After the ship carrying him returned to the mainland, Wu was locked up in Cagerock prison, considered the safest in the world. No one had ever escaped from there. He was kept in constant isolation, except for interrogation. Nobody could see him, not even family members.

But money could buy anything, and John Hammond knew this well. After releasing some bribes he had received permission to be able to carry out an interview with the prisoner. The prison director had chosen to go along with him, obviously on the condition that no word was made of that exception to the rule.

Hammond didn't like enclosed spaces, but he was willing to make an effort. However, the further they went down, the harder it was for him to stay calm. Cagerock Prison was an underground facility with different levels of detention, and Wu was locked up in the very last one. The white walls and pale lights gave a sense of sickness to the environment, and the guards armed with machine guns did not improve the atmosphere.

When they finally reached their destination they found the road blocked by a heavy iron door.

"He can't carry objects inside" the prison director told him, and a guard handed him a bag. Hammond obeyed and quickly emptied his pockets, putting their contents back inside the bag. While he was doing it, another guard was examining him with a strange device, probably to verify that he had no hidden objects on him.

"Don't get closer to the glass than half a meter. Don't look him straight in the eye and don't stay in there longer than necessary. If the prisoner's temper shows any signs of aggression, exit immediately. Don't be a hero: at the first hint of panic or fear, rush out, immediately"

"I'll keep that in mind, director"

The man stared at Hammond with a searching gaze. "What exactly do you hope to get from him, Mr. Hammond?"

Hammond felt an acrid taste on his tongue. In fact, he didn't quite know the answer either. "I don't know" he admitted. "Maybe an answer, or a clue to... stop all this"

"Then let me tell you, waste your time" said the manager. "There is no cure, it is now confirmed. Several scientists reviewed Mr. Wu's research. And any of our interrogations have confirmed this thesis. Even the truth serum didn't give any results"

"I know, I've read the news and reports"

"So why are you here?"

"Because I still want to try... I have to try"

The director looked at him with a pitiful look. It almost seemed that she pitied him. He didn't say another word: with a single movement, he inserted the magnetic key into the appropriate slot and the door opened automatically.

"From here on you are on your own, Mr. Hammond. Security will watch her with cameras and microphones, but she won't be there physically" he told him. "I want to warn you: don't fall into Wu's traps. His is too brilliant a mind to be taken lightly. Don't think you can play an equal game with him and never think you understand what his soul hides: you will only be destroyed"

Hammond felt a drop of sweat make its way down his forehead. "Yes, director. Thank you"

The warden and the guards moved to let him in. The old tycoon entered him, and immediately the door closed behind him.

He was now in a tiny room, probably no larger than five square meters. The white walls looked even paler and the dim light gave the room something even sicker than the rest of the prison. The room was divided in half by glass; on Hammond's side were a couple of chairs. On the other hand, there was only one chair, but also a cot and a toilet for needs. The glass seemed very resistant, but it was open in some places: a long strip two centimeters wide on the floor, to pass the tray with the food, and a half centimeter hole in the center of the glass to be able to talk to the other party. And on the other side, sitting on the cot, there was a person who Hammond knew very well.

Wu hadn't looked up right away when he entered: he had kept his head down, probably figuring it was another interrogation. After not being called for a while, however, he became suspicious and finally looked at his interlocutor him, ending up mirroring himself in two well-known old eyes. "John!" he exclaimed as he jumped to his feet.

Hammond gave a half smile. "Henry. Nice to see you" he said. "I remembered you wore short hair"

"And I remembered you had a straighter posture" Wu replied back.

Hammond smiled. It seemed that nothing had changed: for a moment he saw himself in the old workshop where Wu worked when he was employed by him, with all his bizarre machinery and his technical staff, and he who went to greet him every day that he had the availability to have a coffee with him...

But an instant lasts an instant. The next second the two were back in the prison, divided by a glass, and both had aged and had tired eyes.

"Eh, old age, Henry… what can I say about it" Hammond said as he sat down in one of the chairs.

