You are in the forests of China, 124 million years ago.

The morning mist was still clinging to the ferns of the Liaoning forest when you saw it.

Perched on a fallen, moss-covered log, the creature froze. It was a Sinosauropteryx, barely the size of a large domestic cat. Its body wasn't covered in scales, but in a fine, hair-like down, a primitive coat of feathers.

You watched, mesmerized, as it turned its head. Its small, bird-like face seemed disproportionately large for its slender neck, punctuated by bright, intelligent eyes. Then, it moved in a ginger-colored blur of motion. It darted forward with incredible speed on long, agile legs, snatching a lizard with its delicate, three-fingered hands before whipping its incredibly long, striped tail—marked with bands of ginger and white—to balance itself.