“Applejack?” Sophia Garcia pushed her way into the cow-mare’s room without knocking, trusting that she would be decent. There she was, piling supplies into her saddle-bags. The contents shoved in; bottles of water, fresh apples, and plenty of rope. “The limo is here,” Sophia said as she walked towards her pony-friend, her hands on her swollen abdomen.
“Just puttin’ mah apples in. And done!”
The southern accent made the blonde girl smile. “How long will you be gone?”
“Oh, Ah’m just gonna be catchin’ up with my friend Twilight. Somethin’ about visiting an island called Isla Nublar. I heard Fluttershy is comin’ too.” Applejack pushed her supplies into the saddlebag. “But don’t y’all worry Garcia, ah’m sure ah won’t be gone for too long.”
Sophia smiled back. The main focus during Applejack’s research missions was that of the natural world and its farming. It wasn’t much, but it meant a lot to the pony. For the most part, Applejack spent her time at various farms around the planet, learning about the ecosystems in between and the changes they had wrought upon the environment. She also took notes on how animals were treated, where food was sourced from. It was very useful. She’d seen herds of sheep grazing together, cows eating hay and grass in the same meadow, pigs huddled together while eating soybeans. All things that were beneficial to their health. On Applejack’s most recent visit to Earth she’d been lucky enough to accompany Sophia and her husband, Carlos. Applejack liked them both, especially Sophia. She seemed like such a sweet and lovely lady.
Applejack liked her children too. Sophia was a married woman of eight kids, and she and her husband were already waiting for their ninth child to be born. When Applejack had first visited the farm, Sophia and Carlos welcomed her warmly. Treating her as though she were one of their own. The two families talked together and laughed often. In her downtime between her research and work at the farm, Applejack would play with Sophia’s children. She loved playing with the younger ones; their innocence and curiosity was captivating. Some of them reminded Applejack a lot of her little sister back at home in Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack hoped that one day she could be reunited with her.
Carefully Sophia got down to one knee and pulled Applejack into a hug. “Be safe, please.” Sophia kissed Applejack on top of the head before releasing the cow-pony. “And you do well to take care of yourself.”
“Don’chu worry ah will,” Applejack told her friend, smiling reassuringly before starting out the room. Walking down the small hallway then stepping down the stairs, pushing the door wide open. She passes Sophia’s grandmother, known by everyone as Grandma Grace in her rocker on the porch.
Applejack smiled brightly at the grandmother, giving a little wave with her hoof. “Ah’m headin’ off now. But ah’ll be back. Promise.”
Grace returned her smile and waved to her pony friend. “I know you will. Safe travels dear.”
Applejack gave a little nod of her head and trotted outside, making her way past the barn and to the side of the house where a dirt path led away from the property. Taking one last look around the farm, Applejack started off down the road, towards the limo.
The San Francisco law Cowan, Swain, and Ross was streamed by the midday sun. Giving the room a cheerfulness that Donald Gennaro did not feel. He listened on the phone and looked at his boss, Daniel Ross, in his dark pinstripe suit cold as an undertaker.
“I understand, John,” Gennaro said. “And Grant agreed to come? Good, good … yes, that sounds fine to me. My congratulations, John…..You what?!”
Gennaro stood up straight. The phone gripped tight in his hand, its cord stretched tight between his fingers. A vein throbbed under one of his high brows. His teeth gritted. His eyes narrowed with anger. The blood began to pulse against his temples like a heartbeat.
“No! It’s not alright John!” Gennaro shouted. “No it’s not John, are you out of your god-damn mind?!”
Daniel watched with a brow arched.
“John you – you do know who she is, don’t you?” Gennaro’s tone had dropped. He spoke derisively, slowly. “She is the personal protégé of Equestria’s own monarch and Princess Celestia’s student, as well as a member of their ‘Elements of Harmony’. If I say again, if anything happens to her whilst she’s on that island, you would be personally responsible. You and you alone.”
Gennaro paused for breath, listening intently while he paced around his office.
“Yes, yes. I see. You damn right we will talk about this later. Yes…sounds fine to me. Bye.”
