A short collection of X Minus One stories
Abridged by James Ness
Originally written by X Minus One writers
X Minus One™ is available online and on the Apple Podcast app.
Chapter 1
Gun for a Dinosaur
In a big house near a river, two men are talking...
"Just a whiskey please,no soda."
"Ice, Mr. Rivers?"
"Oh Good Heavens no, I've been in America for some time now, but not for that long."
"Well, to a fine dinosaur he-"
"Well, just a moment, Mr. Seligman. I... Won't take you hunting in the late Mesozoic era."
"Why not?"
"... How much do you weigh, Mr Seligman? About 9 stone?"
"One hundred and thirty pounds."
"I thought so, that's not heavy enough."
"But your advertisement... You said "Safari's arranged to any time period!""
"Well I'll take you to any time period in the Semazoic. I'll get you a shot at any Intelledont or even a Mammoth or a Mastodon. And they have fine heads. But I'll jolly well not take you to the Jurassic or the Cretaceous. You're just too small."
"Well... What's my weight got to do with it?"
"Oh, now look here, old boy, what did you think you were going to shoot those dinosaurs with? Come and take a look at this case. See that in there? That's my own gun. A continental 600. That shoots a pair of nitro expressed cartridge's the size of banana's. It's designed for knocking down elephants, not just wounding them, but to knock them over."
"Well, I've handled guns before..."
"Ohhh? Well now, I've been guiding hunting parties for over 20 years. But I've never known a man your size who could handle a 600. You wouldnt be able to handle it. This is the only gun that could take down a reptile. No Mr. Seligman, I won't take anyone hunting dinosaurs who can't handle a 600. Now... Lets have another round of drinks and i'll tell you why..."
****
You see, I went into the partnership with the Raja about five years ago. I call him that because he's the hereditary monarch of Janpur; it means nothing, of course. We both wanted to do a bit of hunting again. And Africa's all played out; it's too civilized now. So when we heard of Professor Prochaska's time machine at Washington University, we caught the next plane to St. Louis. The foundation administering the machine had worked out an arrangement splitting the time between scientific parties and hunters who wanted to try their luck at prehistoric game. Hunters paid through the nose, of course, to support the project.
Well, it was about our fifth safari that Courtney James showed up. He's what you chaps call a playboy -- a big bloke, handsome in a way, florid, beginning to turn to fat. He was on his fourth wife -- and, when he showed up at the office with a blonde, I assumed that this was the fourth Mrs. James. He left her in the outer office and corrected my assumption.
****
"Bunny? Oh, no, she's not my wife. My wife is in Mexico, I think, getting a divorce. But Bunny here would like to go along--"
"I'm sorry. We don't take ladies. Not to the Late Mesozoic."
"If she wants to go, she'll go." He said angrily. "She skis and flies my airplane, so why shouldn't she--?"
"There are enough risks at eighty-five million, B.C., without adding to them. I'm sorry but it's against the firm's policy."
"Now, look here, I'm paying you a lot of money. I'm entitled--"
"You can't hire me to do anything against my best judgment. Now, if that's how you feel, get another guide." I told him firmly.
"All right, all right. But let me tell you--"
****
Oh, it ended with my telling him to get out of the office or I'd throw him out. I was thinking sadly of all that lovely money that James would have paid me, when in came another sahib, an August Holtzinger -- slim bald chap with glasses.
****
"Mr. Rivers, I don't want you to think I'm here under false pretenses. I'm really not much of an outdoorsman, and I'll probably be scared to death when I see a real dinosaur."
"Heh, heh, well, most of us are frightened at first but-- Ah, it doesn't do to speak of it."
"Well, you see, I've always run a grocery store till my uncle died and, erm-- Well, I've got a great deal of money now."
"Uh huh." I could tell where this was going.
"I'm building a new house. I'm engaged, you know, getting married and, uh-- Well, I'm determined to hang a dinosaur head over my fireplace or die in the attempt. A ceratopsian, I think. That's the one with the big horned head and the frill over the neck, isn't it?" He was smiling at the thought of it. I decided to be helpful.
