Chapter 189: Going to meet the dinosaurs

Finally, after almost two weeks, everything was ready. The Odaria government had proposed to lend the delegation some luxury cars, but Jocelyne had categorically refused: given the desert environment they were going to, it was more convenient to move around with jeeps. In reality, that was just an excuse: Jocelyne suspected that someone would try to sabotage the delegation, so he preferred to move with vehicles from his garage, where he knew for sure that no one had planted bombs. Jackson immediately agreed with this choice, and so did Chloe: they both agreed that moving within their own means was safer. So they had prepared a couple of jeeps to transport them and their escort inside the territory of the dinosaurs. The auction had ended a few days earlier and Jocelyne had earned five million from it, which he had transferred to a secret bank account of his. Such a sum could not hold a candle to the Jersey family's immense fortune, but Jocelyne had learned that it was important to always have a back-up plan, so having some money saved wouldn't hurt her. The reporters who won the spot were part of the Daily Bugle, News Enterprises and Total Newspaper respectively, all three extremely well-known news companies, possibly the best three in the world. They left early in the morning, when the sun had not yet risen. After all, they had a long way to go all the way to Cartago. They left the capital when the rays of the star began to illuminate the buildings and reached the mountains about four hours later. To welcome them there was a contingent of soldiers blocking the road, but as soon as Jocelyne identified herself, they let them pass. From that moment they were in full enemy territory. The jeeps sped towards the mountains, following the road that cut through the tunnels carved into the rock. Soon they found themselves traversing a small valley through the huge mountains. Albeit in passing, the soldiers of the escort could sense movement around them. "Someone is following us" Jackson muttered. Jocelyne wasn't surprised at all. "It's obvious. They have probably kept an eye on us since we entered the valley" "You can relax, Mr. Oz. If they had wanted to attack us they would have already done so" Chloe gave her a helping hand. "They probably just want to make sure we don't do anything stupid" Jocelyne smiled at the woman's words. The two weeks they spent together had allowed her to get to know each other well. Chloe was a delightful, intelligent person and, like her, hoped for lasting peace with their new rivals. After all, Odaria's disastrous defeat had shown that war was not going to be a happy option. Given their close affinity, Jocelyne and Chloe had no problem bonding with each other. They both expected the dinosaurs to post sentries, just like humans did. And in fact at the end of the gorge, right on the road that led out of the mountains and straight into the desert, they found three huge triceratops blocking their way. "Stop" shouted the one who was presumably their leader. "Please identify yourself" Despite being on a diplomatic mission, everyone felt a chill on their backs as they watched the three triceratops. A triceratops alone was a very dangerous creature, as it was practically a living war machine. But the triceratops in front of them were also covered with armor that gave the whole idea of being very resistant. If they threw themselves into the cars, they could shatter them without the slightest effort. Jocelyne stood up and leaned over the jeep: "I am Jocelyne Jersey, ambassador of human beings! We come to confer with your boss to negotiate the terms of the peace" "Uh? So are you the ambassador of humans?". The triceratops seemed a bit confused. "Forgive my question, but by the standards of your species you wouldn't be considered 'young'?" When the dinosaurs took control of Cartago, they initially didn't care about which humans were adults and which weren't. However, after Sobek had determined that all people under fifteen should be reunited with their families, the dinosaurs had begun to get curious. For dinosaurs, any individual who reached sexual maturity was considered an adult and was completely independent of their parents. Maybe he stayed to live with them, forming a family unit, or he lived together in their own pack, but in any case he no longer needed the help of his parents to survive. He was completely autonomous. Consequently, from the point of view of the dinosaurs, humans could already be considered adults and autonomous from the age of 12-13. However, Sobek