Chaotic Slideshow - Chapter 06 (Patreon)

After the storm, the entire island, or at least the part where the Visitor Center was, was enveloped in silence. The last remnants of the storm clouds were being continuously pierced by the warm orange lights of the morning sun, while the animals that had sought shelter from the storm began to emerge, raising their voices in either triumph or grief.

And with the dinosaurs being so large, the sounds they made were also very loud.

Despite all that, as I walked through the corridor to the restaurant in the Visitor Center, my footsteps still echoed around. Despite knowing that, for now, I was the most powerful “creature” on this island, it still was a bit creepy.

I was probably influenced by my memories of the movie…

Arriving at the large hall, I was a little surprised to see that a table had been set for ten people in the middle of the room, with breakfast foods piled high, plated elaborately, and filling the room with their aroma.

Hammond was already seated at the table, with Ellie next to him, disheveled but marveling at the spread. Hearing my steps, they both looked up and smiled, though I could see that both smiles were rather forced. Hammond’s was because he realized I wasn’t exactly a journalist and would need to revisit how to handle me, while Dr. Sattler was still frazzled after everything that had happened yesterday.

“Good morning!” I greeted them.

“Good morrow to you too, Mr. Walker,” Hammond replied with a small bow of his head.

Ellie just smiled at me. “Morning, Tim!”

Taking a seat, I pulled the tray holding plump-looking waffles toward me and began piling them onto my plate. Seeing me so eager to eat, the other two also began silently filling their plates. However, before they could start their inquisitive questioning, judging by Ellie’s glances, the doors leading deeper inside the Visitor Center opened, and Virgo strode through, her hands holding the backs of the jackets of two people.

Both looked as though they had been drenched in a tsunami’s worth of water, then haphazardly dried. One of them was a black-haired, middle-aged man who looked a bit gaunt, with wide eyes that widened even further when Virgo stopped in a relatively wider space and released him. He immediately scampered around to see Hammond, Ellie, and me sitting at a breakfast-laden table, mid-bite.

The other was a woman dressed in some kind of Rambo-inspired outfit, complete with a bandana on her head holding back her unkempt hair. She was also silent, watching them while occasionally darting her eyes around, no doubt seeking escape routes.

Virgo stepped forward and bowed a little. “Sir, I found these individuals during last night’s storm, attempting to infiltrate the Center.”

I eyed the two people, having no idea who they were, so I glanced at Hammond and tilted my head toward the captured individuals.

This was, after all, his park.

Hammond got my message, elegantly put down his fork and knife, dabbed his mouth with a napkin, and turned toward our guests.

“Well, now, I wasn’t expecting other guests. And who might you be?” he asked, eyes roving over the two people currently sitting on the ground, with Virgo standing between the two of them like a vigilant lighthouse, her arm ready to reach out at a moment’s notice if they tried to escape.

Seeing as I didn’t even see them try, I suspected they had already tried a few times. Sadly for them, Virgo was too powerful for baseline humans, so every attempt was futile.

The woman just scoffed, but the man began to ramble and shout.

“You can’t do this! This is illegal! You can’t just detain people!” he exclaimed wildly, though he made no attempt to move away from Virgo. I pitied him a little, but not that much; if Virgo decided to capture them, I was sure they were not friendly.

Virgo reached into the pockets of her dress and pulled out two waterlogged wallets. “Chadwick, Miles, employee of BioSyn,” she read after opening one of them, casting the man into silence. Then she leisurely closed the wallet and opened the other one. “Cruz, Nima, no affiliation.”

She scoffed again and looked away a little, while Hammond’s entire body froze for a moment. “BioSyn again… How… unfortunate…” Hammond muttered, while Ellie and I watched the proceedings.

Mr. Chadwick chose this exact moment to find his courage. Or audacity, I wasn’t sure.

“You’re not going to get away with this! This is illegal! I want to speak to my lawyer!”

Nima just eyed the man with something akin to disgust before shaking her head, but staying silent. Something told me she was the more competent of the duo.

Hammond just hummed to himself before tapping his cane on the marble floors. “Why don’t you join our dear Nedry, and we can deal with all of you after breakfast, hmm?”

Virgo, understanding the unspoken message, lashed out with both of her hands and grabbed the collars of both people, bowed a little toward Hammond, then much deeper toward me, spun around, and began dragging the two of them out of the restaurant. Chadwick continued to yell, but Nima just crossed her arms and stared at them indignantly.

The moment the doors closed behind the trio, Hammond turned back to me.

“Where did you find her, young man?” he asked. “Frightfully competent. Frightfully…”

Ellie nodded emphatically. “And strong too…”

I just smiled with what I hoped was an enigmatic smile. “Oh, you know… here and there…”

Hammond snorted, and Ellie giggled. “Very clever, young man. Very clever…”

They then returned to their breakfast, Ellie slowly beginning to chat with Hammond about the dinosaurs and the plans for the park. Hammond answered equally quietly, the happenings of last night visibly having taken a toll on the man’s mood and exuberance.

