Chương 21: Indominus Rex (21)

The humans came for her the day after the tracker failed. When they saw that she was still inside the enclosure, they first breathed a sigh of relief. Then their faces settled into identical expressions of misery. Clearly, matters had become complicated. The second asset might have been easy to raise, but whenever something important happened, an accident inevitably followed. Every incident became a headache, turning what should have been simple decisions into complicated ones.

If accidents were not inherently unpredictable—and if it were not unquestionably a dinosaur—they might have suspected it of deliberately making trouble for them.

"So what exactly are we dealing with here?" The additional work was enough to drive anyone mad, and one researcher finally snapped.

"Its tracker is broken, right? Because it touched the electric fence or was accidentally struck by lightning? Fine. What do we do next? Remove the damaged tracker, implant a new one, and transfer it to another enclosure?"

"But that would cost too much," someone said with a sigh.

"If we keep it in the old sector, it could easily hit the electric fence while hunting or get struck by lightning during a storm. The tracker would keep failing. Are we supposed to come out here and replace it after every thunderstorm?" What a joke. They were scientists, not dinosaur babysitters.

"If we want the tracker to remain operational, we'll have to keep it indoors. But I think we all understand what happens when we confine it inside." They had all seen the ruins of the Mosasaurus's former enclosure. Rebuilding it would cost a fortune. That left them with an unpleasant choice. Either preserve the tracker by dragging the "asset" back indoors, or abandon the tracker and continue keeping the "asset" outside. Whatever they chose, they had to decide today.

A damaged electronic device could release harmful materials, and leaving one inside the "asset" was not advisable. After some discussion, they divided into opposing camps, and the argument quickly became heated.

"An implanted tracker is the bare minimum security measure! Do you have any idea how difficult it would be to recapture a dinosaur capable of running more than forty kilometers an hour?"

"We don't have a second indoor Mosasaurus enclosure! Unless you want to lock it up with the first asset? Listen to me—if those two are confined together, one of them will die!" Inside the enclosure, Asset lay on the ground and watched the spectacle, letting out a bored yawn. Truthfully, she did not care what the humans wanted to implant in her. She was eight years old now, twenty-nine feet long, and weighed 6. 8 tons.

Her physical condition was exceptional, and she had no reason to fear one of their "minor operations." The incision they made was not even as large as the wound left by a single bite from her prey. The implantable tracker was only the size of a human palm. How much flesh could it possibly occupy? She could dig it out with one claw and recover within a couple of days.

If implanting it made the humans feel secure enough to visit the old sector less frequently, she was perfectly willing to cooperate with the "operation." Besides, rather than arguing endlessly here, they would be better off paying attention to her counterpart. That malicious creature had been confined indoors for more than eight years. It would be strange if it had not gone insane. Asset still had a score to settle with it. Another confrontation was inevitable.

But given the choice between facing a lunatic and facing lightning, she would choose lightning. A lightning strike followed a path that could be anticipated and avoided. A lunatic fought like a man-eating tiger—utterly unpredictable. Unfortunately, humans and dinosaurs could not understand each other's thoughts. Humans also placed far too much faith in electronic data. If the first asset's tracker showed that it was inside its enclosure, they felt perfectly at ease.

The second asset could be visibly standing inside its own enclosure, but the moment its tracker stopped working, they could no longer rest easy. After what seemed like an eternity, they finally reached a decision. Since they had no second indoor enclosure available, Asset would have to remain outside, and they would abandon the tracking implant for the time being.

"We'll wait another three years. Once it officially reaches the subadult stage, we can resume the implantation program."

"Those are the doctor's orders." They removed the broken tracker, leaving behind an open wound they did not bother to stitch closed. Asset paid it little attention and intended to let it heal on its own, but the mosquitoes and flies circling the wound quickly became unbearable. With no better option, she rose and pressed the injury against the electric fence, using the heat generated by the current to cauterize it.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. When the smell of roasting meat drifted through the air, Asset had to admit that it made her hungry. What a problem. The longer she smelled herself, the more appetizing she became. Asset had known Susan for eight years. During that time, Susan had gradually changed from a nimble keeper into a slow-moving old woman.

Yet she remained Asset's keeper, insisting on handling everything herself, no matter how exhausting it became. Recently, however, Susan had begun visiting the old sector less often. Instead, she spent much of her time in the Velociraptor enclosure. Whenever she returned without changing out of her work clothes, Asset could smell the raptors on her. Susan told her that Owen had raised four Velociraptors and treated them like his own children.

He loved them so much that he had given each of them a name: Blue, Charlie, Delta, and Echo.

"Compared with him, I've been a rather negligent keeper. I never even gave you a name." Susan cautiously extended one hand through the enclosure and gently touched Asset's hide. It was the first time the two of them had ever made physical contact. Susan knew that she carried the scent of other dinosaurs and had been prepared to lose a hand. But her "good girl" proved far gentler and more tolerant than she had expected.

"Would you like a name? What sort of name would suit you?" Susan asked softly.

"If I remember correctly, all the dinosaurs Dr. Wu created were female. But because their genomes contained DNA from West African frogs, some of them could change sex in a single-sex environment and reproduce."

"You're still a girl, aren't you?" Susan smiled.

