Dinosaur Blackout (14 page)

“Surely the fossils will turn up sometime,” Daniel said.

“I hope so. In the meantime, I can certainly analyze what I have in preparation for when we get our skeleton back.” Pederson spoke with a little more spark.

“It’s only been a few days since the theft,” said Daniel. “We just need to be patient,” he added more for his own benefit than for Mr. Pederson.

“True. Now that the rcmp has been making enquiries that are more specific and it’s been spread throughout the community, we can get the public’s help. Maybe start an in-depth search of the area,” Pederson said.

Daniel turned the conversation back to prehistoric time.

“Did you notice the sky in the past?” he asked. “Do you think it was a storm coming, or was there maybe smoke from a fire in the area?”

“I think it was something much more than that, lad,” said Pederson. He fell silent, stirring the spoon in his cup, as if stalling for time.

“What?”

“I almost don’t want to say it.”

Daniel felt the hairs on the nape of his neck rise as a sudden thought came to him.

“I think it might have been volcanic ash. I was nearby when Mount St. Helens erupted and the atmosphere was very similar.”

“But I didn’t think we had volcanoes in this area.” Daniel racked his brain to remember what he’d read.

“I doubt that we did, at least not many,” Pederson explained. “But, over eons, there have been some horrendously big ones, like the one millions of years ago in what is now India. Scientists believe some of the major ones spewed ash, pumice and carbon dioxide that covered more than half the world. So we might have been seeing the effects of one.”

“Isn’t that what they think lead to the extinction of the dinosaurs and other life?” Daniel asked.

“That’s one theory,” said Pederson, “but the more popular one is...”

“Meteorites or asteroids hitting the earth,” finished Daniel. “I’m not sure what I believe.”

“More evidence recently is supporting the meteorite theory,” Pederson said, “and that could also have caused the dark cloud and the particles we saw in the area.”

“What do
you
think happened?” Daniel asked.

“I suspect it was a combination of many things. The effects of the volcanoes produced major climate changes to the land and to the oceans,” said Pederson. “Then the massive meteor bombardment came along, which changed the entire world once and for all.”

Daniel thought about that for a few moments. “I was reading on the Internet about the enormous craters researchers have discovered all over the world.”

“Yes, some of the most famous are in North America, Mexico and Australia. They suspect they were made when the huge meteorites and asteroids hit the earth,” Pederson explained. “And when they compare the geological evidence of the time when the craters were made, it seems to coincide with the time of the extinction of the dinosaurs.”

Daniel whistled, imagining the destruction. “That really must have been something back then.”

“Yes, it was catastrophic. Nearly seventy percent of all the species on Earth and much of the life on the planet was wiped out, not just the dinosaurs,” said Pederson. “It was one of the worst worldwide disasters ever.”

“You mean there was more than one that wiped out life?” asked Daniel.

“There have been many, although only five are considered major,” Pederson answered.

“But the one sixty-five million years ago is the most famous one,” Daniel said.

Pederson nodded.

“Amazing.” Daniel tried to imagine what it would be like if it happened on earth now. Everything would be gone.

Pederson sat up straighter.

“But you know, Daniel, the shower of meteorites didn’t just drop from the sky one day and kill everything all at once. The process happened over thousands and millions of years.”

“Really?” said Daniel. “I guess I never realized that.”

“Most people don’t,” said Pederson, as his eyes grew brighter. “It’s actually a very slow process. Especially when you consider humans have only been around for about three hundred thousand years.”

“That’s no time at all compared to the history of the earth,” Daniel said. “But look what we humans are doing to the world now.”

Pederson nodded his head. “True, but we can’t blame
all
the global climate problems on the way humans have treated the world. There is a natural cycle that occurs on the planet over millions of years, and things from the atmosphere that affect it as well, which have created the many global warming disasters throughout geological history. Many think those earlier global warming episodes were created by volcanic ash.”

“How did that work?” asked Daniel.

Pederson leaned forward. “Well, the volcanic ash freely allowed the sunlight to enter the earth’s atmosphere to heat the surface, but it trapped a great deal of the heat that is normally reflected back into space.”

“So everything overheated,” said Daniel.

“Yes, and that raised sea temperatures and killed off many marine species as well as much of the plant and animal life on land,” added Pederson. “The problem right now is that we humans are causing an even worse problem by producing too many harmful gases that are trapped in the atmosphere.”

“So that they’re stopping the normal gases from going back into space, and we’re over heating the planet?” Daniel asked.

“Yes, at an alarming rate.”

“And that’s why they call it the greenhouse effect?” asked Daniel.

Pederson nodded. “And if we humans aren’t careful, we’ll create another major global warming disaster.”

“And that could result in another massive extinction – including us,” Daniel said.

“Yes, and the human race is already headed in that direction,” Pederson said. “Look at how dry our weather is in this area of the province. If we don’t get enough rain in the next couple of decades, nothing will be able to live here. In other areas there is flooding because the polar ice caps are melting and causing water levels to rise all over the earth. And there are instances of strange weather behaviour everywhere on the planet.”

“But there are things we can do to stop the destruction of earth this time,” said Daniel.

Pederson agreed. “But it’s almost too late. I’m glad I won’t be here in another fifty years’ time to see what’s happened to our environment.”

