Jurassic Park: Trespasser

Journal Entry - April 17

The island's ecosystem seems to be stabilized. I find this remarkable given the particular circumstances which have brought unique species to an otherwise unremarkable section of the equatorial latitudes. What is especially intriguing is how the species have adapted simply out of necessity, which is of course the fundamental drive behind all evolutionary adaptation. Evolution is, in itself, adaption. And, thus the species here have evolved. Even though they have been extinct for (some) more than 65 million years they have evolved.

I have been here for exactly 5 weeks and 4 days. In that time I have updated the scientific and physiological categorizations of each dinosaur. I have made several discoveries that have confirmed some theories and put others to bed. For example, I have definitely confirmed Dr. Grant's experiences with velociraptor.

The raptors live in separate packs and mostly within the interior of the island with the other carnivores. I have noted, however, that with the exception of procompsagnathus, velociraptor is the only other species that wanders onto the coastal area of Isla Sorna. There is one that I have seen near my compound. More on that one in a minute.

My studies of velociraptor have proved Grant's findings that the animals hunt in packs. They are lead by an alpha, but in one pack I have seen the alpha is a female, and in the other two the alphas are male. The female is the one who has come within a few meters of the compound and mostly during the early morning. She is also the one who has approached within a few meters of me in clearings and the high hides. Her pack mates never come near and seem to stay only within sight of her. I have yet to determine her intentions, but I do not feel threatened by her. I have observed this one, I have named her Judith, with her pack during meals. At first she gave me great interest, and once she approached the high hide with threatening yelps and hisses. Lately, though, she has not approached or attempted to warn me away during my observations of her and her pack feeding. She gives a casual head raise, a sniff in my direction, and a few moments of eye contact, then resumes her feed. For some reason she does not seem to think of me as prey.

There are two families of T. rex in the interior of the island. I have cataloged them according to Grant and Dr. Malcolm's descriptions. Alpha Group has a large male and female and a juvenile. Beta Group consists of a large male and female and two younglings who appear no more than into their first year. The younglings are just now shedding their infant plumage.

Skirting the low areas around the interior of the island on the river area and south onto the coast are found species of triceratops, stegosaurus, hadrosaurus, and brachiosaurus. It is interesting to note the carnivores, especially T. rex, will venture out into these areas away from the island interior to hunt the herbivores. I have heard a battle between triceratops and T. rex, but when I attempted to drive to the area I was unable to locate nothing but trampled foliage and blood. Whomever the winner was left and did not return. The loser must have gone back to their den to tend their wounds or pass on into extinction.

I have observed a herd of brachiosaurs feeding near the river and in the main area of the freshwater swamp on the island's western side. They seem to be especially fond of the water plants that grow in the pond areas of the swamp. I have seen several of them with the long necks and heads submerged for extended periods to come up with a mouthful of the plants. Hadrosaurus does the same thing. I do not know what type of plant they are eating from the muddy bottom.

InGen had left quite a mess on Isla Sorna. I am only now finding time to clean and repair what is left of the compound. The solar batteries charge well during the day and provide ample power to run the living and dining quarters. The supply boat comes once a week and provides fresh food, gasoline for the Jeep, and other supplies such as ammunition and clothes. It is fortunate I have not had to use my firearms. Yet.

It was Hammond's wish that someone spend as much time as possible and learn as much as could be obtained about the ecostructure on this island. I am indeed fortunate that I was chosen. Given my background in biology and paleontology, I can see why I was picked. I am sure, too, that my training in the military had something to do with it as well. While I am not the young man I once was, I still very much can take care of myself.

Speaking of, I learned recently that I will be joined by a small team of scientists who will live here and assist me with my research. I only hope they are as enthusiastic about living among prehistoric animals as I am. It will be a pity if these animals are wasted on the entertainment of mankind instead of its education.

Sleep is coming as I write. I can hear the calling of a brachiosaur off in the distance. Her song is soothing and tells me tomorrow will be a good day.

-Bruce Parker, Ph. D.

I looked out over the water as the boat sped towards the island; the cold spray assaulted my face in the night air. I should be sleeping but no matter how I tried it eluded me. Must be jet lag, I’d barely been home 48 hours before catching my flight to come here. I was arriving earlier than anticipated since my last research assignment in Nepal had concluded early. The email summoning me to Isla Sorna was waiting for me when I returned home to the States.

I would be the third generation in my family to work and research here. My mother is Dr. Sarah Harding and my grandfather was Dr. Gerry Harding. The relationship is obvious to those who know my mother; I look like a 30 year old version of her. She and my grandfather raised me and I’d followed in their scientific footsteps by becoming an expert animal behaviorist. Given my family connection to the Jurassic Park project I had been the obvious choice for a field research position to assist Dr. Parker. I didn't know much about him, I read some of his research but that was it.

It was a funny thing, growing up in a family of scientists; I carried a picture of my mother and me everywhere I went. I was barely a toddler, swaddled against her chest asleep while her smiling face is looking down at the camera from atop an Indian elephant. I went on my first safari at age 6 and my first solo research assignment at 16. I inherited my mother’s ruggedness and common sense, which often meant I preferred to complete my field research alone. I suspected that would change on this trip, given the sheer number of fatalities attached to this project I very much doubted I would be going anywhere alone and that didn’t sit well with me. So much alone time during my teenage years had made it more difficult for me to relate to others. My background in anthropology caused me to look at social situations differently from most people, I tended not to get along very well with others and not for lack of trying, I just never connected with anyone.

