I'm a spinosaurus with a System to raise a dinosaur army

In the Montain sky a flock of birds was flying placidly. But it was no ordinary flock: within it, several species of birds were flying together.

Unbeknownst to Sobek, the change he had set in motion was already taking place. While he was busy building his own army in Maakanar, the birds he had recruited were rapidly building an intelligence network across human-dominated continents.

The birds could cover several kilometers in a few hours. Thanks to this, recruitment had been rapid. Over the course of a few months, hundreds of thousands of birds had joined the flock. And not just the birds: even the few dinosaurs present in the nature reserves with which the birds had come into contact quickly agreed to join them. The perks provided by [Ambush] were too greedy to pass up.

This, however, was creating alterations that were increasingly apparent even to the nearsighted eyes of humans. Since they could now communicate, many species of birds and dinosaurs had begun hunting together. Creatures that would normally have fought against each other were spending more and more time together peacefully. By now, it was becoming commonplace to see huge multi-ethnic flocks flying through the sky. Scientists were quite confused by this behavior and no one seemed to have a satisfactory explanation.

Even the flock of birds that flew into the Montain were no different. Inside were hawks, crows, pigeons, seagulls and all kinds of other birds. They all flew together and in perfect coordination.

In the front row were the falcons. Their eyes were among the most powerful in the animal world. Normally, they would have been very dangerous predators even on their own. But now, they had a whole army behind them.

Finally, what they were looking for appeared in their field of vision. "Prey spotted!"

All the birds immediately converged on the spot indicated by the hawks. They flew like a swarm of bees and soon reached the bank of a river. There, several placerias were placidly drinking.

Placerias were large animals that lived on Earth in the Triassic. They weren’t dinosaurs, but they were still quite large. Normally, they would have had few natural enemies, especially in that arid environment where most predators had already been exterminated.

But here’s another big change that occurred after the birds started cooperating: They also started hunting in groups. And hunting in groups meant being able to bring down prey many times their size.

The birds flew over the herd of placerias. A vulture stood in front of the flock and began to sniff the air. Vultures had one of the best olfactory systems in nature, even better than that of the t-rex. After a few seconds, the vulture pointed with its beak at one of the placerias, a sign that that specimen must be old or diseased.

Having chosen their prey, the birds screeched together. The song of a single bird could be very high-pitched depending on the species, but hundreds and hundreds of birds screeching at the top of their lungs all together could create a very annoying sound. The placerias got scared and started running in all directions. The old specimen started running in turn, but a handful of pigeons surrounded it and began to fly around it, blocking any view. The placerias panicked and tried to charge, but the birds were faster and kept moving.

The birds waited until the placerias began to show signs of fatigue. As soon as they saw that it was no longer able to fight back, all the birds swooped down on it and used their sharp claws to open deep gashes in its skin, obviously targeting the most vulnerable and vital points. After just about ten seconds, the birds retreated and began circling above the placerias. Now they just had to wait.

A single bird, of whatever species it was, would never have been able to create lethal wounds in such a large animal. However, hundreds of them all together could easily kill one. Birds’ claws, fragile as they looked, were actually extremely strong and could cut through skin like butter. Taken together, the birds could inflict lethal wounds.

The placerias was practically dripping with blood. It wouldn’t be long before he died. The birds just had to wait. They just flew over him, intervening only when the animal tried in vain to return to its herd. Eventually, the placerias could no longer stand on his legs. He fell to the ground and never moved again.

At which point the birds flew to the carcass and began to feast. Most birds in the world were carnivores, but they usually made do with mice or rabbits, some even insects. However, that didn’t mean they disdained other types of meat; they were simply too young to get it. But now that problem was solved by sheer numbers.

Birds would eat for weeks on the placerias carcass. Hunting had become extraordinarily easy now, and all thanks to one skill, [Linguistics]. They didn’t even have to use [Ambush].

Unfortunately, however, cooperation could not always win.

