No Time For Dinosaurs

by John Benjamin Sciarra

  Kyle’s grandfather turned and was awestruck by the sight of the capsule. It was like something out of a Sci-Fi movie set. It gave him a new level of appreciation for Kyle’s father.

  “Are you sure you know what you’re doing? Look at this thing! It’s…unbelievable.”

  “Come on, Grandpa. We have to get inside before it starts to spin.”

  Kyle felt for the opening in the field for a second before his hand slipped through and, in an instant, he was inside. His grandfather followed. As they looked around, Kyle said, “Something’s different. There’s no camera.”

  “Well, you know what I said earlier. Remember, variables change in quantum physics. We may not end up where you hoped, ya know.”

  “Oh great. Now you tell me.”

  “Don’t worry. It will all work out right in the end.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Trust me.”

  They could hear the sound of the violins in the background as the disk-like projections disengaged from the wall. The electrical currents began to pulse and increase in intensity with the increasing volume of the violins.

  “Wow! This is…unbelievable! Are you sure we should listen to the sound? It’s getting kind of loud. I’m already starting to go deaf in one ear.”

  “Yeah. The harmonics vibrate synchronously with the sub atomic particles in our brains. It increases their effectiveness.”

  “Are you absolutely sure you’re only fifteen and not fifty?”

  Then the walls began to spin.

  “Grandpa, you ain’t seen nothing yet!”

  The walls spun faster and faster as the sound of the violins grew in pitch and volume. Kyle looked through the clear gases that made up the quantum distortion and saw his father looking helplessly through the small window. Suddenly, Kyle felt terrible. His father looked as if he’d lost his best friend in the world.

  Kyle knew that life would go on without him. His father, his mother, his sister, and…dare he think it, Sonja would mourn for him. He hoped it was all worth it to right the wrongs of his actions. For a change, he was doing something he had thought out even if it appeared impulsive. He would make this right and never again step inside this unique device. In fact, he wanted to destroy it when he got back so that no one ever again could go into the past and affect the future in any way. The consequences were simply too much to take chances.

  Life indeed went on without him, as Kyle knew it would. His father and mother mourned the loss of their son and his grandfather. Teresa and Sonja consoled themselves and tried to buoy their feelings of loss in the knowledge that Kyle had done this before and it had all worked out. But that didn’t make them feel any better in the long run as they had to endure the indeterminable length of time before things changed for them. They knew they might grow old and die before the past changed the future. Then they would forget everything that happened. Only Kyle would remember the trip.

  Teresa tried desperately to console her mother. She cried almost constantly. Her father was bitter and blamed himself for building the device in the first place. He promised himself he would never again toy with anything like the distortion capsule again and, instead, became a math teacher. Kyle would have found that ironic, considering his lack of love for math.

  The funerals were touching. The things his father said about Kyle, he would not have believed. Why fathers seemed to have difficulty showing love to their sons outwardly was something Kyle wouldn’t understand until he became a father someday—if he ever made it back to the future. He would have been shocked to see his father every day when he made a trip to the lab, stood in front of the distortion field, watched, and waited for the sound of the violins. They never came in his lifetime. His epitaph would say, “Father of Kyle Donavan. Lost in the sea of life.”

  ***

  The time capsule made its journey through the spaces of time itself, millions of years in a matter of seconds through the eyes of Kyle and his grandfather.

  “Is that it? Did we go anywhere?” asked his grandfather.

  “I don’t think we went anywhere. We are simply in another time, Gramps.”

  “Oh yes. Time distortion. Quantum physics. It says that we live in many different dimensions.”

  “You do understand quantum physics!”

  “Kyle, no one understands quantum physics. Some things are simply too difficult for our meager two-dimensional minds to understand. I know what scientists say is true. But that in and of itself doesn’t make it true. Did we really go back in time? Or are we living in an echo of time? Sort of like continuing radio waves rippling out and back like the waves of the sea; floating around in the special grid of the universe like a recording. We can go back and interact with history. But…can we really change it?”

