Chapter Two
Morning arrived very soon and they were woken up by an automatic sound. Everybody dressed up and took their green robes on, had breakfast and soon three cigar-shaped 'uragan' aircrafts landed on the little square in front of the house. Bruno got on the first, Agnessa on the second, Bruno and Steven on the third.
"Good morning people!"
The reptilian with shoulder-long, grey hair sitting next to the control panel greeted them. He wore a knee-long, brown and light dress. His face was wrinkled, he could not be too young.
"I am introducing myself to the new human, my name is Karussa. I will be your supervisor at the animal farm. If you disobey my command I have to report you. I hope you will complete your tasks well. If you do not have any questions we can go now," Steven nodded.
The reptilian made a verbal command and the vehicle responded with a mechanical voice, lifted and headed towards one direction. The animal farm was built up in one of the outer districts. It took less than thirty seconds to get there. They gently landed in front of a giant domed building. Karussa got off and the two men followed him.
"This work is not as bad as you may think. Well, it mainly depends on what kind of animals you like to work with," Roger said with a smile on his face.
"Why, what kind of animals are there?" Steven asked the tall and thin man.
"Dangerous and less dangerous, you'll see."
Meanwhile they arrived at the grand silvery double door of the building, with the familiar symbol of the dragon and the stars that Steven already knew well.
"Karussa, I would like to know, why you have seven stars in this symbol?" asked Steven.
"You seem to be interested in the details, newbie. I am in a good mood so I'm going to tell you. The seven stars, symbolize planets and moons in the Solar System, where we have previously had colonies. By now there are only five colonies left. But enough of the chit-chat, let's work!"
They entered a giant, bright hall. There were a lot of animals, surrounded by big metal paddocks, which were at least ten feet high. A hundred animals could comfortably fit in one paddock. There were giant artificial ponds too with sea fishes, sharks, tunas and other smaller fishes. Among the animals Steven could recognize boars, deer, goats, cows and other wild animals, from buffalos to giraffes. But Steven could not believe his eyes when he saw the dinosaurs. He watched these majestic animals with awe. He could only count a few species, a smaller, 5-6 yard tall animal with a long neck, a rhinoceros-like armored reptile with a collar and smaller herbivores on two legs.
"How is it possible? They have been extinct for a long time!" he turned to Roger.
"The reptilians brought them here, before they disappeared from the face of the earth, many thousands of years ago. All the animals you can see here serve as food for them, even the dinosaurs. Although they only eat them on special occasions."
There were a lot of workers at this animal farm, both intelligent machines and reptilians. Hard physical work, like feeding and lifting heavy objects was done by small and flat devices called 'dorgs' that had retractable arms and they could fly. There were lights flashing on them as they were working. Their surface was silvery and glittering, just like the aircrafts'. They were about the size of a beach umbrella.
"Our task is to check all animals and if they do not have enough food or water we have to notify one of the dorgs, those flying machines," Roger explained.
"If one of the animals is sick, we have to notify Karussa."
"That's right, human," their supervisor joined in.
"This hall is enormous, we will walk around forever," Steven replied anxiously.
"Luckily we do not have to walk, do you see those capsule-like two person planes floating above the ground? These, my friend, are the 'gliders', we can drive them too," he pointed to one of the vehicles.
"The newbie will work with you today, show him everything that he needs to know so he can work efficiently. If something is not clear or you need help, I'll be with the dinosaurs. I will check on you later to see if you're working properly," the supervisor added.
Then he got on one of the capsules and disappeared in the labyrinth of paddocks and pathways.
"Come on, let's work or we will be in trouble!" Roger patted Steven's back.
They each got on a glider, which had two palm-formed dents in it. Pushing those made the vehicle go faster, releasing it slowed it down and pushing the right or the left one harder made the plane change directions.
Steven really liked it as it reminded him of his motorbike, although it was gliding above the ground. They began to check on the paddocks. Some animals were running around in alarm, like the horses, others were quietly eating like the cows or the goats. Dinosaurs were promenading gracefully, howling on each other time to time. The men's main task was to check their food if it was the right amount and type the dorgs had brought them. They had to examine their state of health and choose those that were ready to be slaughtered. They got a mercy gun-like weapon for this purpose. One of their worst tasks was the transportation of the manure.