Chapter 98: Alan Grant

A group of alamosaurs were grazing quietly in the middle of the forest. The herd was quite large: making an approximate hypothesis, one could safely admit that there were at least a hundred of them. Such a pack ate disproportionate amounts of food, clearing large acres of forest at very high speed. Wherever they went, the green foliage of the trees gave way to bare branches. The alamosaurs had to eat around one ton of food each day to support their mass of over seventy tons of weight. While a hundred alamosaurs might seem like a lot, they weren't even remotely close to a real herd. Some groups of sauropods could have numbered thousands of individuals. Such herds of giant herbivores could clear entire acres of forest in a matter of hours. Such large herds were also possible on Mesozoic Earth, although they were much rarer. But on Eden, which possessed an infinitely larger amount of land and thus much larger food sources, herds of thousands of sauropods, including alamosaurs, were normal. At 30 meters long and more than 11 meters high they were even larger than Sobek, who could already be considered a titan among the titans. No predator would ever dare to attack such a giant, unless it was suicidal. But a new predator was now at stake. An elderly specimen of alamosaurus had moved slightly away from the herd to be able to taste some of the leaves of a solitary sequoia, but suddenly a huge carnivore emerged from the thick of the woods and jumped on him, breaking his neck cleanly. The other alamosaurs bellowed in fright and waved their whip tails. However, Sobek had no intention of attacking them too: he had already gotten his dinner. Very soon the other alamosaurs, seeing that it did not attack, lost interest and returned to their daily occupations. Like all sauropods, they had a brain the size of a peanut. In fact, Sobek had promised himself never to dare attack a herd of more than ten sauropods, not because he was afraid of them, but because their smell was something unbearable for his sensitive nose. Like cows and other ruminants, sauropods continually flatulence due to bacteria in their intestines. But a cow was small and had a small stomach, a sauropod was large and had a large stomach: being close to a herd was tantamount to dying of asphyxiation. For this Sobek had waited for an alamosaur to detach itself from the group. After concluding with the humans he had decided he wanted to eat something substantial. He did not know when he could hunt again, so it was better to let off steam immediately. His plan had gone well: now the humans knew of his existence and, if Sobek remembered Roland Tembo's personality well, the hunter would try to catch him, which was just what Sobek wanted. The plan had had to undergo some changes due to Sarah Hardy's actions and the sudden intervention of a Neanderthal, but nothing serious: he was safe enough to have behaved like any animal. He didn't want to sound smart: he had done it once and it had only caused him problems. As the wise orangutan Maurice said in the film 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes', 'Humans don't like intelligent apes'. This same concept could be extended to the whole animal kingdom. Sobek didn't want humans to take precautions against his intelligence. He preferred that he was considered a stupid, primitive ordinary dinosaur. If they had understood how clever he was, in reality they would have been a hundred times more cautious. As for showing [Reinforced skin], Sobek wasn't too worried. On the other hand, if he had allowed himself to be captured, they would certainly have noticed. The important thing was that they did not know his other skills, which, he was sure, would be fundamental for his escape. Rather he was curious as to what cunning ploy the humans would have used now that they knew they couldn't hurt him with conventional weapons. If there was one thing that humans did not lack, it was inventiveness. If tranquilizer rifles were useless, what would they have done? ******** "Billy, help me with this. The casts are in disorder" "Sure, Alan. Just give me a second" If there was one thing that Alan Grant didn't like much about his job, it was having to sort out the results of his research at the end of the day. Notes, casts of footprints, photos, teeth and other material collected in the field... everything had to be cataloged and rearranged in order to be easily found in case of need. For a long time he had been able to enjoy the help of Ellie Sattler, his girlfriend and partner, with that task, but then their affair was over and they both went their separate ways. Fortunately, Alan now had Billy, his pupil, to help him with his work. If Sobek had been present he would have jumped through hoops to see one of his favorite 'Jurassic Park' characters and would have recognized Alan's student