“What the hell did the Aliens construct down there?” Slade asked.
“Another biolab, from the looks of it,” Cyrus said.
“Or maybe some sort of living natural history museum?” Sedona offered tentatively. She powered up her computer and clicked on the images she had discovered in her research. “I knew those creatures appeared familiar. Take a look at what I found.”
They were gathered in Cyrus’s makeshift office. She was aware of the tension in the room. In addition to Cyrus and herself, Harry, Rachel, Slade, and Charlotte had joined them.
They gathered around Sedona and looked at her computer screen. She clicked on one image after another.
“These pictures are all computer-generated models of prehistoric animals—dinosaurs and reptiles,” she explained. “They were created from fossils that have been dug up at various excavation sites on Harmony. The experts gave them names based on the similarity to Old World dinosaurs.” She aimed a pen at an image of a large, two-footed creature with massive, tooth-filled jaws and short arms that ended in sharp claws. “This one is called an Allosaurus. I think it looks a lot like the predators that we encountered.”
“Except for the mirrored scales,” Cyrus added.
Rachel frowned. “It’s entirely possible that the experts got that aspect wrong when they did their reconstruction. They work from fossils and impressions in rocks. There wouldn’t be much, if anything, left to tell them about the psi-reflecting qualities of the scales.”
“That makes sense,” Charlotte said. “When you think about it, it’s logical that creatures adapted to a heavy-psi environment and therefore developed various forms of camouflage and other hunting strategies.”
“Those critters were definitely using some kind of psychic lure to hunt us,” Cyrus said.
“But how could prehistoric creatures know how to trigger music in the human mind?” Rachel asked.
“I’m sure they weren’t doing it intentionally,” Sedona said. “They have obviously evolved some paranormal mechanism for attracting their prey. It just so happens that in human brains the psychic lure is interpreted as music. In other creatures it’s probably translated as a mating call or the smell of food.”
Rachel raised her brows. “Guess we can all be glad it doesn’t translate as sexual attraction for humans. That could certainly complicate the research and exploration work.”
“Imagine a team of techs and scientists and a bunch of hunters suddenly overwhelmed by the conviction that they had just entered the world’s most outstanding pickup bar,” Harry added. “Sort of boggles the mind.”
Charlotte winced. “Thanks for that visual. I won’t be able to get it out of my head for days.”
Sedona knew she was turning pink. She glanced up and found Cyrus watching her, dark amusement gleaming in his eyes. She didn’t have to be able to read minds to know that he was remembering her desperate effort to attribute their mutual passion to the effects of the psi in the cave. Hurriedly she returned her attention to the image of the Harmony version of an Allosaurus.
“What doesn’t make sense is how those creatures could have survived and reproduced for maybe millions of years in a world where, as far as we could tell, all the vegetation has been turned into crystal and quartz,” Cyrus said.
“You only saw a small sector of that place you’re calling Wonderland,” Slade reminded him. “If it’s like the Rainforest or the catacombs it could extend for hundreds or maybe thousands of square miles underground. There could well be sectors that are capable of sustaining life.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” Cyrus said. “It wasn’t like the Rainforest. That has the feel of a vast, sprawling jungle. This place had a more contained, closed-in feeling—like a wild-game park or a zoo.”
Sedona hesitated. “I’m no expert, but here’s a scenario. Let’s say Cyrus is right—the Aliens did some serious bioengineering in an attempt to re-create a heavy-psi landscape. Maybe they actually produced a few dinosaurs.”
“The Aliens vanished from Harmony centuries ago,” Slade reminded her. “What have their pet dinosaurs been doing down there in Wonderland all this time?”
“Everything down there that we saw had a frozen-in-time feeling,” Cyrus said. “Maybe the dinosaurs were in a state of hibernation or suspended animation until recently.”
Charlotte’s eyes widened behind the frames of her glasses. “Frozen in psi like everything else you found down there and then awakened by the recent violent storm activity on the island? That makes sense in a bizarre way.”
“One thing’s for sure,” Harry said. “We need to get a Foundation team in there to find out what we’re dealing with.”
Cyrus looked at him. “I don’t want any research teams going down below until we’ve figured out how to provide adequate security.”
“Agreed,” Harry said. “But it might be easier to locate the entrance up into the Preserve that the monsters are using from down there. We’re not having any luck finding it on the surface. The deeper we go inside the fence, the weirder things get. Sounds like Wonderland is at least navigable.”
“We’ve all got work to do,” Cyrus said. He went back behind his desk. “Meanwhile, I don’t want to lose any more stray treasure hunters. Sedona locked the gate into Wonderland. It stays that way until we get something resembling a plan.”
Slade nodded. “Plans are good.”