory, while the company's research division had led its development. It was an advanced sightseeing vehicle designed specifically for visitors to Jurassic Park. Its shell was made entirely from a transparent specialized material, and its onboard system featured the third-generation version of Mr. DNA as an intelligent guide.

It could drive automatically, leaving visitors' hands free, while offering an unobstructed panoramic experience of the prehistoric landscape. Because it was spherical, its structure was exceptionally stable. Supposedly, it could withstand dinosaur attacks and survive various extreme conditions, including rough mountain trails, high-speed chases with dinosaurs, and attempts by carnivores to tear it apart.

Only a limited number of Gyrospheres currently existed, and for the time being, they were restricted to staff use. In the near future, however, they would inevitably become one of the park's signature attractions and prove immensely popular with the public.

"Good girl, did you know?" Susan told her.

"You had something to do with the invention of this thing." Asset looked levelly at Susan inside the raised feeding cage and listened in silence.

"Do you remember? Two years ago, they put a Triceratops inside your enclosure…" Of course Asset remembered that unfortunate Triceratops. She also remembered the arena project that had died before it truly began. From Susan's words, however, she realized that the humans had never actually abandoned the idea.

"You used the electric fence and reduced their entire proposal to wastepaper. That was when they realized an electric fence wasn't good enough. They needed new materials—something that could serve as a more comprehensive replacement." The first sheet of specialized glass was developed soon afterward. But the humans quickly decided that covering an entire arena with a glass dome would be outrageously expensive and difficult to construct. It would also be inconvenient to repair and nearly impossible to keep clean.

So they abandoned the arena and chose an even more insane solution. They would use the entirety of Nublar Island as their arena, seal the humans inside Gyrospheres, and send them among the dinosaurs to experience a genuine battle with prehistoric beasts. This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. The proposal immediately attracted the attention and approval of the company's senior executives. Full implementation was probably not far away.

"Good girl, you're very intelligent…" Susan lowered her voice, though she somehow felt certain that the dinosaur before her could hear every word.

"But the moment we realize how intelligent you are, we'll start devising ways to deal with you."

"So you need to be clever about it, sweetheart." She was right. Asset had nearly killed the other hybrid, so the humans had confined her behind an electric fence. Asset had used the electric fence, so the humans had invented the Gyrosphere. If she broke through the Gyrosphere, what would they devise next? She would not waste time making unfounded guesses, but she understood one thing clearly: if she crossed a certain line, the humans would decide to kill her.

Yes, she had to admit that humans were the most intelligent species at the top of the world. They took immense pride in their minds and would never tolerate the existence of another creature capable of outthinking them. Today, it was the Gyrosphere. What would come next? No matter how large or ferocious she became, she might not survive the concentrated firepower of their weapons. Intelligence was a blade that could kill her without ever drawing blood. And so, Asset settled down.

Even after acquiring terrifying strength, speed, and endurance, she reached inward and reclaimed the reason and composure of a human. She also learned to weigh advantages against risks and judge a situation before acting. Thus, when the laboratory opened the electric fence the next day and released an unmanned Gyrosphere into her enclosure for testing, Asset did not use her full strength to destroy it. She merely left a few appropriately convincing claw marks and tooth impressions.

Pretending to be enraged because she could not get at the "food" inside, she struck the Gyrosphere with her tail. Living up to its name, the sphere spun like a top and slammed violently into a tree. It did not break. The crash-test dummies inside were unharmed as well. The researchers watching from outside immediately erupted into cheers. They embraced, shouted, and mocked the dinosaur. They threatened to build a champagne tower in celebration of humanity's victory.

Human technology had not only reclaimed extinct dinosaurs from nature—it had also reclaimed humanity's control from the jaws of those dinosaurs.

"Even the most powerful predator can't withstand our advanced technology."

"It isn't fully grown yet… Then again, even when it is, it'll still be nothing more than a dinosaur."

"Should we run the same test with the other one?"

"Of course not. The other one is an exhibit. We can't risk shards from the Gyrosphere damaging its skin or eyes. Only this one, understand? Only this one can be used as a test subject." They pointed at Asset, who had curled her long tail around the Gyrosphere and dragged it back toward herself. She began idly spinning it beside her like a toy.