"A nice nuisance, I guess"

"Don't laugh. You're next"

"No, I don't think I'll live that long"

The smile on Hammond's face faded, but he didn't go out entirely. "Right. Current circumstances are... complicated "

Wu sat down across from him. "Why are you here, John? Do you also want to try to convince me to provide you with a cure?"

"No"

"Because I don't mean... wait, what?"

Wu looked shocked. Hammond almost laughed at his expression. "I don't need the reports and research from a group of scientists to know that we can't create a cure. I know you, Henry, and I know what your style is. You make your creations perfect. You don't create bacteria or viruses, you create real life, and life cannot be destroyed with a vaccine. The Mother Cell, even if it infects creatures like a virus, is not a virus, it is something else, a mutation that cannot be reversed. I'm wrong?"

No, he wasn't wrong, he could tell with certainty from his friend's face and from the light in his eyes. Wu didn't know what to say. "Do you still remember my style?"

"I would never forget that, Henry. You were my friend, and you still are"

"If it's not for the cure, then why are you here?"

"Because I want to understand"

The smile on Hammond's face vanished completely, replaced by a serious expression. "Why? I just want to know this. Why did you do that? What did you want to achieve?"

Wu was silent for a second, then it was his turn to laugh. "Why did I do it? Well..." he answered between a laugh and the other. "... because you asked me that"

Hammond's eyes widened: "Me?"

"Do you remember what you asked me years ago? When you still governed Ingen and were a big player in the world market, and were we still thinking of focusing on hybrids?" The light in Wu's eyes wasn't sinister or accusatory; it was as if he were telling a simple anecdote from his youth. "You asked me to fix the world. To fix those things that humanity was ruining. I accepted because it was also my desire to fix the world. But we were both wrong, John. We didn't see the full picture, we only saw a small part. We were like a plumber who continually replaces a broken pipe, without however repairing the valve that puts too much pressure inside that pipe and ends up breaking it. Tell me, John: how could we fix the world if we didn't fix humanity first?"

Wu shook his head with a vigor he didn't seem to possess. "We had deluded ourselves that it was enough to replace existing life with hybrids capable of withstanding the changes caused by humanity, but we were wrong. Life was never the problem. It has always been us. Humanity is too blinded by its privileged position compared to other species to realize its enormous mistakes. Consumerism and the craving for modernity cloud our judgment, and so we let capitalism suck the planet's resources away from us like an ever-starving tick. No, John, replacing life with hybrids would only have postponed the problem, because humanity would have found a way to destroy the new environment as well, and so someone else would have replaced it again, and so on in a vicious circle. There is only one way to break this chain: stop trying to fix an already repaired world, and instead focus on fixing the cause of its continuous break: humanity itself"

Hammond listened intently, and somehow found himself agreeing with Wu. He himself had thought similar thoughts in the past, every time he confronted that worm of his nephew Ludlow. "But how can intelligent dinosaurs change humanity?"

"Didn't you hear me? The problem of humanity is its mentality. We are too blinded by our illusory privileged position with respect to other creatures that we do not in the least calculate the consequences of our actions. The meetings, the demonstrations, the parades for the environment... are all jokes. Why worry about pollution if it only kills other species, species that are too undeveloped to protest? And so, for any scientist screaming about the dangers of climate change, politicians downplay it, capitalists ignore it, and people just slump on the couch and limit their actions to comments on social networks. This behavior of ours has been our undoing. We are on the verge of an unprecedented climate catastrophe, and if nothing is done we will become responsible for our own extinction. But humans would never have changed on their own. The only way for humans to change was if they faced an enemy against whom all their weapons, all their wealth, all their flags and all their beautiful words were useless" Wu seemed to breathe deeply. "You gave up years ago, John, but I didn't. I was not willing to give up and let humanity cause its own extinction due to acts of absolute imbecility and presumption. I therefore decided to create someone who would show humans how stupid and bullying they were. Look around you, John: intelligent dinosaurs haven't been around for a month, yet the world is already changing. Now that other species can finally assert their rights, humanity is forced to calm down and step off its false pedestal to mingle again with the rest of life on the planet. And one step at a time the change will be more and more evident, and our mentality will change with the world, and finally humans will remember that they aren't the only inhabitants of Eden, but that this planet belongs to the other species as much as to us!"