The phone went dead. With a heavy sigh, Gennaro collapsed down in his desk chair, burying his face in the palms of his hands.
“Jesus Christ…” He muttered into the palms of his hands. Gennaro pulled his face back and turned to Ross. “We can’t trust Hammond any more. He’s under too much pressure. The EPA’s investigating him, he’s behind schedule on his Costa Rican resort, and the investors are getting nervous. There have been too many rumors of problems down there. Too many workmen have died. And now this business about a living procompsit-whatever on the mainland…”
“What does that mean?” Ross asked.
“Maybe nothing,” Gennaro said. “But Hamachi is one of our principal investors. I got a report last week from Hamachi’s representative in San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica. According to the report, some new kind of lizard is biting children on the coast.”
Ross blinked. “New lizard?”
“Yes,” Gennaro said. “We can’t screw around with this. We’ve got to inspect that island right away. I’ve asked Hammond to arrange independent site inspections every week for the next three weeks.”
“And what does Hammond say?” Ross asked. “And mind filling me in about you shouting all of a sudden?”
Gennaro sighed.
“He insists nothing is wrong on the island. Claims he has all these security precautions.”
“But you don’t believe him,” Ross said.
“No,” Gennaro said. “I don’t. As for why I was shouting? Turns out Hammond didn’t just invite three people but a fourth to go to the island, and they happen to be Twilight Sparkle.”
Ross gaped at him. “Twilight Sparkle?! Why the hell would Hammond invite an equestrian ambassador to the island?”
“The same reason why he invited those three experts,” Gennaro said. “To give their opinions on the works in Isla Nublar. “Hammond’s a dreamer.”
“A potentially dangerous dreamer,” Ross said gravely. “We should never have gotten involved. What is our financial position?”
“The firm,” Gennaro said, “owns five percent.”
“General or limited?”
“General.”
Ross shook his head. “We should never have done that.”
“It seemed wise at the time,” Gennaro admitted. “Hell, it was eight years ago. We took it in lieu of some fees. And, if you remember, Hammond’s plan was extremely speculative. He was really pushing the envelope. Nobody really thought he could pull it off.”
“But apparently he has,” Ross said dryly. “In any case, I agree that an inspection is overdue. What about your site experts?”
“I’m starting with experts Hammond already hired as consultants, early in the project.” Gennaro tossed a list onto Ross’s desk. “First group is a paleontologist, a paleobotanist, and a mathematician. They go down this weekend. I’ll go with them.”
“Will they tell you the truth?” Ross asked.
“I think so. None of them had much to do with the island, especially the ambassadors. And one of them—the mathematician, Ian Malcolm—was openly hostile to the project from the start. Insisted it would never work, could never work.”
“And who else?”
“Just a technical person: the computer system analyst. Review the park’s computers and fix some bugs. He should be there by Friday morning.”
“Fine,” Ross said. “You’re making the arrangements?”
“Hammond asked to place the calls himself. I think he wants to pretend that he’s not in trouble, that it’s just a social invitation. Showing off his island.”
“All right,” Ross said. “But just make sure it happens. Stay on top of it. I want this Costa Rican situation resolved within a week.” Ross got up, and walked out of the room.
Gennaro sighed whilst shaking his head before reaching the phone. Dialing on the phone he heard the whining hiss of a radiophone. Then he heard a voice say, “Grant here.”
“Hi, Dr. Grant, this is Donald Gennaro. I’m the general counsel for InGen. We talked a few years back, I don’t know if you remember—”
“I remember,” Grant said.
“Well,” Gennaro said. “I just got off the phone with John Hammond, who tells me the good news that you’re coming down to our island in Costa Rica…”
“Yes,” Grant said. “I guess we’re going down there tomorrow.”
“Well, I just want to extend my thanks to you for doing this on short notice. Everybody at InGen appreciates it. We’ve asked Ian Malcolm, who like you was one of the early consultants, to come down as well. He’s a mathematician at UT in Austin?”
“John Hammond mentioned that,” Grant said.
“Well, good,” Gennaro said. “And I’ll be coming, too, as a matter of fact. By the way, this specimen you have found of a pro … procom … what is it?”
