Chase is the first chapter in the Sixth Configuration. Sarah and Kelly race to kill the lone raptor with the key to the cage. Kelly manages to shoot it while Thorne and Levine manage to pull the cage out from the raptor nest but face a trap.
Plot[]
Kelly Curtis barely manages to hold on to the Lindstradt rifle and Sarah Harding's back as the latter speeds wildly on the Electronic Motorcycle to catch the lone Velociraptor who stole the key to the cage where Arby Benton is locked in. As Harding drives the motorcycle on, there are only a herd of Apatosaurus in the distance. Harding shout to the school girl to prepare herself but Kelly is extremely unsure given the speed of the bike and her never using a rifle before. Harding tells her to aim at the raptor's neck and initially Kelly misses. The raptor cleverly fakes a charge at them, and heads to the deep river, forcing them lose the creature and the two feel Benettitalean cycads, a middle Triassic plant prick their skins. Harding attempts to cut off the raptor, however, her swerve throws them to the ground and the rifle goes off, with Harding warning Kelly she has two more darts to fire.
Meanwhile, Thorne's driving the jeep out of control with Richard Levine screaming, frightened that they may crash for good. Despite crashing against boulders, the jeep still functions then they find themselves in a streambed. As Thorne heads to a wider path to catch clearer sight of the raptors, hopes that Arby is still alive diminish. They suddenly find themselves amongst skeletons of apatosaurus which Levine states it isn't a graveyard. The raptor pack are still fighting over the remains of Eddie Carr and Ian Malcolm asks for description. The nest appears to different from what palaeontologists discovered - uncared for with crushed eggshells as opposed to orderly patterns in fossil discoveries. Levine counts three juveniles which were uncared for by their parents, scared from fighting for food. There are four carcasses of apatosaurus and Levine finds that curious - such prey would definitely have avoided any predators nest. Thorne interrupts, identifying the cage where Arby is locked inside. Thorne checks his Lindstradt rifle and finds he has insufficient darts to kill all the raptors. Levine pulls out a toxin canister, labelled CAUTION Toxic Metacholine (Mivacuriam). Thorne, however, argues the paralyzing gases may strike Arby and as they argue, they see the cage rattle. Thorne, ever more the rational adult, insist he will rescue Arby the old-fashion way.
Harding with Kelly's urge, catches up with the lone raptor until they find themselves nearing more apatosaurus, blocking them. Kelly misses again yet Sarah wildly drives underneath the bellies of a few of the sauropod, their thick legs hitting the ground and tails nearly strike the bike. The raptor darts out of the herd, Kelly fires and thinks she misses until the raptor collapses. Snapping open the cartridge, Kelly sees five more darts and Harding admits she lies. Firing an insurance shot, she retrieves the key, victorious.
The raptors are finishing Eddie's carcass and now moving towards the cage. Thorne is now standing up on the back of the jeep, rifle in his hands with Levine now driving. He drives through the skeletons and Thorne successfully picks up the cage. As Levine tries to drive away, a raptor jumps onto the jeep. Malcolm once more is in a morphine-induced dream. It covers biochemist Stu Kauffman who "had shown that advanced organisms had complex internal constraints which made them more likely to fall off the fitness optima." Some were able to adapt, thus chosen through evolution, yet adaptation came at a trade=off, whereby abilities were not always passed down through DNA. Animals that were not taught were non-functional. Malcolm's dream, or rather Michael Crichton's perspective, indicate that raptors were very intelligent. However, those on this island were genetically-engineered and their behavior was not determined by any parent - it was every raptor for themselves.
The jeep races on, Thorne holding on and the raptor still clinging on to the tarp. Levine sees more skeletons and has to ignore the mystery of them, focusing on escaping. A tug of war ensues as the raptor grabs the cage and Thorne holds it while holding on to the jeep. Levine tries to hand over a gun, however, Thorne's hands have to hold the cage and the jeep and Levine cannot risk shooting. Fortunately, the gun barrel is directed at the raptor who grabs it and as Levine fires, it is killed and falls off the jeep. Harding communicates with Thorne and Arby's condition is still not determined. After looking around the landscape, he tells Harding to meet up back at the trailer on the ridge road. After discussing directions with Levine, Thorne finally checks on the cage and finds Arby alive. However, raptors trap them as they move towards the valley.
Note[]
- It is another one of the longest chapters in The Lost World.
- Once again, Malcolm is in a dream state induced by morphine just like in this chapter and in the first novel.
Goof[]
As Harding and Kelly chase after the raptor, they encounter Benettitalean cycads. These existed in the Triassic period. It is unknown how InGen reproduced such extinct flora and would be scientifically impossible.
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