- "What rights do dinosaurs have? Don't they have the right to survive? Do their rights outweigh any of ours?"
- —Dr. Sorkin to Gerry Harding(src)
Dr. Laura Sorkin was an InGen scientist. She appears in Jurassic Park: The Game and was on Isla Nublar during the Incident. She had a motherly devotion to the dinosaurs and had extreme views about animal rights especially when it came to the lysine contingency. Ironically, Laura was killed by the very creatures she had dedicated her life to.
Biography
Early life
Laura describes her childhood in her research journal. She was raised on her family's farm in Arkansas and was an animal-rights activist in the 1970s. Arrested multiple times for protesting, she earned her position as one of InGen's leading paleogeneticists.
She never married or had any children; devoting herself to her life's work instead. She even referred to the dinosaurs on Isla Nublar as her "children".
Working in Jurassic Park
Initially, Laura was to be made the Chief Scientist of Jurassic Park, but was denied the position after revealing she wanted to use complete DNA structures with no add-ins by cross-referencing genetic information from the mosquito fossils. It would have been safer, but the board of directors thought this process would take up time and money they didn't want to spend. Laura also wanted the island to be used as a wildlife preserve instead of a theme park, but this idea was dismissed as well because there was "no money" in it.
Instead, the position of Chief Scientist was given to Henry Wu. In order to please the board, Dr. Wu came up with the solution of using genetic information from other animals (such as frogs) to form complete DNA structures in minimal time. The resulting dinosaurs from Wu's solution were noted to be "flawed and inaccurate", which Laura angrily viewed as abominations rather than true dinosaurs. Despite this, she was also enraged by the various measures InGen took to keep the dinosaurs under control, such as the lysine contingency and controlled chromosomes to prevent the birth of male dinosaurs to breed. As a result, Laura developed a strong animosity towards Wu, Hammond, and InGen. Her discontent with the InGen management was such that the management team gradually kept her out of the loop regarding the company's main dinosaur research projects. Eventually, Laura was assigned to her own laboratory on Isla Nublar where she could continue to perform independent research and be kept out of sight and mind. She would use this lab to secretly undermine InGen's safety protocols by developing a cure for the lysine contingency, which she saw as cruel and unnecessary.
Laura was also responsible for the Troodon, having bred them in her laboratory from a clutch of "mystery eggs". John Hammond, however, thought these predators were "too dangerous" and not "appealing" for tourists. After the Big One's failed escape attempt, he ordered the Troodon to be euthanized. Instead, Laura decided to study the Troodon in secret; a single action that would lead to devastating consequences later.
Jurassic Park Incident
Along with her assistant David Banks, Laura chooses to stay on Isla Nublar rather than evacuate with the other employees. She stayed behind primarily to monitor the Parasaurolophus and the Troodon, but was also planning on using the evacuation to prove to Hammond that Isla Nublar should be a wildlife preserve.
After David was killed near the Quarantine Pens, she met up with the rescue team and other survivors. She developed an irritation towards Billy Yoder, one of the InGen mercenaries sent to help her. She also refused to leave, and went to the Parasaurolophus paddock to give them the anti-lysine contingency serum. However, she instead added the cure to the main water supply. Her actions incensed Gerry, who argued that all containment measures were necessary to keep the dinosaurs from damaging the global ecosystem.
She later joined the group in the tunnels and assisted them throughout the journey. When they stumbled upon the Troodon nest, the group found D-Caf, another mercenary who'd been hired to rescue the survivors. The mercenary was rendered comatose by the Troodon's venomous bite, and being used as sustenance for a clutch of eggs. Laura mentioned that she had known the Troodon had found a way to escape their pens, but didn't realize they'd found a way into the park. Yoder, who was already dealing with watching his friend Oscar Morales die, drew his knife and threatened to kill her. He only backed off when Laura admitted the attacks were her fault.
After arriving at the Marine Exhibit, Yoder informed the group that they needed to get to the phones quickly because the island was going to be bombed. Upon hearing that the park was to be destroyed, Laura headed down into the Marine Facility alone, in the hope of negotiating with InGen and the government into sparing the island.
Death
When negotiating didn't seem to work, she used the group when they arrived at the Marine Facility, locking the elevator doors behind them and deciding to hold them hostage. However, this led to her being labeled a terrorist and her call was promptly disconnected. Infuriated that her demands weren't met, Laura decided to do exactly what InGen and the government were trying to stop: she opened the underwater gate leading out into the open ocean, allowing a Tylosaurus to escape and damage the global ecosystem.
However, when the Tylosaurus smashed into the wall of the facility, she fell into the pool. While attempting to pull herself out, the Tylosaurus dragged her underwater and devoured her.
Non-Canon Deaths
If the player fails to complete certain tasks, it is possible for Laura can be devoured by a Troodon or Velociraptors. These deaths are considered non-canon, and will result in a game over. The player will then be allowed to respawn and try again.
Journal
Throughout the game, pages from Dr. Sorkin's InGen Field Journal can be collected. It describes the last events before the game through Sorkin's eyes.
Portrayal
- In her sole appearance in Jurassic Park: The Game, Laura was voiced by Susan Cash.
- She appears to be around in her middle-to-late forties.
Trivia
- She was the first character in the franchise to be killed on-screen by a non-dinosaurian creature in Jurassic Park, discounting Billy Brennan since he was severely injured by the Pteranodons, but not killed, and an unknown InGen worker in the Pteranodon cage at the nesting grounds.
- She was also the first confirmed female death in the franchise, followed by Zara Young in Jurassic World.
- In fact, the fates of these two characters are incredibly similar; being that Laura was devoured by a Tylosaurus and Zara by a Mosasaurus - another large, aquatic reptile.
- She bears a physical resemblance to Amanda Kirby from Jurassic Park III, but is closer in personality to Dr. Irene Corts from Jurassic Park: Dinosaur Battles, due to their belief that the dinosaurs deserve their own lives. Both are very sinister, with Corts actually controlling the dinosaurs she mutates with a radio transmitter, and Sorkin going as far as releasing the Mosasaur into the global ecosystem.
- She used to host a radio show, actually hacking the computers in the park and playing her favorite records, slightly similar to Dennis Nedry.
- Some entries in Sorkin's research journal contain information that was unknown at the time the first film: one example is referring to Utahraptor, which had yet to be discovered, and another the idea of Triceratops and Torosaurus being the same species.
- Her motives to free the Dinosaurs is simalir to Maisie Lockwood however Sorkin wanted to prove to humantily of the Dinosaurs free will while Maisie freed them feeling she's the same like them.
- Sorkin is considered to be the first canon female human antagonist, followed by Sammy Gutierrez.
- However, unlike Sammy, Sorkin is also a villain.