Fifteen minutes later, the doors once again opened, with Virgo following behind the two sleepy and bleary-eyed grandchildren of Hammond. They were quickly seated, and Virgo began to make sure they had everything they needed. The kids were a little awkward at the beginning when they fully woke up and realized the “magical” woman was actually real and acting like a maid.

A minute later, the rest of the people stumbled into the restaurant. Dr. Grant looked alert and suspicious; Donald, the lawyer, looked like he had slept in his rumpled suit and had immediately thrown himself at the hot cup of coffee Virgo offered him. Dr. Malcolm was in a black tank-top, “subtly” flexing in front of Ellie, while eyeing the spread on the table, occasionally looking at me.

Following them, Muldoon and Ray soon also joined them, visibly tired, though Muldoon less so. I suspected that he was used to operating on less sleep due to his experience in the wild. They were thankful for the fresh food, and it took a moment for them to realize that it was all Virgo’s doing.

With an unspoken agreement, they didn’t talk about anything important while the children were eating, just occasionally commenting on the weather or asking Ray and Muldoon about the park and dinosaurs.

“Harding, his daughter, and Sorkin and her team are still on the island,” Ray commented between bites after the children excused themselves and were escorted by Virgo somewhere else to entertain themselves.

“I thought everybody evacuated?” Hammond commented, his eyes hardening.

I was just watching because my knowledge of the Jurassic universe extended to the first two movies, and every year that a new movie came out, the dinosaurs were always bigger, but the scientists were always promising, “We have learned from the mistakes of the past, so we super duper promise these ones won’t escape containment!” So I was totally blind as to who Sorkin was or what their deal was.

But just taking a guess based on the universe and the location, I would say they were a morally ambiguous scientist who liked to do genetic experiments and stayed behind because they were either in the middle of a critical experiment that sooner or later would escape and terrorize the island or the mainland.

I personally bet on the sooner.

Hammond grimaced. “Of all the people, she stayed behind? What in the blazes is that woman doing?”

Alright, that comment just raised my estimate of the presence of an incredibly dangerous genetic experiment.

I stared at them, took out my camera from one of my deep pockets, and pointedly (and very noisily) snapped a photo of the people sitting around the table.

Everybody flinched as if they had forgotten I was there.

I grinned.

Hammond sent me a look, while the others eyed me.

It seemed that with the knowledge that Sorkin and Harding were alright, Hammond decided it was time to question my august self.

“Ahh, Mr. Walker,” he started, his hands nervously gripping his walking stick. “Would it be a bother to ask some questions? You see, after last night’s kerfuffle, my guests and I are a bit perturbed about your presence…”

“And identity…” Malcolm added with a grin and wink at Ellie, who returned an awkward smile. “I mean, I realized you weren’t really a journalist, but I confess I have no idea who you are. Or maybe what…”

Grant and Donald just looked on passively, but Muldoon visibly tensed. Ray just started buttering a new toast.

I just continued to smile. Honestly, this is only the second time, but it’s still my favorite part of the whole experience. While yes, powers and all that jazz are amazing, blowing people’s minds was also very entertaining.

I took the camera and put it back into my pocket, a pocket that couldn’t visibly hold such a large object, right before their eyes as I leaned back in the chair. Then, with the same movement, I pulled out a golden apple, mostly to flex on them, and bit into it.

I wasn’t hurt, but the surge of energy it provided still cleared up whatever minuscule issues I had. Plus, it was rather juicy and sweet. Practically the perfect apple.

Ellie gasped. “That’s not possible! Metallic skin would be…” She fell silent, staring aghast at the golden apple.

“So, I assume you have questions…” I said between bites. “I’ll try to answer some of them. Though no promises.”

Malcolm was practically vibrating with excitement. “Alright! Then who are you, where did you come from, and just generally why? And how?” he asked, firing off a barrage of questions in the same breath, his eyes fixed on me and the golden apple slowly vanishing with every bite.

“Name’s Tim Walker, occupation: traveler. I travel.” I chuckled a little. “Go figure…”

Malcolm, obviously, wasn’t satisfied with that answer. “That explains exactly nothing of what we saw last night!”

“You mentioned chaos, Dr. Malcolm… let’s just say, my steps take me among chaos…” he said simply, then took another bite.

The crunch sounded rather loud in the silence.

Ian Malcolm blinked as he processed my cryptic comment. The rest of the group just blinked, trying to figure out what I meant.

Could I have said it clearly and spelled out for them? Yes.

Would it have been this fun? Absolutely not.

Malcolm’s eyes widened. “You couldn’t mean that…”

“Yep. Exactly.”

