Chapter 224: Invitation from John Hammond

Words : 2400 Updated : Oct 5th, 2025

The meeting went on for a long time to come. Robert Oz remained inside the hall all day and spoke incessantly to the NMWA explaining everything he knew. When he finished Dr. Oz was placed under witness protection: in a flash, he had become too important a subject to risk anyone attempting his life. He was not the only scientist to be brought up: in the following days, the NMWA summoned all the scientists that Jocelyne had named in his explanation. Mitch Morgan, Jamie Campbell, Ian Malcolm, Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler all stood in front of heads of state around the world and presented their ideas on what to do. They too were placed under witness protection. The media obviously wouldn't have waited long to make such news public. In less than a week the names of those scientists would become world famous. However, Jocelyne didn't care. When she was asked to leave the room she did so without looking back. She didn't care what happened after: it was something bigger than her. Before making any other move, she would await the NMWA's decision. For the moment, she might as well detach herselves from the question. She had done what was in her power to do. Now it was for humanity to decide for its own future. However, the rest of the world was unwilling to leave her alone. As soon as the news was made public and the public finally learned the truth, the media besieged the hotel where she was staying. Journalists literally huddled on each other as soon as they saw her to get a statement of any kind from her. Jocelyne had prepared herself to live with that situation, but she was still unnerving to live like that. Fortunately for her, however, an unexpected event occurred a few days later: a call from John Hammond. Jocelyne was initially surprised by the phone call and she wondered if she should answer. She suspected that Hammond wanted to talk to him about Wu. But she would be rude to ignore him, so she eventually chose to accept the call. "Hello?" "Jocelyne, my girl" Hammond's voice said through the cell phone. "How are you?" "Very well, thanks" Jocelyne replied. "And you? You look fine?" Silence. For a few seconds the other party didn't answer. "I've been through better times" Hammond finally said. 'As I imagined... he's worried about Wu' Jocelyne thought. However, what Hammond said next surprised her. "Jocelyne, listen. I am grateful to you for what you have done, and I want to repay. I know the media doesn't leave you alone at the moment, so would you like to be my guest? My villa is surrounded by an impassable wall and a gate, and there is an entire hectare of land that is completely my private property. There the media won't be able to reach you" Jocelyne didn't expect that twist. "Could I live in your villa? Won't I disturb you?" "No, you won't" "But why?" "Because I find you nice, first of all, and because my scientist friends respect you. And also... I am responsible for this situation. I wasn't the one who moved Henry's hand, but I was his friend and I put some misconceptions in his head. If you're in this situation now it's the dinosaurs' fault, then Henry's fault, so my fault. I must at least try to make up for my mistakes. Saving you from the press is the least I can do" Jocelyne felt empathy for the poor man. She had only met Hammond once, but she knew he was a good person. She wanted to tell him that he wasn't responsible for Wu's actions, but she knew she wouldn't believe him. Humans tended to blame themselves when something happened to the people around them, especially if they loved them. "So... thank you for the hospitality" "I am going on a journey right now, otherwise I would have come to get you myself. There is already a car with a trusted escort waiting for you in the parking lot. My servants will take care of you until I return. I told them to grant your every wish, so don't bother asking for anything. Remember, no expense is spared in my house" "It is not necessary... oh" Jocelyne did not type to say more: Hammond had hung up. "Well... thank you, mr. Hammond" Jocelyne had half an idea where Hammond was headed; it was pretty obvious indeed. She just hoped the brave old man didn't do some folly. She quickly called the hotel staff and asked them if there really was a car in the parking lot owned by John Hammond, and they confirmed this. Jocelyne then quickly packed his things up and asked them to load them into the aforementioned car. Now he just had to be able to reach it. As soon as she left the hotel the reporters who were camped outside her almost jumped on her. Jocelyne feared his eardrums would explode from the cacophony of sounds that reached her ears, and for a moment she thought she had gone blind from camera flashes. "Miss Jersey, a question!" "Miss Jersey, can you make a statement?" "Miss Jersey, what do you think of Dr. Wu's conduct?" "Many people define Wu's work as amoral. What do you say, miss Jersey?" "Do you think that a cure is really impossible?" "Miss Jersey, what do you think is the line of action that the NMWA should follow?" Jocelyne was tempted to plug her ears and only her decency stopped her from doing so. The bodyguards accompanying her formed a circle around her and kept the reporters away, allowing her to walk towards the car, but even then the situation was unbearable. At one point one of the reporters literally threw himself at her taking advantage of a distraction from the bodyguards, but he didn't even go half a meter more than the gorillas noticed him and grabbed him. However, the man was still able to point the microphone directly in Jocelyne's face. "Miss Jersey, please give us just one statement! Have you nothing to say to humanity at this fateful moment?" Those words lit something in Jocelyne's soul. Maybe there was still one last thing she could do about the dinosaur problem... "I actually have something to say" she declared. "But I'll only say it once, so don't interrupt me!" The reporters fell silent instantly; in an instant the crowd of screaming people turned into a peaceful audience of attentive people. Even those who still made noise were looked at badly. "I have an appeal for all humanity, without exception. I can't find any other way to say it than to just say it" Jocelyne said. "Yes, that's the truth. There is no cure and never will. I will leave the technical details to the experts, you just need to know that we have already