Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

no dinosaur DNA was known to exist anywhere in the world. But by grinding up large quantities of dinosaur bones it might be possible to extract fragments of DNA. Formerly it was thought that fossilization eliminated all DNA. Now that was recognized as untrue. If enough DNA fragments were recovered, it might be possible to clone a living animal.
        Back in 1982, the technical problems had seemed daunting. But there was no theoretical barrier. It was merely difficult, expensive, and unlikely to work, Yet it was certainly possible, if anyone cared to try.
        InGen had apparently decided to try.
        "What they have done," Dodgson said, "is build the greatest single tourist attraction in the history of the world. As you know, zoos are extremely popular. Last year, more Americans visited zoos than all professional baseball and football games combined. And the Japanese love zoos-there are fifty zoos in Japan, and more being built. And for this zoo, InGen can charge whatever they want, Two thousand dollars a day, ten thousand dollars a day . . . And then there is the merchandising. The picture books, T-shirts, video games, caps, stuffed toys, comic books, and pets."
        "Pets?"
        "Of course. If InGen can make full-size dinosaurs, they can also make pygmy dinosaurs as household pets. What child won't want a little dinosaur as a pet? A little patented animal for their very own. InGen will sell millions of them. And InGen will engineer them so that these pet dinosaurs can only eat InGen pet food. . . ."
        "Jesus," somebody said.
        "Exactly," Dodgson said. "The zoo is the centerpiece of an enormous enterprise."
        "You said these dinosaurs will be patented?"
        "Yes. Genetically engineered animals can now be patented. The Supreme Court ruled on that in favor of Harvard in 1987. InGen will own its dinosaurs, and no one else can legally make them."
        "What prevents us from creating our own dinosaurs?" someone said.
        "Nothing, except that they have a five-year start. It'll be almost impossible to catch up before the end of the century."
        He paused. "Of course, if we could obtain examples of their dinosaurs, we could reverse engineer them and make our own, with enough modifications in the DNA to evade their patents."
        "Can we obtain examples of their dinosaurs?"
        Dodgson paused. "I believe we can, yes."
        Somebody cleared his throat. "There wouldn't be anything illegal about it. . . ."
        "Oh no," Dodgson said quickly. "Nothing illegal. I'm talking about a legitimate source of their DNA. A disgruntled employee, or some trash improperly disposed of, something like that."
        "Do you have a legitimate source, Dr. Dodgson?"
        "I do," Dodgson said. "But I'm afraid there is some urgency to the decision, because InGen is experiencing a small crisis, and my source will have to act within the next twenty-four hours."
        A long silence descended over the room. The men looked at the secretary, taking notes, and the tape recorder on the table in front of her.
        "I don't see the need for a formal resolution on this," Dodgson said. "Just a sense of the room, as to whether you feel I should proceed. . . ."
        Slowly the heads nodded.
        Nobody spoke. Nobody went on record. They just nodded silently.
        "Thank you for coming, gentlemen," Dodgson said. "I'll take it from here."

    Airport

    Lewis Dodgson entered the coffee shop in the departure building of the San Francisco airport and looked around quickly. His man was already there, waiting at the counter. Dodgson sat down next to him and placed the briefcase on the floor between them.
        "You're late, pal," the man said. He looked at the straw hat Dodgson was wearing and laughed. "What is this supposed to be, a disguise?"
        "You never know," Dodgson said, suppressing his anger. For six months, Dodgson had patiently cultivated this man, who had grown more obnoxious and