Knapp 07 Dinosaur Club

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Knapp 07 - Knapp Dinosaur Club Alfredo Juillet Frascara 03-03-11

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Knapp 07

Knapp Dinosaur ClubWritten byAlfredo Juillet Frascara.

September 2007.

YearCharacters of the plot:

President Ueso, Secretary Tor, Field Director : Lagurnio members : Lacombe,Farthom Dimbor ( lecturer and honorary member),General Crankcase , Lieutenant Perez, Soldiers from the King Marmun's

Army.

Chapters1.- First Reunion2.- The Exploration of the northern woods

3.- General Crankcase's Expedition4.- Decisions at the Dinosaur's Club

5.- At Oredloro City.

Foreword.The Dinosaur's Club was a small group of Oredlorians , with big interest inDinosaurs and the plants they eat.

Chapter 1

First reunion.

The meeting was adjourned; the mall in Tors right hand banged the table,while he said: "The session begins, with our President Ueso and the Design

Team present. The last sessions notes will be read"

Tor's voice resounded in the small room ; not more than twenty personswere present at the session on the Dinosaur's Club ; old institution, butnow dwindling towards extinction. Tor read the transcription of the lastreunion, with a clear voice, but that didn't take out the boredom of it ; infact, the last reunion had been to get funds for a new exploration in thenorthern woods, but the war against Rixiaberg sent the program tooblivion.


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Tor ends his lecture, and president Ueso said:' Gentlemen, we all knewthat the last reunion belongs to a period not to had again; king Knapp wasreigning here, and now king Marmun does , together with another parts ofthis world."Lacombe raise his hand, and said:' I ask the right to speak, Mr. President."

"Go ahead, Mr. Lacombe."- Ueso said, allowing him to speak.Lacombe was a tall handsome man, with a green uniform- officer from theArmy of King Knapp, now demobilized; Marmun allowed them to use theuniform, without badges at all."Our Club of the Dinosaurs still lives; no matter the changing world we arein, the Club could be resisting extinction, as it is a civilian organization ofold. The last meeting was to raise funds to send an exploration team to thenorthern woods, where we are sure new kinds of animals are breeding.Some notices of it come to this Club, when our deceased member,Fredonjul Vasquerian was alive and saying strange things about that partor our world. "= Lacombe said.

The president, Ueso, replied:" We are still in shape, Mr. Lacombe! Thereare certain members of this Club that had been working to show us a gladface to our King Marmun, and had achieved something. Mr. Lagurnio,please explain our future expeditions to Mr. Lacombe."And Lagurnio, a thin man in his middle age, said :" I personally talk withcertain member of the royalty; they assure us we could continues with ourexplorations, but with one condition: to have a member chosen by them,by the government, to be in our midst.""A spy!- Lacombe said, turning red."Of course not! A person who could say a good word in our behalf! Aperson who could help us rise funds, and at our return, perhaps a title!

Who knows what lurks in those northern jungles? Perhaps a new futurefor medicine, or a new animal to tame and give us food! "- Lagurnio said."And it is in here, that person?"- Lacombe said, looking at theconcurrence."Of course not ! We are honest, and we first ask! There is good money inthis project: the northern woods could represent the new revival for our oldclub!- Ueso said, smiling gently."Permit me to inform our associates here!- The Tor, the Secretary, said."You have the permission."- The President said."I can inform you all, that a commission from the actual government isgoing to the northern woods; and they asked us to join; we replied we were

going to ask to our partners of the Club. It is going to be four months -trip, with all paid by the government: vehicles, beasts, food, shelter, allprovided by them; in all, they said, forty people, with scientific personnelincluded. Weapons will be provided, also."- Tor said."Well, guess there must be a trick, somewhere."- Lacombe said, touchinghis moustache."The trick is that we are going to provide the knowledge attained inprevious explorations! We are going to be some sort of guides , for them !


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They had never been out of their cities, and now they are here, in themiddle of unknown territory ! So we come handy."- Tor said."There are lots of questions to be made, but we must act quick, in ordernot to be left aside ! We are going to vote, but first, think , everyone of youhere present, if they are able to be in an exploration trip. "- President Ueso

said.After a while, they vote: the majority was accepting the offer; then, thevoluntaries begin by rising their hands, to be in the team; Lacombe rise hishand, smiling. He was going to be in a far -away exploration, the best forhim now that he refuses to marry Lady Marena, one of the riches maids intown, but also, one of the uglier !

Second Reunion. ( Ten days later).

The meeting was adjourned; the mall from Tor banged the table, and hesaid: "The session begins, with our President Ueso and twenty members ofthis Club. The last sessions notes will be read"

Tor's voice resounded in the small room; twelve people were present at thechairs in front of the desk; behind the desk, the President, the Secretaryand one of the Directors were seated.

The droning noise of Secretary Tor begin his litany; the offer from theCommission to go on an exploratory trip was mentioned. Then, some otherlesser items were remembered."Very well, Mr. Secretary; your notes are accepted. "- The President Uesosaid."There are two items to discuss: first, how it is going the projectExploration of the northern group, and about the acquisition of a stove, as

you could feel the cold we have in our session room."- The Secretary said."About the project of exploration, funded by the government of Oredloro,

Mr. Lagurnio, has something to said." President Ueso said.Lagurnio rise from his chair, saying:" Good evening, members of the Club!I had a great pleasure to inform you all, that the exploration team will bedeparting to the northern woods in a week ! Everyone that is on the list ,will be able to join ! Have you the list, Mr. Secretary?"-Secretary Tor rise his hand, saying:" We had but two names for the list !Mr. Lacombe is one of them, and the other is myself ! There are no morepeople in the list."-


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Lagurnio rise one eyebrow, saying :' But this is ridiculous ! Are there nomore braves in here ?""What about yourself, Mr. Lagurnio?" - Lacombe asked, scornfully."Of course I could sign myself in, Mr. Lacombe ! But I am a married man,with duties to perform."- Lagurnio said, stiffing.

"Well, did you sent message to all our associates, Mr. Secretary ? Perhapsthere are some who hasn't received the note, or they are studying it a littlemore ."- President Ueso asked."All the notes were sent, Mr. President; but perhaps I could go in person,door to door, and ask the members if they want to accept this gift ourgovernment is giving us."- Secretary Tor said."Well, I cannot sent you in that errand ! Too much of a trouble, for you !"-President Ueso said."Perhaps , then, a commission could be appointed; several people could geta part of the list, so the work could be diminished for me."- Tor said."Of course ! Count me in."- Lacombe said.

"And me , too !"- Lagurnio said, eagerly; he was trying to give a betterimpression, after his dismissal from the expedition.

The member list was split in three parts, and President Ueso said, after thedelivering:" Hope there could be some ten or so members in that list ofvolunteers! Or else, our Club will be looking as an indifferent one, in theseimportant matters.""Could we advance in the Table, Mr. President? We had used one hour anda half in this expedition matters."- A member said; so Ueso looked on thetable, and said:' Next, it's our exponent 's time ! Mr. Farthen Dimbor willhave half an hour to teach us some more about Dinosaurs."Farthen Dimbor , a fat old man, with a big white moustache, rise from his

seat, and standing in front of the concurrence, said:' - Good evening,members of the Club ! It's time we could refresh our knowledge aboutwhich beasts we could encounter in that northern woods. I cannot say wehave a full knowledge of the fauna there, but the next animals are surelyin there, as our scant knowledge said they exist.First, we have Saurischia n. ("lizard hips") major grouping of dinosaursthat is comprised of theropods and sauropods. Gauthier (1986) formallydefined Saurischia as birds and all taxa closer to birds than toOrnithischia (Predentata) --Sauropoda n. ("lizard feet") clade comprised of quadrupedal, plant eatingsaurischians --sauropod adj.

scansorial adj.describes an animal with unspecialized limbs allowing it tograsp and climb as well as walk and runspecies n.1. a freely interbreeding population of organisms. The organismsin a species usually share a large number of characters. 2. Generally thelowest level in taxonomystabilizing selection n. natural selection where species survive bymaintaining existing characters. Individuals that exhibit extremevariations of any critical characters are eliminated, and the population