"How about Avril? Or Diana, Alyssa, perhaps Elvira?" Asset snorted several times to express her refusal. She already had a name. She simply had no way to tell Susan what it was.

"Or do you prefer the scientific name those researchers gave you?" Scientific name? What was that? She had one of those? Why had no one told her? The humans had always referred to her counterpart as "the first" and to her as "the second." Asset had assumed those were simply what the two of them were called. Apparently, they had a "scientific name" as well?

"Indominus…" Susan looked at her.

"Your species was named Indominus rex. It means 'untamable king.' Do you like that?" Perhaps because she found it interesting, Asset did not snort this time or spray Susan with mucus. Susan gave a resigned smile.

"All right, little tyrant. I suppose you like it. By the way, have you memorized the scents on me? They belong to the Velociraptors and Owen. Trust me, they are friends you can rely on."

"If you ever escape and get wounded by gunfire, remember to find Owen. Follow these scents. He will help you. Owen reminds me of myself when I was younger—he understands animals in a way most people never will." Would he really? If she went chasing after this human named Owen, wouldn't she frighten him to death? Even she had no idea how large she might eventually become. Asset desperately wanted to make a sarcastic remark, but nothing emerged from her throat except a few low growls. There was no helping it.

A dinosaur's vocal anatomy was not as refined as a human's. She had tried before, but she simply could not speak.

"Your voice sounds much deeper," Susan said.

"Is that a sign that you're approaching the subadult stage?" She paused.

"Come to think of it, something strange happened on the island recently. Do you remember the last storm?" Of course Asset remembered. It had happened only a short while ago.

"That night, the island's seismic sensors and acoustic monitoring systems all detected a strange sound at exactly the same time. It sounded like a dinosaur's roar, but not quite. It was mixed with the thunder, yet the thunder didn't drown it out. The sound came through with remarkable clarity. The researchers compared it with the calls of every dinosaur they could find, but none of them matched."

"So they suspect an unidentified sea monster has appeared in the waters around Isla Nublar. They think the hurricane may have driven some deep-sea creature into the shallows. They've been searching for it ever since."

"The waves were terrifying that night. They kept crashing against the island as if they meant to tear it apart. In weather like that, I suppose it wouldn't be strange for some deep-sea monster to be washed ashore…" Susan seemed to have accepted the monster's existence as fact and warned Asset to be careful while living alone outside. But only Asset knew that the mysterious roar Susan described had come from her.

She had produced it only once—a deep, commanding sound that seemed to resonate with the heavens and the earth. Once she regained her senses, however, she had been unable to make the same sound again.

"Sea monsters are dangerous," Susan continued.

"If it ever comes ashore, you'll have to be clever. Hide in the trees, understand? Oh, no. You may be too large for the trees to hide you now." The only thing capable of threatening me is me, Asset decided. Time flowed on, and Asset finally reached the subadult stage. Her appetite doubled. Her body grew larger, and her weight continued to rise. Dense muscle covered her entire frame, and fifty-six interlocking teeth filled her jaws.

Combined with a thick layer of fat and armor-hard hide, her subadult body had no equal on land. Even the humans had begun to regard her as the undisputed apex predator. Approaching her had become dangerous, so every examination and measurement was now performed using advanced equipment.

"According to the scans, Indominus No. 2 is now a subadult. It currently measures thirty-six feet in length, stands fifteen feet tall, and weighs approximately 9. 8 tons. It has fifty-six teeth, each approximately eleven inches long, with crowns measuring up to 6. 3 inches."

"That's basically two rows of hunting knives inside its mouth. And with a bite force of thirty thousand newtons, could it—could it bite straight through a Gyrosphere?"

"In theory, yes. But animals learn from bad experiences, and they aren't clever enough to reassess their conclusions. It failed to bite through a Gyrosphere the first time and decided it was inedible. It won't try to eat one again. So rest assured: you're safe inside a Gyrosphere."

"What about the other one? Has Indominus No. 1 ever encountered a Gyrosphere?"

"Indominus No. 1 is intended for exhibition, and it will be displayed indoors. Its enclosure is highly secure, so visitors won't need to enter a Gyrosphere to see it. There's no need to worry." The humans gathered beyond the electric fence, where they established a temporary camp and erected barrier after barrier. Their intention was to remain out of Asset's sight so they would not agitate her and provoke her into treating them as territorial intruders.

After all, she had entered the subadult stage—the dinosaur equivalent of becoming a troublesome teenager. Susan had once told her that teenagers had a way of getting on everyone's nerves—parents, pets, everyone. By that logic, it was perfectly understandable that the humans found Asset difficult at this stage of her development. They stayed out of her way, and she avoided another tranquilizer dart. Everyone won. For some reason, however, her "second sight" appeared to have changed.

Even through layer after layer of solid obstruction, she could still see every human with perfect clarity—even those sitting inside fully enclosed military vehicles. More than that, she appeared capable of regulating her body temperature to evade their thermal-imaging systems.

"What's happening? Is the equipment malfunctioning again? The dinosaur was right there a moment ago. Why has its image disappeared?"

"Perhaps the electric fences in the old sector are interfering with the equipment?" Asset allowed her body temperature to return to normal, but her heart sank. If she could do this, then her counterpart probably could as well. Sooner or later, it would deceive the humans and escape from its enclosure. Asset needed to prepare.