Extinction 2038

  EXTINCTION

  2038

  P. R. Garcia

  Copyright © 2017 P. R. Garcia

  All rights reserved.

  Visit: http://www.prgarcia1.com

  11518

  The warnings about Global Warming have been extremely

  clear for a long time.

  We are facing a global climate crisis.

  It is deepening.

  We are entering a period of consequences.

  AL GORE

  CONTENTS

  THE DISCOVERY

  QUARANTINE

  A MISSING STEVOSAURUS

  GREAT WHITES

  CONFIRMED CASUALTIES

  A STRANGER AT THE DOOR

  A NAME FOR A KILLER

  BAD NEWS

  A LONG WALK

  AN UNEXPECTED GUEST

  THE ELUSIVE PASSWORD

  A SICK BIRD

  THE PENGUIN COLONY

  A BLINKING RED LIGHT

  A GREENISH BLOB

  MAJOR WESLEY SIGNING OFF

  BEAVER ISLAND

  HUMAN ENCOUNTER

  WE HAVE TO LEAVE

  A FOOTPRINT IN THE SAND

  THE QUEEN VICTORIA

  THE FUTURE

  DEDICATION

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  THE EUROPA SAGA

  THE DISCOVERY

  Professor Alex Stevens looked down at the rapidly thawing semi-frozen corpse of an extinct dinosaur. It was a sixty-five million-year-old Stevosaurus antarcticus that one of his students had stumbled upon several days earlier. Thanks to global warming, much of the snow and ice in Antarctica had melted and uncovered vast areas of land that had not been exposed for millions of years. Fossils of numerous dinosaurs were being exposed, but none as extraordinary as their find. This discovery wasn’t fossilized bones, but a dinosaur cadaver. And it was in danger of being lost. The generator that kept it frozen had malfunctioned, and the flesh was beginning to thaw out. Had the professor realized the death their discovery was about to unleash, he certainly would have taken a different course of action.

  Two years earlier, Professor Stevens and his team had discovered scattered across the basin a variety of fossilized bones, including this new species of therapod. Like previous discoveries in Antarctica, the majority of the finds were only partial skeletons consisting of three or four bones. But two half-skeletons were found along with an almost complete skeleton of an unknown dinosaur. Named Stevosaurus antarcticaus after the professor and its place of discovery, it was only missing its right arm and hand, and five right-side ribs. Standing approximately seven feet tall, it would have been a formidable carnivore. Its long jaw contained forty-six serrated conical teeth that would have been capable of chomping through both flesh and bone. Like many orionides, Stevosaurus had slender, foldable arms with hands consisting of three fingers with long claws. However, it did not have the traditional recurved claw on its second toe. There was no indication if Stevosaurus had feathers or not.

  In hopes of finding another Stevosaurus skeleton, Professor Stevens had brought a new team down to Antarctica for a four-week dig. His team consisted of his assistant, Professor Gayle Dilbert, and six grad students from Michigan State. Upon arriving, he was amazed to discover that, in his two-year absence, even more earth had been exposed. It was in this newly uncovered area that one of his Paleontology students, Cindy Langlore, stumbled upon the discovery of a lifetime – the complete body of a Stevosaurus. But not just the bones. This find was a body containing skin, hair, toenails, muscles, eyelashes and a variety of brilliantly colored feathers. It was even felt that the internal organs such as the heart, liver, kidneys and brain were still viable. Perhaps the Stevosaurus’ last meal was still in the stomach and intestines. Unable to explain how such a discovery was possible, the professor knew they had found something that would change Paleontology forever. And that the find had to be carefully guarded until their research was completed.