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tends to become narrow in the expression of adapted traits. Stabilizingselection does not result in evolutionary changes; rather, the existing stateof adaptation is maintainedstem-based clade n.a clade defined as one taxon and all taxa sharing amore recent common ancestor with that taxon than with another. For

example, the stem-based clade Carnosauria is defined as Allosaurus andall taxa sharing a more recent common ancestor with Allosaurusthan with"birds." Despite appearances, stem-based clades, like node-based clades,include the actual common ancestor of the taxa in the clade; the commonancestor of the taxa in the clade is considered to be ancestral to itself. Forexample, the actual species from which the entire Carnosauria evolved,which we will call the ur-carnosaur, shares a more recent commonancestor with Allosaurus than it does with "birds," thus making it acarnosaur. That common ancestor of Allosaursand the ur-carnosaur is theur-carnosaur itselfSynapomorph n.1. Apomorphic features possessed by two or more taxa in

common. If the two groups share a character state that is not the primitiveone, it is plausible that they are related in an evolutionary sense, and onlysynapomorph character states can be used as evidence that taxa arerelated. Phylogenic trees are built up by discovering groups united bysynapomorphies. 2. in cladistics, an apomorphy that occurs in two relatedclades and thereby supports grouping of the two clades into a single largerclade --synapomorphy n. --synapomorphic taxon n., pl.taxa 1. a group oforganisms of any taxonomic rank, e.g. family, genus or species 2. a groupof organisms or other taxa sharing a single common ancestortaxonomy n.1. the method of classifying things into groups 2. in biology,the classification of living organisms into taxa. A biological taxonomy is

cladistic if all the taxa are clades.terrestrial adj.living on landthanatocoenose n.an assemblage of fossils that formed at the actual placeof deaththerian mammal n.mammal within the marsupial placental clade

Theropoda n.("beast feet") major grouping of dinosaurs that is comprisedof carnivorous dinosaurs and birds --theropod adj.total group n. a stem-based clade defined using two crown clades. Forexample, the total group Crocodylotarsi is defined as the crown cladeCrocodylia and all taxa sharing a more recent common ancestor with theCrocodylia than the crown clade Neorni

And Volant describes an animal capable of flight ! We must bear in mindall this scientific terminology, in order to understand each other, and mostof all, not to show a complete ignorance, when in front of some scientificpersonnel."Farthen Dimbor takes a small cup of water, swallow it, and said :" And so,we must be careful at all times; in the woods the dinosaurs are kings !"

They applauded, and then Mr. Dimbor went out, with lots of members, torejoice before some glasses of beer.


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THIRD REUNION.Six days after the precedent one.

The session opens at 23.00 hours, at the President's tent.Present are : President Ueso, Secretary Tor, Field Director : LagurnioMembers: Lacombe, Farthen Dimbor (lecturer and honorary member), andfive others.

The Secretary opened the session at 23.00 hours, reading the last

meeting's minutes. The President accepts the record, and said:' we arehaving sessions in the middle of a swamp; no matter the insects, we aregoing to treat this meeting as normally as possibly. For that purpose, Ithank you, members of the Knapp Dinosaur Club, for your resistance.Now, to the first point on our Table: Economics. The Economics are nottrouble, as our Field Director Mr. Lagurnio said and assured us; theGovernment pays it all our expenses here. No doubt we are in a privilegedposition, if just remembering how our fellow countrymen are at ourcrumbling Oredloro City. The Chief of our Expedition it's General Carter,retired. He and some other military men are in charge of the welfare andprotection of this expedition, strong of 300 men and women, with 93 carts

and wagons, with some animals to pull the not motorized ones. We areoccupying one of the big wagons, where we are going to slept until ordered;possibly when the terrain became too harsh for the wheels, we are going towalk the rest of the way. Mr. Lacombe is asking the floor."'Yes, Mr. President ! I wish to thank the Director Lagurnio, as we had agood wagon, good food and shelter; hope this luxuries will keep with us inthe future !"-Mr. Lacombe, member of the Club, said.

The Director said we are one of a few team not of Oredloro's origin, andthanked Mr. Lagurnio, saying :" We hope you could present us to thechieftains of this expedition. "

The Director Lagurnio said he will ask for an appointment with the officers

in charge, and thanked Mr. Lacombe for his congratulations, saying it isalways good to see other people realizing the efforts made.Mr. Ueso, President, said there are some items already being studied,notwithstanding the fact the voyage has no more than twenty kilometersaway from the city of Oredloro, saying the whole Club saw, to-day, somesmaller dinosaurs on the road.Mr. Farthen Dimbor , lecturer of the Club, said :" These dinosaurs arecommonly known as the "ostrich-mimics" or "ostrich dinosaurs". They


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were possibly the fastest of dinosaurs, with conjectured running speeds of50-60 km.p/h. They all had very large eyes, like their close relatives thetroodontids.A peculiar feature of the ornithomimoids is the toothless, beaked mouth.

This indicates that they are one of the few groups of non-avian theropods

to abandon a predatory lifestyle, an herbivorous mode of life similar to thatof ostriches. Earlier ornithomimosaurs such as Pelecanimimus andHarpymimusstill had sharp teeth.Ornithomimoids are all fairly similar. They had lost the first, inner toe. Theornithomimids are especially difficult to distinguish from each other, andfor this reason some feel that they should all be lumped into one genus,Ornithomimus, except for the more primitive, crested Garudimimus.Ornithomimosaurs are fairly similar in size, from the most primitive onesat 2m to the advanced ones at 3.5-4m. The exception is the giantornithomimoid Deinocheirus, that I hope we will fail to see in this voyage."-Mr. Ueso, President, thanked for his remarks, and said :" I hope all of you

could maintain a Diary for this trip; it's tremendously important to have arecord to show, at our return, and for the future descendants . A pen andsome sheets of paper will do; anyone who wills to do as I say, it's entitledto ask me for that pen and that paper, available now thanks of theprevision Mr. The Secretary had."

Then, a person arrives, saying the Administrators of the Convoy ordered allpeople to quench lights and prepare to sleep, for the sake of the expedition.President Ueso close the session, and the lights extinguished.


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Chapter 2THE EXPLORATION OF THE NORTHERN WOOD.

At the morning of the next day, the Chief of the Convoy, General (retired)Carter, sent some expeditionary in advance, and received the note from theDinosaur Club; he smiled, and said :" Perez, call them for the morrow atnoon; we'll hear them.""All right, Sir."- Lieutenant Perez said.General Carter was mounting a jeep, one of the few motorized vehicles inthe convoy; the majority were wagons drawn by beasts. That makes thetrip very slow . Soon one of the scouts come back; he was using amotorbike, and dismounting at a side of the General Carter's jeep, he said:" Deinonicos ahead, Sir ! The other scout runs out to the other side of the

road."General Carter puts an evil eye on the man, and said :" Guide us ! We'llrescue him now ! " - And to the rest of his small retinue, he said :' Followme , top speed!"

That was necessary, as the rest of his retinue was on dinosaur's backs;soon the jeep and the motorcycle was lost in a poof of dirt, while thedrivers sweat in their wake, trying not to stumble down the giant beasts(four female Euplocephalus ).


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"Let's return to the convoy! We must told them to stop, until this beastgoes away !"- General Carter said, leaning unto the big neck of thecreature...For some minutes the danger existed, but then they were galloping awayfrom the Deinonicos, who lost interest in them; when arriving to the

convoy, General Carter has regained his composure, so he descend fromthe Euplocephalus with dignity, and said :" Change of direction, now !There is a better way, to the left of us!And to the left some cliffs were present, and the terrain was rocky; so theanimals and the wagons had a real tough time, marching ahead; thatmeans delay, and when the sun went down, no more than ten kilometerswere gained."Form a circle, and our soldiers will mount guard for the night."- General Carter said to his officer in command, Lieutenant Perez."-"Aye aye, Sir."- That man replied, and soon the wagons were encircling abonfire, and people were roasting some meat and assorted food; the air

was mild and the stars soon shine above them."Nice night ! I wonder how much it will last."- President Ueso said; he wasnear the other Club members, waiting for the food to get hot." Winter here it's very unpredictable. Some nights and days could resemblesummer, but then the cataracts of Heaven fall over us."- Secretary Torsaid, smiling in a silly way."General Carter seems an able man; so the soldiers look like. Hope theycould cope with whichever beast could arrives."- Lacombe said."Beast, in this place should only be lizards! There are no many beastsaround here."- Lagurnio said, not knowing a word about the Deinonicos.At a summit, before the last light of day went off, General Carter and some

of his staff were looking all around them; no monsters were in sight."Guess they are not so hungry as to follow our trail! But just the same,keep a sharp eye for the night."- General Carter recommended his officers.

The members of the Club of the Dinosaur, inside the boxcar, went to bedin their cabins, while the President of the Club, Mr. Ueso, said": Let uslearn something more about Dinosaurs and strange happenings of ourworld, with Mr. Dimbor.; we take advantage of the best opportunity,listening to the Mr. Farthom Dimbor, here present, to listen one of themyths of our race - Knappian."Dimbor said : " Members of the club of the Dinosaur: it is a pleasure to beable to illustrate you, so that you could return to Oredloro with

something of the old history of our town in your minds."As you know, the era Paleozoic opens the way to the Mesozoic one. It issaid that a race of very intelligent beings inhabited before us this planet;its bodies didn't left survivor, not even known by the science, of theirevolution, but an organic type, in a homogeneous, peculiar and highlyspecialized end, so near the animal state as of the vegetable.

The cellular action possessed an unique quality that almost it excluded thefatigue and it eliminated the necessity of the dream completely. The


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nutrition, assimilated through the red appendixes of one of the big flexiblemembers, was always semi fluid and, in multiple aspects, completelydifferent to the gender of feeding of the existent animals.