The chaotician looked back at me with awe mixed with fear. “How?” he whispered.

I just winked at him. “A lady needs to keep some secrets…”

Malcolm rolled his eyes, but before he could reply, Hammond interjected. “While I’m sure all of us are enjoying this fascinating exchange,” he began, his tone clearly showing he was, in fact, not enjoying it. “I still would like to receive a clear explanation.”

The rest of the people around the table all nodded with varying degrees of confusion. Poor Donald was supremely lost based on the look on his face.

BAMM!

Malcolm slapped the desk in his excitement. “John! This man… or whatever he is… claims to be capable of walking through the very chaos, the dimensions making up our universe!” he declared vehemently, his face shining as his brain was working full time. “I have no idea how, or why, but it is fascinating!”

“Oh…” Hammond gently exclaimed, surprised though still partially confused like the rest of them.

Malcolm turned back to me with eyes shining with fervor, and I knew I was about to face a rather heavy round of questioning.

An hour later, with Dr. Malcolm partially satisfied and some members of their little group even more confused, we stopped the meeting as Virgo returned with the children, notifying us that several phones were ringing.

Ray let out a hasty curse and rushed away. Muldoon mumbled something about checking up on the prisoners, leaving the children to excitedly talk with their grandfather, who then nodded to the rest of the group and herded them out of the restaurant. Donald drifted away to a small table next to a window, where he stared out forlornly and drank from the cup Virgo almost immediately served him.

Malcolm was busily writing on a few sheets of paper he had found, occasionally mumbling to himself.

I was then left with Ellie approaching me, dragging the reluctant Dr. Grant with her.

“Come on, Alan, I want to know…” she whispered, though it was loud enough for me to hear it.

“You can’t believe what he says… It’s impossible…” Grant rebuked her in a slightly admonishing tone.

“But you saw what he did…”

“I’m sure there are perfectly reasonable explanations–” Grant was about to finish when the two of them reached me, and he closed his mouth abruptly.

Ellie also stopped, her hand still gripping Alan’s arm. Whether for comfort or to prevent the man from escaping was not clear.

“So Tim! I was wondering…” she began, looking at him hopefully. “Why did you come here?”

“Very simple,” I replied. “This is the closest place one can interact with dinosaurs without visiting Jurassic Period and having modern plumbing and room service.”

I couldn’t really tell them it was purely random.

Her eyes widened, but before she could ask the obvious, I shook my head. “And no, I can’t take you to the Jurassic Period. I could take you to an apocalyptic world rebuilding from a devastating alien invasion if you want, though?”

“Why?” she asked, clearly thrown off by my comment.

Alright, me, time to make up some profound bullshit.

“The universe is vast, Dr. Sattler. This dimension is like a ship sailing in total darkness, only seeing other ships when coming close enough. If you don’t see the ship, you don’t know where it is. I’m a traveler; I step upon a ship and sail until I spot another one.”

I hope that sounded profound enough…

Based on the sparkles in her eyes, the answer was yes.

“Amazing!” she exclaimed, letting go of Alan and stepping closer to me in her excitement. “That sounds absolutely fascinating!”

“It has its ups and downs…” I replied with an awkward chuckle.

She opened her mouth but was prevented from saying anything by the PA system coming alive with Ray’s voice. “Dr. Sattler, Dr. Grant, and Mr. Walker, please head to the security room. I repeat, Dr. Sattler….”

As Ray continued to repeat the message, I motioned toward the door. “Shall we?”

“Yes!” Ellie declared, grabbing my arm and practically dragging me. “Do you mind if I ask some questions while we walk?”

It was phrased as a question, but I suspected it would be like kicking a puppy if I said no. “Sure, why not…”

Behind me, Alan Grant let out a sigh, while Virgo followed along silently.

Turns out we were called to the security room for different purposes.

Hammond wanted Ellie and Alan’s opinion on the dinosaurs they could see through the cameras, while he pulled me aside for a private chat.

We sat in the corner of the security room while Ellie and Alan gave commentary about the varied dinosaurs showing up on the screen, with young Lex and Tim watching with rapt attention.

The two of us sat there for a long moment, Hammond clearly gathering his thoughts and me semi-politely waiting for the man to start. Virgo was currently cleaning up after Nedry.

“If… my understanding is correct, you have access to knowledge that… surpasses what is currently in use here…” he began haltingly, as if the very words were hard to form, or maybe it galled the man to admit that going with the cheapest option was the wrong choice.

“I have some knowledge,” I admitted. “I’m not a font of infinite information, but I do have some talent with engineering and programming.”

Hammond let out a relieved sigh. “That’s capital. Would you be amenable to accepting a job?”

“You want me to upgrade your systems?” I reached up and began rubbing my chin thoughtfully.

