David Sterling, Dr. Fiona Hall, Dr. Edwin Zoft, and Arnie, in the new 201 unit, were inside Dr. Hall’s trailer.

‘So what can we expect, Dr. Hall’ - said David

‘We are traveling back 67 million years. North America will be very different from what it is now’ - said Fiona - ‘Continental North America is still forming, and until quite recently the area we will be traveling to - Alberta on the Montana border - was underwater. North America was split in two, with Laramidia to the west, and Appalachia to the east. Between the two was the Western Interior Seaway. Plate tectonics forced Appalachia westward, and the entire plate that North America sits upon rose up, draining the Western Interior Seaway. There are no Rockies, and no prairies. The entire area is covered with giant redwood trees, and ferns. The trees were so big because the dinosaurs were so big, and it was an arms race between the dinosaurs and the trees to see who could get taller first. Where you have big herbivore dinosaurs, you have big meat eating dinosaurs. Alberta 67 million years ago was home to many tyrannosauridae, which includes, of course, the Tyrannosaurus’

‘How big do they get?’ - said Zoft

‘Everything was bigger back then. There was upto 30% more atmospheric oxygen which allowed dinosaurs to get so big. An adult female Albertosaurus is about 4 meters high, and about 13 meters long’ - said Fiona

‘And the movement thing?’ - said Zoft

‘Oh yes, the movement thing - from Jurassic Park’ - said Fiona - ‘Hollywood! They were hunters, and scavengers. Their eyes and nose are perfectly attuned to seeing and sensing anything they want to eat. If you get in a sticky situation and there is one nearby, standing still will not make you invisible. Now the important thing to remember, meeting a Tyrannosaurus will of course be bad news. But there are hundreds of other dinosaurs that would quite happily take a bite out of you if they could. And the big plant-eating ones, they will quite happily stomp you or whip you with their tail. Our ancestors only survived by doing two things during the age of the dinosaur. Staying small and hiding. Everything will be dangerous!’

‘Well, that is reassuring’ - said Zoft

‘Oh, and they have feathers’ - said Fiona

‘What do?’ - said Zoft

‘The theropods. The Tyrannosaurus. Most likely have a feathery mane, and a downy coat over the body’ - said Fiona

‘Here’s how it will play out’ - said David - ‘We will stick together at all times. Each of you will wear one of these…’

David handed out wristbands.

‘Arnie can track them. We will get on the ground and stay where we are and see what is going on. Then, when Arnie is happy, we will move off and see if we can spots some dinosaurs’ - said David

‘Question. Can I bring my camera?’ - said Fiona

‘Yes - any other questions?’ - said David

‘What happens if there is an emergency?’ - said Zoft

‘Straight back to the machine, and back here’ - said David - ‘We have a combat field medic kit, plasma, defibrillator, and a whole load of medical supplies. We have food and water, and tents if we need. And we have a combat droid!’

‘What if one of us gets separated from the group?’ - said Zoft

‘Stay where you are, and Arnie will find you’ - said David

‘What if your arm has been bitten off by a Tyrannosaurus, and it has swallowed the tracker?’ - said Zoft

‘Well, at that point running might be your best option’ - said David

There was silence.

‘We are going to limit our adventure to a 3km radius from the machine. When we hit 3km we stop. Not further than 3km from the machine. Do we understand?’ - said David

Everyone nodded.

‘Mr. Sterling’ - said Arnie - ‘Do you have a history of memory loss, or a black outs that you can remember. Maybe as a child?’

‘No, I do not remember anything like that’ - said David - ‘Why do you ask?’

‘Probably nothing’ - said Arnie

‘Okay, if that is everything let’s get a good night’s sleep and we leave at dawn’ - said David

David and Fiona left to head to the camp to get some food. Fiona said she would bring some back for Zoft.

‘That was a strange question, Arnie’ - said Zoft

‘Like I said, probably nothing’ - said Arnie

‘Try me’ - said Zoft

‘David Sterling’s father, Dr. Roger Sterling, disappeared with his motorcycle. Mr. Sterling’s time machine somewhat resembles a motorcycle. Dr. Roger Sterling had a lifelong obsession with Dinosaurs, as does Mr. Sterling. Mr. Sterling built a time machine but doesn’t know how, and has a strong desire to travel back to a specific location at a specific time’ - said Arnie

‘So?’ - said Zoft

‘It is almost like he has been programmed to do this, and is following orders. To be in a certain location at a certain time’ - said Arnie

‘By whom?’ - said Zoft

‘That is what I cannot work out’ - said Arnie

‘Or he is just crazy and clever, which doesn’t always lend itself to comprehensible thinking’ - said Zoft

‘Like I said, probably nothing’ - said Arnie

Sunrise. The team was assembled behind the abandoned trailer.

The team’s equipment was lashed to the side of the time machine. Everyone was wearing boots, and olive fatigues. Dr. Hall had a backpack on with her camera and notebooks.

‘Are you sure those guns work?’ - said Fiona

‘Yes Dr. Hall’ - said Arnie

‘Okay, we are ready!’ - said David - ‘Who’s ready for a day of adventure?’

David climbed aboard the time machine and started pressing buttons and pressing the screen. Fiona climbed on behind him, and then Zoft. Arnie sat at the rear.