The beings only had two of the corporal senses that we know us: the viewand the hearing, this last one centralized in the appendixes similar to

flowers of gray shafts of the superior part of their heads. But theypossessed other many senses, although not usable, however, for thestrange captive minds to their race that they inhabited their bodies. Theyhad located their three eyes so that they gave them a field of superiorvision in width to the normal one. The blood was kind of a thick dark greenserous liquid. They lacked sex, but they reproduced by means of seeds orspores that crowded in their bases and that they could only germinateunder the water. To raise their sprouts they had big tanks of little depth,although in given little number the longevity of the individuals that theyreached in general the four or five thousand years of life.

The individuals with marked constituent defects were sacrificed with speed

nothing else to show their abnormalities. For lack of sense of the tact andof physical pain, the illnesses and the vicinity of the death were diagnosedby means of visual symptoms. The deceased were incinerated with asolemn ceremonial. From time to time some sharp intellect escaped to thedeath thanks to the projection in the time; but such cases were notplentiful. When one of these cases, the mind exile of the future took placeit was treated with the maximum kindness, until the breakup of their notvery normal one tenancy.

The old race seemed to form a single nation or it ties, very united, withmost of the institutions in common, although there were four divisions orperfectly defined classes. The politico-economic system of each unit was

kind of a Fascist socialism, with most of the distributed resources in arational way and with the vicarial power to a small government meetingchosen by the votes of those who were able to surpass certainpsychological and educational tests. The family cell didn't have an overreach , although the existent knots were recognized between people ofcommon origin and the youths - they were generally raised by theirparents.

The resemblance with attitudes and human institutions were, of course,more marked in those fields where the existence of individual elementswas required or where, on the other hand, there was a prevalence from theimpulses basic and not specialized communes to all kinds of organic life.

Other resemblance or similarities came from the conscious adoption madeby the race of the old race that, when sounding the future, it copied whatinterested him.

The industry, very automated, occupied little time of the available one foreach individual; and the abundant leisure spaces were filled with diverseclasses of intellectual and aesthetic activities. The sciences reached anincredible development level and the art constituted a vital part of theexistence, although in the period of my dreams it had already surpassed


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When these things came to Knapp, they built powerful compound basaltcities for towers without windows, and how many beings they found theywere their preys. It was then when the minds of the old race crossed thehole from their dark world transgalctic . Those recently arrived ones, withthe instruments that had created, found easy to dominate the entities

predators and to force them to took refuge in those caverns of the interiorof the underground that already constituted their inhabited homes.Then they closed the entrances tightly and abandoned to their luck; laterthey occupied most of their big cities and they conserved certain importantbuildings, more for superstitious reasons than for scientific restlessness,courage or indifference.But with the course of the eons sinister and vague manifestations werenoticed that indicated that those old things went multiplying andstrengthening in the internal area of the planet. Sporadic irruption of aparticularly abominable type took place in some of the old cities that itdidn't populate the old race, places where the accesses to the inferior

caverns had not been fenced or watched over appropriately.Then they took bigger cautions and many of these accesses were closedforever, although some few endowed with hermetic peep-holes were left touse them in a strategic way in the fight against the old things, if theyended up leaving for unexpected places.The irruption of the old things should reach a character of indescribablesurprise, since they affected in a permanent way the psychology of the oldrace. To such an extent the horror culminated that was done without ofeven mentioning the aspect of the creatures. Veiled suggestions werecaptured about a monstrous plasticity and of temporary lapses of visibility,while other fragmentary whispers referred to their capacity to dominate

and to use the big inventions militarily. Singular noises similar to whistlesand colossal footfalls made up of five circular prints corresponding to otherso many fingers seemed to have some association with the old things."Lacombe lifts its voice, saying": that is to say, Mr. Dimbor, this has noconnection with those of the terrestrial Federation?""Nothing at all indeed, Mr. Lacombe! It is something but old and terrifyingwhat existed here; it is even but: it is said that in the caverns, there areeven of those old beings, strengthened by centuries of peace. Maybe someday they leave to the surface, pushed by the overpopulate - woe of us,humans , when that day arrives"! - Farthon Dimbor said , sure of havingput the fear in as many brains as people they had in the boxcar!

Lacombe said, from its bed": I don't believe that it is true such a thing! Anyrace that can enslave other, will grasp the opportunity , without waitingcenturies upon centuries!"

The Secretary Tor that were in the inferior cabin, retorted " : Why not?maybe don't think like us, and their logic is different."Outside , eighteen soldiers mounted guard, clever to repel any attack offierce; the general Carter Crankcase, without sleeping until two hours of


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that night, supervised the different points, seeing that nobody wassleeping during their appointed watch ...Four days of the voyage were made by rocky sectors, and at the fifth daythey arrived to a woody plain and grass fields; with some big dinosaurs insight. The general Carter Crankcase sent scouts to see if there was danger

in crossing for the center of the plain; he didn't want insoluble problemsafterwards...The climate was tempered, and there were dinosaurs distributed betweenthe cicadas and ferns of the place; the air was humid and with manyclasses of flying insects. They also saw crocodiles near a course of water;they had four meters long, and so dangerous as a Carnosaurs .

The dinosaurs sometimes gave long farts that resonated as laments amongthe leaves, their vast stomachs they provided from heat to their bodies, notwithout sudden expulsions of gases.

They continued advancing, after the browsers returned, saying": General,ahead just are vegetarians at sight!"

They saw gingko and coniferous, toward the right of them.The lecturer Farthom Dimbor sat down in the davit, beside the driver, anold soldier originating from Rixiaberg, to which he told ": it Hurts that allthese dinosaurs reproduce by means of eggs; now that there is manypredators of eggs, its survival are in danger.""The danger is with us, Mr.! When these animals believe being in danger,where do you think they escaped"? - replied the driver."Away from the danger ! It is the logical thing"! - accepted FarthomDimbor."It is not logical with them! They simply charge right against what theyconsider an offensive presence! Just as some people also do ". - clarifies

the driver, with a light smile in his lips...

AT THE NORTHERN FOREST.

General Carter advances in his jeep for several kilometers, ahead of theconvoy, realizing that they were really lucky: not a predator was on theland."Ah, seemed to be the paradise for vegetarians"! - said general CarterCrankcase, getting off the jeep for a while ; the driver and two soldiersdescended, too.


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The woods were at the near left side of them; the rest were with patches oftrees with those big beasts feeding themselves away."We could kill one of them to eat, General! People at the wagons will beglad for the meal!"- Lieutenant Perez suggested."Could be! But we'll choose a smaller one - no need to kill a big bull, whose

meat will be rotten without being fully used ! - General Carter said, but hisinner motive was that the calves had tender meat...Perez and the soldiers begin the approach - General Carter stayed near thevehicle, ready for the rescue, if something goes wrong with the hunt.For himself, General Carter mumbled:" Here are vast varieties of forms oflife, most wonderfully co-adapted, most closely connected, most richlyadorned, yet they are all the lineal descendants of those which generationshas never once been broken, and that no cataclysm has desolated theworld."It was in that moment when he perceives some movement in the near-byforest. Suddenly strange riders atop Ornitolestes come out from the woods

and straight at him.He pointed his rifle against the newcomers, and fired the LASER beamagainst them.

Three Ornitolestes went down, legs a-missing, and a fourth jumped back,throwing its driver towards the ferns , where he lies. Crankcase run to thespot where the raider was lying, and to his surprise, he realizes it was abig fish!

The other raiders were also fish, with a resemblance of humanoid in them :tall 1.40 meters, with round eyes, and capable of to stand upright if helpedonly. Their voices weren't existent, so the General couldn't talk to them .He takes them by the tails and put them in a row.

When the soldiers come back, four hours later, the fish on the sun weredried and panting."What are those, General ?"- Lieutenant Perez asked, astonished."Fish-men ! Did you heard about them ?"- General Carter said."Of course ! But never saw one."- Perez said.Same thing the other three soldiers said. As the fish were dying, GeneralCarter ordered them to be shot."No river near there, so we must kill the abhorrent things."- General Cartersaid later...

The soldiers had killed one calf, and when the wagons arrives to the spot ,they butchered the animal and roasted at the same place.

After the meal, the night come and General Carter sent soldiers to mountguard around the wagons ; FarthenDimbor invites one of the soldiers (who had witnessed the demise of thehuman -fish , to talk about it on the wagon.

The members of the Dinosaur Club were at their beds, and the soldier andFarthen Dimbor were seat on two stools, as the interior of the vehicle wascrammed with bags and boxes.


