Wow nail biter of a vote huh everyone
Jurassic Park: New Blood
- Thread starter TempestK
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Yep, because I *know* I didn't vote for Overboard.
Edit: Here's what I came up with on my own tally.
Edit: Here's what I came up with on my own tally.
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To be honest I've been kind of handwaving it; having it be more just important events within the timeline of the company than anything else. But it's now 1987; around November.
TheOmnimercurial
Dragon Bard
- Location
- UK
[X][Revival]Po'ouli.
[X][Staging]Overboard?
[X][Spy]Dig Deeper.
[X][Staging]Overboard?
[X][Spy]Dig Deeper.
I like how we spared no expense on the resort area which is not a bad idea
It's doubtless that BioSyn, rival bioengineering companies and those in the highest academic circles have worked out what we're doing and as Night_stalker said in his post, the US government (EPA & OTT) have their own suspicions with the technology we've brought over to Costa Rica and the islands that we've bought.
It's possible down the line, we might even have the US Coast Guard monitoring our activities in the Gulf of Fernandez.
Construction workers wondering amongst themselves what sort of park they're building on Isla Nublar.
Dr. Wu's/Dr. Sorkin's journal entries on the animals they've revived and their personal thoughts on what's happened (e.g. The failed attempt at stealing the extraction process data, and construction of the facilities on Nublar & Sorna).
Nima Cruz and her tribespeople's perspective on being trained and working for InGen/Jurassic Park, and how they're getting along with their fellow coworkers.
So, I just read through this whole thread and liked it very much. It's an interesting topic, good speed of development and the discussions are working well. I'm going to follow this and hope it still updates.
I'll just dump some of the thoughts that collected while reading the thread here as well:
General thoughts on dinosaurs and their visibility as zoo animals.
Unlike mammals the dinos never went through a period of being night active burrowers, so they are mostly diurnal and never lost their colour vision. This means that they likely will be day active and quite colourful - just look at modern birds. Expect brightly coloured skin-patches and extravagant display feathers on the dinos.
Plus the typical situation on modern mammal ruled Earth, where most of the action happens after dark, will likely not apply. No need to set up night-vision cameras around waterholes as the only way to see most of the animals.
The pre-historic animals also lacks any instinctive recognition of the human shape as being dangerous - someone earlier called it the 'emperor penguin'-effect, which means that the dinos possibly simply will ignore humans if they see them (except for the carnivores obviously). Sort of like when buffaloes just ignores when birds run around their feet, or even perch on them, except it's humans who are dismissed.
The park is also not raising any animals for release in the wild, which means that the 'minimal human contact'-policy many modern zoos run on will be unnecessary. Making sure that the animals have enough familiarity with humans that the zookeepers or handlers are ignored, or even allowed to walk up and touch the animals if necessary, might actually be a good idea. Obviously the handlers shouldn't mix with the animals most of the time, but if the big herbivores could be inspected or given some basic veterinary care without being bothered by the handlers' presence, then it would make things much easier.
If we add together all the previous points, then we get colourful day-active animals who aren't bothered by the presence of humans - which means that there possibly will be a lot less difficult to make them visible to the visitors than we feared. I think that the big dinosaurs at lest won't be likely stay in hidden corners of their enclosures during the visitor hours, like many modern animals tend to do. Dinosaurs may actually be very good as zoo animals in that way.
I'll just dump some of the thoughts that collected while reading the thread here as well:
General thoughts on dinosaurs and their visibility as zoo animals.
Unlike mammals the dinos never went through a period of being night active burrowers, so they are mostly diurnal and never lost their colour vision. This means that they likely will be day active and quite colourful - just look at modern birds. Expect brightly coloured skin-patches and extravagant display feathers on the dinos.
Plus the typical situation on modern mammal ruled Earth, where most of the action happens after dark, will likely not apply. No need to set up night-vision cameras around waterholes as the only way to see most of the animals.
The pre-historic animals also lacks any instinctive recognition of the human shape as being dangerous - someone earlier called it the 'emperor penguin'-effect, which means that the dinos possibly simply will ignore humans if they see them (except for the carnivores obviously). Sort of like when buffaloes just ignores when birds run around their feet, or even perch on them, except it's humans who are dismissed.
The park is also not raising any animals for release in the wild, which means that the 'minimal human contact'-policy many modern zoos run on will be unnecessary. Making sure that the animals have enough familiarity with humans that the zookeepers or handlers are ignored, or even allowed to walk up and touch the animals if necessary, might actually be a good idea. Obviously the handlers shouldn't mix with the animals most of the time, but if the big herbivores could be inspected or given some basic veterinary care without being bothered by the handlers' presence, then it would make things much easier.
If we add together all the previous points, then we get colourful day-active animals who aren't bothered by the presence of humans - which means that there possibly will be a lot less difficult to make them visible to the visitors than we feared. I think that the big dinosaurs at lest won't be likely stay in hidden corners of their enclosures during the visitor hours, like many modern animals tend to do. Dinosaurs may actually be very good as zoo animals in that way.
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I'm really happy to hear that you're enjoying the quest so far; and I firmly intend to continue it. I wish that I could give you an informative and insightful reaction to this post; it's really great! Any other thoughts you have would be awesome to see as well!
