Malherne paused, reached in his jacket pocket and pulled out the half packet of cigarettes he had been hoarding. He offered them to Zor Ala, and when the other refused, he lit one and inhaled gratefully.
"Then, in conclusion," Malherne continued, "Gamow says that the causes leading to the elimination of all the dinosaurs in a very short period of time are obscure. There are many hypotheses which have been advanced by various scientists to account for it. One theory was that the rising of general ground levels destroyed the inland seas and marshes. But that wouldn't have had any effect on the dinosaurs who had already fully adapted to dry land. Neither would it affect those reptiles who inhabited the oceans. So the whole episode has remained one vast mystery, without much chance of solution."
Zor Ala nodded. "Even in my time we still didn't know," he said. "We had theories that perhaps the tiny mammals of the later Mesozoic were eating the eggs of the dinosaurs to an extent which brought about their eventual extinction. There was also the theory of 'dilution of genetic stock' in a very old race of any life form. That is, through millions of years of reproduction, the hereditary stock of any race eventually becomes so diluted that the cells become 'tired' of dividing. As a result, reproduction dwindles away, and the race dies out. But even that doesn't satisfactorily explain the geologically sudden death of the dinosaurs."
"Apparently quite a parallel to what must have happened to the Kralons," Malherne observed. "How is it that we don't find clear paleontological evidence of the existence of the Kralons?"
"No calcareous skeletal structure," returned Zor Ala. "They have only a chitinous exoskeleton. Also, you must remember that the dinosaurs held sway for almost 100 million years, and invaded almost every part of the world. In all that time, with the animals existing by the billions in almost every clime, there were naturally a few 'saurs' who fell into asphalt pits or other unusual environments where their bones were preserved for us.
"That is not true of the Kralons, for they seem to have suddenly appeared as the first insect type, sometime during the latter half of the Carboniferous Period, and existed as a race for only a few million years.
"Furthermore, their distribution is apparently very limited. From what they have told me, there are only a few dozen community hives or nations like this one. Thus it is not at all surprising that such an extremely restricted species, possessing no calceous skeletal structure, left no paleontological evidence."
Malherne considered this thoughtfully. "Then you believe that the insect types of the future are degenerated descendants of the Kralons?" he asked.
"Undoubtedly," returned Zor Ala. "But without the size or the logical reasoning ability of the Kralons. You see, insects apparently arose suddenly during the Carboniferous Period, without any prior evidence of existence in the ages preceding. They seem to be an offshoot from the main line of evolutionary development, and their sudden appearance in geologic history is without precedence in the development of life forms."