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Leviathans Re-Written (Prologue)
By Vader
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In Summer 2001, I began work on an idea I had that was ultimately dropped in order to carry out another fan-fiction I had planned called "JP3 NOVEL". Now, I have set to work on completing this work, trying my absolute hardest. I have spent alot of hard work and scientific research on this, so please comment and tell me what you think.
-Vader
PROLOGUE - PART A: Reports
Dr. Drakon sat in had wooden chair, which was scared will all sorts of scratches, carvings, and chips that had happened to it over the years. He shifted in his seat, folding his fingers together and resting his hands on the desk before him, sighing. He glanced over at the clock on the wall as it ticked away, the seconds going by in the silence of his office. Well, it would be any time now. But until then, he could relax a bit.
He reached over to the corner of his desk and took his room temperature beer bottle and pouring it into the ice filled glass sitting on the coaster in front of him. The drink sizzled as Drakon put the bottle down, looking out the window. It was still blazing hot outside in his Arizona home. It was absolutely torturous in the summertime here, but his child certainly did not seem to mind.
Raising the glimmering, golden liquid to his lips to take a sip, Drakon watched with his smile as he small son sat playing outside on the porch, playing. They had taken the kid to Los Angeles when Drakon had to go on a business trip. While they were driving through the town, his son has seen the display of sculptures of mammoths sinking in real tar with deadly saber-toothed tigers surrounding it at a nearby museum. He had begged them and pleaded to go to the museum, where he became absolutely enthralled with the animals . . . just like Drakon had when he was a boy.
Drakon looked back down to his desk, sitting his beer down and pulling out the drawer next to him. Inside were several files neatly stacked on top of one another, chock full and overflowing with different papers inside. Drakon searched through them and pulled the third file out, slapping it on top of his desk and closing the drawer. He opened it, immediately being stared in the face with dozens of reports having to do with the Brazilian government.
There was suddenly a knock at his door and his wife slid it open. "Hon, Mr. Lintino is here to meet you," she told him with smile, wiping her sweaty brow. That reminded Drakon that he would have to get a fan for the kitchen like he already had for the living room and dining room. He nodded, smiling back.
"Send him right in," he replied, quickly shoving the file he had been viewing back into his drawer and leaning back in his seat. His wife pulled back, allowing his visitor to enter. He was sort of a stout man, obviously Italian, with a black mustache. He wore a large smile, putting out his large hand to shake Drakon's. "It's never nice to finally meet again, sir," Drakon smiled. "Pull up a seat!"
"It is good to see you again as well, Mr. Drakon. I guess this was a pretty important meeting in order for you to have me flown out here once more," Lintino said, grabbing one of the wooden chairs from the corner and sitting it on the opposite end of the desk from Drakon.
"Oh it is important, I ure you. Are you still planning of the trip to the congo for gorilla studies?"
"I sure do and I really can't wait. I've bought all of my gear for the expedition and am completely ready to face the challenges."
"Well, Mr. Lintino, I've brought you here to inform you that there is a much more worthwhile expedition waiting for you. In fact, its not just an expedition - its a career. It's far more meaningful and fulfilling that studying apes, not that apes are necessarily bad creatures."
"It's not as if we are only going to study apes. We also want to try and travel over to the savanna to observe some of the lion prides they have there."
"Even more fulfilling than that, my friend. About two years ago, I began a project elsewhere, ultimately leaving it to others to carry out since I needed to care for the needs of my family. Yet I still fund the project, as it still goes on as we speak."
"Exactly what are you talking about?"
"I don't really want to tell you now. I'd like to take you to the project tomorrow, on a comfortable flight to the sight of this going-on. Would you accompany me?"
"I'm afraid I can't. I'm going to be leaving for Africa tomorrow. There really isn't any way I could-"
"Mr. Lintino, trust me. You are going to jump at this offer once we reach our destination, I guarantee it. If you don't, I'll fund your entire trip to Africa at a later date. I'll even promise you that."
"I can't ask that of you - It would be extremely expensive to fund my trip."
"I'm offering it, Mr. Lintino. It must show you just how confident I am. Will you accompany me?" Lintino sat there, contemplating, scratching the back of his neck as Drakon looked at him expectantly with smile, awaiting his decision . . .
