Terminus Part I: The Journey There (Draft)

Chapter 36: Dinosaurs

"And you're able to ride on their backs and see over the tree tops of the jungle," said James.

"Hey, mutual benefits will only be necessary as long as the King and the Nobles view dinosaur hunting as a moral thing to do," replied the handler.

"Go on then, enlighten me. Why are they keen on hunting dinosaurs, and why do you want to domesticate them?"

"The royalty have since ancient times decided that dinosaurs were too dangerous to leave alive. They hold onto those traditions by partaking in annual dinosaur hunts."

"That's awful," interjected Patricia. "When do these hunts happen?"

"One may have happened earlier this month, had it not been for the King's pre-occupation with a certain circus."

"Well, at least something good came of all this," said Karnilla.

"I don't know much of what to make of it, but it's not what I'm eager to concern myself with, anyway," said Phil.

"Now, where was I? Ah, yes, the Rebel Forces. We have chosen to dedicate our lives to domesticating dinosaurs because we see it as the way toward inter-species peace."

"Do you really believe that, though? Because it sounds an awful lot like propaganda to me. Take it from someone who has been indoctrinated before," said James.

"I understand. Sometimes it can be difficult to know the difference between propaganda and truth, especially when the methods of spreading them are so very similar."

There was quite a pause, which surprised James. "Wait, that's it, you're not going to offer some way of determining truth?"

"I'm sorry, but as a simple dinosaur handler, I'm afraid that's an answer I just don't have for you. Though, I get the feeling you're a smart individual. The truth has a way of revealing itself to those who seek it out."

"So what species of brachiosaur were these again?" asked Cameron. "They're bigger than any dinosaur I could ever imagine. I mean, how do they not just give this place away?"

"They're Giraffatitans, one of the largest dinosaurs to have ever lived. Not the largest, mind you, but several Kings have gone down in history for hunting those species to extinction."

"Ah, Brachiosaurus brancai," said Brandon.

Everyone gave Brandon an odd look.

"What? A few thousand years gives a person a lot of time to do their research on everything that interests them."

"What is the dinosaur interest all about, anyway?" asked Persimmon, genuinely curious.

"My brother and I have been interested in dinosaurs since we were children. Well, if only he were here to see this."

Patricia snickered at Brandon's second sentence, and then clarified that it was the line itself that was funny, and not the context of the line.

"So, shall we move on to the next dinosaur?" asked James.

"You do know I wasn't finished explaining the..."

"Look, Phil, you seem like a nice guy, and I love dinosaurs as much as anyone, but I don't want to spend the whole day on a dinosaur safari."

"James has a point. We didn't come to this island for some mega-zoo, we came to have an adventure," said Patricia.

"Actually, I say this because the details of what each dinosaur can do are unnecessary to me. All I need to know is what species exist on the island, and what they look like. That's all the information I need for my case."