had ordered that all individuals under the age of fifteen be reunited with their families, which raised doubts. Some of the more curious dinosaurs had begun asking questions around and so, in the end, they had discovered that for humans an individual wasn't considered an adult until the age of 18-20, even if he reached sexual maturity much earlier. This had confused them quite a bit, and many were still trying to remember that detail. So you can imagine the confusion of the three triceratops who finally managed to convince themselves that humans only became adults at 18, only to find a 14-year-old girl as their ambassador. In short, it was everything the opposite of everything! The poor triceratops were confused as they rarely were in their lives. Jocelyne could sense their dismay, but she didn't try to investigate it: "I'm young, yes, but I can do this as much as an adult. Humans have chosen me to represent them for a reason" "I understand. Forgive my rudeness" the leader of the triceratops hastened to say, and then he step aside: "Please, pass. We will make sure that the pack leader knows of your arrival" As they passed the triceratops, the people in the jeeps wondered how those beasts were going to outrun cars, but the answer came shortly after when they distinctly saw a large tropeognathus flying in the direction of Cartago. The journey was long and initially rather boring. For the first few hours, the entire environment that surrounded them was occupied exclusively by the desert. Every now and then some old human construction, a disused oil well or a now exhausted quarry broke the monotony of the landscape, but nothing more. Towards the middle of the journey, however, things began to change. The group began to spot many more pterosaurs in the sky, first a few specimens, then entire flocks. Then, as we went on, some dinosaurs also began to appear. The first they saw was a large massospondylus accompanied by a pair of neovenators who seemed to be walking leisurely across the desert. Then it was the turn of a megalosaurus sniffing the ground as if it were looking for something, accompanied by numerous beipiaosaurus who used their long claws to dig in the indicated spot. Neither Jocelyne nor Chloe nor Jackson nor any member of their escort had any idea what the dinosaurs were looking for, and it probably didn't interest them to know, but seeing herbivorous and carnivorous animals working together so close to each other was still a little intimidating. It was as if the laws of nature were completely overturned. As they went on, the small groups of dinosaurs became more and more numerous. After another short distance, then, suddenly the monotonous desert landscape vanished. The surprise was so great that the same drivers stopped the jeeps for a moment. The earth had been completely turned over and the color also seemed wet. The sandy yellow of the desert was replaced by a solid dark brown. "What is happening?" Jackson exclaimed, receiving his reply shortly after. Continuing, the group began to see more and more widespread herds of dinosaurs, until everywhere they turned they saw at least one. And what they were doing was amazing. The dinosaurs were plowing! Several species of stegosaurids that with their mighty spear tails dug the earth by lifting and turning large blocks of parched earth. Stegosaurs, kentrosaurs, dacentrurus, scelidosaurs, huayangosaurs, lexovisaurs, tuojiangosaurs, chialingosaurs, wuerhosaurs, miragaias, hesperosaurs, chungkingosaurs, gigantspinosaurs, paranthodons: they were seen of all kinds while exploiting their tails as if they were a plow. Immediately after them there were the ceratopsids. Triceratops, chasmasaurs, styracosaurs, torosaurs, pachyrinosaurs, centrosaurs, turanoceratops, brachyceratops, coronosaurs, rubeosaurs, synoceratops, nasutoceratops; with their big horns they tore apart the earth that the stegosaurids had turned over with their tails. Then came the sauropods; using their paws, they pushed the earth turned over by the stegosaurids and crumbled by the ceratopsids so that it spread over a large surface. Brachiosaurs, camarasaurs, diplodocus, riojasauri, cetiosaurs, barapasaurs, shunosaurs, haplocanthosaurs, seismosaurs, apatosaurs, mamenchisaurs, barosaurs, amargasaurs, supersaurs, alamosaurs, malawisaurs, argentinosaurs, neuquensaurs, titanosaurs; all these gigantic animals worked together to spread the turned earth around. In addition, some of them defecated in the freshly worked earth, clearly fertilizing it, and in fact the smell of manure was in the air. At this point the