Billy in 'Jurassic Park 3' as well. Alan Grant at that time was in the Montain, a very desert region of the Confederate States of Vinland but crossed by some waterways where there were some rather ancient creatures, such as placerias and postosuchus. Alan was there to personally study the behavior of coelophisis, some of the very first dinosaurs ever to appear on the planet. He spent his days wandering around the flat plain with his staff and closely observing the coelophisis and in the evening he rearranged his ideas and with Billy's help took stock of the situation. Suddenly Alan's laptop rang. The biologist opened it confused, expecting no call. When he saw the name of the person calling him he was surprised. "Ian Malcolm?" He and professor Malcolm had met some time ago when Alan was still engaged to Ellie Sattler and worked with her. It happened when John Hammond, a well-known billionaire, offered to let him study some dinosaurs in his jewel, the zoo called Mega Beast Park, a place where the tycoon planned to bring together all the largest predatory dinosaurs ever discovered. Unfortunately, things had not gone well: a short circuit caused by a security technician, a certain Dennis Nadry, who had sold himself to the competition for money, had caused the escape of a... particular creature. Many people had been killed and others injured, including Ian Malcolm himself. Eventually the beast was shot down and Alan was saved, but from that day on, his life had completely changed. Mindful of what he had been through, he had stopped studying large dinosaurs and instead focused on small ones that could be handled by some forester. Before the accident, Alan used to go to the Maakanar forest at least twice a year, but after that event he had limited himself to going to quieter areas where he knew he wouldn't encounter large carnivores. He wasn't the only one to come out of that experience tested. John Hammond had completely revolutionized his life. The accident, in which his two grandchildren were also involved, convinced him that animals couldn't live in captivity and that it wasn't a good thing play with nature. He had become one of the largest financiers of environmental movements and had convinced many other billionaires to invest in clean energy sources, including his former partner Benjamin Lockwood. He had even attempted to shut down the Mega Beast Park. Unfortunately, the shareholders of his company, Ingen, had taken advantage of the situation to take away his power and funding, especially his greedy nephew Peter Ludlow. Despite still doing his best to help and continue to actively support the environmental movement, Hammond was now unable to resist the plots of those vultures. In addition, Alan had learned that his health had seriously deteriorated over the years, forcing him to stay in bed almost constantly. He wasn't the only one to emerge defeated from that affair. Ian Malcolm fought hard to get Ingen to pay for the damage it caused. He wanted to expose the true... secrets behind the monster that kill so many people. Unfortunately, however, it was always money that made the world go round. Although Ian was incorruptible, as he proved by refusing the checks offered to him by the company, the same couldn't be said of the court. Ian had lost a lot of credibility and had even almost taken his university chair from him. In the end, the professor Malcolm had no choice but to surrender in the face of pressure from those capitalist bastards. And what about Ellie Sattler? She had been trying to help Ian for a while, but she soon had to give up too. She had stayed by Alan Grant's side for a while, but then their affair was over and she had given up on field work, retired to city life and married a man who worked for the State Department. The three old friends had remained in contact, of course, but they hadn't heard much in recent years. So Alan was surprised at Ian's sudden call. "Don't you want to answer?" Billy asked seeing him motionless in front of the laptop. If he wanted to answer? Alan would always remain conflicted when faced with such a question. Ian Malcolm was one of the few people who really would be able to get the nerves of even the most assiduous of pacifists. On the other hand, he knew that the professor Malcolm wouldn't have called him so suddenly without a valid reason. In the end he decided to press 'accept'. The video call went off and Ian Malcolm's unmistakable face appeared on the screen. "Hey there, Alan! It took you some time. I was starting to think that an animal had stolen your laptop!" "Good evening to you too, Ian" Alan grumbled. "You should say good morning. Here it is precisely noon" "You gave up on sunglasses, I see" "No, are you kidding? I just put them down. There isn't much light in this cabin, you risked to not being able to see my beautiful eyes well" Alan