ARTWORK
- Somewhat better than the huge ants in "Them," but perhaps not as good as
the CGI in Antman. Now a
museum
exhibit in Sussex, England.
The artwork is based on an Australian Bulldog
ant.
John
Storm, the rugged ocean
adventurer is also an amateur Paleo
Anthropologist, near obsessed with his DNA
collection called 'The
Ark,' that is safely embedded in his trusty ship, the Elizabeth
Swann, protected by the ever
watchful Hal.
Having
been injected with a super CRISPR
virus, John
became DNA enhanced like the Panamanian
Running Man. Allied to his new strength, the CyberCore
Genetica™, and a brain implant named BioCore™, the combination turns him
into the most digitally connected person in history. A walking library
of information, with AI processing capability.
Despite
all good intentions during UN conferences and the like, global world leaders
had failed to address climate change
in sufficient time to prevent the oceans from boiling. As a result, the
ice caps at the North and South Poles melt, revealing Antarctica as
never seen by man, in a semi-prehistoric state.
A
startling discovery in the ice, sharp jaws protruding from a block of
solid ice.
SECTASAUR™
PLOT SUMMARY
At a time in the not too distant future, the ice melts at both poles revealing features on the land not seen for
thousands of years. A converted Frigate, the US Arktos is discovered at the South Pole locked into melting
ice, then freed. She has been missing since an expedition in 1838. A famous ship at the time, formerly the USS Essex, she had been bought at auction in 1837 and hastily refitted by a group of explorers who had come by a fossilized artifact thought to be of considerable archaeological importance. The fossilized jaw was said to have originated in
Antarctica brought back as a souvenir by the Russian explorer
Fabian Gottlieb von
Bellingshausen during his fabled 1820 expedition.
Another fantastic discovery is a labyrinth of tunnels beneath the ice, dated by scientists to be millions of years old. Mysteriously, the scientist who discovered and dated the tunnel complex disappears, but not before his find is leaked to a Sky news researcher on the Discovery channel.
Alerting Charley Temple to the unfolding story. And yes, she rises to
the occasion, sending alerts to her fellow adventurer, John Storm.
The Antarctic is inhabited by survey expeditions from up to six counties at any one time. Though the country is not the sovereign territory of any one nation. But, by agreeing a series of treaties, an understanding is in place and this wilderness is amply protected as a result.
Three new expeditions are launched by competing concerns, the first a Swedish venture lead by a headstrong
Bjorn Atlas and his navigator
Sven
Johansson. The second expedition is a multinational effort lead by
Cathy Carter with 3 veteran arctic explorers. The third expedition is a private enterprise secretly
part funded by Chinese Triads, under the leadership of
Lin Po
Chang, a child genius and infamous martial arts champion and his two dedicated henchmen.
Taken
by surprise, and a knee jerk reaction, John goes to attack the Sectasaur,
before realising they have a rapport.
A race ensues where the teams vie with each other, to secure the archaeological prize that is there for the taking.
Lin Po
Chang, is not only a master of the martial arts (Taekwondo & Karate) but also a keen paleontologist, who predicted the existence of variant life-forms on this continent and has more than a hunch as to the inhabitants of this tunnel complex.
Several fatal accidents occur in quick succession, then an egg clutch is discovered in a section of a tunnel. For a moment all rivalry is dispatched as the parties marvel at the find. They assume the eggs are prehistoric and dinosaur remains, though the eggs have a tough leathery
exterior (Alien - Ridley Scott), rather than a hard shell.
Systematically, Chang eliminates the remaining opposition, pitting the Swedes against Carters
crew (Ice
Station Zebra - Alistair Mclean), until only one man and one woman remain alive to challenge Chang:
Sven Johansen and
Cathy
Carter. In a desperate act of self sacrifice, Johansen tackles Chang while Carter escapes, seriously wounded to reveal the tragic turn of events to her Sky colleague, the self same Discovery channel researcher - she dies shortly after.
Meantime, Chang deploys his talent to nurture one egg through a simulated incubation when a creature not seen on Earth during Man's evolution is brought back into an unsuspecting world.
