While the team from Chrono-Tech made their final tests and preparations, Grant and his colleagues received a briefing from Jonathan Blaine.

'We're sending you back sixty-six million years,' he said. 'It's as far back as we know we can get the Rover without compromising the onboard computer. Plus we know you'll be safe as there's a million years between you and the extinction event.'

'But not the t-rex,' said Shirley.

'Don't worry about the t-rex,' said Jonathan Blaine. 'The onboard computers have an AI that tells technicians monitoring the Rovers,' he gestured to the team working over on the CTX Rover in the middle of the Time Tunnel, 'whether any dinosaur you'll come across is a herbivore or a carnivore. And if it's a carnivore, well, we'll get you out of there.'

'We're going to die,' said Grant.

'No. No. You won't die,' said Jonathan Blaine.

'No offence, Mr Blaine, and you are a Mr,' said Shirley, 'but you didn't invent this technology. You didn't even work on it. They did.' She pointed at the team working on the CTX Rover. 'You merely funded it. You don't take responsibility for it - you just sit back and chill out while all the people who built up this knowledge, the physicists, the engineers, the electricians, the palaeontologists… you let them. So you could be the first person out there to achieve time travel.'

'No, that's not right, we're doing things nobody else has done before,' Jonathan Blaine said irritatedly. 'Going places where no man has gone before -'

'Take it easy, Captain Kirk,' said Mary.

'You may well be going places nobody's gone before,' said Shirley, 'but-but have you thought about whether it's a good idea or not?'

'Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn't stop to think if they should,' said Grant. When everyone turned to look at him, he shrugged and said, 'It's, uh, it's from Jurassic Park.I'm sorry, it just felt that's where this conversation was going.'

'Well, Jeff Goldblum is right on this occasion,' said Shirley.

'I thought being palaeontologists, you would want to see a real live dinosaur in it's natural habitat,' said Jonathan Blaine. 'What we're doing isn't Jurassic Park.'

'No. But there's an ethical can of worms here that you've just put out the way,' said Shirley.

'Shirley's right. The tyre tracks,' said Grant. 'Won't palaeontologists find it odd that there's fossilised tyre tracks? And what if the tyres, I don't know, what if they kill a compsognathus?'

'It won't kill a compsognathus.'

'I mean, besides the fact that compsognathus lived in the Jurassic Period and in Europe, you can't be so sure it wouldn't kill a dinosaur of a similar height.'

'I can be sure,' said Jonathan Blaine.

Almost at that moment, Helen Marsh arrived. 'Here's my intrepid time travellers.'

'I wouldn't say "intrepid"…' said Grant.

'He's saying we wouldn't kill a compsognathus,' said Shirley.

'Well, as compsognathus lived in Europe and we are in America, I would say he's correct,' said Helen.

Shirley grunted to show her dissatisfaction.

'Please, familiarise yourselves with the CTX Time Rover and its features,' said Jonathan Blaine.

Grant approached the CTX Rover, not quite knowing what to make of it. It looked kind of like an off-road car with its chunky wheels and thick tread tyres, but kind of not in that it had three rows of four seats each. It held twelve people, but he, Mary, and Shirley were only three. Another thing Grant noticed about the CTX Rover was that there was no steering wheel, no brakes, no clutch, no accelerator… no nothing.

'Uh… why is there no steering wheel? How do we drive it?' he asked.

'Oh, you won't be driving,' said Jonathan Blaine. 'I will.'

'What do you mean?' asked Grant.

'The CTX Rover is not designed to be driven, but operated remotely -'

'It's a full sized radio controlled car,' said Shirley. 'But how's that going to work in the Cretaceous period?' She asked. 'Where there are no radio waves?'

'That information is proprietary,' said Jonathan Blaine.

Shirley rolled her eyes. 'Of course it is.'

'And how is it going to time travel?' asked Mary. 'I see no Flux Capaictor here. Unless under the hood is like the TARDIS.'

'Under the hood, it's all electrical. Absolutely no gas involved,' said Jonathan Blaine. 'So, don't worry about that, you won't be travelling using the ancestors of the dinosaurs you're about to view.'

'Fossil fuels come from the Carboniferous Period,' said Shirley, in the Palaeozoic Era. We're going to the Cretaceous Period, which is from the Mesozoic Era, two periods separated by, roughly, two hundred and ten million years, and the Permian, Triassic, and Jurassic periods, as well as the fourth mass extinction event.'

'Yes, that's… right,' said Jonathan Blaine.

'You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?' asked Shirley.

'And we're off to a great start,' said Mary, sarcastically.

'Please don't argue with Chrono-Tech. We would like to maintain a good relationship,' said Helen.

'Of course, Dr Marsh. But you did buy Chrono-Tech out,' said Shirley, 'so the relationship would be a good one anyway.'

'Please,' said Helen.

