Sapiosaurus | Out Of Time

by Lon McQuillin

  “It may be many months — even years — before we can begin their revival and incubation.”

  “I know, dearest.” Garlmek nuzzled his wife as they prepared to retire. “But there is time.”

  •

  As the opening title montage ended — “Sapiosaurs: The Return of the Dinosaurs” — the studio lights faded up on Bernard Braun. Over his right shoulder an insert showed a video image of Garlmek and Touolok wearing their elegant robes.

  “First they were revived after 65 million years in suspended animation. The next day they were nearly killed by an assassin, and were trapped under tons of ice inside their pyramid. During their virtual imprisonment, these remarkable creatures achieved functional fluency in English.”

  The insert cut to a shot of Jeffreys.

  “Earlier today, having been rescued for the second time, the Sapiosaurs consented to be interviewed by CNN’s Eric Jeffreys.”

  The insert of Jeffreys zoomed out to full-screen.

  “Bernard, I expected that our first conversation with the Sapiosaurs would have to be through a translator. But while it took our best linguistics experts more than four months to become proficient in their language, they learned ours in less than a week of intensive study. That’s a truly remarkable feat. But then, as you’ll see, these are remarkable creatures.”

  The scene cut to a wide shot of Jeffreys standing in the main chamber of the Penthouse. Above him the sky appeared bright blue, with scattered clouds.

  “From the look of it, I could be standing in an area surrounded by walls but open to the sky. But the truth is, I’m inside the upper part of the main pyramid, under nearly 500 feet of ice. The sky you see above me is an illusion, created by the Sapiosaur’s incredible technology.”

  The video cut to a two-shot of the Noaud, apparently sitting side-by-side inside the chamber.

  “The Sapiosaurs are named Garlmek and Touolok.” The names, spelled phonetically in English, appeared superimposed over them at the bottom of the image. “While we call them Sapiosaurs, they call themselves Noaud, which is the term I used in our interview. While their command of English is nothing short of phenomenal, their pronunciation can sometimes make it difficult to understand them, so we’ve added captions for our viewers.”

  The voice-over ended, and from off camera, Jeffreys addressed the Noaud.

  “Garlmek, Touolok, let me begin by thanking you for making this time available to us.”

  “You are most welcome,” replied Garlmek.

  “Until four days ago, the last time you stood in this chamber was roughly 65 million years ago. How long had you expected to be asleep, if that’s the right term?”

  “Sleep is not technically accurate, but it is an appropriate metaphor for our time in suspension. Our estimate was that Earth would recover sufficiently from the effects of the asteroid strike to allow us to emerge in several dozen to several thousands of years at the longest.”

  “Do you know why you were never awakened?”

  “Yes. Our… what you would call a computer, relied on external sensors that would let it determine when conditions had improved sufficiently. Those sensors were destroyed by a meteor shower that followed the impact of the asteroid. As a result, the computer was unable to determine when conditions would have permitted our revival.”

  “What were your feelings when you awoke to discover how long you’d been asleep, and that your city is now buried under 500 feet of ice?”

  Garlmek cocked his head slightly to one side. “We were… surprised.”

  “Yes, I can imagine that you would be.” If Jeffreys realized that his question was somewhat on the inane side, his voice didn’t betray it.

  “I know that over the past week, you’ve been learning about Earth’s history since the asteroid, and about our species. What are your first impressions?”

  Again Garlmek cocked his head, and hesitated a moment before answering.

  “We have been most impressed by the tremendous amount of technological progress your species has achieved in such a short amount of time, especially considering that much of it has occurred in the last one to two hundred years.”

  “As I understand it, your civilization was more than ten million years old, and some of your technology seems fantastic compared to ours, yet you never achieved such things as space travel, or even air travel. Why was that?”

  Garlmek hesitated for a moment before answering.

  “The direction we were pursuing towards both those goals was considerably different from your approaches, and required more research. I believe we would have succeeded eventually, had we not run out of time.”

  “In areas such as energy sources, where your technology is so far superior to our own, will you be willing to teach us how to apply what you’ve developed?”

  “Your species and ours must share the Earth and its resources. We will certainly provide any assistance we can to help manage those resources efficiently.”

  “Touolok, you’re a Noaud medical doctor, yet you were able to treat the assassin, Eugene Northrup, when he was injured. How were you able to deal with human physiology?”

  Now it was Touolok’s turn to cock her head.

  “Our medical training includes studies in veterinary medicine. We are trained to heal not just our own species, but all species. As such, I have treated mammals previously. In the case of Eugene, the organs that were affected and the damage to them were easily identifiable, and responded to standard treatment.”

  “Are you saying you actually operated on him?”

  “Not in the way I believe you mean. I used our medical equipment to heal his injuries. Your doctor, Deirdre McCollum, also performed a lavage to drain his chest cavity.”

  “He tried to take your lives, and yet you were willing to help him.”

  “I am a physician. That is what I do. And beyond that, Eugene saved our lives in the end.”

