30 - A RUBICON
image [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/d9de44dc-4f01-43af-8fb0-126ee0e2ecb6/dftcj1u-eff77b9c-adcc-4b87-8928-3fd794dec1ed.jpg/v1/fit/w_828,h_1094,q_70,strp/robert_muldoon_by_devilkais_dftcj1u-414w-2x.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9MTY5MCIsInBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcL2Q5ZGU0NGRjLTRmMDEtNDNhZi04ZmIwLTEyNmVlMGUyZWNiNlwvZGZ0Y2oxdS1lZmY3N2I5Yy1hZGNjLTRiODctODkyOC0zZmQ3OTRkZWMxZWQuanBnIiwid2lkdGgiOiI8PTEyODAifV1dLCJhdWQiOlsidXJuOnNlcnZpY2U6aW1hZ2Uub3BlcmF0aW9ucyJdfQ.ujs2r6Rx0dQIei4yGp1Vk0WP-FnUrk5WrrVSdnJOqdU]
A portrait of Robert Muldoon as described in the novel, by Devilkais on Deviantart.
There is a peculiar recurrence in the early history of Jurassic Park. Almost every inflection point in this turbulent phase inevitably lends itself to contrasting interpretations. Lyrical praises of InGen and its protagonists, and the opposite deconstructive criticism, have been frequently cited. Another dichotomy in discourse and commentary on the matter, however, is that of the "great man" theory of history, pitted against systemic interpretations. (1)
For better or worse, there is just no doubt that InGen featured several larger-than-life personalities. No balanced account can overlook these personalities as mere products of their circumstances; all the same, no insightful analysis can let itself be devoured by the magnetism of individuals.
Ironically, striking this happy middle ground evokes an under-appreciated quote by none other than Karl Marx himself: people make their own history, but not under conditions of their own choosing. (2)
In the confusing days leading to the establishment of the endorsement team, Muldoon was certainly determined to make his own history.
He had been absorbed, and initially placated, by Hammond's acquiescence to his demands for serious military hardware to bolster the security of Jurassic Park. Feeling like he'd successfully drawn a line in the sand, Muldoon had busied himself negotiating the acquisition of a first batch of his coveted "sauropod guns”. (3)
Now, however, Muldoon was getting worried. He understood - correctly - that while the appointment process for the endorsement team would determine the immediate future of Jurassic Park, the divergent priorities driving the appointment process risked producing an incoherent assessment.
As far as Muldoon was concerned, closing shop now was preferable than persuading the investors to forge ahead, and cause an even bigger disaster down the line. Jurassic Park would have to open safely, or not at all.
He wasn't likely to tell this to Hammond's face, not in so many words. He could, however, reach out to someone he knew to be harbouring similar feelings.
Harding had been severely more shaken by the ordeal than Muldoon had.
This was not due to a lack of direct experience with injuries, animal attacks, or death. But Harding's arrival was far more recent than his peers', and the Morales incident was an early blow to his confidence.
Mentally, he was not in a good place following Hammond's departure for the United States - if Muldoon’s diaries can be relied on for that sort of information. Harding himself has shied away from direct comments.
Sensing an opportunity, Muldoon quietly sought out Harding's support, bolstering his colleague’s resolve all the while. There was no question that they shared one fundamental desire: to protect Jurassic Park against all eventualities, even if that required saving it from itself... or from John Hammond, if need be.
They also understood they had a critical window of opportunity.
With the investors' legal representatives mired in their eventually successful recruitment of James Oak and appointment of a fiduciary, and Hammond away from the island, there was a vacuum that Muldoon and Harding could fill.
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Outside from the geneticists, nobody had more direct experience with the dinosaurs than the two of them. In their view, this made them uniquely qualified to select competent personalities for the endorsement team.
