by Jack Challis
Movements to her right made her turn; it was the blue and red faced humanoids making straight for the fig tree: what would happen when they discovered the small humanoids?
The strange mandrill-faced humanoids reaching the fig tree began to eat, collecting the small fruit at the same time. They soon spotted the small humanoids above. Apart from some finger pointing, no other action was taken. Having eaten their fill of figs, the strange humanoids moved on. To Blodwyn’s surprise the small family quickly climbed down from the fig tree and began to follow, without objection from the large strange looking humanoids. The mandrill-faced humanoids seemed to accept other intelligent species, without fear or prejudice.
“Safety in numbers” thought Blodwyn as the group disappeared south into the distance, behind thorn scrub. Having done her bit, she de-cloaked and took off looking for more adventure.
She headed for the deep Olduvai Gorge again. At the edge of the Gorge she spotted several different humanoids accompanied by their children hunkered around a carcass of an antelope; she cloaked the space chariot and landed close by, curious to find out what they looked like. To her surprise these ancient ancestors of man looked just like the drawings she had seen in archeological books: primitive, well built cave men known as the Stone-breakers: Homo Habalis – Handy-Man.
This was a happy group as they butchered the antelope. To her delight and surprise several of the small type of humanoids she had met at the fig tree were around on the fringes of the stone age hunters digging in the ground for tubers. Occasionally the hunters seemed to converse in friendly tones with the small Ramapithecus. Again there appeared to be no animosity between the two species of our distant ancestors. Blodwyn slowly and silently lifted off; there was so much more she needed to see. This chance would never come again.
She turned the space chariot west, to the edge of the great forests and silently flew along the border between trees and golden plain. Just ahead a group of very powerfully built humanoids ambled out of the forests accompanied by some children. There was something very unusual about this group; although hairless they were built like gorillas with short bandy legs; very large stomachs and thick, powerful muscles. Each male held a large pointed stick. This species belonged to the species Austrolapithus Robustus; another distant ancestor of ours that disappeared.
Blodwyn cloaked and landed. A pack of hyenas were soon attracted to this group and slunk around trying to get at the children. The large males formed a circle around their females and youngsters; stones were thrown at the predators. The large males began roaring and beating their massive chests. The hyenas slunk away to find weaker prey. The whole group then settled down to feed, eating leaves and digging in the ground for tubers and roots; the big beings were vegetarian, just like modern day gorillas. They were soon joined by several of our smallest ancestors who appeared from the forest. To Blodwyn’s way of thinking all of man’s ancestors seemed to live in harmony when together and cooperated when in danger of attack from predators. She was very wrong, as she would soon find out – she had yet to meet another ancestor of man!
The red light began to flash on the dashboard – the Time-ship of the Galla Qualls was back – hurrah! She would not have to make her own way back to Earth.
Lifting off, she set a course for the Time-ship. Blodwyn recognized the fig tree as she passed overhead. About five miles past the tree she slowed down. What she saw below on the golden plain shocked her – she had to stop. A scene of carnage was spread out: blood-framed!
Lying where they fell, were the bodies of the very strange mandrill-faced humanoids and the small family from the fig tree, Blodwyn had very recently protected; they had been massacred! Bending over the slain, looting the dead bodies were another race of our ancestors: Cro-Magnon – modern man! Cro-Magnon did not tolerate other intelligent life-forms. By killing the strange race Cro-Magnon lost the secret of spark producing flint and the benefit of bronze; the bronze-age would have to wait millions of years before rediscovery.
Blodwyn felt sick at the sight before her. She felt like giving the killers a good dose of the laser: that would teach them. Just about to leave, she suddenly noticed movement below the sand. She had seen this before: the Orb-eyed Oga Koya! “Why were the Sand-swimmers moving towards the massacre; were they carnivores – scavengers? If so Nargon the Oga Koya who was trying to persuade her to go underground, had lied – the Oga Koya were not fungus eaters but carnivores!” Blodwyn would have to ponder on this and come to a firm decision in case she met the Oga Koya again.
