This is a review of the short story Think Like a Dinosaur by James Patrick Kelly.

1. Think Like a Dinosaur
James Patrick Kelly

2. James Patrick Kelly
 Primarily a short story writer.
 Master of “literary” SF.
 Multiple award winner. Won 1996
Hugo for “Think Like a Dinosaur.”
 All around nice guy…just like
Michael Burr, in his story…

3. The Milieu & Set-Up
 Where are we?
 Tuulen Space Station, in Earth’s orbit.
 What’s the date?
 June 22, 2069.
 Can humans travel to the stars?
 What happens on the Tuulen Station?
 Migration…

4. Migration
 What’s the usual process?
 You get coated in nano-bots.
 You get into the “Big Marble.”
 It’s cut in half and closes down on
you until you’re encased – and
totally immobile.
 You get quantum zapped across the
galaxy. Or do you?
 What happens to the “you” on this
end? What’s the “white button”?
 Why?
 To “balance the equation.”
 To avoid time and space paradoxes.
 To avoid filling the universe with
duplicate people.

5. The “Dinosaurs”
 Who are the Dinos?
 An alien race, the Hanan.
 What have they done for humanity?
 What sort of hold do they have over
us?
 Without them, travel to the stars is
shut off.
 They look reptilian, but more
importantly…
 They think reptilian.
 What do they call humans?
 Weeps. Babies. Why?

6. Michael Burr
 What does he call himself?
 The doorman.
 What’s his main area of training?
 Sapientology. The study of
sapience…which is?
 “Wisdom, intelligence.” What is our
species?
 Homo sapiens.
 What’s his job?
 To press the button that kills the
migrator.
 What’s his real job, that even the
Dinos may not be aware of?
 To make sure the Dinos stay happy
and don’t shut down humanity’s
gateway to the stars.

7. Michael as Doorman
 What other characters in myth and
legend are “doormen”?
 Charon, the old ferryman at the River
Styx
 Cerebus, the three-headed dog at the
gates of Hades
 Heimdall, guardian of the bridge into
Asgard
 The Grim Reaper
 Others?
 What do they have in common?
 A desire to
 do their jobs
 act as forces of nature
 not be put off by all the human
suffering they witness

8. Kamala Shastri
 Where’s she going, and what’s she
going to study?
 Does she know how the process
works?
 What’s her state of mind when she
arrives?
 Courageous
 Frightened, but determined to put
up a calm front
 What about when she returns, three
years later?
 Cold and self-assured
 Wants to migrate again

9. The “Secret”
 What “secret” does Michael tell
Kamala?
 About switching the crosses on the
priest and the nun’s grave.
 Why does he do this?
 Why does he undo this?
 What did he tell the Dinos about it
and why? P. 244.
 Why does he tell her this story?
 Is Michael being sadistic?

10. Kamala’s story
 What was she doing with the old
woman when she was younger?
 Which Kamala finishes the story?
 What does she say; what’s the
twist?
 Why is do you think it might be
important “who” tells the ending to
Michael?
 What does this say about the “two”
Kamalas? Are they really just
copies?

11. What happens in the Migrator?
 Does the Kamala that migrates to
Genn and returns feel anything as
she dies?
 What about the Kamala that
remains?
 Was this just a psychological
reaction to her fear and
entrapment, or real pain?
 Does it matter?
 Might it happen to every migrater?

12. And then…
 The process is momentarily
interrupted.
 Turns out everything went okay,
except…
 Kamala here on Tuulen Station is
not dead.
 And she won’t go back into the
device, so it can kill her.
 What does Michael say to the Dinos
and how do they reply?
 P. 249-250.
 What does Michael then do…?

13. Climax
 Why does Michael decide to space
her?
 Equations must be balanced or the
Dinos will leave and humanity will
be trapped in a galactic backwater
for eons
 Is Michael conflicted? Heck yes.
 How does he do it?
 What does Kamala do?
 What is his reaction? p. 251.
 Why does he react this way?

14. Aftermath…
 What does “Kamala” remember
when she returns?
 What does it mean to “think like a
dinosaur”?
 What might we be giving up if we
do?
 What might we be gaining?
 Does scientific discovery make it
inevitable that humans will learn to
“think like a dinosaur”?
 Does Michael?
 Will Michael ever step into that
teleporter?
 Hell, no.