"So, do we need to go inside and recover it?"

"No," the project leader replied.

"It's only a prototype. We might as well let it keep the thing as a toy. There's no reason to fight a dinosaur over a piece of scrap." Before long, the humans packed up their equipment and left. Having concluded that she could not break through the Gyrosphere, they made no attempt to reinstall cameras in the enclosure. Security in the old sector remained as lax as ever. The area had remained intact for so long only because Asset had chosen not to leave.

Once the humans were far enough away, the old sector belonged entirely to her. Asset rolled the Gyrosphere around in boredom, dragging her claws across the glass and producing a piercing screech. Then she drove one claw straight through it. The specialized glass yielded with ease. As though tearing the organs from prey, she pulled out the two crash-test dummies before focusing her attention on the display inside the sphere.

Remembering something she had seen in the laboratory long ago, Asset gently pressed one of the controls with the tip of her claw. Mr. DNA suddenly sprang onto the screen.

"Hello! I'm your personal guide, Mr. DNA. Welcome to Jurassic Park. It is my great honor to assist you!" Asset pushed her entire head into the sphere. Her breath fogged the inner surface of the glass. Perhaps her biological presence convinced the system that a passenger was inside. Whatever the reason, Mr. DNA showed no sign of stopping and continued talking cheerfully.

"Next, I'll introduce you to the park's basic layout and the habitats of its dinosaurs…" Asset dragged the Gyrosphere deep into the forest. Until its battery ran out, it would be her favorite learning tool. * The days slipped by. In the blink of an eye, another week had passed. When Susan arrived with a load of dinosaur meat, she found a battered Gyrosphere wedged in the electric fence. From its appearance, the fence seemed to have torn it apart.

"Oh, so we have a naughty girl today. You've certainly created a great deal of extra work for me." She sent the other keeper away to report the damage and summon a repair crew. Susan herself climbed out of the Gyrosphere without showing the slightest concern for the damaged fence. She simply struggled to drag the food over and load it onto the lift, apparently not worried in the least that a dinosaur might eat her.

"I know you won't hurt me," Susan said as she worked.

"I was a zoologist when I was younger. I've dealt with all kinds of animals, so I know what an animal with true awareness looks like."

"You're different from the others. You remind me of a giant white ape I once encountered in the remote western highlands. There was something almost human about it."

"Well, I suppose it wouldn't matter if you ate me." Susan made it sound like a joke, but there was sincerity beneath her words.

"If I died, my children would receive a considerable settlement. They'd hate this island and stay away from it for the rest of their lives. Wouldn't that be wonderful?" Asset snorted, looking thoroughly disgusted by the thought of eating her. She lowered her head and began eating the dinosaur meat. Susan gazed into the distance, taking in the endless forest with a reflective expression.

"Good girl, I'm getting old. I don't know how much longer I'll be able to stay with you."

"If I die on this island one day, I'll arrange for Owen to become your keeper," Susan explained.

"Owen is a new friend of mine. He used to be a soldier, and now he takes care of four Velociraptors."

"I used to think anyone sent by the military had to be rotten. They wage wars and spread terror… But Owen is different. He's a good man. He takes excellent care of those four little ones. He teaches them to hunt together and respond to commands. He's practically their mother, and he even looks after them when they're sick."

"I'd feel safe leaving you with him." Asset lifted her head and snorted at Susan several times, making her displeasure perfectly clear. Susan ended up covered in dinosaur mucus, but she laughed with delight.

"Oh God, that's disgusting! All right, all right. I'm still alive. As long as I'm here, I won't hand you over to Owen." Asset stopped displaying such humanlike behavior and began eating more quickly. She could hear several Gyrospheres entering the old sector and guessed that the repair crew had arrived. Susan descended slowly while Asset withdrew into the shadows to rest. A tranquilizer dart flew toward her, and the humans began the day's repairs. This time, however, the workload was enormous.

Both layers of the electric fence had been completely destroyed. Should they repair them, or move the "Asset" to a different enclosure? That was the question.