- Location
- Spain
Actually I have read something interesting in about that topic... Some palaeontologists have theorised that in the case we manage to revive the dinosaurs the big carnivorous therepods like the T-Rex are very likely to ignore humans because humans are too different from anything that they may recognise as either a prey or a threat, and also because for many of those therapods we are to small to consider us a prey worthy of their time.
The ones that could be significantly more problematic are the smaller carnivores like the dromaeosaurius, because humans would be in the size and weight class of many of their usual preys.
So the quest isn't dead then? Nice to know.
As for more thoughts... There was one pet peeve that sort of came up several times, so let's write that down as well:
Earlier in the thread there was a lot of talk about making tunnels to connect the different facilities and parts of the park - and while covered maintenance tunnels are a good idea in general, the thought of actually boring/digging tunnels on the island made me wince. Repeatedly.
Tunnelling projects always cost more than expected, always takes longer than planed, and always hit some major unexpected problem along the way. They are gigantic money sinks that easily could eat up a huge part of the project's budget without even being finished - there's a reason for why only major cities, and then only some of them, has an underground transport network despite how superior they are.
The basic geology of a volcanic island also tend to be like a layered birthday cake of alternating lava rock, ash, lava rock, ash, and so on. And then you add a rainforest climate on top of that to make the ground constantly waterlogged... Yeah, digging tunnels on any of the Deaths would be an absolute nightmare.
A covered utility tunnel is still a good idea though, but make it in top of the ground instead of under it. Like this:
Dig a ditch to remove the topsoil. Make a concrete foundation with an utilities duct(?) in the middle, where you draw pipes for water, sewer, and other utilities. Cover the duct in removable slabs of concrete or metal, and make it the middle of an utility road wide enough for two electric golf carts to meet.
Build thick walls on each side of the road and then a roof. You now have a dino-proof enclosed maintenance road with utilities drawn. Then use this as the foundation for the fencing around the animal enclosures.
Attach and rest the heavy metal fence on the wall towards the enclosure, lay a beam across the roof and the have a diagonal support beam from the fence brace on the other wall. This should create a sturdy structure with three different functions. It's not hard to build, it's secure, and is above ground so that the problems with digging in the volcanic soil and risk for flooding is minimal.
As for more thoughts... There was one pet peeve that sort of came up several times, so let's write that down as well:
Earlier in the thread there was a lot of talk about making tunnels to connect the different facilities and parts of the park - and while covered maintenance tunnels are a good idea in general, the thought of actually boring/digging tunnels on the island made me wince. Repeatedly.
Tunnelling projects always cost more than expected, always takes longer than planed, and always hit some major unexpected problem along the way. They are gigantic money sinks that easily could eat up a huge part of the project's budget without even being finished - there's a reason for why only major cities, and then only some of them, has an underground transport network despite how superior they are.
The basic geology of a volcanic island also tend to be like a layered birthday cake of alternating lava rock, ash, lava rock, ash, and so on. And then you add a rainforest climate on top of that to make the ground constantly waterlogged... Yeah, digging tunnels on any of the Deaths would be an absolute nightmare.
A covered utility tunnel is still a good idea though, but make it in top of the ground instead of under it. Like this:
Dig a ditch to remove the topsoil. Make a concrete foundation with an utilities duct(?) in the middle, where you draw pipes for water, sewer, and other utilities. Cover the duct in removable slabs of concrete or metal, and make it the middle of an utility road wide enough for two electric golf carts to meet.
Build thick walls on each side of the road and then a roof. You now have a dino-proof enclosed maintenance road with utilities drawn. Then use this as the foundation for the fencing around the animal enclosures.
Attach and rest the heavy metal fence on the wall towards the enclosure, lay a beam across the roof and the have a diagonal support beam from the fence brace on the other wall. This should create a sturdy structure with three different functions. It's not hard to build, it's secure, and is above ground so that the problems with digging in the volcanic soil and risk for flooding is minimal.
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Time for the obligatory: "Great minds think alike"
- Location
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Emperor Penguin Effect guy here to chime in again now that discussion seems to have been revived and on the topic of speculative dinosaur behavior (which I find fascinating) rather than the construction of the park (about which I am rather clueless)
Honestly the thing I'm most looking forward to after we get (relatively) authentic dinosaurs is observing their child-rearing, mating displays, and dominance rituals (which should be at least partly instinctual) considering the evolutionary connection between land bound dinosaurs and modern birds.
Elaborate coloration and social interactions among at least one if not both sexes of any given dinosaur we revive using Sorkin's method are going to provide a treasure trove of new information on how these dinosaurs actually lived and considering how the brightest parts of several birds aren't even their feathers I'd imagine that even dinosaurs without plumage could lean more towards a sort of bird of paradise ascetic rather than the more drab colors of "Old Timeline" Jurassic Park.
I could see mating season for Jurassic Park being the most lucrative time of year once things really get up and running as people flock to see elaborate displays and competitions that could previously only be speculated on. (from a safe distance of course)
Before you say that the dinosaurs we make aren't supposed to mate I'd just point out that if we want things to run smoothly after the first edition of any newly revived species is introduced it would be in our best interest for subsequent generations to at least think they are successfully mating in order to have them raise and socialize fresh hatchlings after they reach a certain point in their development and socialization means social structure means mating displays and dominance rituals some of which will play out as expected and some of which may be entirely or nearly unprecedented.