I turned my back to the railing and looked up at the stars. I recalled the worried tone in my grandfather’s voice over the phone when I asked him about his time on the island.

“Don’t go, Savannah,” his voice echoed in my thoughts, he always used my full name when he was worried or mad.

I stepped below the deck of the small craft and headed for my rack. My mind was not settled but I had to try and get some sleep. I checked my gear once again out of habit before stretching out on the narrow bunk. I had a feeling life was about to get very interesting.

April 18

I had slept well enough, and woke up early to the sound of the velociraptor near the compound's north fence line. I heard the call. It was shrill, and it carried through the trees and brush, and it was a long call. I had learned most of their vocalizations. A short series of chirps and grunts meant a hunting noise used by each other to keep pace and distance during pursuit. A pair of chirps with clicks and high squeals was a distress sound or an alarm. This one, however, was a call. Judith was calling for her mate, or calling for others to come to her. The third possibility was the one that seemed to make the most sense to me: she was calling to let me know she was there.

Predators in the wild sometimes make noises to announce their presence when in another one's territory. Could that be what she was doing?

I threw on my cargo khakis and my boots and headed towards the fence line. It was only a few steps past the jeep where I saw her. Just for an instant, her snout poked through a short fan palm. She eyed me for a long moment, then turned and sprinted away. Velociraptors can move very fast even through dense jungle. Their long, powerful legs and elongated talons propel them quickly for short bursts much like a cheetah.

I knew it was Judith. There is no mistaken the yellow stripe on the underside of her snout.

My field work today would take me east along the coast to the edge of the swamp in hopes of observing the triceratops herd. There was a high hide on the edge of the grasslands that bordered this area. Hopefully the trikes would be grazing today on the low vegetation around the jungle.

I returned to the compound and poured myself a bowl of some kind of granola/bran cereal Juan Carlos had brought me the last time he delivered supplies.

Speaking of which, I am fairly certain his boat is due today....

Rom Blackthorn Botanist and Paleo-botanist.

I turn to the boats railing, lean over and vomit my breakfast overboard. Oh god! Good solid dry land under my feet that's what I want. Not this heaving lurching rust bucket. I know all this misery will be worth it but still...If you're invited to study real actual dinosaurs, you don't think about how you're going to get there. You just sign on the dotted line. The boat rides up a wave then down the other side. Oh god!

What modern plants have these creatures turned to for food? The herbivorous ones anyway. For a moment thinking about the fantastic opportunity takes my mind away from the rolling sea.

I never understood peoples fascination with carnivorous dinosaurs. Give me a Triceratops any day.

Some plant species have not changed much I during the intervening 175 million years. Most though were not even in existence then or were primitive fore runners of today's plants.

I haven't been in the field in ten years. Lecturing, publishing and the endless cataloguing of samples has kept me bound to various university campuses for too long. Being a tri-athlete has kept me in shape though. Hope I don't have to run from any dangerous creatures though.

It didn't matter where in the world I was, even when I had been near the Arctic Circle and the nights were longer than usual I always woke at dawn, and today was no different. The gentle rocking of the boat had finally lulled me to sleep. I stretched the best I could in such a cramped space, I much preferred sleeping in my hammock.

I was still a little irritated that I had been thrust into this trip. The 12 hour plane ride had given me time to put a chill on my initial anger. I wondered if Dr. Parker had requested me specifically or if it had been some grand design cooked up by the research foundation that employed me. I would find out soon enough.

The tales my mother told me about "the Park" as a child were fresh in my mind, my grandfather was none too pleased that she told them with regularity at bedtime. I smiled, remembering the family bickering that inevitably started whenever my mother and I were home for any length of time with Papa. She'd left me with him for 2 years once, and they had been fantastic years. She was dismayed when she returned to find that he had taught me to shoot a hunting rifle and taken me on a big game hunt at an exotic animal breeding farm. I smiled at the memories. I lived in my head most of the time, it was safe and comfortable here.

I sighed and rose before slipping on my usual cargos, hiking boots that had seen better days, and a linen shirt I left unbuttoned over my faded greyish blue tank. It had once had a specific color but not after traversing the globe a few times. I looked at my boots and wondered if the Captain was trustworthy enough to give cash to with the promise of ordering a new pair in the correct size. Another thing I preferred to do myself, purchase my own equipment and necessities.

I sincerely hoped this "relying on others" habit would not be demanded of me by Dr. Parker. He needed me on the island far more than I needed to be here. I was the best at what I did, and one of the youngest in the field who could handle such a grueling and dangerous project. If he wanted someone who could handle being here long term, he'd have to accept some of my innate habits.

It sounded like there were footsteps on deck and maybe some sickened moaning. What poor fool had volunteered, blissfully unaware of the consequences of such a choice? I suppose I'd find out. I grabbed my rucksack and climbed on the starboard side of the deck. The grey blue sea was a little choppy today, smelled like a storm was brewing. I scanned the horizon and saw the edge of an island, our destination most likely. It was barely a blip right now, but we would be there soon enough.