Some birds that had been in the sky to check that all was well began to screech. Their comrades, hearing the warning, quickly took to the air. A roar only confirmed the arrival of danger, followed by the appearance of a huge reptilian creature.

Postosuchus.

The postosuchus was a terrestrial crocodile at least twenty feet long with a stumpy snout and adapted for shredding meat. On Earth he had lived during the early Triassic period. In the Montain, in the absence of large predatory dinosaurs, it could be considered an alpha predator.

The postosuchus approached the placerias carcass and began to eat. The birds don’t bother him. After all, there was enough food for everyone. Postosuchus was not like placerias that it could not defend itself: it had very strong teeth and claws. In a fight the birds probably would have won, but some of them could have been killed. It was therefore better to leave it alone and share the prey.

Postosuchus also seemed to be of the same opinion. After he was satisfied he lay down not far away to digest the meal. At which point the birds alighted and returned to feast on the carcass. The postosuchus did not react and let them; even though he was much bigger, he too preferred to avoid confrontation. After all, the birds ate little; even if they shared, the big crocodile would be fed for days.

However, a bang was suddenly heard. The noise was so loud that all the animals jumped and those with the most sensitive hearing felt their eardrums hurt. The postosuchus got up and fled quickly.

The birds panicked. That explosion meant only one thing: human weapon.

The birds panicked and flew off together. The very first rule of survival was to keep away from humans. Humans were the natural enemy of all living beings and it was absolutely not necessary to approach them. The flock flew off, making so much noise that none of them heard the startled calls of a crow that had been wrapped in a net.

"Finally we got one. Help me, Billy, we have to get it away before they realize it’s gone"

The crow thrashed wildly in the net, but it was all in vain. Try as he might, there was no way out of a wire mesh. The poor crow panicked and screeched even louder, and nearly fainted when two hands grabbed him by the belly. He tried to peck at them to force the attacker to let him go, but his hands were protected by leather gloves.

"Alan, hurry up with that cage! I don’t know how long I’ll be able to hold it down, it might escape!"

After a few moments, the crow was finally freed from the net. He intensified his attacks, knowing this was his chance to escape, but it didn’t work. Finally, the two men threw him into a cage and locked him inside, then wiped his sweaty forehead. It was clear they had been in the sun for several hours.

When Alan Grant had accepted the job offered by Jocelyne Jersey, he had done it mainly for two reasons: the money (everyone needs money!) And the interest in that singular mission. However, he hadn’t really believed in the possibility of some form of intelligence awakening in animals. He was convinced, and Billy agreed with him, that there was a less science-fiction explanation for the weirdness of the dinosaurs. However, he soon had to change his mind: something was really changing the animal world.

All over the world birds had begun to behave strangely. Anyone could notice it. However, Alan and Billy had noticed much more. They lived closely with animals and had discovered that birds didn’t just fly together.

They had evolved a coordination typical only of the most intelligent animals, such as killer whales or dolphins. The hunting techniques they used were becoming more sophisticated every day. Exploring the Montain, Alan and Billy had witnessed strange sights to say the least.

It had happened to the river once. A group of pigeons dug a hole in the ground using their paws and opened a small channel for water to enter. After that, several ducks started cackling, scaring the fish into the hole. Once hundreds of fish entered there, an eagle carried a piece of wood with which it closed the channel, trapping the fish. By then a group of herons had started catching them with ease and the flock of birds had happily feasted.

Then there had been another case, this time on the plain. There were several dens of marmots, mice, dicynodonts and other small animals. The birds had implemented an ingenious strategy: the smaller ones, such as the great tits, had entered their holes and had frightened the animals with their calls, which had rushed out not knowing that the bigger birds were waiting for them. in front of the entrance hole.

Things got even stranger when even the non-avian dinosaurs started showing signs of change. Alan and Billy had noticed that many of the carnivorous dinosaurs (generally small theropods such as dromaeosaurs) had taken to hunting in groups despite being several different species and even cooperating with birds at times.