“Well, yes,” the older man replied. “I promise to spare no expense…” he said with a chuckle.

I stared at the man and fell into thought. With my experience rebuilding in the Independence Day universe, I already had a good number of plans in my Tinker power, ready to go. Easy-to-build robots that could help me build more robots, or even facilities to help with everything. And while Hammond wasn’t the American government, he was still rich. Thus, if he was telling the truth, the resources I could play with would be significant.

The problem was that I knew for a fact that no matter what I built, it wouldn’t be enough. The crazy people that inhabited this world would sooner or later get bored by the normal dinosaurs and create bigger ones, more dangerous ones, faster ones, and even smarter ones.

Unless I planned to spend my remaining life here, constantly upgrading my systems, preventing containment breaches, and stopping mankind from playing god, there wasn’t much I could do.

“I want several things,” I told him. It might not be possible, but I still could try.

“Name it,” Hammond replied almost instantly.

“The entirety of the genetic and scientific research related to cloning and the work you are doing here.” Before he could oppose, I continued. “I swear I won’t share it with anyone in this world.”

He frowned, but settled down, clearly realizing that it wasn’t like he could prevent me from sharing it elsewhere.

“What else?” he asked, his grandfatherly persona almost gone, watching me with hard eyes that showed that he knew how business worked.

“Pay for my time. I accept precious metals and gems. No cash.”

Hammond nodded but clearly waited for my next demand.

“And,” I grinned in anticipation. “Allow me to publish my article.”

Hammond’s eyes widened. “Absolutely not! We’re not ready for that publicity!”

I shook my head. “John, John… your competitors clearly know what you’re doing here. There is no way they’re not racing to replicate it and be the first to announce a live dinosaur-themed park. And in the world of media, being second is basically equal to being forgotten.”

If I couldn’t stop the people of this world from doing crazy experiments on lethal lizards and reptiles, I might as well try to point them in a better direction.

“Give me a week to start setting things up, and then we can publish the article. You will get better support from your shareholders, and the public will know that you were the first,” I offered.

Hammond stared at me for a long time, clearly going over the pros and cons, and the price he would have to pay.

I decided to point out something important. “Plus, you can use this entire event. Despite unprecedented weather and internal sabotage, your security held, and now you’re investing even more to make sure it stays secure in the future. And if someone couldn’t show security this effective, then they weren’t worth opening a park with dinosaurs…”

I clearly omitted the fact that the only reason there were no casualties was sheer luck and that I stopped what was fated to happen. But the general public didn’t need to know that…

It seemed to convince Hammond, as I saw the dangerous glint of professional business greed enter his eyes.

Bragging about his own project, while also showing off to his enemies? Worth its weight in gold.

He held out a hand. “Deal, Mr. Walker.”

I accepted it with a grin. “Excellent.”

We shook hands while the rest of the team was still watching the screens.

“Where do you keep your raw materials for building and maintenance?” I asked almost immediately, slotting in the Tinker – Robotics power, with ideas already surging through my head.

Hammond quickly showed me where the warehouse was on a map, then rushed away toward his office to make calls. I told Virgo to keep an eye on the others and headed for said warehouse.

On the way, however, I stopped near one of the fences, taking in the lush greenery and the still-fresh rain smell permeating the air even though the sun was high in the sky.

“Hey, Chaos,” I called out. “I have a very stupid idea that would cause untold chaos, annoyance, and probably even devastation, but would also be incredibly funny. Can I permanently sacrifice something that you gave me?”

For a moment, nothing seemed to happen, then, like a bubble popping, a blue screen appeared in front of me, eldritch signs squirming around.

[Please, state your request: ____ ]

I grinned. “How about taking the goose and setting it up as an immortal protector of the island and dinosaurs? Forever bound to them, but always able to respawn if killed or destroyed?”

The screen blinked for a moment, then it changed.

[Accepted.]

I fell to the ground as I screamed, as something was ripped from my soul, causing me pain that was hard to describe.

I don’t know how long I writhed and screamed, but when I finally opened my eyes, I was staring at the dead, soulless eyes of an ordinary-looking goose.

It looked down at me, and I could see in its empty eyes that it considered itself god and me its plaything; then it opened its beak.

HONK!

Right into my face. Then it turned around, flapped its wings, and rushed into the greenery, soon vanishing, with only the faint echoes of its honk echoing in the distance.

“Fuck…” I cursed as I started to pull myself up. “That was a horrible idea…”

Who knew getting rid of something that was attached to one’s soul would be painful?

I didn’t.

Well… lesson learned, I suppose…

I staggered to my feet, letting out a ragged breath, supporting my weight with the fence, and while I felt physically shit, cursing inwardly for eating that damned apple just to show off, I was also laughing.

