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Evolution: Change in Times - Chapter 4
By Hero(Raptormark
Everybody is so quick to believe that the world is ending… but so reluctant to understand that the world is changing.”
~Mark Laurence~
The passing months were hectic for everybody. Every sighting of a velociraptor had to be reported, and immediately the problem would be taken care of. To the surprise of many, though, most cases called in were about smaller bipedal lizards, said to have been about the size of a chicken. The biology department of the school, where most of the research on these changes was done, stated that the chicken sized lizards were known as Procompsognathus. Although for those who still were skeptical about there being dinosaurs roaming the earth, they were just featherless birds.
Many dead specimens were lining the science rooms of the high school. At the beginning of the whole affair, there were many requests made to the government asking for their assistance with study and research. Unfortunately very few requests were processed, and even less was pulled through. Out of those that were taken into action, Rocky Point’s was not one of them.
The town itself had looked like a ghost town. Civilians were afraid to walk the streets, and even cops became skeptical of their own awareness after the death of Officer Christ. The economy was shot. Small businesses were forced to close down due to the incident. In the eyes of its citizens, Rocky Point may never be the same quaint town that it once was.
“What I would like to know, though, is why we haven’t taken any action against these terror lizards? The sightings are minimal, now. Our records show that from early May to mid June reports have dropped seventy percent. Whatever we were doing is working.” Lieutenant John R. Richter spoke out over a crowd of over two hundred people, packed into an old storage warehouse which had been refurbished into the Suffolk County meeting hall. From the sound of his voice, he was not happy. “The terror lizards are destroying our environment. The common, everyday bird has been completely wiped out from Suffolk County. I believe we can use the lizards to account for that.”
“Excuse me, Lieutenant! Why do you keep referring to them as terror lizards?” A hand shot up from the crowd of the auditorium, a rather loud and deep voice following it. Jonathon Romanov stood, his seat being off to
the left and close to the small stage set for the speaker.
“Sorry son?” The Lieutenant asked, hearing the question perfectly clear, but not understanding the context of it.
“You keep saying terror lizards. Those things have a name, sir.” Jon snorted as if being insulted for the little critters.
“Oh? And what would these names be?”
“Procompsognathus Triassicus and Velociraptor.” Mark stood up next to Jon slowly, his voice ringing throughout the old warehouse.
“Procompsogwhat?” Richter chuckled slightly. He knew where this was going.
“Compsognathus was a small bipedal dinosaur, most definitely a scavenger due to its small size. A Velociraptor, though, is the one you should fear more.”
“Are you saying, kid, that dinosaurs are roaming long island?” Laughter started to rise from the crowd, fueling the Lieutenant’s comments. “Well gee wiz. We have ourselves our own Jurassic…” Mark’s sudden burst of anger cut off Richter’s rage of laughter.
“If what is out there aren’t dinosaurs, sir, then you god damn tell me what the hell they are? They fit the profiling of both the Compy and the Raptor. Don’t tell me that some fucking human research caused the creation of these god damned things.”
“Son… if you are trying to tell me evolution has occurred… then you best get out of my presence.” Richter snarled at the teen, his eyes beating at him.
“Lieutenant Richter… the child may be right.” A voice echoed from the back of the crowd.
“Officer Penbry… what a surprise. Need you add anything to this?”
“I have with me Dr. Neil Deame… he has something you should all hear.”
The veterinarian slowly made his way through the crowd, following Penbry as he pushed a few unmoving people aside.
As Neil passed by both Mark and Jon, he gave them an appreciative look. Upon reaching the podium, he sighed and began speaking.
“Earlier yesterday I was brought a barely living specimen of one of the creatures.” Neil paused, the lump in his throat growing larger as the entire crowd’s eyes were on him, and him alone. Neil was far from a public speaker, but what he had here needed to be said and he felt he was the one that needed to say it. “After a close examination of the specimen, I came across small puncture holes in the skin of the animal. Indeed, one of the small holes was plugged with…” reaching into his pocket, Neil pulled out a fairly large feather. The grayish color was worn, but the feather itself was fairly large, “… a feather.” After several gasps and murmurs from the crowd died down, he continued on. “Those creatures outside are indeed dinosaurs… and they have evolved from birds.”
Mark cringed at that ending comment. Oh doc, bad idea. Hands rose throughout the audience, many people standing to get better attention. The
Lieutenant stepped forward, his eyes searching for the person to choose to speak. He pointed towards a well dressed business-lady, a briefcase clinging tight to her side.
“You claim to say that we are seeing dinosaurs here in our time. How will they survive our environment… considering the fact that they lived in one much different from ours?” The lady asked, still standing until she received any answer.
“Well, it’s fairly simple. If the birds evolved back into dinosaurs, there must have been a reason for it… so within this evolution, there will be a change in dinosaurian instincts and living conditions.” Neil answered as sweat dripped from his forehead from the condition of his nervousness.
Another question rose in the lady’s mind. Forming it into her words, she spoke it, a slight sense of disappointment from the doctor’s answer in her voice. “Okay but… why have they changed?”
Neil stood there, his mind cranking and searching for the answer he wanted to give. He knew there wasn’t any logical answer he could give, but he figured he could give any one he could muster up.
Before an answer could be given, Mark stood up again speaking as if the question were directed towards him.
“Since the beginning of man’s time on earth, we have done nothing but destroy the environment around us. We took absolutely no consideration for nature as we lived our lives each day. Animals have gone extinct, and others endangered because of the way we live our lives. I can tell you… if god hath put us here, he had no intention on having us destroy his own planet.” Mark paused, awaiting some sort of reaction of out the semi-stunned crowd. He continued, drawing his attention to the Lieutenant. “This could be god’s way of cleansing the earth… of refurbishing its life and beauty.”
Jon looked up at Mark, stunned at his words. In all the time Mark had studied evolution, he had never associated it with god.
The entirety of the audience was silent, every mind in the building taking in the information they had just enveloped through Mark’s speech. The silence lasted until the loud siren from the nearby fire department rang through the air. Many people in the crowd jumped, frightened by the burst of noise. Others rushed to the doors and windows, wondering if the disaster could be seen.
The siren continued to blare until it finally died; the noise ringing in
Mark’s ear still shortly after. He continued to listen over the hustle and conversations of the large group of people. No fire engines. His mind came up with the answer he would have rather not be true. Hanging his head, he turned to Jon slightly and spoke softly, yet loud enough for his companion to hear.
“They all ready have sirens for the attacks…”
Jon shrugged. “Yea… their like fires
now, yet more frequent.”
Mark’s voice thickened and his eyes closed as he shook his head. “Humanity is no longer at the top of the food chain.”
7/20/2002 1:03:55 AM
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