The room fell silent. Hammond didn't know what to say. Wu, singing about him, seemed to want to say no more. "So you did all this..."

"Because I believe in equality, and because I wanted to fix the things that generations of inept and foolish humans have ruined. By fixing humanity, I have been fixing the world. That was what we wanted, John. It is what you asked me"

"I've never asked you to create a monster!"

"Monster? 'Monster' is a relative term, John. For a canary, a cat is a monster. The problem with us humans is that we are too used to being the cat"

"But don't you realize what danger you might have caused!?" Hammond's voice rose suddenly. "Who tells you that humanity will settle down? Who tells you they won't choose to eliminate this new threat instead? You may have handed the world over to a fate even worse than what awaited it!"

Wu frowned. "I am aware of that. I know that there is the possibility, unfortunately quite high, that humanity will try in vain to anchor itself to erroneous ideals. But I still decided to do what I did for three reasons" he replied, then lifted a finger. "First, there is no worse fate than extinction, and that was what awaited us if we continued with our consumerist and capitalist lifestyle. The climate catastrophe that awaited us would have wiped out all of us. So, whether it be for the dinosaurs or the climate, humanity would have ended up with extinction anyway, so we might as well bet on destiny that it had at least a chance to end well ". He held up a second finger. "Second, I created the Mother Cell on purpose so that it adapts to every situation and favors intelligence and wisdom. Consequently, that Sobek will adapt against any weapon that humanity sends against him and will always be one step ahead of it. Furthermore, precisely because he is wise, he will not be the first to seek war with us and will try to avoid a global conflict. If he ultimately decides to exterminate us... well, it will mean that even the wisest of the wise will determinate that humanity doesn't deserve to live, so humans can only blame themselves, just as they could only blame themselves for climate change"

Hammond nodded to both points. He was not a scientist or a philosopher, but he was able to follow that line of thinking. "And the third point?"

Wu smiled. "Well, it seems obvious to me. It's because I believe in humanity"

Hammond was surprised by that latest statement. He literally clashed with everything Wu had ever said! Seeing the dismay on his face, the doctor hastened to explain: "Sorry, I expressed myself badly. I didn't mean that I believe in all humans. There are many pieces of shit in this world that by dying would only do others a favor. However, most humans aren't like that. There are many examples of kindness and love, but they are too weak to shine and defeat the obscurity of the oppressive capitalists" he explained. "This is the fate that I have dreamed of: lord Sobek, with only his existence, will bring a radical change to this world. Consumerism and capitalism will lose their power and long-oppressed ordinary people will finally rise up and create a more just and equitable world. Not the perfect world, of course, but at least a better world. A world where our obsession with power and wealth will finally wane, giving way to justice and equality between all species that will finally coexist in harmony. And eventually the sun will rise on a grateful planet, no longer threatened by the evil capitalists, and it will be the dawn of a new day. I want to believe that humanity, with the help of Lord Sobek, will be able to create this world. And I believe it because... that's what I want to believe"

Hammond felt his heart skip as he heard those words. 'That's what I want to believe'. They weren't random words. They were the same words that he, Hammond, had said to Wu earlier, when he asked him why he was convinced that it was possible to save the planet using hybrids, and he had replied the same way. "You remembered that"

"I would never forget that, John. You were my friend, and you still are"

Another repetition, another quote. Hammond didn't know if Wu was playing with him or was serious, but that sentence warmed his soul. "Yeah… we're friends" he whispered. "You know you won't be able to see the world you dream of, right?"

