Anne McCaffrey – Dinosaur Planet II – The Survivors CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Sassinak adjourned the discussion to the wardroom where off-duty officers were enjoying a noon meal. When Sassinak apologized that the lunch was made of processed foods, Kai, mindful of his praise for the previous night’s dinner, forbore to mention that he was better suited to it. But after his first mouthful of the protein, he wondered if his eating preferences had been undermined by circumstance. While the cruiser’s mess was appetizing and well served, Kai for the first time recognized the faint after taste that Varian had always complained of.
“I suppose you were too busy with the geological aspects of the mission,” Anstel was saying, his gaunt face animated as he addressed Kai across the table, “to have much time for the dinosaurs?”
“Unfortunately, I was,” Kai said as he belatedly caught the end of Anstel’s comments and realized that some response was due. “We did have an orphan hyracotherium for a pet—” Kai broke off, then finished as if his pause had been to swallow, “but that was before we went cryo.”
“A hyracotherium?” Anstel’s eyes bulged with excitement. “Really? You’re certain? Why, that creature evolved into the equine species an Old Terra. Did you know that?”
Feeling unequal to a lecture on the matter, Kai tried a diversion.
“We also have furred avian creatures …”
“Furred?” Anstel was entranced.
“Actually,” Fordeliton began with so bland an expression that those who knew his ways became alert, “Varian, whom you must concede is a reliable source, said that most of the dinosaurs she observed suffered from overweight, bad nutrition, parasites of remarkable tenacity and variety, and were not affectionate by nature.”
“One does not expect dinosaurs to be lovable,” Anstel said with quiet dignity. “They fascinate by their size and majesty. In their diverse species, they dominated the Mesozoic era of Old Terra for several million years before a shift in the magnetic fields of the planet traumatically changed their environment.
“Nonsense! A cosmic cloud obscuring the sun caused the climatic change,” Pendelman corrected firmly.
“My dear Pendelman, there is absolutely no proof of that theory whatsoever—”
“Oh, indeed there is, Anstel. Indeed there is! Bothemann of the New Smithsonian of Tyrconia has documentation, both—”
“Bothemann’s hypothesis is shaky at the very best since the geological area in Old Terran Italia that allegedly supported the contention, was engulfed in the mid-European plate shift in the early twenty-first century—”
“Ah, but records from the Central Repository, made by that Californian group, are—”
“As suspect as many other theories from that neck of the woods—”
“Gentlemen, how or why Old Terran dinosaurs met their end is not pertinent,” Sassinak declared.
“What is germane is that dinosaur like creatures are alive and in relatively good health on Ireta.
Enjoy that reality for however long you are able to indulge your fascination. Save the great debates for the long watches of the night!”
A yeoman caught her attention. She beckoned him over and listened to his message. Turning to smile at Kai, she murmured a quick answer. The yeoman speedily retraced his steps.
“Varian has arrived. She’ll join us here.”
“Would she remember where you found the hyracotherium, Kai?” Anstel asked.
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Anne McCaffrey – Dinosaur Planet II – The Survivors
“Yes, but I must remind you that that would have been forty-three years ago.”
“Surely, it was not an isolated example of the species?” Clearly Anstel would not rest until he had seen one.
“She’s concentrating on a study of the golden fliers who could well be an emerging species,” Kai said, to give Varian room to maneuver if she didn’t wish to get involved with Anstel.
“I must look up my references disks. Hyracotheriums I recall in perfect clarity, but I’m not certain about …”
“Trizein has identified the golden fliers as the pteranodon.”
“Pteranodon!” Once again Anstel’s eyes widened in shock.
“Yes, my dear fellow, exactly like pteranodons,” Pendelman said, delighted to contribute to Anstel’s confusion. “I saw a whole flock of them rise from the cliffs and soar. Quite a feat, I assure you, on a storm-tossed planet like Ireta.”
At that point the yeoman returned with Varian who greeted Kai with undisguised relief.