“Procompsognathus,” Grant said.
“Yes. Do you have the specimen with you, Dr. Grant? The actual specimen?”
“No,” Grant said. “I’ve only seen an X-ray. The specimen is in New York. A woman from Columbia University called me.”
“Well, I wonder if you could give me the details on that,” Gennaro said. “Then I can run down that specimen for Mr. Hammond, who’s very excited about it. I’m sure you want to see the actual specimen, too. Perhaps I can even get it delivered to the island while you’re all down there,” Gennaro said.
Grant gave him the information.
“Well, that’s fine, Dr. Grant,” Gennaro said. “My regards to Dr. Sattler and Mrs. Sparkle. I look forward to meeting you three and him tomorrow.” And Gennaro hung up.
Gennaro put the receiver back onto its cradle and leaned back into his office chair, taking a long drink from his coffee glass as his eyes closed slowly. He rubbed his temples slightly and breathed slowly through his mouth.
“John…” Gennaro mumbled to himself. “You better hope to God that nothing happens to her.”
Andre Weller and Lewis Dodgson entered the coffee shop in the departure building of the San Francisco airport and looked around quickly. Their man was already there, waiting at the counter. Dodgson and Andre sat down next to him. Dodgson placed the briefcase on the floor between them.
“You guys are late,” the man. He looked at the straw hat Dodgson was wearing and laughed. “What is this supposed to be, a disguise?”
“You never know,” Dodgson “said, suppressing his anger.
This didn’t go unnoticed to Andre but he remained silent. He knew that Dodgson needed something from this man and Dodgson was determined not to let his emotions get to him from getting what he wanted. Dodgson had patiently cultivated this man, who had grown more arrogant and obnoxious with each meeting for six months. But there was nothing Dodgson could do about that—both him and the man knew exactly what the stakes were.
“Let’s get down to it,” the man said. “I’ve got ten minutes before my flight.”
“You want to go over it again?” Dodgson asked.
“Hell no, Dr. Dodgson,” the man said. “I want to see the damn money.”
Andre watched Dodgson flip the latch on the briefcase and opened it a few inches. The man glanced down casually. “That’s all of it?”
“That’s half of it. Seven hundred fifty thousand dollars.”
“Okay. Fine.” The man turned away, drank his coffee. “That’s fine, Dr. Dodgson.”
“Dodgson quickly locked the briefcase. “That’s for all fifteen species, you remember.”
“I remember. Fifteen species, frozen embryos. And how am I going to transport them?”
Dodgson handed the man a large can of Gillette Foamy shaving cream.
“That’s it?” The man asked with skepticism.
“That’s it.” Dodgson simply responded.
“They may check my luggage.…”
“Dodgson shrugged. “Press the top,” he said.
The man pressed it, and white shaving cream puffed into his hand. “Not bad.” He wiped the foam on the edge of his plate. “Not bad.”
“The can’s a little heavier than usual, is all. My technical team has been assembling it around the clock for the last two days.” He points his thumb at Andre. “My friend here did the finishing touches.” Quickly he showed him how it worked.
“How much coolant gas is inside?” The man asked.
“Enough for thirty-six hours. The embryos have to be back in San José by then.” Dodgson explained.
“That’s up to your guy in the boat,” the man said. “Better make sure he has a portable cooler on board.”
“I’ll do that,” Dodgson said.
“And let’s just review the bidding.…”
“The deal is the same,” Dodgson said, interrupting. “Fifty thousand on delivery of each embryo. If they’re viable, an additional fifty thousand each.”
“That’s fine. Just make sure you have the boat waiting at the east dock of the island, Friday night. Not the north dock, where the big supply boats arrive. The east dock. It’s a small utility dock. You got that?” The man ordered.
“I got it,” Dodgson replied. “When will you be back in San José?”
“Probably Sunday.” The man pushed away from the counter. Dodgson raised his hand, stopping the man mid-walk.
“Hold up a minute,” Dodgson said. “My friend here will be joining you on that flight.”
