A dinosaur detective investigates a suspicious death while confronting an identity-based revolution that threatens humans and dinosaurs alike.
Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases
Hidden Dinosaur Society
The story establishes an alternate world where evolved dinosaurs live among humans under holographic disguises. Vincent and Ernie are introduced as private investigators.
Key Events
Dinosaurs Live Among Humans — Evolved humanoid dinosaurs live among humans while concealing their identities with holographic disguises. Characters: Vincent Rubio, Ernie WatsonLocation: Human society
The Detective Partnership — Vincent and Ernie work together as dinosaur private investigators. Characters: Vincent Rubio, Ernie WatsonLocation: Private investigation work
A Suspicious Death — Ernie's ex-girlfriend's brother is found dead, and the death is dismissed as suicide. Characters: Vincent Rubio, Ernie WatsonLocation: The victim's residence
The Investigation Request — The dead man's sister asks Ernie to investigate because she does not believe he killed himself. Characters: Vincent Rubio, Ernie WatsonLocation: The victim's residence
The Window Scent — Vincent detects another dinosaur's scent on the windowsill and rejects the suicide explanation. Characters: Vincent Rubio, Ernie WatsonLocation: Crime scene
The False Suicide
A death is dismissed as suicide, but a request for investigation brings Vincent and Ernie to the crime scene. Vincent's discovery of another dinosaur's scent proves that the case is more dangerous than it appears.
Key Events
The Funeral Begins — Vincent and Ernie attend the funeral connected to the suspicious death. Characters: Vincent Rubio, Ernie WatsonLocation: Funeral
The Strange Suit — Vincent speaks with a strangely dressed man associated with the deceased's cult. Characters: Vincent Rubio, Ernie WatsonLocation: Funeral
An Infiltration Plan — Vincent pretends to share interest in the cult's ideals and gains an invitation for himself and Ernie. Characters: Vincent Rubio, Ernie WatsonLocation: Funeral
The Killer Is Nearby — Vincent detects the victim's bedroom scent again, indicating that the killer is nearby. Characters: Vincent Rubio, Ernie WatsonLocation: Funeral
Secrets of the Cult
The partners infiltrate a funeral-linked cult and learn that it rejects the disguises that hide dinosaur identity. Vincent is drawn toward its grievances, while Ernie remains comparatively detached.
Key Events
Entering the Cult Meeting — Vincent and Ernie attend a gathering of the Voice of Progress under false investigative pretenses. Characters: Vincent Rubio, Ernie WatsonLocation: Cult meeting
The Cult's History — The cult explains that prolonged disguise use has damaged dinosaurs' sense of unique identity. Characters: Vincent Rubio, Ernie WatsonLocation: Cult meeting
The Identity Doctrine — The cult argues that humans made dinosaurs view themselves as monsters and humans as normal. Characters: Vincent Rubio, Ernie WatsonLocation: Cult meeting
Vincent Is Influenced — Vincent is profoundly affected by the cult's beliefs, while Ernie appears indifferent to them. Characters: Vincent Rubio, Ernie WatsonLocation: Cult meeting
Revolution Revealed
Further investigation uncovers a plan to create violent feral dinosaurs and unleash them on humans. The intended conflict would expose dinosaurs and destroy the fragile separation between the two communities.
Key Events
The Investigation Deepens — The partners continue investigating until the cult's larger plan begins to emerge. Characters: Vincent Rubio, Ernie WatsonLocation: Investigation sites
A Violent Revolution — They discover a plan to turn cult members into violent feral dinosaurs and release them against humans. Characters: Vincent Rubio, Ernie WatsonLocation: Cult network
The Planned Exposure — The planned conflict is intended to force humans and dinosaurs to confront each other openly. Characters: Vincent Rubio, Ernie WatsonLocation: Human society
The Disguise Crisis — The revolution threatens the concealment system that has allowed dinosaurs to live among humans. Characters: Vincent Rubio, Ernie WatsonLocation: Human-dinosaur society
A Divided Allegiance
Vincent sympathizes with the cult's identity crisis but rejects its violent solution. He understands that the planned revolution could devastate both humans and dinosaurs, leaving his allegiance unresolved.
Key Events
The Disguise Crisis — The revolution threatens the concealment system that has allowed dinosaurs to live among humans. Characters: Vincent Rubio, Ernie WatsonLocation: Human-dinosaur society
Vincent Rejects Violence — Vincent sympathizes with the cult's grievances but rejects its violent revolutionary strategy. Characters: Vincent Rubio, Ernie WatsonLocation: Investigation sites
Both Sides At Risk — Vincent recognizes that the proposed violence could end in disaster for both humans and dinosaurs. Characters: Vincent Rubio, Ernie WatsonLocation: Human-dinosaur society
Vincent's Unresolved Choice — Vincent remains unsure which side he belongs to as the hidden conflict threatens both communities. Characters: Vincent Rubio, Ernie WatsonLocation: Human-dinosaur society
Story Breakdown
Hidden World — The story introduces evolved dinosaurs living secretly within human society.
Dinosaur Survival — Dinosaurs survived the extinction event and evolved into humanoid forms.
Holographic Disguises — Dinosaurs conceal their identities with hard-light holographic disguises.
Detective Partnership — Vincent and Ernie investigate cases together as private investigators.
Vincent Rubio — Vincent is a Velociraptor investigator who notices details others miss.
Ernie Watson — Ernie is Vincent's Triceratops partner in the investigation.
Suspicious Death — A supposedly self-inflicted death becomes the investigation's first major mystery.
Suicide Dismissal — The death is initially treated as suicide.
Window Scent — Vincent finds evidence of another dinosaur at the crime scene.
Funeral Infiltration — The funeral leads the investigators toward the secretive Voice of Progress.
Strange Suit — Vincent encounters a strangely dressed cult-associated man.
False Interest — Vincent pretends to support the cult's ideals to gain access.
Identity Doctrine — The cult frames disguise use as a cultural loss imposed by human society.
Lost Uniqueness — The cult believes disguises have robbed dinosaurs of their identity.
Monsters And Normals — The cult argues that humans taught dinosaurs to see themselves as monsters.
Revolution Threat — The investigation uncovers a plan to expose dinosaurs through organized violence.
Feral Transformation — Cult members are intended to become violent feral dinosaurs.
Human Confrontation — The transformed dinosaurs would be released against humans.
Moral Uncertainty — Vincent sympathizes with the cult's grievances but rejects its destructive methods.
Rejecting Violence — Vincent believes a violent revolution could end disastrously.
Unresolved Allegiance — Vincent remains unsure which side he belongs to.
The dinosaurs didn't go completely extinct when the asteroids hit 65 million years ago. Today, every ten thousandth person in the country is a dinosaur, evolved to be human-sized, wearing sophisticated solid-light holographic disguises to maintain the facade, getting stoned off regular cooking herbs like basil, rosemary and tarragon, and living by their own shadow government's laws; any human who stumbles upon them is to be immediately executed. Two dino private investigators, velociraptor Vincent Rubio and triceratops Ernie Watson, are hired by one of Ernie's old girlfriends to find out why her younger brother committed suicide, and discover a dino cult called Voice Of Progress that wants dinokind to come out of the closet and reclaim the planet.
