Chapter 84: Documentary (part 3)

"However, after a wait of almost nine days, the spinosaurus finally smells a familiar smell" the narrator continued. Subsequent scenes showed the spinosaurus sniffing the air and fidgeting. Jocelyne briefly recounted how the spinosaurus started acting weird and then grabbed her and carried away. In the reconstruction, his words took shape like the scenes of a film. Finally there was the long-awaited moment: the reunion of the little girl with her family. This time the reconstruction was interspersed with real scenes, shot by cameras incorporated into the vests of the soldiers in the field. At that point the narrator said something strange: "But Jocelyne's parents inadvertently make a mistake" "Uh?" Sobek thought. What was the narrator saying? The reconstruction showed the spinosaurus observing the scene from behind the trees; as soon as there was an embrace, the animal got nervous and began to move forward. Cut to Max. "What for us is a demonstration of affection, for animals often it isn't. The neck is the most vulnerable part of any living thing that breathes, so wrapping someone with your arms is like trying to suffocate them. From the point of view of the spinosaurus, what for the Jersey family is a manifestation of happiness is an undoubted hostile act. As a result, it decides to come out" "Oh... so this is the justification they gave?" Sobek thought. In reality he had come out of the closet almost without realizing it, it had all been a coincidence... The scene where he began to show himself was shown. "In front of the astonished looks of all the present people, the huge head of the spinosaurus emerges among the foliage" the narrator continued. "And here, humans make a second big mistake" Another cut on Max. "Imagine seeing this huge carnivorous beast taller than a house with blades instead of claws come towards you; the first reaction would obviously be to try to defend yourself, and in fact the soldiers immediately take up arms. But this is a mistake: the spinosaurus in fact had already been attacked by the kidnappers with weapons, even if different from those used by the Jersey's men, consequently they are further proof of the hostility of humans. If before of that the animal had some doubts, now it is convinced that they are a danger" "Ok... now they are exaggerating. What kind of drugs did they taken to make such theories?" Sobek thought, amused by the scientists' attempts to find an explanation for his behavior. "The situation risks ending in tragedy. If the spinosaurus attacked, the soldiers would shoot it" the narrator explained. "But suddenly, Jocelyne takes the initiative" and the video was shown in which the little girl broke away from her parents and ran to hug the spinosaurus. Cut to Jocelyne. "At that moment I didn't know what I was doing. I just knew that I didn't want that animal to be killed. I had to calm it down, so... I acted instinctively" New cut on Mitch. "Unexpectedly, what Jocelyne does is exactly the right thing: now she is hugging the spinosaurus, the same act her parents were doing before, and no aggressive or intimidating intent emerges from her. The spinosaurus then realizes that it has misunderstood the situation. At the same time the soldiers don't shoot. This calms the animal down, who finally realizes that Jocelyne is home now" "Damn! They have really a lot of fantasy. Now I'm really curious to see how it continues..." Sobek thought. The narrator resumed: "Unfortunately, however, the danger comes at the least expected moment". In the following scenes the torvosaurs were shown entering the scene. New cut on Mitch. "What has happened from this point on is perhaps the greatest manifestation of empathy recorded by the spinosaurus. As soon as the two carnivores appear, it places itself on top of the girl and lowers its claws to create a sort of 'protective living cage'. However, it cannot escape, as it would have to reach down to get Jocelyne and that would expose it. As a result, it has only one decision: to attack first. The chances of its victory are minimal, but this can give to Jocelyne a chance to escape. Basically it's sacrificing itself to protect Jocelyne" "And let's start again with heroism..." Sobek thought. He couldn't even find the strength to correct those guys by now. The following scenes showed the battle with the torvosaurs. Here the curators of the special effects had given the best of them, even more than with the carcharodontosaurus: the final result was so realistic that it made one think that at any moment the animals would come off the screen! After the battle, the reconstruction showed the spinosaurus roaring and walking away with its prey. New cut on Max. "What the spinosaurus is doing in this case is not a roar of intimidation, aimed at frightening, but of warning; it is literally yelling 'get out of here, it's not safe'. This is another representation of this animal's extraordinary empathy" The narrator resumed: "After those events, Jocelyne is brought home and the spinosaurus disappears in the forest. However, it won't be its last entry on the scene. The two professors Morgan, in fact, intend to find it at all costs" "After Jersey showed the images of the spinosaurus to the scientific community, I had only one thought in my head: we had to find it" Mitch explained. "The ship was ready, so there was no point in waiting. At the forest we found countless signs left by the animal, but unfortunately we had lost it since it was immersed in the river. Its intent was clearly to get away from the torvosaurs, consequently he was fleeing using the water as a natural cover. Only after numerous searches were we able to track the animal down" The reconstruction showed people on a ship, then some of them took a helicopter and finally tracked the spinosaurus from above. The moment of the shot and the moment when the spinosaurus collapsed on the shore was then resumed. "But professor Morgan and his companions are about to receive a bitter surprise" the narrator explained. In the later scenes, the spinosaurus remained motionless as the people did things around its body, then snapped like a spring as the shotgun with the narcotics was put down. Once the weapon was destroyed, the spinosaurus stood up and began destroying the helicopter in a fit of fury as the professor and his companions fled into the trees. Sobek grunted when he saw it: so that's where they had gone to hide that time! The camera captured a new person, a woman Sobek remembered having been in the company of professor Morgan when they met; the description said that her name was Jamie Campbell and that she had been a former student of Mitch. "At that moment my mind had exploded. One moment everything was fine, and the next we found out we had been deceived. Thank goodness the spinosaurus focused on the helicopter, otherwise we would have been doomed" Cut to Mitch. "This time the spinosaurus shows extraordinary intelligence: even if it doesn't know what narcotics are, the shape of the rifle and its use remind it of those of weapons. As a result, it mistakenly thinks we want to kill it and it plays dead. Its purpose here is to give us a sense of security to make us abandon our only weapon, then destroy it as soon as we get rid of it. It then launches into the helicopter, fearing that there are other weapons inside. In its incredible intelligence, the spinosaurus understood that humans without their weapons are not a threat, so its priority is to disarm us" "I was actually hoping to find something useful in the helicopter... oh, who cares" Sobek tiredly thought. The narrating voice resumed: "But if the animal were to understand that there are no other weapons on board the helicopter, then it would launch in pursuit of professor Morgan and his companions. To avoid such a scenario, the professor shoots the helicopter's now exposed tank, causing it to blow up. And here the unthinkable happens". The reconstruction showed the spinosaurus that after the explosion calmly approached the burning helicopter without any fear. Another cut on Mitch: "That spinosaurus wasn't afraid of fire! This is an index of intelligence that goes beyond our conception. No animal in the world isn't afraid of fire, except for humans. Instead, that spinosaurus hadn't the slightest fear of it: if it hadn't been for the soot that bothered it, it would never have gone away alive" The final scenes showed the spinosaurus leaving and Mitch and his companions being recovered from the ship they came with. Then the narrator spoke one last time: "As a result of these events, the spinosaurus has unfortunately not been found anymore. However, its discovery allowed the scientific community to completely re-evaluate our knowledge of these majestic animals. It is the living proof that the forest still hides many secrets and that it is only a matter of time before the unknown comes to light. Thanks to their studies,Max and Mitch Morgan not only documented the intelligence of this animal, but were able to confirm through its genome that it was indeed a new species of spinosaurus. A species that today can proudly bear the name of 'Spinosaurus superior'!" Sobek's eyes widened as the documentary ended and the credits started to roll. Had he heard it right?