ARK: THE PREHISTORIC ISLAND
The waves of the ocean crashed on the shores of Sydney, in the South of the land down under. The afternoon sun intensely warmed the air, which was made pleasantly mild by the combination of the sun's rays and the ocean breeze. It was the height of summer: the public beaches were jammed with tourists, vying for every single free square centimeter to lay their towel on the sand, install a beachumbrella and lie down until sunset just for a tan which, on the hottest days, risked becoming a purplish sunburn. Immediately behind the beach, the umbrellas and the drink stands, the urban jungle began. The scene was typical of big cities: cars whizzed through all the lanes of the roadway non-stop, while hordesof pedestrians swarmed along the sidewalks like ants. Occasionally, a few bicycles broke the continuity of this pattern. A blonde girl with a ponytail and green eyes was pedaling on one of them. Her delicate features gave her a sweet and refined appearance, but devoid of pride. Her name was Laura Hamilton.
§
As she pedaled, Laura listened to an instrumental version of a Queen song with earphones, despite the highway code clearly dictating that you must listen only to the surrounding sounds. Her mind was elsewhere as well, although she was paying more or less careful attention to what she was doing.
Laura, along with her three childhood friends Sam Fox, Chloe Webster and Jack Thunder, had graduated a year earlier with honors. Each of them had studied following their vocation: Chloe was a language buff and a born mediator, Jack had always been amazingly brilliant at math and was now a computer technician, while Sam had an interest in engines and worked as a mechanic. Laura, on the other hand, loved something that fewer and fewer people would specialize in: paleontology. Unfortunately, because this sector was in decline, it was very difficult for her to find a job, even just for a trial period, suitable for recently graduated students. And those few jobs she'd found by searching the Internet were either on the other side of the world, or had already been bankrupt for months.
And yet, a couple of days ago, she'd learnt of a center for paleontological research that did both laboratory studies and field research. And it was right there, in her own city. To be precise, it washoused in a natural science museum complex in downtown Sydney. After discovering it, Laura had contacted the managers of that center, who had given her an appointment for the afternoon of January 3, 2019. And it was exactly in that direction that she was pedaling, in the grip of anxiety. She made sure she had every single detail of her CV with her, indicating the coursesof study she'd attended in her life. She hoped with all her heart that they would beimpressed by the great results with which she'd come out of university and that they wouldn't dismiss the idea of hiring her for whatever reason they had in mind.
Finally, after crossing practically half the city, she reached the museum in question. She jumped off the bike, left it in the parking lot, securedit with the safety chain, and took off her headphones. She quickly checked her bag and took out the papers to check for the last time whether everything was there. She then took a deep breath, entered the museum and started to look for the area allocated tothe paleontology center. It wasn't difficult: above a door there was a plaque bearing the name of the center. Laura wentin and stood beforethe secretary's desk.
«Good morning! You are…» the woman asked.
«Laura Hamilton. I have an appointment here at three o'clock»
«Wait a minute, let me look for your name on the appointment list. Hamilton... Hamilton...»
Laura observed the secretary. She was the typical bureaucratic office employee: young, slender, snappy, wearing glasses and withher hair tied in a bun.
«Yes, there you are. Please, sit down: Mister Knight will seeyou in a moment»
«Thanks»
So Laura sat down against the wall and began the wait together with the other aspiring paleontologists, who had arrived there with the same purpose as her. It felt like hours to Laura, while it actually only took about thirty minutes for her turn to arrive. Finally, around three in the afternoon, the boss walked out of his office, escorting the last applicant. It was her turn...