After all the Bearded Vulture is the only bird and in fact the only animal other than humans to use applied makeup as an indicator of desirability so who knows what other unique behaviors may have been lost to the march of time only to be rediscovered now that these species once again walk the earth.
Let's just hope that our dinosaur handlers don't have to deal with the (not quite) horror stories of zoo animals who after having been reared by humans no longer recognize their own kind as potential targets of amorous affection not to mention the possibility of a dinosaur just not realizing we are probably not something they should attempt to mate with a la the "shagged by a rare parrot" incident one wildlife photographer was subjected to which I don't think needs further elaboration.
Whoa that was a lot of words for not much potential advice on how to run the park (mostly just hype for when we get it up and running) of well.
Honestly the thing I'm most looking forward to after we get (relatively) authentic dinosaurs is observing their child-rearing, mating displays, and dominance rituals (which should be at least partly instinctual) considering the evolutionary connection between land bound dinosaurs and modern birds.
Elaborate coloration and social interactions among at least one if not both sexes of any given dinosaur we revive using Sorkin's method are going to provide a treasure trove of new information on how these dinosaurs actually lived and considering how the brightest parts of several birds aren't even their feathers I'd imagine that even dinosaurs without plumage could lean more towards a sort of bird of paradise ascetic rather than the more drab colors of "Old Timeline" Jurassic Park.
I could see mating season for Jurassic Park being the most lucrative time of year once things really get up and running as people flock to see elaborate displays and competitions that could previously only be speculated on. (from a safe distance of course)
Before you say that the dinosaurs we make aren't supposed to mate I'd just point out that if we want things to run smoothly after the first edition of any newly revived species is introduced it would be in our best interest for subsequent generations to at least think they are successfully mating in order to have them raise and socialize fresh hatchlings after they reach a certain point in their development and socialization means social structure means mating displays and dominance rituals some of which will play out as expected and some of which may be entirely or nearly unprecedented.
After all the Bearded Vulture is the only bird and in fact the only animal other than humans to use applied makeup as an indicator of desirability so who knows what other unique behaviors may have been lost to the march of time only to be rediscovered now that these species once again walk the earth.
Let's just hope that our dinosaur handlers don't have to deal with the (not quite) horror stories of zoo animals who after having been reared by humans no longer recognize their own kind as potential targets of amorous affection not to mention the possibility of a dinosaur just not realizing we are probably not something they should attempt to mate with a la the "shagged by a rare parrot" incident one wildlife photographer was subjected to which I don't think needs further elaboration.
Whoa that was a lot of words for not much potential advice on how to run the park (mostly just hype for when we get it up and running) of well.
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I should answer this now that I'm more awake.
I think that there might be something to this idea, but it's not something I would stake my life on. I fear that the dinos would fall back on the true and tested exploration method when faced with something new: 'take a nibble and see if it's edible' which would end about as well as when sharks do it...
The general idea that medium predator dinosaurs being a more direct threat to humans are probably true though. We would be just the right size for being prey and the park would need to be built with this in mind - but then again, the same is true for all the big cats, wolves, and bears, so the knowledge already exists about how to build physical structures to keep people safe. The behavioural part might be more tricky since we should not expect them to act like mammals.
I'm also looking forward to the speculative biology and behaviour parts. It's interesting.
You've covered behaviour quite well, so I will continue with looks - because that's something that will be very important further on in the story. The colourations and patterns on an animal is something humans will pay a lot of attention to, so it should get a lot of attention in the story.
Thoughts on dinosaur colouration
I think that cassowaries might be a good example of what we can expect here - most of the body covered in fur-like feathers in a colour that lets them blend in with their surrounding (dark forest floors in their case) while the head and neck has bright colours and patterns for communication and display.
Actually, the pattern of terrestrial animals having most of their body in a camouflage or neutral shade, while the face/head and rump/tail area has distinct markings for communication holds true for most animals living today.
Just look at a badger's black-and-white face (used to communicate with other badgers in the dark set), a deer's white rump (guiding other deer to follow when they run), or a leopard's white patches on the back of their ears and white ring at the end of their tail (allowing their cubs to see and follow them in dark areas).
These markings are all focused on a sharp contrast between black-and-white or light-and-dark shades since mammals have poor colour vision, but if we instead have animals who can see colours the markings would include bright colours instead of just sharp contrasts.
The mandrill, with their blue and red face, would be the best example of this. They are probably the most colourful mammal out there, and they are a primates - which means that they can see colours just like humans, and as a result evolved communications markings that use colours. The same should hold true for dinosaurs.
So I think that this should be a good rule of thumb for imagining up what our dinosaurs will look like - most of their bodies will have neutral or camouflage shades, while their face/head/neck and/or rump/tail areas have interesting and bold markings. There would probably be some real surprises there.
Like the long necks of all the big sauropds being boldly striped in very bright colours, until the necks possibly looks more like coral snakes or lemur tails than the subdued markings usually found in dinosaur illustrations.