  Fearing the fragility of the body, the team decided to leave the body where they found it and constructed a lab around the remains. A solar field-tent was erected over the site to house the dinosaur. On the east side of the large tent they connected two smaller tents. One was a makeshift lab where they could process blood and tissue samples, examine feathers, hair and skin samples and prepare them for transportation back to Michigan State. The other tent was a living area consisting of two cots, a table with three chairs and a place to prepare and cook food. A portable generator kept the two smaller tents a toasty +38F. It also helped the solar tent keep the examination tent a crispy +31F, a temperature comfortable enough for the scientist to work in while keeping the Stevosaurus in a frozen state. A second generator powered their most important item – an arctic cold belt. It encircled the frozen body and kept it frozen. Once they had examined the outside of the body, they would allow the frozen carcass to gradually thaw. Then the fascinating work would begin – the dissection of the Stevosaurus internal organs. Already the team was taking bets on what would be found inside its stomach. Since their time period to accomplish so much was brief, Professor Stevens had sent for another well-known paleontologist, Professor Graves of Berkeley. He and his team were due to arrive in several days.

  Professors Stevens and Dilbert went to the site each day with two grad students. The students rotated, spending one day in the field and two at the Polar Station. The four at the Station recorded the previous day's findings and examined under the microscope the samples of skin, flesh, blood and bones. Already they had made extraordinary findings, discoveries impossible with only bones.

  But things don’t always go as planned, and now their discovery was in danger of being destroyed. A freak electrical storm had swept through the area the previous night and damaged the field generators. The one operating the cold belt was destroyed. They tried powering the belt with the other generator, but it was too small and threatened to burn out after thirty minutes. There was no way it could power all three tents. Sacrificing lights and warmth in the smaller tents, they devoted all the generator’s power to keep the Stevosaurus frozen. But it still wasn’t enough. The flesh of the Stevosaurus was already becoming soft. The first odors of rotting flesh filled the team's nostrils.

  “Alex, at this rate, this Stevosaurus is going to be completely thawed out in the next four to six hours,” Professor Dilbert stated. “We have to get it refrozen, or we’re going to lose the whole dinosaur.”

  “I know,” Professor Stevens said. “Are there any extra generators at the Station?”

  “None that work. The one Paul and I found in the Station’s storage room wouldn’t start,” Tim replied. “We can try emptying the oil and gas and put in a new battery and fresh fuel. We might be able to get it working.”

  “We don’t have that kind of time,” Professor Stevens replied. “As Professor Dilbert stated, we only have hours.” He looked over at the thermometer. There were no clouds in the blue sky today, and the sun had already warmed the tent to a warm +36F.

  “Maybe we can pack snow around it,” Tim suggested. “We can cover the body with a tarp and pack snow over it. It should slow down the thawing until Professor Graves arrives in three days. We can contact him and have him bring another generator.”

  The team looked around. Due to their constant comings and goings and their walking in and around the enclosure, any available snow was packed solid. “It appears that the nearest snow is a long walk from here,” Professor Stevens stated, looking out the window to a pile of snow a good half mile away. “There is no way we can make that walk enough times to bring back a sufficient amount. Plus, we don’t have a tent to warm up in anymore if we become too cold.”

  “We could use Helga,” Paul suggested, pointing to the land rov
er. “But what could we carry the snow in?”

  “Tim, you and Paul go up to the Station and get the others,” Professor Stevens ordered. “Bring back as many pots, pans and buckets as you can find. Have Roscoe send an urgent message to Professor Graves requesting two new generators.”

  “But, Professor, it’s over an hours trek back to the Station,” Tim objected. “That leaves us only an hour or two to pack it in snow before it completely thaws out.”

  “I don’t see any other choice,” Professors Stephens replied. “Professor Dilbert and I will take down the solar tent. That should slow down the melting some, at least enough to give you time to get back. As long as she doesn’t thaw out all the way, I think we have a chance. Now hurry. Time is our enemy.”

  Paul and Tim ran and jumped into Helga, a double-cabbed snow-caterpillar transportation vehicle running on tracks. She was built especially for the harsh Antarctica weather with room for six in each unit or four with equipment. Her one drawback was she was slow, averaging only thirty mph across the land.

  As soon as the students left, Professors Stephens and Dilbert started disassembling the tent. They removed three of the sides, keeping the one on the wind side and the top portion up to give them some protection from the elements. Already, the temperature had dropped.

