DINOSAURS

EXCERPT FROM "TOTAL AMNESIA" 
by J.W. Northrup

“Wow!  This is interesting!” he says, “this has to be one of the more diverse planets in the galaxy.  They have more strange varieties of creatures here than you have in that brain of yours.  You know the famous Zuell and Crock traveling circus?  This is where they bred those dinosaurs some 300 deci-terms ago - right here!”

            “I’ll be damned!  Do you think there may be any left?” 

            “Don’t be silly, they transferred them to the Colomb system.  Anyway, that’s a patented gene pattern.  Obviously they would have detected them long ago and destroyed them according to patent confidentiality laws.

            Toko is looking through the database.  “Man they got everything here!”  The screen begins displaying a series of random images showing the diversity of life on the planet.   A picture of an octopus appears on the screen.

“Look at that!  Yuck!” 

He brings up a Siberian Tiger.  “Oh man!” they all say in unison, “that’s beautiful!”

            “I’m definitely going to take one of those home with me,” says Toko, “anyone have a patent on that gene pattern?”

            “Uh, let’s see,” says Bisto bringing up the genetic data on a tiger, “Nope, says genetic pattern 387490283974-CR is public domain if you use a gene lock.”

            “Alright!” says Toko enthusiastically, “that’s my boy’s birthday present!”