Wu nodded. "Yes, I know. I have always taken it into account. I knew I should have died, people want a scapegoat. But even if I won't be able to see the world I dreamed of, everyone else will be able to do it... if humanity makes the right choice, and I believe it will"

"Don't you even have a little regret?"

"No. I'm sorry I can't see the world I worked for realized, but I don't regret sacrificing my life to save everyone else's. Before being a geneticist I am a doctor, John… and that's what doctors do. They save lives, no matter what the price" Wu shook his head. "Many scientists are convinced that we humans are just parasites, an infection to be destroyed, a cancer for this planet. But I don't believe it, John. I want to believe that we humans are only organisms that have remained at the first step of the food chain for too long and that consequently have forgotten what it means to maintain the natural balance. If you put rabbits on an island without predators, the rabbits devastate it because of their constant eating of plants. We humans have spent so much time not having to worry about predators that we delude ourselves that we can put ourselves on a pedestal and therefore forget what the true meaning of coexistence with other species is. And in the same way I want to believe that it is possible to remind us. So I don't regret having to die at all, because I'll die for something I believe in"

Silence fell between the two for a full minute. Then Hammond spoke. "You know… I'm happy. Because you haven't changed" he said. "Despite all these years, despite everything that has happened, you have remained the same scientist that I considered to be one of my best friends. I'm happy with this"

"Thank you, John. I don't know if that's a compliment, but to me it is" Wu replied with a smile.

Hammond stood up. "I got what I came for" he said. "I wanted to know if the man who created the Mother Cell was still the friend I knew, and I find out that he is. I may not approve your actions, Henry, but I understand them". A tear fell from his face. "In a nutshell... I'm happy to have talked one last time with a great friend"

A deep breath emerged from Wu's nostrils. "I'm happy too. You haven't changed either, John, even if you think otherwise. In you I still see the energetic man who thought he could save the world, even though you have tried to suppress him all these years. Perhaps, with what is happening, that man will emerge again... maybe you just need the right incentive". Wu seemed to speak more to himself than to Hammond. "Won't you attend my trial?"

"No, I won't do it. We all know how it will end, and I… I'm too old to watch a friend die" Hammond answered.

"Yeah..." Wu muttered, then looked up and for the first time Hammond saw tears on his face as well. "I too am too old to be able to hold a friend's gaze while he watches me die"

"So... this is goodbye, Henry"

"Yes, John. But at least I can tell you... thanks for coming"

The eyes of the two men met one last time. Mirroring each other's eyes, they both saw all the moments, good and bad, they had spent together. Every time Wu had shown Hammond the fruits of his labor, every coffee shared during breaks, every time Wu yelled at Hammond for not providing enough funds, every time Hammond made amends by doubling the required funds, the joy when the Indominus rex was born, the horror when he fled, the pain when they parted... and the happiness, however obscured by sadness, at having found each other one last time.

Then Hammond turned and headed for the door. He wouldn't have held up any longer. Unbeknownst to him, at the same instant Wu also gave in and turned, staring back at the cell wall. Both eyes shed tears of joy mixed with pain.

Hammond stayed a while longer stopped in front of the door. He felt the temptation to turn around countless times, and Wu felt the same, but neither did, because they both knew that if their gazes met again then Hammond would never be able to get out of the jail, and that wasn't what neither the old tycoon nor the doctor wanted.

Finally, Hammond nodded to the camera. On the other hand, someone clicked the magnetic lock and the door opened. Hammond walked out, leaving behind a Henry Wu that no longer had any regrets.

As he walked away, Hammond was joined by the prison warden. Seeing his face, the man shook his head. "I told you it was a bad idea. You didn't get the answer you were looking for, did you?"

"Oh, no, on the contrary" Hammond replied. "I had obtained it, and I'm happy with what I discovered"

And under the bewildered gaze of the director Hammond walked down the long corridor, made of white walls and pale lights that smelled of death, but strangely his posture seemed straighter and his way of walking was more confident than when he arrived.