The awakening

It was late in the morning and the sun was high overhead on this spring day, and the humid air lay heavy and still. A massive spinosaurus wandered about in the shallows of the river, stirring up clouds of mud in her wake. Her clawed feet left deep tracks in the river bank mud as she came ashore, intently searching for something. The great predator turned away from the sun and the shadow from the huge sail on her back cast a long shadow on the ground. Using the long, sharp claws on her hands, she probed around in the vegetation and sand along the river bank as she continued her search. Then, the spinosaurus stopped at an elevated area, having found the most ideal place to make a nest and lay an egg. She scraped at the selected area, clearing away brush to create a depression in which to deposit her contribution to the future. An egg, carefully laid in the sheltered riverside nest, contains a tiny monster. One day in the near future, the creature will hatch, having been protected and watched over by its monstrous mother. It will take up residence in its mother’s shadow as it grows larger and larger. It may become much bigger and more imposing than its predecessor, and this new monster will dominate the river. It will become the apex predator, the ultimate horror to all creatures that might come upon it.

Fast forward to the modern age, to the here and now, in the spring of 2025. Along the edge of a nearby river the creator of a new monster probes the muddy bank and shallow waters, searching for the ideal place from where to bring its creation to life. Soon the remaining debris will be cleared away, opening up the chosen location for the new monster to take shape. This monster will also take a few years to become a giant, and when it does, it will lord over that river like that Cretaceous terror long before it. And unlike the egg, which hides the development of the beast within, this concrete and steel monster will rise from the ground up for all to see. And like the fully grown spinosaurus, many who behold it will be struck with awe, and perhaps even fear. The great metal cable-strewn spines along its back will tower high over the harbor, and will be seen from far and wide. All who fear such structures will shake in terror at the sight of it, dreading it just as most aquatic and land creatures feared the spinosaurus. And then there will be those who sadly will become victims of the towering horror. Their remains will drift along in the currents, or worse yet, lie bloody and battered upon the stony feet of the monster.

But in the lost Cretaceous world, there were also creatures that benefited from the hulking river monsters. Tiny fish and crustaceans happily fed upon the scraps of the fish and crocodiles that it killed. There were also plenty of scavengers that would have made a meal out of the remains of any dinosaur that the spinosaurus might have ambushed near the water’s edge. And in the near future along this modern river and harbor, there will also be many who will see much benefit when the metal and concrete monster is complete. Just at the dreadful spinosaurus was an integral and important part of the ecosystem in which it lived, so to will be the monstrous Key Bridge as it lords over Baltimore’s harbor.