PROLOGUE - PART B: The Evolution Factor
Ian Malcolm stood in a large auditorium at a podium. The waxed wooden floors reflected
perfectly the lights on the ceiling. A large banner was streaked across the back of the facility that stated: "Go Los Angeles University Stallions!". Rows and rows of benches were placed before Malcolm with several eager students listening to his lecture. As usual, Malcolm was wearing all black - black shoes, black pants, black shirt, black die, and black leather jacket. He had lost some weight in the past years and was a bit thinner. He was very tall, taller than anyone else in the room.
"Life abounds everywhere," Malcolm spoke, "From the sea, to the land, to skies. There are millions of different species that cover our globe. Twenty-thousand species of fish, three-hundred- fifty-thousand species of plants, and over nine-thousand species of birds. There is endless variety all over, and the one question that people ask about it is a simple one: ‘What is the origin?'
"Past and present there have been many interesting theories about evolution. Years of study put into the subject reveals one thing, the - substance of evolution. That is adaption. Many claim the animals we see today have evolved from the earlier ancestors such as dinosaurs, apes, and others. Many to not offer a realistic view of this, that these animals simply evolved and that is all there is. No explanation. No reason. They evolved so they could become what they are today. This brings up a number of different questions. And all of them remain unanswered. Correct?"
Several people in the room nodded. Malcolm shook his head.
"Wrong. I am here today to make one thing perfectly clear to the audience. Adaption is the key to evolution. Let me set for you an example. Let's say that a mammal lives in a desert. It is the normal four legged creature, somewhat like a small bear. It eats only ants that live in small wholes in the ground. This would create a predicament for the mammal, and he would have to find some way of reaching these ants. As the mammal searches for ways, it's brain capacity expands and it adapts itself to become a bit smarter to find a tool of some sort. The mammal ends up using its snout to stick into the small whole and lick the area in hopes of getting a snack. It gets a few and then as a routine, everyday it comes back for more. As the animal does this more and more, it stretches out it's snout to get as deep as it can get. This is the thing that really proves adaption as the core of evolution. The mammals body eventually becomes adapted to the situation. It works in the same way as coming hair - come your hair a certain way for a long while and the hair finally tends to shift in the way you comb it. We find adaption at work all around us - as we are educated, as we learn."
Suddenly, the hand arose in the audience. A young, good-looking man of about twenty had been taking notes and now Malcolm could see he must have a question. "Excuse me, Dr. Malcolm. Would you apply this same principle of adaption to the prebiotic soup?" Malcolm was about to answer but this young man cut him off. "I don't think so. The whole idea of the exact beginning of life on earth an evolution is absurd. It attempts to explain the beginning by using the concept of lightning and ultraviolet light striking the atmosphere of nitrogen, hydrogen, and carbon formed in ammonia and methane. Then water vapor, sugars and acids developed. The theories of this prebiotic soup go on to say that over time, different elements were mixed together and combined to produce proteins and nucleotide, which later formed nucleic acid - like DNA."
"You know your stuff, kid," Malcolm nodded.
"I'm not finished. A fact that was later established is that life can only come from life. Today, we do not see newborn babies appearing out of nowhere. No, life can only be conceived through other life forms - the mother and the father humans. It is impossible for life to slowly form from non-life. And the odds of these different elements being mixed together to form new things is astronomical on its own. It's just like looking at a house and uming that a punch of wooden boards got blown about by the wind and stacked together to form a house. Any one who would believe that would be shipped to a mental hospital. Every house had a builder, and the entire creation has a builder - God.
"Let me tell you a little story. For years, scientists have searched for ways to prove this theory. And you know what? They finally did prove that these elements could be mixed together to form new molecules. They had certain chemicals represent the elements and they mixed them together and it worked!"
"Yes, that's true. I'm not sure why you're speculating this theory, then," Malcolm replied.
"But there is a catch. In order for them to make that work, it took a human being with high intelligence. They could take all these chemicals they used and make them represent something, but they couldn't figure out who the human represented. Well do you know what I think? There is a creator. Not just with this theory but with all the absurd theories of evolution it is true - we did not form because of adaption, we formed because of a creator."
"What is your name, kid?"
"Justin O Connel."
"Well, Justin, your little speech does not rule out the fact that God used evolution to create the universe."
"Yes it does. Let me explain. Do you mind if I refer to the Holy Scriptures? You do obviously believe its from God, now acknowledging the God created the universe."
Malcolm slightly smirked and eased back. "Be my guest."