§
Eric Knight was a forty-year-old man of medium height, with slightly disheveled black hair and a Freddie Mercury mustache. His office was customized exactly as Laura hadimagined it would be: shelves with small display cases containing prints of shell-shaped fossils etched into stone, a human skeleton on display in a corner by the window and a spruce bonsai on the desk. Of course, there were also not too bulky piles of documents on it, which almost looked like part of the furniture. In that environment, Laura felt somewhat more relaxed and confident as Mister Knight carefully leafed through her CV. Sometimes he smiled, other times he raised an eyebrow and then smiled again. He looked like a friendly man, one attentive to the human side of the people who worked for him. Finally, he put the papers on the desk and, still smiling, spoke to her:
«So, I see that you've been interested in this field for the entire period of your professional training... you are really passionate, aren't you?»
«Yes, I absolutely am - replied Laura, with a hint of embarrassment - WhenI was a child, I used to read a ton of books on animals of the past. All the people I knew said it was a boy thing, but I never cared»
«You did the right thing: I was questioned about it as much, yet here we are» replied Mister Knight.
"Say, I like this guy!" thought the girl.
Then, more and more calm and confident, she continued her story:
«When it was time to start specializing, I chose all the courses related to paleontology. Now I feel ready to start working on it in earnest. If you want me, go ahead: I won't let you down»
Knight looked at her thoughtfully for a couple of minutes, then he smiled one last time and told her:
«Very good. One of our researchers is retiring in a few weeks. When he's gone, the job will be yours. Deal?»
«Yes, of course! Thank you, Mister Knight!»
«No problem, Miss Hamilton!»
§§§
As soon as Laura left the museum, her cell phone vibrated.
"As on-time as ever!" she thought, with a smirk.
She checked and found some text messages from her mother, Chloe and Jack:
MOM
"Hi, sweetheart! How was the interview? They took you on, right? Anyway, you are still a wonderful girl, keep following your dream! Keep me up to date!"
CHLOE
"Hey there! Let me guess: they kicked you out, didn't they? No, I'm just messing with you. How did it go? If they don't want you, persecute them to death ;)"
JACK
"Hi, Laura! Is it done? I hope it went well! Sorry, now I have an IT issue to fix. See you later!"
There was no sign of Sam, but that was just because at that hour he hadn't yet left the workshop where he was working for a trial period: he would be finished at six. Laura broke the good news to everyone, then she went back to her bicycle and rode off. But she wasn't heading to the rented flat where she'd been living with her three friends since she had become independent of her parents. She was going to the library: she'd take out a nice book, maybe just on paleontology or simply fiction (perhaps a classic) to celebrate with herself. That place had always been her reference point, under any circumstances.
§
The library wasn't far from her flat: it would take her about ten minutes to get home after picking up a book. The first thing she did, and which she never forgot to do when she dropped in, was to greet Jeremy the librarian, also known among the people who often visited the place as the Orange Man, because of his tangerine hair and goatee. And at that moment, coincidentally, he was eating an orange.
«How are you doing, Jeremy?» Laura greeted him.
«All quiet, as usual. Have you already had that job interview of yours?»
«Yes, just... all right: how and when did you find out?»
«News travels fast. I heard from your mother, from your father, from your friends, from all your neighbors... all this in the last two days»
«Of course...» Laura answered, smiling.
«Do you already know what to pick?»
«No. But today I want to read something unusual. I'll try looking in that dusty corner where you keep ignored and forgotten books. Are you good with that?»
«Why should I tell you if that's fine by me? It's a library: the choice is free. Just bring it back within a month»
«Right. I'm going»
She then ventured among the shelves, until she reached her destination.
"Here you are! Which one of you will be worthy of me today?" thought Laura cheerfully as she began to check out the books.
§
Jeremy would place any book there that people hadn't touched for at least two years. But soon one of those would be reopened by a girl with a very strong imagination and curiosity. At that moment, she was looking for something about paleontology. Those were largely great classics. Then she found a light version of On the Origin of Species, one of her favorite books. She smiled and took it up, but only to leaf through it quickly. As she put it back in place, she noticed that, right next to it, was a second book whose title immediately caught her attention. Intrigued, Laura placed the book she was holding on a side table and picked up the other one. The cover was made of very dark leather. At the top was the signature of Charles Darwin.