I cautiously approached the man leaning against the railing, I had not seen him when I boarded late last night. Juan Carlos had told me there was another passenger, and that he had held the boat a few hours later so he wouldn't have to make two trips.

"This should help," my matter of fact tone blurted out.

I dug in my rucksack for the clear plastic bag I always carried with me. I opened it, and held it out to him. Food was always the last thing anyone wanted when they were seasick, but sucking on fresh candied ginger usually settled a stomach better than over the counter medication.

It took me a little longer to reach the high hide on the eastern river banks. I kept having to stop to remove debris from the road. It really isn't a road as much as dirt trail wide enough for the Jeep Wrangler to pass. It splits here and there, skirting the island in places and going into its interior. There's a map taped to the back of the driver's sun visor, but I've driven the roads enough now to know them.

The debris is in the form of tree branches and limbs. They come down at random from the jungle hardwoods. The nut-bearing trees are the worst, just like the pecan trees back home. My father always said to never park a car under a pecan.

Apparently it rained, or stormed, a bit in the meadow area of the island last night. The whole island can be driven completely around in just over three hours, yet it is subject to non-cyclic weather because of the extreme differences in climate and elevation. Add some wind to the hardwoods and their heavy branches break and snap and fall into the road to block all pathways.

It was nearly 10 AM when I made it to the high hide overlooking the wide part of the river. There were already a few triceratops in place, grazing aimlessly on the brush. I noted the ones present and entered them in my log. All three of the large ones, two females and a male, had already been tagged with GPS tracking chips. I did these myself. It was no small feat and required a steady hand to sew in the chips. Of course, this was done after the animals had been safely tranquilized with the Lindstradt rifle kept in the armory. There are two of the large, compressed air rifles at the compound. The fact they cost about $15,000 a piece confirms Hammond's trust corporation spared no expense. I could monitor the GPS movements of these trikes from the very nice Apple Mac Pro desktop system in the compound's operations center. Or, I could pull it up on any of the five Macbook Air laptops. Again, more proof no expense was spared.

The trikes muddled around in the meadow for nearly an hour until they began to trod off towards the jungle. I was about to get out of the high hide when a herd of hadrosaurs came to drink at the river. These are, without any doubt, the noisiest creatures I've ever encountered. Even a peaceful setting such as the slow babbling of the river as it made it way to the coast and the gentle breeze rustling through the meadow was shattered to pieces by the hadrosaurs' honking and bleating. As always, one kept watch while the others drank. When one had filled with water, it then moved to where the sentry stood and took up post, and that one that had stood guard moved to drink. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, there were no predators about today at the river meadow.

I watched the hadrosaurs finish their watering. And, since it was going on about noon, I got down from the high hide and drove back to the compound. The compound was only a hundred or so meters from the river dock, where the river widened as it fed into the sea. I heard Juan Carlos's boat motor as he maneuvered it into the channel proper.

Rom 50ish tall slim short cropped still mostly dark hair

"This should help." I hear to the side of me.

I turn to see an attractive young woman offering a bag of dried sugared fruit. She looks dressed for the field. All my kit is brand new. Excellent quality too. Except my boots. Took me 3 hours to find them. They took me up and down the Yukon Valley for 15 years searching for frozen mammoth stomach contents. Resoled 3 times. East German military surplus.

I'm betting it's Zingiber officinale. The preferred fruit that is.

"Thank you," I say and take out a piece.

Yep, ginger. I savour the piece and relish the sweetness. My gut feels a bit better.

"Yes I do believe it is helping. Thank you very much. I am Professor Blackthorn. Are you with the Parker expedition?" I extend my hand.

John Shepherd

I have been sitting alone and slept alone, staying well away from the others in the group without trying to seem to be anti-social. I wasn't, just didn't want to answer uncomfortable questions before we got on the island. Once on the island and the boat have left, then there was no need for secrecy. I heard somebody retching, that had to be the professor, he seemed queasy since he got onto the boat, a murmur of voices followed. My attention was mostly focused on the island, it's been in sight for some time now and right now, we were entering the mouth of a river, not a long way to go now.

I have made certain that none of my baggage went unattended at any moment. One bag held all my clothing, the hard case all the tools I'd need to suit my role as electronic engineer and the other two bags...well they held weapons and ammo. Oh I wasn't here to take over, kill, kidnap or intimidate anybody, I was here to act as protection if things should go South, but weapons always seem to make people nervous, so I kept them hidden and made certain nobody knew the weight these two bags had.

I rose to my feet and stepped onto the deck, standing at the side to look at the island as we drew into the river's mouth.

I was waiting on the dock when Juan Carlos brought the boat smoothly up for the starboard side rubber fenders to lightly kiss the wooden rails. Juan's first mate, I think his name was Pedro, secured the bow and stern lines. There were already people on deck and they seemed eager to disembark.

I realized just then I hadn't shaved in a couple of days. I was wearing the faded-out three color desert camo boonie hat I've had for seemingly a hundred years. I had on a pair of black Gatorz sunglasses, a drab green short sleeve bush shirt over a white tee, and one of my million or so pairs of khaki cargo chinos. I thought for a moment I probably looked more like a spec ops operator than a paleo-biologist.