Spotting the movements towards them under the sand the Homo sapiens quickly left: obliviously afraid of the sand-swimmers. She sadly made her way back to the Time-ship.
Chapter Twenty Two
Cretaceous: Intelligent Lizards
When common Earth was ruled by reptile fang and claw:
the same common sun still fell at dusk and rose at dawn.
Fur, feather or flower was as yet unknown;
No scented twilight, no nightingale song;
no glimpse of doe with dainty stepping fawn.
Back on the Galla Quall Time-ship, Blodwyn was excited, for two reasons; firstly, Admiral Sebus announced that the next stop of the ship would be during earth’s Cretaceous period – the true age of the dinosaurs. Secondly, the little Sisling, Boochi began emerging from chrysalis. Blodwyn was delighted; she finally had her own personal little bodyguard.
The first thing the Sisling asks for was pollen toffee. She gave the little Ling one lump and ate a lump herself. This did not go well, as far as the little Sisling was concerned.
‘You are stealing my food!’ The little Ling accuses, stuffing its little mouth.
‘More!’ demanded the little alien Ling.
‘No,’ answers Blodwyn, you must not be so greedy… I have told you we must conserve our food.’
The Sisling pulled a face and gave Blodwyn a little nip on the finger with its sharp teeth; then spits!
‘Ouch – stop that you little sod!’ scolds Blodwyn, ‘don’t do that again.’
‘Grunwalde swears, bites… and spits at me…but I am too quick,’ answers the Ling grinning, eye brows raised over black button eyes.
‘It is not lady like to say or do those things,’ says Blodwyn.
‘You said a rude word,’ answers the little Sisling.
‘You bit me…and it hurt,’ she replies, ‘even so it is wrong to swear.’
‘I only gave a little bite, I did not sting you or inject poison,’ answers Boochi the Sisling, without emotion.
‘I should think not!’ Blodwyn says, ‘you are supposed to be my personal bodyguard not my assassin! You are still not getting any more pollen toffee so there – and the next time you bite me I will….’ Blodwyn knew there was nothing she could do to hurt the little Ling. ‘I am hungry,’ complains the Sisling, ‘let me lick your fingers, then you won’t have to wash them.’
‘Certainly not!’ Blodwyn answers,’ licking is no a substitute for washing – I am not having your sticky hands all over the dashboard of the space chariot. You must wash. We will forage when we get down… just think, we will witness a world full of dinosaurs millions of years ago in the Cretaceous period, that is so exciting don’t you think? We will also look for honey – lovely wild honey.’ Sislings love honey.
On the bridge of the Time-ship:
‘You must be very careful,’ advises Admiral Sebus, stay in the space chariot, there are many dangerous life-forms…in Pangaea… remember not all of them are big.’
‘Where will you be?’ she asks.
‘On the other side of this massive Island in an area you now call China.’
‘Where are we now?’ she asks.
‘The Southern hemisphere,’ answers Sebus, a land Terasils now call Brazil.’
With that the Galla Quall leaves. Blodwyn was now nearly out of food, all she had left was one pork pie, which she ate straight away; keeping some cheese, half a loaf, some pollen toffee and some barley sugars for emergencies. T
hese sweets had to be triple-wrapped to stop the Sisling smelling them and pestering her for sweet-rocks: foraging was now a must.
Blodwyn looked down from the port hole; the ship was a hundred miles above prehistoric Earth – just think, she was there! The world below looked completely different, the continents were still connected; one total land mass – Pangaea!
Blodwyn and the little Sisling left the Time-ship ship in the space chariot. All this was lost on the little Sisling, who could only keep demanding pollen toffee.
‘Honestly you are not going to shut up are you – you greedy little bug-brained cretin – no wonder Grunwalde Angharad bites, spits and swears at you,’ says Blodwyn. ‘You are enough to make the holiest Buddhist monk hopping mad.’
The little female Sisling sulked a typical Myfanwy sulk; bottom lip protruding, eyes brows angled down; a face as miserable as sin.
‘Really,’ says Blodwyn I am not going to put up with this for the whole trip. You can have one barley sugar when we land.’
