Chương 26: Indominus Rex (26)

Can animals feel affection for humans? The answer is yes. A dog may lie beside its owner's grave and mourn. A rescued crow may return with coins as gifts. A fox once fed by a human may guide that person safely down a mountain, while a sea turtle freed from barnacles may follow the boat that helped it. Even a cat that ordinarily ignores its owner might venture outside and catch a few mice after seeing them weep over losing their job, as though trying to provide for the household...

Humans might not know whether animals experience emotion in the same way they do. They might deny again and again that animals possess such rich inner lives. Yet one fact remains undeniable: animals still express their affection for humans in their own ways. Asset was doing exactly that now. Once she found Susan, she settled amid the ruins of the hospital and became quiet.

Aside from occasionally biting a pterosaur to death and dragging one or two over to fill her stomach, she remained sprawled among the wreckage, watching the armed soldiers in the distance. She neither roared in challenge nor bared her teeth in warning. She simply remained alert and defensive, occasionally licking away the blood running down her back. The humans' weapons had finally managed to injure her. The wounds were not fatal, but they presented several serious problems.

A row of spines along her back had been blasted apart. Her protective hide had been breached, and some of the underlying tissue had been burned black. The attack had effectively created a weakness where none had existed before, leaving her spine exposed to the eyes and teeth of other carnivores. That was undeniably dangerous. The wind carried the scent of her blood in every direction, announcing to the island that she was wounded.

Combined with the scent of age and frailty emanating from Susan, it marked them both as vulnerable prey. The smell drew the attention of the pterosaurs and would attract still more predators if any others escaped their enclosures. The most dangerous among them would be Asset's own kind. Given its underhanded nature, the other Indominus would certainly seize the opportunity to come and finish her off. That meant Susan was not truly safe beside her, either.

Asset needed to find somewhere else for her before the other Indominus arrived—preferably somewhere far from the water. Yes. Far from the water. Isla Nublar's hospital had been built for emergency treatment. With so many visitors, so many attractions, and so many employees and researchers living on the island, someone was always going to suffer heatstroke, catch an illness, be bitten by a dinosaur, fall from a height, or come down with food poisoning.

For that reason, the hospital stood in the service area, not far from the visitor center—and naturally, not far from the Mosasaurus Lagoon. At that very moment, Asset was resting near the lagoon. With her exceptional eyesight, she could say with certainty that something lurked beneath the water. Something enormous. Something that was itself a terrifying predator. It was even larger than the other Indominus. It had dark gray skin, a massive serpentine tail, an elongated snout, and jaws filled with sharp teeth.

Every so often, it surfaced to breathe before swallowing one of the pterosaurs Asset had knocked into the water. A lagoon. Deep water. A colossal predator. Had those three things existed separately, none of them would have intimidated Asset. She could handle each one on its own. Together, however, they radiated such a terrifying presence that even she felt compelled to keep her distance for the time being. Unless she had no other choice, she wanted nothing to do with it.

The aquatic giant had awakened a fear she had not felt in years. She would have to overcome that fear eventually, but now was not the time. She had to wait until her wounds healed and the spines along her back grew back. Strangely, her normally formidable regenerative ability had slowed. There appeared to have been something inside the humans' explosive weapon. It had entered her bloodstream, spread through her muscles, and was gradually being "assimilated" into her body, becoming part of the wounds themselves.

She could feel her body temperature rising. The food in her stomach was being digested at an extraordinary rate, its nutrients diverted toward repairing her body. What she had eaten earlier was nowhere near enough. Once the hunger began, it burned inside her. With no other option, Asset hooked her tail around a nearby pterosaur carcass, dragged it over, and began to feast. Asset, however, was not the sort of ruler who kept all the food for herself.

As one of nature's rare sovereigns who believed in repaying kindness, she took Susan's health into careful consideration. With her own jaws, she tore the tenderest piece of meat from the carcass and placed it in front of Susan, clearly inviting her to eat as well. A sixty-six-pound slab of pterosaur meat landed in front of the old woman. One dead, staring eye was still attached to it. Susan fell silent. So did every human watching from a distance.

"Is she... sharing her food?" Claire asked.

"Yes. It's a social behavior among animals, and it isn't particularly rare in nature," Owen explained.

"Sharing food strengthens social bonds and reinforces relationships within a group. My raptors do the same thing."

"It's obvious that she considers Susan one of her own. We aren't. In her eyes, there's a fundamental difference between Susan and the rest of us."

"You know Susan?" Claire asked.

"Of course. She often talked to me about the carnivore she was raising, but she never told me what species it was. I made all kinds of guesses—Allosaurus, Carnotaurus, Spinosaurus. I never imagined it was a hybrid." Owen paused.

