Chapter 103: Challenge accepted

Meanwhile, of course, Sobek was listening. He almost laughed when humans called him a baby; in fact he had been born just a year ago (or maybe a little more), but certainly Sarah, Ian and Eddie certainly weren't expecting it. The scientific explanation of its size had surprised him not a little; he had always assumed that its weight was only 14.5 tons because the System magically made it so. But deep down, he reflected, Eden was a world of science, not magic. Even if the System was something otherworldly, the changes that took place in Sobek's body still had to find a scientific reason for existing. In a certain sense, the System had made him aware of this fact: even if the descriptions of the abilities were rather approximate, Sobek remembered that for example for [Powerful bite] we were talking about modifications to the mandibular structure and the muscles of the mouth, and that [Rapid digestion] was referred to as gastric juices, all scientific explanations. So, even his abilities could seem absurd and magical, in reality they had nothing magical about them. [Ambush] could very well be an exceptional camouflage mechanism and [Linguistics] was probably based on the structure of his vocal cords and the neuronal connections of his brain. Now he was really curious. Perhaps that short trip with the humans would have had an additional unexpected gain: it would have allowed him to better understand his body structure, and this could prove useful in the future. *********** Over the next few days Sarah conducted many more studies on the body of the spinosaurus. Now she had a much wider knowledge about the animal, establishing the effectiveness of the sensory organs, the hardness of the teeth and so on. Thanks to x-rays and computer simulations, she was able to determine how the animal use the enormous amount of energy that it obtained eating so much. Apparently, a large part of that energy went in the brain, and that allowed to the spinosaurus to didn't need to sleep for entire weeks. The rest of the energy went to the mouth to improve the bite and to the claws to improve their letality. Se also had the opportunity to measure the force of the bite by inserting a pole between its jaws, demonstrating that the animal had the most powerful bite ever discovered, about three times stronger than that of the purussaurus. But she still hadn't been able to explain the extreme hardness of its scales. She had sent her tests to Alan hoping he would find a solution, but the biologist was groping in the dark as much as she was. He had promised to call her back as soon as something occurred to him, but even the esteemed Alan Grant seemed unable to answer that question. The man had suggested that Sarah try different tools on the scale, but none of them had given answers. "Come on, what are your secrets?" Sarah asked looking at the half-open eye of the dinosaur in the cage. By now the animal seemed to have gotten used to her presence and didn't go crazy if she approached less than five meters, but still in its eyes Sarah still read a strong sense of challenge. It was a horse that didn't want to be tamed. "If it answered you, I'd say we would hit the jackpot" Ian's voice said behind her. Sarah didn't even turn to look at him. The professor Malcolm obviously laughed at her: "Oh, come on! Am I not allowed even a joke? Even if... with indestructible skin, regeneration and super powerful bite, it wouldn't surprise me if it could also speak" "It would surprise me if you, for just one time, couldn't speak" Sarah grumbled, then exploded: "It's like digging a spider out of a hole! What the hell makes that scale so tough?" "I have no idea. Maybe it's just natural..." "Wow, you really opened up a world to me! I would like some more information..." "Stop it, lovebirds. You will make it nervous if you coo like that". Roland's voice was enough to stop the fight. The hunter approached the two with a laptop in his hand. "I just found a good buyer. He offered me twenty-five million for this custom-built. Now he would like to talk to you" he said opening the computer and activating the video call. Immediately the face of a thin, shaved man with short hair and square glasses appeared on the screen. Ian nearly choked when he saw him. "Ludlow?" he exclaimed. "We meet again, professor Malcolm. I haven't heard from you since the time when we went out of the court" the man mocked him. It was him: Peter Ludlow, Hammond's nephew who had usurped his position as head of Ingen, the same one who had discredited Ian Malcolm years earlier when he sued the company for the Mega Beast Park incident. "I was hoping I would never see your face again" Ian snapped in a hostile voice. "I guess you still delights in manipulating reality" "We had offered you a substantial reimbursement for the damage that you suffered. Blame yourself for not accepting that kind of justice" Ludlow replied bored. "That kind of justice!?" Ian was increasingly indignant. "You lied, twisted the facts about the deaths of three people, and dare you talk to me about justice? Your was a bribe, an insult. You don't dare to think you can buy me with such means ever again" "Wow, what a moral integrity" Ludlow teased in a bored voice. "However, it wasn't you that I intended to confront, professor Malcolm. Dr. Hardy, it's a pleasure to meet you" Sarah just glared at the man. Ludlow