closed his eyes and sighed. Ian Malcolm's voice alone was enough to jeopardize his sanity. Fortunately for her, an angel in the form of a woman came to her aid. "Ian, stop it," a blonde-haired girl exclaimed as she pushed him away to enter the frame. "Good evening, professor Grant. Forgive my man" "I have forgiven him since the time we met. You're Dr. Hardy, right?" Alan asked suddenly cordially. "It is a pleasure to meet you. Unfortunately we never had the opportunity to introduce ourselves" "My pleasure. Ian told me a lot about you" "He spoke well, I hope" "No, I just mentioned your aversion to children and your keen ability to keep away the fairer sex" Ian interjected, getting a punch in the stomach from Sarah. Alan laughed at that scene. "Dr. Hardy, just for the show you just offered me, you have become my new flame" he said. "Hey, step aside, playboy! She is mine!" Ian blurted out, then obviously topping it all off with one of his usual jokes: "Well, where do I find another woman who has suffered such extensive brain damage that she has been with me? OUCH!" This time the fist had come in full face. Alan discovered that he liked Dr. Hardy every second more. Suddenly Sarah turned serious. "Professor Grant, I called you because I am faced with an important discovery, but still with many questions. I was hoping you could give me your opinion" "I don't see why not. How can I help you?" "I'm sending you some photos. We took them yesterday" Alan opened his inbox and opened the file Sarah had sent him. From the first of them his eyes went wide, and so did Billy's. But when they saw one that Nick had taken that showing Sarah next to the beast, the enormous proportions of the animal became evident and left him speechless. "They aren't photoshopped, right?" he asked amazed. A predatory dinosaur large enough to rival sauropods in size? It seemed like a legend! "They aren't, professor Grant, I guarantee you" Sarah replied. "My boyfriend, I and a few others had headed into the interior of the Maakanar Forest in hopes of tracking down the Spinosaurus superior. We wanted to get help from the natives to find it, but we came across this one" Alan had obviously heard of Spinosaurus superior. If that discovery had only taken place a few years earlier, he would have jumped on a boat and prepared an expedition immediately to look for him. But by now he had given up on the large carnivores, so he had remained in the Montain. However, he hadn't kept himself in the dark about the information about the dinosaur, and was surprised by its intelligence. But the dinosaur discovered by Sarah and Ian was perhaps even more impressive! "It is extraordinary. An exceptional discovery!" he exclaimed as he looked at the photos one by one. "It's true. It could be the answer to the whip tail of sauropods!" Billy said, who had come to the same conclusions as Sarah. "We had already thought about it. But something happened that shocked us and we were hoping that professor Grant could find an answer" Sarah said. Alan frowned. What other information was about to be revealed to him? "What happened?" "That beast resists bullets fired at close range, Alan" Ian said casually. "Sure, sure. Dr. Hardy, tell me. What really happened?" Alan repeated, thinking that the professor Malcolm was joking as usual. But contrary to her expectations, Sarah did not deny her boyfriend. "I know it sounds absurd, but it's true, professor Grant. One of our guards shot him with a rifle less than ten meters away. The bullets bounced off its skin and the dinosaur didn't even notice them" Alan almost choked on saliva. This was inconceivable! What was in that skin to make it so resistant? It was logical to think it was a joke, but Ian and Sarah's faces were very serious... Eventually he decided to believe her. He lost nothing in the end. "I'll think about it and then call you back" he said, and then he began to investigate the matter from a scientific point of view: "It could be a super tough layer of keratin, or some other substance that makes the skin very hard. Or maybe some collagen. It is difficult for an animal of this type to produce similar chemicals, but it is a possibility". He let out a grunt. "I'll do some experiments with other natural substances and try to find an answer. The ideal would be to own a piece of that skin, but if it is so hard it will be practically impossible to get it unless you make a wetsuit or something similar" "We'll call you back too if there are any updates" Sarah confirmed. "Thanks for your help, professor Grant. I appreciate it. And Ian too, even if he doesn't admit it" The video call stopped. Alan stood motionless for a few seconds thinking about what he had just learned. Billy's voice brought him back to reality: "What do we do now?" Alan rubbed his nose: "Let's go to the laboratory. I want to do some experiments..."