Jurassic Park: Second Iteration: Hammond Summary & Analysis

Gennaro’s secretary brings him a hastily purchased suitcase of new clothes, remarking that his forgetfulness about packing shows how little he wants to go on his upcoming trip to the island. He’s going to miss his daughter’s fourth birthday party. As Gennaro heads for the elevators, his boss stops him in the hallway with an order: if there’s a problem on the island, Gennaro should “burn it to the ground.”

On the flight from California to Montana, Hammond reproaches Gennaro for neglecting his old friend John. Gennaro knows that Hammond’s small, child-like stature belies his “flamboyant […] showman” tendencies. He remembers how, in their early years of fundraising, Hammond carried around a miniature 9-inch-tall elephant in a cage as an example of the promising potential of “consumer biologicals.” Gennaro knows the details that Hammond didn’t share with potential investors: the elephant wasn’t technically genetically engineered; Hammond’s geneticist couldn’t replicate his initial success; the elephant was sickly; it displayed abnormal behavior for an elephant; and the geneticist was dying of terminal cancer. But, with Gennaro’s help, Hammond raised the money he needed to get InGen started. 

Gennaro considers Hammond’s tendency for denial. Even now Hammond treats the trip like a grand social event rather than an inspection that Gennaro forced on him. Gennaro asks if the park is ready for visitors, and while Hammond evades the question a little, he notes that the hotel is built and he boasts that they have “two hundred and thirty-eight animals” from 15 different species. The resort, Hammond assures Gennaro, is “state-of-the-art [… and] perfectly wonderful.” He says no one should be concerned; any delays and postponements were inevitable, given the nature of the park’s astonishing, living attractions. And anyway, the men agree, the project will still deliver on its most important promise: making them “lots and lots of money.”

The secret to making money is limiting costs, Hammond reasons. He assures Gennaro that the huge initial investment in computer technology will save money through automating as many tasks as possible. Still, between an advanced computer system and wild animals, one “run[s] into snags.” And he admits to several accidents—three deaths, total. But no accidents have occurred for months.