"And apparently the thing is called an Indominus rex. That name is a real mouthful." While the mood around Owen remained relatively light, a dark cloud hung over Isla Nublar's armed forces. Officers and soldiers alike wore grim expressions. Human weapons had always seemed invincible. Nothing had ever appeared capable of remaining upright before their guns. Yet their defeat had come without warning.

They had discovered that the strength in which they took such pride could neither bring down the pterosaurs nor retrieve the "hostage" from the dinosaur's claws. Nature's lesson had arrived late, but it struck them across both cheeks and forced them to recognize their own weakness.

"So can somebody tell me what the hell Henry Wu created?" the commanding officer demanded, unleashing a stream of curses. He could no longer contain his fury.

"Its hide stopped sustained fire from an M134 minigun! It stopped direct assault-rifle fire! It survived an explosive blast—" If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

"And it took a direct hit from an AT4 anti-tank launcher!"

"That thing fires a high-explosive anti-tank warhead!" he roared.

"That damned explosion barely stripped off a layer of hide! It's harder to put down than a tank!"

"Somebody tell me how we're supposed to kill that thing. It isn't a normal dinosaur!" His furious voice continued to echo while the soldiers around him remained deathly silent. Owen, who had left the military long ago, could not help laughing. He had always been willing to challenge authority.

"Sir, you shouldn't focus exclusively on the bad news. Try looking at the bright side." He tilted his chin toward the Indominus.

"There are two creatures like that, and the other one hasn't even arrived yet. You only have to deal with one of them right now, and everyone is still alive. That's good news, isn't it?" The armed forces did not appreciate his dark joke. Somehow, despite the oppressive heat, every one of them felt a chill.

"Two?"

"Yes, two." Owen turned toward them.

"This one can be reasoned with. The other one can't. Instead of concentrating your fire on this one, you should let her kill the other." They understood the principle well enough: when two rivals fought, a third party could reap the rewards. The commanding officer finally grasped the opportunity and muttered a familiar proverb.

"When two dogs fight over a bone, a third runs away with it." Exactly. Humanity needed to be that third dog. Once the humans began using their minds and attempting communication instead of relying on weapons, the chaos visibly started to subside. With Owen and Claire at the front, a team of medical workers—people who looked unmistakably weak and harmless—slowly approached Asset. They hoped to negotiate the question of who would take custody of Susan. Owen was certain Asset understood human speech.

No one else shared his confidence. As Owen went forward to speak with her, the others remained far behind him, poised to turn and run at the slightest movement. How could a dinosaur possess true intelligence? How could it understand human speech? How could anyone reason with it? Surely their superiors had simply invented the story to trick them into walking to their deaths. Only when the truth unfolded before their eyes did they recognize their own ignorance and arrogance.

"Please let us take Susan," Owen said.

"You know there's something wrong with her legs. She needs medical treatment. She may be safe under your protection, but she can't eat your food, and you can't obtain medicine for her." Asset ignored him. Nothing he had said addressed what truly mattered to her.

"I promise we'll take care of Susan after you let us move her," Owen continued.

"At the very least, we won't leave her alone in a treatment room again." Asset loosened her claws slightly. Owen saw an opening and immediately pressed his advantage. He had no idea that his next words would strike directly at the heart of what she wanted.

"The rescue team will arrive tomorrow morning. I'll put Susan on a ship and get her off the island..." Asset did not hear the rest. Nor did she care. She did not know what a "ship" was, but she understood that Susan could leave. Tomorrow, Susan could finally leave this island. Asset opened her claws and lowered her guard, exposing Susan where she lay helpless on the ground. She gave Owen permission to take her away. Delighted, Owen immediately beckoned the rescue team forward.

Yet even after they lifted Susan onto a stretcher, the members of the team still looked dazed. Wait. Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing? Dear God, did we just complete a hostage negotiation with a carnivorous dinosaur? As they prepared to leave, Susan smiled from the stretcher.

"So... you really understood me all along. It wasn't my imagination. You remembered my dream, and you remembered my family..." She had raised a dinosaur as family. In return, Asset was sending her beyond the walls of her prison and fulfilling the dream she had carried all her life.

"You have to survive, little tyrant." Susan knew what Asset was about to face.

"We'll be waiting for you at home—in Tongass National Forest, Alaska. You could live there..." Asset knew they might never see each other again. The humans carried Susan away and quickly disappeared behind a building, taking Asset's only vulnerability with them. Asset memorized the location of the shelter and decided to grant humanity one final kindness. She would try to keep her distance from it. Rising to her feet, she prepared to find something to eat before the other Indominus arrived.

She needed enough strength for the fight ahead. Before that, however, there was a debt she intended to collect. Asset fixed her eyes on the armed soldiers and approached them slowly in a straight line. She seemed to be looking at them, yet at the same time gave the impression that they were beneath her notice. Her steps were unhurried, but the pressure radiating from her was overwhelming. The force included battle-hardened mercenaries, experienced agents, and advisers trained to remain calm in a crisis.