"In Genesis, the first chapter, it gives a lot of information of just how the earth was created. It puts all evolutionists in shame if I may read some versus. At Genesis 1:20 is says, "And God went on to say, ‘Let the waters swarm forth a swarm of living souls and let flying creatures fly over the earth and upon the face of the expanse of the heavens.' And God proceeded to create the great sea monsters and every living soul that moves about which the waters swarmed forth according to their kinds and every winged flying creature according to its kind. And God went on to see that it was good.'
"So as you can see Dr. Malcolm, God created every animal according to its kind. Read on in Genesis and you will find that it continues to use the words "according to its kind" in relation to creating. There is no room for allowing one kind to slowly develop into another kind. God created each and every kind in distinct groups. It's like nobody would think of a cat evolving into a dog. They stick to their kind.
"Now, you may ask if that rules out the evolution of humans. Yes it does. At Genesis 1:26, it says, ‘And God went on to say ‘Let us make man in our image according to our likeness and let them have in subjection the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and the domestic animals and all the earth and every moving animal that is upon the earth.'' Dr. Malcolm, it would be extremely hard to believe that Man evolved out of animals that wouldn't be as intelligent as him and would be in subjection to him. All these other animals weren't nt species. Man, the nt species, could not have evolved out of them. Man was created in God's image, not any other animal.
"There is a creator, and its pointless to deny it. There was no evolution involved, and its pointless to deny it. You are right that adaption happens all around us, everyday. But adaption is not the key to evolution."
Everyone in the room was silent. They were all staring at this impressive young man. Malcolm finally took the opportunity to say something, seeing as nobody else was.
"Well, Justin, I have a hurtle to throw at you. What of the finds of feathers on dinosaurs. It is now a fact that dinosaurs had feathers. Don't you, as many people, find that proof of evolution?"
"Not at all," Justin said, shaking his head. "Couldn't there be some ancient, extinct creatures with feathers? So dinosaurs had feathers. That doesn't prove anything. If birds have beaks like turtles do, is that proof that turtles evolved from birds? No. Evolution is wrong. It's all wrong."
The bell rang. The supervisor that was in the room spoke up, "Okay, kids, time's up. Thank you very much, Dr. Malcolm, for coming and giving us this presentation."
"It turned out to be Mr. O Connel's presentation than it was mine," Malcolm smirked. Justin over heard the comment and glanced over at Malcolm. "You're pretty bold, kid," Malcolm nodded. He left the room.
"I have to get to an appointment, John," Malcolm told the supervisor as he was walking out. "I'll see you later." In a matter of moments, all were out of the room except Justin O Connel.
Justin walked over to the window with his backpack and peeked through the blinds. Outside, Malcolm got in his black Mercedes quickly and drove off. Justin smiled. Seeing Malcolm leave for an appointment brought back the memory of his flight to Brazil. He gasped, looking down at his watch. He still had a half an hour to reach the air port. He darted off to get to his car.
PROLOGUE - PART C: The Journal of Justin O' Connel
February 15th, 2001
Today, he jungle is misty and beautiful. Everywhere I looked, creatures were everywhere - wether they flew, crawled, or swam. It was amazing. Everything teamed with life. There were no boundaries to the imagination. Which makes me begin to doubt what I saw today.
As I hiked through the foliage, I came to a small clearing. On the border of this clearing, under the brush, was a nest with about five speckled eggs in it. They were an unusual color for reptile eggs - at least that's what I ume because of the way the nest was built. It was in the shade, where it was cool, but the eggs were still warm. I felt them, rubbed them. They seemed so fragile. It was new life.
But the reason I doubted that I saw this is because there was no sign of parents. I waited for several hours and no nurturer ever came to take care of the nest. It was so odd that there was no parent. I felt a strong compelling to take the eggs back to my hut to take care of them. But I am here to observe, not to interact. I wonder, just wonder if they will survive after they hatch.
February 16th, 2001
I returned to the sight of the nest. The eggs still haven't hatched. They seem to be warmer though, and because of this, I held an egg up to the light that was darting through the canopy. I saw the shadow of a form that resembled a baby lizard.
Astounded, I carefully placed the egg back into its next. At this point, I began to examine the bundle of things that sheltered the babies - the nest itself. I broke off one of the small utensils that had been used to put it together. At a casual glance, it would look like a blade of grass - which would make sense for a reptile nest. But instead, I realized that it was twig. It looked like it had been broken off from a tree. Some dead leaves were scattered on it. It was incredibly perplexing.