shrugged: "I guess your boyfriend talked badly about me. Well, it doesn't matter. I'll tell you what I have to tell you anyway. First of all, I want to let you know that no one will steal your discovery: your name will be the first to be mentioned when this animal becomes an attraction" "An attraction?" Sarah exclaimed. "Sure, it will be the Mega Beast Park's new main attraction. Ingen has had some financial problems due to circumstances lately, but this animal will lift us up" Ludlow replied. "Of course, 'due to circumstances'... not your incompetence. Who knows why Ingen had always thrived with Hammond" Ian grumbled, throwing a deliberate dig. Ludlow ignored him. Sarah tried to stay calm. "With all due respect, Mr. Ludlow, I advise against turning this animal into a tourist attraction. It isn't an animal raised in captivity, it has a very strong wild side and..." "I am aware of that. Don't think I haven't learned from John Hammond's mistakes" Ludlow interrupted. "We will not use an electric fence. We are building a fifteen meter high reinforced concrete fence. From there it will not be able to escape" "Are you also aware that this is just a baby?" "Yes, Mr. Tembo informed me. It doesn't matter, we will keep an eye on it and over time we will put it in bigger and bigger pens. We will keep pace with its growth" Sarah wanted to reply, but Ludlow anticipated: "The other reason I called you was to inform you that I took the right to name the animal" "WHAT!?" Sarah nearly jumped, which made Ian and even Roland jump. "This is my discovery! You have no right..." "Have you already given it a name?" "No, but..." "Then, according to the laws of the scientific world, I, sinceI am the new owner of that animal, have the right to baptize it, with or without your will" Ludlow replied with a mocking smile. "I'm not asking your permission, it just seemed right to inform you. I called it 'Spinosaurus ingens' " "Seriously?" Ian was disgusted. "Do you even use a name to advertise yourself?" "Don't think badly, professor Malcolm. 'Ingens', in Latin, means 'giant'. The fact that it remembers the name of my company is completely coincidental". Ludlow's tone was so false that he probably wasn't believing his words either. "Dr. Hardy, as I have already told you, I will not steal the discovery from you, but this is the name I want the animal to have. Now, you can accept it and I will say that you baptized the dinosaur. If not, I'll take the credit I deserve" "Why this agreement?" Sarah asked doubtfully. "We live in an age where people don't really like rich people like me. They use every excuse to attack 'horrible capitalism'. If I were the one that give a name to the animal, you can assured that people will accuse me of theft" Ludlow explained. "Consequently, it is more convenient for me to have the scientist who discovered the dinosaur give it a name. In practice, one less pain in the ass for myself" Sarah bit her tongue. She would have gladly said that bastard a good 'fuck you', but she was smart enough to know her hands were tied. Ludlow would have given that name to the animal regardless of his choice. "Allow me to think about it for a while" "No problem. Just think calmly about your answer" Ludlow said. "Well, now I have to go. It was a pleasure to see you again, professor Malcolm" The billionaire turned off the video call and his face disappeared from the screen. "How much I hate this man" was Ian's only comment. Unbeknownst to everyone, Sobek had listened to everything. "A fifteen meter high fence? Good. I accept the your challenge" he thought, laughing under his lips. He would have taught those fools who thought they could contain him a good lesson. However, one thought gripped him... "Why the hell do I keep meeting only characters from Jurassic Park? Does God love to make fun of me so much?" ********** At the same time, in Montain, it was evening. Alan Grant was bending over to read the results of the tests sent to him by Sarah, trying to catch a sign that could allow him to solve the mystery of the infinite hardness of the scales. "Some idea?" Billy asked him, who was puzzling himself. The young student had opened virtually every biology book he had brought with him and scoured the Internet from top to bottom, but nothing. "You can tell from my face for yourself" Alan commented sarcastically. "I thought so" Billy grumbled. "It's absurd. That animal seems to violate the laws of physics" Alan grunted in response, then he suddenly stopped. His eyes widened and his lips trembled. "What happens?" Billy asked, knowing that this was the face that Professor Grant wore when he had an epiphany. Alan turned his head and looked at him. "What did you said?" "Now? I asked you what happens" Billy replied confused. "No, before of that! You said that that animal seems to violate the laws of physics... but what if this weren't the case at all? What if it used them to its advantage?" Alan took off his glasses and rubbed his jaw, as he always did when he thought. "So far we have only looked at the problem from a biological point of view... but what if it were something deeper? What if physics itself was the answer?" "I'm not following you..." Billy murmured, but Alan was now in fourth gear. He grabbed the computer and like crazy started typing Ian's number. "Come on, you ugly bastard, answer!" the professor exclaimed as the video call started.