The man stopped, turned, and looked at Andre. Then returned his gaze to Dodgson. “Oh yeah? And why’s that?”
“Consider him my insurance policy,” Dodgson said. “If anything goes wrong, specifically your plan during your time on the island. He’ll take care of everything for you, when you two get back.”
“Right,” the man sneered. “So he’ll just be along for the ride once we leave. What the hell difference does it make?”
“Well,” Dodgson said, “I would like a guarantee that you will return the eggs alive, after the transplantation.”
“Yeah, yeah. That makes sense. Sure. Whatever.”
“Good,” Dodgson said. He fretted. “You’re sure you know how to work the—”
“I know,” the man said. “Believe me, I know.”
“Also,” Dodgson said, “we think the island maintains constant radio contact with InGen corporate headquarters in California, so—”
“Look, I’ve got it covered,” the man said. “Just relax, and get the money ready. I want it all Sunday morning, in San José airport, in cash.”
“It’ll be waiting for you,” Dodgson said. “Don’t worry.”
Dodgson turned to Andre who stared at him blankly. He nodded slightly toward the man staring at the door. “Well, you better get going,” Dodgson said. “Time is ticking.”
Andre sighed, nodded, and left the coffee shop. He thought to himself how foolish he was with following Dodgson. But he owed Dodgson. He owed him too much.
Twilight stared at the topographical map. It showed Isla Nublar as an inverted teardrop, bulging at the north, tapering at the south. The island was eight miles long, and the map divided it into several large sections. The northern section was marked with one area and it contained many structures marked. Twilight could see the outline of a swimming pool, the rectangles of tennis courts, and the round squiggles that represented planting and shrubbery.
She also found detail sheets for a Safari Lodge. In the elevation sketches, Twilight was amazed at how dramatic the lodge looked: a long low building with a series of pyramid shapes on the roof. But there was little about the other buildings in the visitor area. And the rest of the island was even more mysterious. It was mostly open space, as far as Twilight could tell. A network of roads, tunnels, and outlying buildings, and a long thin lake that appeared to be pony-made, or man-made she corrected herself. It also had concrete dams and barriers. The island was divided into big curving areas with very little development at all. For the most part, of course, each area was marked by codes.
Codes that Twilight couldn’t find an explanation for. She knew that codes were necessary, though she was unsure how or why they were necessary. But she also understood their importance—they were the keystone to a system. But still, these code’s baffled her.
Twilight’s eyes darted at the big curving divisions, separated from one another by the network of roads. There were only six divisions on the whole island from what she was seeing. Each division was separated from the road by a concrete moat. Outside each moat was a fence with a little lightning sign alongside it. That mystified her until she figured out it meant the fences were electrified.
“Why would Hammond have electrified fences?” Twilight muttered to herself. “Miles of them too. Moats and electrified fences, together with a road alongside them as well. Kind of like a zoo now that I think about it.”
Back to the topographical map Twilight looked closely at the contour lines. Her thick brow arched when she found the roads had been oddly placed. The main road ran north-south, right through the central hills of the island, including one section of road that seemed to be literally cut into the side of a cliff, above a river. It began to look as if there had been a deliberate effort to leave these open areas as big enclosures, separated from the roads by moats and electric fences. And the roads were raised up above ground level, so you could see over the fence. What was even more odd was that some of these dimensions were enormous. The concrete moat was thirty feet wide, like a military fortification.
Twilight tilted her head as she continued to study the contours of the island. Finally she shook her head. What did it matter anyway, maybe she’ll get her answers once they reach said island. Twilight put the papers aside, turned to the side and hopped off the chair. She starts towards the door and exits the trailer.
On her way out the door, Twilight looks to see Alan Grant surrounded by an audience. From where she stood she could hear him explaining something to them, pointing at the screen of a computer. Twilight started towards the group until she stood beside Ellie as they both listened to Alan’s explanation.
“Hell, they've got it in for me. And look at the half-moon shaped bones in the wrists. No wonder these guys learned how to fly.” Grant remarked. Few people among the group laughed which in turn made Grant frowned.
