The air is thick with tension as we all wait around a large computer system. Ian and I a distance away as we have been given explicit orders by Ellie to rest. Ian once again on a large table where he was yesterday, having been moved back for 'better support' for his leg, while I am on the couch I was placed by Ellie last night. Luckily we are still close to one another, which puts me in a bit of ease. I am unable to see a thing as Ellie and John are crowding around Ray Arnold, the chief engineer of Jurassic Park. He sits at the computer terminal and looks like a mess as he doggedly sorts through the computer system's lines of code. One. By one. By one. John looks over his shoulder, his glasses illuminated with the blips of code going over the computer monitor, when he says something that I am unable to hear.

"No, no, no, that's crazy. You're out of your mind." Mr. Arnold responds loudly, turning in his swivel chair to look at John, now turning to Ellie, "He's absolutely out of his mind."

"Well, wait a minute. What exactly does this mean?" Ellie inquires.

"What are you guys talking about?" I look to John for answers, but he is too involved in the conversation to notice my question. I look at Ian for answers but he just shrugs, also unable to hear the suggestion.

"We're talking about a calculated risk, my dear, which is about the only option left to us." John explains, looking between Ellie and Mr. Arnold, "We will never find the command that Nedry used. He's covered his tracks far too well. I think it's obvious now he's not coming back. So, shutting down the system--"

"I won't do it.' Mr. Arnold states, folding his arms in front of his chest in defiance, "You'll have to get somebody else, because I will not."

"Wait, won't that wipe every database?" I ask, everyone's attention now turned to me, "It might mess up all of the gates if we do that. I thought that power was only out to part of the park. If we shut down everything, it could release more of the animals into the park." Muldoon catches my eye, fear living in them as he realizes that I am referring to the raptor paddock.

"Shutting down the system is the only way to wipe out everything that Nedry did, Lynette." John tells me before turning back to Mr. Arnold, now addressing him, "Now, as I understand it, all the systems will then come back on in their original start-up mode, correct?"

"Theoretically, yes, but we've never shut down the entire system before. It may not come back on at all." Mr. Arnold replies, "Lynette could be right as well. It could let more assets out of the cages, which would make it even more dangerous than it already is here."

"Would we get back the phones back?" Ellie asks hopefully.

"Yes, again, in theory." Mr. Arnold states, more irritated.

"What about the lysine contingency?" Muldoon suggests, looking at John and Mr. Arnold in a more stern way than I had ever previously seen, "We could put that into effect."

"What's that?" Ellie and I ask simultaneously.

"That is absolutely out of the question." John states, pounding his cane on the ground for emphasis before walking away from the group in a huff.

"The lysine contingency's intended to prevent the spread of the animals in case they ever get off the island." Mr. Arnold replies to Ellie and I, turning his head to look at us, "Dr. Wu inserted a gene that creates a single faulty enzyme in protein metabolism. The animals can't manufacture the amino acid lysine. Unless they're completely supplied with lysine by us, they slip into a coma and die."

"That's despicable." I spit, crossing my arms in disgust, "How can he just mess with the genetics of a living being without feeling morally bankrupt. These creatures shouldn't have to rely on humans to survive!" Ellie just looks at me sympathetically before staring at the ground.

"How would we cut off the lysine?" Ellie asks. My heart breaks in half at her words.

"Ellie..." I say, unable to unscramble my thoughts enough to form a whole sentence.

"No trick to it." Mr. Arnold replies, "Just stop running the program. Leaving them unattended."

"How soon before they become comatose?" Ian speaks up, avoiding eye contact as I stare at him disappointedly. I feel the pit in my stomach drop, realizing that everyone is willing to let these animals die to save themselves. Even though I disagree with the park and the recreation of the dinosaurs, I still refuse to let these animals die on my watch. They deserve a chance at life.

"It would be totally painless-" Mr. Arnold says for my benefit, only glancing over at me then back to Ian "they'd just slip into unconsciousness and they die."

"How long before they slip into unconsciousness?" Ian asks again, wanting a real reply from Mr. Arnold.

"About - - seven days, more or less."

"Seven days?!" Ellie shouts, "Seven days?! Oh, great. Oh good - clever."

"That'll-" Ian begins, but restarts his sentence, "it'd be a first; man and dinosaur all die together. John's plan." But he raises his hand, and nods to John who is bubbling over with rage.