"Well, uh-- You want to think twice about that, you know. If you put a seven-foot Triceratops head into a small living room, there's apt to be no room left for anything else."
"I know it's ridiculous but I'm determined to do something big for once. Since there's no more real big-game hunting, I'm going to shoot a dinosaur and hang his head over my mantel. I'll never be happy otherwise..."
****
The Raja and I decided to make it to the Middle Cretaceous. That's about-- Oh, eight-five million years ago. It's the best period for dinosaur in Missouri. So we drove Holtzinger into the country to let him try the six-nought-nought.
****
"It's rather heavy." Holtzinger said with a grimace, picking it up.
"Look, you look out; there's quite a kick." I warned.
"Couldn't you fire it prone?"
"Oh, not a gun that big. There's not enough give. You'd break your shoulder. All right -- uh, take the safety off."
"Er, like this?"
And with that, he let off a shot! The recoil was so great, it launched him backwards and he hit the ground hard.
"Here, take my hand. I'll help you up."
" I - I-- Thank you. I - I think I better try something smaller."
****
Well, he took a fancy to my Manchester seventy, chambered for a three-seven-five magnum cartridge. That's a little light for elephant and very definitely light for dinosaur, but we were in a hurry. And then, of course, just before we were ready to trek, James showed up and apologized for insulting me. He'd had a run-in with the girl and he wanted to go along. And so we were off on safari. I asked them if they were ready.
****
"Why, yes, I suppose so." Holtzinger said, trying to look confident.
"Now, Mr. Holtzinger, you've met my partner, the Raja of Janpur." I introduced them.
"How do you do, sir?" Said my friend, the Raja, extending his hand.
"How do you do?" Said Holtzinger, shaking his hand.
"Well, shall we get cracking? After you, Mr. Holtzinger, Mr. James and Mr. Rivers."
"Thank you."
"Let's get going." Said James impatiently.
"All set!" The Raja announced.
"We'll slam the hatch and off we go." I slammed the hatch down hard, to make sure that it was closed. Then, I locked it firmly into place.
"What happens now?" Asked Holtzinger excitedly.
"Uh, nothing, till the force field is built up." I replied. A few seconds after, the controls started to him and the vehicle rumbled.
"Ah, there she goes." I said contentedly.
"What happened to the lights?" Asked James, looking around him.
"Well, there's no current while we're in transition."
I" don't feel well." Said Holtzinger.
"There's usually a touch of vertigo. I shouldn't worry about it." I assured him.
"Look, where do you shoot for? I mean, with dinosaur. What is the best shot?" Asked James, ever inquisitive.
"Well, you don't try for his brain, you know. They don't have any. Well, to be exact, they have a little bump about the size of a tennis ball on the top of their spines, and you're not likely to hit it when it's imbedded in a six-foot skull."
"Try for the heart." Said the Raja helpfully. "They have big hearts, over a hundred pounds. An exploding shell in the heart will slow them down, at least."
"Oh. Oh, I see."
"Why do we have to go so far for game? Why couldn't we just go back fifty years and shoot lions in Africa?" Asked James.
"Well," I endevoured, "The machine won't work more recently than a hundred thousand years ago."
"Why?"
Well, I-- Look, I'm no four-dimensional expert on the subject; but it has something to do with what they call "time paradox." You know, if people could go back to recent times, they might do something to affect history -- or kill their own grandfather, you know. And there's also some kind of taboo about sending people back to the same time again. Eh, it's paradoxes -- mustn't have 'em."
"What would happen?" Asked Holtzinger.
"I'm not sure" I replied, "But the university isn't taking chances. They've got about a billion years to cover; they won't run out of eras."
Suddenly the time machine hummed loudly and gave an terrific jolt! We were there!
"Hallo! Here we go! Now, cheers, eh?" I said happily.
"April twenty-fourth, eighty-five million years B.C. Now, then, careful. Keep the safety on your gun. And don't shoot unless I give the word."