Let’s see how they handle an immortal goose hell-bent on annoying them while protecting its charges…

After cursing the world with the existence of the ‘Goose’, I headed for the warehouse. There, I started with a simple power source, then from there I started building bigger and better tools, until I could build a bigger power source, and so on.

As soon as I had that, I used all the spare parts the park had for the computer systems to put together a better and faster computer. This was followed by a small server and router, including a firewall and other security measures.

With that connected to the Park’s system, I could begin the operation of turning this into an actual functioning park.

How long that would last, I didn’t know…

During the week I asked Hammond for, the workers slowly began to return, and the reconstruction and cleanup also started.

Muldoon happily reported that the Velociraptors were much more docile after my trashing. So was Rexy…

Dr. Malcolm left the island with a solid goodbye to the others and a healthy handshake to me, as he proudly declared that his next paper was going to change the world.

I wished him the best of luck and tried not to think about what I could have possibly inspired in the genius mathematician…

I was in the middle of overhauling the security, upgrading the equipment, and dictating mile-long lists to the helpless assistant Hammond foisted upon me. Dr. Sattler and Dr. Grant occasionally checked on me, but otherwise spent most of their time talking with Hammond and the scientists, helping him refine the park.

The grandkids were running around happily, mostly pestering Alan with questions, which he suffered through with pained looks as Ellie giggled next to him. Virgo was making sure everybody was happy, and occasionally reporting to me in the hopes she had made some mistake and I would punish her.

So far, the biggest mistake she had made was that instead of a slice of lemon, she brought a slice of lime for my sparkling water.

Truly devastating mistake…

But seeing her puppy-dog eyes, I told her, as a punishment, to go and scout out Dr. Sorkin and see what unnatural things she had created.

Turns out, she had created the most natural things on this island, as hard as it was to believe. Dinosaurs without any modification or genetic tampering. Just pure essence of the Cretaceous Period, per the notes Virgo had taken.

“Make sure they vanish,” I told her one night as the two of us stood in my room, looking out the window dramatically.

Virgo bowed behind me. “Yes, sir.”

“Destroy all genetic material. We have enough killer dinosaurs around; we don’t need ones without modifications.”

“Yes, sir,” she repeated, then with silent steps left the room.

I let out a sigh. I hated the fact that I gave the order to kill “innocent” “animals,” but the island was not ready for something like that. And if the theme held true, Sorkin definitely made sure they were efficient killers.

Not exactly theme park materials…

The next day, I blatantly ignored the uptick in gossip among the workers and scientists as they discussed that Dr. Sorkin had a mental breakdown over some missing material.

I was more interested in reading the new screen in front of me.

[Prevented the contamination of the natural world by prehistoric creatures! 1 x Bronze Advantage Familiar Ticket]

I was a bit happy and wary that I was so spot on with Dr. Sorkin, so instead of dwelling on that, I tore the ticket.

A galactic-sized waterwheel spun in front of me, and the scabbed-over spot where the goose had been was replaced by a new familiar.

[Carpenter Ants (Common Familiar): This massive ant colony is made up of incredibly skilled, hardworking, and talented ants that are masters of carpentry. As long as they are provided with the wood and related materials, these ants can build a house in a single day and expand their colony by recycling the wood waste. If the colony grows large enough, they could even build a town in a day.]

[Golem Worker (Uncommon Familiar): This is a crew of iron golem workers with skill in Intermediate Mechanics and a knack for labour. The workers are tireless and can work on projects without break, but cannot engage in combat. The number of workers you can summon is dependent on your maximum energy, but the minimum is 10.]

Honestly, the choice was rather hard, but in the end it came down to flexibility and range. While the ants could only work with wood, the golems were good with anything, so I could use them in any world. I selected them and felt my familiar space grow a bit as they appeared, standing in uniform lines. I could see fifteen of them, which told me that my energy was a bit above the minimum.

Good information to have…

With the addition of the golem workers, my task of upgrading the island started to take shape much faster. Granted, the people on the island stared, but as they already worked in a place where dinosaurs were real, they quickly got used to the silent golems.

We started with the harbor and the Visitor Center, making them much more robust and resilient against the weather and probable attacks by rogue elements or dinosaurs. Thankfully, the Tinker power extended to construction robots too, so I only had to build those. We also built underground corridors connecting the two with an underground train line. We hardened the Visitor Center, made sure the satellite system was better for communication, and then used my robots to basically rebuild the entire fence and security system.

The tour vehicles also gained upgrades. Instead of those small cars, I turned them into self-driving cars that were technically robots connected to the central system. They were the size of a minibus, with large windows allowing people to see much more.

Naturally, the sound and communication systems also received upgrades.

It was fascinating work, requiring me to delve incredibly deep into my Tinker power and make use of everything that I had learned in the previous world. Altogether, the robots weren’t amazing, but building them to be very specialized allowed me to extract more knowledge from the skill than I thought was possible.

