Dinosaur: 65 Million: Book 2 Change Them, Survive Them

by catt dahman

  “How could they have viable DNA after all this time?” Rick asked.

  “Are you a scientist? No? Then in the simplest terms, they took DNA and made it viable through a very innovative method that is used even today. Polymerase-chain- reaction-based methods were employed that other scientists didn’t find until recently, such a shame. My father was that advanced. It was not only bones, see, but the teeth….” Josef explained.

  In the lab, the scientists worked and were so excited by what they were doing that not once did they mind being imprisoned in a cave. While DNA was usually ruined after a few million years, they were able to use what they found and combine it with the DNA of live creatures.

  Magnetite was found in the Tunguska River Basin where a giant airburst from a meteorite occurred in 1908. Josef could see his guests didn’t understand, “There was a meteorite strike in Russia, and magnetite and iridium were found there. Maybe you have seen pictures of forests of trees knocked flat. You are aware a meteorite struck the Yucatan Peninsula sixty-five million years ago and is generally considered to be what caused the dinosaurs to die out, yes?”

  “Right,” Theo knew that. The rest nodded.

  “There again was iridium and magnetite. What scientists don’t share often is that at the same time, part of the mass of the meteor from space broke off, and there were multiple strikes. We know of some, but not of many of those strikes that were in the sea. One strike was in the Ukraine, one was in the North Sea, and one in India that is commonly called the Shiva Impact. The last one was very tiny actually compared to the rest, and it was right here. The mountain, already unstable, was dislodged by an earthquake caused by that strike, and the entire mountain crumbled over into the crater.”

  “Here?” Ann looked around.

  “It’s perfectly safe now,” Josef said, “but like the other places, magnetite and iridium were left behind, and those two strange elements coated the bones and teeth washed into the area by the river, and that is how the DNA was viable. It was protected by those elements because of the same event that killed the dinosaurs. It killed but preserved. Interesting, eh?”

  The rest, he explained, was simple. His father and the team, plus a few more scientists, were guarded by the military team, left in the cave, given supplies, and submitted discoveries to the higher authorities. While scientists outside discovered fossils and theorized about the dinosaurs, scientists inside raised the various types of creatures and studied them.

  “So you keep them down here? That’s insane,” Corrine said.

  “One day, not yet, but one day we will move to a larger facility, but that will be decades away. The world is not ready for a long-lost scientist and prehistoric creatures.”

  Theo nodded, “People would question politics and the government for being secretive, rethink religion, science, economics and environmental issues, world powers; there would be mass upheaval, really.”

  “Were you born down here?”

  “Yes, I was, Audrina, in 1960. My mother was a geneticist and was killed when I was ten. A rather tame tyrannosaur turned on her. She was working with him, taking some samples because he was unusual. While all the rest were a lovely shade of red, he alone was purplish, and the genetic reasons for that eluded my parents.” The man was lost in thought, wondering how it had happened; the creatures should have all looked the same since they were from the same DNA source and were unaltered.

  “Purple?” Jack said.

  “Pardon?”

  “He was purple?”

  “Oh, purplish. That was a strange thing and opened up the research to other avenues. After all of those years, it has been only recently that we have figured out what the tiny difference was with that beast, and well, suffice to say, it has changed our work significantly.”

  “You’re over fifty? You look thirty at the most,” Theo said. He was bored with science-talk.

  “The elements I mentioned not only preserve DNA but have a wonderful effect upon aging. As you see, baring disease, accident, or attack, I will live much longer than people not exposed. It protects the bones from aging and becoming less than perfect, and it does the same for any tissue.”

  “Creepy,” Audrina said.

  “The elements also aid in navigation, and the crystals in the brain tend to cause beings happily to stay in one area and to be satisfied which may also account for our being perfectly happy here and the animals being content here,” said Josef as he sat back.

  That was a lot to take in.

  “So the creatures and all of you are ‘content’. You’re happy here, and I take it you are continuing your father’s work?” Rick asked.

  “Indeed.”

  Rick leaned forward, “We appreciate the showers and the good food and clean clothing. I have found your story fascinating, but the thing is someone shoved rocks in on us and killed people. That needs to be addressed. Also, Josef, we want to go home. Can you arrange for someone to drive us out of here?”

  Josef blinked.

  “We want out,” Audrina echoed.

  “I’m sorry. I thought via my story you would understand….”

  “Understand what?”

  Josef shrugged, “You can’t leave here anymore than could my father or I. This is a secret project at a secret location, and the information is very critical.”

  Theo raised a hand to get all to be quiet since they protested angrily, “We can sign some confidentiality papers. I mean, you can’t keep us here.”

  “I am afraid we can. Or they can. There are various jobs around here if you have a penchant for research or cooking with Carl, helping with the subjects, many things to do, and you’ll have food and security, and it’s a good, rewarding life.”

  “You son of a bitch,” Rick exploded, “I want out, and I want out now. We have lives. Who shoved rocks down on us and cut our ropes? Why are we prisoners?”

  “Dr. Parker, please calm down. There is a team that watches to make sure no one or nothing gets out. They did their job and made sure you couldn’t leave. You can’t blame us because after all, you trespassed and came into our home.”

