“The world is turned upside down. And the fact is that a lot of people want to know what these aberrant animals represent—and where they come from.”

When Levine’s assistant, a field biologist who has lived in Costa Rica for eight years, shares this with Levine, he defines the motivation for the pure scientists in the novel (as opposed to those from BioSyn). Curiosity, not greed, drives them.

“He held it up to the light, examined it with a magnifying glass, then set it down again. looked at the green skin, the pebbled texture. Maybe, he thought…maybe.”

That “maybe” says it all. Malcolm understands that Levine’s proposal about dinosaurs alive on that island is far from preposterous. But he resists—until he receives the skin sample from Levine. He now knows it is time to reap what InGen has sown.

“As she went down the stairs from the second floor, the sing-song chant began again. ‘Kelly is a brainer. Kelly is a brainer.’”

At the heart of this technothriller is an old-school exploration of what it means to be female in what is perceived to be a man’s world. Sarah will teach Kelly to be proud of what she is. But here Kelly, a promising science and math student in middle school, recalls bearing the brunt of her male classmates’ taunts.