'I'll go and make my final checks in the control room,' said Jonathan Blaine. 'Take your seats in the CTX Rover, wherever you'd like. Put any loose items into the pouch in front of you and please wear your seatbelts. Remember, there were no roads sixty-six million years ago.'

Grant took a seat in the middle of the middle row, next to Mary. From his lab coat pockets, he took several items - pens, pencils, notebooks, a paleontological map of Diggs County and the surrounding areas, dinosaur figures, game tokens from the Dino-Rama -

'Why do you have so much crap in your pockets?' asked Mary.

Grant shook his head. 'I don't know.'

He buckled up his seatbelt and looked up. There were five pipes, each with colour-coded words. From left to right, they read:Reclaimed Time Flux (in black)Magnetic Coil Exhaust (in orange),Flux Duct (in green),Excess Flux (in yellow), andDynamic Time Flux (in maroon).

Helen walked over to the CTX Rover. 'You three are doing science a great service, today,' she said. 'You should be proud. I'm proud of all of you.'

'But not me, right?' asked Grant.

'I've known you your entire life, Dr Seeker. I'm proud of you,' said Helen. 'And I'm proud of Dr Wakayama. And Dr Woo. You're all incredibly brave scientists.'

A pause.

'Good luck out there.'

Jonathan Blaine's voice came through the speakers on the CTX Rover. 'Can anyone hear me?'

'We hear you,' said Shirley. 'I have a question though.'

'Go ahead.'

'What does CTX stand for?'

'… That's not important,' said Jonathan Blaine, hurriedly.

'Is it true,' said Mary, 'that it stands for "Countdown to Extinction"?'

'We're going to begin the experiment now,' said Jonathan Blaine.

The CTX Rover began vibrating as it jumped to life.

Grant looked around nervously, not quite sure what to make of the whole experience. He looked at Mary next to him, adjusting her bra strap. She looked cool and calm and collected. He'd never known her not to be.

The rover moved forward a few feet and a technician stepped forward.

'You're gonna want to pull on the yellow safety tab -'

'This isn't a theme park,' said Shirley. 'We are in the sub-basement facility of an educational institution.'

'Yeah, but you're going to be time travelling to a time where there were no roads,' said the technician. 'The last thing anyone wants is for you to be thrown out of the vehicle and eaten by a raptor or something.'

Shirley, clearly not wanting to, pulled on the strap of her seatbelt. It was secure.

The technician then turned his attention to Mary and Grant.

Grant looked down at his seatbelt for the yellow strap. When he found it, he gave it a good tug.

Mary did the same.

'Alright, we are good to go,' said the technician.

Once again, the CTX Rover moved forward, but stopped just before reaching the time tunnel.

'This is Jonathan Blaine.'

'Yep,' Shirley acknowledged.

'I will be monitoring your every move once you pass through the transport field at the end of the time tunnel, and I will do my best to steer you out of any danger you may face in the Cretaceous period,' he said. 'Good luck out there.'

The CTX Rover lurched forwards into the time tunnel.

Grant looked around and noticed the time tunnel kind of resembled the inside of a toaster. He couldn't study it though, the CTX Rover was moving about, up and down, side to side, like a boat on stormy waters. It made him feel sick.

Mary put her hand on his.

A crack of light, fog, and some strobing indicated they'd made it through the transport field. Almost mowing down a large creature Grant thought resembled a styracosaurus indicated they had indeed made it to the Cretaceous period.

'Computer, what was that?' came the voice of Jonathan Blaine.

Styracosaurus, came an automated voice that sounded almost like a female MacinTalk.

The styracosaurus moved its head and looked right at everyone.

'Whoa,' was all Grant could say. His heart was beating so quickly, it was the only way he knew he wasn't dead. Or dreaming. This was really real. He really was face to face with a styracosaurus. It was everything he could ever have dreamed of, ever since he was a dorky little boy with braces and headgear and no friends. Everything his parents could have dreamed for him, ever since they first realised they were having him when his mother went into labour at a dig site. That was thirty years ago today. Thirty years of his life, leading right up to this moment.

'I know,' said Mary. Styracosaurus wasn't her favourite dinosaur, but it was still hard for her to not be overawed in the moment.

'Holy shit,' Shirley cursed. 'That's a styracosaurus. It's an actual styracosaurus.' She pulled a disposable camera from the pouch in front and took a picture.

The styracosaurus backed away in shock, and made a strange noise - not a roar, not a growl. It was somewhat similar to a boom, the mating call of an ostrich.

That noise puzzled Grant, until he realised, he was one of only three humans so far to have heard the sound of a dinosaur - any sound from any dinosaur. His mother had always told him it was humbling to break open a rock and see what only one human had seen, what the world hadn't for millions of years. And after breaking open his own rocks and fossils, he had to agree. But hearing it? That was even better.

'Alright, let's move you along,' said Jonathan Blaine.

The CTX Rover started moving slowly away from the styracosaurus.

'Lots of plants here,' said Grant.