Suddenly, two small lizards came dashing up to the nest from out of the bushes. I watched as they sniffed the nest and then examined it just as I had been doing. In the blink of an eye, they both went for the same egg, jaws wide. They knocked heads and then turned to each other and growled. One nipped at the others neck, and the other angrily swung its head at the other's feet and made it trip.
As the two small lizard fought, the egg that they were fighting over suddenly broke open behind them. Red goo stretched out from the cracks in the egg and the top of it was pushed off my a small hand with three fingers and small claws. Afterwards, a small head popped out to examine the brand new world it had came into. Its large eyes darted around. It was indeed a reptile, just as I had suspected.
Then, other parts of the egg started to fall away. Now, I saw the entire body of the quiet animal. A soft ring of down surrounded its neck. It was truly extraordinary. It seemed impossible, for I have never seen a reptile with down before.
As I continued to study its features - its feet with big claws, its long snout, its whipping tail, - the dueling small lizards stopped and sniffed the air. They whirled around to see their food had hatched. They screamed and began to run. But the baby lizard that had hatched quickly ed up one of them in its jaws and chewed it.
My God, it was an unusual sight. But since it was getting dark, I decided I would return tomorrow. And that is what I will do.
February 17th, 2001
I came back to the nest to see the baby reptile fully alive and kicking. It sniffed its fellow babies, which were still unhatched, inside their eggs. He looked very curious but still seemed to know what the eggs were and that they would hatch. It was just a matter of waiting.
The day wasn't as productive in the field as it was in previous days, so I decided to come back to the hut to do some research on reptile babies and the strange, fluffy down that circled its neck. I read through several books. I could not find one thing, though. There was absolutely no insets of the down on reptile baby necks. Also, I didn't find one description that matched reptile in the nest.
After a while, I decided to try searching on my laptop. I went over to my desk and went to a scientific web page that contained a lot of information on reptiles and reptile-like creatures. I typed in "baby's down" as the keywords. After a moment, the web page uploaded and the screen displayed an article on the subject. It reads as follows:
"Although no present day reptiles have been found with feathers, quills, or down, predators in the age of the dinosaurs often contained feathered head crests. Imprints of these feathers have been found on fossils similar to the way dinosaur skin imprints have been found. Scientists guess that when the carnivore babies hatched, in the first month or so of their existence, there was a light, fluffy layer of down around their necks. As the babies continued to grow and develop, the down eventually faded and feathers sprouted to form the crest. This hasn't been proven but is still a respectful speculation."
I was amazed and dazzled. It couldn't be possible, could it? I decided to go to bed, for it was late at night.
February 18th, 2001
I returned to the nest and guess what I found? All the eggs had hatched. All of them. But there was no sign of the babies anywhere. I saw their footprints trailing off into a bush and followed them. Behind, I saw an amazing sight.
There were two large lizards, about my height, that were picking up small lizards and feeding them to the infants. There was a carcass of half a huge lizard, bigger than the two I was staring at. And I really began to become dazzled after I studied the lizards further.
The large ones didn't have feathered head crests, their entire necks were surrounded by a mane of quills. They both had long, red stripes going down their back. They had razor sharp fans and claws. I did not want to disturb then, for fear I might get attacked. I slowly made my way back to the hut, bot sure I should return again.
February 19th, 2001
They're clawing on my windows, raking them, making high pitched squeals. I lay here on the floor, paralyze from the neck down. There are deep wounds, gashed all down my body. They came out of nowhere. I thought I left the nest safely, but they saw me. Oh my God. I will no survive this. There is no help. I lay without hope for a future. Without hope for a wife and children. Oh God.
I prayed a few moments ago for help from God, for a miracle. For something! Oh God! Oh God! I'm afraid! I'm shaking, at least where I can shake. Oh God. They are breaking the windows now. They will kill me. And then feed me to their children! Oh my Lord in Heaven!
Oh Creator, how could you create something so terrible?
I must stop my writing now, and accept my death. I must say that there is no evolution - there never has been, there never will be. I can't explain how those creatures got more feathers, but it will be explained, in the future. The window is broken. They are about to leap in. Oh God!
-The Journal of Justin O Connel (1977 - 2002)
(Tell me what you think, please)
1/7/02 1:55:15 AM
(Updated: 1/7/02 2:25:29 AM)
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