There had been a case where several herds of troodon, coelophisis, velociraptor and eoraptor teamed up and ganged up to hunt a herd of estemmenosuchus. With perfect coordination some of them had pushed some of them towards a rock face, where their companions were waiting for them ready to jump on them. A pair of buzzards acted as spokesmen between the two groups. In the end, the dinosaurs had killed three estemmenosuchus without even hurting themselves.

Another case had occurred at another point in the river. There, a group of dakotaraptors continually tossed driftwood into the water to determine where the current was strongest and where there were the most obstacles, such as rocks and floating debris. Having decided on the right place, they had allied themselves with various herds of other carnivorous dinosaurs and a flock of birds, and all together they had hunted and attacked a moschops. The dinosaurs had attacked him several times from various directions and when the moschops tried to react the birds intervened and flew around him disorienting him. Very soon, the moschops had been covered in wounds and had been pushed towards the river. There, the dinosaurs had forced him to dive. The moschops had fought hard to resist, but the strong current and constant obstacles had weakened him more and more. In addition, the birds pelted him from above with stones. If he tried to get back to shore, the dinosaurs prevented him. Eventually, the moschops’ resistance had given way and he was dead. At that point the dinosaurs and birds had waited for the current to carry the carcass to a safer spot and then had dragged it out of the water to feast.

But the most extraordinary event that Alan and Billy had witnessed had taken place a few days earlier in the middle of an area not very rich in vegetation. There was a group of kannemeyerias there which fed on the few plants present. Also in this case a herd of dinosaurs and birds had formed, but incredibly they hadn’t started hunting the kannemeyerias: on the contrary, for several days they had protected them from other predators. Whenever a postosuchus or a lycaenops tried to get close, the birds alerted the dinosaurs, which immediately intervened and chased away the predators by repeatedly attacking them with ’hit and run’ tactics until they gave up and walked away. Furthermore, only a small part of the birds helped the dinosaurs in this task: the others flew to areas where there were more nutritious plants, even traveling several kilometers every day, and then brought them to the kannemeyerias. This singular routine had gone on for quite a long time, so that the kannemeyerias had become accustomed to seeing dinosaurs and were no longer frightened in their presence. Alan and Billy were initially stunned to see such a scene, not realizing what the dinosaurs were doing, but after a few days their purpose became clear and it was enough to knock their mouths out. One night, taking advantage of the fact that the kannemeyerias didn’t have good night vision, the dinosaurs had approached and silently carried off a baby kannemeyeria that had become very fat thanks to protection from predators and an abundance of food. The puppy, now used to the dinosaurs, didn’t get scared and didn’t call its mother, who didn’t even notice its disappearance. The dinosaurs carried him away from the herd and then killed him, all feasting together. In order to not be discovered by the kannemeyerias, they even hid the carcass in the morning, and then only ate at night. Alan and Billy needed a few days to accept what they had seen: the dinosaurs were breeding the kannemeyerias. They understood that if the prey got used to their presence it became easy to catch, and that by giving it a lot of food, they increased the amount of fat it could supply.

These hunting and even breeding strategies required a remarkable level of intelligence. However, Alan didn’t think an increase in intelligence was to blame. Birds and dinosaurs hadn’t actually invented any new hunting techniques: they had simply put together what the various species of dinosaurs and birds could do. In practice, they had evolved some form of language. A sort of Esperanto of the animals.

Language was the basis for civilization. Once a person could share his ideas with others, and others in turn could share their ideas with that person, those ideas merged and allowed for progress. Therefore, Alan believed that if all the various species of dinosaurs and birds of the Montain suddenly gained a common language, it would not take them long to develop superior hunting techniques or even breeding by putting together what each species knew in its own small way.

Given time, it was not improbable that they would even discover agriculture or learn to build real houses. After all, many birds knew how and when to find the seeds that would germinate, and quite a few dinosaurs knew how to build burrows. If they would wait a few years, Alan wouldn’t have been surprised to find one day a real metropolis made up of underground lairs and tunnels dotted with areas where the dinosaurs cultivated plants which they would then give to the other animals that they breeded to make them fat.