ankylosaurids arrived. Gastonias, minmis, edmontonias, euoplocephalus, gargoylesaurus, saichanias, talarurus, pinacosaurs, anchilosaurs, sarcolestes, dracopeltas, tianchiasaurs, mymoorapeltas: with their club tails they hit and flatten the freshly worked and fertilized earth. With their paws, then, they made sure that not even an imperfection was left in the ground. Finally there were the theropods. Albertosaurs, daspletosaurs, tyrannosaurs, allosaurs, dilophosaurs, giganotosaurs, megalosaurs, ceratosaurs, acrocanthosaurs, carcharodontosaurs, torvosaurs, cryolophosaurs, carnotaurs: with their immense mouths they carried large quantities of water which they then released onto the earth as if they were freshly moved and fertilized watering cans. "What are they doing?" Jackson asked at the sight. "Isn't it obvious? Look up there!" Chloe said pointing to the sky. The group raised their heads and saw a giant flock of pterosaurs arriving from the east. There were all shapes and sizes. Peteinosaurs, preondactylus, dimorphodons, eudimorphodons, dorygnathus, scaphognathus, rhamphorhynchus, batrachognathus, gallodactylus, germanodactylus, sordes, anurognathus, pterodactylus, ornithodesmus, cearadactylus, ornithocheirus, pterodaustro, dsungaripterus, anhangueras, tropeognathus, pteranodons, nyctosaurus, tapejaras, quetzalcoatlus, hatzegopteryxs, arambourgianas: an immense flock composed of any type of pterosaurs which, once they reached the fertilized earth, opened their mouths and made a cascade of small grains fall on it. Humans couldn't initially see what it was, but as the grains descended and settled on the ground they recognized that it was seeds. Immediately after several tiny dinosaurs, especially pachycephalosaurids (wannanosaurs, prenocephales, pachycephalosaurs, homolocephales, goyocephales, microcephales, stygimolochs, dracorexs, stegoceras, etc.), dromaeosaurs (velociraptors, deinonichus, ornaptorides, bambiraptorides, utahraptors, etc.) and ornithomimids (struthiomimus, gallimimus, ornithomimus, deinocheirus, sinornithomimus, archaeornithomimus, etc.) ran throughout the land to ensure that the seeds were well planted in the earth. "Are they farming?" Jocelyne exclaimed in amazement. "They want to create a cultivation, like we do?" "I don't think so. Look ahead" Chloe told her. Jocelyne took a closer look and noticed that where the earth had already been turned, fertilized and watered some seeds were already germinating, probably planted for a few days already. Although small, the seedlings were clearly recognizable: small buds of grass. "It's not a cultivation... it's a reforestation!" Jocelyne realized. "They are making the desert fertile again for the plants to grow again! They want to restore the forest that was here!" "I see you understand" Chloe laughed. Jackson, behind them, was speechless. "Are you serious? Do you really think they are doing such a thing?" he asked him unconvinced. "Is it really that strange?" Chloe asked him. "In order to live, we human beings modify the environment around us to make it favorable to our needs. The dinosaurs are doing the same, it seems" Even though she tried not to show it, Chloe was just as excited as the others. Seeing so many animal species working together to rebuild the forest felt mythological in her eyes. It seemed that Mother Nature herself had set to work to take back what humanity had taken from her. The further they went, the more they noticed new oddities. They discovered that some large carnivores, especially tyrannosaurids, used their nose to find new sources of water, and some terizinosaurids following their directions dug in the assigned points with their large claws to allow the precious liquid to escape. They noted numerous hadrosaurids (parasaurolophus, choritosaurs, maiasaurs, iguanodons, muttaburrasaurs, edmonthosaurs, etc.) that used their wide, flat mouths to grasp and move the smaller rocks, and used their paddle legs to dig and extract those stuck in the ground. . And when they reached the river they saw several spinosaurids (spinosaurs, suchomimus, baryonyxs, irritators, etc.) that used their big snouts and clawed legs to tear away the weeds and allow the fish to swim free in the water again. Observing how the dinosaurs worked quickly, Jocelyne calculated that within a month the entire desert would be covered in a green blanket of grass, and that in just another two months, bushes and ferns would appear. The trees would take years to grow, some even decades, but they would appear too. There was something poetic and mystical in all of this. A land