"PEOPLE ARE DYING!" John bellows, summoning every ounce of authority at his command. And that's quite a bit. There is a moment in which no one dares to speak, including myself. I had never felt such rage surge from John's voice. It honestly frightened me quite a bit. John regains himself, fixing his posture and taking a deep breath in, "Will you please shut down the system." He practically begs, looking Mr. Arnold in the eyes. Mr. Arnold swallows and gets to his feet.

"Alright John, you asked for it." He says, then walks slowly across the room to a red metal box on the wall. Then he takes a key from his belt, unlocks the door, and opens it. I move my head to try and see past his body, and into the control panel. I see a row of four switches inside. He begins to flip them off, one by one, leaving only a single lever left. His hand hovers over it in anticipation and worry. He takes a deep breath before flipping the lever. Every monitor, every terminal, every fluorescent light shuts off, plunging all of us into nearly complete darkness. An eerie stillness resonates in the room for a moment.

"How long will this take?" Ellie asks in a hushed voice.

"'Bout thirty seconds." Mr. Arnold replies. We all wait, in tense silence. I feel a warm hand touch mine, feeling the familiar rough skin of Ian's calluses. Even through the darkness, I can feel him smiling at me, and I squeeze his hand in return. Looking around the room, I notice John adjusting the wilting silk handkerchief in his breast pocket. He notices me staring at him, but look towards Ian right after. I look over at him. Ian is staring at John, his eyes full of disapproval.

"I think perhaps I'll just sit down." John states, sitting on the couch next to me, placing a gentle hand on my thigh as he senses my high level of stress. I feel a sense of relief that despite my anger earlier, he still is there for me. He continues to speak to Ian, "I don't suppose you think all that much of me now, do you?"

"You're all right, John You're okay." Ian replies, sitting up on the table to look over my head at John, "It's just you don't have intelligence. You have 'thinktelligence.' You think narrowly and call it 'being focused.' You don't see the consequences. You're very good at solving problems, at getting answers - but you just don't know the right questions.' I glare at Ian, pulling my hand away from his. His attention turns to me quickly, seeming to question my motives with his look.

"Ian..." Ellie says, pulling Ian's attention from me to her.

"Yes?" He replies.

"Shut up."

"Yes." Ian says, looking at John quickly, "It's not a criticism, by the way."

"John," I lean over to him, completely ignoring Ian "I'm sorry about earlier. I am very passionate about all of this but you are still my idol, and I will always look up to you. Nobody has ever been a better father figure to me. You will always hold that place in my heart." John smiles at me, pulling me in for a hug and placing a soft kiss on the top of my head.

"I could never be mad at you. I only ever worry. I'm sorry for the mess that I have made. You're right, this was a mistake. I just hope to find Dr. Grant and the grandchildren safely, then we will leave this place behind." He says, still embracing me in a warm familiar hug.

"Don't mind Ian. He can be an idiot sometimes." I state, John laughing a bit at my remark.

"Speaking of, we will discuss you two's relationship later." John states, pulling a way a bit, "Don't think I haven't noticed." Clicking comes from the other side of the room before I can reply to John. We both look over, and see that Mr. Arnold has flipped the row of safety switches back on again, hesitating by the main switch.

"Hold on to your butts." He throws it. Nothing happens. There is a very long pause as everyone holds their breath.

"It's not working." Ian states. I look at him dumbfounded at his statement, thinking back to my remark with John about his idiocy.

"Uh-" Mr. Arnold stutters a bit.

"Listen, which of you knows how to handle a gun?" Muldoon asks, looking around at the lot of us. I raise my hand slightly, remembering the time that Muldoon taught me to shoot a couple years back. Mr. Arnold, who can't quite understand this, races over to the main monitor.

"HAH! It's okay!" He exclaims joyously, "It's okay! Look! See that?! LOOK!" Most everyone stares at the monitor, which I am still unable to see. Despite this, Mr. Arnold still celebrates, "It's on! It worked!"

"Wait a minute? What do you mean 'worked'?" Ian asks, "Everything is still off!"

"The shutdown must have tripped the circuit breakers." Mr. Arnold suggests, "All we have to do is turn them back on, reboot a few systems in here; the phones, security doors, half a dozen others, but it worked! System ready!"

"Where are the breakers?" Muldoon asks.

"Out in the maintenance shed." Mr. Arnold replies, "Other side of the compound. I'll go out there. Three minutes, and I can have the power back on in the entire park."

"Won't that be dangerous though?" I ask, a bit worried of loosing the only person in this room that knows the computer systems.

"Just to be safe," John speaks up "I'd like to have everybody in the emergency bunker until Mr. Arnold returns, and the whole system is back on its feet again."