‘Lovely sweet-rocks,’ exclaims the smiling Sisling, she then shut up. Blodwyn took the space-chariot just a few yards above the strange world, hundreds of millions of years before man. Everything below was now different. The only tree with branches was the monkey puzzle tree, which looked exactly the same as it does today. All the other vegetation was made up of fern-like plants and tall fern trees. Later some trees she recognized were the occasional palm tree.
The earth was pale yellow and sandy; earth worms did not exist then. Not a single large dinosaur was in sight; however small two legged dinosaurs dashed between cover, leaving bird shaped footprints. She reasoned that with such a massive landmass all the various kinds of dinosaurs were scattered. In the very far distance she could see pterodactyls gliding above cliffs: these flying dinosaurs looked big. She decided to leave them alone for the time being.
‘What are you looking for?’ asks the Sisling.
‘Dinosaurs,’ Blodwyn answers.
‘Do they smell?’ the little Ling asks.
‘How should I know – I have never seen one before,’ she replies.
‘Then how will you recognize one… when you see it,’ the Ling asks.
‘Look… I know what one looks like… Ok?’
‘Then why didn’t you smell it,’ asks the Ling.
‘For the last time – I have seen one in a book – but have never smelt a real dinosaur got it? You are beginning to bore me now.’
Blodwyn lands the craft on a sandy mound dotted with ferns; some trees near by looked almost familiar. Trees with clusters of yellow fruit – dates!
‘Bring some back,’ she tells the Ling. The Sisling flew to the trees tasted a fruit and then bit off a small bunch. Blodwyn tasted, sweet and crunchy young spring dates. This was ideal; dates were almost a complete food and would keep for ages.
‘Get some more,’ she orders.
On its way back with the last cluster, the Sisling was suddenly grabbed by a giant dragonfly about three feet long! To this massive sky-born predator the Sisling was the right size for a meal. However Lings are fluctuating invertebrates; they could also bite and sting. Blodwyn was not worried for the Sisling’s safety. Soon the giant dragonfly was fleeing from the Ling who chased it in an amazing aerobatic display. Catching the giant flying insect, the little Sisling began to ride on its back; for that is the playful nature of Lings.
Game over they now had enough dates to last for ages.
Blodwyn gave the Sisling a barley sugar and listened to it crunch the rock hard sweet with its tiny sharp teeth.
‘More!’ demands the Sisling. (Lings are extremely hungry after breaking chrysalis).
‘No,’ she answers sternly, ‘now we will look for wild honey.’
This seemed to please the Ling. Since she now had a bodyguard, Blodwyn decided to leave the space chariot to help look for honey; she also had her laser.
The smell of this prehistoric world was different somehow. Perhaps it was the absence of soil and flowering plants; they had not evolved as yet; pollination was carried out by the wind. Although very large sting-less bees existed. (There were no honey thieves as yet: bees did not need to defend the hive or pollinated some trees; plants relied on wind pollination.)
Blodwyn walked along a wide sandy path between the tall fern-like trees; the Sisling hovering above her head. This was not the Brazil she had read about; there was no Amazon River; no Matto Grosso. Faint old footprints of four-toed dinosaurs were visible. But where had they all gone? The answer was simple; the various dinosaurs, including Tyrannosaurs Rex – the king of lizards, had left the area for fear of their lives; there was a far more dangerous and intelligent dinosaur around: the Malisaraptor!
The Sisling’s nose and antenna began to twitch,
‘honey – honey,’ she cries out and shot away.
‘Don’t go far!’ cries out Blodwyn, she did not want to be left on her own. The Ling flew to a small rock face bordering the sandy path where a large honey comb hung; Blodwyn could almost taste the wild honey, she had half a loaf left; honey and bread would be perfect. She was soon disappointed. The Sisling returned empty handed.
‘Where is the honey?’ she demands.
‘The honeycomb is full of baby-bees,’ exclaims the Ling.
‘Rubbish!’ answers Blodwyn, ‘there are no such things as baby-bees…only greedy larvae that look like maggots with brown heads.’
‘I like baby-bees,’ answers Boochi, ‘bees are kin to Lings.’