The creature is smuggled aboard an ageing Ice Patrol survey vessel called the 'KoolArctic' bound for England, in a crate marked rock
samples (Relic & Arachnophobia), whereupon it burrows out and grows rapidly, eating two crew members of the survey vessel who discovered, then tried to kill it. Chang had already relocated the remaining eggs, before setting out to rendezvous with his precious cargo in Portsmouth, unaware of the developments onboard
KoolArctic.
The second mate on the KoolArctic reports the chaos aboard their vessel to the British Admiralty, shortly after being forced to abandon ship with the remainder of the crew, on the advice of his superiors to scupper the ship. The ship sinks but the resourceful creature manages to cling to flotsam then hitch a ride on a container ship the 'Atlantic Express' under the cover of darkness.
The
artwork is also suitable for use in "Jimmy Watson's Magic
Dinobot."
A proposed network TV serialization, about boy who saves his paper round
money to buy himself a robot for Christmas. Then, when assembled, it
come to life, to become his friend.
MI6 and the
CIA decide to send in
John
Storm, an expert diver, archaeologist and enthusiastic adventurer to report on the goings
on, in return for a generous contribution to his causes. Storm is happy to oblige if it means adding to his DNA collection for his usual fee - a hefty donation to his favourite charities. Having equipped his solar
and hydrogen powered ship, the Elizabeth
Swan, with arctic clothing and supplies, he,
Dan Hawk and
Charley Temple sped from the
Southern Ocean to the Weddell Sea and there to Deception Island, an extinct volcano.
The team set up camp onshore and soon the trio locate the excavation site, then using the 'Ark' (a DNA database) Storm uncovers disturbing new evidence to support a theory that
dinosaurs were not wiped out by a meteor striking the earth (creating an artificial ice age), but by very efficient hunting animals related to the Vespoidea or Myrmecia Giganticus taxonomic group, part of a long extinct branch of the family Formicidae of the order Hymenoptera - insects in plain speak. This strain appears to have evolved rapidly by adaptive radiation. From the evidence on site it seems that these deadly animals hunted in packs in significant numbers to overwhelm much larger animals (an example of which may be seen in 6mm army ants overcoming a 40mm bull ant and just about any animal in the jungle that gets in their way).
They
lived at a time when dinosaurs ruled the earth. Maybe, partly explaining
the demise of the smaller prehistoric creatures, such as Velociraptor.
Where Tyrannosaurus Rex would have starved in a volcanic winter, smaller
animals might have fared better. Except against creatures with a higher
tolerance to freezing conditions, and even faster reaction times.
From DNA analysis aboard an energy depleted Elizabeth
Swan, Storm estimates that this species grew to between 3-5 metres and that they were warm blooded with a high tolerance to low temperatures, with a kind of lung to supply vast amounts of oxygen to their spiracles via an organ pumped dorsal aorta to the other organs in an otherwise classic exoskeleton arrangement. Storm and Hawk realize the danger if such a creature were ever to be introduced on the mainland and with evidence that eggs have been removed from the site, alert MI6 and the CIA to the danger.
A
giant (extinct) grasshopper - Mueritzeum Museum, Warren, Germany
Storm and crew head to England at high speed. Meanwhile Chang has landed in Portsmouth, to await the remaining eggs unaware that the
koolArctic is at the bottom of the ocean and the Atlantic Express then docks in Southampton to unload her containers.
The giant prehistoric animal jumps ship at night crossing the River Test heading west, finding comfort in the outskirts of the New Forest where it feeds on ponies that are in plentiful supply. Eventually, losses of these equines come to the attention of a nature group and that is passed on to Hampshire police, relayed to MI6 and thence to John Storm.
Storm and crew came into the Solent proceeding up the Beaulieu River to Bucklers
Hard. An expedition into the bracken led Storm some miles from one of the pony corpses toward a wooden area near Worts Gutter (Furzey Lane). Storm called
MI6 for backup. MI6 rushed to surround the area with heavily armed troops to protect civilians.
John Storm and Charley Temple went in hoping to somehow capture the animal without harming it. They stalked the animal for a time, but the creature had located and been stalking them, following their scent trail - when the giant insect came up from behind over the brow of a ravine and knocked Charley nearly unconscious as she reacted in fright. Storm managed to strike the creature with an axe he had picked up along the way. It fell down lying still in partial shock.
