It recently came to my attention that there is some concern that when the supercontinent Pangaea broke into its various pieces, the event leading to today’s continents, that dinosaur friends and family may have been separated never to see one another again. I happen to have some information on the matter, and I will share it here.
I have heard there were many dinosaur factions who hadn't gotten along for zillions of years and no manner of summits or diplomatic retreats could seem to make any difference. There were many arguments and much bloodshed. So way way before the Pangaea pieces were too far apart for travel amongst them, the factions moved onto separate Pangaea pieces (chosen by lottery) and used the ever widening bodies of water to slowly (very slowly) put physical distances amongst the groups. Eventually the watery distance between the new "continents" was too far for traversing and there was much jubilation and average lifespan increased immensely, too. But there is a tale of love and sadness and happiness (if you are inclined to choose the alternate ending) often told of this time.
Each Pangaea piece had what were known as "Swimmers" whose job it was every full moon to swim from one shore to the other and report back the distance and their energy expenditure during the swim. Swimmers were allowed on the full moon and would not be considered a threat as long as upon reaching the enemy shore they immediately turned and began swimming for their home shore without delay. This went on for millions of years and it was an honor to be chosen for the position, because Swimmers were the strongest and had the most endurance of any dinosaur. But with the position came the knowledge that one day the distance would be too great and that the Swimmer would perish during the trip, signaling the much anticipated time of peace for the continents.
As the story goes, our ill-fated final Swimmer, early in the years of his swimming duty, was enthralled by a beautiful creature frolicking in the surf in the moonlight one evening as he approached the enemy shore. Although he was unable to linger at the shore, he called to her and she looked up with acknowledgement, but nothing more. Over the next many full moons this continued and eventually his moonlit scaly beauty went from returning his attentions to approaching him briefly in the tide. Eventually their affection grew and every full moon she would rush out to meet him in the surf and swim part of the way back so that they could share time together.
After many years, one evening, upon reaching his home shore, the Swimmer realized in his exhaustion that the time had come and that the following full moon the shores would be too distant and he would be making his final swim. The next full moon he swam to meet his love as usual. For a while he did not tell her that his death was near but let her enjoy as much of their final time together as he could. As they neared the point where she must leave and return to her own shore, the Swimmer told her of his fate that night. With a breaking heart, she insisted that he let her help him on to shore. Of course he refused, because then she would be without the energy to return to her own shore and she would be the one to perish. Dinosaurs were known to be stubborn creatures, particularly dinosaurs in love, and when she refused to turn and swim back to her shore, they soon realized that the only solution was to swim no further and remain there between the two shores…together…until the ocean took them. And so, just before dawn, with their energies spent, they slipped beneath the surface of the water together and never emerged.
Alternate ending: And so, just before dawn, with their energies spent, they slipped beneath the surface of the water. After sinking about two feet, they touched bottom and realized that although the ocean was wide, it was actually pretty shallow and they sprang back to the surface with renewed vigor. They parted with joy in their hearts, using the ocean floor to see them safely back to their shores, knowing that their time was still long and they had many moons yet to swim together.
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