http://works.openpagepublishing.com/naughtennymoore a work of David Brown Mon, 13 Nov 2006 16:25:51 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en http://works.openpagepublishing.com/naughtennymoore/2006/11/12/front-cover/ This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this novel are either fictitious or are used fictitiously. The Worlds of Naughtenny Moore Copyright © 2006 by David Brown All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof, in any form. Edited by Kara Willey Artwork by ... http://works.openpagepublishing.com/naughtennymoore/2006/11/01/preamble/ To Colleen. To Jeff and Cubby: Not the inspirations for Carlos Wrzniewski, but good stand-ins when needed. To my publisher/editor/lifelong friend Brandon, who saw this through all the way. To Rachel and Renee (and Alex and Josh too): Keep your sense of wonder and the love of dragons. http://works.openpagepublishing.com/naughtennymoore/2006/11/01/acknowledgements/ My name is Ted Flockman. I’m sure you’ve heard of me. I have set five world records in hunting and fishing. I have been almost eaten, trampled or otherwise dispatched by animals at least 17 times, by my count. I have survived two plane crashes and a shipwreck. Oh, yeah, ... http://works.openpagepublishing.com/naughtennymoore/2006/11/01/1-introductions/ For the second test, Lou took us to a room that simulated a prehistoric forest. “This is a restoration of an Early Permian North American forest,” he said. “Your task is to cross it. The problem is, there are two large predators in the way. If either of you sets ... http://works.openpagepublishing.com/naughtennymoore/2006/11/01/2-trials/ Dianna led us across the hangar/museum to a metal stairway that led upward to a balcony. She opened one door to reveal another flight of stairs that spiraled upwards. “This was originally an air-traffic control tower,” she told me. At the top was a door with an electronic lock. She ... http://works.openpagepublishing.com/naughtennymoore/2006/11/01/3-the-control-room/ After months of preparation, the day had finally come. It was time for me to go on my first official mission for Naughtenny Moore’s Time Travel Association. All of our equipment was loaded in the time machine. In a few minutes, an enormous apparatus would launch the mobile time bell ... http://works.openpagepublishing.com/naughtennymoore/2006/11/01/1-squish-down/ The shower consisted of a hose mounted on a pole, with a rubber mat for a floor and a translucent curtain on three sides. For modesty’s sake, everyone showered in a bathing suit. I was the first to use it and found it quite unpleasant. The showerhead blasted me with ... http://works.openpagepublishing.com/naughtennymoore/2006/11/01/2-flight-of-the-mayfly/ Carradine picked up a small, toothy skull fragment from the tray. “We picked this and several other bone fragments out of the dropping. We all agree that these bones are from a pachycephalosaurid, most likely of the genus Homalocephale. This individual was half-grown, probably about the size of a young ... http://works.openpagepublishing.com/naughtennymoore/2006/11/01/3-wild-life/ Needless to say, I got back to camp as quickly as possible. “You guys are crazy!” I shouted as I leaped from the car. The tyrannosaur was on the bed of the Amphibian, tied up with high-tension cables. It was a young one, “only” five feet tall and fifteen feet ... http://works.openpagepublishing.com/naughtennymoore/2006/11/01/4-the-captive/ It was hard being cooped up in our tents for four days, especially when the flood waters rose so high that they lapped at our ankles. We got through it, though, without being tempted to kill each other. The paleontologists spent the time happily studying the specimens we had already ... http://works.openpagepublishing.com/naughtennymoore/2006/11/01/5-night-visitors/ After two days, we were confident that the lizard’s venom wasn’t going to kill me. On the fourth day, I was lucid enough to monitor the hunting party’s progress through the audio-video feed. Their meandering path had taken them 15 miles northeast of base camp. The day’s broadcast began with a ... http://works.openpagepublishing.com/naughtennymoore/2006/11/01/6-nest-of-the-tyrannosaurus-bataar/ In hindsight, the most significant event during my first year at Naughtenny Moore did not happen in the past, but in the present. Though we made little of it at the time, it was a reminder of how dangerous the TDD is, and what some people might do to use ... http://works.openpagepublishing.com/naughtennymoore/2006/11/01/i-the-keystone-kommies/ But I did not dwell on the shock of the “KK” attack, or on Carlos’s mysterious comments. There was too much work to be done, preparing for the trip to Mauritius. It was an unusually modest expedition, except in terms of the number of people involved. Forty ... http://works.openpagepublishing.com/naughtennymoore/2006/11/01/ii-the-mauritius-story/ In everyone’s life, there are crucial moments that seemed unimportant at the time, but that one looks back on as life-changing events. One of those moments in my life was my first encounter with a highly unusual aircraft. I can look back on it now and see that it ultimately ... http://works.openpagepublishing.com/naughtennymoore/2006/11/01/1-the-gossamer-starship/ A month later (subjectively speaking, of course), we were in Cretaceous Argentina. We brought along four vehicles: two Things, the Ora armored car and, of course, Caproni’s plane. Over the first week, Caproni and I flew five successful missions, documenting the surrounding area. We would feed our footage directly