And that’s just speaking of the Montain. Alan didn’t dare to think what could have happened in areas where dinosaurs were much more numerous, bigger and more dangerous. The development of a civilization could have been even faster.

Although he did not agree with Robert Oz’s theories, Alan could not help but admit that the emergence of a common language among all living species was impossible, at least of course. He would have tarnished his scientist name if he hadn’t. If we add to this the discoveries provided by Sarah and Ian concerning the reason for the hardness of the spinosaurus scales, due to a real violation of the laws of physics, to affirm that something strange was not happening would have been no different from closing one’s eyes and pretend the sun didn’t exist.

Finally, Alan and Billy had made a decision: to catch one of the birds and examine it. The problem was, they didn’t know how the rest of the flock would react. If the birds had attacked them en masse, they would in all likelihood have killed or at least seriously injured them. Fortunately, however, they had noticed that birds tended to avoid humans. Evidently, the ancestral fear due to millennia of indiscriminate hunting was still present in them. They had decided to bet their chances on this factor, and apparently they had been right: a single shot of the gun had frightened the birds so much that they had not even noticed that one of them had been caught in the net.

Having got what they came for, Alan and Billy returned to their trailer and began examining the crow there. To achieve this they had had to sedate it; as soon as the animal saw the needle it panicked and they risked hurting it, but with great difficulty they managed to inject it with the narcotic. When the crow finally collapsed on the cage floor, they pulled it out and began examining it.

Alan checked its vitals, weight, wings and head. The animal appeared healthy and absolutely normal: there were no signs of any kind of alteration. “At least this one doesn’t have an iron skin” he muttered as he readied himself to x-ray the crow’s brain.

The results were exactly what he expected: the crow’s brain wasn’t much different from that of a normal crow, save for a slightly higher amount of gray matter. The only real difference was the speech area, which seemed to have developed rapidly to levels never seen before.

"Hey, Alan?" Billy called suddenly. "Come and see"

The biologist immediately came to the call. His protégé was looking at some of the crow’s feathers and small pieces of skin under the microscope. Seen from the outside, they were perfectly ordinary; but as soon as they looked inside... "What is this!?"

The feather and skin cells had something strange: they had been converted into chromatophores. The chromatophores were cells containing pigment which moving inside the body allowed to change the color and appearance of the animal. This was how octopuses and chameleons managed to camouflage.

Alan took off his glasses, nervously biting the frame. "The Flagard City spinosaurus knew how to camouflage... and so did the other dinosaurs..."

"That’s right" said Billy, then handed Alan a piece of paper. "And it’s not over yet. Look here"

"What is that?"

"The results of the cell analysis. In the DNA there are genes aimed at activating a state of quiescence"

"Are you kidding me!?"

Quiescence was a biological state in which living cells slowed their activity to such an extent that vital signs were almost imperceptible. It was what allowed animals to hibernate or enter a state of hibernation. In the case of some animals, vital functions were reduced so much that their bodies could even be frozen or left without oxygen for months, and yet the animal would survive.

As Alan read the analyses, Billy decided to drop the bomb: "Remember? The Flagard City spinosaurus not only knew how to camouflage, but it was also invisible to any instrument the military had in their possession. Any thermal, infrared, or other sensor... nothing has identified it. What if it too possesses similar genes in its cells? In this way, its vital signs would be so imperceptible as to make it practically invisible"

Alan bit his lip. Two extraordinary adaptations that occurred simultaneously in several different animals. Three, if he counted the language. "There is more?"

Billy nodded imperceptibly. "A detail. Look"

He took a piece of the skin and attached it to a small electrical wire. "I simulated the sensory nervous system to see how the cells would react... and these are the results"

As the electricity began to pass through the skin, it changed color and disappeared completely from view. Just as Alan had previously ascertained, the camouflage was nothing short of perfect. But there was another rather disconcerting detail... the skin lost its shadow. "How is it possible?" he exclaimed.

"I was hoping you’d tell me" Billy replied.

