When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.
— That doesn't look very scary. More like a 6-foot turkey.
— A turkey? Imagine yourself in the Cretaceous period. Here we go. You'd get your first look at this 6-foot turkey as you enter a clearing. He moves like a bird, lightly bobbing his head. You keep still because you think maybe his visual acuity is based on movement, like T-Rex and he'll lose you if you don't move. But no, not Velociraptor. You stare at him and he just stares right back. And that's when the attack comes. Not from the front, but from the side. From the other two Raptors you didn't even know were there. Because Velociraptor's a pack hunter. He uses coordinated attack patterns and he is out in force today. And he slashes at you with this, a 6-inch retractable claw, like a razor, on the middle toe. He doesn't bother to bite your jugular like a lion. No. He slashes at you here or here... Or maybe across the belly, spilling your intestines. The point is, you are alive when they start to eat you. So, you know, try to show a little respect.
— Okay. Alan, if you wanted to scare the kid, you could've pulled a gun on him.
— Our scientists have done things which nobody has ever done before.
— But your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
— No, we've made living biological attractions so astounding that they'll capture the imagination of the entire planet.
— So, what are you thinking?
— That we're out of a job.
— Don't you mean «extinct»?
— You know, you don't act like a scientist.
— They're usually pretty stiff.
— You're more like a game-show host.
— The Tyrannosaur doesn't obey any set patterns or park schedules. The essence of chaos.
— I'm still not clear on chaos.
— It simply deals with unpredictability in complex systems. The shorthand is the Butterfly Effect. A butterfly can flap its wings in Peking and in Central Park you get rain instead of sunshine. Was I going too fast? I missed it. I did a fly-by. Give me that glass of water. We'll conduct an experiment. We should be still. The car's bouncing. That's okay. It's just an example. Put your hand flat like a hieroglyphic. A drop of water falls on your hand. Which way will the drop roll off? Which finger? Thumb, I'd say. Freeze your hand. Don't move. I'll do the same thing, start with the same place again. Which way, now?
— Let's say back the same way.
— It changed. Why?
— Because tiny variations, the orientation of the hairs on your hands...
— Alan, look at this.
— The amount of blood distending your vessels, imperfections in the skin...
— «imperfections in the skin»?
— Just microscopic, never repeat and vastly affect the outcome. That's what? Unpredictability. There. Look at this. See? I'm right again. Nobody could predict that Dr. Grant would suddenly jump out of a moving vehicle.
— Alan? Alan!
— And there's another example. See, here I am now by myself, talking to myself. That's Chaos Theory.
— I don't know, Wade. I think we're asking for trouble hanging around like this. I mean, what about common sense? I guess that's something those "brainiacs" wouldn't understand.
— They're scientists. Common sense just gets in their way.
— Why don't you come down, just the pair of you, for the weekend? I'd love to have an opinion of a paleobotanist as well. I've got a jet standing by at Choteau.
— I'm sorry. This isn't possible. We just dug up a new skeleton...
— I could compensate you by fully funding your dig...
— This is a very unusual time.
— The timing is... for a further three years.
— Where's the plane?