The Valley is the eighth chapter in the Fourth Configuration. Malcolm's team continue to watch dinosaurs and there's a debate on extinction.
Plot[]
This chapter starts with Richard Levine remarking that the whole situation is proceeding very well, far beyond his expectations. The whole group are still in the High Hide staring at the valley below and it is midday, hot and thus everyone is sweating. They spot that most of the dinosaurs have moved from the grassy meadow to the the shady areas beneath the trees. The exceptions are a herd of Apatosaurus who have moved from the trees to the river and returned to drinking again. Nearby, a group of smaller Parasaurolophus position themselves close to the the Apatosaurus.
Thorne asks Levine why he is pleased. The answer is that Levine is receiving the data he long for, saying it is exciting. Thorne comments that there's nothing exciting as the Apatosaurus are just drinking and Levine states they are drinking again, the second time in an hour, at midday. He continues remarking, "such fluid intake is highly suggestive of the thermoregulatory strategies these large creatures employ." Thorne, not understanding Levine, remarks that they dinosaurs are drinking to stay cool. Levine replies it is not just about drinking when the apatosaurus returned to the river. He adds to look at how they are positioned and that they are now seeing something no other palaeontologist has seen. Specifically, they are seeing, "inter-species symbiosis."
Levine continues saying the apatosaurus and the parasaurolophus are together, a scene he spotted yesterday and then noting they would always be in open plains. Levine finally explains that the Apatosaurus are "very strong but weak-sighted" while the Parasaurolophus are "smaller, but have very sharp vision." These two species stay together to provide mutual defense, similar to how zebras have good sense of smell and baboons have good eyesight. If dinosaurs of a single species are alone, they tend to cluster close to each other. If they are with another species, they spread out. The group watched and saw exactly what Levine stated. There was a musical-like communications, with one parasaurolophus honking, the others raising their heads and gradually some of the drinking apatosaurus also raised up their heads in response. Thorne wonders where the predators are and Malcolm pointed to trees, not far from the water source. Thorne still did not see the Velociraptors while Levine eats a sugary power bar. Arby Benton asks if the adult had anymore, received one and gave half to Kelly Curtis.
Ian Malcolm states that it was all highly significant, with regards to the question of extinction. He says the extinction of dinosaurs, was far more complex than anyone recognized and Arby wonders why. Malcolm adds that all extinction theories are based on fossil records and they don't display dinosaur behavior which Arby says fossils are just bones. Malcolm affirms, saying fossils are like family photographs: frozen in time, may be incomplete and do not show life happening between pictures. Studying of fossils make you soon believe it not just picture but as reality and then you forget the underlying reality. He adds that you think in terms of physical events, listing the famous one like meteor striking the earth, volcanos erupting, vegetation changes, widespread disease, or even a new plant. No one tends to imagine that animal behavior, especially changes animal behavior, could lead to extinction. Thorne picks up, wondering why animal behavior would change unless an external event causes it to. Malcolm replies that any behavior changes daily: weather, land, continents move, mountains rise and fall and animals react to such environmental changes. The best animals are those who can adapt rapidly and it is difficult to see how a large change causes extinction, given changes happen rapidly. Thorne, still dubious, asks what really causes extinction.
Malcom says after any environmental change, there is a wave of extinctions, albeit not immediately but millions of years later. He gives an example of the last glaciation in North America. It altered the climate yet animals did not die until the receding of glaciers where extinction occurred. Levine says the term is, Softening Up the Beachhead, yet Malcolm says it is "a paleontological mystery." He continues into a philosophical speech regarding change until Thorne interrupts, spotting a dinosaur which Malcolm identifies as a raptor and Thorne remarks to Levine, "That's what chased you up in the tree? It looks ugly."
Levine simply states it is an efficient killing machine and the raptor spotted is the leader of the pack. He wishes to find the raptor nest. The parasaurolophus then move cry out and move closer to the apatosaurus herd, though the latter appear to be indifferent to the danger, which Arby wonders why. Levine says the apatosaurus do care, and can defend with their thirty or forty feet long tails which are several tons long. He answers Arby that turning away is their form of defense. The lead raptor indeed is scared, proving Levine right. They count around fourteen raptors and debate over if they should find the raptor nest. The discussion leads Malcolm to question if Sarah Harding is coming which Thorne says she should appear anytime. Malcolm indicates his feeling for her, wishing to meet her. They continue to talk, with Malcolm saying Sarah would arrive looking great.
Goofs[]
- As with Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton includes dinosaurs that appear not just from the Jurassic period. Apatosaurus originate from the Late Jurassic period while Parasaurolophus originate from the Late Cretaceous. Theey would not have mixed together.
- Across research on extinction, "Softening Up the Beachhead" does not appear and is likely some term Michael Crichton created.
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