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"This, are the voyageurs of the Dinosaur Club , from Oredloro city, whoknows you was a witness of the remarkable event ,to-day. Could you tellwhat you saw? "

The soldier, a fat man in his thirties, scratched his hair and said:" Whenwe arrive to the spot, our General Carter was already there, and the six

bodies were lying in a pile. Some of them were in pretty bad shape, pantingunder the sun. Perhaps the best for them was to be shot, thing we did.""And did they had any weapon, utensils , something man-made ?"-President Ueso asked."Not that I recognize! The dead animals- badly severed- were roasted, as

you saw- but for the fish-people, those we burnt.- The soldier said, withan involuntary shiver."We made a sketch out of them- pity we didn't dissect a body, but perhapsin the future , we'll have the occasion to do it."- President Ueso said."Well, Sirs, I must get going ! Duty, you know, ask me."- The soldier said,descending from the wagon to the night.

The President Ueso said:" First encounter of our allegedly scientificexpedition , and it ends on a killing ! Not good at all !"Secretary Tor said:" But, Mr. President, General Carter told to his men thatthe Fish- Men were the ones who attacked him, so he merely defendshimself!"-"Of course. But , did you hear the soldier ? He said the Fish- men weren'tarmed ! "- President Ueso replied." Not armed, but mounted on dinosaurs the like that could kill a man, ifrunning through him ! That were their weapons, Mr. President !"-Secretary Tor said."And you, Mr. Dimbor, what could you tell us about this encounter?-

President Ueso asked him.Farthen Dimbor said :" The fishpeople did exist. In the sea, where lifebegins, up until this case, no intelligent being was found. Until now,animals evolved to be creative and with self awareness on land. Out of thesea. Some animals evolved ; to some extent they did, and then they returnto the sea , better prepared for the struggle of life. But once in the salt sea,they stop in their mental development.Why the fish- men evolved to the self awareness? And exactly, to whichextent? We must gain more knowledge about them - as you see here, fishpeople just cannot live too much time out of the water!He heard some snorting, so Dimbor went to his bed, while the voice of

Ueso was saying:" Very good lecture, Mr. Dimbor !"At the next day, the General Carter sent the scouts into the forest, in orderto give the scientist time to study the flora and fauna; the team of scientistspread in a 300 meterss circle , finding specimens and learning aboutthem in the spot."This is wonderful! They found 30 new specimens of insects, two newdinosaurs and five lizards not know to science!- Mr. Dimbor told the othermembers, when lunching at noon, behind some giant ferns.


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"This is good ! I'm writing every new on my sketch -book! I pretend to givea complete affidavit of our voyage, to the Club members, at our return."-Secretary Tor said, eating a fruit."Of course ! The fish- men are one of your items?"- Lacombe asked him."Yes ! A good theme; perhaps we could see more of them, before we come

back! Perhaps some more facts about them are necessary, don't youthink?"- Tor asked him."I am sure they will search for their missing team ! Seems to me- they werescientists just like our team ! That's why they don't carry fire -arms !"-Lacombe said.Later, they hunt a Teinurosaurs, that was a small creature walking in fourlegs; the members of the Club asked the General to let them have it; andhe accepted, saying:" Hope you don't vivisect the poor creature !"President Ueso replied:" Of course not, General! It's a young specimen,good for to study their manners from the very beginning!"Of course."- General Carter said, departing - he was of the idea that as

soon as the dinosaurs grow to maturity, in their minds everything tameddisappeared, together with any sense of loyalty that he could hadpossessed, and their "masters" or keepers were to be perfect strangers.

The convoy begin to move again, and the Teinurosaur was roped to theback of Wagon number 80, the one of the Dinosaur Club's members . Thebeast was unrest, trying to get loose, as he was feeling his liberty wasbeing taken from him.Soon one of the scouts come to General Carter's presence, saying:" Sir !

There is a ravine ahead ! No way the wagons could cross that place."-"Right. But, the convoy could turn and keep on going by the side of it. Seeif there is some way to went to the other side, soldier!"- General Carter

said.But there were none; before sundown, the two motorcyclist come backwith the bad news: ' No way to cross, Sir ! The least distance between thetwo sides, is here !""I cannot believe it ! "- General Carter said, finding - at last- a challenge tohis training: to do whatever in whichever situation! So he went to hiswagons, with the officer and the two scouts, and with some maps,sketched by himself in that afternoon, he said :' We have this convoy here;there is the ravine, and that is the other side of it; then: if we went to thesea, that must be in that direction ( the West), we'll see how this superwalls of rocks will dwindle to nothing !'

"Of course, that could be, General ! But that sea could be very far fromhere- remember we walked to the north, and the continent grew large inthat direction. Large and wide, I mean."- The scout number one, SargentSocro, said."Yes, I understand your objections to my plan."- The eyes of the GeneralCarter sends some deadly messages in his direction, and keep on saying :"But I guess we will find the sea in a week or two; no more ! And themembers of the Dinosaur Club- they need not to be informed; simply, we


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"Bad luck ! This delayed us too much ". - Sergeant Socro gave his tosergeant Socro."But worst would have been to meet with them at full speed! . - Asix said,

yawning; soon he was asleep.The Tarbosaurs finished their fight two hours later , with the smaller of

them retiring limping ; it was then that Socro saw the reason of that fight;a female Tarbosaur that appeared timidly from behind a grove; the winnerwas proud to have won her favor, even with the bleeding scars on his hide! Socro looks at Asix who slept, and he decided to leave the place to looknearer what the two dinosaurs were going to perform ; so he hide hismotorbike in the bush, and walked five hundred meters to saw how themale Tarbosaur covered the female, who gave some orgiastic sounds ; soonthe Tarbosaur felt the chills, and when he take out its enormousreproductive organ, a bathroom of liquid ran down the paws of the

Tarbosaur. The male, finished his work and finished also his heat , wentto another place, without worrying any more of the female.

Their step would lead his body , unfortunately for Socro, in its address,reason why Socro run towards a side; the animal seemed to listen hissteps , and giving a snort, it began chasing the stranger , so the terrifiedSocro soon was running in zigzagAt the end of a run , he entered in a fissure in the floor, quite deep, an oldmark of a stream on the soft land; there was even mud in its bottom; andthere Socro, hearing the thumping of the animal close, give him hisbiggest terror, realizing it was nearer than he thought beforehand !As there was mud , he anoints himself with the hands his , and theclothes, in order to erase his scent of prey that guided the animal in histracks ; this was successful, because soon afterwards the Tarbosaurio

moves away, he no longer stop to return; Socro leave its confinement,when he saw a Sauriopelta pass jogging to less than twenty meters of he,so he returned to the hole, and it was he waited unto the night ; he couldno longer leave until the following day, since to walk in search of themotorcycle was practically impossible, without light enough to see.When arriving to the site where the motorcycles , although he saw stainsof oil in the floor, there was no sight of them ; that puzzles him, sinceAxis could not possibly had mounted in both! He decided that it was notpossible to continue speculating there, and he began to walk to meet withthe convoy - while he walked, he thought what could have happened to themotorcycles !

Before evening, he saw some dinosaurs Caemagnato jogging in thedistance; while in hidden, they get lost of view ; he walked until comingcloser to the steep cliff, and there he saw the other side of the reddishgulch under the sun of the evening... Night came and he spent the nightin a hole on the cliff, less than ten meters from the summit; he preferred tobe in that precarious situation that it has more than enough similar to thebranches of a tree, one that but of a dinosaur could ascend.


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With regard to Sergeant Axio, his return to the camp at night, arriving atthree of dawn; he presents before the General Crankcase, saying": MyGeneral, bad news! I lost my Sergeant Socro in the forest!"

The General Crankcase looks at him, furious, and said " Why you escapeleaving him there - afar ?"

"NO, my General ! Certain that there was two Tarbosaurs fighting, but westopped until they retired of the way ; I mused for a while alone , and thenI didn't see the Sergeant Socro where I left him sleeping ; I believe that hemoves away for some reason, and then he didn't know how to get back tothe place ". - Axio said."Not a fact! " - The general Crankcase was mad at him ." But then I decided to return, to tell you what happened". - Axio said , stillterrified by the vision of those giants of the forest..."And the Sergeant's motorcycle ? Or did it also get lost, together with he"? -Asked the general Crankcase."No, my General ! That it isn't lost! I hid it, if he returned ! And maybe it

arrives here tomorrow, because the motorcycle is in good shape ". - Axiosaid."I understand; but later we will speak of delusions . Now, allow me tosleep". - General Crankcase said , returning to his bed.

The other ones asked Axio for the whereabouts of Socro, but this little onejust said that he would already arrive in his moto!At dawn, and not seeing person arrived with the resemblance of lateSargent Socro, the General requested Axio to return at the place and triedharder to locate his partner. Axio agreed and left immediately; but has hehas a bad intuition with regard to returning to the place where the

Tarbosaurs make such a fun , he instead of going to the place

aforementioned , just went fifty kilometers ahead of the convoy in march,and there he rest the whole day; and returned at evening , lying on thematter."I didn't see anybody, General. The motorcycle did not continues in thesame position, but sergeant Socro wasn't available ."" What an hindrance ! I think we should preserve the only moto that wehave left; does the other one could be picked up tomorrow, or are we stillvery far"? - Asked General Crankcase."I don't believe that we could arrive tomorrow, General! I see the columnhas advanced a lot, but not enough; but well ! I believe that in two dayswe will arrive to the point". - Axio worked out .