'Beautiful plants,' said Mary. 'Oh my goodness. Some plants are still around today. I've seen them, Grant walking into - cycad!' Mary shouted happily, pointing at a small plant with a stubby little stunk and long stiff green leaves. 'They date back to the Triassic period. They're here!'

'It's just a plant,' said Grant, 'no need to get worked up' -

'I'm a palaeobotanist,' said Mary. 'I'll get as worked up about a Triassic period plant as I want to.'

'Leave her be,' said Shirley, turning around to take a photo of the plant. 'It's not hurting anyone.'

'Not like that,' Mary looked queasy as she pointed out a bipedal theropod dinosaur snacking on another one.

'What is that?' asked Grant.

'Disgusting,' said Shirley.

Alioramus, said the computer.

'We're going to get you out before the alioramus notices you're here,' said Jonathan Blaine as the CTX Rover drove away. Before it did, however, Shirley took a photo.

'Where the hell are we?' asked Grant. 'I thought we were in Florida. Wasn't alioramus discovered in Mongolia?

'Pangaea.' Shirley shrugged. 'I mean, it could be right,' she said. 'Pangaea started to break apart in the Triassic period. We're in the Cretaceous. The continents didn't shift entirely over a hundred and sixty-five million years from then to now, and we could still be a little off by a few million years or so. It's estimated that Europe didn't break from America until around the Palaeogene period, which wasafter the meteor strike that killed the dinosaurs. That means there's still a land bridge for them to cross.' She paused. 'Though why they'd want to is another question.'

'Didn't the styracosaurus live seventy million years ago?' asked Mary. 'Or, I mean, four million years ago?'

'Maybe we carbon dated wrong,' Grant suggested. 'I dunno.'

The CTX Rover slowed down and came to a stop near another dinosaur.

'Computer, identify.'

Iguanodon.

Grant's head shot up and he looked around. 'Where?!'

Then he saw it. If he had sunglasses on, he'd be whipping them off, just like Alan Grant in Jurassic Park.

The iguanodon didn't look like anything Grant had ever imagined.

It looked better.

All Grant could do was stare at it, agog. It was there, eating from a tree. Quadrupedal. All legs on the floor. The thumb spike was visible - how could it not be? It was bigger than Grant's own hand.

He needed a closer look at the creature he'd devoted his whole life to studying. He unbuckled his seatbelt and jumped out of the CTX Rover.

'Grant, what the hell are you doing?' asked Mary.

'Don't worry, it's a vegetarian!' said Grant, running closer to the iguanodon.

'It's got a thumb spike it could stab you with, you dolt!' Shirley said, taking a photo anyway.

Grant stopped and looked up in awe at the dinosaur.

The dinosaur had clearly also noticed Grant, as it had stopped eating. It looked down curiously at Grant.

Grant put his hands up. 'No, no! It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you.'

'Grant Seeker, get back in the CTX Rover!' Came the commanding voice of Helen Marsh.

'How do they know -?' asked Shirley.

'We can hear everything,' said Jonathan Blaine.

'How can you hear us?' asked Mary.

'That information is proprietary,' said Jonathan Blaine.

'Dr Seeker, please leave the iguanodon alone and return to the vehicle at once,' Helen said. 'You are in a time period no human has ever seen, that no human was ever meant to see. These creatures do not know you are a human. The carnivores will want to eat you, and even the herbivores may wish to fight you. We do not know how they will react. Being in the CTX Rover is the only thing that will guarantee your safety.'

Grant sighed. Ultimately, he knew Helen was right. He just wished he could have more time with the iguanodon to see more of its behaviours. Instead, he simply walked over to the CTX Rover.

'You're doing the right thing, Grant,' said Shirley.

Grant nodded. 'Yeah, I know. Logically, I mean - I think I just let my emotions get -'

He was interrupted by what sounded like a low crocodilian growl, and the call of what could only be described as a demonically possessed farm chicken with a deep voice.

As Grant hopped into the CTX Rover, there he saw it. Behind them.

'Uh… girls…'

It was a huge dinosaur, at least fifteen feet tall. Red. Demonic. Sharp teeth. Horns on its head. And wearing a very angry, and hungry, expression on its face. It wanted lunch, and Grant, Shirley, and Mary were it.

Carnotaurus,' said the computer.

A/N: If you watch the Dinosaur pre-show, you can see that Grant Seeker's pockets are indeed filled with crap. That tells me he's disorganised as hell.

Yes, the CTX in CTX Rover does indeed stand for "Countdown to Extinction", as that's what the Dinosaur ride used to be called before it was renamed and became an IP (intellectual property) based attraction on the long forgotten Dinosaur film.

All carnotaurs in pop culture can be traced back to the carnotaurus design for the Dinosaur ride. The Disney film copied Joe Rohde's design (the ride predates the film by almost three years!). By the time the film came out, and it was quite popular in its day, that was the image everyone knew, so…

Just think of it as how everyone thinks dilophosaurus had neck frills and spat venom - that's entirely a Steven Spielberg invention.