In the middle of all that, I also took the time to print out the best pictures and write an article about the island. Hammond then made sure it was published in all the available newspapers.

While working on the island, I occasionally turned the TV on to see what the world was thinking, but it was basically a choice between people thinking it was a hoax and those demanding the thing be shut down and calling it an abomination against God and the natural order.

I didn’t really disagree with them.

Sadly, Pandora’s Box had been opened, and there was no way to close it…

The island received some visitors, some discreet, some arriving with pomp and an entourage that looked like a circus, but thankfully they were all handled by Hammond.

I had the Storm Elemental patrol around the island, so anyone who tried to infiltrate that way was quickly caught. Those just excited to see dinosaurs were turned away due to the weather abruptly changing, but those who came with wicked intentions were captured.

The security team soon expanded, with Hammond setting up an entire group to take care of all the people my Storm Elemental captured.

As I had to keep out the Storm Elemental and Virgo so much, my energy reserves were also growing, increasing my available golems from 15 to 20.

All in all, it was a pleasant three months that I spent on the island.

Hammond made sure that the food was high-quality, the company was pleasant, and the challenge of using my limited Tinker ability to its fullest satisfied my craving to show off.

As I waited for Hammond to arrive with my last payment, I sat in my chair on a balcony built at the top of the Visitor Center, overlooking a large flat area of land inside the park where several peaceful herbivores could be seen grazing.

The setting sun was casting everything in orange hues, while Virgo was standing behind me, ready to provide anything I needed.

[Due to your actions, you made Isla Nublar a better and, most importantly, safer place! 1 x Random Gold Traits Ticket!]

[You revealed the existence of Jurassic Park to the public ahead of schedule, becoming a household name around the world! 1 x Random Bronze Skill Ticket]

[Seduced a scientist! 1 x Random Bronze Ticket]

“Hehe…” I chuckled when reading the last one. Dr. Sattler was a rather curious woman, and well, one thing led to another…

I rolled the last one first. A small bronze bicycle wheel spun in front of me before a new addition to my soul appeared.

[Big Hat Logan’s Big Hat (Common Item): Dark Souls - The titular big hat of Big Hat Logan, a legendary sorcerer. Wearing this uncomfortably large hat on your head makes it slightly easier to study magic.]

Well… I suppose there could be a situation where it turns out to be useful. Sadly, I currently had no way to learn magic, so it was rather useless.

I quickly tore the next ticket, hoping for something better.

[Intermediate Programming (Uncommon Skill): You are an experienced programmer in all languages; you code considerably faster than the average programmer and can do so in any programming language you encounter.]

I couldn’t help but grin. The programming knowledge granted by Tinker – Robotics seamlessly meshed with the new power, granting new possibilities for the future.

Then the last ticket. I was already happy with the programming skill, but I hoped for something good.

I wasn’t disappointed.

[Untraceable (Rare Trait): You are very hard to track; cameras mysteriously stop recording when you step into the frame, your footprints get covered by the natural elements, and normal people just cannot remember which way you went when someone asks them. Very good for a serial killer or a paranoid person.]

Almost perfect for my usual modus operandi.

As I felt the power settle in, I heard cautious footsteps and the sound of a walking stick hitting the ground.

Glancing back, I saw Virgo gently taking the box Hammond was holding and escorting the older man to me. She put down the box on the small coffee table, then began serving Hammond’s tea, just as he liked.

The older man, visibly tired, raised the cup, took a sip, and let out a relaxed breath.

“Thank you, dear girl. Excellent as always.”

Virgo bowed and stepped back, ready to assist if needed.

“Your final payment,” Hammond grunted, waving toward the box. “All the genetic and cloning knowledge we have gathered, yours to peruse.”

I pulled the box closer and opened it. One half was filled with old (to me) hard drives, while the rest held stacks of notebooks, printouts, and one or two books. I nodded, closed the box, and gave it to Virgo. She would take it back to her space and protect it there. Much better than my pockets.

For a few minutes, the two of us sat there in silence, watching nature and dinosaurs frolicking in the setting sun’s light, before Hammond let out a breath. “I assume that you will be leaving…”

“Yes…” I replied. Even if my power wouldn’t move me from this world, I would want to leave the island. It was exciting and interesting, but I was getting a bit of cabin fever.

“I see…” he murmured. “I wouldn’t say it was a pleasure, young man, but I appreciate your contribution to the world of science.” He said nothing else before standing up and looking around from the balcony, before nodding at me and leaving the balcony slowly.

I chuckled a little and dismissed Virgo. The Storm Elemental and the golems were already back in the Familiar Space; now I only needed to wait for the system to acknowledge my desire to leave.

[The traveler has initiated the travel. Would you like to leave this dimension?]

I frowned. That was different than last time. Still, I had little choice but to answer. “Yes.”