"Why?" Asked James unhappily, "Why should we have to wait for you?"
"Because I'm responsible for everything you do. Especially if something goes wrong. I say, Raja, open the door, will ya?"
****
In this period, the time chamber materializes on top of a rocky rise. At the west, you see the arm of the Kansas Sea that reaches across Missouri and the big swamp where the sauropods live. To the east, the land slopes up to a plateau; it's good for ceratopsians. The finest thing about the Cretaceous is the climate. It's balmy, like the South Sea Islands, and not so muggy as the Jurassic.
Oh, we sent the time chamber back off and looked about. It was spring, with the dwarf magnolias in bloom all over. Down towards the Kansas Sea, cycads and willows grew, while the uplands were covered with screw pine and ginkgoes. Yeah, well, I'm no ruddy poet but I can appreciate a beautiful scene.
While I was looking through the haze and sniffing the air--
BANG! BANG!
"I got him! I got him!"
"What the devil--?" I scrambled to my feet, hurrying back to our camp. That had been Jamess' voice shouting! I reached the campsite to see the Raja holding back James near the bushes, and Holtzinger looking rather dazed by the time machine.
"Did you see it there?!" James shouted excitedly, peering here and there.
"Confound it, you idiot! I told you not to shoot without word from me!" "What happened Raja?"
"An ornithomime -- wandered out of the copse. Mr. James gave him both barrels. Missed." He pronounced "Mr. James" with particular disgust.
"Now, look here, James. One of the biggest dangers on a safari is trigger-happy sahibs who get panicky. You're not to shoot unless you're told, do you understand?" I told him all this in an undertone with a very serious face to show him that I meant what I had said.
"Who do you think you are to tell me when to shoot my own game?" Said James defiantly.
"Now, look here. Firstly, if you shoot off all your ammunition before the trip is over, your gun won't be available in case of a pinch. And secondly, if you empty both barrels, what would happen if a big theropod should charge before you could reload? And finally -- it's not sporting to shoot everything in sight. Is that clear?" I finished.
"All right. All right."
"Well, now, then. First task is fresh meat."
****
As I told you, Holtzinger wanted a ceratopsian head. James insisted on a tyrannosaur. Then everybody would think that he'd shot the most dangerous game. The fact is, the tyrannosaur's overrated. But everybody's read about the "tyrant lizard," and, well, he does have the biggest head of the theropods. Oh, and he'll snap you up if he gets the chance, no fear.
Well, we started off searching for meat. The Raja and I put the sahibs in front. We tell them it's so they'll get the first shot. Which is true, but another reason is that they're always tripping and falling with their guns cocked, and if the guide were in front, he'd get shot. We were trekking through the forest when suddenly...
****
"Sh! Boneheads." Whispered the Raja.
"Where?" Asked James.
"See? Crouching over there, feeding on those cycads. About the size of a man."
"They look intelligent." Said Holtzinger, fascinated.
"No, not likely. That bulge on the head is solid bone. Now, then, hold on there, James. You've had your shot for the day. Hold your fire until Holtzinger shoots." Raja commanded.
"Yeah, sure, sure."
"All right, go ahead, Mr. Holtzinger."
"Does it matter which one?"
I had been sitting on a rock all this time, resting when I decided to get up to take charge.
"No. Here. Try that one by the rock." I said. "There's a good clear shot. Well, take your safety off."
"Oh." Said Holtzinger, abashed
He took it off and the gun gave a lovely "click".
"Go ahead now." I encouraged, after more than a few seconds had passed. Holtzinger seemed to have developed a slight case of cold feet. He just stood there, his gun aimed, his feet planted firmly in the ground and the sweat rippling down his forehead.
"Well?" Asked James impatiently. He was itching to continue and his already short patience had now long since burned out.
"Ssshh!" I shushed him. One of the dinosaurs had looked up. After a full minute of waiting for Holtzinger to take his shot, James finally cracked.