"Well! Don't I believe we are in a mess, with this problem?"- The Generalsaid

The day after the General shortened lunches and rests; certain thatallowed the animals to worked harder, but also, when being in progress,they were urged to maintain an alive step .

The scientists weren't able to go into in the forest looking for specimens;and this all contributed to the speed , so sooner than thought, they werenear the place.


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Finally, they found Sargent Socro walking towards them; he was alreadybarefoot, with their clothes made shreds; and without the motorcycle."I have something to count "! - He said, but all the soldiers urged him torest ; he began to say something on dinosaurs and pyramids, and theGeneral Crankcase visits him while on a wagon , and recommended him

to eat something and rest before he could give the relation of hisadventures ; it was as well that he slept that whole afternoon, and alreadyat night wanted to relate the facts , but they impeded it , fearing that hisbrain had suffered some dysfunction that maintained him in that feverishstate.

This way, the up-to-date information of him was received by the GeneralCrankcase in his booth, next morning at eleven hours , with some othermilitary people there listening the account given by Socro, which seemedto have recovered his poise."It was this way: I saw three thin dinosaurs, walking in two paws like someof them accustomed to do , and of the class named Gravitolo, of three

meters long . They joined stones conforming a barrow, and I saw themmake this per hours; following this was a rain , so I left my viewing placeand I go away looking for food - I finds eggs and I ate it in a cavern, fromwhere I saw pass the entrance a lot many Gravitolos, and so I dive outwith curiosity, while I continued without being seen by those creatures ."'A feat". - Commented General Crankcase, knowing of the cunning of thedinosaur race."Truth ? Well, there I saw them unite stones upon more stones, to makewalls and this were enormous; they moved the thick stones as if they weremade of butter and feathers ; they conformed a rectangular temple, withscales of big steps. A number of Gravitolos was urged in this work, and

they formed a pyramid of four sides, high of twenty meters, in a workingday's elapsed time .""Incredible". - The Sergeant Axio said , who began to think that thesolitude had sipped him the brains ..."In a summit I waited for the full moon, and when this phenomenonrises from the East, their howls filled the night with horrible tones ". -Socro said."Truly thrilling". - Commented the President Ueso , who had arrived at themeeting without being invited."That is not everything; little time afterwards they ended the work , I sawa lot of dog -men being herded into the summit, and when the moon was

at his zenith, there and then the Gravitolos began throwing them overthe flat sides of the pyramid - many Kreatures died, but some other ones,rushed later, began to fall on their moribund congenerous, and being donewith life, they escaped to the forest, throwing wonderful howls". - Themotorist Socro said."And you, were not discovered"? - Asked the sergeant Axio, doubting of thewhole narration.


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"Mounted astride in a thick branch, covered with a net of branches andleaves, I went unnoticed by both races! Truth is that the men - dog haslittle time to being looking for curious at the scene". - Commented Socro."Those the men - dogs! I have listened anecdotes saying that the femalesof that race has a crash for male men " ! - Told them the President Ueso,

from the door." Clear it is ! Who will want to be inseminated by a dog"? - Sergeant Socrosaid, moving the head in a negative formAfter that account , General Crankcase said : ' We will stay here, for now,so that sergeant Socro ccould recover a little better . Mr. Ueso, you canleave to explore with your team". -"Thank you; we will do it". - He said , retiring to his boxcar ;and there hegathered the members of the Club of the Dinosaur, saying": Today wewon't move of this place as a column ; so we will be able to leave on foot toexplore the vicinity . "And they made this ; in fact, they didn't hunt dinosaurs , but they saw the

animals at a distance, and with that they conformed to. They also pickedup samples of the flora; this leathery ferns were living in that sector,inedible for the humans - although boiled .At evening, the President warns them there would be a session, and fromtheir bunks, all could listen and share the session of that week."The session opens being the 22 hours; Present are Mr. Ueso, President;Mr. Secretary Tor,Partner Lacombe, Mr. Tatose, Mr. Farden Dimbor; the Treasurer Mr.Negio Varema, Mr.Escon Fargas, and partners in number of six. The previous session act isread , and is approved.

Then, Mr. President said": The scientific investigations carried out this fargive us nine classes of newly discovered plants, some insects and thediscovered of not yet classified dinosaurs, of which some outlines weremade."

The Treasurer gives account of the money - then he says": Being in alonely place where nothing could be borrowed , our account is rising ."Lacombe makes fun, saying that neither the return is insured, reason whyconsiders to join money something a bit ridiculous, in the currentcircumstances.

The Treasurer Mr. Nergio says that when there is will everything ispossible, and that in the pessimism there is a black void where all you

can see is darkness , and that with this defeatist attitudes , the Club couldbe attracted to the Bad side of Luck!"

The Mr. President takes the word and he says that a parallel course iscontinued in reference to the narrow canyon, and this because the depthwas such that a descent is a suicide.Mr. Fargas communicates that general Crankcase will stop the convoy asmuch as the sergeant's recovery last , and that depended on the health ofthe military if they began or not the march ...


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Mr. Director gives a task to all the partners: to write on what they will seein tomorrow's day, in the individual explorations or group exploration, toorganize; this revives the spirit of them all, and Mr. Farden Dimbor addsthat he commits them all to read their reports at the following session , sohe asks them not to extend the relation too much. He is given an

applause .The session ends at 23 hours Knappian Time ."The following day, the scouts found the pyramid and the man-dogremains disseminated at its foot; they ascended to the summit, twentymeters high, and they were surprised by the perfection of design."Without doubts, these beings have intelligent reasoning in their dinosaurbrains. Should be useful to establish contact and to arrive to anunderstanding with them". - President Ueso asserted."Just they had no pity on the race Kreature". - General Crankcase said -"

The race coming from the dinosaurs...""Gravitolos, my General ". - Reminds him sergeant Socro.

"Gravitolos; they can have a reason of sorts, but it is cruel. Which is thereason to kill those beings? It will be necessary to investigate and todiscover the reason of it". - Assert the General Crankcase.It was in this way, then, that the convoy rested in the same place, locateda kilometer in distance from the pyramids. The General Crankcasegathered his people - military - and said": We will Proceed by severalparts. This where we stand with the wagons, will be the Base: I mean,where the boxcars are. Then six monitoring stations will be built by us, tohide personnel who will be observing . I want them standing lookingtowards the pyramid. Each observation point took an number; the next tothe Base will be called the One, and so forth. We will have a good time !"

"And what will we do if they develop again their ritual of death , myGeneral "? - Ask lieutenant Prez." Nothing ! It is merely a work observation. ". - Said General Crankcase.In the following days, all hands helped at the works - President Uesoreceived securities that members of the Club would be allowed in theobservation towers ."There is no problem allowing them to go as volunteers, and but obeyorders or I will not responsible of any mischief ! ! Mr. President, this canbe, also, dangerous. Could be that the Gravitolos could replace men = dogwith us, men". - General Crankcase said."In all scientific mission there is some risk that goes amok , General"!. -

Ueso Commented...So, the day when the towers of observation were in position, peopled withclever eyes on the look up, arrives, and so they spent the first nightobserving , hiding inside those towers - camouflaged with branches andleaves. The President Ueso and the Secretary Tor were both at tower six,half way between the Base and the Pyramid; and like in the previous days,dinosaurs Gravitolos were not be seen in the surroundings...


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"Maybe they got bored of their game". - Perez commented , in theobservation post number 12."Maybe! We don't know anything about their mental processes". - TheGeneral Crankcase- who was also present , reply."To kill a rival ; it is the only thing that I am thinking happened there !

Maybe the dog-men eats some allowances that the dinosaurs has asnecessary edible thing ; maybe they also eat their eggs, and that wouldmake the matter very personal." - Lacombe said , while looking towardsthe pyramid."So many species of dinosaurs in so many millions of years ! And it is saidthat the current man has a hundred thousand years of existence ,not more! We are the example of life of a minuscule and insignificant branch in theregister of Life on Earth . Capable that we are just a gleam in the night ofthe times and anything else is vanity ". - The President said , in the tower12.Secretary Tor replied :" A gleam or not, we should make a heck of a noise

before we departed !""Yes ! Perhaps to build a couple of Universes, now the Branas arediscovered and tamped with, somehow!"- President Ueso said .

Two weeks later, there was not many people wanting to continue stayingin the place. Neither a building dinosaur had wanted to come closer tonone of the observation positions, neither to the recently ended pyramid."We will lift the camp, Gentlemen! It is no longer much to make of use ,here"! - General Crankcase croaked."Really, it is little matter what has been made". - President Ueso said ."The truth, Mr. President, is that everything lacks ! We have not been ableto obtain the secret of the building Dinosaurs! But our people get bored

and , apart from few flora outlines and fauna, truly anything is alreadydone here". - General Crankcase said ."It would be clever you permits me, and some other members of my Club,stay ? Maybe the dinosaurs returns and we would be here, and in thisway, in disposition of seeing them". - He requested,."I will think about it , Mr. President". -Replied General Crankcase.

