Beep-beep-beep, beep—
Dr. Henry Wu stepped out of his private laboratory, only to be met by the unusual roar of the crowds in the observation concourse. Looking back, he saw the throngs of people moving steadily toward the exits; a mass evacuation was underway.
He spotted Simon Masrani cutting against the current of the crowd, a man clearly on a mission to confront him. Turning back to his desk, Wu prepared a pot of black tea and waited.
Masrani entered the lab and stood over Wu, who remained seated. Wu poured a cup and gestured toward a chair, but Masrani remained rigid.
"The Indominus rex... she's killed people, Henry," Masrani said, forgoing any pleasantries.
Wu's eyebrows twitched, a look that hovered between feigned shock and the weary expression of a man who knew this day was inevitable. He glanced aside.
"That's most unfortunate."
Masrani was visibly dissatisfied with the reaction. He leaned in, his brow furrowed with growing anger. "Why does this creature have camouflage capabilities?"
Wu looked up, meeting Masrani's gaze. He answered without a second's hesitation. "The inclusion of cuttlefish DNA was to help her skin withstand the rigors of an accelerated growth rate."
The response was so practiced it seemed as though he had rehearsed it for this exact moment.
"Cuttlefish possess chromatophores that allow them to change color," Wu added, lowering his head to take a sip of his tea, skillfully dodging Masrani's piercing stare.
Seeing Wu's "I only created her; the consequences are not my concern" attitude, Masrani's frustration boiled over. He sat down across from Wu, leaning in close. "She bypassed thermal sensors."
Wu feigned a look of pure astonishment. "Truly?"
"How is that possible?" Masrani pressed relentlessly.
Wu looked away again and stood up. He paced around Masrani, leaning his weight against a nearby lab table with his back turned to the CEO. "Tree frogs can modulate their infrared signatures. We utilized their genetic sequences to ensure she could adapt to a tropical climate. I never imagined—"
"Who authorized you to do this?" Masrani interrupted, his head tilting. He wasn't a geneticist, and he had no patience for technical excuses.
"You did."
Masrani's pupils dilated slightly. He stared at Wu in confusion.
"'Bigger,' 'scarier,' 'cooler.' I believe that's how your memo put it." A thin smile played on Wu's lips. Unlike his usual mask of professional confidence, this smile carried a flicker of something manic.
Suddenly, his expression shifted to one of cold accusation. "How can you have an exaggerated predator without the corresponding behavioral traits?"
Masrani looked away, his fingers drumming a rapid, agitated rhythm on the desk. He stood up abruptly. "What you've done here... what you've caused..." He raised his voice, attempting to reclaim authority. "The board will shut down this park, seize your research, and everything you've built."
He paced away, then spun back around. "And this time, Hammond won't be here to protect you."
Wu's expression vanished. He became a blank slate, a machine devoid of emotion. "I made all of this a reality. If I don't innovate, someone else will."
"Terminate all research here, immediately." Masrani turned to leave.
Wu looked around his lab, finally showing an expression, one of utter disbelief at Masrani's perceived hypocrisy. "You act as if we're engaged in some kind of 'mad science,' but we're doing exactly what we've always done."
As Masrani paused, the manic smile returned to Wu's face.
"Nothing in Jurassic World is natural. We have always used the DNA of other animals to fill the gaps in the genome."
"If their genetic code were left unedited, most of these dinosaurs would look vastly different from what we see today." He stepped forward, confronting Masrani head-on. "I asked you, just as I once asked Hammond, if you wanted dinosaurs modified for public consumption. You didn't want 'truth.' You wanted more teeth!"
Masrani's anger reached a breaking point. "I never wanted a monster!"
Wu seemed to regain his composure, looking at Masrani with a touch of pity. "'Monster' is a relative term. To a canary, a cat is a monster. We're just used to being the cat."
"And it's not as if cats and canaries can't coexist. Giganotosaurus 003 proved that long ago. It's just that neither you nor anyone else ever treated him like the cat."
"He was willing to play the part of your canary, but the Indominus is not. And we are seeing the consequences of failing to keep your 'canary' properly caged."
Masrani seemed haunted by a dark thought. He turned his head away, his voice thick with disappointment. "He killed people too, Henry."
Wu had been about to walk away, but he froze. He turned back with a look of genuine disbelief that blossomed into a laugh. He stepped into Masrani's line of sight, forcing the CEO to look at him. "You had your men attack him?"
Masrani didn't answer, averting his eyes again.
"Oh my god... you attacked him. That is the funniest thing I've heard all day." Wu's voice took on a sharper, more deranged edge. "You know, I believe the Indominus rex might be a future product of nature, and I simply arrived there first. But that Giganotosaurus? He is the perfect predator nature showed me!"
"Have you ever seen patience, tolerance, and familial affection in a hyper-carnivore other than a human? Can you imagine a predator actively showing kindness to a weaker species? Have you ever seen a predator comforting an animal that should be on its menu?!"
"Of course you haven't! You just enjoyed his powerful, gentle performance and chose to believe, out of pure wishful thinking, that he wouldn't harm a human!"
Wu returned to his seat and took a slow sip of tea, his gaze drifting as he spoke more to himself than to Masrani. "How can a creature be so perfect that it instinctively balances an ecosystem? Not even humans can achieve that..."
He looked back at Masrani, his smile dripping with mockery. "You promised me you wouldn't interfere with the Primeval Ecological Zone. And what did you do? You let those 'experts' help you turn it into a garbage dump."
"You don't care about life. You only care about yourself, and the things you like."
Masrani slammed his hand down on a nearby piece of equipment. "Enough!"
Wu remained unphased. "Everyone thinks Giganotosaurus 003's escape was an accident. But how is that possible?"
"How could a creature push through a deterrent with such singular purpose? Based on his behavior, he didn't need to scatter the other dinosaurs to drive the Brachiosaurus back into their enclosures."
He looked at Masrani one last time. "He was rebelling against you. Don't you see that yet?"
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