Alan considered. That event had nothing short of science fiction properties. Even if an object could blend in perfectly with its surroundings, it would still still cast a shadow. His body, though invisible to the human eye, would have continued to block out the light of the sun or any other light source.

Unless... you break some rules.

"Ian said the scale had the same properties as neutron stars..." Alan whispered.

"Uh? Yes, but what does this have to do with..."

"Let’s try to think outside the box. The scale had the same properties as neutron stars, but the spacetime around it had been frozen, preventing the subatomic particles from imploding" Alan started rubbing his chin. "One of the characteristics of neutron stars is that their gravity is so strong that it even deflects light. Not as strong as black holes, but still enough. If you were at the equator of a neutron star, you could partially observe both the north pole than the south pole. What if these cells here exploit a similar principle?"

Billy began to understand what Alan was thinking. "But to do such a thing would require immense gravity..."

"Compressing matter to create neutronium also needs immense gravity, but freezing the spacetime around the flake got around that" Alan reminded him. "What if in this case, instead, spacetime doesn’t freeze but curves? What if it moves in a perfect circle around the animal, causing the light to circle around it and get exactly the other way?"

Billy’s eyes lit up. "In that case, the animal wouldn’t cast any shadow! Anyone looking at it would see through it, as if it were made of glass!"

"Exactly". Alan couldn’t believe it. It seemed so surreal, so impossible, and yet... it was the only explanation. "Change color, alter vital signs, and finally the ability to bend light to hide the shadow. I’d say we just found the perfect form of camouflage"

Unbeknownst to them, what Alan and Billy had just discovered was how the [Ambush] skill works. Apparently, like [Reinforced skin], it too exploited methods that were considered quasi-pseudoscience by modern science.

Alan analyzed the data available to him. A universal language for all dinosaur species and a mimicry ability that violated many of the principles considered pillars of science. Both skills developed in a very short period of time. It was absolutely not possible that it was a natural fact. "How likely is it that an animal will evolve two such surreal abilities on its own?"

"Less than zero"

"As I thought. Help me, we need to analyze its blood"

The two men took a syringe and stuck it into one of the crow’s veins. Very quickly a red liquid completely filled the tube. Alan put it under the microscope and began to observe it. However, he found nothing relevant. The blood did not appear to be altered in any way: there were only red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets, like any other blood type. He made Billy look too, hoping he’d notice something he’d missed, but he didn’t see anything either.

"Nothing" his protégé admitted. "It looks like... well, just blood"

Alan started to pace around the room. "Let’s think about it. It’s impossible for these abilities to have appeared naturally. Something must have triggered them. It must be a pathogen. But if such a pathogen isn’t found in the blood, where could it be?"

"Maybe it’s settled somewhere in the body" Billy suggested. It wasn’t an unlikely idea: many viruses and bacteria, despite initially using blood as a vector, then settled in a specific organ and remained there.

But Alan shook his head. "I exclude it. To develop and keep these alterations stable the pathogen would have to move continuously within the body. But how can it do that if it doesn’t use the circulatory system..." A flash across his mind. "Of course! The Lyssa virus!"

"Uh? What does the rabies have to do with it now?"

"It has something to do with it! Think: even if this pathogen enters in perfect symbiosis with the host, it still remains a foreign body. The immune system will continuously seek it out to destroy it. So, how can the pathogen protect itself? Easy: by infecting the cells that are supposed to allow the immune system to work!"

Billy was silent for a moment, then understood. "Of course! The nervous system!" he exclaimed, understanding why Alan had mentioned the Lyssa virus.

The Lyssa virus, or rabies virus, was different from almost all known viruses because it spread not through the circulatory system, but through the nervous system. Very slowly it passed from one neuron to another until it reached the brain. And this allowed him to keep the host’s immune system in check.

Neurons were very delicate cells, so the immune system couldn’t just get inside and destroy them like it did with any other cell: it was the neurons themselves that had to allow it in. But the Lyssa virus managed to control this ability by forcing the immune system to withdraw. Thus, as soon as the body’s powerful defenses reached the neurons, they forced them to self-destruct. This was why the Lyssa virus was so dangerous: the body had literally no defense against it.

