White Mountain Sun

Introduction

Jurassic Park.

Part of the reason why Velociraptor became such a famous genus, this 90s movie has a place in the heart of every dinosaur enthusiast, young and old. Be it a place of love or a place of utter loathing, none can say that they haven't thought about it at least once. Jurassic Park was (and still is) a classic; from the iconic Brachiosaurus scene to the frightening Tyrannosaurus, we were wowed from the moment the dinosaurs stepped on-screen.

But Jurassic Park was not a documentary, and try as hard as Spielberg might, he simply could not portray the Velociraptors as they truly were. Whether it was the Hollywood stars in his eyes or a desire to "upgrade" them for the silver screen, he created intelligent, scaly, snake-eyed monsters who hunted down children merely for the fun of it. Although he was later revealed to be trying to represent Deinonychus, the damage was done. Velociraptor's fate was sealed.

From movies to books to shows to toys, false information was spread about the turkey-sized, feathered dromaeosaur. Children were growing up believing lies about the creatures they so dearly loved.

And, with our advancing genetic science, I found myself wondering—if Velociraptor could be recreated, would it be the feathery little beastie that lived millions of years ago? Or would they be the murderous monsters the public so dearly loved?

And I thought to myself: if dinosaurs were recreated in 2020, what would the Velociraptors behave like? Would they be able to live in the wild?

And I felt my eyes stray to my bookshelf, where eleven or so inaccurate figures posed in front of my encyclopedias, mouths open in eternal roars. Some were lucky enough to have feathered arms and tails, but most were scaly and loyal to a science fiction movie from the twentieth century. I didn't like that they were inaccurate, but their designs—their patterns, their bright eyes, their faint smirks—drew me in and kept me hooked.

Slowly, surely, I picked up the green-and-blue figure, the one who would later become this book's protagonist, and studied her. Studied her feathers, studied her teeth, studied her flashing amber eyes.

...And I thought to myself, Well, inaccurate figures aren't so bad.

Because, in her gaze, I saw a story.

And, I swore to myself, I would tell it.