Juan stepped from the boat's wheelhouse and threw paper sack with a rolled up top at me. I caught it, unrolled it, and looked inside. There were several DVDs I had inquired about last time he was here. I saw the titles of True Grit, Big Jake, The Green Berets, and one Eastwood film, The Outlaw Josey Wales. I gave Juan Carlos a smile as he stepped off the boat to shake my hand.

"It's good?" he asked in good English tainted by his native Costa Rica.

"Very," I answered.

I then looked at each of the newcomers. This was the team they had spoken of. Each person was hand-picked for their particular skill set, and each skill set was as I had requested. I never specified who for them to get, only that they get me the best.

Of course, I had several people in mind when I set forth my requirements, but I would never be so presumptuous. It turned out, though, the people who oversaw the trust corporation were mind readers.

One such was Savannah Harding. The simple fact of her parentage led me to her as an obvious choice. She looked like her mother I noticed. And, from what I had learned about her, she wasn't afraid of field work and getting dirty. And then the inevitable male comment about getting dirty with her edged its way into my mind, and I dismissed it immediately.

Dr. Rom Blackthorn I recognized immediately. He was a published scientist of renown. He was a science geek, like me, and I knew immediately we would get along fine. He did look a bit green, though. I assumed the boat trip disagreed with him as much as it often did me.

The last man I did not know. He seemed fit, and he looked wary to me, almost as if he had a casual confidence about him. He was sizing me up, I knew, and I figured he had already sized up the immediate surroundings of the dock area with its two RHIBs stowed on their stands and the fence line that ended at the water's edge. Our benefactors had sent someone I did not request, but I shortly considered who this man might be. Security could never be tight enough, here, and it would be nice having an extra set of trained eyes around.

"Hello," I called to them as I stepped towards the boat. "Welcome to Isla Sorna. I'm Bruce Parker," I told them as I gave a nod. "Bring your gear and we'll head up to the compound, and I'll show you around what will be your new home for a while." I offered to take a bag for Harding. It was the polite thing to do.

Juan Carlos fell in beside me as I turned towards the building. "We stay tonight, Senor Bruce?"

"Absolutely, Juan," I answered. I knew he and Pedro (I think that's his name) would be seriously fatigued from their trip. "Stay tonight, head back in the morning. We'll watch some John Wayne."

Juan opened the flap on one of his jacket cargo pockets and halfway pulled out a bottle of The Macallan. "And drink Scotch?"

"And drink Scotch," I answered.

"Yes, I suppose so. I'm Savannah Harding," I said as I popped a piece of ginger in my own mouth before sealing and replacing the bag in my rucksack.

I turned and surveyed the boat again, gauging how long it would take us to reach the island based on our approximate speed and distance remaining, just a little under an hour was my estimation.

I was right, I usually am.

I saw the man I assumed to be Dr. Parker standing on the dock in the distance before I went below and gathered my things and brought them upstairs. I stood next to the professor as Juan secured the boat. I tied my long red hair to the side and put on my favorite Boston Red Sox baseball cap. This hat had been with me for 9 years now, it was so faded you could hardly tell it used to be blue, the pink "B" on the front was now nearly white. It had served it's purpose well.

I watched the exchange between Dr. Parker and Juan with interest and wondered what was in the paper bag. I raised an eyebrow at the bottle of scotch. I wasn't much of a drinker, usually only red wine. Figures I would get stuck on an island full of dinosaurs and in a compound full of drunk men. Fantastic. I thanked Papa silently for forcing me to learn Brazilian jiu jitsu.

"Never know when you'll run into hostile natives," he used to say. He never would tell me what exactly he meant by that, I had only ever used it twice. Once on a handsy creep in undergrad and once in New York City on a street thug who tried to take my bag. They both learned the hard way.

I nodded at the greeting from Dr. Parker but said nothing. I tended to be quiet unless something needed to be said. I assumed he already knew who I was based on the way he was looking at me, maybe he had requested my presence specifically. I realized a third man had joined us on the deck but I had no idea who he was or what he was here for. Time would reveal his identity. I didn't need to know right now.

I shouldered my olive green Orvis bag and picked up my camera case before realizing I did not have enough hands to carry my army style duffel in one trip. Dr. Parker was a step ahead of me and had already offered his hand. Normally I would not have taken it, but we needed to get going. My late arrival due to a longer than planned layover in Atlanta, the norm for that god forsaken place it seemed, had put the boat behind schedule as it was.

"Thank you," I met his gaze and handed him the heavy duffel before stepping down onto the dock and making my way a little awkwardly to the Jeep and packing my things in neatly to one side.

I pulled the iPad out of my rucksack and checked the signal, all bars were lit up. Perfect. I slid into the passenger seat of the Jeep and opened my email, I sent a quick "Still alive, send mother my love when you hear from her" message to Papa before closing it back down and putting it back in the bag.

I watched the others casually, quietly observing and watching their personalities emerge as they conversed.

John Shepherd

As the others started to disembark, I went back to my corner of the boat. Sliding on a pair of sunglasses and a 3D camo cap, I slung the clothing and one of the weapon bags over my back, their bands crossing in front of my chest. Slipped the other weapon bag over my left shoulder and picked up the hard case with tools. Stepping back onto the deck and onto the dock, I took in the surroundings again as I walked. Something about the plants didn't seem right, then Dr Parker stood in front of me, I shook the offered hand, the man had a good grip,

"John Shepherd, electronic engineer. They said you might need some help giving the systems the spring cleaning they need."