But they were still human. Strip away their weapons, and they remained a link in the food chain—one occupying the position of prey. When the killing intent of an apex predator settled upon them, their minds went blank. She was so immense and imposing that they could not summon the will to resist. By the time they recovered and prepared to fire everything they had, Asset calmly— walked straight past them. Then she flicked her tail almost casually.

The vehicle that had fired the explosive round at her was lifted whole from the ground, hurled through the air, and smashed into a light tank.

"BOOM!" They had fired one explosive at her. She had returned one in kind. Now they were even. Animals settled their grudges on the spot. They did not wait until the next day. Asset neither cared how many humans had been injured nor looked back to find out. If they had the courage to attack her, they had to accept the consequences. They took such pride in their intelligence—should they not have thought everything through beforehand? Asset continued walking.

Behind her, one of the enraged soldiers hoisted a shoulder-fired rocket launcher and screamed that he was going to kill her. The man lost to rage was ultimately restrained.

"Help the wounded! Stop adding to the casualties!" someone shouted.

"It's an animal! If you attack again and provoke it, we're all finished!"

"Listen to me! Our remaining weapons are for defending this area, not for fighting dinosaurs! There are at least three thousand people in the shelter. Calm down!" The rocket was never fired. Human reason truly was the foundation of their survival. It allowed them to weigh costs against benefits and avoid unknown dangers. Taken as a whole, they had saved themselves. Had they attacked her again, Asset would have shown them why she was called a tyrant.

She left the Mosasaurus Lagoon and followed the scent of food into a human warehouse. She was hungry. Good. There was plenty of meat here. The sun sank toward the horizon. Dr. Wu should have departed with the first evacuation group, yet he remained on the island. When Owen and the others found him, his assistants were packing away priceless genetic research. Wu himself held a ten-year-old file on Indominus Two and was so lost in thought that he barely seemed aware of his surroundings. Claire had no patience left.

She demanded to know exactly which genes he had placed in the hybrids, whether he had installed any safeguards, and whether there was still some way to control them. Dr. Wu glanced at her, then returned his attention to the report. A helpless smile appeared on his face.

"I was wrong," he said.

"I was wrong from the very beginning." Everyone expected the mad scientist to sigh with regret, reflect upon the errors of the first half of his life, and finally set himself on a better path. But there was no remorse in his voice. Only wonder and... admiration.

"I always believed the first Indominus was the perfect hybrid. I never imagined I had misjudged them. The unremarkable second specimen was the true masterpiece." Henry threw several reports onto the table. They contained developmental scans of Indominus Two's brain.

"Tanith O'Neill—the researcher assigned to watch her at the time—concealed this report from me. Because of her, I lost ten years with a priceless treasure." The data showed that the second Indominus possessed neurological development remarkably similar to that of a human. Even the shape of her brain resembled the human brain.

"Human intelligence. The physical power of a hunter. Limitless genetic potential," Henry said.

"She is the most perfect creation I have ever made."

"You're insane!" Claire snapped.

"Your genetic experiments created two monsters. They can camouflage themselves, change color, see thermal signatures, and withstand human weapons. Do you have any idea what kind of threat they would pose to humanity if they ever left this island?" Henry smiled, accepting her fury without offense.

"Do you have any idea how much damage domestic cats cause to their surrounding ecosystems?" he asked.

"Claire, humanity has simply grown accustomed to being the cat." Now humans had merely returned to their original place as prey.

"I have never found their existence frightening," Henry continued.

"Don't you see the miracle in them? They were born from the genes of countless species. They embody the living world itself, yet each remains a distinct individual. Now they've grown into nature's blades, capable of cutting away its rot." He had never regretted creating them. They had found their own path through life.

"Don't make me hit you," Owen muttered.

"Tell us what you put in them, man. This is important."

"Oh, let me think..." Henry remained perfectly calm, speaking slowly.

"Viper, chameleon, salamander, lizard... Tyrannosaurus rex, Velociraptor, Giganotosaurus... and one final genetic component so confidential that I alone knew about it. I handled that part personally."

"What was it?" Henry looked away from the data on the table and strolled toward the window. He opened the laboratory's protective screen, revealing an enormous floor-to-ceiling pane of glass. Through it, he could clearly see the ruined park, the soldiers occupied with rescue efforts, and Indominus Two feasting in the distance. Whether through some inexplicable connection or mere coincidence, Asset sensed his gaze. She lifted her head and "looked" directly into his eyes. A pane of glass. A concrete wall.

A shared genome. And the consequences of creation. Dr. Wu raised one hand, shaped his fingers like a gun, and pointed them at his own temple.

"The final genetic component was right here." Right here... standing before all of you. He had added human DNA. His own DNA.

"Humans and dinosaurs will coexist this way," he said.

"This is how life finds a way."