Assuming that the Mother Cell theorized by Dr. Robert Oz was real, it would still have been a foreign body. The immune system would fight to destroy it. But if the Mother Cell had replicated the same system as the Lyssa virus, or even improved it...

"Let’s check right away" Alan exclaimed, then took a small knife and started cutting a piece of the crow’s skin where he knew the touch receptors were. The animal would not have felt any discomfort, it would have just been numb in that part of the body for a while.

Alan extracted the neuron and put it under the microscope, then opened it as carefully as possible. And there he found them. Hundreds and hundreds of extremely small cells, barely a tenth the size of a virus, moving rapidly within the nerve cell. Each of those cells had properties and characteristics that Alan had never seen in any living cell. "I’d say we’ve found the pathogen"

Billy glanced over, his eyes widening as he, too, saw the strange cells. "Could this be the Mother Cell?"

"We don’t know yet, but it sure looks like it" Alan replied. "Do you think we can analyze them with our instruments?"

Billy shook his head. "I doubt it. They are too small. We don’t have instruments enough powerful here"

"In that case we leave immediately. Book a plane immediately"

"To go where?"

"To doctor Morgan. He owns a laboratory with very advanced technologies. There we will be able to analyze the pathogen without problems"

Billy grabbed his cell phone and started googling. "Alan, the flights are all booked for the next two weeks. For the rest of the world the winter holidays are starting, remember?"

Alan snorted. He wasn’t going to wait that long. He didn’t know how far the mutation would progress in two weeks and how far it would spread. Time worked against them. "I didn’t want to go that far, but we didn’t choose. I will personally go to the airport"

"And what will you do?"

"I’ll use my identity to reserve a seat for us, even in the trunk of the plane if necessary. I’m a university professor and a renowned biologist, especially after what happened in Flagard City. If that’s not enough, I’ll call miss Jersey and I’ll let her talk the airport director for me. If that’s not enough either, I’ll ask her to send us a private plane. She’s rich, so let’s take advantage of it"

"I never thought I’d hear you suggest such a thing"

Even though Alan was a well-known biologist in the scientific community and as such enjoyed many privileges, he had never used them to his advantage. He had always been a humble man and had always waited his turn despite his long waits. This time, however, that wasn’t an option. "We don’t know how quickly this pathogen spreads. We can’t wait that long. Every second is precious now"

"I know, you don’t have to justify yourself. I was just kidding you" Billy said. "You can go. I’ll pack your bags. When you come back you’ll find me ready to leave"

"Okay. See you in a few hours"

Even if they lived in a trailer, that didn’t mean they could move around as they pleased. The laboratory inside was filled with extremely fragile instruments that could not withstand jolts or sudden movements. Before moving the trailer, they had to secure the lab, which would take hours. Therefore it was preferable that one of the two went to the airport and the other put their things in order to get ready to leave.

So Alan went out and after unplugging the caravan he started the car and set off towards the town, leaving Billy alone to wait for his friend to return.

*********

"They take Pip"

After the flock of birds had gone far enough, they had finally calmed down and were able to think clearly. It was only then that they realized that some of them were missing. Pip was the name of the crow that Alan and Billy had caught. The birds had guessed that that had been his fate, but they’d sent a couple of hawks to check just to be sure. After just a few hours, the hawks had returned and brought the sad news.

"Well, we expected that" said a heron. "We will always remember our brother"

But one of the hawks shook his head. "He’s not dead" he said.

"What does that mean? The humans took him, so he’s dead"

"No, we followed their trail. They captured him. They’re... doing something to him, but he’s still alive"

A murmur spread among the birds. It wasn’t the first time a bird had been taken by humans, but they had never heard of one that had survived.

"Did I hear right? Pip was captured?"

The birds turned to where the voice had come from, which turned out to be from a coelophisis. "Ranga, what are you doing here? This is a discussion that concerns our flock" a duck told him.

