Pauline Mackenzie, Queen of the Prettania Kingdom, was sitting calmly on a seat in her private plane; she normally would work at that time, but she was neither signing papers nor reading a report nor doing anything else she did on a daily basis. She was simply leaning against the window and looking at the horizon.

The queen wasn't very old; she was already sixty, but she wore them very well. Today, however, she seemed aged at least twenty years. Her body seemed to have been completely drained of all energy.

A few seats beyond her sat a blonde woman, who had been observing her for a while. Unlike the queen, she was quite young, but she too seemed to have been deprived of vital energy. After a long moment of silence, she got up and walked over to Pauline. "Your Majesty" she said as soon as she was beside him. "You have nothing to blame. You have done everything possible"

"Don't try to console me, Grace"

"I'm not doing this, I'm speaking honestly. You continued to work until the very end to stop..."

"... our own death?"

The blonde woman bit her lip, then she tried to play it down. "We still don't know if it will end like this... we have to think positively" she said, even though she didn't believe those words either.

Grace Barrows was good with her words. She is very good. Damn good. It could be said that she could convince anyone with the power of her voice. That trait had guaranteed him to rise through the ranks in the court of the Prettania Kingdom to the position of senior advisor to Queen Mackenzie's administration. Yet at that moment he didn't know what to say. Maybe because, for once, she didn't have any positive thoughts in her head.

**********

Two hours before…

Five days after the test, the leaders of the five superpowers were all gathered in the same room.

Silence reigned for a few minutes, then the president of Meilong spoke: "Gentlemen, we have finally obtained the weapon that will allow us to win this war. After the dinosaurs have seen its power, we can be sure that they will be so terrified that they will not dare to raise their heads for a hundred years or more"

"What if it doesn't go like this?" Queen Mackenzie asked instead. "What if they decide to fight to the death instead? What if they become violent?"

"Then we will bomb them more" replied the Emperor of Almagna. "One of these 'nuclear bombs' can raze an entire city to the ground. Drop a good number of them and we will exterminate them in a few days"

"You are crazy!" Pauline exclaimed. "My scientists have studied the effects of the atomic bomb. It doesn't just disintegrate everything in its range, but also releases sediments called radiation. This radiation damages living cells and can even kill them, and can remain in the area for decades or even centuries"

"And what is the problem? It would further avert their return" replied the emperor, playing with his necklace. Pauline was tempted to use it to strangle him.

"Radiation can also move with the winds. They are like the waste emitted by nuclear power plants! According to my scientists, too many of those bombs are enough to alter the entire atmosphere of the planet, making the world unlivable!" Pauline exclaimed. "Not only dinosaurs will pay the price! Humans will also be exterminated!"

Silence fell in the room. Indeed, scientists from all five superpowers had studied the effects of the atomic bomb in the previous days and concluded that they were devastating. In addition, the bomb tested was quite small: the scientists at the Taipan base had revealed all their plans, showing how they planned to create bombs a thousand times more destructive and even more. Scientists predicted that if such bombs were made, it would be enough to detonate just a few hundreds of them to make the planet unlivable.

The leaders of the five superpowers had been informed of this, but it did not seem to change his mind. At least, not most of it. Unfortunately, in wars, how much harm weapons could do was irrelevant: the important thing was to destroy the enemy, at the cost of dragging him to the grave with you.

"I propose a compromise" said the president of Meilong. "We build a limited number of these bombs, and then drop one on the Beleriard as a warning"

"Do you really want to drop a nuclear device against a city populated by humans?" President Palma asked, frowning.

"They chose to take sides against us. They are now the enemy" was the firm reply of the emperor of Almagna.

"I agree" said the president of the Gardarikian Federation.

"Yes. There is no point in worrying about the enemy" said the president of Vinland.

Pauline couldn't believe that those fools could talk about killing hundreds of thousands of people so naturally. Indeed, from their expressions, they seemed almost proud to do so. "They may be enemies, but they are still human beings! Wars also have ethics!"

"I don't think they gave a damn about ethics when they massacred our troops"

"Of course, because after all it is well known that one massacre justifies another one! And what are you hoping to get out of this anyway?"

