[maxlybbert]

I've never doubted it was meant as an attack on Michael Crowley, but Crichton wasn't the first storyteller to insult a real person. From over-the-top portrayals of whoever happened to be the US president when a book or movie was written (e.g., the "difficult president" referred to in Harry Potter), to more personal attacks, there's a long history of writers trying to prove the pen is mightier than the sword. Some of the attempts end up in Literature classe, like portions of Dante's Inferno.