Overview
Jurassic Park chronicles the creation of a dinosaur-filled theme park using advanced genetic engineering, the subsequent breakdown of the park’s systems, and the life-threatening chaos that ensues. The story explores scientific ethics, unpredictability in complex systems, and the dangers of unchecked technological ambition.
Biotechnology and InGen
- Genetic engineering advances allow scientists to clone dinosaurs from DNA found in amber-preserved insects.
- InGen, led by John Hammond, secretly builds a large park on Isla Nublar to showcase cloned dinosaurs as attractions.
- The project is largely unregulated, secretive, and motivated by profit and technological optimism.
Key Characters and Visitors
- Paleontologists Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler, mathematician Ian Malcolm, and lawyer Donald Gennaro are invited to review the park’s safety.
- Hammond’s grandchildren, Tim and Lex Murphy, join the tour for diversion during their parents' divorce.
Park Operations and Systems
- The park is run by a small team with sophisticated computers, electric fences, and automated monitoring.
- Chief geneticist Henry Wu creates only female dinosaurs to prevent reproduction and adds a lysine deficiency to limit survival outside the park.
Escalation of Problems
- A series of mysterious animal attacks on the Costa Rican mainland lead to investigation and eventually point back to the park.
- During a preview tour, systems fail due to sabotage by computer programmer Dennis Nedry, who attempts to steal dinosaur embryos for a rival company.
- The electric fences go down, allowing dangerous dinosaurs to escape their enclosures.
Survival and Chaos
- The tour group is attacked by a Tyrannosaurus rex; several members are injured, killed, or separated in the ensuing chaos.
- Grant, Tim, and Lex struggle to survive in the wild, encountering both herbivorous and carnivorous dinosaurs.
- Malcolm emphasizes chaos theory, arguing that such complex systems are inherently unpredictable and uncontrollable.
Breeding and System Failures
- Despite precautions, evidence shows dinosaurs are breeding due to frog DNA's ability to facilitate sex changes in single-sex populations.
- The computer systems, power generators, and communication lines repeatedly fail or are sabotaged, compounding the crisis.
Rescue and Resolution
- Survivors regroup and work together to restore power, contact authorities, and defeat the remaining free predators.
- Costa Rican military arrives, and the park and its remaining animals are destroyed to prevent further disaster.
Ethical and Philosophical Themes
- The novel critiques scientific hubris, commercialization of biotechnology, and failure to consider long-term consequences.
- Malcolm delivers repeated warnings about the unpredictability of life and the illusion of human control over nature.
Decisions
- Destroy the park and all dinosaurs: Authorities and survivors agree Isla Nublar is too dangerous to be contained.
Action Items
- Immediate – Gennaro/Grant: Locate and count all dinosaur nests and eggs to determine escape risk.
- Immediate – Muldoon/Grant: Attempt to neutralize remaining dangerous dinosaurs using available weapons.
- ASAP – Tim/Gennaro: Contact the supply ship to prevent escaped animals from reaching the mainland.
- ASAP – Costa Rican authorities: Initiate bombing and quarantine of Isla Nublar.
Key Dates / Deadlines
- Park systems fail and chaos erupts over a single weekend site visit.
- Rescue and destruction of park occur within approximately 24–48 hours of the initial failure.
Questions / Follow-Ups
- Uncertainty remains about possible dinosaur migrations to the mainland.
- Survivors are detained in Costa Rica pending further investigation.
Recommendations / Advice
- Exercise extreme caution and oversight in future genetic engineering projects.
- Never rely solely on engineered “failsafes” against biological reproduction or escape.
- Complex systems require humility and robust external review before public implementation.