Professor Lamark’s Final Lecture

“Professor! Tha–that’s a pterodactyl!” Josh gaped and pointed at the prehistoric creature that soared over the trees below.

Professor Lamark adjusted his glasses. “A pterodactyl? Here? Ridiculous.” He peered over the ledge. Below, the giant bird-creature wheeled toward them and gained altitude.

Lamark harrumphed at his research assistant, who was stuffing his tablet and digital camera into his backpack. “Pterodactyls were never found in North America. Besides, that is far too large to be anything but a Pteronodon! Notice the long beak-”

His final lecture ended as the creature snatched him from the ledge and swallowed him in one gulp.

I never did like those scientific know-it-alls who take great delight in renaming all the dinosaurs so they can go around and correct everyone who still looks at a flying reptile and thinks “pterodactyl” or a colossal plant-eater and thinks “brontosaurus”.

This week’s story is, more or less, a time travel story. I’ve had it in my head to write a couple, except that time travel stories come with a large baggage train. Not only do you have to describe time travel and get around all the common objections so your well-read sci-fi fans can comfortably suspend their disbelief but you also have to be careful not to lose track of things once you do start changing the timeline. In a very short story — and I kept this week’s tale to 100 words for a change! — who has the time?

Maybe the best solution is to blow it all up and have fun. Which does suggest another type of story altogether. Hmm…

Well, we shall see how that shakes out, right? In the meantime, who not try your hand at writing your own story? Keep it to 100 words if you can, like I  did this week, and have fun!