Or the oddly tall back ridges and flat sided on many of the social hadrosaurs (duck-bills) being striped like zebras, but in far more colours, in a dazzling pattern made to confuse predators more than hide the animals - which is a valid tactic for heard living animals.
The face and neck shield of all ceratopsians should all have some form of markings, and the larger species likely were very bold. Plus I think there's some paleontological evidence that the neck shields actually could shift colour, like a chameleon or squid, which would be cool.
I think that the people of this fic will be very surprised by the dinosaur's colours and markings once they mature, because back in the 80's the idea of dinosaurs being more like birds than large lizards hadn't really gotten traction. They would probably expect the typical mud colours of dino illustrations inspired by the shades found on large mammals. The young dinosaurs would likely be camouflage patterned, just like cassowary chicks, and not break this illusion for a good while. Which would make the surprise be even larger when the dinos finally shift to their adult colourations.
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After some consideration I think I've determined which dinosaur is liable to cause the biggest problems once we've truly revived it, the one dinosaur that has gone through the most dramatic recontextualizing in the last decade, the Spinosaurus. For those who don't know, the Spinosaurus was originally thought to be a land bound apex predator along the lines of the T. Rex with it's most striking feature being a sail on its back that scientists were never able to entirely explain the exact function of.
As of a few years ago the mystery was finally solved after a missing piece of the Spinosaurus's tailbone was discovered which revealed that not only did its tail make up nearly a third of its length but that it was either almost or entirely aquatic, and what is the nightmare scenario for Jurassic Park say it with me now questers, a massive aquatic apex predator. The worst part is we have no reason to prepare for it in-universe outside of maybe a few odd notes on development or behavior in the initial land bound revival.
Honestly the only theoretical silver lining is the Spinosuarus's having (webbed) claws instead of flippers, meaning that they should be able to survive on land for at least some period of time like a Marine Iguana, Crocodile, or the ancestors of modern Cetaceans (whales and dolphins), and while the shear size of its tail means it may be rather awkward on land modern crocodiles can move surprisingly quickly on land if they want to, regardless of how it moves on land I don't even know what effect not having an adequate place to swim would have for an animal like that but it probably won't be good for their development or stress level
Theoretically we can set up an above ground pool for the Spinys once they're out in the world but it's going to be a mad scramble to construct what is liable to be a crocodile enclosure writ large before the baby Spinys outgrow whatever we can kit-bash together, probably based on baby crocodile pens, although it should at least be possible to get through this without risking a containment breach.
Lastly we should all keep in mind that while we theoretically know things about how a dinosaur will act or behave based on indicators from our current understanding of the fossil record (whether in or out of universe), everything we revive has the potential of throwing a curveball our way so we need to stay sharp.
As of a few years ago the mystery was finally solved after a missing piece of the Spinosaurus's tailbone was discovered which revealed that not only did its tail make up nearly a third of its length but that it was either almost or entirely aquatic, and what is the nightmare scenario for Jurassic Park say it with me now questers, a massive aquatic apex predator. The worst part is we have no reason to prepare for it in-universe outside of maybe a few odd notes on development or behavior in the initial land bound revival.
Honestly the only theoretical silver lining is the Spinosuarus's having (webbed) claws instead of flippers, meaning that they should be able to survive on land for at least some period of time like a Marine Iguana, Crocodile, or the ancestors of modern Cetaceans (whales and dolphins), and while the shear size of its tail means it may be rather awkward on land modern crocodiles can move surprisingly quickly on land if they want to, regardless of how it moves on land I don't even know what effect not having an adequate place to swim would have for an animal like that but it probably won't be good for their development or stress level
Theoretically we can set up an above ground pool for the Spinys once they're out in the world but it's going to be a mad scramble to construct what is liable to be a crocodile enclosure writ large before the baby Spinys outgrow whatever we can kit-bash together, probably based on baby crocodile pens, although it should at least be possible to get through this without risking a containment breach.
Lastly we should all keep in mind that while we theoretically know things about how a dinosaur will act or behave based on indicators from our current understanding of the fossil record (whether in or out of universe), everything we revive has the potential of throwing a curveball our way so we need to stay sharp.
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It's Not a Sprint it's a Marathon
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You watched the small birds that were currently paddling around in an enclosure with interest. Beside you Dr. Sorkin had a satisfied look on her face, which widened into a smile as one of the birds dug under a log and pulled out a snail, crunching it in its beak before pulling out the juicy innards. These birds had hatched and fledged quickly, and thankfully they'd been able to acquire a brooding hen to raise them. Rather than an immediate release, these would need to be tested to make sure that the requested changes had taken root without unforeseen side effects.
Once that had been tested to the best of their ability (without harming any of the birds, you'd been very clear on that), they'd be relocated via airlift to a reserve where the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would take over their care and begin further breeding in order to expand the pool. They'd be carefully seeding the modified snails and birds on their home ranges.
"Even though they've been modified, I must say that they don't really look all that different. And they're honestly a bit funny to watch." Dr. Sorkin comments quietly. You nod at that, before checking your watch. Giving the doctor a nod, you headed to your next appointment.
You found Wu standing outside the enclosure housing your T-Rex. "Rexy" as she'd been nicknamed by the technicians, was already showing traits that no one had expected. The thin layer of surprisingly fluffy down that she'd been born with had been a shock, almost as much as the speed that she'd taken to her handlers.