I patted the hard case,

"Should be able to see them spider webs and dust them away for you."

I gave him my best disarming "good ol' southern boy" smile and headed to the jeep to stash my gear. The weapon bags of course in easy reach, leaning against the back mudflap and with hands in pockets, studied the surroundings again. It seemed like jungle, but for some reason...didn't.

I struggle to get my backpack on. It must weigh 125 lbs. In the army I would be called a "Kit Monster", I think. A large Pelican case and an aluminium case fill my hands.

Ah! Solid ground. I lug my gear to the jeep. Miss Harding with out hesitation takes shotgun. Beauty before age and credentials I guess. A telling sign. Out comes the inevitable iPhone of her generation. Students in my lectures receive one warning about cell use in class. First offence has them wearing a dunce cap in class. Never had to come up with a second offence punishment. I carefully place my cases in the back and with a grunt climb in the back.

I need a drink. Long flight, deplorable boat ride. One of the bottles of Jameson's, in my pack, is a gift for our host. The other is for medicinal purposes. In my younger days getting drunk around a Yukon fire under the Northern Lights was a regular occurrence. That's how I met Elli. She was a first year student and I was finishing my undergrad. We have been friends ever since. She recommended me for this expedition. Actually I threatened her with telling her husband how she got the name "Ellie Lovelace." She countered with threatening to challenge me to whiskey pong at the next conference we both attended. I withdrew my threat. She is an evil dominatrix at whiskey pong.

The male third passenger climbs in the jeep. I nod hello. An electronic engineer. Good. The field portable mass spectrometer I brought has a tendency to be finicky.

My iPad pinged, telling me I had an alert. So I pulled it back out to check, probably Papa letting me know he got my email. But then I did the math, no it couldn't be him. It was the wee hours of the dawn at home.

It was from a colleague. We'd been writing a software program together, and he sent me an email tagged "Urgent". He'd finished writing all the data and was sending it to me to beta test in the field. Perfect. I downloaded the file, if this worked properly it could make our jobs here a whole lot easier. I turned to the professor, a pleased look on my face.

"Professor, when we get to a stopping place there is something I would like to show you. I helped design a program that reads images of plants and animals and catalogs them by appearance," I pulled up the test image of the rain forest canopy with a few various species of exotic birds and handed the device to him.

"Just touch any plant or animal on the screen and it will find all relevant information on that subject and pull it up for you," I explained, "i'm supposed to test it, if we take pictures of the island and input Dr. Parker's relevant information on the subjects any of us could access the collective data at any time," I finished explaining and watched him navigate the screenshot.

This was a very valuable piece of intellectual property, Carter and I had spent 6 years putting it together. Inputting all the data by hand had been the most time consuming. So time consuming in fact that for two years we'd gotten grants to hire undergrads to just sit in a room and copy paste info on every known plant and animal species into the program. We'd almost lost the whole thing once when a server crashed, sending us both into manic repair mode. We'd recovered it with only a 12% loss, which took 3 months to get back. This program was our baby, we called it SAM.

"I hope it's helpful to you," I finished as he stared at the screen.

Ohn Shepherd

Abandoning my survey of the strange plants I got into the backseat next to the professor, he nodded at me and I returned the nod. Then the female professor turned around, talking about an application on her ipad, that perked my interest,

"Well plants and trees aren't really my thing, but to me it seems like these plants and trees around us are not...normal?"

I glanced at the ipad's screen,

"Is there a way to put that program on a server? I'd like to know what I come up against as I do the maintenance, perhaps via an uplink I can use a smartphone to get info on the plants I encounter? I think that there would be some of them in the subtunnels, the airvents are probably not working exactly like it should. Allowing for dirt, seeds and water to enter. Just don't want to get eaten by some dino-catching Venus uhm dinotrap you know?"

Of course that was just a cover, I wanted to know more about the jungles, marshes, grassland, rivers...everything that could kill a human. I needed to know if I had the right equipment to do the job I've been given. As for the wildlife...if it had claws, sharp teeth or even predatorial eyes...I'll be able to kill or stun it.

I shook my head, "It's not ready for mobile application yet, just a tablet or computer. This is just the beta version. It only saves the information you input manually. So far we've cataloged everything that we know of but if these plant species are unknown then we will have to build the profiles of them as we go," I explained, "just take as many pictures as you can with any device you have. We can upload all of it onto a shared drive later and start inputting info after we all get settled and start our work."

I was already planning on how to rewrite sections of the program to be specific to my animal behavior analysis study. If we scanned a picture of a certain T. Rex or any other dinosaur I was hoping I could catalog which dinos were with specific family groups or herds together and record all their tracking information. It would help show us what each member of the groupings were doing at any given time. If you happened to be out and saw an animal you could snap a picture, feed it to the program and it would tell you which animal you were looking at instantly and bring up all their information and history, a facial recognition of sorts. It would take me awhile and I knew Professor Blackthorn could do the same thing for the plants, that part of the software was done and should be functioning correctly.

"I'll have to train each of you how to use it before we implement anything, and of course the final say will be left to Dr. Parker," I told them both evenly, if the man had any sense he would see the good this could do for all of us.