"Easy: the surrender of those bastards. If the dinosaurs give up, fine; if they don't... well, our show of strength will still be enough to prevent them from provoking us for a while, and at that point we will think about the next move"

Pauline was about to speak, but she was anticipated; it was President Palma who raised his voice: "We all know that the next move will be to drop more nukes! Do you really think the dinosaurs will give up?"

"Faced with such bombs? They would be crazy to resist"

"Or we would be crazy to unhook them!"

"That's enough! Let's put it to a vote. Who is in favor of this plan?"

Only Pauline and Palma were against it; the other leaders agreed. "Very well, it's decided. We will keep the projects secret until we have built a decent paraphernalia, to prevent our enemies from knowing everything. When we have finished building the nuclear bombs... then we will give our demonstration"

The five leaders separated. Pauline ran furiously into the corridor when she was joined by Palma. "Are you okay?"

"Am I okay? Are you really asking me?" the queen had tears in her eyes with anger. "When you have a gun in your hand, you can choose who to shoot at. But this, this doesn't distinguish between guilty and innocent! It is a monstrosity created for the sole purpose of killing! And we are now authorizing mass production of killing machines!" She nearly threw her punch against a wall. "Going to war with the dinosaurs would have brought us to the brink of extinction before. Now we are literally digging our own grave!"

"I know" Palma confirmed with a sad look. "But the decision has now been made"

"A crazy decision!"

"Right. But unfortunately, it will be the one that will be implemented"

And with that said, the president of Meilong walked away, leaving Queen Mackenzie alone with her thoughts. Pauline couldn't suppress a cry of anger.

*********

"Those motherfuckers really don't have the slightest qualms" grumbled the queen as she continued to stare at the sky. It seemed almost strange to her to see the infinite blue so placid, while under it a storm was brewing like never before.

Grace nodded. "Anyway, it's all Croft's fault. If it weren't for that traitor, the atomic bomb would still be just a blueprint on a paper" she grumbled. "I don't know how I'm going to tell Darius... I wouldn't be surprised if he will destroy something"

Pauline barely let out a grunt at the Prime Minister's mention of her. She wished Darius had a solution as usual; because otherwise, the world would really have been on the verge of an end.

The plane landed after about four hours on a runway in the kingdom of Niger. When Pauline got out, a man was standing under the flight of stairs waiting for her, surrounded by at least a hundred men armed to the teeth. "Your Majesty" he greeted her.

"Harris" the queen returned. Harris Edwards was the Secretary of Defense of the Prettania Kingdom and was one of the most prominent men on the court, as well as one of the few she really trusted Pauline.

And she wasn't the only one who trusted him: when Grace got off the plane, Harris welcomed her almost more warmly than she had welcomed the queen. "Senior advisor Barrows"

"Harris, forget the formalities" Grace stopped him immediately giving him a hug.

The man looked somewhat shocked. "Grace, we're in public..." he whispered.

But Grace didn't let him go. "Shut up. I need some comfort right now"

Harris didn't understand, but looking at Pauline's face he realized that something must have happened. "Shall we escort you to the royal palace, your majesty?"

"No" the queen replied. "Take me to the Tanz industries. I need to speak to the prime minister"

Harris was not too surprised by that request. He knew that when the queen didn't quite know how to move, she always asked her prime minister's advice about her. Harris couldn't stand the man, but he knew that when there was a crisis he was the best person to turn to.

It didn't take long to reach the headquarters of the Tanz industries. When they arrived, the building had already been completely cleared. The three entered the palace alone; after all, that chat had to remain a secret.

As soon as they were in the hall, a voice came from above: "Seriously, you could have given me a little early. I had to send everyone home in less than twenty minutes"

Grace, Pauline, and Harris looked towards the top of a flight of stairs where a man had appeared. The two women smiled slightly, while the secretary of defense just grumbled.

It was him: Darius Tanz, owner of the Tanz industries, brilliant mind and avant-garde in the field of technology, space research magnate and prime minister of the Prettania Kingdom. Billionaire, genius, scientist, inventor, playboy, philanthropist and very often solver of international problems. His perfect, angular face matched harmoniously with his shaved beard and curly hair that framed his beautiful eyes to send her.