  “But…you saw what happened to the creatures in the lake, Grandpa. Doesn’t that prove I went back and messed things up? Isn’t that why we are here?”

  “It’s why you are here. I’m not quite sure why I’m here. I feel like there is a reason, but I don’t know what it is…just yet, anyway. In time, we’ll see.”

  “Ugh. There’s that word again. My nemesis.”

  “Time?”

  “Yeah. It always seems to get the better of me.”

  “Maybe you’ll learn to master time—this time.”

  “Okay, let’s not talk about it anymore. You’re giving me a headache. Let’s get out of the distortion field and see what the past looks like this time. Ugh! See? I said it again! Time is going to be the death of me!”

  “Or the life of you. Hey, wait a minute.”

  “A minute? You trying to be funny?”

  “No. How do you know the distortion field will come back this time?”

  Kyle rolled his eyes at the mention of time again, but ignored his grandfather’s remark. “I changed the way the distortion field works, this time. The fields will remain open both here and in the future and it won’t move until at least one of us enters the device. So, we have to make sure we’re both in the device together. Okay?”

  “Okay. You got it. In the device. Together. At the same time.” Kyle looked at his grandfather and they both started laughing…until they heard a loud screech from above.”

  “What on earth—“

  “Pterosaurs. Crap.”

  “Hey, watch your language young man.”

  “Oops. Sorry, Grandpa. Well, at least we know we’re in the right time. The land of the dinosaurs. We have to be at least sixty-five million years in the past for there to be pterosaurs. That’s the good news.”

  “Is there bad news?”

  “Yeah. We’re sixty-five million years in the past and there are pterosaurs! I ran into them before and got away by the skin of my teeth.”

  “But, I thought you said you had the distortion thingy.”

  “Well, I have the parts to make one in my bag. We’re on our own until I put it together.”

  “Can’t you do that now? I mean before we go out?”

  “No. We have to get out or we’ll pop right back to where we left. With Dad and the cops waiting for us. I think I’d rather take my chances outside with the pterosaurs than face my father.”

  “I’m with you, kid. Let’s go.”

  Kyle stepped through the green field into the acrid, humid air, thick with steam and the odors of the prehistoric land. It was as he remembered. It felt familiar and a feeling he couldn’t put his finger on— nostalgia.

  His grandfather followed.

  “I…can’t believe we’re really here!”

  “You didn’t believe me?”

  “It’s not that. It’s the reality of it. I never imagined what it would really be like to go back to the land when the dinosaurs roamed the earth. I mean, I’ve seen the skeletons in the museums and the renderings of what the world looked like. But…it’s so dark and gloomy and…and…”

  “Stinky?”

  “Yeah! It smells like sulfur. And, phew! It’s hot here!”

  “Ha! Wait until you
smell the crap!”

  “Hey, what did I tell you about the language?”

  “Well, what would you call that?”

  Kyle pointed to a large mound surrounded by a group of birds.”

  “Whew! Oh, crap! Dung, poopies, feces!”

  “Ha ha! See?”

  “What kind of birds are those? I didn’t think birds we’re around until after the Jurassic period?”

  “Well, that’s not true as you’ll find out. But those birds, as you call them, are flies.”

  “Oh crap! I don’t want to meet any giant mosquitoes!”

  “Well, I didn’t see any the last couple of times I was here. But there are flying things that are far worse than the mosquitoes.”

  Just then, as if on cue, they heard several screeches from above them.

  “We better find cover, Grandpa. The pterosaurs are very quick. And…uh oh! Here comes one. RUN!”

  Dèja´vue! Kyle thought back to the first time he visited the world of the dinosaurs. He remembered being in exactly this situation and that was weird. Here he was running with his grandfather from a pterosaur with a bead on them. He worried his grandfather wouldn’t be able to escape. He turned and saw the pterosaur almost upon them.