The preparations for the departure didn't stop, and President Uesogathered his acquaintances, saying ": The General Crankcase willcontinue; but he left unconcluded the investigation ,so I offered myself asa volunteer, to continue here . Maybe, helped by some voluntary membersamong you The work would not stop."

An oppressive silence continued to its words; all understood that thePresident was not want to stay there alone - that's his "offer", but each ofthem didn't want to keep on being waiting there .Lacombe was the first one that left the astonishment, and said " Really

you doesn't want to leave, President? Here there is no action, and we havegrown drowsy seeing how the wind moves the leaves ! I believe that everyday its a test but you should realize that the famous Gravitolos will nolonger return here until maybe another planetary conjunction."


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"Interesting! A year of term? It could be". - Exclaimed President Ueso,arching the brows with eyes a-fire, but in that moment, a messenger fromthe General arrived and said : :' Mr. Ueso, your application has beenrefused by the general Crankcase: nobody lags behind in this expedition.""Tells him that I understand . When we leave"? - President Ueso asked ,

calmed down now that it had no choice to fight the Man in Power .Two hours later , the boxcar numbers 80 went behind the others, withsoldiers of the General Crankcase as much in the vanguard as in theRearguard.12023

The general Crankcase smiled, satisfied. The President of the Club of theDinosaur obeyed is order without a word !President Ueso revised the album of notes. They had seen hundred eightydinosaurs, from the beginning of the expedition; twenty of them were notknown before , but they didn't have dissected any animal ; neithermeasured their bones .

"Will we end up becoming famous, President? - Lacombe asked him ."Never so much, Mr. Lacombe! Perhaps a comment or two at the Court,and to be in the news for a week ! Then the layer of the indifference willfall on us again." - Ueso said gloomily , who had already similar projects,ending with little diffusion and null economic help."At least, in the scientific circles it will be known"? - I ask Lacombe."Obviously! "- Replied Mr. Ueso, feeling ill at ease with Lacombe who, aspartner of the Club of the Dinosaur, should already know they were notworking for fame and fortune .Ueso read the dinosaur's list, in high voice:' Iliosuco, Indosaurio,Inosaurio, Janensquio, Kagasaurio, Saurosuco, Labocanio, Lametasaurio,

Lelinasaurio, and the Gravitolos .""I always thought a Troodon will show us true intelligence". -Commentedthe lecturer Mr. Farden Dimbor."Ah! The intelligent hunter! Certainly he has a great brain, in relation tothe size of their body! Three meters long and a weight of fifty kilos! Buttheir intelligence resembles that of a parrot"! - Ueso mumbled ."Yes , they are thin and light! My favorite ones, with their pair of big eyethat seemes to hypnotize their prey! "- Dimbor said."Now that we are moving away from the well-known lands who knowswhich other races could we see"? - Lacombe asks president Ueso.

As if responding to his question, they saw , flying toward the side of thegulch, four enormous flying dinosaurs."Quetzalcoatles! Big specimens"! - Dimbor said, looking by a porthole.President Ueso said " Good omen this is !"12026General Crankcase checked that the slope was not possible to bedescended by the wagons , and said to his assistants": The military part of


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this expedition will Continue; the civilians stayed here up, until ourreturn."

The news doesn't like anybody: the military ones didn't see reason why togo down narrow canyons, if they won't make scientific experiments. Andthe group of the Club of the Dinosaur, seeing vanishing their opportunity

to walk by unknown places, were very gloomy.General Crankcase abandon the convoy at 07 hours the following day, andwith his troop , they began the descent, under a cloudless sun."Good-bye to the other side of the narrow canyon! But we won't lose thetime: we will explore this side." - Warns his associates the president Ueso, who had recovered already of his disillusion, and he wanted to take outsome profit of the situation they were in.In this way, they continued with the carts until a place on high, where thehorizon was seen in full ."The ocean"! - They exclaimed. And it is that they were in view of the liquidexpansion that renewed the encouragement. The brackish air arrived them

in healthy blasts of wind."President! I propose we move down to the beach ! General Crankcasecertainly will take his time to return here, so we have a lot of days for ourexplorations " - Lacombe said.President Ueso said: " We could do it, only if someone stays here , to takecare of the beasts!"

To this follows a short but heated discussion, at the end of which nobodywants to stay, so the President rise his voice , saying" The surroundingswere to be explored, only!"12027And soon after, leaving bundles to the animals, they went away , in search

of curiosities on the fauna and native flora.They were not disappointed: they peeked a couple of Uranosaurios mating:the groans of the female shakes the earth . They found insects of fortycentimeters long that resembles tree branches, with carnivoroustendencies.Mr. Tatose, designer, twisted himself a foot, when climbing to a tree todraw a strange flower specimen, and falling to the floor in a bad way. Thelecturer Dimbor blindfolds the foot, and they made him a cane, to returnto the camp, distant eight kilometers of stones and rock . At the arrival,Mr. Tatose had his ankle swollen ; Dimbor heated water and I applycompresses of hot water , that which alleviate him the pain and deflate

the ankle."I believe that tomorrow you don't go to field exploration". - Dimbor said ;

Tatose shrank his shoulders; such a thing he won't discuss, since the painwas intense.


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Chapter 3

General Crankcase 's Expedition

Characters :General Crankcase, Sergeant Socro , Sergeant Asix ; Lieutenant Prez,

Marcol, Tarat, Plocion AND twenty others .When arriving to the base of the narrow canyon, to the surprise of them all, with a slope relatively easy to a person on foot ; there was thoughtamong the troop that to leave the scientists up on the plateau had notbeen a good idea (they could have accompanied them easily, if notattached to the wagons ) but nobody dared to comment the orders withGeneral Crankcase ...12029"A Plain of two kilometers wide ; the other side not too far; stay watchful,for dinosaurs ". - Ordered the general Crankcase, walking fast . He saw adepression on the road, and suddenly a Camarasaur sprout there, lifting

their body with a bellow; the expeditionary force almost falls on theirbacks , when seeing the dinosaur elevate her head twelve meters high ;they didn't think it twice and they ran from there, bound for the opposedhillside.Satisfied the herbivore of having been able to drive away the intruders,returned to the nest, beside which she maintain a loving guard of her eggs.Raised of the nervous tension, the group gave a laugh , making somecomments ."Marcol became pale and he ran like a deer ". _ Sergeant Socro said ."You was not so bad at running ,too "! - Sergeant Marcol said (recently

ascended to that range by the general Crankcase. In fact, the retiredGeneral had no authority to make true ascents; but it was a way ofcommunicating to their assistants that he was satisfied with their behaviorand he was going to make a Report to the Army , requesting that theappointment should be corroborated or backed up .)

They crossed a stone field , with many big rocks six seven meters highand width in between ,that had descended from the high side of the cliff.

They found a puddle of muddy water and drinking there were eightOrnitolestes ,12030those which, when seeing them, they put on a belligerent attitude. General

Crankcase shot his firearm immediately, hitting on the bigger of them inthe neck that didn't make too much hurt, but only inflame the beast withrage ; the other expeditionary men lifted their rifles and they also beganto shoot; and at their third shot, the group of eight Ornitolestes wasalready on them , not giving time to another shoot .Now there was the sound of cracking and crushed bones that one couldlisten; the Ornitolestes had a late hunger of five weeks, and they didn'tforgive neither the marrow of those bones.


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Two hours later, they were lying on the ground, resting the ingestion.

Chapter 4

Decisions at the Dinosaur's Club.

Unaware of this tragedy, President Ueso and the rest of the expedition

explored for three days the nearest beach and its surroundings , fromwhere they took out a hundred kilos of different mollusk's shells thatthen they toiled in to classify and to keep in well storage ."Scientific treasure, but if instead it were gold, we would be rich "! -President Ueso said ."It is our way, President! Had you seen this Panochthini already? It is of abig size ! The ornamentation of the armor shows a primitive pattern, thesame as the skull!"12031President Ueso smiled , saying ": The nervous system of a mollusk issomething curious; this compound for masses medularias; the main one is

the brain, with its ganglion cerebriformes, surrounding the esophagus,and communicating with nervous hebrillas with other secondary ganglion,spread by the body."

