Read Online Dragon Dawn (Dinosaurian Time Travel) by Deborah O'Neill Cordes - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Deborah O'Neill Cordes
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is kept there, also.”
“The plaque?” asked Dawann.
“Yes,” Fey said. “I’ll explain it in a moment. Since we could not risk anyone finding out about them, there is a little trick.” Fey reached toward the display case.
It was the first time Dawann noticed a diamond ring on Fey’s right hand. The paleontologist touched the ring to the top of the glass case and stood back. A transparent, fluorescent-green cube appeared inside the case. As if suspended by invisible wires, the object floated in mid-air.
Fey explained, “I found this ring at the excavation site after I uncovered the other artifacts. It was just before the Alpha Nu’s visit, and I barely had time to obliterate all evidence of the dig. Oh, I know what I did was unethical, but I feared the Keeper would suppress my discoveries.” She gave a soft trill. “You were right, Your Highness. I have many secrets.”
Mem grunted in agreement. “The cube is my invention. It is made of fluoride glass which can be infused with atoms of rare elements and infrared laser light to store a three-dimensional image in the cube.”
“Uh, yes,” Dawann said. “But I don’t see an image.”
“Ah, it takes two touches to activate it.” Fey tapped her ring on the glass case again, and this time the air inside began to shimmer, then coalesce into a view of an excavation site. “This is a compilation of five separate pictures of the site. It permits the viewer to examine everything I found. As I said before, the artifacts were removed from the dig and secreted within my gear. Tell me, Your Royal Highness, do you recognize anything?”
Dawann studied the image of a standard excavation pit. Tools scattered around. A glob of dirt-encrusted amber on the ground. A metal plaque.
Her gaze zeroed in on the plaque. She moved her head and the image changed slightly, making it seem like she was walking around the paleontological site. She leaned in, still studying the 3-D display, and then did a double take. Was it her imagination or did the inscriptions on the plaque seem familiar?
The nictating membranes rolled over Dawann’s eyes. “I – I think I understand!” she said, blinking her eyes clear.
“What?” Fey and Mem said in one breath.
“The plaque contains a depiction of a human space traveler. It was left at the landing site as a commemoration of the event. And I believe... yes, I can read some of it. The signatures at the bottom are––”
“Oh, I was right then,” Fey crowed. “They are signatures.”
Mind reeling, Dawann pointed toward the first signature, boldly written with a mixture of cursive and printed letters. “That one belongs to the ship’s commander. His name was Gus. See? Right there. G-U-S.”
The couple stared.
“As for the rest of the letters I don’t know,” Dawann said. She gave a small growl of frustration. “It’s so hard.”
“Take your time, Your Highness,” said Fey. “Perhaps your memories will come back.”
Dawann stood there, pondering the image, the jumble of letters confounding her. And then, quite unexpectedly, a name leapt out at her, incontestable proof her visions were true.
She rubbed her eyes and then refocused on a line of distinctively slanted handwriting, the strength of her astonishment nearly propelling her to the floor. “My Goddess,” she cried out, “that’s her signature!”
“Whose?” Mem asked.
“Dawn’s!” Dawann looked at the three digits of her own right hand and imagined herself in another time and place. But she was not a saurian. No, she was human. A human female. And she was little; without breasts, her body small and light, only half as big as an adult. Human Dawn was a child practicing her penmanship. Pushing a writing device called a pencil across the page again and again, grasping it tightly with her own five stubby fingers as she carefully formed her letters.
Dawann envisioned the girl writing, D-A-W-N. D-A-W-N. D-A-W-N .
“Do you feel ill?” Mem asked,
“The plaque?” asked Dawann.
“Yes,” Fey said. “I’ll explain it in a moment. Since we could not risk anyone finding out about them, there is a little trick.” Fey reached toward the display case.
It was the first time Dawann noticed a diamond ring on Fey’s right hand. The paleontologist touched the ring to the top of the glass case and stood back. A transparent, fluorescent-green cube appeared inside the case. As if suspended by invisible wires, the object floated in mid-air.
Fey explained, “I found this ring at the excavation site after I uncovered the other artifacts. It was just before the Alpha Nu’s visit, and I barely had time to obliterate all evidence of the dig. Oh, I know what I did was unethical, but I feared the Keeper would suppress my discoveries.” She gave a soft trill. “You were right, Your Highness. I have many secrets.”
Mem grunted in agreement. “The cube is my invention. It is made of fluoride glass which can be infused with atoms of rare elements and infrared laser light to store a three-dimensional image in the cube.”
“Uh, yes,” Dawann said. “But I don’t see an image.”
“Ah, it takes two touches to activate it.” Fey tapped her ring on the glass case again, and this time the air inside began to shimmer, then coalesce into a view of an excavation site. “This is a compilation of five separate pictures of the site. It permits the viewer to examine everything I found. As I said before, the artifacts were removed from the dig and secreted within my gear. Tell me, Your Royal Highness, do you recognize anything?”
Dawann studied the image of a standard excavation pit. Tools scattered around. A glob of dirt-encrusted amber on the ground. A metal plaque.
Her gaze zeroed in on the plaque. She moved her head and the image changed slightly, making it seem like she was walking around the paleontological site. She leaned in, still studying the 3-D display, and then did a double take. Was it her imagination or did the inscriptions on the plaque seem familiar?
The nictating membranes rolled over Dawann’s eyes. “I – I think I understand!” she said, blinking her eyes clear.
“What?” Fey and Mem said in one breath.
“The plaque contains a depiction of a human space traveler. It was left at the landing site as a commemoration of the event. And I believe... yes, I can read some of it. The signatures at the bottom are––”
“Oh, I was right then,” Fey crowed. “They are signatures.”
Mind reeling, Dawann pointed toward the first signature, boldly written with a mixture of cursive and printed letters. “That one belongs to the ship’s commander. His name was Gus. See? Right there. G-U-S.”
The couple stared.
“As for the rest of the letters I don’t know,” Dawann said. She gave a small growl of frustration. “It’s so hard.”
“Take your time, Your Highness,” said Fey. “Perhaps your memories will come back.”
Dawann stood there, pondering the image, the jumble of letters confounding her. And then, quite unexpectedly, a name leapt out at her, incontestable proof her visions were true.
She rubbed her eyes and then refocused on a line of distinctively slanted handwriting, the strength of her astonishment nearly propelling her to the floor. “My Goddess,” she cried out, “that’s her signature!”
“Whose?” Mem asked.
“Dawn’s!” Dawann looked at the three digits of her own right hand and imagined herself in another time and place. But she was not a saurian. No, she was human. A human female. And she was little; without breasts, her body small and light, only half as big as an adult. Human Dawn was a child practicing her penmanship. Pushing a writing device called a pencil across the page again and again, grasping it tightly with her own five stubby fingers as she carefully formed her letters.
Dawann envisioned the girl writing, D-A-W-N. D-A-W-N. D-A-W-N .
“Do you feel ill?” Mem asked,
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