"WE HUMANS HARNESSED ELECTRICITY AND BUILT SKYSCRAPERS SO GREAT, BUT LIKE THE DINOSAURS BEFORE US, EXTINCTION IS ULTIMATELY OUR FATE."

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<>ISLE OF THE EXTINCT<>

Extinct they were, evolving they are.

Three centuries before 2050

"Glamanz."

Upon hearing the bellowing bark of his superior, Glamanz's cyanic blue fingers tightened, and he all but dared to steal the slightest glance behind him. In a split-second, a thick, oppressive heat rammed into his shoulder, and he could feel a pair of hard, scrutinising eyes boring into him.

"Yes, boss?" His voice was meek and strangled.

"I would be most pleased if you could prepare the remaining dromaeosaurs for nano-transportation to the Sphere," his boss grunted. "The last of the current batch have been successfully cloned, and the team is on standby for transportation to commence. Please ensure that all members of the batch are healthy, and that they have not contracted any...unsightly diseases during their quarantine period. Maintenance in those cells has been rather sloppy lately, and I dare not imagine what bacteria lurk in them."

"Affirmative, boss," Glamanz replied, eager to please.

"However, I digress. How is the current progress on species recruitment? We still have two large predator niches still open from the current ecosystem drafted up."

At this, Glamanz perked.

"Yes, Boss, I was about to arrive onto said topic. So far, we have looked over roughly fifteen time epochs, mostly from the Mesozoic," he rambled on, jabbing away at his holographic screens. "As of now, we have about ten possible candidates, mostly dinosaurs, although we've considered those from other clades. And thus I bring to you to our newest subject: Carnotaurus Sastrei. A large, bipedal predatory dinosaur, and a most unusual one as well."

With that, Glamanz drummed his fingers on the control panel, before pressing down on a small, emerald-green button. Instantaneously, a hologram fizzled into existence on a pad just above the control panel, pixels swirling about in a maddening hurricane to form the resulting virtual image.

The image of a dinosaur.

"This is what we have been working on bio-engineering for the Sphere. A magnificent beast, no?"

The hologram was merely a rough outline of the resultant animal's form, but already it was enough to intimidate. The dinosaur was to have a short, compact head, with a pair of great horns sprouting from above each eye. The jaws were to be lined with fences of lacerating fangs, and the entire head was balanced on a lengthy, well-muscled neck. Its build was slim yet strong, and the fingerless stubs it were to have for forearms were to be contrasted with a pair of long, powerful legs. This was how most would describe Carnotaurus should they live to tell the tale. Overall, the animal had the build, the musculature and the weaponry to be a hardwired, hard-biting predator. Ruthless and tenacious, a reptilian assassin. Some would call it deadly, others would say it ravished them. To Glamanz, it was a priceless asset for the Sphere.

"Fortunately for us, the fossils found of this animal back on Terra Aquarius, or rather, Earth, were almost complete, including several skin impressions. Thus we have a splendid idea of how it would have looked in life," Glamanz said. "Instead of the standard chicken or hoatzin egg for the coelurosaurs, we experimented with the usage of cursorial, flightless birds, such as the Australian cassowary. Tweaking their genes to give the general theropod frame was less daunting than it seemed." Glamanz took a moment to catch his breath. "We spliced it with horned ungulate genes that control horn growth, as well as the genome of a crocodile; this asset had scutes when alive."

"Rare for a carnivore," the boss muttered.

"Indeed. We have also decided on using a crocodilian brain for this particular asset," he added.

"And I assume the horns would have been covered by a keratinous layer?" Big Boss rumbled.

"Yes, and via slight horn configuration distinction between skeletal specimens, we have concluded both genders had their separate horn structures. Sexual dimorphism, if you please," Glamanz replied. "We've also had to take that into consideration when designing the asset."

"So when will it be ready?" Big Boss grunted.

That was when he glimpsed something sparkling in the biologist's eyes. The spark fizzled, a glint of reawakened ingenuity and intelligence in the pair of black abysses, and he saw the corner of Glamanz's lips curl upwards.

