Eden Park, or more properly Eden Paleozoological Park, is a science-fiction story published on the Speculative Evolution Forum
by member Dylan Bajda aka Sheather, who also wrote Serina. The premise is simple, and maybe even a bit familiar— in the future, scientists manage to revive dinosaurs and put them on display in a zoo for the public to see. This time, though, nothing goes wrong— well, almost nothing— and the opening of the exhibits goes off without a hitch.The story itself is therefore a sort of futuristic Slice of Life, consisting of short vignettes describing the day-to-day activities of the zookeepers and their relationships with the animals. All the details about the animals are intended to be as accurate as possible.
Unfortunately, updates to the story have slowed considerably as of 2018, and while it is not yet a Dead Fic, it is currently on hiatus. It can still be read at the address listed above, however.
Eden Park contains the following tropes:
- Feathered Fiend: The Kelenken, which have repeatedly attacked visitors and staff, including one incident where they ate a child. Subverted by the park's dromaeosaurs, which are shy and reclusive to the disappointment of many a guest.
- Gaia's Lament: The "Hall of Humanity", a section of the park containing cloned specimens of animals killed off by humans, has this as its general motif. The design of the exhibits in the section is meant to evoke a graveyard.
- Giant Flyer: An azhdarchid pterosaur is mentioned to be on display, but is never shown. There is also a Haast's eagle in the park.
- Never Smile at a Crocodile: Averted by the Scott's False Caiman, a harmless fictional species native to the island where the park is located.
- One Big Lie: Two, really. One is the ability to clone dinosaurs, the other is the existence of the fictional island chain where the story takes place.
- Our Cryptids Are More Mysterious: The Mapinguari, a South American legendary creature said to resemble a ground sloth, turns out to be real in the story.
- Raptor Attack: Averted. The park does have Deinonychus, but they aren't portrayed in a manner consistent with this trope. They also aren't very aggressive, preferring to hide when people are around. They’re also correctly shown to be fully feathered.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: The Yi
- What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Played for drama. In one of the story's more
Tear Jerker-inducing arcs, the park puts an Australopithecus (basically a primitive human) on display. Several scenes are narrated from her perspective, and it's shown that she resents the implication that she is mere animal rather than the intelligent human-like creature she knows herself to be. The point where this trope really kicks in is when she asks for a pet of her own, only to realize that she is little more than a pet herself.