They already had two cars loaded with samples; the days passed, and theGeneral and their expeditionary force didnt return."Something wrong happens with them! I have that premonition! "-Lacombe said, finally."Here we are not making anything! "- Commented the secretary - Tor, andthis was worth him a reprobate look by the President Ueso, whomexclaimed ": Nothing, is not what we have been doing here! We havegathered many evidences of new classes of mollusks, to take to Oredloro.Maybe the delay of the military ones doesn't have to do with problems, butwith the delay of the General Crankcase, who perhaps finds possiblemarvels of the Flora and Fauna at the other side of that gulch!""It is a madness to continue nailed here! We already take eighteen dayswaiting"! - Commented Lacombe, with his legs submerged in the sea."Do I understand your feelings? Yes! But it is not preferable to stay still inhere? - Tor responded him who also insisted in taking out mollusks of the


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water. And it is that now not alone they collected shells of bivalve, butrather they also eats them; to the sector they arrived Pacicefalosaurosmostly, which didn't fall when being impacted by arrows (the shots hadfinished soon after leaving the General Crankcase the site )."Our mission is to explore. Stopped here, nothing new we will be able to

see". - Lacombe assured them .The following day, the President Ueso makes a new session of the Club, tosee the new items and other points of interest - for this , here it's thetranscription of that session:"At May 30 , the session opens up, being the 18:10 hours, and with thepresence of the Mr. President Ueso, Secretary Tor, etc.

The previous Record is read , being fully approved. It is the basic pointthat we should walk away and not wait any longer for the GeneralCrankcase . The President Ueso offers the word, to give opinions in thisrespect. Mr. Lacombe, partner, says that in the current point of events wehad already explored and that it should be continued ahead and beyond .

12036Mr. Farden Dimbor, lecturer , says that to continue ahead is a very vagueorder and he asks to specify the address or direction .Mr. Lacombe intends to arrive by the sea to the other bank (since there isa wall of rocks to the exit of the big ravine , that impedes the way in bothsides). The Secretary Mr. Tor asks what they would do with the boxcars, ifthey left for the sea, and Mr. Lacombe replies that they would be givenaway.Mr. Escon Fargas, lecturer , says that he has give a lot of time and effort inthe acquisition and summary of shells and their data , to abandon themnow as if garbish .

Mr. Tatose intends to leave the boxcars , liberate the simian-steeds andto return for the same road, after the voyage for sea; they would recoverthe boxcars that could perhaps be used again with some of the simiansteeds that they could had stayed close.12037Mr. Director requests voting to continue after General Crankcase, or toreturn to Oredloro. After the voting , gives forth the following results: tostay: 3 votes. To continue by the sea, 4 votes.Seen that , Mr. Pdte. Ueso decides to announce that, for simple majority,they would stray the boxcars in sure place; the simian steeds will beliberated and they would proceed to give each partner a bundle to carry

on the trip. All this would be made to the brevity.Mr. Tatose requests to stay under the care of the convoy of carts, until thereturn of the expedition, because he says he is not be able to walk asmuch as it will be - according to the - necessary. His proposal is acceptedand the simian-steeds were not liberated.

The following day, Tatose saw them leave, with a knot in his throat,because he would be alone, in the border of an enormous cliff, with


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hundreds of kilometers around , where fierce animals were notimagination.In turn, those of the expedition saw him waving his arm , ascended to oneof the carts, and they thought if they would return alive to that place.When arriving to the beach sector , they begin cutting hoist, and then

tying them, forming a raft that was finished at the fifth day; in their centerthere was a square full with sand, in which the passengers sat down, whileto stern, a helm or palette, in charge of the President Ueso, because: whocould be better to govern the destinations of the Club? And to the sail ,made with wide leaves and braided lianas, attentive, was secretary Tor.

The sea was calm , with deep long waves of a greenish shade; some winged creatures flew to some eight hundred meters away ofthem, seemingly feeding on fish ."Good climate"! - Negio Varema said, looking as each wave shone, oily,under the potent lighthouse of the star."And good tide! Look at those rocks! We would have taken days in crossing

on foot"! - Said Lacombe, indicating to the closed step that meant thoserocks that covered the entrance of the great expanse."Some day the sea will enter over there, and will fill that tortuous andcyclopean channel"! - Lagurnio said, although after saying such a thing,was doubtful- perhaps only some powerful tsunami will make it true !

The wind finished taking the raft to the other side of the great gulch. Thebeaches extended for about two kilometers, separated by rockypromontories.As the raft was not possible to be guided towards the shallow part of thebeach, Director Lagurnio said ": Take your bags and let us swim towardsthe beach!" And saying this, he plunged into the sea, but nobody imitates

him; between screams and ranks (that he didn't obeyed ) they saw himcome closer to the beach, fighting not abandon his bag.

The wind began to take them towards high seas; the coast was going awayin time , and the waves rotates the raft that soon lost helm and veils."We should have imitated Lagurnio"! - Lacombe complained .

The waves grew in the darkness of the night above them and they didn'tsee the coast any more .Farden Dimbor get asleep there in the square of sand, sure that the end ofits days had arrived, amid the sea.

The President Ueso was the first one in waking up in the following dawn;to his surprise, the coast was hardly at twenty meters, being two hundred

meters the whole width of the gulf . There under, he saw white sand, withsome shells12040shining as diamonds, less than six meters deep."Hey! Wake up all! We have arrived"! - He warned , his voice pleasant butunexpected emotion, before the surprise that the night currents had solvedthe enormous problem of their immediate subsistence.


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All marveled of their good luck, and going down to the water, they swimedthrowing the raft toward the bank, and they heaved unto the sand partly,so that the sea didn't take it away ."A very beautiful place"! - Farden approved , smiling; he looks towardsmainland at the greens hoist, the undergrowth of ferns that almost formed

a wall."This is a good place "! - Tor said , not wanting to have any moreproblems."The friend Lagurnio is lacking! Maybe we could find him, if we look at theother beaches"! - Requested the President Ueso, putting in dry hishandbag.With strings they tied the raft at two trunks, so that the tide, whenascending, didn't take it to the sea; and this because they had the idea ofreturning in the raft , after finding the military ones , or Lagurnio .

The forest was dense, but it ascended abruptly towards the peak of thenarrow canyon; Dimbor said": We dont have any object to continue here!

We have to revise the coast!"They walked among thorny branches difficult to cross; and althoughseveral times they found beaches of white sands, and the splendid seabehind, they didn't see Ligurnio ; they ended arriving near the heap ofrocks, and neither there signs were seen.Soon arrives the night and they hid among rocks that easily weretransformed in true tunnels; Dimbor said": it is safe to be here; no bigdinosaur can enter among this mixture of rocks.""We will be quiet, but armed - who wants to make the first guard"? - AskedPresident Ueso, when the darkness arrives. As nobody said anything, headded ": I will make the first watch ! But the following one, somebody must

kept ; I cannot be all night without sleep !""I Accept the second watch ; but it is incredible, we have not foundLagurnio"! - Tor said."Maybe we should ascend on the edge of the cliff and from there looks forrakes of the General Crankcase and their people". - Escon Fargas yawnedout ."" And Lagurnio ? - Tor said ."We already looked for him, and he was not ; now we ascend to look for theGeneral and at the return, again we will be able to see for Lagurnio"! -Lacombe said.And it was made that way. The following day, after refreshment with fruits,

the group ascended for the hillside until arriving to the plain that was cuttowards the side of the Great Gulch."Incredible! I can see at a hundred kilometers away from here"! -Exclaimed Lacombe, and it was certainly this way. The opposed side of thegulch, brilliant under the star, it was not very discernible at that earlyhour, due to some fog .


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Looking down, they saw some Deinonicus jogging toward the opposed sideto the sea. Heaths, rocks and some Stoquesosaurs that nibbled thevegetation were notorious in that moment."Neither people's signs!": -Lacombe Commented ."It would be necessary to see if it is possible to ascend to this side, in

easy form ; and there begin looking for prints". - Negio Varema said.That advice was immediately accepted for the other ones, and they beganto walk by the border of the cliff, moving away from the Ocean side ."A hot day". - Commented president Ueso."Without water". - Adds Lacombe." Not a problem! In the forest there is fruit - we will leave below in midafternoon, if we don't find an acceptable step down before that hour ". -Negio Varema commented .12044Before that period of time, they saw an easy place to lower and to ascend;because from the deep of the cliff several rock terraces were made before

them."We will went down . But carefully! Looking always if there are prints "! -Ordered president Ueso. But it was not an easy thing to do . At the fourhours of initiated that descent, they hardly moves but with difficulty. Theyate the little thing that it was with them, and they continue the descending."Finally! What now ? " - One asks in high voice , when they were walkingby the ravine.Lacombe revises the surroundings with his view, and he said": If theyascended by here , a thing very probably , they didn't leave prints! ""We will see if we find them in the path that they should have taken! "- The

president Ueso said, tossing to walk toward the opposed side of the gulch.Soon they crossed among a tangle of ferns, in the reining heat."It is necessary to see like if they puncture some branches"! - FardenDimbor said , with hands bleeding due to the ferns . They found a pond,in which some small beings swimed."Nobody drink of this water! This is polluted "! - Warned president Ueso.While they advanced , they found metallic buckles among organicremains. Cleaning them against the dirt, they realized that they had been12045of the military personnel of the Kingdom of Rixiaberg."A tragedy! Those are remains of the expedition of the retired General

Crankcase!' - President Ueso said, very alarmed.."Poor men! Who will have eaten them "? - Escon Fargas asked .Farden said": I Remember those Deinonicus! They should have been theculprits ! We are, therefore, in their hunting grounds limits ! "And before that exclamation ends, they all looked around, afraid. And asafter an incantation, they listened to furious bellows in the distance...