Juan Carlos, Pedro (that really is his name, I learned), and I were in the lead Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, with the new arrivals behind us as we drove up the road to the compound. It was only a hundred yards or so, but the road took a sharp curve around a stand of hardwoods before it straightened out to the driveway that turned to the large, sheltered car park. There was another Jeep there. We had three altogether here on Isla Sorna. The fueling station for the vehicles was also located under the shelter with its 500 gallon tank.

The short drive to the carport was blocked, however, by a stegosaurus. This one was about the size of golf cart; clearly a juvenile. I had completely forgotten about him. It had been four days or so since I saw him last. He actually lived within the 100 acre fenced enclosure on the far side, near the small hot spring whose stream fed the coastal waterfall cliffs on the north side of the island. The only time I ever really saw this one was when the boat came.

The stegosaurus turned towards us as I stopped the Jeep.

I let out a sigh as I got out. Juan Carlos got out also, telling Pedro to hand him something from one of the burlap sacks he had loaded onto the Jeep. Juan Carlos threw me a gallon zipper lock bag of dried fruit.

"It's alright," I said to the others, "he's harmless." I approached to within an arm's reach of the animal. The stegosaurus shifted his weight slightly on his forelegs then extended his head towards me. I reached into the plastic bag and withdrew a handful of dried banana and apple which I offered to the dinosaur. He scooped it out of my hand, chewed noisily then sniffed my hand looking for more.

"This one was an orphan," I explained to the group as I fed the dinosaur, "and I believe the runt of the litter. I found him a few days after I had gotten here, wandering alone in the jungle. Raptors had gotten to him, or tried to." There were several scars on his hide from sharp teeth.

"Anyway, I took him in and fixed him up. He lives in the jungle on the north side of the compound, near the fence line at the hot spring, but he seems to like it when the boat comes." I cast a glance at Juan Carlos, who shrugged and made as if he was picking lint off his shirt.

John Shepherd

I shrugged,

"Sure prof, anything to help science."

I leaned back as we followed the leading Jeep, when we stopped, I looked forward to see...a living, breathing dinosaur. No matter how much you hear about it...seeing one is just so...awesome! I found myself outside the Jeep and approaching the animal. It ate the dried fruit and that made me pause,

"Wait...if it can eat normal fruit...why all these strange plants then?"

I motioned around us,

"And from what I read in them dino books, this guy can pack quite a wallop when grown up, I'd stay away when it seems angry."

Though not scared, I did keep a respectful distance. Those spikes looked sharp enough, especially when coupled with that stiff, strong tail,

"Are they as fast with their tails as water monitors? Or even crocodiles?"

I met the eyes which looked puzzled at me, I raised my shoulders and arms in a defensive gesture,

"I work with electronics, I see stuff..."

My gaze returned back to the dinosaur,

"But this is so much different from anything I ever saw."

I'm looking at Miss Harding's application. Very interesting shape recognition mated to a data base. Excellent piece of field software. Already I am ready to ban it from my first and second year students. I navigate a bit aand pick some obscure references like welwitschia mirabilis and tacca chantrieri.

"Very good! I like it," I say, "Have you thought of applications with wide scale mapping, aerial or satellite?"

Looking up from her pad, I freeze. Holy Crap! A dinosaur! A real freakin' dinosaur! A Stegosaurus. My jaw drops, my eyes go wide and I just stare.

I didn't even answer the question he asked because we had stopped. I turned around and was amazed. Nothing had prepared me for something like this, I had known what waited for me here but seeing it up close was beyond my wildest dreams. I got out slowly not wanting to startle the massive animal. Dr. Parker walked right up to it and started feeding him. I had the presence of mind to snap a few photos with the iPad before leaving it on the seat and walking around the front of the Jeep.

"Incredible," I whispered to myself.

I approached it cautiously, noticing the scars on its side and belly. He seemed relaxed in our presence. I followed Dr. Parker's example, not wanting to overwhelm or startle the stegosaurus, so I just stood there looking thunderstruck im sure.

I reached casually towards it's head. I saw his eyes move and watch me. The posture didn't change, he was relaxed. I gasped when my hand connected with the thick plated skin, a huge smile on my face. He didn't seem to mind me so close.

"Oh my..." I couldn't even finish a thought.

I stepped back beside Dr. Parker and watched him finish giving out the fruit as naturally as one would give a dog a treat. I felt like I was having an out of body experience.

"Yes," I answered Shepherd's question, "they are as fast as a monitor or croc with their tails. And, they are even more deadly. I've seen adult stegosaurs gut open a T. rex in one swipe."

Dr Harding stepped up and touched the animal. I could tell from her reaction she was having the same feelings I felt the first time I saw or touched a living fossil. All of the group was. It was indeed a surreal experience.

"The strange plants are the results of genetic engineering. DNA strands weren't available for the flora like they were the fauna, so InGen scientists basically reverse-engineered, or de-evolved, if you will, current plants. Their goal was to give the dinosaurs flora that would be recognizable, even though the dinos could care less."

I pointed towards the south side of the shelter. "See, there's an example of two species that have gone to battle, if you will. The large fern there hasn't existed on Earth for 65 million years, yet now it has completely consumed its evolutionary cousin and replaced it. But, in most areas, we have current species intermingled with their ancient relatives, and some have even cross-bred."

