literature

Ismeme: Ankylosaurus Historian

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Literature Text

Prologue:

In an alternate reality there exists a world quite like our own Earth.  In this world, the dinosaurs never went extinct, and the climate never changed.  Over time the dinosaurs evolved and they acquired  the ability to communicate with a complex language system.  Additionally, dinosaur society changed.  Now, the dinosaurs have a wide range of professions: academic, military, medicine, culinary arts, stone architect, ect.  The modern professions are balanced with the old ways of basic survival, eating, and reproduction.

Now let's turn our attention to one resident of this world…

Ismeme is a member of the Ankylosaurus clan of dinosaurs.  She shares many of the traits typical of her clan of dinosaurs: walks on all fours, eats plant life, possesses armor, and uses a clubbed tail for defense.  Additionally, their bodies are low-slung and wide and weigh around 13,000 pounds.

Beyond these typical traits, Ismeme possesses unique traits all her own.  Currently, she is 88 years old, and has the distinction in her herd of being the longest lived member.  Her eyes are a pale blue.  This eye color is uncommon among her herd.  So many of Ismeme's herd have green, grey, and brown eyes.  Ismeme's skin is a light brown, and her armor is a much darker brown.  Her armor is also scuffed from defending herself against Theropods.  Ismeme has a scar that runs length-wise down her left cheek.  In her youth she was attacked by Bairbre of the Deinonychus clan.  As Ismeme collected stones near the Great River, Bairbre sneaked up on her.  Then Bairbe used her clawed foot to attempt to blind Ismeme.  Bairbre, however, missed Ismeme's eye and instead cut her cheek.  Ismeme then pretended to retreat from Bairbre, and feigned weakness.  Bairbre darted near Ismeme's backside to try to cut off her retreat.  Then Ismeme swung her clubbed tail at Bairbre.  Ismeme shattered both of Bairbre's knees, and left her to her demise.  Since that attack Ismeme abhorred bullies.

The aforementioned stones are an important aspect of Ismeme's role in her herd.  Ever since the age of 20, she has been the herd's official historian- the recorder and storyteller of all the herd's knowledge, families, and achievements.  Ismeme uses her toes on her forefeet to paint pictographic symbols of the herd's history.  The painted stones in combination with storytelling imparts the herd's history to the audience.   

In her youth, Ismeme was very shy and enjoyed reading stories at the herd's stone library. She felt uncomfortable around new Ankylosaurus' too.  Once, however, Ismeme spent time and listened to the new Ankylosaurus' she grew somewhat more comfortable around them.  This listening aspect led others to view Ismeme as quiet when in actuality she was learning about that individual to know how to interact with them.  Ismeme's parents knew the reasons for their daughter's shyness, and noticed her love of stories.  The role of storyteller seemed uncannily natural to their daughter.  Ismeme's shyness seemed to leave her during her telling a story to others.  They encouraged and supported Ismeme's travels to be educated by the historians of the other Ankylosaurus herds.  Adelpha, a younger sibling, helped Ismeme become a better artist of pictographs.

As herd historian, Ismeme currently is the midst of three projects.  Ismeme is training her niece Kassiopeia to be a historian.  Also, Ismeme tries to interest all the younglings of the herd in history.  She frequently shares stories with them, and gives plant treats to them if they can recall information from previous stories.  And, finally, Ismeme is organizing a grand conference of historians from the different dinosaur clans: the Sauropoda, the Ankylosauria, the Ceratopsia, the Ornithopods, and the Stegosauria.  It has been difficult for Ismeme to arrange the Theropod historians to come to the conference.  So far the Theropods have refused to abstain from eating the other dinosaurs at the conference.  The conference will the first of its kind in the history of the dinosaurs.  And Ismeme wants to learn all she can from the other dinosaur clans, and to hopefully learn the origin of the dinosaurs.
This is my entry for a contest being held by :iconzimeta08: : Old People in Art!

The contest challenged me to undertake creating a new character. I didn't want my character to be a stereotype of "old". The character did much in her youth, and she still is striving and contributing to family and society. Overall, this is leap from my usual fan fiction/ collages inspired by my favorite comic book character-Supergirl. :superman:

I was inspired by several areas:

1) Dinosaurs have fascinated me for years so I definitely wanted my character to be a prehistoric animal.

2) The names for my characters come from the Greek and Irish cultures. Ismeme means knowledge in Greek, and is appropriate for a historian. And Bairbre is Irish for foreign and strange.

3) My own life experience: like Ismeme, I'm a shy person and quiet around new people at first. I try to find common ground with others through stories. Also, I love to read. Finally, I'm a historian myself, and earned an B.A. in history.

4) The science fiction concept of alternate realities was helpful in making a new world for my character. My character could now have a profession while retaining the dinosaur's basic needs and massive size.
© 2011 - 2024 JohnMichael007
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cameoanderson's avatar
That is so cool and original!