"Darius, no jokes yet" Harris said. "This is serious"

"Oh, I know it's serious" Darius replied as he walked down the stairs. "Otherwise Grace wouldn't have texted me asking me to clear the Tanz industries so quickly. Can I know what the fuck is going on?"

"Long story..." Pauline began to explain, but then she stopped. "Darius, didn't you say you sent all the staff home?"

Two people had appeared behind the billionaire, a boy and a girl. "Good morning, your majesty" they greeted respectfully.

Harris put on a frown. "Darius, I can understand that you took Liam under your wing, but that doesn't give you permission to let him participate in a state affair with his girlfriend. No offense to both of us" he added looking at the two boys.

"Harris is right" Grace said. "Liam, Jillian, get out of here now. This is not your business"

"Oh, but I really think so" Darius objected. "In the message you sent me, Grace, the word 'Croft' was written. Consequently, I believe that the two of them have the right to know what that son of a bitch did"

Grace kind of agreed with Darius. Looking at Liam, she immediately noticed how the boy was apprehensive about the 'Croft' topic. After all, it was personal to him. However, this did not allow them to attend a secret meeting. "Guys…"

"Okay, they can stay" Pauline teased.

"Your Majesty?" Harris exclaimed.

"I don't feel like arguing. As long as the present Prime Minister assures me that they won't open their mouths about what is being said here, they can listen" the queen said looking at Darius, who nodded promptly, declaring his total trust in the two boys.

Harris and Grace did not fully agree with the decision, but did not object. After all, that was an order from the queen. "So, let's get the elephant out of the room: what has Croft been up to?" Darius asked.

Pauline sighed. "He did THAT, Darius. He built the atomic bomb"

Darius's jovial air died in an instant. From smiling, his face went from shocked to severe to pissed off, and his eyebrows arched dangerously as he clenched his trembling fists.

However, it was not he who spoke, it was Liam. The boy had turned white as a rag and he had leaned on his girlfriend to stand up. "No" he whispered. "It can not be"

Pauline said nothing. She knew there was no need for explanations. Those people already knew what the nuclear bomb was... because they had contributed to its creation.

Until a year earlier, Malcolm Croft had been an employee of the Tanz Industries. One of Darius' best men. Diligent, expert in every field of physics, punctual every day. Darius had given him a lot of leeway by allowing him access to all the materials he needed. And not only that... he had also been Liam's mentor.

And then, everything had changed. Like all tech companies in the world, the Tanz industries had begun to research something that could defeat the dinosaurs. Darius had hoped that with their united minds he, Liam and Croft could create something that would end the war... and indeed Croft had succeeded, but the price to pay was too high.

When Darius first saw the plans for the atomic bomb, he immediately realized how dangerous it could be. A few calculations had been enough in his study to realize that that weapon could potentially unleash an apocalypse so terrible that it wiped out almost every form of life on the planet.

So, Darius had contacted Pauline, Harris and Grace and told them everything. By mutual agreement, the queen had forbidden Croft to pursue research on that weapon and to talk to anyone about it. The scientist hadn't taken the news well. "This weapon is not that difficult to make. Soon others will get there too. If it isn't me it will be someone else!" he had protested. But anyway, his project had been blocked.

But Croft hadn't been willing to give up. He wanted to see his he name of him scientist recognized all over the world and was convinced that atomic bombs were the key to winning against the dinosaurs. Liam had tried several times to make him think, showing him simulations after simulations that showed how Eden would be reduced to a wasteland and barren, but Croft hadn't wanted to hear reasons.

And so he had betrayed everyone: he had stolen the blueprints and sold himself to the Pengland Empire, which was obviously willing to let him develop the new weapon and had not been greedy for resources. Liam had tried to stop him but it hadn't helped; Croft had tried to convince him to go with him, but the boy was lucid enough to understand that the path his mentor was taking was the wrong one. The two had fought, and Liam nearly killed Croft by mistake. But in the end, the scientist fled.

Croft had betrayed his friends, his protégé, his boss, his country, everyone; he had left behind a group of people very worried about the future and a psychologically broken Liam. And sadly, it looked like Croft had now completed his death work.

Now, thanks to the man named Malcolm Croft, the world was ready to be destroyed.