In a posthumously published work of science fiction (The Dechronization of Sam Magruder, St. Martin's Press, 1996) the American paleontologist George G. Simpson (1902-1984) tells the story of Sam Magruder, a "chronologist" living in 2162 A.D, who was experimenting on the "quantum theory of time-motion" when he suffers a "time-slip" that puts him back in the Late Cretaceous of New Mexico. Helplessly lost in time and with no hope of returning to the present, Magruder ekes out a primitive existence for some years until a fatal accident befalls him. Before his death Magruder manages to chisel out his experience and philosophy of life on eight rock slabs that are recovered many millions of years later; and so his story becomes known and discussed by several Everyman characters.
Simpson spins a reasonably engaging tale, but its main interest is the degree to which Magruder's philosophy of life may reflect Simpson's own feelings toward the end of his life. Always more comfortable in expressing his views in writing than in speaking, Simpson appears to use this work of science fiction to reveal his own, mostly melancholy, views about life's meaning and purpose, the importance of adapting to the here-and-now, and how historical contingency controls subsequent outcomes. Is Simpson speaking for himself when Magruder declares "My real purpose in engraving these slabs is a search for comprehension … I am exploring my own nature"?
Transitional evolutionary forms in chasmosaurine ceratopsid dinosaurs: evidence from the Campanian of New Mexico