‘Are we all on?’ - said David

Everyone said yes.

‘Showtime!’ - said David

David pressed the button and the blue light shot from the front of the time machine and then formed into a disc. The center of the disc turned black and then the hole appeared. The time machine shot forward and disappeared into the hole.

The time machine had arrived. They were inside a forest, in a clearing about 100 meters wide. Giant redwood trees stood around them with ferns growing amongst them.

It was hot.

The forest was quiet, and then the buzzing of the insects started after the arrival of the time machine disturbed them.

Arnie climbed off of the time machine and scanned their perimeter.

‘No large wildlife’ - said Arnie

‘Imagine if we had landed right in front of a T-rex!’ - said Zoft, climbing off of the time machine

‘Mark the location of the machine please Arnie’ - said David

Fiona was off the time machine.

‘Let’s take a backpack each’ - said David - ‘and the medic kit’

They collected their backpacks.

‘No need to hide the machine, is there?’ - said David

‘Not many time machine thieves around here, I should imagine’ - said Zoft

‘Which way?’ - said Fiona

‘Arnie?’ - said David

‘My acoustic sensors are picking up a lot of noise coming from this direction’ - said Arnie

‘Distance?’ said Zoft

‘With the trees it is hard to tell - maybe 2km’ - said Arnie

‘Big dinosaurs, big noise. Big trouble?’ - said Zoft

‘We can take it slow’ - said David - ‘Arnie, keep those sensors up’

‘Yes Mr. Sterling’ - said Arnie

They made their way through the forest. Arnie was scanning all the time. It was brutally hot so early in the morning, and the higher oxygen levels made everyone feel a bit light headed.

Each of the team had a paper bag, and they were breathing every other breath out into the bag, and then taking every other breath in from the bag to keep the oxygen levels near normal.

After hiking for about 20 minutes they were approaching the edge of the forest. They heard the loud bellows of an animal. More than one animal. Lots of animals. Loud bellows, like the animals were in distress.

‘What the fuck is that?’ - said Zoft

‘We are close’ - said Arnie - ‘200 meters’

The team crouched and made their way to the edge of the forest. They lay on their stomachs and crawled the last 30 meters. They were hidden inside the tree line.

A huge herd of dinosaurs were making their way past the forest, hundreds of them. They were billed dinosaurs, about 4 meters high and about 12 meters long. They were coloured green, with lighter stripes down their side and a nobbly fin running down their back. They stood on their hind legs, and had smaller front arms.

‘Edmontosaurus - this is just incredible!’ - said Fiona, taking her camera out of her backpack

‘Lots of them’ - said Zoft

‘This is strange’ - said Arnie

‘What is strange?’ - said David

‘There is an aircraft heading this way’ - said Arnie

And then it appeared above them, coming in behind the herd of Edmontosaurus.

A red rectangular box flying behind the herd.

‘What the fuck is that?’ - said Zoft

‘Yes, what is that’ - said David

Fiona stopped taking pictures. She hadn’t heard Arnie.

‘What is what?’ - said Fiona

‘That fucking thing’ - said Zoft

The red box was corralling the Edmontosaurus. Each time one of them left the herd, it shot the beast with what looked like a laser and brought it back in with the group. The red box was zapping the Edmontosaurus at the rear, to keep the herd moving.

‘We should leave immediately’ - said Arnie

‘Wait’ - said Fiona

A much larger red rectangular ship flew in over the forest. It was massive. Maybe 300 meters long. The large ship flew over the herd and the smaller ship and banked around until it was in front of the herd.

The ship hovered over the herd, and then the bay doors below it opened. Dozens of telescopic arms came from out of the ship and began grabbing the Edmontosaurus, and lifting them up into the interior.

The humans lay and stared.

The large ship continued to pull the Edmontosaurus up inside of it, and the smaller ship zapped the beasts that tried to break away from the herd.

‘Dr. Hall’ - said David

‘What?’ - said Fiona, who was taking pictures of everything.

‘This isn’t normal, is it’ - said David

‘No’ - said Fiona

‘They are herding them and capturing them’ - said Zoft

‘Who are they?’ - said Fiona

‘We must leave, immediately’ - said Arnie

The team crawled back into the forest.

‘Okay, so what the fuck is going on?’ - said Zoft

‘I don’t know’ - said David

‘They didn’t teach this at dinosaur school’ - said Fiona

‘Mr. Sterling has been sent back here to encounter whatever is inside those ships’ - said Arnie

‘What?’ - said David

‘I appears the unshakable desire Mr. Sterling had to come to this exact location at this exact time was programmed inside of Mr. Sterling. As well as the ability to build a time machine. Whomever programmed Mr. Sterling wished for him to be here right now, with the hope of facilitating a meeting between whatever is in those ships and Mr. Sterling’ - said Arnie - ‘We must leave before that happens’

‘I don’t understand’ - said David Sterling

‘We can discuss when we are back in Alberta - right now , Mr. Sterling, we must leave, quickly’ - said Arnie

The team headed off at a quicker pace, back to the time machine.

The team was 100 meters from the clearing.

Arnie put his hand up.

‘Get down’ - said Arnie - ‘There are humanoid figures ahead, at the time machine’