Free Paradeisia: Origin of Paradise by B.C.CHASE Page A

to be a heck of a landing.”
    Lady Shrewsbury departed, saying, “I'll see you on the other side, ladies.”
    As Aubrey turned back to the window, she was surprised to see how close they had come.  A myriad of details had now become visible.  There was a port with two long piers stretching out from the coastline. A monstrous cargo ship with the words IntraWorld Logistics printed on the bow was docked at one of them.  Containers with large white print that read “WARNING: LIVE CARGO” were being swung by a crane from the vessel toward a dock where rows of semi-trucks waited and tiny workers milled about.
    Situated on the plain that stretched out from the coast to the mountainous ridges was what Aubrey recognized as their target: the airport.  There were several runways with a maze of asphalt between them.  These were edged by a shiny glass terminal.
    As the plane circled around over the mountainous ridges to align with the runway, it began to shudder, first one wing raising up and then the other.  The bumps and jolts of descent became so bad that a knot formed in Aubrey's stomach.
    She was thrilled.
    The airport was obscured by a ridge ahead.  They passed over so closely that the sound of the jet engines reverberated back off the rocks and it looked like the tree branches would strike the bottom of the plane.
    Finally, the wheels bounced on the runway and Aubrey loosened what she realized was a white-knuckled grip she'd had on her armrests.  The plane pulled around toward the terminal and then stopped about three plane lengths away, the scream of the engines slowly winding down.
     
    When the door opened, a blast of warm, salty tropical air blew into the cabin.  Before long everyone had exited the plane down a flight of steps to sit on a waiting open-air shuttle.  Aubrey breathed in the scent of the sea in the wind that whipped her face as the shuttle sped them toward the terminal.
    There was a large opening in the glass wall that the shuttle rolled through.  Soaring 100 feet above was a glass roof supported by a network of triangular trusses.  Reaching up towards the ceiling was a row of thin-trunked, erect palm trees that lined a platform where the shuttle came to a squeaky stop.
    Music with an African chorus, brilliant trumpets, and a strong jungle beat echoed from hidden speakers.  A sonorous voice spoke over the music, "Welcome to Paradeisia:" the voice paused for emphasis, "Eden on Earth."
    Suddenly, the same sonorous Anglican voice, but very close, very cheerful and no longer echoing, said, “At long last you've finally arrived!  I thought you'd never get here, and by 'never,' I do mean not ever.”
     
     
    China Academy of Sciences
     
    Yue Zhang, the Xiàoz hă ng (head) of the China Academy of Sciences, was an impatient man, prone to fits of anger when things were not going according to his timeline.  But he was also sensible, highly intelligent, and equitable.  He had been a near-failing student in school himself, and did not possess a PhD in any field, but his aptitude at management was second-to-none.  It was for this reason that he had led China's most venerable science institution for the last ten years.
    Short, with a round face and piercing black eyes under thick eyebrows, he looked down at Doctor Ming-Zhen from an especially large desk and tall chair.  Zhang said, “I am sure you have heard of the calls for your resignation?”
    Doctor Ming-Zhen looked down, “I have considered resigning myself, for the sake of the Academy.”
    “And what has stopped you?” the superior inquired sharply.
    Doctor Ming-Zhen looked up and said calmly, “I did nothing wrong.”
    Zhang took a deep breath, casting a glance out the window as if he longed to be somewhere else, and said, “Now you know you have already tried everything.  No amount of photographs, documentation, radioisotope dating, or remains will satisfy them.  They've taken thousands of samples of the fossils and done their own