  “Grandpa! Watch out!”

  Kyle dove for the grass, sure that his grandfather was in the clutches of the flying beast. He thought it would be just one more thing for which he was responsible. Instead, something swept by him in a blur. Then, whatever it was came back. He ducked his head when something grabbed him by the arm. He expected the pain from a set of razor sharp teeth when, instead, he heard the voice of his grandfather.

  “Come on, Kyle! This is no time for a nap. Get up! Get up! Let’s go! Hustle, hustle, hustle!”

  Kyle, in total disbelief jumped to his feet and the two of them raced for the trees not ten yards away with the pterosaur already focusing in on another attack on its quarry. The sound of the creature’s wings pushing against the thick, moisture-laden air sounded like claps of thunder. Kyle was a few steps ahead of his grandfather and they were closing the gap between the open field and the tree line.

  Opening its talons for the snatch, the pterosaur dove for the kill. Kyle made it to the first tree and dove to the ground behind it. The giant animal hit the ground as it grabbed Caleb and wrapped its long talons around his waist, but the pterosaur miscalculated and hit the tree branch and dropped its prey.

  “Grandpa! Over here!”

  Kyle reached out, grabbed his grandfather by the shirt collar, and pulled him behind the tree with him. The pterosaur regained control of its body and lifted off with great thrusts of its giant wings blowing the leaves off the trees as it flew back into the dark sky above.

  “Grandpa? Are you okay?”

  “I…think so,” he said as he checked his body for damage.

  The two of them, cautiously moved into the woods keeping a close eye on the sky. It was unlikely the pterosaur was going to be able to get at them through the trees. Sure enough, they heard the cry of the pterosaur far away in the distance.

  “I can’t believe you kids actually traveled here before. This is a very dangerous place!”

  “You’re telling me! I always feel like I’m on the menu when I’m here. I didn’t really want to come back, but I guess there was no other way. What do you think we have to do to make sure Nessie and her mate survives in the future, Gramps?”

  “I should think we already have. If you’re further back in time than before, your presence here should erase the future where the creatures died. It shouldn’t have happened…er, it never will happen? I don’t know. This time thing is so difficult to figure out.”

  “That’s what I was saying about it.”

  They heard something rustling in the bushes.

  “We’re being watched,” said Kyle as he stopped and hid behind a tree.

  Just then, something shot to the top of the tree.

  “What was that?” asked his Grandfather.

  “I’m not sure. I didn’t see it. It’s all—“

  Kyle stopped dead in his tracks. He now knew where and when they were in the stream of time.

  ***

  Teresa and Sonja sat on the edge of Sonja’s bed. Her room was typical of any American girl her age despite the cultural differences. Several posters of popular bands hung on one wall; another was a large poster of her favorite singer. The bed was simple with a brilliantly colored throw reminiscent of the India culture, but it was the only thing there to indicate her heritage.

  The two were looking at a book about quantum physics.

  “So,“ asked Teresa, ”Do you think they’re alright? They’ll be back?”

  “Yes. I think they will,” replied Sonja. “But I am not sure if we will remember anything…unless Kyle tells us his story. And would we believe him?”

  “Hmmm. That’s a good question. If we didn’t remember his trip before, but did remember ours, maybe we will believe him.”

  “This is very confusing. Our dads are working very hard to get the capsule back.”

  “There wasn’t a shoestring. Like the last time. How is it that the capsule is still there? It’s been two weeks!”

  “I just had a very terrible thought. What if the time difference is like it was when we grew old?”

  “Oh no! I never thought of that! That would be awful! Should we tell our dads?”

  “I think maybe we should wait. No matter what happens, we can not give up hoping…even if it takes a lifetime.”

  Chapter Sixty-Two

  Kyle stood with his mouth open gawking at a structure clearly of human origin. A rumble in the late afternoon sky in the distance sent chills up Kyle’s spine.