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"Soon it will be dark! We are almost hidden, in this density of ferns! Ipropose that we look for a better hiding place, to hide until tomorrow!' -Negio Proposed ."Better we leave here completely ! "- Lacombe said.' - I didn't want to staythe whole night shivering!"

"A voting? "- Farden proposed , but then was another bellow, and alreadynobody wanted to leave the ferns.In a depression of the land, they all take cover , piling stones surroundinga circle ; The night amid the gulch was silent, and not the soft rumor ofthe sea was heard . But rumors of footfalls made them tremble with panic;they listened and they imagined silhouettes being materializing beforethem - the rumor of the leaves with the wind was fancied as dinosaurssteps , and vice versa.Before dawn there were some noises and running , but when arriving thegolden light of dawn , they removed great part of the fear from theirhearts....

12046" All in good health, so we go before the problems begin ! - Orderedpresident Ueso...All made their way , bending over when the grass grows too thick, ; beforearriving to the steep ascent , Lacombe saw a Deinonico at the earthy plainof the gulch, and Lacombe , with a scream of terror, ascended as quick ashe can by the boulders ; the rest continued him, after to look which wasthe object of is terror.Fortunately, the Deinonico could not arrive to them, due to its weight andto the abrupt of the ascent; but it accompanies them long while withhoarse bellows of anger.

"Animals ! I almost faint of terror "! - Escon Fargas said, breathing hard bythe effort. Already far from the bottom of the ravine, appeared smiles ontheir faces and they realized the damages on toes and nails after theprecipitate ascent...When arriving to the summit, they rested a good awhile under the rays ofthe star. They remembered also their hunger, and they went toward theforest, looking for its shade and the fruits that would calm their hunger.

They found fruits, and also some small dinosaurs Sinornis, that strolledover there in search of roots to eat.Negio drawing the Sinornis immediately, in their outline block."Perfect! You have sketched them very well"! - Lacombe approved, after

looking in the block the result of the partner's first drawing.12047

They walked towards the north, avoiding some Protoceratops, quadrupedherbivores, of a hundred eighty kilos weight, on the average, with their twometers long that although they had little height and a horn, they weredangerous for their bad genius . The land was full of trees with eatablefruits , very convenient for herbivore animals .


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"Good place, Mr. Negio Varema! I see that you had drawn one of ourfriends, the Protoceratops"! - Said President Ueso."Undoubtedly ! It is an unique opportunity! These animals are really exoticin our country - but even, today, after the invasion of the Rixiabergianos,the more so !" - Negio responded, now more at leisure since they weren't

Rixiabergians in sight..."It is this way the ideal one ! Hope that in the future we can organize truecivilian safaris towards this place, and that deaths don't exist without agood reason, but rather people that wants to come and admire thesecreatures in their habitat without killing and maiming them !" - PresidentUeso said .Later on their trek , they found a lagoon with some Estegosaurs eatingaquatic plants of the bottom. There Mr. Varema draws until evening, whiletheir partners build a place where to sleep, on branches of some bit trees .Soon the scientific team of the Club was up there, resting at the platformsseeing as the light went diminishing, and with it the flight of the big

Pterodactyls, and some Quetzalcoatls - these to more height."A different world! And to think that we are12048in the same world that Oredloro and Oxiborion! "- Commented NegioVarema."Allow me to say that these lands are excellent to increase knowledge". -Croaked Farden Dimbor.Soon they slept, wrapped in their blankets and a lot more comfortablethan previously. The President Ueso mounts guard, and then he madesecretary Tor keep on until the new dawn.

They got off the platforms, and they ate fruits that were abundant over

there; only they had to be frighten of small Xuanuasaurs that fed equallyon those fruits.Soon they saw many Riojasaurs watering in a channel that ran full ofwater. The designer Varema takes advantage of making numeroussketches.When the lunch - that consisted on eating fruit - the lecturer Dimborsaid": The origin of the prosauropods is interesting. They are considered asthe first group with tendencies toward the ingest of plants, in the clado(branch) of the saurischian. The anatomical condition of the pelvis (itleaves of the skeleton of the vertebrates that serves from point of union tothe bones of the later members)

(12049)and spine of the Herrerasauridae gathers derivative characters that leavethem outside of the group Prosauropoda."Ah, and you believe that "? - Tor asked."It is that the pubis (the previous of the three bones that form the coxal.)traversely narrow in their extreme distal and with an axial expansion; thedorsal vertebras with neural thorns axially short; the reduced scapular


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"And how do you call them ? "- President Ueso asked, who followed thechat of the sincerely Mr. Dimbor.

Prephyriojasaurio I would call him! Would we all know what animal wouldbe referring, when calling it in such a way, or not"? - Asked the lecturer.."Undoubtedly! " - Lacombe said .12050President Ueso looked at him for some instant , and he said, while theywalked : ' Mr. Lacombe! Humans seems to need the deceit and what ifhuman depends on those deceits, in a pragmatic sense. Some of thosedeceits occur in deep levels of our human condition, and if they arethreatened, they can also threaten our humanity. Some sciences can incurin these threats toward the deceiving models. Some of the sciences canleave us , in this way , literally sick in a very fundamental way. We shouldsolve these conflicts before continuing ahead. Previous changes of causedparadigms for the science have allowed us to stay in the ingenuousness on

ourselves. Nowadays we should begin to be honest on our deceits and tochoose to support them consciously before continuing merely in the way ofconscious ignorance".Lacombe moved its head, saying:' THAT IS TO SAY, Mr. President, youDoes tell us that some of those deceits happen very deeply in the levels ofour human condition, and if they are threatened, can they threaten ourhumanity ?"


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"Certainly; there are facts that some human ends in rags if without thatthing called religion". - Clarified president Ueso."That is to say, some sciences can incur in challenges toward those centraldeceit models. This way some science literally can make us feel sick infundamental ways"? - Lacombe almost repeated literally.

" Us" , yes, we can solve those polemics before continuing ahead". -Repeated Mr. Ueso.Lecturer Dimbor could not control himself of not to say something aboutit, , so he uttered ": The deceit is an executed act to convince anotherperson of a not true given information . The deceit, or lie, involves conceptslike the propaganda, removing the attention on the main component of thedeceit, and the concealment. The fiction, sometimes manipulative, its nota deceit unless it shows as the whole truth; it is not necessary to confuse itwith the stockings truths. In some cases it is difficult to distinguish thedeceit, of the missed information given by ignorance.One of the reasons for this is that the person or an organization can have

ended up believing in something mistaken because he doesn't want to seethe parts that don't coincide.

The self - deceive it is a process to deny or to rationalize, moving away theimportance, significance or relevance of an evidence against logicalargument.It has been said that the humans are, without exception, highlysusceptible of self - deceived, since all have emotional ties with their beliefsthat it is irrational in some cases. Some biologists evolutionist , as Robert

Trivers, they have suggested that, since the deceit is such an importantpart in the human behavior (and generally animal behavior also), a selfinstinct deceive can give that person a selective profit: if somebody can be

believe his own lie (for example, its representation that is partially towardhis own interest), the theory says that they consequently will be betterqualified to persuade others of HIS " truth."

This notion is based in the following logic. In the humans, the realizationof the fact that oneis acting deceivingly gives clear signs of deceit. Therefore, the self -deceiveallows somebody to believe its distortions, it didn't present those signs ofbeing lying and therefore HE WILL APPEAR AS SAYING THE TRUTH.Example of this are Priests and preachers , and the old gone Ufologists ...One can also say that the ability of lying, or self deceived, it is not theselected characteristic but rather a sub product of a feature that primarily

has been selected. The abstract thought allows many such evolutionaryadvantages as flexibility, behavior adaptative and innovation.Since the lie is an abstraction, the mental process of creating a lie it canonly happen in animals with a sufficiently complex brain that allows themthe abstract thought."

They arrives to a field of hoist fruit-bearing; a solitary Estenopelix ate ayellowish fruit philosophically, and looked at them with still eyes.


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"Ah, we have sweet company! "- Lacombe laughs, and try to play with it ,but the animal escaped immediately. So, Lacombe tastes the fruits andsaid : ' Delicious! And this it is not known, or I'm making a mistake, Mr.Fargas ? ""Clearly ; is not known in Oredloro , see? "- He said , tasting it; then he

agreed with a nod of his head, saying " : It is jolly good."The other ones chose well-known fruits; the place was very warm, so theyperspired, for the joy of some flying insects that tried to settle in itsexposed places to suck ; Lacombe said " : Condemned flies - moscos! Theyare not when it is cold."

The Estenopelix returned, as if nothing had happened , and now he didn'tlook at them with mistrust; they could come closer, and the animal fakednot to see them. All smiled before the passivity of the animal, and thepresident Ueso said: " It is just a

Knapp 07 Dinosaur Club

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Transcript of Knapp 07 Dinosaur Club