  “I demand to be allowed to leave.”

  “I understand you are demanding it, but Dr. Parker, for the good of all your friends here, please reconcile that you will be staying. It isn’t my call. It simply is a fact. If you try for a gun and make it outside, you will be shot on sight. There is no grey area to this situation. Again, this is a highly secure area and has been for the last sixty years.”

  Theo lunged at Bray and was taken down immediately with a slam of the M16 to his head. Everyone was told that Theo would be okay but would have a headache for a while. Ann wept against Tate, blaming everyone else for being in the cave.

  “I want to go home,” said Audrina as she allowed Tony to hold her tightly while she cried.

  Josef sighed, “You are home.”

  Chapter Seven: In the Bunker

  Tate worked in the supplies area, using his mathematical experience; Ann went with him each day, but she sat, almost comatose, staring into space as he worked. For a while, they cried and screamed and argued, but that didn’t work and became tiring, so Tate decided to keep his mind on something else and didn’t mind watching over Ann.

  Luke walked the perimeter of the fence, watched and checked the pens for the animals, and made sure they were secure; he wasn’t allowed a gun but still worked security, becoming friendly with the military team, which numbered ten. He spent his time triple checking that none of the animals could escape and no weaknesses were in the enclosures; he watched his own situation, ready to act if he found a flaw in his imprisonment. He didn’t give up hoping, but the more he looked, the more he felt there wasn’t a way out unless something changed dramatically.

  Corrine grudgingly began working in the labs, cleaning supplies and equipment, but because she showed an interest and keen curiosity, Josef taught her some of the more simple tasks; she began spending more time with the research group and drifted away from the others
. With days and nights of boredom otherwise, it was more sane to stay busy.

  Theo suppressed raw fury and helped Curt in the kitchen because he liked the man and enjoyed the tasks, and he worked cleaning and housekeeping because it gave him a constant view of any chinks in the security of the facility; he watched everyone and everything, biding his time. One chance and he would make a run for it. He told only Shimei, Audrina, Luke, and Tony.

  Audrina and Tony shared a room, and they worked together with Shimei and the dinosaurs: feeding, observing, and writing notes. The little beasts they worked with were interesting, the trio admitted that, but they were also clever, devious, and somehow malevolent. It was hard to say an animal had an evil personality, but the troodons were malicious. At times, they traded glances and flicked their eyes at one another before attacking a weaker member of their pack.

  Troodons were not large but had serrated, sharp teeth for an omnivorous diet, a wickedly sharp back claw, and big eyes that gave them a larger depth perception than most dinosaurs. Because the troodons were many times as intelligent as the other dinosaurs, the scientists thought that if troodons developed internally and not birthed via eggs, the intelligence could be raised. They already had useful fingers and were being developed to be more dependent of their fingers than beak.

  “Why would we want them smarter or to have live young? Why do we want them to be stronger creatures?” Audrina asked.

  Tony frowned, “I don’t know. Because the Mengeles think they are God? Because they want to improve every species? I can’t see how intelligence helped the world down here, really.”

  “How would they genetically change them? To have live young?” Audrina stared at the creatures that hissed back at her, and if able to, would rip into her belly and eat her, despite their having already been fed.

  “I don’t want to know how,” Tony admitted.

  Rick Parker wandered the halls endlessly, watching, refusing to talk or help with any chores, and saying he wanted to leave. He was source of amusement to most as he roamed, looking for a way out or a way to gain an advantage. He muttered to himself as he walked, asking himself questions and staring at walls for hours. Slowly, he seemed to be losing his mind.

  “Dr. Parker, sullen looks and a refusal to work aren’t helping anything. I have explained quite well that there is simply no way out of here and that adjusting will be to your benefit,” Josef said once, as they passed in the hall.

  Rick didn’t sleep well. He walked the halls that were dimly lit and wondered if he could find the engineering section and disable the power; maybe, then people from the outside would come in and he might find a way to leave. He made plans, but although everyone listened, he forgot what he had planned and struggled to recall the steps; he started over with plans hundreds of times. Sometimes, he didn’t make plans but sat and watched the troodons.

  His mind went sluggishly. He tried to remember things and even tried to write things down, but then his notes made little sense when he read them. He knew that somehow in some way he must be drugged or the magnetite was causing problems, but no one could explain it to him.

  When he watched the troodons, he felt something about them was strange, but he couldn’t decide what it was. When he spoke, they often looked as if they were listening, so he was careful what he spoke about. He felt paranoid.

  When he roamed, he tried each door, looked in every closet and room, and crept about until he found something interesting. It was if this room had been awaiting him to come along and try the door on a certain night.

  He went into one of the rooms with his jaw hanging open; he didn’t come out.

  One day, everyone noticed Dr. Parker wasn’t around. They forgot but remembered again. It was difficult to keep track as days faded and meshed into one day that was a weeklong; time was troublesome to think of. Sometimes they thought maybe they had slept for days, and at other times, if felt as if it were mere minutes.

