jawbone
[ jaw-bohn ]
noun
1. a bone of either jaw; a maxilla or mandible.
2. the bone of the lower jaw; mandible.
verb (used with or without object), jaw·boned, jaw·bon·ing.
3. Informal. to
attempt to influence or pressure by persuasion rather than by the
exertion of force or one's authority, as in urging voluntary compliance
with economic guidelines: The president jawboned the steel industry into postponing price increases.
adjective
4. Informal. obtained by or resorting to such a practice: jawbone controls.
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Dr.
Franklin examined the odd stone structure critically. It looked like nothing he
had ever seen before. It was large, standing around six feet, and was oddly
regular. Jagged on one side, smooth on the other, and tapering up into a point
with a slight curve towards the top.
What was perhaps the strangest thing about it though, was that it was
not alone.
It stood
along with hundreds of others in a parabolic line that spanned over twenty feet
at the widest. Some of them were taller, with two that were almost ten feet
tall. A few towards the front were shorter, but not by much.
The
geological team Dr. Franklin lead had been examining them for two days and had
come up with almost nothing. All they could tell was the rough composition of
the stones. They were made up of a mix
of minerals and were densely packed. What they were was a mystery that was
driving the man up a wall.
“Uh,
doctor?” A timid voice from behind disrupted Dr. Franklin’s concentration. He
turned quickly to find one of the younger members of the team. A grad student
that had yet to really find his footing in the geological community, despite
his skills.
“Yes?
What is it?”
“I just.
I…” The young man wrung his hands nervously.
“Well?
Out with it already. I’ve got work to do.”
“Yes,
Doctor, it’s just that I have an idea. About what these are.”
Other
scientists had ideas as well. Most of them were that this was a hoax of some
kind. What the goal was remained a mystery.
“What is
it?”
“Well,
it’s just that…looking at the structure of the stones, it…it remined me of
something. I, I don’t think these are stones. At least, not really. I think
they’re fossils.”
“Fossils?”
Dr. Franklin said with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes,
sir. I mean, look at them. Step back a bit and look. Don’t they look like teeth?
A-and the way they’re arranged? It looks like the lower jaw of, of something.”
Dr.
Franklin looked around and saw what the young man was talking about. Once he
began to think about it, he could indeed see that they did look like the teeth
of some truly massive predator. But that simply could not be.
“Impossible.
Something this large would never be able to sustain itself.” Dr. Franklin said.
Even though animal biology was not his field of expertise, he knew enough to
know that. “It would collapse under its own weight. And even if it could
support itself, it would never be able to find enough food.”
“Yes, but, what else could they be?”
“Most people here think it’s a
hoax.”
“Well, if it is, it’s the best hoax
I’ve ever seen. I’ve seen the chemical composition and looked up what fossils
are usually made of. It’s a match. A perfect match to what we’re seeing here.
Right now, it’s either the most elaborate hoax in history, or it’s the jawbone
of something larger than anything we’ve ever thought possible.”
Neither thought was comforting. And
he was not sure which idea was worse.
“Doctor? What do we do?”
“I…I don’t know. I just don’t know.”
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Yeah, this is definitely a dragon's jaw. I mean, I haven't written it, but that's totally what it is. I mean, come on, what else could it be?
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