Terrible Lizards

For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a soft spot for dinosaurs. What kid didn’t, right? Although my interest was a little more extreme, bordering on obsession. I would constantly pretend to be a dinosaur (alarming some of my elders, who feared I was retarded) harangue adults with speeches on the difference between deinonychus and velociraptor, and proudly and repeatedly declared my intention to become a paleontologist when I grew up. Alas, I did not – one of my greater life regrets. They still fascinate me now. They ruled the Earth for far longer than we’re ever likely to, yet were extinguished so quickly. One thing I often wonder is: will our popular legacy echo theirs? Maybe one day ‘Terrible Apes’ will delight and haunt the fantasies of future creatures, evoking violence, death and a strange sense of beauty. We can but hope.