  “I’d like to ask about the world you left behind. We humans have long been fascinated by dinosaurs, and your revival has only intensified the interest. At the time you entered your suspension, your society shared the planet with such large and dangerous creatures as the one we call Tyrannosaurus rex. “

  “We have seen your representations of what you call Tyrannosaurus rex. Our name for that species is Khawtl’kun,” answered Garlmek.

  “What were they like?”

  “They could be dangerous when hungry or if provoked, but for the most part they were scavengers. When attacking a living creature, they tended to prefer herbivorous species, of the type you classify as sauropods.”

  “So they left your species alone, despite the tremendous difference in size?”

  “Actually, the smaller carnivores that could move more quickly and quietly presented a greater threat. There were instances where Noaud lost their lives to Khawtl’kun and other carnivorous species, but these instances were rare.”

  “Why is that?”

  “There are several reasons. For one, each of our cities was surrounded by defense systems that repelled large creatures. Over many millennia, the lesser species learned to avoid them. Also, when we left the protection of our cities, we commonly carried defensive tools that provided personal protection.”

  “I believe you’re referring to your weapons. I’ve been told they appear to use directed energy, something like a laser. Is that the type of defense that surrounded your cities as well?”

  “I have heard of your lasers, but have not had time to study the concept in depth. However, the term ‘directed energy’ is appropriate with regard to our tools and our city defenses. Unless used in hunting, they were adjusted to stun or repel creatures without causing permanent harm.”

  “You mentioned hunting. I noticed at dinner last night that you ate both meat and vegetables. I take it you are like most humans — what we call omnivores?”

  “That is correct. Our diet is essentially the same as yours.”

  “What are your plans now?”

  “In se
veral weeks we will move to a new location,” answered Garlmek, “an island in the Northern hemisphere where your University of California has made arrangements for us to live.”

  “And what will you do there?”

  “We will begin to re-establish ourselves.”

  “Excuse me for asking a personal question, but does that mean that you plan to have… that you plan to breed?”

  “Yes, it was and still is our plan to raise offspring.”

  “Garlmek, Touolok, this interview will be seen by an estimated two billion people around the world — more than a third of the human population. Is there anything you’d like to say to the human race?”

  Garlmek took a moment to think before responding.

  “The world we knew is long gone. We enter yours now as guests. We are gratified that your leaders have chosen to treat us as such, and have made us welcome. We hope that by sharing what our culture learned over its long existence, we might help you solve some the problems that you — and now we, also face.”

  “Thank you, Garlmek, Touolok.”

  The Noaud bowed their heads.

  The scene cut to Jeffreys standing in the main chamber.

  “The Noaud were more than gracious in their statements. On their second day awake, they were nearly assassinated, which is not how most guests would expect to be greeted. Yet perhaps in Eugene Northrup’s last-second change of heart they found reason to have faith in the human race.

  “Their challenge will be to find a way to co-exist on a planet now dominated by a new species… humanity.

  “This is Eric Jeffreys for CNN in Antarctica.”

  •

  A Conversation with the Noaud

  10 Million Years of Civilization;

  65 Million Years of Sleep

  by Dewey Manley

  Times Science Editor

  Antarctica — Since their revival from suspended animation last week, the Noaud — known to us as Sapiosaurs — have been first attacked and then saved by a terrorist bomber, entombed under tons of ice, and finally rescued once again by a team of workers who dug through the ice around the clock. Upon emerging from their pyramid, the husband and wife known as Garlmek and Touolok have shown a somewhat remarkable equanimity in light of events.

  Though currently residing in what the research team calls the “Penthouse,” — the upper level of the pyramid called “Town Hall” by the team — in a few weeks they will move to an undisclosed island in the Caribbean where they plan to begin building a new life in a world far different from the one they knew.

  I met with the Noaud in the main chamber of the Penthouse, under a ceiling that presented the illusion of a bright Spring day, which I found initially a bit disconcerting, since in reality, we were under nearly 500 feet of Antarctic ice.

  In the Noaud society, Garlmek was a scientist who conducted research and also taught at the Noaud equivalent of a university. Touolok was a physician. Ignoring for the moment their time in suspension, they’ve been together for more than 50 years. With a life expectancy of roughly 150 years, they still look forward to many years together.

  DM: Your culture, by our standards, is incredibly ancient. Whereas we humans look back seven or eight thousand years into our own past, to the very beginnings of what we consider to be our civilization, your look back more than ten million years to find your own beginnings. Do you know how your society began, and when?

  Garlmek: We know that our precursors were smaller than we, and that they were bipedal, and that they were omnivorous, as are we. We know that their vulnerability to larger creatures led them to the discovery — probably accidental — of tools with which they could defend themselves.

  DM: How do you know these things?

  Garlmek: As you have archeologists and paleontologists who study the record left behind, so did we. Among the buildings at Tarsill is our museum of natural history, which displays the bones and tools of our predecessors.

  DM: When did these creatures live?

