CRETACEOUS SEA
Will Hubbell
If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as "unsold and destroyed" to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this "stripped book." This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
CRETACEOUS SEA
An Ace Book / published by arrangement with the author
PRINTING HISTORY
Ace mass-market edition / November 2002
Copyright © 2002 by Will Hubbell.
Cover art by Les Edwards.
Cover design by Judith Murello.
Text design by Julie Rogers.
All rights reserved.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission. For information address: The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Putnam Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014. Visit our website at www.penguinputnam.com
Check out the ACE Science Fiction & Fantasy newsletter!
ISBN: 0-441-00989-1
ACE® Ace Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Putnam Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
ACE and the "A" design are trademarks belonging to Penguin Putnam Inc. PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
10 987654321
Dedicated to Richard Clements Hubbell
1949-1971 Vivere in cordibus quae ament est non mori.
1
CON'S COMSET SILENTLY VIBRATED. SHE SURREPTItiously removed it from her pocket and glanced at its screen when her calculus teacher turned his back. The message from Mother was short and cryptic—"Your father called. Has sur-prise. Limo to meet you after school." Con wondered what the surprise could be. She doubted Mother knew. Most likely, it was another of her father's sporadic and extravagant ges-tures, like the horse she received a month after he forgot her sixteenth birthday. The limo was a dead giveaway.
Limousines were common at Con's school, so no one be-trayed any interest when she departed in a big hydrogen-electric Mercedes. It took her to an office building in a fashionable district of the city. When the driver opened the car door, Con's father was waiting outside. Con groaned in-wardly when she saw that he had his new fiancee with him. Con recognized her from the tabloids, but she was even more striking in person. Curvaceous, with intense green eyes and dramatic black hair, she seemed too perfect to be real. Con suspected little of her was.
"Hi, Daddy," she said.
"Hi, honey. I'd like you to meet Sara."
"Hi," said Con. "I've seen you on the news."
"Don't believe everything they say," said Sara, smiling and extending her hand. "I've been looking forward to meet-ing you. John's told me so much about you."
Con shook Sara's hand. "Don't believe everything Daddy says about me."
"He says only the nicest things."
"That's what I mean."
"We're expected," said John Greighton impatiently, ush-ering his daughter and his fiancee inside. An elevator took them to an expensively decorated office on one of the upper floors. As soon as they entered, a receptionist rose to greet them. "Mr. Greighton," she said, "welcome to Montana Isle. Ms. Smythe is expecting you."
Con watched the aforementioned Ms. Smythe advance to-ward them. She was elegantly dressed, and her smiling face had been redone in the currently fashionable angular look. Con recognized the designer. The surgery was almost cer-tainly a knockoff, but it was well-done. None of the exag-gerated planes of Ms. Smythe's face seemed overly unnatural.
"Mr. Greighton, I'm so pleased you've come. I'm Ann Smythe. I can answer your questions about our unique of-fering."
John Greighton shook her offered hand. "This is my fi-ancee, Sara Boyton, and my daughter, Constance."
Con spoke up and corrected him, "It's 'Con.' "
"Will Constance accompany you and Sara, Mr. Greigh-ton?" asked Ann.
" If we go ... yes. You weren't very clear about the nature of your resort. What you told me was intriguing, but vague ... damned vague."
"We've been secretive," admitted Ann, "I think soon you'll understand why. This is something extraordinary, and we're not catering to the general public. Our clientele appre-ciates privacy." Ann, a consummate salesperson, paused for effect before proceeding. "If you're expecting a sales pitch, don't worry. This isn't just a resort. Words can't possibly describe Montana Isle. It's almost beyond belief, nothing is remotely like it. Fortunately, we have this ..."
A pair of doors glided open to reveal two seats floating in a short hallway that led to a large, empty room. The chamber beyond was spherical, and the hallway formed an opening halfway up its sides. The room's shimmering silver walls revealed it was a holotheater. Over thirty feet in diameter, it was the largest Con had ever seen. Ann appeared pleased with the effect such a huge expenditure made on her pro-spective customers; even John Greighton seemed impressed.
"Only a holovision could possibly convey what we're of-fering. You'll be the first people outside our organization to see it." Ann gestured toward the two waiting seats. Mr. Greighton, why don't you and Sara get comfortable while I get another seat for your daughter." Con watched Ann and the receptionist struggle to lug a heavy seat to the hallway from a nearby supply closet. Once it was in place, Ann went to a console outside the hall and activated some controls. The seat levitated upward to the proper height. Con walked over to the floating seat and sat down. Once Ann saw that everyone was buckled in, she re-turned to the console, pressed a button, and the outer doors of the holotheater closed.
Con's seat bobbed slightly as it levitated to the center of the holotheater. Once she was in position, the chamber's sil-ver walls darkened until she could barely see her father and his fiancee floating close by. The holovision began subtly. First, the darkness above was pricked by stars. The soft sounds of water became perceptible. Con looked down and saw the starlight reflected on the gentle waves of a sea. For a short while, all she could see was water and the night sky.
The waves continued to move in a natural manner, but the sky changed at a pace accelerated for dramatic effect. It light-ened, and soon dawn painted the heavens with increasingly bold colors, which the waves reflected back. On the horizon, snowcapped mountains glowed orange pink in the day's first light. The sun rose higher, and its rays touched the sea, seem-ing to set it on fire. It rose higher still, and the water, which had blazed rosy gold just moments before, became clear. Con peered into its crystal depths. A school of fish swam beneath, the sunrise sparkling pink and gold on their silver scales. A huge, dark green creature swam into the school, flapping its front flippers like wings. The animal's long and snakelike neck thrust its head among the fleeing fish, grabbing one. Next, the creature swam upward until its head and neck burst through the waves. It seemed so close that Con could stare into its golden eyes. A large fish flapped crosswise in its jaws. As Con stared in wonder at the plesiosaur, she heard Sara squeal like she was at an amusement park. The creature, being only an illusion, ignored them both. It flipped the fish into the air and caught it to swallow headfirst. Then, arching its neck downward, the animal submerged and swam off into the depths.
The view began to change again. Soon Con felt that she was flying rapidly over the surface of the sea. Only the lack of wind in her face made the illusion incomplete. The sense of motion was accompanied by music, then words. "Come to the springtime of the world... a time when the Earth was new ... unspoiled