that was dead due to the black hand of man, which in a very short time was flourishing again thanks to the animals. She was pretty sure some storyteller could do a story about it. Towards evening, they finally caught a glimpse of the profile of Cartago in the distance. Fortunately, because the jeep drivers were starting to get really tired: they hadn't stopped for practically all day. As they approached, they found some dinosaurs waiting for them on the road. Realizing that they were probably part of the 'welcoming committee', Jocelyne ordered the vehicles to be stopped, which seemed to please the dinosaurs. One of them, a huge stegosaurus more than twice the height of a man, stepped forward and greeted them: "My compliments, kind ambassadors! My name is Pierce and I am here to welcome you. Allow me to welcome you to our land, hoping this is the beginning of a long and lasting friendship!" Well, at least he knows how to talk, Jocelyne thought, then opened the door and got out of the jeep ignoring Jackson's calls. "Greetings to you, Mr. Pierce, it is a pleasure for me to make your acquaintance. I am the human ambassador, Jocelyne Jersey, and I thank you for giving us such a warm welcome to your territory. I also hope this is the beginning of a long-lasting friendship" Pierce was clearly surprised by Jocelyne's age, but unlike the triceratops that morning he made no comment; evidently he was more polite (or more expert in human education: Jocelyne doubted that dinosaurs had the same sense of modesty as humans), and in fact instead of making comments he continued with his speech: "Let me make the introductions. The two tyrannosaurs next to me are Terence and Matilda. The styracosaurus is Teo, and the saltasaurus is Martha. Finally, the allosaurus is Al. We will accompany you to our pack leader and answer any questions you may have. You can consider us at our service" "You are too kind. Let me introduce you to my companions too. They are Chloe Tousignant, Jackson Oz and..."Jocelyne went on to list the names of all the members of the group. "We'll do our best to memorize them" Pierce assured her, then nodded. "You can leave the vehicles here. Forgive us, but the nose of many dinosaurs is quite sensitive and the smell of exhaust smoke annoys them. Don't worry, you won't have to walk: we will take you" Jocelyne and the others looked at each other for a moment surprised at those words. "Excuse me... in what sense will you take us? You mean... on your backs?" the girl asked, hoping not to be offensive. "Well, of course. Why? Is it a problem by any chance?" Pierce asked. "Not for us, but... for you? Well... are you okay with us using you as mounts?" Jocelyne asked. From her point of view, the dinosaur proposal was strange: it was as if people offered to carry others on their backs. The stegosaurus seemed to shrug. "I don't see what's wrong with it. After all, all small creatures use larger ones to move more easily. And you humans aren't very heavy, so you will not be at any discomfort" "Uh... I understand" Jocelyne replied. Apparently the dinosaur costumes were much freer. "So, how are we supposed to do?" "Choose which of us you want me to take you and say so. We'll let you get on our backs" Pierce replied. "Miss, do you really want to do this?" whispered a member of the escort in Jocelyne's ear. "They are offering themselves, it must be a way to honor hospitality for them. We can't refuse, it would be like spitting on their kindness" Jocelyne replied softly, and then she began to evaluate which dinosaur she wanted to climb on. She dismissed the stegosaurus regardless, since the plates on its back would have made the journey very uncomfortable. The best choice would have been the saltasaur, but given its size she would have had to share it with more people, which she didn't appreciate very much. The ideal option for her would have been Teo, but then a doubt seized her. Out of the corner of her eye, he noticed that behind her the other members of the delegation were also doing the same reasoning and they too, like her, were excluding carnivores. This was not good. If the dinosaurs perceived some kind of preferential treatment, they might be offended. Jocelyne still knew too little about the habits and customs of the dinosaurs and therefore she had to act with caution, to avoid offending them. Although she with a good dose of fear in her heart she decided to set a good example and get on a carnivore. She discarded Terence and Matilda because they seemed too fierce to her, which left her only one option. "I'm going with Al" she said.