tried any other track and the results have always been the same. So, and I turn to everyone, stop hoping that the dinosaurs will come back to graze the grass and eat the leaves of the trees. The awakening of intelligence among animal species cannot be undone. This is the new world, gentlemen, and whether we like it or not, now we have to live in it" Jocelyne wasn't sure she even knew what she was saying: she was just giving vent to her thoughts without any restraint hoping to make a meaningful speech. "When I first met lord Sobek, he told me of a wish. The desire to see humans and dinosaurs coexist together on this planet. Well, I chose to believe that that wish can come true... because the only other alternative is our extinction! " Someone gasped, but she paid no attention. "If we fail to coexist, and if the interests of one side prevail over those of the other, then war will be inevitable. And this time it will not be a border line in the middle of a desert on the other side of the world, it will be a war that will be fought on our streets, in our cities, in our homes. The walls will turn red and the dead will be billions. Even if, by sheer miracle, we manage to win, each family will lose at least ten of its members. And even if we win, our victory will be futile. The only way to win a war with the dinosaurs would be to exterminate them all, and this is not possible, not without burning all the forests, devastating the seas and poisoning the skies. What we will get after our victory will be the corpse of our world. And then nothing will save us from our extinction. Because the only thing that this planet has that is special is life! IF WE DESTROY LIFE, THIS PLANET WILL BE BUT A BARREL AND UNLIVABLE BALL OF DEBRIS THAT CONTINUOUSLY PERFORMS ITS ETERNAL DANCE AROUND THE SUN! A planet no different from our uninhabitable neighbors, where it will be impossible for us humans to survive!" Jocelyne's tone was going up an octave every minute, but she didn't seem to notice. "Our only hope for avoiding this horrible fate is to learn to coexist with the new intelligent creatures who now share the planet with us. And good intentions will not be enough to do so. I know that Dr. Robert Oz and other scientists have talked in recent days about how it is necessary to revolutionize our lifestyle to be able to keep the peace. Well, I agree with him. The only way for two species to coexist in the same territory is that neither of them causes discomfort to the other, otherwise the clash is inevitable. If we want the dinosaurs to have no more reason to fight against us, then we must stop ruling this world as if we were the only owners. But I will tell you more. There is one thing where I disagree with Dr. Oz. What we need to change is not our lifestyle; the problem is not our technology, but our mentality!" Her eyes narrowed. "As long as we continue to consider ourselves superior, to believe that we are in a privileged position compared to other living beings, then we will already be defeated. We need to change our way of thinking. The only way to ensure true coexistence is to put all living beings on the same level and to consider them on a par with how we consider us humans. We did it with blacks, we did it with homosexuals, we did it with Neanderthals, and now we have to do it with all the other creatures that live on this world too! Only when we begin to give the same importance that we give to our fellow creatures to other animals will we be able to say that we have changed enough to be able to live in peace with another species. Change will be difficult, and it will scare many, I know it well; but it is the only hope. Simply sitting and hoping that things will go well will lead us nowhere. All of us, as human beings, will have to make a huge effort and try to amalgamate our thinking with that of the dinosaurs. Because the advantage of the dinosaurs is that they have no barriers between species and consider each of them, even the most ephemeral, of equal value to all the others. Our goal must be to achieve the same mentality. We must do it, all of us, or there will no longer be a future to which we can entrust our children and grandchildren" Jocelyne stared intently at the cameras in front of her: "This is my appeal to humanity: try to do it. Everyone of you, try to realize this coexistence. There is room in this world for humans and dinosaurs, so let's try to live here all together... or no one will do it again" After saying those last words, Jocelyne felt strangely relieved; she was as if she had lifted a weight from her heart. She looked away from the reporters and went back to the car that was waiting for her. "That's all. I have nothing else to say" "No, no, wait! Miss Jersey, at least one question!" The reporters' calls were useless. Jocelyne didn't say another word until she got to the car, after which she sat in the passenger seat. The car started off with a skid, leaving journalists with a dry mouth. "Nice to see you again, miss Jersey" said the driver. Jocelyne recognized him immediately: he was Hammond's butler. "It is also a pleasure for me to meet you again" "Thank you. I have orders to take her to Mr. Hammond's mansion and to comply with every request from her until the master returns" "I'll try not to disturb you too much" "Don't worry, it's my work and that of my colleagues. Don't worry about asking us anything" Jocelyne smiled. The butler was really friendly. However, her smile soon faded. "If you have to comply with my every request then answer my question. Hammond told me he went on a trip. He went to meet him, right?" The butler was silent for a moment and Jocelyne was pretty sure there was a shadow on her face at the moment. "Yes, he is" he finally replied. Jocelyne sighed. "As I thought" The journey went on in silence. After about an hour, the city finally vanished behind them and the car drove into the grove that surrounded Hammond's villa. Once past the imposing gate, the butler parked in the courtyard in front of the entrance and took care to bring his luggage inside. Jocelyne walked her into Hammond's mansion, savoring its tranquility; it seemed that that place was completely unrelated to the chaos that was happening outside. While some maids came to meet her to invite her to follow them into her new room, she Jocelyne realized that she wouldn't mind living there, at least for a while.

Chapter 224: Invitation from John Hammond

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