The stegosaurus ate his fill of dried fruit treat. He turned towards the jungle and with a grunting noise lumbered away. He stopped a few feet from the game trail he had made to his home near the hot spring. His head went up and he sniffed the air.

Within a second or so of his tasting of the air currents I heard the call from far away, beyond the compound's hundred acre fence. It was a shrill and long sound.

"Velociraptor," I whispered. I stood for a moment waiting to hear her again. She didn't make any other noise. The stegosaurus began to move away. He, like me, had gotten used to Judith, as well as knowing he was safe inside the electrified confines of the compound's enclosure.

I returned to the Jeep with Juan Carlos and we pulled beneath the shelter of the carport.

I considered something Dr. Ian Malcolm once told me. The group's reaction to the stegosaurus brought it to mind.

'Ohh, ahh! That's how it always starts. Then, later, there's running and screaming.'

I don't even hear the jeep drive away. Dr. Parker pointed to some vegetation and explained it's origin. As he turned back around, I was out of the jeep! This I had to see.

This is incredible. InGen managed to reverse engineer seed bearing ferns. Pteridosperms brought back to life. This is more amazing than the dinosaurs! Dinosaurs would certainly know them. Don't necessarily need them. The emergence of flowering plants was a boon to dinosaurs. Typical megacorp and lab rat shit. We can do it, so lets do it. Gingoism and science don't mix well. Still! I standing in a grove of Glossopteris or at least what passes for Glossopteris.

The way he whispered that name made me almost shiver, that shrill piercing call was eerie. My mother and Papa had both warned about the velociraptors before, how quick and deadly they could be.

"Wicked smart," mom said. I reminded myself to never go out to the field without a weapon to even the playing field. It was usually common in Africa to do that but I'd been working in Nepal so long, it wasn't like I needed to defend myself against the various rare species of mountain goats I had been surveying up there for 8 months.

I headed over to the carport and grabbed my bag out of the front seat, sliding the iPad back into the pocket. I was still absorbing my little encounter, I'm not sure why it affected me so much but it did. Very strange, I usually did not feel so strongly about things such as this. But then again, it was a living breathing link to Earth 175 million years or so ago. It was truly amazing, and only about 15 people alive today had the same experience. I was raised by two of them, no wonder I hadn't been asked to come, merely told.

I started unloading the rest of the gear and wondered what we would be up to today. Surely Dr. Parker had a routine or a plan, I was torn between wanting to head out into the field alone and just look at everything, or see the lab in the compound and get settled. I suppose I would just do whatever Dr. Parker decided we needed to do.

As the group unloaded their gear I ushered them up a short set of metal steps. The door sensor read our bio electric auras and parted much like the doors in Star Trek.

The room we entered was the main entry/exit foyer. I pointed out some items of interest there.

A bank of handheld radios sat in a row charger that was mounted to the wall. Under this charger was another row charger holding spare batteries.

"Rule number one," I stated as I pointed to the radios, "is no one leaves the compound perimeter without communications. These radios have are digital and small enough to fit in a pocket, or on a belt with their clip. The have eight hour batteries, but always grab a spare out of the charger just in case. The cabinet above them has Bluetooth earpiece-microphones that you can pair up for hands free use."

I then turned to the opposite wall. There were rows of Camelbak hydration packs. These were the Camelbak MULE military models that had zipper compartments for holding gear. "If you don't have your own water pack," I explained, "get one of these before you go out. You can fill it at the sink there." There was a stainless steel sink next to the row of Camelbaks. It was a large, utility type sink with a gooseneck faucet. There were handles marked H, C, and F. "The one marked F is filtered water. The water system here is well water that runs through a pretty high tech UV and osmosis filtration system. In this particular sink, though, you can only get cold filtered water. The others are used for cleaning and washing out your gear. There is no bacteria in the non-filtered water, but it does have a pretty strong sulfur smell."

Besides the sink was a stainless steel shower stall. "That's for emergencies, such as exposure to compy poison or acids or whatever else."

There were also shelves with binoculars, field packs that held survival gear, hiking and climbing gear, sleeping bags, rain ponchos, and all kinds of necessary exploring equipment. I pointed these out to the group then stepped through the next sliding door.

That door entered into a large open area that held a LCD TV on one wall complete with a blu ray player and some movies on a shelf. There were couches, recliners, and chairs set throughout the room. There was also a few dining tables and chairs. I pointed this out as the common room for eating and hanging out. I then pointed to the right where there was a short spiral staircase and a hallway. "Bedrooms are that way," I told them, "and upstairs. They're first come, first serve, so pick one out. Mine is upstairs at the end of the hall on the left. There is one more available next to mine. Each bedroom has a large viewing window, but the upstairs ones also have a door onto the balcony that runs the length of the upper level of the building.

"Each room has a queen bed, small sofa or a recliner, desk with an iMac that's networked with the server in the operations center, decent closet space and your own bathroom with shower.

"A note on the showers. We use direct line water heaters, so hot water is available the second you turn it on. However, the power here is provided by a combination of solar and geothermal. Geothermal power is used to power the perimeter fence and to provide power to the operations center. Everything else runs on solar power that is stored in a bank of batteries in the power station on the east side of the compound. Although they say there is enough power to run the place for three days using the batteries, I'd prefer to not have to find out in the event of a power outage. So, let's keep the showers down to just long enough to get clean, wash hair, shave or whatever. No Hollywood steam baths, okay?