“No, seriously!” Grant insisted, looking around the crowd. “Alright, maybe dinosaurs have more in common with present-day birds than they do with reptiles.” He said. "Look at the pubic bones. Turned backwards, just like a bird. Look at the vertebrae, full of air sacks and hollows, just like a bird. And even the word "Raptor" means, bird of prey—“
“That doesn’t look scary.”
Everyone, including Twilight, turned their heads towards the source of the interruption. Standing behind Grant, next to the audience, was a little chubby boy. He wore a cap, short grey jeans, crew-neck shirt and sneakers. His skin was tan and his eyes bright blue.
“That kid’s a bullet…” A man among the group whispered to his friend.
Grant turned his attention back to the boy.
“More like a six-foot turkey.” The boy corrected.
The audience chucked at this comment while Grant shook his head slowly. He turned his gaze at Twilight, a grin spreading across his face before he mouthed the words ‘Watch this.’ Twilight watched Grant start towards the boy. His grin never faded, not even as he took a step closer.
“A turkey, huh?” Grant said, stopping in front of the little boy. Ellie shook her head while chuckling.
“Oh, no. Here we go…” Ellie said under breath.
Alan stared ahead as he spoke. “Okay. Try to imagine yourself in the Cretaceous period. You get your first look at this "six foot turkey" as you enter a clearing. He moves like a bird, lightly, bobbing his head — and you keep still 'cause you think that maybe he won’t see you, he'll lose you if you’re hidden from its sight— but no, not Velociraptor.”
The boy remained silent, watching Grant. Twilight watched Grant too.
“You stare at him, and he just stares right back. And that's when the attack comes not from the front, but from the side.” He imitates air swishing by whipping both finger’s quickly down to the boy’s close up view. “From the other two raptors, you didn't even know were there.” He pauses, then circles around the boy as he continues. “Because Velociraptor's a pack hunter. He used coordinated attack patterns, and he is out in force today. And he slashes at you with this.”
Both the boy and Twilight’s eyes grew large when Grant pulled from his pocket an ancient curved hooked claw.
“Six-inch, retractable claw. Like a razor, on the middle toe. He doesn't bother to bite your jugular like a lion, say, no, no. He slashes at you… Here!” He playfully slashes the boy's mid-torso. “Or here.” He slashed the boy's groin.
Ellie shook her head disapprovingly. “Oh Alan…” Ellie whispered.
Twilight’s world slowed down. Her eyes never left the retractable claw in Grant’s hand. Her thoughts were focused on the claw’s sharp curved edge and its length. Twilight bit her lip, trying to stay calm. She couldn’t imagine having her belly cut open by that weapon; nor can she think of surviving such a wound.
“Or maybe across the belly, spilling your intestines. The point is, you are alive, when they start to eat you.” He goes to one knee, lowering his head to face the boy. “So ya know, try to show a little respect.”
He paused, as if waiting for the boy to say something.
“Okay…” The boy said softly.
Grant stands back up and walks back to Ellie. Ellie walked towards him with Twilight close behind.
“We’ve got to go,” Ellie said, “if we’re going to get to Choteau by five.”
“Indeed.” Grant agreed. Ellie nodded and turned around, she and Grant walking together up the hill. Twilight followed.
“Hey, Alan, if you wanted to scare the kid, you could've pulled a gun on him, you know.” Ellie commented to Grant who nodded as they climbed.
“Yeah, I know. Kids. You wanna have one of those?” Grant replied nonchalantly. Ellie snorted a laugh.
“I don’t want that kid.” Ellie motioned her hand towards the boy far away. “But a breed of child, Dr. Grant, could be intriguing! I mean, what's so wrong with kids?” Ellie asked innocently.
Grant chuckled before he shrugged.
“Ah, Ellie, look. Don’t get me wrong: they’re adorable. And I like kids, really I do! But they can sometimes be noisy, they're messy, they're expensive.” Grant explained.
“Cheap, cheap.” Ellie repeated as she chuckled.
“They smell.” Grant added.
Twilight threw a hoof over her mouth. Trying to stifle her laughter.
Ellie gasped at Grant's comment. “They do not smell.”
“Some of them smell!” Grant insisted.