The screen changed, eldritch writing crawling all over the blue screen.

[Booo! You didn’t solve this dimension’s problem. One random active curse becomes permanent. If you don’t have a non-permanent curse, you must roll for one.]

“Fuck!”

I felt the curse sink into my very being. I was now forevermore menacing…

[Would you like to roll?]

Not seeing any other option, I said yes again.

The now-familiar wheel appeared, with countless slices containing small pictures. Before the wheel began to roll, a small screen appeared.

[This dimension has been marked. If the traveler acquired controllable dimensional traveling capabilities, the coordinates for this dimension will become available.]

The wheel then began to spin, slices going by fast, before it slowed down, stopping at a new slice. Leaning closer, I saw it contained a stylistic image of a city, surrounded by squiggly lines. It was completely unfamiliar to me.

Then the dreaded rainbow light appeared in front of me and swallowed my whole body before I could even yell, leaving the balcony of the Visitor Center on Isla Nublar completely empty. By the time the cleaning staff arrived to clean up, there was no trace of my presence.

Thankfully, I was spat out on a grassy field, but I still fell on the ground, heaving heavily.

“Here, let me help you…” a young voice said as a pair of arms reached down and helped me to stand up. Looking around, the first thing I saw was that I was in the park of a small town, though based on some of the dresses and tech I saw, I was somewhere in the 2000s.

As I was looking around, the person who helped me began to dust off my clothing. Looking at him, I saw a young man in a brown suede jacket with a zippered hoodie under it, looking at me with a small smirk at the corner of his mouth.

“You good?” the guy asked.

I checked my body and felt nothing out of place, so I nodded. “Yeah, thanks for the assist.”

He chuckled. “Dimensional travel for beginners is always hard on landing.”

“Well, yeah….” I began to reply, then fell silent as I realized what he had just said. Meanwhile, he was just looking at me with that stupid smirk and boy-band hair. “Who are you?”

The smirk widened a little, but he didn’t reply.

I let out a sigh.

Figures…

His smirk, if possible, widened further.

Still silently staring at each other, I tried to figure out who he was. Or what he was.

He clearly ignored my Menacing or Larger-than-Life. Knew about dimension travel and was experienced with it. This was a small town in the 2000s…

I spent a few minutes thinking, but I came up with nothing.

All the while, he stared at me, with that stupid smirk and knowing look.

Like he knew… exactly…what… I was… thinking…

My eyes narrowed. His smirk increased in intensity.

“Who are you?”

“Someone who is here to tell you to turn around,” he answered playfully, though I could hear the undercurrent of threat. “This is not a place for your kind. So I would like to ask you, politely mind you, to leave my garden.”

I looked at the guy, and how despite my unusual arrival, nobody else was looking at us, and then shrugged. “Sure. Why not?”

I’m not about to argue with something that could read my mind.

“Wise choice,” he answered. It was hard to decide what the answer was for: my thoughts or what I had said. “Maybe one day, we shall meet, but today is not that day…”

As he finished, a screen popped up.

[Forced Reroll!]

The wheel appeared, and a new slice was selected surprisingly fast. I had a few seconds to observe the image on it - a line drawing of a city - before the rainbow light swallowed me again.

I was spat out in another park, my knees hitting the solid ground, though this time it was night. To my luck, or maybe misfortune, there was someone already there who was also ready to help a person in need.

“There, there, young man, be careful…” a very deep and reassuring voice spoke as they helped me up.

Thankfully, the park was pretty nicely illuminated, allowing me to observe where I had landed and the person who helped me up. A tall, black man, wearing a gray cardigan of all clothing choices. Outside of the park, I could see modern cars parking, and even the city lights were LED instead of the old orange.

“A bit early, but I suppose that doesn’t really matter…” the man said in a jovial tone.

I closed my eyes and let out a groan. He chuckled. “Come now… Don’t say you didn’t expect this. The Universe is infinite in its glory. There are infinite worlds protected by infinite beings.”

“Like this one?”

“Like this one,” the older man nodded. “While in an ordinary situation, I wouldn’t mind your presence, things have been set in motion that would be negatively affected, no matter how well-meaning you are for a traveler.”

“Don’t suppose we could discuss this over a coffee?”

“You hate coffee.”

“Damn.”

Naturally, a screen appeared.

[Forced reroll!]

The wheel appeared and began to spin. Then the older man simply reached over. “Here, let me help you…” and touched the wheel. It didn’t alter the speed of the spin, but as soon as it slowed down, he saw a logo appear.

He had just enough time to make out a strange mask made out of several parts, white on black.

“Good luck!” the other man exclaimed, and I could hear the smile in his voice.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to reply as the rainbow light swallowed me again. The last thing I heard was the other man chuckling.

I was spat out of the swirling rainbow portal in a very familiar location.