  “Grandpa…I think we should get back to the capsule and out of here as soon as possible.”

  “Why? What is it?”

  “Over there, just beyond those trees on the other side of the clearing. Do you see it?”

  “Well…my eyes aren’t what they used to be. All I see is a bunch of leaves hanging over something.”

  “A lean-to. Grandpa, remember I told you about the first trip into the past?”

  “You mean—“

  “We built that lean-to…just before the comet struck the earth and wiped out the dinosaurs. And remember the small animal I mentioned that almost caused the universe to be destroyed?”

  “The baby raptor?”

  “Bambiraptor.”

  As if on cue, something ran by them and headed straight for the lean-to.

  “Priti!”

  “Actually, it’s kind of ugly, Kyle. I’ve seen much prettier—“

  “No. That’s its name. P-r-i-t-i. Priti. It’s Indian for really ugly bird in Hindi.”

  “Really?”

  “No. I made that part up. The girls named the animal Priti. We were never sure if it was a boy or a girl.”

  Priti popped her head out of the lean-to and bobbed up and down as if beckoning them to join her.

  “Grandpa, I’m gonna regret this, but I have to at least say hello to the little fella.” Kyle was unsuccessfully trying to hide the tears building up in his eyes.

  “Well…why not? I’ve never met a real, live dinosaur before. Not counting the one that tried to eat us. I’m in no hurry to get back. I kind of like it here.”

  “Well, we’ll see if you feel that way if we don’t get out of here in time.”

  “How soon after you built the lean-to did the comet hit?”

  “About a day or so. I’m not sure. I’m never sure about anything when it comes to time.”

  Cautiously watching the sky for pterosaurs, they made their way across the field hastily. The rumble of thunder was growing closer and the sky was beginning to blacken. Kyle pointed to the horizon.

  “Grandpa, look!”

  “Wow. The Aurora borealis! It’s beautiful.”

  They dove into the lean-to and Priti leaped into Kyle’s lap and nuzzled against him making cooing sounds.

  “You remember me? That�
��s so strange. I didn’t think she would. And it’s awful strange that the lean-to is here, but the girls aren’t. What could possibly explain that?”

  “Time,” said his grandfather as he sat down and reached over to stroke the strange creature. We’re dealing with something between reality and illusion. Remember what I said about the gravitational wave? It keeps traveling through space and, in essence, through time. Star Trek used to call it the time-space continuum and it’s partially true. You have to ask, did we really go back in time or are we interacting with the echoes of what was? When we change things in the past, we change the imprint of that memory. But did we change reality? That is the question we need to answer.

  “You see, we really don’t exist in different dimensions. That was a nice easy answer that scientists and sci-fi buffs alike would love to believe. What we are experiencing is something beyond man’s ability to understand.”

  “What’s that, Grandpa?”

  “Infinity.”

  “I have to agree with you there. I’ve been able to grasp a lot about quantum physics—even if the math still gives me a headache. But trying to understand where everything came from. What was before the beginning Grandpa? How could nothing become something? Now that gives me a major headache.”

  “I think that is a question beyond the grasp of humans. At least at the present time. I don’t think mankind will be around long enough to figure it out. People seem intent on destroying the earth to get whatever desire they have, such as for power and riches and fame. Those things are the real illusions.”

  “What about my dad? Is he really as bad as I think he is? He always criticizes me and puts me down. He doesn’t think I have a brain.”

  “I make fun of your dad, mostly because he makes fun of me. He really is a genius…and you inherited his DNA. In that genetic code is the ability to reason and think, to learn, and to understand even the deep things of the universe. While the harmonics that operate the time capsule seem to make you smarter, more intelligent, what they are really doing is bringing out what is already there, Kyle.

  “Your father and I haven’t always seen eye-to-eye. That’s mostly my fault. I couldn’t tell him what I really did for a living since I was sworn to secrecy. All those adventures I had were under the direction of the government.”