Sobek was sure that even in his absence, the dinosaurs would do just fine. In fact, every time he went to sleep, the pack was in danger of unbalancing.

The lack of a strong central figure created not a few problems, not so much for the common dinosaurs but above all among the 'higher spheres', namely Buck, Old Li, Blue, Carnopo and Apache. All the other dinosaurs were their subjects, so no one would dare disobey them; but there was no hierarchical relationship between them. To decide, they couldn't just order each other what to do because they were all on the same level.

For animals there were only two categories: commanders and commandeds. In a pack it was unthinkable that there wasn't a single individual at the center of all to command all the others. Hierarchies could exist, but only if there was a strong central figure to mediate during the discussions would the pack have avoided breaking apart.

Buck, Carnopo, Old Li, Apache and Blue were therefore in a precarious situation. As long as Sobek slept, the pack's highest authority wouldn't be a single dinosaur, but five of them. This created a lot of problems when it was time to make a decision.

Therefore the five commanders had resolved the question in a brilliant way: they had simply decided to talk to each other as little as possible. Each of them would abide by the orders given to them by Sobek before sleeping and would arbitrarily decide on their area of expertise. Carnopo would take care of the army, Buck of the assault legion, Blue of the science department, Apache of the air force and Old Li would handle the prisoners and dinosaurs who were not part of the troops. Each of them would not have made any decision that would go against Sobek's orders (for example, violate the treaty) or that its effects were out of their order of competence (for example, Carnopo wouldn't have given an order involving all dinosaurs, but only those ones of the army, and the same would have applied to the others).

What if a decision involving all dinosaurs is needed? No problem: in that case the five had simply decided to vote. Since they were odd in number, there was no chance of ending a draw. Each of them would vote in secret and the losers would have to accept the majority decision.

Of course, this system was flawed. What could they have done, for example, if an emergency situation arose that required immediate response, not giving them time to vote? Unfortunately they didn't have a solution, so they simply decided to do their best to avoid any emergency and hope nothing would happen while their pack leader slept.

Despite its holes, that system worked quite well. By never talking to each other and never confronting each other, the five commanders did not feel usurped their authority and therefore did not feel the urge to eliminate their rivals. If they had acted differently, their instincts would probably have led them sooner or later to fight for the role of absolute leader.

Instead, with that system, the dinosaur society managed to keep itself stable. Buck just trained the recruits, Carnopo took care of patrolling the perimeter, Apache guarded the area from above, Blue continued her studies, and Old Li took care of the exchanges with humans and the maintenance of prisoners, as well as reforestation of the colony. They talked to each other as little as possible and thus kept calm.

Thanks to the aforementioned calm, the dinosaurs continued their work smoothly. Pierce had begun to establish the defenses he designed with the help of Blue and Eema, and Monica had helped him in turn by recruiting sauropods to drag trees from the forest to the coast to hide the fortifications they had built. Rambo kept spying on humans with the dense intelligence network of birds and pterosaurs. The other dinosaurs continued their training and those who did not want to fight took care of the reforestation; finally the elders taught the puppies, making sure they learned everything there was to know about the pack and the forest. The exchanges with humans continued smoothly: several dinosaurs were brought back to Maakanar in the following days and numerous prisoners were returned.

And the one who had to deal with the new dinosaurs, of course, was Al.

Sobek had told the allosaurus that he would remain in charge of the reintegration project only until he found someone better, but since he had gone to sleep before he did, the other dinosaurs had decided to stick to his order and leave Al to take care of the new arrivals.

The allosaurus had created a real support group for dinosaurs. He had entrusted each of them with a 'trainer', who every day was concerned with helping them to improve their physical health. In the afternoon, however, all the new dinosaurs gathered and Al taught them, with the support of many others, how to live in the pack and what it meant to be free.

All the newcomers had struggled to adapt to the beginnings: after all, they had never even imagined the concept of freedom. Fortunately, however, most of them had intact brain functions, so it didn't take long to adjust to this new situation. Although it took some time and a lot of effort from the dinosaurs in the pack, the newcomers began to open up and relate to others.

