Dinosaur Thunder Read Free

was as curious about the conditions in the interior of the structure as Paulson was. Even without the order, Watson was going in.
    Inching toward the still-struggling dinosaur, Watson felt like a soldier probing a minefield. Six inches at a time, he worked toward the dinosaur, always one eye on the tyrannosaur. Suddenly, the carnivore stopped struggling. Cocking its head, it stared at Watson with one eye.
    “I think it spotted me,” Watson said.
    “Get out, sir,” Chandra said.
    “I’m coming in,” Maven said.
    “Everyone stay where you are,” Paulson said, stopping Maven as he started into the perimeter. “Keep your cameras on the dinosaur.”
    They stood, locked in a staring contest with the tyrannosaur. Then abruptly, it turned its head, using its other eye. Suddenly, it lunged, but the invisible restraints held, and it barely moved. Twisting and turning, it repeatedly lunged, jaws snapping silently in the vacuum.
    “Try moving sideways,” Paulson said.
    “Moving? I thought prey were harder to see if they didn’t move.”
    “Please move sideways,” Paulson said after a long pause. “It’s safe.”
    In a PLSS suit, sidesteps were impossible, so Watson turned, hopping to his left. The tyrannosaur struggled another second, and then stopped, cocking its head from side to side as if searching for Watson. Finally, it gave up, ignoring Watson, resuming its frenetic struggles.
    “Commander, I won’t ask you to go any further,” Paulson said.
    “That thing is cemented in place,” Watson said. “It’s safe enough to get closer.”
    “If you are comfortable,” Paulson said.
    “Do you have a goal in mind?” Watson asked as he resumed inching forward.
    “Yes,” Paulson said. “I would like a sample of the material the dinosaur is standing on.”
    Watson studied the predator, estimating the sweep of its tail and the length of its neck. Watson did not think it could reach him.
    “You don’t want to get that close,” Maven said.
    “I’ll be careful,” Watson said.
    Inching slowly, Watson worked his way over waves of rubble, the tyrannosaur ignoring him, still wrenching back and forth violently. Reaching the edge of the black mass the trapped animal stood on, Watson used the long-handled scoop, touching the black material. It was solid. Watson tapped the material and then turned the scoop over, using the serrated edge to scratch the surface. No marks.
    “It’s hard like rock,” Watson reported.
    There was a long moon-to-Earth pause.
    “Try probing it with the orgonic material you collected.”
    “Orgonic?” Watson said.
    “The pieces of black material,” Paulson said.
    “Why?” Watson asked.
    A long silence followed. Watson imagined an intense argument taking place on the other end of the Earth link.
    “Try the collected samples because they may be made of a related material.”
    That explained nothing, but Watson knew he would not get anything more. Maven came forward, detaching his sample bag, offering the first piece of the material they found. Watson snapped the scoop head off his long handle and attached the tongs. Then he used a multitool folded into pliers to extract the material from the sample bag and transfer it to the tongs. Now using the long-handled tongs, Watson touched the material to the surface.
    “Same result,” Watson said. “What were you expecting?”
    After a long pause, “We’re just experimenting. Try the sample Dr. Chandra is carrying,” Paulson said.
    Watson returned the sample to Maven’s bag, and then Maven backed away as Chandra came forward. Using the same procedure, Watson extracted the sample from Chandra’s bag. As before, the surface of the piece was hard to focus on. The tongs gripped it, however, and Watson lowered it to the surface. When the material touched, it slowly sank.
    “It’s melding with the surface,” Watson said.
    “Extract it,” Paulson radioed after a pause.
    “This just gets better and better,” Maven said.
    “Major Watson,”