to stay in the small cave. At all times, at least two of the larger male
bonobos remained in the immediate vicinity. Each time Kevin or one of
the women tried to venture forth, these guards would screech and howl at
the top of their lungs. Even more threatening, they would ferociously
charge with bared teeth only to pull up short at the last minute. Thus
they effectively kept the humans in their place.
‘We’re going to have to do something,’ Melanie said. ‘We can’t stay here
forever. And it’s pretty apparent we’ll have to do it while they are all
sleeping, like now.’
Every bonobo in the cave, including the supposed guards, were fast
asleep on primitive pallets constructed of branches and leaves. Most
were snoring.
‘I don’t think we should take the chance of angering them,’ Kevin said.
‘We’re lucky they’ve treated us as well as they have.’
‘Being offered maggots to eat is not what I’d call being well treated,’
Melanie said. ‘Seriously, we have to do something. Besides, they might
turn on us. There’s no way to anticipate what they’ll do.’
‘I prefer to wait,’ Kevin said. ‘We’re a novelty now, but they’ll lose
interest in us. Besides, we’re undoubtedly missed back in town. It won’t
take Siegfried or Bertram that long to figure out what we’ve done. Then
they’ll come for us.’
‘I’m not convinced,’ Melanie said. ‘Siegfried might take our
disappearance as a godsend.’
‘Siegfried might, but Bertram won’t,’ Kevin said. ‘He’s basically a nice
person.’
‘What do you think, Candace?’ Melanie asked.
‘I don’t know what to think,’ Candace said. ‘This situation is so far
beyond anything I’d ever thought I’d be involved in, that I don’t know
how to react. I’m numb.’
‘What are we going to do when we do get back?’ Kevin said. ‘We haven’t
talked about that.’
‘If we get back,’ Melanie said.
‘Don’t talk that way,’ Candace said.
‘We have to face facts,’ Melanie said. ‘That’s why I think we should do
something now while they’re all asleep.’
‘We have no idea how soundly they sleep,’ Kevin said. ‘Trying to walk
out of here will be like walking through a mine field.’
‘One thing is for sure,’ Candace said. ‘I’m not going to be involved in
any more harvests. I began to feel uncomfortable when I thought they
were apes. Now that we know they’re protohumans, I can’t do it. I know
that much about myself.’
‘That’s a foregone conclusion,’ Kevin said. ‘I can’t imagine any
sensitive human being would feel differently. But that’s not the issue.
The issue is that this new race exists, and if they’re not to be used
for transplants, what’s to be done with them?’
‘Will they be able to reproduce?’ Candace asked.
‘Most assuredly,’ Melanie said. ‘Nothing was done to them to affect
their fertility.’
‘Oh, my,’ Candace said. ‘This is a horror.’
‘Maybe they should be rendered infertile,’ Melanie said. ‘Then there’d
only be a single generation to consider.’
‘I wish I’d thought of all this before I started this project,’ Kevin
said. ‘The problem was that once I stumbled onto the ability to
interchange chromosomal parts, the intellectual stimulation was so
strong I never considered other consequences.’
There was a sudden, bright flash of lightning momentarily illuminating
the interior of the cave, followed by a loud clap of thunder. The
concussion seemed to shake the entire mountain. The violent display was
nature’s way of announcing that one of the almost daily thunderstorms
was about to inundate the island.
‘Now, that’s an argument in favor of my position,’ Melanie said, after
the sound of the thunder died away.
‘What are you talking about?’ Kevin asked.
‘That thunder was loud enough to wake the dead,’ Melanie explained. ‘And
not one of the bonobos so much as blinked.’
‘It’s true,’ Candace said.
‘I think at least one of us should try to get out of here,’ Melanie
said. ‘That way we could be sure that Bertram will be alerted as to what
is happening out here. Bertram can also make arrangements for someone to
come here and rescue the others.’
‘I guess I agree,’ Candace said.
‘Of course you do,’ Melanie said.
There were a few moments of silence. Finally, Kevin broke it: ‘Wait a