You'd admit that you had inserted yourself into the schedule, and had been pleased by the way she'd taken to the enrichment objects. She was still at roughly hip height, but she'd been growing at what seemed like a reasonable rate. Your father would have disagreed heavily with not including any growth enhancements in her genetics, but you'd rather have healthy younger animals than fully grown animals with development issues.
Dr. Wu looked up from his notations and sighed slightly. "My turn again I suppose?" There was a note of wry humor in his voice. You grin.
"Yup, afraid so Doctor. We've got a couple of interesting options this time.
[][Revival]White Rhino. The new Ugandan government is looking to get any kind of good publicity that it can. To that end they've put out an open-ended offer for any person or organization that can help improve the number of white rhinos and help increase their genetic diversity. Probably the hardest challenge Wu would have had so far.
[][Revival]Pyrenean Ibex. The French Government is looking to get one over on the Portuguese, Spanish, and Andorran governments by bolstering this species of mountain goat back off of the endangered species list. As it's a species that matures and gestates much faster than a rhino, alongside having close relatives to use to help induce genetic diversity, it's a much easier challenge to Wu though still a stretch due to being a mammal.
[][Revival]Passenger Pigeon. The President is looking to get some points with the ecologically-minded voters. And bringing back a species that Americans had wiped out should work quite well. The biggest problem will be getting enough genetic samples. But compared to pulling the DNA of a T-Rex together it'll be child's play.
[][Revival]Thylacine. One of the poster species of extinction, the Tasmanian government has requested your efforts to revive the species. Possibly the most complex project yet due to the subject being a marsupial. But also a much more recent extinction event than the Terror Birds.
---
You sighed heavily as you sat down with your internal security team, to go over the results of their investigations. Your spy had been charged with corporate espionage and was cooling her heels in a cell. From the looks on the faces of the team, the news about her background wasn't good.
"Okay, rip the band-aid off. How bad is it?" One of the investigators passed over a woefully thick folder. "Ah. That bad then."
"Yes sir, unfortunately so. Miss Hancock's own records were clear, but it seems that she became engaged shortly afterwards... and her fiancé is one Adrian Krouse. Who apparently has quite a few bad habits and a string of divorces and annulments behind him. Classic gold digger. Except this time it looks like someone else bought up his debt. We're still investigating, but Mr. Krouse had already skipped town before we could get a lock on him. The only question is whether or not he chose to leave of his own volition. From what we got out of Miss Hancock, he apparently convinced her that she could discretely copy the data and that it wouldn't be like actual theft since we'd still have the original set. He told her that he had a friend who would pay very handsomely for the data. No idea who, he never told her the details."
"She was probably going to be his decoy while he got away with the data. I imagine that she was rather distraught when she found out how many other 'Mrs. Krouse's' there were." You muse, looking through the folder. The man was a louse of the worst sort, a philandering jackass that spent money as soon as he laid his hands on it and then traipsed off to find some other poor woman to turn into a source of income. A parasite that gave parasites a bad name.
"She had a bit of a breakdown, but she hasn't hurt herself or anything of that nature thank god. She's totally despondent though. We've had her cooling her heels in a guarded bungalow while we dealt with the investigation, but we need to decide what to do with her."
[][Punishment]Jail. She engaged in corporate espionage. Go directly to jail, do not collect $200. Let the legal system deal with her. Of course that means that someone might get some information out of her.
[][Punishment]Blackball. She was a dupe, and she's already had her personal life shattered. Fire her and have her blacklisted. Not as bad as prison in some ways, so much worse in others. With that hanging over her head she's unlikely to have anyone thinking she knows any corporate secrets.
[][Punishment]Second Chance. Honestly this Krouse guy was a master manipulator going off of the number of women he was able to fool. Give her one (and only one) chance to prove herself; with the understanding that everything she touches will be double and triple checked. But it keeps her where you can keep an eye on her and minimizes risk of exposure of the dinosaurs before you're ready.
"And what about her former fiance? How do you want us to handle him?"
[][Krouse]Hunt. Track his ass down and bring him in for questioning in order to directly find out who was pulling the strings.
[][Krouse]Backtrack. Krouse has been in the wind too long; see if you can use information from Miss. Hancock to pin down when and where he got the idea to steal your company's data.
[][Krouse]Freebird. He's a snake and a predators, but he's not your main concern. See if your people can find any rival companies that may be edging their way into genetics. Who would benefit the fastest from having that information?
---
It was something of a relief to get out of the office again and check in on the progress of developing Isla Manteceros. The construction here was progressing rapidly, in part because they didn't have nearly as many geographical problems to contend with. Already you were seeing an increase in construction on the other islands due to having the stockpiles close at hand; and the movement of shipments via cargo ships and helicopters was accelerating at an exponential rate. At this point you may have to look into hiring more construction workers!
Of course, there's such a thing as too much progress. The end goal is a zoological park. Which needs animals. Most of which quite literally haven't been born yet. Or rather, reborn. Either way, once you'd taken a step back, you saw that Manteceros could go one of two ways.