  Garlmek: By your counting method, about 15 to 13 million years ago. No… forgive me. For that period of time before the asteroid impact. From about 80 to 78 million years ago.

  DM: What are your theories on what caused their evolution to intelligence?

  Garlmek: Your own science posits the theory of natural selection, but does not address the possible causes of mutations. We believe that natural energies — what you call radioactivity and cosmic rays — cause occasional random mutations in the life codes of all creatures.

  DM: In their genes.

  Garlmek: Yes, what you call genes. At some point, the embryo of one of our precursors was altered by these energies, and the resulting hatchling emerged with a larger brain and enhanced cognitive abilities. That individual, or one of its offspring, may have observed a predator fall on and be impaled by a broken branch, and realized that broken branches could be used for self defense. In such a manner would evolution continue.

  DM: Which is much as we envision our own evolution from early primate origins — speculative, but logical.

  Garlmek: In the case of our own evolution we of course must speculate, but with regard to the process of evolution in general, we have ten million years’ worth of direct observation and records to support the reality. Variations on existing species appear at seemingly random intervals. Most fail, but some improve the species and thrive.

  DM: As you know, our own species has experienced phenomenal technological advancement in a relatively short period of time. My great grandfather, for example, who was born 108 years ago, traveled by horse or horse-drawn wagon, much as humans did 2,000 or 5,000 years ago. At the time of his birth, telephones and electricity were curiosities, and air travel was only a dream. While our own society experienced this explosive growth in technology, yours appears to have come at a much slower and steadier pace over a protracted period. How would you compare our cultures in this regard?

  Garlmek: From what I have seen of your culture so far, it would appear that the growth of your technology has echoed the growth of your population. As you gained mastery of agriculture and begun to develop advanced technologies, your society built a… I am not sure of the word — a gathering speed…

  DM: I think the word might be “momentum.”

  Garlmek: Yes. Momentum. The more your technology developed, the faster the development came. And as your population increased, you had more people to do research and to apply the results of that research. In our society, we kept our population essentially constant. Research was conducted over generations, and in a different manner.

  DM: How so?

  Garlmek: In the brief time we have had to learn of your culture, it appears that your species is driven by the desire to advance and prosper on an individual basis. Perhaps this is a result of your relatively short life spans, but it differs much from our outlook. In our society, the needs of the individual were provided. Each chose his pursuits according to interest, rather than need.

  DM: From each, according to ability; to each according to need?

  Garlmek: (Tilting his head to one side) I sense that you are reciting a slogan.

  DM: That’s very perceptive. It’s the slogan of a failed human economic system called communism.

  Garlmek: A failed system? I find that interesting. Perhaps the rapid growth of your population made such a system impractical.

  DM: Well, it’s true that it was first formally tried right at the start of the explosion of our population. And there were earlier instances in smaller and more stable groups where a similar approach worked well.

  Garlmek: We considered stability of our numbers to be a critical factor in our long-term survival.

  DM: If the needs of each member was met by the society, what provided incentive for individual achievement?

  Garlmek: That varied with the individual. In my case, curiosity. For an artist or musician, it would be the joy of creation. For an engineer, the satisfaction of achievement. Each Noaud found his or her own reason to contribu
te.

  DM: But what if an individual didn’t want to contribute to your society?

  Garlmek: (Pauses for a moment.) I cannot think of such an instance. Perhaps because an idle existence would be quite boring, it was part of our nature to occupy ourselves.

  DM: What about the less glamorous jobs — collecting garbage, sweeping the streets, that kind of thing?

  Garlmek: The examples you cite were automated very early in our society. But I understand your question. Certain tasks were less fulfilling than others. Yet whether out of a sense of duty or simply the desire to keep busy, an individual could always be found to perform them.

  DM: So there was no such concept as personal wealth.

  Garlmek: Certainly. While the basic needs were provided to all, it was possible to enhance a family’s wealth. But keep in mind that our families had existed for untold generations, with each generation adding to their family’s wealth. In a stable population, that means that eventually, all families are wealthy, so to speak. In reality, the concept of wealth becomes immaterial.

  DM: Regarding your city, Tarsill, we know from our soundings that it covers an area of roughly 85 acres, laid out in a triangular shape. Did all of the Noaud live within the city?

  Garlmek: Actually, only a small percentage did. Most academics, such as Touolok and I did, along with the members of the administrative and academic councils. Those of us who preferred to live near our work. But the majority of the Noaud had their homes in the gardens that surrounded the city.

  DM: How far out from the city did the gardens extend?

  Garlmek: (Thinks for a moment.) By your measure, from a half mile to about two miles from the mastaba — what you call Town Hall. The shape of the perimeter was irregular.

  DM: I understand that the perimeter was defended with something like a force field. Is that correct?

  Garlmek: Force field is an apt description. Energy emitters spaced at regular intervals along the perimeter discouraged predators from crossing into the city.

  DM: Could Noaud individuals pass out of the city?