Prey

“We think we know what we are doing. We have always thought so. We never seem to acknowledge that we have been wrong in the past, and so might be wrong in the future. Instead, each generation writes off earlier errors as the result of bad thinking by less able minds—and then confidently embarks on fresh errors of its own.”

Crichton introduces what he sees as one of humanity’s greatest weaknesses. Technological breakthroughs are so exhilarating—and the potential financial profits are so great—that wisdom and caution are often jettisoned in a heedless rush. Each generation thinks they have learned enough to use the care their predecessors did not. Each generation is usually wrong.

“But then, things never turn out the way you think they will.”

From the outset of the novel, Jack’s worldview is obvious. He consistently reiterates the part uncertainty plays in any plan. This can apply to his unlikely role as a stay-at-home father, his wife’s venture into the desert to help create the swarms, or the unpredictability of evolution. He trusts in meticulous approaches more than in confident hypotheses.

“I thought there was something about a mother’s caring that a father could never match. Julia had some connection to the kids that I never would. Or at least a different connection.”

Before he began staying at home with his kids, Jack had a romanticized notion of Julia’s innate superiority as a parent. As a full-time parent, he begins to learn that her parenting style is not inherently superior to his own. The real Julia is a good mother, though, which is what makes her erratic behavior more noticeable when she begins to change. Later, he will be relieved to learn that Julia did not change her behavior willingly or experience a psychotic break: She was being controlled by the particles.