Introduction
By E.L. Bosse
The past of our planet seems to be an open book. We seem to show we know when life started, and how it developed, but it’s all really guesswork. We can see where the continents were, how the land was formed, and even some weather. But life, even at its most basic form, is unpredictable by definition. We know of animals today that push the boundaries of how we define life and how we see the world. There are animals that have behaviors that are so strange; they seem to bend the abilities of their bodies.
Yet we think we are so sure about how animals of the past work. Our guesses seem to be absolute, and theories are tossed like stones. The bigger it is, the harder it impacts. Are we so sure that T-rex was the dominant predator, unchallenged by any other dinosaur? What was the biggest animal to ever live? And how can we know how smart certain animals are? These are things we may never know.
Of the thousands of species of dinosaurs, few are actually known by the public. The famous ones are the biggest or strongest, like T-rex or Stegosaurus. But the title of smartest dinosaur goes to a kind of raptor called Troodon. It’s small, only four to five feet tall and eight to ten feet long. It’s a raptor, but with smaller claws, larger eyes, and a much bigger brain. Paleontologists say it was the smartest dinosaur to ever exist, as smart as dogs and wolves. They even had a third clawed finger that resembled a thumb. Now we know that they were probably pretty smart, they did have the largest brain to body ratio of any dinosaur. But we don’t know about these dinosaurs behavior. Unlike bones, things like tools or buildings don’t fossilize, so we have no idea what these little guys were capable of.
Because we know so little, but we think we know so much, the more outlandish ideas are quickly shot down by most scientists. So no one has ever suggested that Troodon, say, used tools, like a chimpanzee. Or that they had a complex social system, like elephants. Or even the creativity and curiosity of dolphins. But since we have no way to know, most people won’t risk their reputation saying something like that. Living on a planet that’s six point four billion years old, it’s a little strange to think we are the first and only intelligent race.
This is the story of how the human history was sculpted, and by the dinosaurs that did it.
Prologue
By E.L.Bosse. Narrated by a Troodon
Begin Transmission:
5 million years ago, our kind first appears in the fossil record. At this time, we are intelligent pack hunters, working together to raise our young and bring down large prey. Fast-forward 5 million years, and we have come a long way. Giant cities number in the dozens on each continent. They showcase skyscrapers close to 300 feet tall. In between these huge buildings move vehicles that look like a cross between a beetle and a flying vessal. On the outskirts of these huge cities are smaller, rural farming communities, which supply food for the masses. Unlike other raptors, we are omnivores, which means we can eat both plants and meat. We have sent explorers to Mars and have and small colony on the Moon. We call ourselves Krekatorians. And I have just made a terrifying discovery.
My name is Har to’ gra, and I have discovered the asteroid that will soon impact with Earth. At first there was widespread panic. My people had no idea what to do. Nothing like this had happened in our history. Their original escape plan was to move underground, but we lacked both the space and resources to keep the 500,000 Krekatorians alive there so long. The moon and Mars were the next subjected ideas, but neither could support so many lives in such a short amount of time. It seemed hopeless, and many didn’t know what to do with the next 25 years until impact. It’s unfortunate what may kill my people has my namesake. Asteroid Gra.
There was no way to stop this planet killing asteroid either. Conventional weapons like missiles and explosives would simply result in hundreds or thousands of smaller asteroids that would fall unpredictably across the planet. Even advanced beam weapons wouldn’t be able to completely destroy the 6 mile wide mass of rock and ice. Satellites were launched to try and use their own gravitational pull to change the orbit of Asteroid Gra, but they failed to affect its trajectory enough to make it miss the Earth. It only moved the impact site from Open Ocean to a small coastal area. Large mirror-like solar panels were also launched, in a hope they would melt the asteroid by reflecting the sun’s rays. They had no effect. Solar sails, sun radiation, and attaching rockets and other machines also failed. All of the possible solutions were only theories, and never tested, so my people were unprepared for this kind of disaster. Crews even volunteered to go to the asteroid and mine it to pieces, but the idea was quickly shot down.
Nuclear power and weapons were out of the question. Not only did our government and people vote to make using and owning nuclear energy illegal some 100 years ago, the risks simply outweighed the possible benefits. If we tried to launch a nuclear missile or a rocket loaded with the nuclear energy, and there was a problem with the launch, we could exterminate all life on the planet. Even if it didn’t, some life would be weakened, and probably wiped out by the effects of the asteroid. While it’s very likely we could find a safe way to launch this nuclear weapon, there was another problem. By the time the government passed the law that nuclear energy could be legal in this situation, the Asteroid was too close for it to do any damage. It would just absorb the radiation and cause even more damage on impact. A nuclear asteroid would cause unthinkable damage.
But the Krekatorian government and the scientific community held a secret from the public that just might save them. Time Travel. Discovered some 30 years earlier, they had sent probes and a few scouts to confirm what they thought. Reports of impossible things, like living extinct beings, and unknown futures proved it. Fearing a selfish being would try and use the new technology for his or her own benefit, they kept it a secret from all but the Krekatorians who discovered it. But now these same scientists have showed the technology to the government, and agreed that it was their last solution. The Krekatorian government released the information to the public, and of their plan to find a new home in the past or future. They began recruiting healthy young individuals to explore these times. Some never made it back. Those who did reported hostile worlds where no dinosaur could survive.
24 years have passed, and no time period has been found that could save the species. Recruits have almost stopped coming in entirely, and it seems more and more likely that the worst will come. I fear our species may be at its end. If you are reading this, don’t give up hope. There is still the Era of the Hu-
End Transmission