"Ah, nuts! I've had enough of this."
"James! Don't--!" I yelled.
BANG! BANG! He had let off both of his shots.
"I got him clean! Right through the heart! First shot! How was that?!" He said, jumping through the clearing, whooping with joy. I forced my voice to be cool for what I really wanted to do was throttle him.
"I thought you were going to give Holtzinger the first crack? It's his turn."
"Well, I waited. Took so long I thought he'd gotten buck fever."
"Very well." I said. "But if this sort of thing happens once more, we leave you at camp the next time we go out."
****
The next couple of days we trekked around the neighborhood. And then headed over to the sauropod swamp, over to the west. We were staked out along the edge of the lake, watching a big beggar out in the swamp, waving his head about. And they're the big ones. They look something like the Brontosaur. They were making a rather loud noise when James piped up.
****
"Can't we shoot him?"
"I wouldn't if I were you." I warned.
"Why not?"
"Well, there's no point to it, and it's not sporting." I explained. "Look, if you kill one in the water, he sinks and can't be recovered. And if you kill one on land-- Well, the only trophy is that little head on the top of that long neck. You can't bring that whole beast back because he weighs thirty tons or more."
"That museum in New York has got one." Added Holtzinger.
"Oh, yes." I laughed, "But they sent a party of forty-eight to the Early Cretaceous with a fifty-caliber machine gun. They spent two solid months hacking and sawing the carcass apart and hauling it to the time machine. I know the chap on the project, and he still has nightmares in which he smells decomposed dinosaur. And they also had to kill a dozen big theropods who came in for the party. Then they had them lying around, too. They lost three men."
Suddenly, our conversation was interrupted by the Raja yelling for me.
"Reggie! Duckbill!"
"Where? Where are they?" I yelled back.
"Up there -- at the shoreline. Now, keep your voices down. You see? With the crest on the back of their heads?"
We had run over to where he was now and could now see the duckbills.
"Mr. Rivers, I've been thinking over what you said about those heads. If I could get one of those duckbills, I'd be satisfied. It'd look big enough over my mantel, wouldn't it?" Said Holtzinger proudly.
"I'm sure of it, old boy." I said chuckling. "Well, let's be off. Raja? You wait here with Mr. James. Shouldn't take us long."
****
Holt and I crept along the shoreline, narrowing the range to the duckbills.
"I think I can make the shot from here. I'll be ready in a minute; my shoe is loose." He said.
He aimed, closed one eye and was about to squeeze the trigger when we suddenly heard sounds of distant gunfire. Undoubtedly from camp. Anyway, it was enough to scare the duckbills away.
"He's getting away! I - I won't get a shot!"
Wearily, I got up and started for camp. "I'm afraid Mr. James has fired both barrels again." I said in an equally weary tone.
When we got back to camp we saw James sitting by the fire, silent for once. Raja was somewhere else.
"James, that's the second time you spoiled my shot. I ought to--"
"Don't be a fool. I couldn't let them wander into camp stamping everything flat!" Said James, annoyed.
"There was no danger of that." The Raja had come unexpectedly from his Tent. "You can see that the water is deep offshore." He turned to me, "It's just that our trigger-happy Mr. James can't see any animal without shooting!"
"And if it did get close, all you have to do is to throw a stick of firewood at it. They're perfectly harmless." I added.
"Well, how was I to know?" Said James, shouting now.
"I believe I mentioned it."
"Well, what are we on this miserable trip for, except to shoot things?"
"There are certain rules, you know."
"You call yourselves hunters! I'm the only one who's hitting anything!"
"Now, just a moment, old man. You're behaving like a confounded skite with more money than brains. I should never have brought you along."
"If that's how you feel, give me some food, and I'll go back to the base by myself." Said James, standing up to face me.
"Now, don't be a bigger idiot than you can help. That's quite impossible." I said.
"All right, I'll go alone!" He started to walk off. "I wouldn't want to pollute your air with my presence!" He said as he disappeared from sight, the tree leaves enveloping him as he walked away.
