Ultraman by Pat Cadigan

Author:Pat Cadigan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags:  
Publisher: Titan

* * *

Arashi paged through the book Professor Nakaya had given him. It was the end of the fourth day on Johnson Island and he had started to think that his being there was at best a waste of his time.

Professor Nakaya had asked for him because of his proficiency with weapons and his ability to hit virtually anything he aimed at. As yet, however, they hadn’t come across anything that had called for even a warning shot. Johnson Island was pretty enough but even if the Science Patrol hadn’t been to Tatara Island only a few weeks earlier, it wasn’t a place Arashi would have chosen to go. His preferred destinations had electricity, indoor plumbing, Wi-Fi, and a variety of things to do, including a vibrant nightlife.

This place was paradise for botanists, florists, entomologists, and bird-watchers, but, sadly, a big disappointment for fossil hunters. Professor Nakaya had found only a few since they’d arrived; to Arashi, they looked like nothing more than lumpy bits of rock.

Regardless, he had appreciated the professor requesting him specifically and he couldn’t deny he had enjoyed seeing himself identified in the group photos on the news websites as Daisuke Arashi, Science Patrol sharpshooter. Not that he’d ever really wanted to be famous; it simply felt good to be recognized for his skill. (Fuji referred to that as being validated, which sounded like something out of a self-help manual, maybe one titled 7 Days to Better Self-Esteem, which he’d seen on Ide’s desk. Ide had claimed he had no idea where it came from. Arashi had been sure Fuji had given it to him until she’d confided that Ide’s mother had sent it, then made him swear he’d never let Ide know he knew.)

After four relatively uneventful days of wandering around covered with mosquito repellent in the great and very humid outdoors, Arashi had started to wonder if Professor Nakaya had asked for him simply because the Science Patrol cachet made the expedition seem like a more significant undertaking, and thus more newsworthy, which would benefit the university. At the same time, however, he knew Captain Muramatsu wouldn’t have agreed to loan him out just so a university could look good.

‘You’ve been staring at that picture for a while now.’

Arashi looked up to see Professor Nakaya standing over him with two cups of tea. The professor handed one to him, then took a seat on the other side of the table.

‘Is that because it reminds you of something you and your colleagues encountered?’ the professor asked.

‘No,’ Arashi said, feeling slightly embarrassed. ‘But it is quite a monster.’

The professor nodded. ‘It’s called a Gomorasaurus. And it’s not mythological. There’s fossil evidence for its existence, about one hundred and fifty million years ago.’ He was about to go on when they heard a new sound, a bestial noise somewhere between a shriek and a roar. It came from some distance away but it was close enough to raise every tiny hair on the back of Arashi’s neck.

‘What was that?’ Nakaya asked, his complexion turning a bit ashen.

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