[][Mantanceros]Mothball. Keep the amusement rides, hotel facilities and everything else under wraps until the park as a whole is ready. While it means that you'd be spreading yourself a bit thin with manpower, you'd also be looking at having the entire Park be a massive surprise to the public.
[][Mantaneros]Appetizer. Once the facilities are complete here, open this place up as an island getaway. Your "Hall of Revival" already had several animals for its exhibits already, with more on the way as your people work through the various grants and bounties. It will also allow you to get the locals trained in hotel work and service industry before the main attraction actually opens.
---
With the successful revival of the Plateosaurus and the T-Rex, the genetics teams were chomping at the bit to get at some of the really big names. Dr. Sorkin was at the forefront of the pack, while Dr. Wu took pride in having been the one to get credit for the T-Rex. Playing them off one another like this was probably the smartest move you ever made...
[][Sorkin Next Step]Ankylosaurus. Take a 90-degree turn from predators and see about a more quadrupedal herbivore. Also one that's highly recognizable, though a bit less likely to go for ramming attacks into their enclosures. No idea how long they'll take to get to full size of course; but you're praying that they're going to be like rhino calves, who are frankly just over-armored puppies with no concept of how heavy or strong they actually are.
[][Sorkin Next Step]Triceratops. One of the Big Names of the dinosaur world, as recognizable as the T-Rex by any child around the globe. Also probably going to be the second biggest herbivore you give the okay on reviving. You and Gerry are likely going to need to lean heavily on how Rhino calves are dealt with, as well as making damn sure no one loses any body parts to that beak. You've seen what an alligator snapping turtle can do to a man. A Triceratops eclipses that by several orders of magnitude.
[][Sorkin Next Step]Utahraptors. Since you've already gotten the biggest predator that you're going to be reviving in play, might as well go smaller. The Utahraptors would also be the ultimate stress test of your policies for raising these animals. They were big enough to see a person as prey, and if the theories about them hunting in packs are correct, you'd be looking at something as or even more dangerous to raise than lions, let alone the wolves or hyenas that these animals have been compared to.
Once that had been tested to the best of their ability (without harming any of the birds, you'd been very clear on that), they'd be relocated via airlift to a reserve where the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would take over their care and begin further breeding in order to expand the pool. They'd be carefully seeding the modified snails and birds on their home ranges.
"Even though they've been modified, I must say that they don't really look all that different. And they're honestly a bit funny to watch." Dr. Sorkin comments quietly. You nod at that, before checking your watch. Giving the doctor a nod, you headed to your next appointment.
You found Wu standing outside the enclosure housing your T-Rex. "Rexy" as she'd been nicknamed by the technicians, was already showing traits that no one had expected. The thin layer of surprisingly fluffy down that she'd been born with had been a shock, almost as much as the speed that she'd taken to her handlers.
You'd admit that you had inserted yourself into the schedule, and had been pleased by the way she'd taken to the enrichment objects. She was still at roughly hip height, but she'd been growing at what seemed like a reasonable rate. Your father would have disagreed heavily with not including any growth enhancements in her genetics, but you'd rather have healthy younger animals than fully grown animals with development issues.
Dr. Wu looked up from his notations and sighed slightly. "My turn again I suppose?" There was a note of wry humor in his voice. You grin.
"Yup, afraid so Doctor. We've got a couple of interesting options this time.
[][Revival]White Rhino. The new Ugandan government is looking to get any kind of good publicity that it can. To that end they've put out an open-ended offer for any person or organization that can help improve the number of white rhinos and help increase their genetic diversity. Probably the hardest challenge Wu would have had so far.
[][Revival]Pyrenean Ibex. The French Government is looking to get one over on the Portuguese, Spanish, and Andorran governments by bolstering this species of mountain goat back off of the endangered species list. As it's a species that matures and gestates much faster than a rhino, alongside having close relatives to use to help induce genetic diversity, it's a much easier challenge to Wu though still a stretch due to being a mammal.
[][Revival]Passenger Pigeon. The President is looking to get some points with the ecologically-minded voters. And bringing back a species that Americans had wiped out should work quite well. The biggest problem will be getting enough genetic samples. But compared to pulling the DNA of a T-Rex together it'll be child's play.
[][Revival]Thylacine. One of the poster species of extinction, the Tasmanian government has requested your efforts to revive the species. Possibly the most complex project yet due to the subject being a marsupial. But also a much more recent extinction event than the Terror Birds.
---
You sighed heavily as you sat down with your internal security team, to go over the results of their investigations. Your spy had been charged with corporate espionage and was cooling her heels in a cell. From the looks on the faces of the team, the news about her background wasn't good.
"Okay, rip the band-aid off. How bad is it?" One of the investigators passed over a woefully thick folder. "Ah. That bad then."
"Yes sir, unfortunately so. Miss Hancock's own records were clear, but it seems that she became engaged shortly afterwards... and her fiancé is one Adrian Krouse. Who apparently has quite a few bad habits and a string of divorces and annulments behind him. Classic gold digger. Except this time it looks like someone else bought up his debt. We're still investigating, but Mr. Krouse had already skipped town before we could get a lock on him. The only question is whether or not he chose to leave of his own volition. From what we got out of Miss Hancock, he apparently convinced her that she could discretely copy the data and that it wouldn't be like actual theft since we'd still have the original set. He told her that he had a friend who would pay very handsomely for the data. No idea who, he never told her the details."