"Now, that's new" thought the girl.
Not to mention its title! It said:
ZOOLOGICAL GUIDE TO THE EXTRAORDINARY CREATURES OF THE ISLAND OF ARK
DISCOVERING THE ANIMALS OF THE PAST THAT STILL LIVE
Laura was really confused: what was the island called ARK? What did "creatures of the past that still live" even mean? All thatdidn't seem to make sense. But Darwin was no raver: he was an author who expounded in detail every topic that needed to be explained, without leaving anything out. So why make things up? She'd understand that better later that night, reading the book in bed. She then went back to Jeremy, who'd finished his orange.
«Would you look at that… you found that one right there! I remember it...»
«Really? Why?»
«A lady gave it to me a couple of years ago. She told me it'sabout something impossible to believe. No one's ever wanted to read it ever since, so I put it on the back burner. But now you've found it, it's up to you to see what that woman meant. Enjoy the read!»
«Thanks. Goodbye, Jeremy!»
When Laura came out, she took a good look at the spine of the book before putting it into her bag. She then got on the bike and pedaledoff.
§
Laura came to the condominium where her flat was. She put her bike away, went to the front door and rang the intercom. About ten seconds later, someoneopened the door without speaking a word.
"How odd... Chloe usually asks who's there before opening the door" she thought, suspicious.
She went up the stairs to the fifth floor, reached the right door and took the keys from her purse. She opened the door, walked in and closed the door behind her.
«Guys, it's me!» she called out, without getting an answer.
«Hey! Why won't you answer me? Chloe? Jack? It's... - she started walking around the rooms, but she didn't find anyone - It's not funny! Come on out, everyone»
«Surprise!»
Someone behind her grabbed her hips, lifted her with remarkable strength and gave her a twirl.
«What... who...»
When she was put back to the ground, she turned around and saw Sam's stout, muscular silhouette.
«Sam? Why are you here? You're supposed to be in the workshop»
«I got an exclusive special permission just for today. Anyway... why don't you take a look in the kitchen?»
Laura complied, without asking questions but giving Sam Fox a suspicious gaze. In the meantime, she threw one last look at him: he was a well built young man with defined muscles and curly red hair: he looked older than twenty-two! He was just cut out to be a mechanic... Laura walked into the kitchen and suddenly found Chloe and Jack, who had ridiculous birthday party hats on their heads. Chloe Webster had black hair tied in a big bun, a gently curved nose and brown eyes, all in all an amazingly seductive girl. Jack, on the other hand, was blond and looked like Sam's polar opposite: thin, shy and thoughtful.
«Hier ist unsere neue Paläontologin!» Chloe exclaimed as she ran to hug her.
«Fine... what was that?» Laura asked, laughing.
«It was German - replied her friend - it meant "here's our new paleontologist". You could easily figure that one out!»
«Thanks anyway!»
«Hey, hey! Aren't you going to show her the cake?» Sam winked, walking into the kitchen as well.
«Even a cake? Come on guys, it's just a job!»
«"Just" a job? That's your comment, after all the effort you made to get it?» Chloe asked.
«Yeah, you're right: it's time to celebrate!»
§
It was finally nighttime. Everyone was asleep... except Laura, who was now wearing her new silly green pajamas with a pink cartoon-like T. rex and "Adorawwble" written on it: her friends had had it in store as a surprise beside the cake, a themed present to celebrate her new job. They were such sweet friends. Anyway, Laura took the book, which she hadn't shown anyone, laydown on her bed and flipped through the first few pages. At the beginning, there was a preface written in Darwin's neat and uncluttered handwriting:
In this work of mine, I am going to present and describe fantastic creatures that we all believed to be dead long before the great flood devastated the Earth.
Laura smiled: she'd always found it funny that scholars of the likes of Darwin still mentioned the great flood, even though the discoveries of their time proved otherwise.
