Inexplicable chewing sounds…
Dr. Ellie Sattler took the cage containing the locust from her backpack and placed it on the large square table in the center of Grant's tent.
The cage was more than large enough to house two cottontail rabbits, yet now it barely contained this single locust. Its antennae and hard, pointed legs poked through the gaps in the cage. The creature inside seemed famished, its mouthparts twitching incessantly.
The sight gave Grant a profound shock. He stood stunned for a long moment before regaining his composure. He quickly fished out his glasses, sat down at the table, and began to observe the unknown creature closely.
"This is definitely a locust... mandibles, wings, thoracic segments, but... this size? It's like the mutant Giganotosaurus of the locust world."
Grant made a brief assessment of the creature. The "mutant Giganotosaurus" he referred to was, naturally, how paleontologists defined Carlo.
"Its genome should have gone extinct back in the Cretaceous, yet a massive swarm of these things is currently destroying crops from Iowa to Texas."
While Grant continued to test the locust's sensory responsiveness, Dr. Sattler explained its origin.
"It's terrifying, isn't it? It started with only a few hundred, but by the end of summer, there could be tens of thousands... If this continues, chickens and cattle will lose their food sources, and the entire food chain will collapse."
Ellie might as well have written "This is a conspiracy" across her forehead. Grant took off his glasses, though his eyes remained fixed on the locust. He asked:
"This locust has been genetically modified, but who would do such a thing?"
Grant had been listening to Malcolm's doomsday prophecies on the radio earlier that morning, but he hadn't expected the sky to actually fall.
"Their diet... it excludes BioSyn seeds."
Ellie voiced her suspicion. Dr. Grant sighed softly and muttered to himself:
"BioSyn."
The air fell silent for a moment. Dr. Sattler continued:
"If they want to control the global food supply, I wouldn't be surprised if they were behind this."
God creates dinosaurs, God destroys dinosaurs; God creates man, man creates dinosaurs, man destroys God.
Although it had been an off-the-cuff remark at the time, it was Malcolm's favorite theory. Now, he could finally add the concluding line:
Man destroys man, and dinosaurs rule the Earth.
Dr. Grant spun his chair to face Ellie and posed the most critical question:
"Why are you bringing this to me?"
"I need proof that BioSyn is the mastermind. I'm going to their sanctuary to collect the locusts' DNA... but I need a witness."
Heavy breathing…
Grant sighed faintly. He suddenly understood why he had felt like a Velociraptor was crawling on his back on the way home.
"BioSyn is a hundred thousand miles away, and it's a restricted zone. How do you plan on getting there? By somersaulting?"
Dr. Grant hoped Ellie would reconsider; this wasn't a game.
"I received an invitation from their Chief Scientist."
Dr. Sattler pulled a book as thick as a brick from her backpack and placed it in the empty space on the table.
How the World Will End
— Ian Malcolm
"He just invited you, out of the blue?"
Dr. Grant calmly pulled an identical copy of the book from his own shelf.
"He said there were things there that I would want to see."
Ellie packed her things, shouldered her backpack, and turned to leave. She looked back at Grant over her shoulder.
"Are you coming?"
"…I'm coming."
A scene that felt all too familiar.
"I'll wait for you in the car."
Dr. Sattler left first. Grant took a deep breath, fiddled with the Velociraptor claw pendant on his desk, and began to pack his gear.
"Alan..."
Just then, a deep, hoarse, and resonant voice sounded from behind him! Grant turned sharply, only to find a large, black Velociraptor with six thin filaments growing from its head, staring right at him!
"Take me with you..."
The large black Velociraptor spoke in human language, its clawed finger lifting slightly to point to the side.
Grant followed the direction it was pointing and discovered the model of the Velociraptor resonance chamber that Billy had once 3D-printed!
When he looked back, the Velociraptor had already vanished.
…
"Aok?"
Blue and Echo moved through the cargo hold of the freighter, searching for something to eat. As for Delta... she was being forced to undergo one-on-one tutoring by Carlo. Surely, she must be thrilled not to have to go hunting for food, right?
"Aok-aok-aok-aok—"
On the deck, curled up in a corner shielded from the sea breeze, Delta let out a terrified cry for help. Carlo stood there, staring at her, unmoving.
To say he was "staring at her" wasn't entirely accurate. Carlo was currently deep in thought and just happened to be facing Delta's direction. It definitely wasn't because he wanted to scare her while he was at it. Definitely not.
[Food: 8697.6/10600]
Carlo suddenly realized a problem: he felt like he hadn't been truly full in a long time.
Even at the Mojave Sanctuary, he still ate every three days, but that barely met his nutritional needs. Now, adding several days of migration to the mix, his satiety level had dropped significantly.
What was he supposed to do?
Carlo wasn't worried about failing to reach the opposite shore; he was worried about how to fill his stomach. At this rate, exhausting an entire ecosystem was inevitable.
Back on Isla Nublar, the number of herbivorous dinosaurs far exceeded that of carnivores, so this problem hadn't manifested. But as dinosaurs entered the human world, their numbers plummeted, and Carlo's satiety level had been declining day by day.
If not for the appearance of the Dreadnoughtus, his food stats would be even lower.
In the bizarre world of ARK, Carlo might have been able to harvest more food with his high attack stats, but this was reality, Carlo couldn't do that here.
Thump... thump...
Carlo habitually began to tap his tail against the... hold. The sound was slow and rhythmic.
Click, click, click, click...
A crisp metallic tapping rang out, catching Carlo's attention.
"Roar?"
He looked toward the source of the sound, puzzled, and let out a soft, involuntary growl.
Delta quite enjoyed rhythmic things. Perhaps it was from listening to music, but she unconsciously began to accompany Carlo's tail with her scimitar-like toes.
"Roar—"
Carlo snapped out of his frustration and, finding some interest in the activity, growled softly, treating his tail as a sort of musical instrument.
"Aok!"
Delta was getting into it too. Although this... sea shanty? ...was quite abstract, the rhythm was perfect!
"Roar—"
"Aok!"
Clatter—
Thump... thump...
Click, click...
Perhaps an animal's happiness is just that simple? Crossing the Atlantic was no easy task; a little relaxation was absolutely necessary.
Bang...
An abrupt impact sounded against the side of the ship, causing Carlo to go instantly tense!
This wasn't an inland sea; there were no reefs here. What could have possibly hit them?
He slowly stood up.
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