  Tony rubbed a sore spot on his arm one day. A bruise and tiny puncture were in the bend of his elbow as if he had had an IV. It was an unusual thing, and he asked Audrina what she thought. He thought she had the same curious injury, but then, the next time he thought about it and looked, there was nothing in sight. Maybe he imagined it, or maybe days had passed; he didn’t know anymore.

  They thought Bray and Bright and the rest of the military crew were in charge and were their jailors, but as days passed, they discovered those people were as much prisoners as they were. A few men in military garb with SSDD patches were really in charge, and when anyone, including Bray and his people asked a questioned, they were taken and threatened.

  Bray whispered once that SSDD had the only access to the way in and out and they made the calls; the rest were for making sure the dinosaurs didn’t get inside the facility.

  “Mengele is their pet monkey, and he does fine tricks, but he’s no more in control than any of us. SSDD runs this show,” Bray said.

  “Some did try to escape a few times, before our time,” Bright said, “and what the SSDD and the doctors did…you’d find it better if they had simply killed the would-be escapees. The stuff back in the old days that Herr Doktor did made this look like playing paper dolls…worse than any nightmare you have ever had.”

  Days later, Audrina brought up Dr. Parker again while they ate dinner: roasted chicken with potatoes, carrots, green beans, freshly baked bread, and a pound cake for dessert. “Josef, I have asked Bright, Carter, Winston, and Bray, and not a one can tell me where Rick is.”

  “I see.”

  “He should be at meals or in his room, but he’s just vanished. Did you throw him out the gate and didn’t tell us? It’s been a few days…or maybe a week…it’s been some time anyway since we saw him.”

  “Of course not. I believe he ate. Curt, didn’t you serve Dr. Parker?”

  “He ate.” Curt looked away and went back to the kitchen.

  “The only thing I saw go out was the raw chicken and raw steak earlier that I delivered to one of the labs,” Theo spoke up.

  “I want to know where Rick is,” Tony said.

  Joseph spoke thoughtfully, “My father studied conjoined twins, dwarfs, and anything else that was an anomaly. You can claim his methods were horrible and cruel, but his research was adapted, and today, conjoined twins are separated, using methods he developed with his research. His methods of amputation are used today, and it was his work that allowed colonoscopies to be successful.”

  “And? I asked to see Rick,” Theo said.

  “Now, you work and are free to roam the building for the most part, but I warn you that trouble and aggression can and will be handled. There can be imprisonment even within these confines,” Josef explained.

  “You’re saying for us to behave,” Tony said.

  Josef glanced at Corrine who dropped her gaze shyly.

  “I will allow you to see him, but I warn you to observe and settle into this world and way of life, or you will find yourselves in leg irons in cells, and you don’t want that. I hope you will understand and join the project.”

  “What have you done to him?” Theo growled.

  “Dr. Parker was very depressed here, as you know, and he wasn’t accepting the situation well. I fear he was headed for suicide or other dangerous behavior, but the other night, he came upon something we would have preferred to keep quiet about until we thought you were more prepared to understand the situation down here. The shock of his discovery quite unhinged Dr. Parker, and because he was spontaneous, there was no chance of his coming back to his good senses.”

  “Stop the double talk. Where is Rick?” Tony asked.

  “First, please come inside,” Josef stepped through a locked doorway, followed by the ones who had come along; Tate and Ann skipped the tour. “His mind was shattered. You know he was in a delicate frame of mind anyway.”

  A man sat in a comfortable chair, his feet propped up, a steaming cup of tea on a table next to him and shelves of books all around him, “Hallo, Jos
ef, wie geht es dir heute nacht?” he asked how Josef was.

  “Gut, danke.” Good, thank you.

  “Sie haben besuch gehabt? He asked if Josef had brought visitors.

  “Ja. I wanted our new arrivals to meet you.” Josef introduced Audrina, Tony, Theo, and Luke.

  “Good evening, Dr. Mengele,” Corrine said.

  “What? I don’t understand,” Tony said.

  Josef smiled, “My father, Josef Mengele. Herr Doktor. My father.”

  “It can’t be; he’d be over a hundred years old,” Audrina said. The man before them looked about fifty-five years old, or maybe sixty, was in good health and had bright, intelligent eyes.

  “Slightly over a hundred,” Herr Doktor said, “I assume you will be showing our guests der forschung.”

  “The research,” Josef translated, “if they want to see it.”

  He bid his father goodnight, and they stepped back into the hallway.

  Tony stared at Josef, wondering how he could survive getting past the man and the guards with guns to get into the room and beat the doctor to death. He didn’t recall all of his history lessons, but he knew the man had performed endless cruel experiments on humans, removing vital organs without anesthesia, sewing humans together and causing gangrene, gassing his failures, and attempting to breed humans and animals.

  “Josef, he’s alive?”

  Josef smiled, “Of course, you just met him.”

  “He’s a war criminal…a monster,” Tony hissed, hardly able to control his fury. Why had they ever thought the son of a monster was a decent man?

  “Semantics. Your own government knows he is here continuing his brilliant work and teaching us. This is all your government’s approval, Tony, as I feel you have realized by now. They support us, and yes, they know fully that Herr Doktor is alive and working his genius. SSDD is his partner in all this, and SSDD is simply a product of your own government.”