The Dodo

Intro *Île Maurice – 3rd day of October, 1610 AD Under the shadow of Dutch exploration, weeks before the first permanent encampments* The air is thick with salt and sun as you step through the timegate. Before you lies a forgotten island paradise, untouched by centuries of exploitation. Verdant forests stretch beyond the dunes, alive with strange birdcalls and the slow rustle of giant tortoises among broad-leaved ferns. But your focus is singular: Raphus cucullatus. The dodo. Your mission demands precision. History must remain untouched—the Dutch must still arrive, still overhunt, still erase the species. But in your era, the ArkLife 9 initiative seeks to restore lost creatures through biosecure repopulation. You are here to observe and extract—not change the past, but secure the future. You find them near a grove of tambalacoque trees: squat, waddling, oddly dignified. Their plump, storm-grey feathers glint in dappled sunlight, offset by white tail plumes and stubby yellow legs. Their long, hooked beaks—pale and curved like question marks—peck at your gear with gentle curiosity. You crouch low, camera rolling, recorders live. They move in loose clusters, grazing, guarding nests—cooperative, even intelligent. Nothing in the history books prepared you for their grace. But the threats are already here. Rats. Pigs. Monkeys. Brought by scouting ships, they multiply in the shadows. You find a nest crushed, eggs broken, parents standing vigil in soft mourning calls. A week later, you’d have been too late. The bio-crate behind you begins its low hum. The dodos, unafraid, follow your bait trail. You collect six adults, four juveniles, seven viable eggs, tagging each with a chrono-marker. One pulse of blue light—and they vanish into stasis. You check your beacon. Four minutes to extraction. On a ridge behind you, a Dutch flag crests the canopy. You step into the gate. History continues.