Washington, DC, in all its glory. Right, exactly where my rented house used to be back in the Independence Day world. Well before the aliens destroyed it.

I appeared behind the house, which looked a bit older, maybe a decade or two by my estimate compared to what I was used to, but still essentially the same.

Instead of getting up, I just let out a deep, bone-weary sigh and fell backward on the unkempt, dry grass. The sun overhead was shining with extreme intensity, and I could feel my Photosynthesis power going into overdrive.

That was something…

Then, just to mock me, a new screen appeared.

[You met ???. Twice. 1 x Random Divine Ticket]

[You met XXX. Twice. 1 x Advantage Gold Choice Ticket]

Watching the chance for a Divine ticket vanish into thin air as if an invisible hand erased it from existence, I let out a sigh. Because of course I had the rotten luck to run into something like that. At this point, I didn’t even want to think about who they were.

I lazily reached into my pocket and pulled out the ticket, holding it up between me and the sun. Then, channeling my annoyance, I selected the trait category and tore the ticket.

A half-pure-white and half-pure-black marble wheel appeared with golden writing on it and began to spin.

[Ecchi Protagonist (Rare Trait): Apparently your fate has changed; you are much more likely to encounter situations such as accidentally walking into someone changing, being placed into a dorm of attractive people you are interested in, getting locked into a closed room with a hot person, etc.; your path in life seems to be influenced by the Ecchi genre.]

[Helltaker (Rare Trait): "You wake up, dreaming of a harem of demon girls." Infernally aligned/Demonic beings find themselves more attracted to you, and it is easier to earn their affection.]

Well, that was a shit roll. Both of them aimed at somebody who wasn’t me. With a deep sigh, I chose the second one, as it affected fewer people and beings. Despite what my inner pervert was whispering in my ear, while it was funny to see it on the screen, living with the first one would probably be pure hell.

I spent a few more minutes lying there, just soaking in the sun, before getting to my feet slowly.

“I suppose it is time to figure out where I am…”

The back door was open, and I saw a relatively sparse room. Thankfully, there was a discarded newspaper on the table. I picked it up and leafed through it. The year was 2007, and based on the date, it was somewhere around the summer, explaining the dry grass and heat.

Otherwise, I couldn’t recognize anyone on the paper. Whitmore wasn’t mentioned, so I wasn’t in my original world. Plus, I was sure that DC was destroyed in the initial salvo, including my house.

“Let’s see… celebrity scandal, sports cheating, more useless news, war in the Middle East…” I muttered as I looked through the newspaper before letting out a sigh. “What the hell was that logo?” I tried to remember. Sadly, the whiplash of meeting those strange beings and the constant travel between dimensions jumbled things a little.

I closed my eyes and tried to remember back to it…

I don’t know how long I sat there on the old, moth-eaten couch when an old, grouchy voice jolted me out of my meditation.

“Who the hell are you, boy?”

Opening my eyes, I saw an old lady staring at me with enough spite that I could feel the heat from it.

Strangely enough, it was enough to jolt my memories for some reason. The logo I saw resurfacing in mind and my brain recognizing it.

I stood up and sketched a hasty bow. “Sorry about that; the heat was a bit much…”

“Get the fuck out of my house!” the old lady yelled, visibly looking around for some kind of weapon.

I bowed again and headed for the back door.

“If I see you again, I’m callin’ the cops!”

I waved the old lady goodbye and walked around the house, stepping onto the sidewalk, hands in my pockets, walking toward the Potomac River.

“Let’s roll out…” I muttered to myself as I took in the sun high in the sky.

The big question was which continuity I was in. In some, I would be squashed in moments, but in others, I would have a chance to survive. I doubted the Barrier of the Wind King would be able to withstand Cybertronian designs.

At least more than once…

I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and scratched the side of my head. “Now… where could I get information about transforming alien robots?”

It took me a moment to remember that Huntington was actually almost next to the Pentagon. You know, you live there, so it starts to meld into the background…

Even if I couldn't find anything, it was a good starting point.

Starting to walk again, I walked out to Huntington Avenue and raised my hand. To my delight, a taxi slowed down and stopped.

“Where to, boss?” the man asked as I climbed in, then continued to talk. “You were lucky; I was just heading back from my lunch break.”

I settled in. “You know the Pentagon Mall?”

“Sure thing, boss.”

The taxi began to drive, and I settled back into my seat, looking out the window and trying to figure out what to do next.

A/N: Well, this is the end of the Jurassic Park. He tried, but in the end...It doesn't even matter how hard you try...

A bit of punishment for "failing".

Also who can guess who those two guys were? One of them easy and the other is a bit harder...

Also the picture of the goose from the Untitled Goose Game protecting Isla Nublar just made me laugh hard, so it happened.

Next one: Transformers (??? Wordline)