"Perhaps now," Glamanz breathed.

Rising from his seat, the biologist ushered his boss towards a large, seemingly vacant room where several more of his colleagues stood on standby, their postures rigid and erect. Something about the space they were in seemed to consolidate the dread swirling in their abdomens. The room itself consisted of four towering walls, their turquoise coating peeling off in shreds as splotches of questionable liquid made themselves the wall's new layer of paint. In a corner, a bewildering array of scientific equipment both large and small were chucked into the darkness, huddled together like terrified children. No windows had been carved into the walls of the great room, but even if they had been, no amount could let the lingering aura of the room dissipate.

"Here we are," Glamanz whispered.

A huge, vacuous containment cell had been built into one of the walls of the room, with whitewashed walls supported with tall metallic beams. At the far back was what appeared to be a a large, metallic door, segregated into two parts down the middle in a streaking shape as an emboldened "15" was emblazoned in black on the front. Fitted on the doorframe were several silvery-blue lights, flashing and sparking, whilst a bigger, infrared red light flickered furiously on top of the doorway. The doorframe itself was strengthened with huge titanium plates, whilst a dizzying number of gadgets and devices were strapped or attached to the sturdy frame. All made of some form of ultra-strong, reinforced metal.

This cell was made for something big.

Strangely enough, the cell's white walls were tainted with not a speck of dirt. Glamanz fidgeted at the cell's cleanliness, his black eyes scouring the space for any traces of dust or debris, but there were none. He again looked at the peeling turquoise walls, before turning back to the spotless containment cell. Something was amiss, but he didn't allow it to affect his calm exterior.

"Pardon." One of the workers tapped Glamanz on the shoulder, before mouthing a string of incoherent gibberish to the biologist. Glamanz then whispered something back, and the worker rushed off towards the entrance of the room, barking orders.

"And what about him?" Big Boss queried.

Glamanz could only smirk.

"Just watch."

Just then, something resounded from within the doorway. A sound of thunder, followed by several heavy, yet muffled thumps. The doors then hissed open, sliding apart as puffs of steam billowed from the darkness within. The lights flanking it were now flickering madly, an insane dance of red and blue flashes. The doors quaked, the shrill blares of invisible alarm systems screamed through the air, and the advancing steam impeded Glamanz's line of sight.

For a fleeting moment he paused in his thoughts. He conjured mental images of a snarling, frothing creature barely hidden by the steam, preparing to charge at the walls of its whitewashed prison. The thundering impacts of tooth and claw on metal and wire tortured his ears, but he knew he had to look. He had to. This animal was his creation. Only a step short of being his child. He fidgeted again, and suddenly, he could not help but grimace as he heard the wailing of another alarm. Was this acceptable? Was this normal? Was the beast that lurked beyond the doors natural? Organic? Was this an asset anymore, or a monster?

Was this...

...right?

A roaring hiss then sounded out from within the doorway, and Glamanz drew in a sharp, whistling breath.

The answer was just about to be revealed.

The lights now flashed in a maddening frenzy, and the door, at first only halfway slid ajar, now flung all the way open with a jarring crash. Burning sparks flitted through the air, whilst a few shreds of metal came loose as the animal within the doorway stumbled and staggered, haggard breaths pounding against the air like an intoxicated madman.

Then, like a pair of oil lamps piercing the dark of the night, Glamanz could make out twin pinpricks of light shining with defiance within the steaming blackness, burning a hateful silver. Ruby red flashed against huge knives of sickly yellow as the beast within gaped its horrible jaws open. A pair of vicious horns arched outwards from above its eyes, and Glamanz swore he saw smoke puffing from its flaring nostrils. As he saw the disssipating steam slowly unveil the great beast, he turned to his boss, beaming.

"This is our newest asset," he breathed, delirious. "Here it is. A young male Carnotaurus."

"We have a dinosaur."