‘All right… have it your way – no baby-bees,’ says Blodwyn; she remembered Sislings sometimes carry around a bumble bee, like a child carries and fusses over a favorite doll. There were a few other hives in the rock face and Boochi soon returned with a heavy piece of honeycomb, without ‘baby bees’ and began eating.
‘No,’ says Blodwyn get some more first, fill this bag.’
She placed the dripping combe in a plastic bag brought for such occasions and licked her fingers: delicious.
‘Let me feed you,’ says Boochi.
‘Not likely!’ she answers, ‘I know some of the nasty things you drop in your Queen’s mouth when she is in a feeding frenzy.’
Boochi giggles. The Sisling was taking its time on the next trip, stuffing its little pudding-hole Blodwyn knew.
An awful rotten smell hit her like a fog. Rounding a bend she came across a large dead quadruped lying on its side; there were deep cuts on the body that did not look like teeth marks. Going to the other side of the dead dinosaur she could see that the dinosaur’s belly had a large entrance hole in it. As she looked at it; the dead dinosaur’s stomach moved!
“My God! – something alive is in there.” She was about to move away: too late. The head of a small knee-high, vividly colored reptile stuck its gore-covered head out of the dead quadruped’s stomach.
At first this small raptor dinosaur hissed at her in surprise. Blodwyn stood still. Tilting its head one way and then in the other, the reptile studied her making a kind of clucking noise… like a chicken. It had a vicious birdlike look, a beak with rows of teeth and two clawed feet. Soon another four gore- covered heads appeared from the cavernous stomach and regarded her with interest, clucking to each other, as if in some kind of communication.
Blodwyn slowly began backing away to the tall rock face and the protection of the Sisling. The bag was full of honeycomb. Looking back, the small raptors had not followed her – why should they – they had plenty to satisfy their hunger.
‘Let’s get back now Boochi,’ says Blodwyn. She began to retrace her steps: something made her look around. The five small dinosaurs were now silently following her. She presumed they could smell the honey: she was wrong. These were Crimson-beaked Vulturids, organ-eaters of the dead, the dying and the weak – it was not honey they were after – but her fresh internal organs!
‘Boochi… I don’t like the look of those small dinosaurs following us,’ Blodwyn comments.
‘They are only chickens,’ answers the Sislings l
anding on her shoulder.
‘Don’t be stupid,’ says Blodwyn, they may sound like chickens - just look at their teeth – some bodyguard you are.’
The little Sisling giggled and unconcerned proceeded to wipe its mouth and hands on her hair! She was forced to ignore this; she had more important matters to deal with at the moment.
The five Vulturids were now quietly intent; their necks stretched forward, ready to bite at her legs and to bring her down. At her next backward glance, one of the biggest Vulturids had silently sneaked right up near her leg – like some sly dog wishing to take a quick nip.
Without hesitation she zapped the small but bold reptile with the laser. It fell stunned to the ground, kicking the air. Immediately its companions attacked their fallen comrade – for that is the nature of the crimson-beaked Vulturids.
She hurried on, while the four raptors were occupied. But something else made her stop in her tracks. A giant, shiny centipede in the act of crossing the sandy path suddenly reared up on seeing her; the insects here were enormous – she hated centipedes – their bite was extremely painful.
She could clearly see its sharp mandibles held wide open, ready to bite. This creature was around six feet long and a good foot wide; it made a strange noise like cloth ripping.
The little Sisling flew straight into the attack, flashing red. Both contestants wrestled on the ground. The large mandibles of the centipede closed on the little Sisling; the long body and sharp pointed legs encased the little Ling, until all she could see was a ball of struggling, shiny sharp pointed legs.
‘Oh no!’ gasps Blodwyn, ‘poor Boochi…she will be bitten in half!’ She stood helpless and watched the unequal struggle. “Would the laser hurt the Sisling?” Sebus had said: ‘it would stun any dangerous mammal, Lings were of insect ancestry? The giant centipede’s jaws continued working all over the little Lings body, looking for a weak spot. But her mind was soon distracted. From behind came more clucking noises!