"That's an attractive thought, Reggie, but we can't let him go. He'd get lost or starve." Said the Raja. Getting no sympathy from me, he sighed. "All right, I'll go after him."
****
The Raja went off into the bushes and Holtzinger and I settled down for the night in our respective tents. When we woke in the morning, we found James and the Raja roasting some meat over the fire. Afterwards we packed up and left.
We stumbled along for several more days; James on his good behavior, for a change. And on the first of May, we broke camp and headed north to the hills. Ah, it was hot and sticky. We were soon panting and sweating like horses, when I picked up the smell of carrion and heard the thrumming of the flies.
We found a huge ceratopsian lying dead in a little hollow on the edge of the copse. He must have weighed six or eight tons alive.
****
"Why couldn't I have gotten him before he died? That would have made a darned fine head." Muttered Holtzinger mournfully.
"Look, on your toes, chaps. The theropod that's been at this carcass is probably nearby." I warned.
"How d'you know?" Asked James.
"You see how the hide's been ripped off and the bones are scattered? Theropods will hang around a carcass like this for weeks, gorging and then sleeping their meals off for days at a time."
"What do we do?" Asked Holtzinger cautiously.
"Well, that's what we came after. Raja, you take Mr. James through that way and we'll parallel you forty feet distant. Now, keep your eyes open. He'll be hard to see in these woods unless you're right on top of him."
****
We pushed through the edge of the copse, looking for the huge flesh-eater who'd been at the carcass. I could hear James and the Raja pushing ahead on my right. We were separated by a gully when I heard a noise ahead on our left.
****
"What is it?" Asked Holtzinger (who was to the right of me).
"I don't know. Take the safety off your gun."
"Oh, there it is. It's one of those boneheads." Holtzinger said, relieved.
'Ah, well, they're not dangerous, at any rate. But be careful. That theropod might still be around."
BANG! BANG! There were two loud shots and the bonehead collapsed to the ground. Then we heard names whooping happily.
"I got him! Got him clean!"
"Well, he's done it again! He shot the bonehead!" I said, hurrying towards his voice.
"I got him!" He said again.
I had just broken through some bushes (Holtzinger not far behind) when we suddenly heard a deafening roar.We stopped dead in our tracks, though we couldn't see the creature that had roared yet.
"Look out! Look out! Tyrannosaur!" The Raja yelled, but it was too late. We had practically stumbled right into it. And then it roared again. The tyrannosaur heaved his head out of the shrubbery just in front of us. The scientists can insist that rex is bigger than trionyches, but I'll swear that this tyrannosaur was bigger than any rex ever hatched. It must have stood twenty feet high and been fifty feet long. I could see its big bright eye and six-inch teeth.
He'd been sleeping off his last meal -- and James fired off both barrels over his head at the bonehead and woke the tyrannosaur up.
"Get back! Get back, you fools!" The Raja yelled at us. They were behind it and the T-Rex hadn't noticed them yet. Only us. I stumbled backwards to avoid running into his jaws, trying to get a shot.
"Raja can't get a shot. Confound it, there goes the beast in behind those ferns." I said to Holtzinger. Only to find that he had gone. "Holtzinger?" Then I saw him. He had snuck behind the T-Rex amidst all the confusion and was getting ready to fire. "Holtzinger!" I yelled to him. "Come back! Your gun's too light for that beggar!"
James was currently right in front of the T-Rex and the T-Rex had noticed him now. James came bolting back in a panic and blundered into the Raja, sending both of them sprawling under the ferns and giving away both of their positions. The tyrannosaur came after them to snap them up. Holtzinger began to blaze away. He got off three shots through the beast's body with that little light gun.
The tyrannosaur whirled around to see what was stinging it. The jaws came open, and the head swung round and down again. Holtzinger got off one more shot and tried to leap to one side. The tyrannosaur continued its lunge -- and caught him in its jaws as he fell.
"AAAAARRGHHHH!"