During my journey aboard the Beagle, I came across an unusual island. It had never been marked on any map and the air around it shimmered, as if there was a veil of warm humidity. I wanted to land there alone. I soon discovered that the island was populated by all kinds of antediluvian creatures, as well as by a very ancient and relatively primitive civilization that has been calling it home for six thousand long years.
Laura's curiosity turned into perplexity: what was the real intention of that book? Would she find a scientific treatise or a false autobiographical documentation after that preface? Perhaps the title had deceived her at first: she'd been expecting at least an encyclopedia, but what she had in her hands looked more like a work of fiction. Was that book supposed to be taken seriously or, with subtle irony, did it use the excuse of the encyclopedia to tell an imaginary adventure with a scientific tone, along the lines of Jules Verne? Assuming it would get clearer later, Laura shrugged and went onreading the preface.
I gave the island, called Pulà in the native language of its inhabitants, a new name: ARK, since it had served as Noah's ark to antediluvian animals. The natives were baptized Arkians. I found with great amazement that, in whatever language I addressed them, they would understand and reply without difficulty. I hypothesize that their native language, indecipherable to the ears of any non-resident on ARK, has an origin and etymology connected and in common with all the other languages that, millennia later, developed in the regions of the world. It is a phonetic language alternating consonants and vowels quite regularly, which makes it rather easy to pronounce for some speakers and difficult for others. Studying their vocabulary, I found words related to some of the most ancient and exotic languages, from Sanskrit to Aztec. And, somehow, thanks to it, the Arkians don't need to study to imitate and understand all the other languages. Here is a sentence in Arkian:
"My name is Charles" translates to "Ic ecavluc Charles"
Laura smiled again: the author, who by now she strongly doubted to really be Darwin, also seemed to have been so creative as to make up a whole artificial language, maybe to increase the verisimilitude of their work.
"Chloe is sure to like this. If somewhere in the book it's said how this language is created, I'll show her" she thought.
Another incredible detail is that, on ARK, there are all the climatic environments present in the world, as if the Creator had thrown a part of them into a common place, without a precise order or reason. Fascinated, I decided to study and report on paper the behavior of those creatures in their environment, as well as how the Arkians used them once they were domesticated. Exactly: on ARK, thanks to a process devised by the natives themselves, you can tame almost all creatures: it all begins when you throw food at the animal you have targeted. This causes the creature to be intrigued by the generosity of the human and, if there is no mutual aggression, the beast stops considering them a threat and its progressive trust is recognized when it lets itself be touched and petted. Other types of collaboration, such as helping the animal to hunt or defend itself, can only increase the effectiveness of the procedure. If everything is done properly, the animal begins to do the same and can even give small gifts as a sign of thanks. Any of its own kind nearby also ceaseto show signs of aggression, unless there is some "betrayal". When each of the two decides to take care ofthe other for good, the animal is officially tamed and loyal to its owner.
"That's a nice gimmick. If only convincing my parents' cat not to hate me was so easy..." thought Laura, with a smile.
Unfortunately, when I decided to leave, I discovered that the air curtain had turned into an indestructible wall. As proved by the fact that you are holding this book in your hands, I found a way to leave but, thinking about the possible consequences, I realize that I cannot reveal to you how I was able to leave the island, nor the epochal discovery that I made while digging into the past of that land eternally fertile with surprises: a discovery capable of revolutionizing our world forever and which, for that reason, I must keep secret, not only for the protection of that wonderful place, but also for that of us all.
The rest of the book was a collection of all the species of that supposed "prehistoric island". Laura became more confused with each page she browsed: the creatures of ARK were, in fact, numerous prehistoric species from various periods, from the Paleozoic to the Cenozoic. A great deal of details, however, didn't add up: to begin with, if it had really been a book from Darwin's time, several animals shouldn't have been known to science because, simply enough, no one had found their fossils yet. Most evident, however, was that the animals illustrated in that book were full of anatomical errors. Halfway through the book, she almost felt sorry that she'd already graduated: she could've written a whole thesis where she'd use that book as a model to sensitize people to the real appearance of extinct creatures and the best method to make a reconstruction: she'd worked on it for years. One of the mistakes that made her laugh more than the others was the raptor's forelimbs: they were held like the arms of a mantis, but that posture would actually break them: in reality, the arms were held more parallel to the sides and with the palms turned inwards. As if that weren't enough, the scientific names were made up from scratch: the genera were correct, though the species were completely arbitrary. For example, ARK's tyrannosaur was called Tyrannosaurus dominum and not rex... besides having no feathers.
