Control is an Illusion: Iteration Three

Details emerge more clearly as the fractal curve is redrawn.

From the moment the fourth iteration began, the minds behind Jurassic Park begin to outline all of their control procedures, and the park's first guests are already doubting the safety of the park. They contend that the park employees/founders are dealing with formerly extinct animals and have no idea how to really control them, let alone have the ability even if they did have the knowledge.

Their belief in their control is verbally manifested in the statement, "They are not free at all. They are essentially our prisoners." Even the name of the island's center of operation, "the Control Room," shows their irrational belief that they control the happenings of the park. They admit that there are a few details here and there that they need to fix, but the biggest obstacles have been passed. Those concerns are no longer concerns or, in the case of breeding, never were concerns because they are in control.

At this point, Crichton gives us a few nods back to the novel's introduction when Doctor Carter tried to save one of the park's employees, further illustrating the point that life can't be controlled. Dr. Grant, Ian Malcolm, and Dr. Sattler all go to the velociraptor holding pen where they are hunted by the dinosaurs. Of course, the hunt fails because of the electrified fencing, leaving the group to remark on their speed, coordination, and the smell of decay left by the dinosaurs. Crichton then gives us another nod as to the origins of the employee's death through the critical eye of Malcolm himself, while illustrating one of the park's biggest issues.

"I'm told large predators such as lions and tigers are not born man-eaters. Isn't that true? These animals must learn somewhere along the way that human beings are easy to kill. Only afterward do they become man-killers."

"Yes, I believe that's true," Grant said.

"Well, these dinosaurs must be even more reluctant than lions and tigers. After all, they come from a time before human beings-or even large mammals-existed.[...] So I wonder: have they learned, somewhere along the line, that humans are easy to kill?"

The group fell silent as they walked.

Immediately following this is a conversation between Dr. Wu (the geneticist behind the dinosaurs' creation) and Hammond. It shows us three important things. As far as creating "real" dinosaurs, this is as close as they'll probably ever get. Second, they still don't have real dinosaurs, a fact Hammond seems to overlook. And thirdly, even Dr. Wu has no respect for the dinosaurs so he has no problems purposing a new "version": domesticated dinosaurs.

The park has problems but nearly everyone in charge of keeping things safe is disillusioned, in love with the idea of control. They believe that because they have created the dinosaurs, that they are somehow not living creatures, not truly at least. They created them. Only they control how many dinosaurs are on the island. They even determine the chemical boundaries of the dinosaurs' lives since they have made them lysine deficient. It is this false belief that might just be the greatest danger of all. You can't fix something or prevent something you refuse to acknowledge as a threat or problem.

What follows during the park tour is an account of the many dangers InGen has encountered while building the park and the eventual moment when Hammond, Dr. Wu, and Ed Regis all realize that their control couldn't have been more fabricated. Muldoon is pessimistic about the park and believes the dinosaurs should all be destroyed. His internal monologue recounts when they discovered the dilophosaurs was poisonous and just how lethal the velociraptors are, as well as the subsequent safety measures InGen took. He even recounts how well some of the most dangerous dinosaurs on the island are able to escape.  (This further explains why the guest lodge had been altered so seriously.) For Muldoon, getting Hammond to enact each new safety measure was like pulling teeth. It wasn't until tragedy struck that the owner relented and allowed even the smallest amount of lethal equipment onto the island.

In the end, two specially built laser-guided missile launchers were kept in a locked room in the basement. Only Muldoon had the keys to the room.

The shocking fact is that even with clear evidence in front of them (as if the many near-death and fatal experiences the workers had weren't enough), Hammond and the rest still refuse to believe that they were never in control. They know that the dinosaurs are breeding. Dr. Grant has even given them the answer. Yet, they are still hemming and hawing about its impossibility.

Of course, we end this iteration at the very moment we've all waited for: the power has gone out. The guests are sitting in front of the T-Rex paddock, like a Thanksgiving meal, and Dennis Nedry, the man responsible for the catalytic, is nowhere to be seen. Tragedy shows Muldoon as the most sane person on the island, as he isn't willing to wait for another person to die before he acts. All communications are down. The fences are off. And we don't expect to see Nedry back any time soon.

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