to ... http://works.openpagepublishing.com/naughtennymoore/2006/11/01/2-nest-of-the-giants/ Dianna and I (Carlos) are walking from the plane toward the nest when we run into one of the silliest-looking dinosaurs that ever lived: the Carnotaurus. A carnotaur is set apart from other dinosaurs by several features. For one thing, they have a broad, flat horn overhanging each eye. No ... http://works.openpagepublishing.com/naughtennymoore/2006/11/01/3-up-a-tree/ When I finally awoke, it was morning. The big carnosaurs were gone, except for a few stragglers who lay next to the sauropod carcasses, too stuffed to move. Glancing down, I saw the decapitated dinosaur lying on its side at the base of the tree. In the light of day, ... http://works.openpagepublishing.com/naughtennymoore/2006/11/01/4-aftermath/ The expedition to the Devonian was the most ambitious yet. Thanks to new shock absorbers on the time bell, we were able to go further back in time than ever before—360 million years into the past. We arrived with the Kon Tiki, an experimental, lightweight catamaran that could be dismantled ... http://works.openpagepublishing.com/naughtennymoore/2006/11/01/1-wreck-of-the-kon-tiki/ “That was sweet, Ted,” Dianna said. Tears ran down her face, but she managed to sound cheerful. “But it’s no good. Captain Bill won’t get back in time, and I can’t swim all the way to the reef with my ankle slashed up. You’re going to have to send up ... http://works.openpagepublishing.com/naughtennymoore/2006/11/01/2-enter-the-fish/ We barely managed to reach a tiny atoll 40 miles from the time bell. A brackish stream provided us with a safe harbor. I used a harpoon to spear what turned out to be a three-foot-long scorpion-like creature called a eurypterid. It was a malevolent-looking creature with an awesome array ... http://works.openpagepublishing.com/naughtennymoore/2006/11/01/3-landlocked/ I decided to wait one more day (one Devonian day, that is) before setting sail, though by the end of our second day on the island, I wished I hadn’t. We had made all the preparations we could on the first day, so all we could do on the second ... http://works.openpagepublishing.com/naughtennymoore/2006/11/01/4-the-voyage-home/ We spent our last day in the Devonian trying to collect enough specimens to make up for the tons of lost payload. I chopped down a large tree, which helped. After that, I went fishing. Since we had no boat, I fished from the amphibious tractor. Carlos and Thatcher came ... http://works.openpagepublishing.com/naughtennymoore/2006/11/01/5-rematch/ After our return from the Devonian, Di spent three days in the hospital, where physicians prepared to amputate her foot if the Devonian bacteria spread any further. Instead, the swelling subsided. However, she remained in the hospital for three weeks, and spent another two months in her apartment. Di’s treatments were ... http://works.openpagepublishing.com/naughtennymoore/2006/11/01/1-escaping-the-past/ One week after our harrowing escape from the Miocene, Dianna and I were at the social function for our new sponsor. At the entrance of the museum, we encountered a strange group of people. One was a slight Asian woman, who looked to be about 45. She wore a short, ... http://works.openpagepublishing.com/naughtennymoore/2006/11/01/2-odd-customers/ The next day, the demonstration of Hodges’ field equipment was performed off-site. Dianna and I drove there together. I was surprised when we saw “Lacerto” Leo’s truck in the parking lot. We walked to a dirt lot where the dusting was to occur. Then we saw the technological apparition that ... http://works.openpagepublishing.com/naughtennymoore/2006/11/01/3-heavy-metal/ Hodges and two body guards, a Japanese man named Lee and one of the elder Schwartz’s stocky, swarthy crew, were still in the hangar. Lee carried a crossbow, and the other guard had a Mauser. The remaining truck was loaded. Several mortar bombs had detonated on the ... http://works.openpagepublishing.com/naughtennymoore/2006/11/01/4-gun-fight-in-the-natural-history-museum/ Carlos raised his gun to shoot. Hodges made a gesture and said a few words. The odds of Carlos’s gun jamming were about 1 in 50,000, but that is exactly what happened. “Please,” he said. Carlos tossed a grenade, one of the same thermate devices he had used in our ... http://works.openpagepublishing.com/naughtennymoore/2006/11/01/5-thus-struck-zaratustra/ “If possible, we should take the people in there alive,” I said as we reached the door to the tower. Not surprisingly, it was locked. “Maybe the access code will work,” I said. “Screw the code.” Carlos shot out the lock with a grenade, and then kicked the door open. We ... http://works.openpagepublishing.com/naughtennymoore/2006/11/01/how-we-saved-the-world-probably/ ca. 2020 - Carlos Wrzniewski born. Zaratustra born. ca. 2030 - Ted is born. Dianna is born. Aryan Ophites founded. 2039 - Zaratustra jailed for murder of an Ophite leader; Arnault Chablan runs highly successful clinic. ca. 2040 - Charles Hodges Jr. becomes patient of Chablan. Serbo-Albanian war begins. 2043 - Zaratustra released ... http://works.openpagepublishing.com/naughtennymoore/2006/11/01/worlds-of-naughtenny-moore-timeline/ A^3 (“A-Cubed”) Eliminator- Caliber 22 mm, length 54 inches, wt. 20 lbs, feed bolt-action with 5-round magazine. This remarkable weapon is the most powerful of a long line of rifles using .50 Browning machine gun cartridges. By modifying the geometry of the cartridge, its designers were able ... http://works.openpagepublishing.com/naughtennymoore/2006/11/01/tech-specs/