"What do you need? Talk to me."
Owen and Hoskins stood on the catwalk, facing each other. Barry leaned against a nearby railing, listening to the exchange.
"Field ops."
Hoskins spoke the words with anticipation, as if unveiling a grand manifesto. Hearing those two words, Owen didn't even hesitate, he turned and walked away in sheer exasperation.
"Hey, hey! They just responded to your commands back there! You've got to build on that momentum, get some real-world results."
Hoskins wouldn't let it go, trailing a step behind Owen. Owen, wanting no part of this obsession, shot back:
"They're wild animals, Hoskins. Trust me, you don't want to rush this."
"I saw a bond. Communication between man and beast." Hoskins picked up his pace to cut Owen off.
"You're in my way." Owen really had no patience for this madman.
"Don't be like that. We're on the same side. We're both war dogs. You know as well as I do that the military needs to minimize casualties. Some people think robots are the future."
Owen looked at the "sad bee" in front of him, shook his head helplessly, and moved around him. Hoskins remained relentless; he didn't even bother turning around, just kept chasing Owen's heels.
"Nature gave us the most effective killing machines sixty-five million years ago. And now, they take orders."
Feeling a tap on his shoulder, Owen spun around, his patience frayed. Barry rounded the corner from the other side, stepping up beside Owen.
"We finally make progress, and the first thing out of his mouth is this?"
"Weaponization?" Barry asked, gesturing toward Hoskins with his right hand.
"S***." Hoskins rolled his eyes, turning his back on them for a moment to mutter a curse under his breath before spinning back to keep pace. "Come on, fellas. Let's be grown-ups here."
He began to lecture them. "Drones can't search tunnels or caves, and they're vulnerable to hacking. If a real war breaks out, that tech is toast."
Owen replied with a single line: "Tech doesn't eat people when it gets hungry."
Hoskins clicked his tongue, then pointed down at the Velociraptors nipping at each other in the pit below.
"Look! Look at these creatures. Their loyalty can't be bought."
"They'll run straight into enemy lines, helmets and all, tearing them apart, leave nothing behind."
Barry followed up with a question: "What if they want to be in charge?"
"Then you show them who's boss. Kill the ones with rebel tendencies," Hoskins said coldly.
"Pfft—"
Barry couldn't hold it back. He let out a sharp laugh that dissolved into a full-blown chuckle. He walked past Hoskins, giving him a patronizing pat on the shoulder.
"What? Is something funny?"
Before Hoskins could figure out what was happening, he saw Owen wearing the same smirk, looking at him as if he were an idiot.
"You really should check out the Primeval Ecological Zone official website," Owen suggested.
"Those 'animals' you're talking about? They'd challenge a natural disaster for each other. What do you think would happen if you killed one of them?"
With that, Owen ignored Hoskins entirely, picked up a bucket from the catwalk, and left.
…
"Lift me up! I can't see!"
A crowd stood in front of Gray, blocking his view of the juvenile dinosaurs in the Gentle Giants Petting Zoo.
"I'm not your dad, and besides, you're way too big for that."
Zach had zero interest in the local activities. He moved quickly through the crowd; to him, these were all just "kiddie" attractions.
"Everything here is for little kids."
"Yeah, I know." Gray wasn't exactly a toddler anymore, but he was still brimming with curiosity, snapping photos every few seconds with his portable camera.
"Should we go on the Gyrospheres? The track is right next to the Primeval Ecological Zone fence. Maybe we'll see that record-breaking Giganotosaurus."
"Great idea, but the babysitter told us to stay here."
Zach looked back at the assistant their Aunt Claire had assigned to watch them, then reminded Gray to watch his fanny pack for pickpockets.
The assistant was quite clever; as long as the two were tucked away in the Petting Zoo, there was no danger. After all, what harm could a baby dinosaur do?
"Whoa!"
"Eeeeee—"
In the distance, a juvenile Triceratops, annoyed at being handled, gave a sudden headbutt to a handler. Fortunately, there was no child on its back, and its strength wasn't enough to cause real damage to an adult.
Zach suddenly noticed their "babysitter" was preoccupied with a phone call, seemingly discussing a wedding. She wasn't paying attention to them at all.
"Kid."
"Yeah?"
"Run! Go, go, go!"
Gray didn't know why, but he followed his brother's lead. He didn't have a hidden agenda; he just found weaving through the crowd fun and began to laugh. Soon, his attention was snatched by an announcement over the speakers. Zach sighed, signaled for his brother to calm down, and led the way toward the T. rex Kingdom.
Brrrrring—
"Hey, Mom." Zach found a relatively quiet spot away from the crush of people to answer his mother's call.
"Didn't we agree you'd call as soon as you landed? Are you having fun?"
"It's alright." Zach gave a non-committal answer. He wasn't here for the park; he was here to look after his brother. "Aunt Claire gave us VIP passes, so we don't have to wait in line."
Hearing this, Karen frowned on the other end of the line. "Wait, she's not with you?"
"No, why?"
"Oh... nothing. Just have fun, okay?"
"Bye, Mom."
"Bye-bye."
…
Claire stepped out of the car and walked toward the figure repairing a motorcycle outside a lakeside cabin. Knowing she was meeting an ex-boyfriend, she had draped her blazer over her shoulders to appear more authoritative.
"What do they want now?"
Owen had taken off his leather vest and was wearing a casual white shirt. The moment he saw his visitor, he had a bad feeling. A woman wearing an outfit like that wasn't here for a reconciliation.
"Mr. Grady?"
"I need you to come take a look at something."
Owen put down his tools and gave Claire a strange look. "Why the formality?"
"Owen." Claire used his name, humoring him. Asking an ex for a favor was never easy; psychologically, it was more than a little awkward. "If you're not too busy."
"I'm very busy." Owen didn't seem inclined to give his ex much face.
Claire took a deep breath, ignored the subtext of his refusal, and continued: "We have a new attraction."
"What? You finally decided to drag that Giganotosaurus out for a show? Or are you just going to lock up all those herbivores that stampeded yesterday in a new paddock?"
Ignoring Owen's sarcasm, Claire stated flatly: "We made a new species."
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