"To the right is the kitchen, refrigerators, freezers, and dry goods storage." I looked at my watch. "Speaking of which, it is lunchtime. Everyone pick a room and get your gear stowed and we'll make some sandwiches, salads, and soup for lunch. Then I will show you the operations center and laboratories."

As the group unloaded their gear I ushered them up a short set of metal steps. The door sensor read our bio electric auras and parted much like the doors in Star Trek.

The room we entered was the main entry/exit foyer. I pointed out some items of interest there.

A bank of handheld radios sat in a row charger that was mounted to the wall. Under this charger was another row charger holding spare batteries.

"Rule number one," I stated as I pointed to the radios, "is no one leaves the compound perimeter without communications. These radios are digital and small enough to fit in a pocket, or on a belt with their clip. The have eight hour batteries, but always grab a spare out of the charger just in case. The cabinet above them has Bluetooth earpiece-microphones that you can pair up for hands free use. The main comm radio is in the operations center. Operations will be manned at all times whenever someone is out in the field." Up to this point, it hadn't been. I had been out many times already by myself. However, I knew a bit more about the island, such as where the high hide were, how long it took to get from one to another, safe routes of travel via Jeep and foot, and how to keep ahead of the predatory dinosaurs. Until they learned these things themselves, we'd keep someone in communication at all times.

I then turned to the opposite wall. There were rows of Camelbak hydration packs. These were the Camelbak MULE military models that had zipper compartments for holding gear. "If you don't have your own water pack," I explained, "get one of these before you go out. You can fill it at the sink there." There was a stainless steel sink next to the row of Camelbaks. It was a large, utility type sink with a gooseneck faucet. There were handles marked H, C, and F. "The one marked F is filtered water. The water system here is well water that runs through a pretty high tech UV and osmosis filtration system. In this particular sink, though, you can only get cold filtered water. The others are used for cleaning and washing out your gear. There is no bacteria in the non-filtered water, but it does have a pretty strong sulfur smell."

Beside the sink was a stainless steel shower stall. "That's for emergencies, such as exposure to compy poison or acids or whatever else."

There were also shelves with binoculars, field packs that held survival gear, hiking and climbing gear, sleeping bags, rain ponchos, and all kinds of necessary exploring equipment. I pointed these out to the group then stepped through the next sliding door.

That door entered into a large open area that held a LCD TV on one wall complete with a blu ray player and some movies on a shelf. There were couches, recliners, and chairs set throughout the room. There was also a few dining tables and chairs. I pointed this out as the common room for eating and hanging out. I then pointed to the right where there was a short spiral staircase and a hallway. "Bedrooms are that way," I told them, "and upstairs. They're first come, first serve, so pick one out. Mine is upstairs at the end of the hall on the left. There is one more available next to mine. Each bedroom has a large viewing window, but the upstairs ones also have a door onto the balcony that runs the length of the upper level of the building.

"Each room has a queen bed, small sofa or a recliner, desk with an iMac that's networked with the server in the operations center, decent closet space and your own bathroom with shower.

"A note on the showers. We use direct line water heaters, so hot water is available the second you turn it on. However, the power here is provided by a combination of solar and geothermal. Geothermal power is used to power the perimeter fence and to provide power to the operations center. Everything else runs on solar power that is stored in a bank of batteries in the power station on the east side of the compound. Although they say there is enough power to run the place for three days using the batteries, I'd prefer to not have to find out in the event of a power outage. So, let's keep the showers down to just long enough to get clean, wash hair, shave or whatever. No Hollywood steam baths, okay?

"To the right is the kitchen, refrigerators, freezers, and dry goods storage." I looked at my watch. "Speaking of which, it is lunchtime. Everyone pick a room and get your gear stowed and we'll make some sandwiches, salads, and soup for lunch. Then I will show you the operations center and laboratories."

It was a nice facility, okay it was the best facility I had ever seen. InGen had spared no expense. I was used to living in huts with dirt floors or in a tent for months at a time. This was different. I walked around a little as he talked, checking it out. And when he mentioned lunch my stomach rumbled a little. I had not eaten since last night when I disembarked at the airport.

It only took me a moment to weigh the options. A bedroom upstairs meant only one neighbor, and should more team members join us the dorm style housing downstairs could get crowded, and it was closer to the high traffic areas. Nope, I was heading upstairs. Dr. Parker seemed a level headed man, I could deal with him being my neighbor. And besides, I liked having my morning coffee outside. The balcony was the deciding factor.

It seemed like everyone else was standing around checking out downstairs so I headed upstairs with the gear I could carry. I'd make an extra trip for the last bag. Besides, there was something in there I needed to make my lunch anyway. Perhaps I'd just cook for everyone, it was a talent I did not often get to share with others. People often claimed I was a cold fish, that wasn't true but I certainly could see how my introverted nature and matter of fact attitude would give that impression. Men could be easily won over with food though.

I put my things on the bed, and started unpacking the basics. I could hear them downstairs still, I left the door open to air out the room. It had definitely not been used for awhile.