  “I don’t think there’s anything for us to do until the students get back,” Alex replied. He noticed Gayle was starting to shiver from the cold, as was he. “It’s too cold to stay out here. We’ll wait for Tim and the others inside the small tent. Even without the heater, it should be warmer than out here.” They hurried inside. Professor Stevens was right. It was warmer, but not much. “Once they get back, we’ll do as Paul suggested; use Helga to collect snow, throw a tarp over the Stevosaurus and bury it in a hill of snow. That should keep it stabilized until Professor Graves arrives with the new generators.”

  Professor Stevens pulled his assistant close to his body. Using his hands, he rubbed her back and arms in an attempt to warm her. When she stopped shivering, he had her sit on one of the cots wrapped in several blankets while he retrieved some fresh, hot coffee that, thankfully, Paul made earlier. With steaming mugs of coffee in their hands, they huddled together for warmth and waited.

  Two hours and forty-eight minutes after her departure, the sound of Helga’s engine was heard drawing near. Alex stepped outside and waved the group over to the tent.

  “Are we in time?” Cindy asked as she jumped from the caterpillar.

  “It was too cold to stay with the body,” Gayle replied. “But the drop in temperature should have slowed down the thawing.”

  “I have to see,” Cindy said. Since she was the one who had found the frozen Stevosaurus, she was especially concerned about the condition of her find. She ran over to the small snow mound encircling the cadaver and peered inside. Shocked at the scene before her, she called out, “Professors, I think something major is happening.”

  The rest of the team ran over and were also shocked at what they saw. The colder temperature had not stopped the melting. In fact, it appeared the thawing had accelerated. Instead of a brownish-green color, the skin was now a light gray with blotches of blue and purple. The carcass was bloated and misshaped. Yellow sores could be seen oozing a foul-looking liquid, and it coated the now dull feathers.

  “We’re too late, aren’t we?” Paul asked.

  “We still might be able to save its insides,” Professor Stevens answered. “Quick, everyone, into Helga. Tim, drive us out to that snow mound. We’ll gather as much snow as we can, pack the snow around it and hope for the best.”

  Everyone ran and jumped inside Helga. It seemed like it was taking the caterpillar forever to reach the loose snow, but in reality, it was only a few minutes. Using their fists and small shovels, Cindy and Tim broke apart the compacted snow. The other four scooped it into the various containers they had brought. Before long, they were on their way back with eighteen containers of snow. The entire trip only took fifteen minutes. But the amount of snow they were bringing was minuscule to the amount they needed.

  Not waiting for Helga to come to a complete stop, Cindy and Paul jumped from the caterpillar with their containers and raced to the body. Neither noticed the pools of semi-frozen liquid that had oozed out of the corpse and spread across the ground. When Cindy’s feet hit the patch of goo, she slid. Instinctively, she frantically flailed her arms in the air trying to regain her balance. She slammed into the outside ice wall, flinging her buckets into the air as her upper body was thrown forward onto the corpse. As Cindy’s body made contact with the Stevosaurus, it exploded, releasing all the gas that had been building up inside. A volcano of internal juices, blood and pieces of decaying flesh flew up into the air, covering the two students and nearby floor.

  “Yuk, that stuff is putrid,” Cindy yelled as she lifted herself off the ruptured body, spitting out pieces of flesh from her mouth. The taste, along with the smell, was so foul that she started to gag.

  “Tim, get the first aid kit from Helga,” Professor Stephens ordered. “Gayle, get the alcohol from the lab. We need to get these two cleaned off immediately. Everyone, into the warming tent.”

  “What about the Stevosaurus?” Roscoe asked. “Should we pour the snow over it?”

  “Forget the dinosaur,” Professor Stevens shouted. “Cindy and Paul are now our primary concern. Who knows what bacteria are inside that dinosaur?”

  The two infected students hurried inside the small tent, covered in slime. Chunks of flesh clung to their clothing, hair and faces. They stripped off their outer parkas, but the slime had run down their collars and onto their clothing, making it necessary to strip down to their underwear. Within seconds, the two began to shiver from the cold.

