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We don't want to change the Future. We don't belong here in the Past. The government doesn't like us here. We have to pay big graft to keep our franchise. A Time Machine is finicky business. Not knowing it, we might kill an important animal, a small bird, a roach, a flower even, thus destroying an important link in a growing species.
Travis says this to the travelers when he explains the risks involved in the journey to the past. The statement shows that he is aware of his responsibility and the need to protect the timeline. His words indicate that he respects the past, the seriousness of the venture, and that he knows the past should not be violated. He is aware of the dangers, will do his best to make sure that no creature is accidentally destroyed, and feels a great weight of responsibility. He needs, however, to convince everyone on his team to understand the responsibility in the same way. One wrong step can change the entire course of history.
Still, Travis admits an ethical failure. He acknowledges that the company bribes government officials to maintain the franchise. The government dislikes what the company does, perhaps as a matter of the risks it involves, and Travis nevertheless participates in the business. He may only be an employee, but he ignores the implication that the first step in his responsibility to the public might be that he should not engage in the business at all.
We can't take a trophy back to the Future. The body has to stay right here where it would have died originally, so the insects, birds, and bacteria can get at it, as they were intended to. Everything in balance. The body stays. But we can take a picture of you standing near it.
Lesperance says this to Billings and Kramer while asking if they want to take a trophy picture with the Tyrannosaurus they killed. This statement shows Lesperance’s consideration and concern for preserving the natural order of things. He reminds the hunters of the degree to which they must be responsible for their actions. Their presence, above and beyond killing an animal whose death by natural causes or accident was imminent anyway, cannot disrupt natural processes, including decomposition. They may be hunting for sport, but, according to Lesperance, they nevertheless must respect the natural ecosystem. This ethical responsibility for maintaining the natural equilibrium forms a driving theme throughout the story. The hunters, he notes, can bring nothing back from the past, save photographs.
Still, Lesperance’s motivations are not entirely ethical. He, like Travis, works for a company with questionable goals and behaviors. He may insist that they are ensuring “balance” following the hunt, but balance is not his objective. It is instead to offer opportunities to kill an animal without repercussion, either from distortions of history or government involvement.