"She was probably going to be his decoy while he got away with the data. I imagine that she was rather distraught when she found out how many other 'Mrs. Krouse's' there were." You muse, looking through the folder. The man was a louse of the worst sort, a philandering jackass that spent money as soon as he laid his hands on it and then traipsed off to find some other poor woman to turn into a source of income. A parasite that gave parasites a bad name.
"She had a bit of a breakdown, but she hasn't hurt herself or anything of that nature thank god. She's totally despondent though. We've had her cooling her heels in a guarded bungalow while we dealt with the investigation, but we need to decide what to do with her."
[][Punishment]Jail. She engaged in corporate espionage. Go directly to jail, do not collect $200. Let the legal system deal with her. Of course that means that someone might get some information out of her.
[][Punishment]Blackball. She was a dupe, and she's already had her personal life shattered. Fire her and have her blacklisted. Not as bad as prison in some ways, so much worse in others. With that hanging over her head she's unlikely to have anyone thinking she knows any corporate secrets.
[][Punishment]Second Chance. Honestly this Krouse guy was a master manipulator going off of the number of women he was able to fool. Give her one (and only one) chance to prove herself; with the understanding that everything she touches will be double and triple checked. But it keeps her where you can keep an eye on her and minimizes risk of exposure of the dinosaurs before you're ready.
"And what about her former fiance? How do you want us to handle him?"
[][Krouse]Hunt. Track his ass down and bring him in for questioning in order to directly find out who was pulling the strings.
[][Krouse]Backtrack. Krouse has been in the wind too long; see if you can use information from Miss. Hancock to pin down when and where he got the idea to steal your company's data.
[][Krouse]Freebird. He's a snake and a predators, but he's not your main concern. See if your people can find any rival companies that may be edging their way into genetics. Who would benefit the fastest from having that information?
---
It was something of a relief to get out of the office again and check in on the progress of developing Isla Manteceros. The construction here was progressing rapidly, in part because they didn't have nearly as many geographical problems to contend with. Already you were seeing an increase in construction on the other islands due to having the stockpiles close at hand; and the movement of shipments via cargo ships and helicopters was accelerating at an exponential rate. At this point you may have to look into hiring more construction workers!
Of course, there's such a thing as too much progress. The end goal is a zoological park. Which needs animals. Most of which quite literally haven't been born yet. Or rather, reborn. Either way, once you'd taken a step back, you saw that Manteceros could go one of two ways.
[][Mantanceros]Mothball. Keep the amusement rides, hotel facilities and everything else under wraps until the park as a whole is ready. While it means that you'd be spreading yourself a bit thin with manpower, you'd also be looking at having the entire Park be a massive surprise to the public.
[][Mantaneros]Appetizer. Once the facilities are complete here, open this place up as an island getaway. Your "Hall of Revival" already had several animals for its exhibits already, with more on the way as your people work through the various grants and bounties. It will also allow you to get the locals trained in hotel work and service industry before the main attraction actually opens.
---
With the successful revival of the Plateosaurus and the T-Rex, the genetics teams were chomping at the bit to get at some of the really big names. Dr. Sorkin was at the forefront of the pack, while Dr. Wu took pride in having been the one to get credit for the T-Rex. Playing them off one another like this was probably the smartest move you ever made...
[][Sorkin Next Step]Ankylosaurus. Take a 90-degree turn from predators and see about a more quadrupedal herbivore. Also one that's highly recognizable, though a bit less likely to go for ramming attacks into their enclosures. No idea how long they'll take to get to full size of course; but you're praying that they're going to be like rhino calves, who are frankly just over-armored puppies with no concept of how heavy or strong they actually are.
[][Sorkin Next Step]Triceratops. One of the Big Names of the dinosaur world, as recognizable as the T-Rex by any child around the globe. Also probably going to be the second biggest herbivore you give the okay on reviving. You and Gerry are likely going to need to lean heavily on how Rhino calves are dealt with, as well as making damn sure no one loses any body parts to that beak. You've seen what an alligator snapping turtle can do to a man. A Triceratops eclipses that by several orders of magnitude.
[][Sorkin Next Step]Utahraptors. Since you've already gotten the biggest predator that you're going to be reviving in play, might as well go smaller. The Utahraptors would also be the ultimate stress test of your policies for raising these animals. They were big enough to see a person as prey, and if the theories about them hunting in packs are correct, you'd be looking at something as or even more dangerous to raise than lions, let alone the wolves or hyenas that these animals have been compared to.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[]Plan: Back up and running
-[][Revival]Pyrenean Ibex
-[][Punishment]Second Chance
-[][Krouse]Backtrack
-[][Mantaneros]Appetizer
-[][Sorkin Next Step]Ankylosaurus
-[][Revival]Pyrenean Ibex
-[][Punishment]Second Chance
-[][Krouse]Backtrack
-[][Mantaneros]Appetizer
-[][Sorkin Next Step]Ankylosaurus
FictionPack
Monochromatic Ursine
- Location
- Tennessee
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[][Revival]White Rhino.
We don't want to focus too heavily on the US as a client.
[][Punishment]Blackball.