"I didn’t know you were in the middle of an argument. I just came to ask if some of you would be willing to help my pack by being a lookout for a few nights... but I see you have other things on your mind" the coelophisis replied.

Even though all birds and dinosaurs could now communicate, that didn’t mean they had formed a united herd. After all, unlike Sobek, they didn’t have unlimited sources of food. Therefore various groups had formed which rarely interacted with each other. They had never fought each other, after all the first rule Sobek had given was not to fight, but that didn’t mean they were very close. Each flock or pack had its own method of hunting, its own way of settling disputes, its preferred prey, and so on.

"Yeah, we’re busy. Can you come back later?"

"Sure, but I’d like to know what you have in mind. Don’t worry, I won’t bother you"

"There’s not much to discuss. They’ve taken him, so we have to forget about him"

"But that’s not right!" a crow cried. "Pip was loved by everyone! He invented half of our hunting strategies! He was always the first to fly and the last to land! He always left the best parts for others! If he’s still alive, we have to save him!"

All the crows cawed in appreciation, and they weren’t alone. Many of the other birds also shared their statement.

Despite their great new social cohesion, birds and dinosaurs were still fearful of humans. Also, Sobek himself had told them not to draw their attention. Everyone knew how dangerous humans were. Therefore they tried to avoid them as much as possible, and if by chance one of them was caught... then they just forgot him. Once a bird was taken by humans, it was a dead bird.

But that was weeks ago. Now, things were changing. One of the consequences of language was that ever closer interpersonal relationships were formed. Some, like Pip, had formed bonds of affection with many members of the flock. And now, no one wanted to abandon him.

"How are you going to do it? We’re talking about human beings"

"There are only two of them! We can do it, even against their terrible weapons!"

"And how many of us will die? Do you think Pip will be happy to know that hundred of us have died for him? You know he would prefer we abandon him"

"No one will have to die if we act fast and smart! Humans are only strong when they have their weapons. Without them, they kill easily. Let’s knock them down and save Pip!"

"This will attract attention. We must go unnoticed"

"Then let’s kill them! The dead don’t speak!"

The birds began to squabble louder and louder, when suddenly the coelophisis jumped onto a rock and asked: "May I say a word?"

The birds all turned to him. “Sorry, I know I would have said I wouldn’t interfere, but...I can’t shut up” he said. "Pip was well-liked by everyone, that’s true. I appreciated him too, however little we interacted. However, many others who were killed by humans were well-liked and we abandoned them. Therefore, that’s not where you should focus". The coelophisis clicked his tongue. "The question is rather another. Pip is still alive. We don’t know what they are doing to him... but what if he will speak?"

After Sobek completed his third evolution, the number of skills he could share with the [Contract] increased to four. He initially thought of not giving any other abilities to birds and dinosaurs on human continents, since he couldn’t contact them and make sure they didn’t do any harm. However, after careful consideration he had decided to give them [Linguistics (2)] as well. There were pterosaurs on human continents as well, so it was a good idea that they were recruited immediately. Deferring this to a later time could be harmful. Also, Sobek had given clear instructions not to interact with humans in any way even if they gained the ability to do so. So, he was sure he could be trusted to give him that power. The other skills, on the other hand, were too unpredictable and dangerous, so he had avoided sharing them knowing that birds and dinosaurs without his jurisdiction would only do damage.

Therefore, ’speaking the human language is taboo’ had become a common rule of all birds and dinosaurs of the human continent. Pip knew this rule too, but if the humans tortured him there was a chance he would go crazy and say things that could put them all in danger. If Pip had died the problem wouldn’t have arisen, but he was still alive...

"Ranga, you may be right" the heron that he had spoken to in the beginning exclaimed. "This situation could be more dangerous than we thought"

"So what are we doing?" the raven who had come to Pip’s side asked.

"It’s not a decision we can make on our own" the heron replied. "Ranga, please go and call your pack. Call all the closest packs. We will meet at the cutting stones in an hour. This is everyone’s business!"