As she neared the end of the book, Laura's views on that volume were mixed. On the one hand, she really wanted to know the identity ofthe funny person who hid behind the name of Charles Darwin to disguise a well thought-out fantasy for an encyclopedia: she'd show them an expert's middle finger for all the paleontological blasphemies they'd drawn and described in that book. On the other hand, she had to admit that she'd enjoyed it: that afternoon she'd decided to get a book because she wanted to celebrate her new job with a reading that would entertain her, which thebook had done perfectly with that "treatise". If she took it as a daydream that the author had written down as an invented but credible study, it was seriously a slap-up job. In any case, she eventually got to the end of the book... and what she found there confused her again. There were two torn out pages, preceded by a note written by someone else.
Dear reader,
In the absurd case that you've read the contents of this book, I think it fair to reveal to you what's behind this encyclopedia. If all this sounds like a farce to you, I understand you very well: you have the right not to believe it and to feel made fun of. I just want to leave a trace of myself in this book, for I think it's respectful to those who've been in my situation and were less lucky than me.
My name's Helena Walker and I'm an Australian biologist. In 2008 I was ill-fated enough to get shipwrecked in the place this book is about: ARK, the prehistoric island. And in the long time I spent there, I did what I've always lived for: I studied the wonderful creatures of the place, their ecology, their adaptations... any biologist would have donejust the same in my place, wouldn't they? I got to meet various people on ARK, both natives and castaways like me: some of them became my friends, others weren't so hospitable, though they were sort of "in good faith". I had little hope of finding a way home, but I eventually discovered one. And so, after troublesome research on the oddities of the island and after risking my life way too many times, I got to leave that place alongside three other castaways.
When I found this book on the island, considering who wrote it, I couldn't believe my eyes. But I can't deny that it was of great help in my biological studies: doing research relying on a source is always convenient. But now, in 2016, I'm back in my hometown Sydney, and I can't make any use of it here. I thought a lot about how I ought to"treat" the period of my life spent on ARK, before and after my return. Should I hope this book was proof enough and show it to the world? Or give in to the idea that what I saw was too surreal and ignore it? The answer is obvious: it wasn't worth it.
I don't know if this encyclopedia will ever be read by anyone once I get it "safe", but one thing's for sure: whether you believe this book's serious or a farce, ARK is an amazing place. Despite everything, I believe that I'll always have wonderful memories.
Helena Walker
With the testimony of the two friends I met on ARK:
Sir Edmund Rockwell
Mei-Yin Li
And of our shipwreck companion:
Gaius Marcellus Nerva
And so she was done reading that bizarre book. Laura felt disoriented, almost uncomfortable. By now she was convinced that she'd seen throughthat fictitious encyclopedia, but that note left by Helena Walker had made her doubt return. Who was she? Was she part of the fiction? Was Helena Walker the actual author of the book, had she written that page to quote herself so that the reader could trace it back to her without breaking the mood of the fictional but plausible tale? Or maybe, deep down, was there a remote, tiny chance that island was... real? But the girl dismissed that thought as soon as it crossed her mind: she couldn'tfall for that, it would be ridiculous. She had to admit that she was very tired and that she was staying awake too long: it wasn't easy to think with cold rationality. And so, after a yawn, she put the book on the nightstand next to her bed, took off her pajamas and lay down to sleep.
"Maybe I'll show the others tomorrow... yes, why not," she told herself, before falling asleep.