  “This is going to be cold,” Professor Stevens said as he poured a bottle of alcohol over Cindy and Paul’s bodies and faces. They had only several minutes to get the students clean and wrapped in blankets before hypothermia would set in. “Cindy, open your mouth.” When she did, he poured the antiseptic inside. Immediately, Cindy started gagging again and spit out the liquid. “You have to rinse your mouth out with this. You have to sterilize your mouth.” When he went to pour more alcohol into her mouth, he noticed a small trickle of blood emerge from her left nostril, followed by a stream from the right one. Within seconds, Cindy began to convulse and fell to the ground.

  “What’s happening to her?” Paul shouted, wondering if the same fate awaited him.

  “I don’t know,” Professor Stevens replied. “We have to get you both back to the Station immediately.” He ran over to the cupboard and removed six masks, handing one to everyone except the two exposed students. “Here, put these on. Tim, Roscoe, Frank, you three get the tarp from the back of Helga and cover up the Stevosaurus. And yank down the rest of the solar tent. The rest of you, wrap Cindy and Paul in as many blankets as you can find and get them in the back of Helga’s second cab. Be sure you don’t touch any of the Stevosaurus’ flesh or liquids.” He knelt down and, using a long ruler, picked up a piece of the thawing dinosaur tissue and placed it inside a specimen bag. He then put it in a biohazard container to take back to the Station. “Paul, can you walk?” he asked the young male as he stood there covered in blankets and pieces of plastic and clothing, whatever anyone could find to keep his exposed body warm.

  “Yes, Professor,” Paul replied.

  “Okay, get in the back compartment of Helga,” the professor instructed. “I need four of you to carry Cindy and place her in the back too. Carry her only by the corners of the blanket beneath her. Again, be sure not to touch any of the pieces of tissue. Once you have her inside, discard your gloves and get into the front section.”

  “I want to ride with them,” Raul stated.

  “No. All of you must ride up front with Professor Dilbert,” Professor Stevens replied. “I can’t risk exposing you to whatever they might have contracted. I will ride in back with them.”

  “But, Alex, you’ll be exposed,” Profess
or Dilbert said.

  “I’ll be fine,” Professor Stevens replied, giving all an encouraging smile. “Tim, I need you to get us back to the Station as fast as possible.” He climbed into the cab, sitting down beside the scared student.

  “Professor Stevens, am I going to die?” Paul asked in a monotone voice. From the tone of his voice, the Professor surmised Paul was in shock; either a result of hypothermia or the incident.

  “Not today,” Professor Stevens smiled. But he did not believe his own words. Already he could see Paul’s skin changing colors and a small drop of blood emerging from his nose. He grabbed Paul and leaned him into his chest. “Keep your head back and close your eyes. Think about the exciting story you’ll have to tell all of your friends when you get home.”

  Helga chugged along, heading as fast as her engine could to the Station. They had only traveled for ten minutes when the professor heard Paul’s labored breathing. He looked down and saw the blood now trickling down his face from both nostrils. He reached over and used a corner of the blanket to wipe off the blood, but it kept coming. As he wadded up the blanket under Paul’s nostrils, he noticed a small trickle of blood emanating from Paul’s right ear. He must be bleeding internally. He glanced over at the hopefully sleeping body of Cindy. He stared intently at her, watching for some movement to testify that she was still breathing. But he saw no motion in her blankets. Was she already dead? Would Paul die too on the way back? What horrible disease might be housed in that Stevosaurus’ body? He had been so ecstatic over their discovery he never considered what germs, bacteria or diseases might exist in a sixty-five million years old extinct dinosaur. Was the price of his ignorance the loss of one, possibly two students? And what of the rest? Would they be safe? At least there were no predators in the Antarctica to prey upon the remains of the Stevosaurus. The disease should spread no further than his team. It wasn’t much, but it’s all he had to be thankful for at the moment.