Second chance is nice, but she should just be happy we aren't sending her to jail with this option. She knew what corporate espionage was even if she didn't consider it actual theft.
[][Krouse]Hunt.
He made a powerful enemy!
[][Mantaneros]Appetizer.
It gets more money rolling in, gives our staff experience, makes us more famous, and makes it so any leaks are on our terms.
[][Sorkin Next Step]Triceratops.
Big name herbivore, and synergies well with the White Rhinos option.
We don't want to focus too heavily on the US as a client.
[][Punishment]Blackball.
Second chance is nice, but she should just be happy we aren't sending her to jail with this option. She knew what corporate espionage was even if she didn't consider it actual theft.
[][Krouse]Hunt.
He made a powerful enemy!
[][Mantaneros]Appetizer.
It gets more money rolling in, gives our staff experience, makes us more famous, and makes it so any leaks are on our terms.
[][Sorkin Next Step]Triceratops.
Big name herbivore, and synergies well with the White Rhinos option.
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Great too see an update
Nottheunmaker
Altman be praised
- Location
- USG Ishimura
The T-Rex is adorable. That's the most important part of this update.
[][Punishment]Second Chance. Honestly this Krouse guy was a master manipulator going off of the number of women he was able to fool. Give her one (and only one) chance to prove herself; with the understanding that everything she touches will be double and triple checked. But it keeps her where you can keep an eye on her and minimizes risk of exposure of the dinosaurs before you're ready.
I advocate this only because we need to keep her trap shut about the dinosaurs. Frame it as a work/release deal. She takes a pay cut and gets extra scrutiny, but she can keep her job at least until the main event is really. Make no mistake, she's on my shit list.
[][Krouse]Backtrack. Krouse has been in the wind too long; see if you can use information from Miss. Hancock to pin down when and where he got the idea to steal your company's data.
The man is a problem, but not exactly our problem. Whoever might've given him ideas though? Yeah, that's something we need to get on top of.
[][Mantaneros]Appetizer. Once the facilities are complete here, open this place up as an island getaway. Your "Hall of Revival" already had several animals for its exhibits already, with more on the way as your people work through the various grants and bounties. It will also allow you to get the locals trained in hotel work and service industry before the main attraction actually opens.
Sure, the full park won't have the full surprise factor, but it gives us a lot of test runs and gets the name out there. Plus, fucking people we're building a dinosaur park with real dinosaurs. You don't get a better wow factor.
[][Sorkin Next Step]Utahraptors. Since you've already gotten the biggest predator that you're going to be reviving in play, might as well go smaller. The Utahraptors would also be the ultimate stress test of your policies for raising these animals. They were big enough to see a person as prey, and if the theories about them hunting in packs are correct, you'd be looking at something as or even more dangerous to raise than lions, let alone the wolves or hyenas that these animals have been compared to.
I don't believe she's done a predator yet.
No opinion, they're all good. The Rhino is probably the best options for his ego though.
[][Punishment]Second Chance. Honestly this Krouse guy was a master manipulator going off of the number of women he was able to fool. Give her one (and only one) chance to prove herself; with the understanding that everything she touches will be double and triple checked. But it keeps her where you can keep an eye on her and minimizes risk of exposure of the dinosaurs before you're ready.
I advocate this only because we need to keep her trap shut about the dinosaurs. Frame it as a work/release deal. She takes a pay cut and gets extra scrutiny, but she can keep her job at least until the main event is really. Make no mistake, she's on my shit list.
[][Krouse]Backtrack. Krouse has been in the wind too long; see if you can use information from Miss. Hancock to pin down when and where he got the idea to steal your company's data.
The man is a problem, but not exactly our problem. Whoever might've given him ideas though? Yeah, that's something we need to get on top of.
[][Mantaneros]Appetizer. Once the facilities are complete here, open this place up as an island getaway. Your "Hall of Revival" already had several animals for its exhibits already, with more on the way as your people work through the various grants and bounties. It will also allow you to get the locals trained in hotel work and service industry before the main attraction actually opens.
Sure, the full park won't have the full surprise factor, but it gives us a lot of test runs and gets the name out there. Plus, fucking people we're building a dinosaur park with real dinosaurs. You don't get a better wow factor.
[][Sorkin Next Step]Utahraptors. Since you've already gotten the biggest predator that you're going to be reviving in play, might as well go smaller. The Utahraptors would also be the ultimate stress test of your policies for raising these animals. They were big enough to see a person as prey, and if the theories about them hunting in packs are correct, you'd be looking at something as or even more dangerous to raise than lions, let alone the wolves or hyenas that these animals have been compared to.
I don't believe she's done a predator yet.
[X][Revival]Passenger Pigeon.
[X][Punishment]Second Chance
[X][Krouse]Hunt.
[X][Mantaneros]Appetizer
[X][Sorkin Next Step]Triceratops.
If we can't feed Krouse to Rexy, I say we give Miss Hancock a big stick and give her an hour in a room with him.
[X][Punishment]Second Chance
[X][Krouse]Hunt.
[X][Mantaneros]Appetizer
[X][Sorkin Next Step]Triceratops.
If we can't feed Krouse to Rexy, I say we give Miss Hancock a big stick and give her an hour in a room with him.
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