Charley and John marvel at the anatomy of this ancient breed. Ignoring the dangers, they both set about patching the creature's wound with antiseptic and bandages that Charley had brought along in case they got into trouble. The dino ant allowed them to patch her up, ignoring the pain, it lay immobile listening to the couple talking, pretending to be incapacitated. The creature understood that the dialogue between John and Charley is not aggressive or threatening, but rather caring - and marks these two humans down as allies.
The insectoid feigned recovery, when John panicked and again went for the axe. Also as a reflex action the dino ant lashed out at John, throwing him backwards over a ledge, and Charley sprawling through some undergrowth. He managed to grab hold of a few roots - he was now at the mercy of the creature.
The huge insect rushed in for what John thinks is the kill, but instead puts itself at risk on the ledge to pull John up to
safety. Meanwhile government troops are closing in and have seen what looks to them like a struggle, so increase their pace determined to kill the creature.
John dusted himself off while the magnificent insect squatted adjacent, also cleaning itself. Puzzled at the turn of events, he spoke to the animal - and the creature responded, turning its head to look at John - as if trying to understand. The giant insect regarded John's voice as a friendly sign and had logged his and Charley's scent as such.
The
clever creature jumped ship, to end up in the United Kngdom, as the
first port of call
As a scientist John could not help himself, but to offer his hand palm up to the creature. The animal moved to the hand and studied it with both of its feelers, tickling him. John's heart was pounding, the insect could easily amputate his hand with its razor sharp jaws.
Charley Temple struggled back through the bracken and saw the interaction between John and the insect. She immediately realized that for some reason the creature had accepted them as not being a threat. It had knocked her down as a reflex action. She moved in closer also proffering her hand, and again the prehistoric insect smelled her all over with its antennae. Charley giggled at the touch. Insects smell, taste and feel with their antennae and some
feelers have the magnetic mineral, iron oxide, or magnetite in them, making
their antennae into a biological compass, rather like homing pigeons.
John and Charley exchanged huge grins at the discovery. This animal was not a threat, but more of a find for mankind. Just then the government troops opened fire wounding the animal. John and Charley both leapt in front of the insect yelling at the soldiers to stop firing, but Charley caught a bullet in the arm and screamed in pain. At this the giant insect pushed them to one side and moved forward to protect them both from the gunfire. In the process, it took several more bullets and finally one to the head. It collapsed.
John and Charley got up shouting as loud as they could to hold fire. Charley was in some pain. The firing stopped, enabling them to get to the insect. It looked at them and raised its feelers, Charley took one in her good hand and John the other and the trio embraced for a minute, then the creature subsided and its antenna went limp - it was dead .........
Gone.
John shuddered with remorse, anger welling up inside of him. Charley cried
openly, tears trickling down her cheeks. A well-built soldier ran to the scene whelping with delight at the kill. "Yes," cried the soldier, making macho muscle signs with his arm. "Yes," said John, and gave him a powerful punch to the jaw, and the soldier went down.
"Chew
on that."
Charley went to hit him despite
her sore arm, but a few more men came in brandishing guns. She shouted and glared at them adopting a threatening posture.
"Do you know what you have done. You trigger happy idiots."
The soldiers had no reply, and they went away rather sheepishly; feeling
more than a little foolish. Up to that point they thought they had saved her life.
John filed a report with MI6, advising of a great loss to science. He suggested that the South Pole should be examined further for clues as to how
and when these animals evolved, lived, and survived in the ice.
Cautioning that only
fully vetted archaeologists should complete such a study, not the military. These scientists would need to be briefed by him and sworn to
secrecy under the Official Secrets Act. John also advises that the
tunnel complex should be designated "Antarctic Area
51."
He did not include in his report the few touching moments that he and Charley had
experienced with the Sectasaur. He (they) doubted anyone would believe
them. Any until the species was biologically classified, it would remain
unclear if they were alien,
or the result of evolution on earth.
Short
Story by Jameson Hunter
A
sample of horror, science fiction comics, with giant ants or wasps at
their theme