"Reggie? Reggie?!" Raja cried out.
I steeled my resolve, "Stand clear!" I yelled, letting off a shot.
"Heart! Heart's the only chance!" The Raja said in the distance.
"It's no use! There he goes! Try a long shot."
I tried again, taking aim and firing. "Ahhh, missed him clean. Poor Holtzinger..."
"Well -- that's the end. He stopped screaming. Did you notice?" Said the Raja crossing over to me.
"Oh, yes. Well, I expect we best track the beast. He - he might be dying. We should try to recover Holtzinger's remains."
"Yes, there's - nothing else to do."
"No, nothing. A bad show all around."
An hour later, we gave up, and went back to the glade looking very dismal. Only to find James there, waiting for us.
"Where have you two been?" He said, glaring angrily at us.
"We were occupied. The late Mr. Holtzinger. Remember?" I said dryly.
"You shouldn't have gone off and left me. Another of those things might have come along. Isn't it bad enough to lose one hunter through your stupidity?"
"What?!" I said, surprised at this unexpected blow.
"Sure! You put us in front of you, so if anybody gets eaten, it's one of us. That's--"
Thats when i lost my temper. I had had enough of his stupidity and was ready to let him have a piece of myn mind. So i cut him short. "You stinking little swine. If you hadn't been a first-class idiot and blown those two barrels again, this never would have happened. Holtzinger died trying to save your worthless life! And I wish he'd failed!"
"Why, I oughta--" He said, advancing towards me with his fists raised.
"Now then, my lad, I'm glad you did that! It gives me a chance I've been waiting for!" I said, and with that, I pounced on him. I got him with a good right hook and after that, winded him with a swift right to his stomach. He fell to the ground, gasping for air. I kicked him once, lightly, just for good measure.
"Now get up! And I'll be glad to finish ya off!" I snarled.
Then, with more speed than I had credited him for, he grabbed his rifle and pointed it at me.
"You won't finish anybody off. All right, put your hands up."
"Put that gun away! Don't be an idiot!" I said.
"I won't let anybody do that to me."
"You can't get away with murder."
"Why not? Won't be much left of you after you're hit with a six hundred explosive shell. Nobody could prove anything. They can't hold you for a murder eighty-five million years old. The statute of limitations, you know." And he levelled his rifle, took aim and...
"CRUNCH!"
And James fell to the ground once again, only this time he was out cold.
"Nice work, Raja old chap!" I said walking over to him and patting him on the back.
"Yes. Cretaceous rock. Doesn't quite have the balance of a cricket ball, but - it's a bit harder, what?"
"Well, suppose we tie this chap up and take him back to camp." I said, heading away to grab some rope.
We tied James up and got trekked over to the spot where we had first arrived. When the time transition chamber was finally in sight, we fell over one another getting into it. We dumped James in a corner, and threw the switches.
"You two should have killed me back there."
"Why? You don't have a particularly good head." I said laughing.
"You wouldn't look at all well over a mantel." The Raja said, powering up the machine.
"You can laugh -- but I'll get you some day."
"Close quarters, isn't it?" The Raja said, turning to me and chuckling.
"Some day, I'll find a way. I'll find a way and I'll get off scot-free, too."
I pipednup again. "My dear chap! If there were some way to do it, I'd have you charged with Holtzinger's murder. Look, you'd best let well enough alone."
"No. No. I'll kill you. Both of ya. Somehow."
I yawned. "Cigarette, Raja?"
"Thanks."
****
When we came out in the present, we handed him his empty gun, and off he went. We paid everybody off and found that we were broke. But quite luckily, a steel manufacturer turned up who wanted a mastodon head for his den. Well, we were standing in the laboratory at the university, waiting for the time chamber. The technician -- he's a bookish chap, a theoretical temporal physicist -- was watching his dials and scopes.
Then he saw us and waved us over.
"Mr. Rivers, you just missed him."
"Hm? Missed who?" I asked.
"That last client of yours, Mr. James."