“Oh, give me a break!” Ellie retorted.
“Baby smell!” Grant countered, pointing a finger at Ellie. Both Ellie and Twilight laughed in unison.
Twilight stared at the dry plains that stretched away toward distant black buttes. The afternoon wind blew dust and tumbleweed across the cracked concrete. Twilight stood with Ellie and Grant near the Jeep and waited while the sleek Grumman jet circled for a landing.
“I hate to wait on the money men,” Grant grumbled.
Ellie shrugged. “Goes with the job.”
“Well, on the bright side at least our ride is here.” Twilight stated, looking up at the jet.
The big jet landed and rolled quickly toward them. Ellie shouldered her bag and Twilight strapped her saddle bag over her back. The jet came to a stop and a stewardess in a blue uniform opened the door. Inside, Twilight was surprised at how spacious it was, despite the luxurious appointments. She watched Grant hunch over as he went to shake Hammond’s hand.
“Dr. Grant and Dr. Sattler,” Hammond said. “It’s good of you to join us.” He turned his gaze towards Twilight. He stretched out his hand and shook her hoof with a smile. “And it’s a great honor to have you join us as well, Twilight. I even brought your friends here too.”
Twilight watched Hammond’s right hand gesture to his left. She turned to her left by said gesture and saw two ponies sitting next to each other. She felt a smile spread across her face as she recognized them. Applejack and Fluttershy looked just as happy to see her.
“Girls!”
Nobody on the jet missed Twilight’s attachment to the ponies, especially Grant and Ellie. They watched the trio pulled together in a tight embrace, the three ponies laughed and smiled brightly at their reunion. Grant and Ellie couldn’t help but smile at the sight. Even Hammond, who had been observing the reunion, grinned from ear to ear. He felt like a hero bringing the three mares together again.
After a moment, Twilight let go of the hug and stepped back to give Applejack and Fluttershy some space to introduce themselves to Hammond. When they finished, Hammond gestured to the man sitting next to him.
“Allow me to introduce my associate, Donald Gennaro.”
Twilight turned to look at Gennaro. He was a stocky, muscular man in his mid-thirties wearing an Armani suit and wire-frame glasses. She watched Grant shake hands with him quickly. When Ellie shook hands, Gennaro said in surprise, “You’re a woman.”
“These things happen,” she said, and Twilight could’ve sworn she heard a hint of bitterness in her voice.
Hammond turned to Gennaro. “You know, of course, what Dr. Grant and Dr. Sattler do. They are paleontologists. They dig up dinosaurs.” And then he began to laugh, as if he found the idea very funny.
Twilight extended a hoof toward Gennaro with a smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Gennaro.” She said politely.
Gennaro shook her hoof and returned the friendly gesture. “You too, Ms. Sparkle.”
“Take your seats, please,” the stewardess said, closing the door. Immediately the plane began to move.
“You’ll have to excuse us,” Hammond said, “but we are in a bit of a rush. Donald thinks it’s important we get right down there.”
Twilight heard the pilot announce four hours’ flying time to Dallas, where they would refuel, and then go on to Costa Rica, arriving the following morning.
“And how long will we be in Costa Rica?” Grant asked.
“Well, that really depends,” Gennaro said. “We have a few things to clear up.”
“Take my word for it,” Hammond said, turning to Grant. “We’ll be down there no more than forty-eight hours.”
Grant buckled his seat belt. “This island of yours that we’re going to—I haven’t heard anything about it before. Is it some kind of secret?”
“In a way,” Hammond said. “We have been very, very careful about making sure nobody knows about it, until the day we finally open that island to a surprised and delighted public.”
Applejack raised a brow at Hammond. “What exactly are y’all ‘keepin secret on the island that no pony’s supposed to know about?” She asked.
Hammond smiled. “Oh, Applejack. Words won’t be enough to convey to you how much this is going to shake the world. Of all time.”
“Of all time?” Grant questioned. Hammond nodded.
“Yes, all time, Dr. Grant,” Hammond said as he gave a slight bow. “You’ll have to see it with your own eyes.”
The jet continued soaring through the skies.