It must be clarified that neither Muldoon nor Harding had any formal authority to suggest or appoint anyone. Here, however, Hammond's own preferences were backfiring against him. InGen's lack of formal structure and proper procedures, and the delicate state of the project - almost complete, but nonviable without continued investment - created a uniquely volatile mix.
If Muldoon and Harding put forward their own names to the lawyers, and they were accepted, then what other authority was needed? Money had the final say, as Hammond himself had told them many times. And right now, money wanted reassurance.
Muldoon and Harding intended to provide that reassurance - but only in a way that also yielded a real, actionable assessment of the viability of Jurassic Park and its operations.
Not even Hammond could openly oppose such a move... provided, of course, that it worked.
Muldoon was never a man to take chances. To strengthen their case, he told Harding, the two of them would not suffice - they needed a third man on board. They needed Henry Wu.
There is no question that Wu was the InGen employee the investors held in the highest esteem, even more so than Hammond himself. Wu had delivered the miracle, after all, and in the days of struggle before InGen could produce a viable embryo, it was Wu’s technical brilliance that Hammond pitched to potential investors over and over.
As a result, Wu’s opinions carried a great deal of weight; more than he himself realised at the time, perhaps.
Ultimately, this is a testament to Muldoon's clear-headed analysis of the environment around him. Yes, Wu's technical and scientific brilliance was undeniable, but in a way, it was beside the point here. More importantly, Wu had emerged victorious from InGen's internal fight precisely because he best understood the financial underpinnings that made Jurassic Park more than just a pipe dream.
Long before the lab started producing viable dinosaur embryos, Wu had figured out how to string investors along; how to reconcile their aversion to risk, with the dizzying prospect of cloning dinosaurs. How to indulge the fiscal-quarter-driven mentality of finance, without simply forgetting about the impossible-to-compress time required for scientific discovery.
That was exactly the quality Muldoon and Harding wanted to leverage. But for Wu himself, the situation wasn't so clear-cut as that, and he didn’t respond to Muldoon’s inquiries right away. Even though time was of the essence, he needed to think.
For all its cutthroat brutality, at least the competition between geneticists at InGen had a crystalline clarity. Wu had outmaneuvered Sorkin and others, in the pursuit of his own career ambitions, as well as in the race to actual results.
This all happened within the framework Hammond had set. Wu rose above the rest because he knew how to play Hammond’s game.
Now, he was being asked to put those skills to use outside of the game. In a way, he was being asked to use them against Hammond, for the very first time.
Typically, to defenders of Henry Wu, this is the point of his personal and professional maturation; an assertion of independence from Hammond, in an effort to do what is right. As apologetic as the argument sounds, it is not entirely without merit: it’s highly probable that Wu faced a daunting prospect, at this moment in time.
Whatever else may be said about him, credit must be given to Wu for correctly understanding that financial backing was no longer the sole requirement for Jurassic Park to function. It was necessary, yes, but not sufficient on its own, not anymore.
The game had changed. Even if Hammond was successful, and Jurassic Park got off the ground, that would do the project little good if it really was unsafe, and the park met with future disaster.
This pragmatic consideration is likely what ultimately drove Wu to agree to Muldoon’s request. Together with Harding, they would make common front and present their own candidates to Cowan, Swain and Ross.
There is no doubt that Wu's decision to throw his weight behind Muldoon and Harding would have future consequences for the internal politics of Jurassic Park.
But for the time being, Muldoon had what he wanted. The forthcoming candidacies would carry behind them the full support of InGen's most critical and most talented human assets. All that was left to do was to actually identify these candidates.
As it happens, he had just the names in mind.
Footnotes:
(1) I really don’t see how Jurassic Park would escape this type of debate, when no other topic in real life apparently has. Some people will always focus more on the personalities at the heart of the events, and others will claim that what actually matters is the way systems and incentives shape human behaviour.
(2) Stuck with me ever since I saw it quoted in Adam Tooze’s The Wages Of Destruction.
(3) That’s very much not gone away, in case you were wondering.