Of course, this did not mean that they had become like everyone else: there was still a lot to do to be able to define them in all respects as autonomous. However, it was a start. One day Al talked about it with Old Li; it happened about eight days after Sobek fell asleep. The allosaurus and the ankylosaurus had met by chance and had decided to talk a bit together. Of all of them, Old Li was one of the few who hadn't started treating Al differently after his 'stunt'.

"... Yeah, well, it's complicated, but they're recovering" Al explained while they were talking about his patients. "I think they will need at least one or two months of work, effort and commitment, but in the end they will adapt well to the pack"

"I'm happy for them... and for you" Old Li said. "You will be satisfied, I presume"

"Oh yes. It's nice to see them recover despite everything they've undergone"

"I guess so. Maybe I should drop by one day to attend one of your meetings"

"It is not necessary. I know how busy you are"

"But I can still afford to waste time chatting with a friend"

Al smiled. He was happy that Old Li had always done the same to him. Even though he didn't show it, he suffered from the fact that the other dinosaurs had started treating him differently and avoiding him after his mistake. He was happy that someone's attitude towards him hadn't changed.

The ankylosaurus emitted a snort from its nostrils. "The pack leader has chosen wisely in entrusting this task to you. I doubt that many others would have been able to act like you. You have an innate talent for empathizing with others"

"Thank you, Old Li, but the pack leader did not entrust me with the task, I am alone in charge of this work until..."

"… he can't find someone better than you? Come on, Al, you're smarter than that. Do you really think that if the pack leader wanted to replace you, you would still be in charge of the project?"

Al looked at him dazed. "What do you mean?"

"You are a clever boy. Understand it alone" Old Li replied.

The allosaurus found himself staring into space with his mind completely lost. "Are you saying he wants me in charge of this job?" he asked him amazed.

"Of course yes. Think about it, how long do you think the pack leader needs to find a possible replacement for you? I can assure you that he hasn't even tried"

"But then why..."

"Why did he tell you those things? To save his face, of course. He certainly couldn't entrust such an important task to someone who had already betrayed his trust without protests arising from the rest of the pack. To avoid unrest he has stated that he will replace you, but he has never specified when he will do so"

Al's breathing became labored. "So... do you think he... forgave me?" he asked in a muffled voice. Ever since he had let his pack leader down, Al had aspired to nothing more than to obtain his forgiveness.

Old Li shook his head: "No, I don't think he forgave you. He would have said it openly in that case" he replied, and the light of hope went out in Al's eyes. "However, I think he wishes to give you a chance to redeem yourself"

Hope was immediately rekindled in the pupils of the allosaur. "So... what do you think he wants to do?"

"I think he wants to take advantage of the fact that you put so much effort into this job even though he promised you that he would replace you for an excuse to promote you back to a higher rank. I don't think he will forgive you immediately, but I doubt he will not recognize your merits" Old Li replied. "As I said, you are the right person for this task, Al. You are patient, calm, calculating and intelligent, and above all you have a strong empathy towards many living beings. That empathy was your dawnfall when you used it for humans, but now that you are using it for dinosaurs it could become the cause of your redemption"

Al almost found himself fantasizing. Did he really have a chance? "So what do you suggest I do?"

"What you've always done. Do your job to the best of your ability, exactly as you did before this conversation, and you will see that the pack leader will recognize your efforts" Old Li gave a half smile. "Our pack leader is a wise and just being. He sees much further than we do. Trust in his judgment and you will see that everything will be fine"

Al nodded. "I will definitely do it. Thank you, Old Li, you're a great friend" he said, then stood up and ran away, probably intending to get back to work and do twice as much effort as before.

Old Li watched him dart away and a smile formed on his reptilian face. He seriously hoped that the allosaurus would redeem itself, but he had faith in his pack leader and therefore he intended to leave the final decision to Sobek, without pushing him in any way.