The Rift

By Ric Daly

In 1960, Dr. Jonathan Leakey discovered, in the Olduvai Gorge of the East African Rift, a fossilized jaw fragment -- the first specimen of what is now known as Homo habilis, an anthropoid (human-like) creature that some think may have been a human ancestor -- a debatable point. H. habilis is thought to have appeared around 2.4 million years before present. Around 1.4 million years ago the creature became extinct. Or so it was thought. Then, in 1999, a team of anthropologists went to an area near the Olduvai Gorge, to a site known today as Lake Eyasi, to conduct what they expected to be routine research. What they found was nothing short of a nightmare. A creature they eventually identified as H. habilis, rather than being extinct, had survived, unknown except for obscure sightings. The encounter was not a friendly one and several members of the team lost their lives to the "creature that shouldn't be". Their story was not easily believed when they returned to the university. Several years later another expedition was carried out, with equally horrific results as the team begin to research this example of cryptozoology. "The Rift" is a fictional account of that discovery and the questions that resulted, questions of science, faith and our own human nature. And it's a story of the friendships that grew from a common experience with an extinct and brutal creature that still lived, surviving in a world in which it didn't belong.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ric Daly
• Release date: Nov 13, 2014

Ric Daly

Ric Daly wrote "The Rift", "Willow Creek" and "Cold Trail" following a thirty-year career teaching high school sciences (physics, chemistry, earth/space, oceanography, biology, research), geography and algebra in Minnesota, Arizona and Florida. He has been recognized as a leading authority on science education, presenting workshops in that capacity at national, state and district levels. He is also an accomplished artist in various mediums and photography and has displayed his work in galleries in Arizona, Florida, Iowa and Minnesota. When he’s not writing or painting he may be found riding his bicycle or in his car traveling America’s highways. While home is the Florida coast, he currently resides in northern Minnesota. He is a committed Christian and is currently writing an inspirational collection of autobiographical essays, "The Road Behind Me".