Thoughtfully Daniel said, “And then there are all the problems of overusing or abusing other natural resources. That can cause habitats to die and then species can’t find food. And this adds to the possibility of a major disaster for mankind, right?”

“Uh-huh.” Pederson tilted his head, considering Daniel’s comments. “Destruction of rain forests, pollution of drinking water sources and damage to the land where we live is causing a lot of damage.”

“Just like the dumping of that leaky oil barrel,” said Daniel. He shuddered, thinking about the oil spill in the ditch less than a mile away. Whoever it was may not even have noticed the barrel falling off his truck, and it was used oil, which was even worse. Although only a minor near disaster, an accident like this contributed to the world’s problems.

“True, lad,” said Pederson.

Daniel decided to see if he and his family could make more of an effort towards saving the environment with their everyday practices. Living on the farm made it easier than for his relatives in the city, who had to drive a vehicle every day to work, shop and carry on their regular activities, which created harmful amounts of gas emissions.

His family didn’t need to travel much. They grew most of their own food in a healthy way and recycled or reused almost everything they handled, and they only drove to town or anywhere when they absolutely needed to go. They were as self-sufficient as they could be, using natural resources in a limited way, and carefully disposing of garbage and other waste. They didn’t use pesticides or other harmful chemicals on their farm, and they had a plentiful well on their property. Daniel was sure there were other things they could do to improve their practices. They could also do more to spread awareness and let others know about things they could do.

Right then, Daniel had an idea of what career path he wanted to take. Besides studying the field of paleontology that he so dearly loved, maybe he could do more than look at the past. Maybe he could combine knowledge of prehistoric times with environmental science to help keep the world a healthy place to live, so that mankind would not become extinct like the dinosaurs.

“What I
would
like to see is what’s going on in the Cretaceous Period right now,” said Pederson, bringing Daniel’s attention back to the present.

Daniel held his breath, hoping Pederson wasn’t thinking what he thought he was thinking. And then he said it.

“What we saw might just have been the start of the dinosaur extinction. Wouldn’t it be fabulous to know what really happened?” Pederson sighed, as he drifted into quiet thought.

Daniel didn’t respond. He tensed, waiting for Mr. Pederson’s next suggestion. He hoped his friend wouldn’t want to go back to the Cretaceous Period to investigate.

“You know, Daniel,” Pederson finally focused on him, “If we had a way of going again...”

“No way! Don’t even talk about it!” Daniel warned him, jumping up. “That would be way too risky, even if we had a way! Which we don’t!” He crossed his fingers behind his back. He’d actually gathered another leaf secretly, but didn’t want to let on. He’d only use it for an urgent situation. And he couldn’t imagine what that would be.

“I suppose you’re right,” Pederson admitted hastily. “Well, I guess I’d best be off.”

He rose and took his dishes to the kitchen sink. Daniel did the same, but he watched Mr. Pederson closely, not convinced the old man had dropped the idea entirely. He had responded a little too quickly and with no complaints. Daniel couldn’t figure out how he’d transport himself back in time, since he’d made Mr. Pederson drop the flower. Did he have something else hidden away, just as Daniel did?

Chapter Eleven

D
aniel decided to watch Ole Pederson
to make sure the paleontologist wasn’t planning any more trips to prehistoric time. Maybe he could get Dr. Roost’s help – he was convinced she didn’t want to go again after their last scare. He headed over to her truck and knocked tentatively on her camper door. Rustlings and then a thump came from inside. A moment later, she swung the door open.

“Daniel, I’d invite you in, but it’s a little cramped in here.” She stepped outside. “What can I do for you?”

He told her his concern. Dr. Roost agreed. “Yes, if he has a way to go, I’m almost sure he will.”

“Maybe he has a way,” Daniel said. “He could easily have stuffed a leaf or something in his backpack.

“That’s what I’m thinking,” Dr. Roost said.

“He’s on his way home now, and I hope he isn’t planning to go right away,” Daniel said, shuffling his feet.

“He’ll need to gather a few more bits of gear before he goes again.”

“Do you think I should go check?”

“Nope, I don’t,” said Mildred Roost. “The excitement from this morning will have tuckered him out. My guess is he won’t go to town to stock up until morning. That is, if our suspicions are correct.”

“And the stores don’t open until later.” Daniel nodded in relief. He could maybe have a good night’s sleep for a change, free of worry.

“No,
they
don’t, but the museums and gas stations do, and that’s where he needs to go.”

Dr. Roost’s comment brought Daniel out of his complacency. He groaned.

“What kind of stuff would he be getting?” Daniel asked.

“Well, the laser lights didn’t work as well as we’d hoped,” she said. “He mentioned taking a little container of gasoline in case he needed to make a small fire in a hurry. Most creatures are afraid of fire, so probably the large ferocious dinosaurs will be too.” Dr. Roost squinted in thought. “I suspect his contacts at one of the museums will give him a chemical that he could use as an anaesthetic. Who knows what ideas he’ll come up with?”

After some thought, Dr. Roost said, “He may have to travel farther than he thinks to get what he needs. We cleaned out most of the supplies locally.” Then she added, “The good news is that we don’t have to follow him around, just keep a watch on him when he returns.”