"Well, that's good luck." I chuckled. "What was he doing here?"
"Oh, he told me quite a tale. Said he'd lost his wallet back there. That it contained some very valuable papers."
"Humpf"
"It must have been valuable." He continued. "He paid the university fee of five thousand dollars for the use of the chamber. He's on his way back there now."
"Back where?"
"Well, he told me to send him back a few minutes before you arrived the last time. Then he could see himself drop the wallet."
"He's gonna stand there and watch himself come out? I said, laughing. Then i took in what he said. "Yeah, but, um, doesn't that create what you chaps call a - a paradox? What happens when a man tries to occupy the same time twice?"
"Well, we don't know. It's never been tried before. We tried to warn him but he insisted."
"Yes, I know. He's a headstrong chap. Still, you wouldn't think he'd chance it just for the sake of a wallet." Then, something clicked in my brain. "Was he armed?" I asked him.
"Yes. He had a three-seventy-five Express."
"Three-seventy-five?" Said the Raja, making me jump. I had forgotten him amongst the confusion. "That's odd. He's knows it's too light for dinosaur."
"Yes, but not too light for a man!" I replied. "Say, Raja, you don't think Mr. James is lurking behind a bush back there until we show up again, and planning to pot us as we step out?"
"That's impossible. We already did step out of the chamber and nothing happened."
"Yeah, but that was before Mr. James was waiting with an Express rifle cocked. Hey, doctor?"
"You mean, he's - he's planning to murder the two of you?" The technician asked, shocked.
"Mm, I wouldn't be a bit surprised. I, uh, I don't suppose there's anything you could do to stop the process now?"
"No, it's too late. The chamber's in transition now. Look, hadn't you better get out of here before he kills you?"
"Well, there's no point in running. If Mr. James' theory is right, we've both been dead for eighty-five million years. We might as well wait and see what happens."
"Transition point coming up!" The technician reported.
"Well, it's been quite a world up to this point -- eh, Raja?" I asked him dryly, not really expecting an answer.
"Yes. Quite." Replied the Raja in flat tones.
"Here it goes!" Said the technician.
"Glad you're having a good time." I muttered to myself.
Suddenly, there was a fierce light as the time machine returned and an explosion of sound and light. We were both thrown back (the technician was in a chair.) .
"Reggie, are you all right?" Asked the Raja, next to me on the floor.
I checked myself carefully before getting to my feet. "I - I seem to be. What happened?" I asked as I helped the Raja up.
"The time chamber. It's back. We'd better get it open." Said the technician smoothing back his hair and striding towards the time machine. He unlocked the hatch with some gloves.
"Oh my..."
"Good Lord, look at that." I said, revolted.
"Ghastly, isn't it? Where did it come from?" Asked the Raja.
"I'm not sure. But I rather think it came from the Middle Cretaceous era. It wasn't here a moment ago." Said the technician still looking at the vessel.
"Ghastly mess. Looks as if every bone was pulverized and every blood vessel burst."
"I dare say. But that's his gun all right. It's James; there's no doubt of it." I said.
****
So, that's the story, Mr. Seligman. Of course, I don't understand the mathematics but the idea's rather easy to grasp. Nobody had shot us when we first emerged on the twenty-fourth of April, eighty-five million B.C. -- so, of course, that couldn't be changed. The instant James started to do anything that would make a paradox, the space-time forces snapped him forward -- and ripped him to bits.
Well, they know a good deal about that now and there's a safety margin of five hundred years between each trip. You - can't have paradoxes, you know; just isn't done. And, you see, I'm a lot more careful now. I shouldn't have taken James when I knew what a spoiled, unstable sort. I shouldn't have taken Holtzinger either, when I saw that he was too small to shoot a dinosaur gun. With a heavier gun, he'd probably have knocked the tyrannosaur down, and saved his own life.
So, Mr. Seligman, that's why I won't take you to that period to hunt. I'm sorry but you're just too light. You're not big enough to handle - a gun for dinosaur.
The End.