Chromosome 6

CHAPTER 19

MARCH 8, 1997

2:00 A.M.

COGO, EQUATORIAL GUINEA

“ARE you asleep?” Candace whispered.

“Are you kidding?” Melanie whispered back. “How am I supposed to sleep on rock with just a few branches strewn over it?”

“I can’t sleep either,” Candace admitted. “Especially with all this snoring going on. What about Kevin?”

“I’m awake,” Kevin said.

They were in a small side cave jutting off the main chamber just behind the main entrance. The darkness was almost absolute. The only light came from meager moonlight reflected from outside.

Kevin, Melanie, and Candace had been shuttled into this small cave immediately on their arrival. It measured about ten feet wide with a downward sloping ceiling that started at a maximum height roughly equivalent to Kevin’s five feet ten inches. There was no back wall to this cave; the chamber simply narrowed to a tunnel. Earlier in the evening, Kevin had explored the tunnel with the help of the flashlight in hopes of finding another way out, but the tunnel abruptly ended after about thirty feet.

The bonobos had treated them well, even after the initially cold reception by the females. Apparently, the animals were mystified by the humans and intended to keep them alive and well. They’d provided them with muddy water in gourds and a variety of food. Unfortunately, the food was in the form of grubs, maggots, and other insects along with some kind of sedge from Lago Hippo.

Later in the afternoon, the animals had started a fire at the cave’s entrance. Kevin was particularly interested in how they started it, but he’d been too far back to observe their method. A group of the bonobos had formed a tight circle, and then a half an hour later a fire was going.

“Well, that answers the question about the smoke,” Kevin had said.

The animals had skewered the colobus monkeys and roasted them over the fire. The monkeys were then torn apart and distributed with great fanfare. Given all the hooting and vocalizations it had been obvious to the humans that this monkey meat was considered a great treat.

Bonobo number one had placed a few morsels of the feast on a large leaf and brought them back to the humans. Only Kevin had been willing to try it. He’d said it was the toughest thing he’d ever chewed. As far as taste was concerned, he’d told the women that it was strangely similar to the elephant he’d once sampled. The previous year, Siegfried had bagged a forest elephant on one of his hunting forays and after taking the tusks, he’d had some of the meat cooked up by the central kitchen.

The bonobos had not tried to imprison the humans and had not tried to inhibit Kevin and the women from untying the rope that bound them together. At the same time, the bonobos had made it clear that they were 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 second. You guys are not suggesting that I go?”

“I couldn’t get in the canoe much less paddle it,” Melanie said.

“I could get in it, but I doubt I could paddle it in the dark,” Candace said.

“And you two think I could?” Kevin asked.

“Certainly better than we could,” Melanie said.

Kevin shivered. The idea of trying to get to the canoe in the dark knowing the hippos were out grazing was a scary thought. Even more scary was trying to paddle across the pond, knowing it was filled with crocodiles.

“Maybe you could hide in the canoe until it gets light,” Melanie suggested. “The important thing is to get out of this cave and away from these creatures while they are sleeping.”

The idea of waiting in the canoe was better than trying to cross the lake in the darkness, but it did not address the potential problem of running into the hippos in the marshy field.

“Remember it was your suggestion to come out here,” Melanie reminded him.

Kevin started to strongly protest, but he stopped. In a way, it was true. He’d said that the only way to learn whether the bonobos were protohumans was to come to the island. But from then on, Melanie had been the one to call the shots.

“It was your suggestion,” Candace said. “I remember it well. We were in your office. It was when you first raised the question about the smoke.”

“But I only said…” Kevin began, but he stopped. From past experience, he knew he was ill-equipped to argue with Melanie, and especially when Candace supported her as she was now doing. Besides, from where Kevin was sitting, he could see a clear path of moonlight along the cave floor all the way to the entrance. Except for a few rocks and branches, there were no obstructions.

Kevin began to think maybe he could do it. Maybe it was best not to think of the hippos. Maybe it was true that the creatures’ hospitality could not be counted upon, not because of the bonobo part of their heritage but because of the human part.

“All right,” Kevin said with sudden resolve. “I’ll try.”

“Hooray,” Melanie said.

Kevin pushed himself up onto his hands and knees. He was already trembling with the knowledge that there were fifty powerful and wild animals in the immediate environment that wanted him to stay where he was.

“If something goes wrong,” Melanie said, “just get yourself back here in a hurry.”

“You make it sound so easy,” Kevin said.

“It will be,” Melanie said. “Bonobos and chimps fall asleep as soon as it gets dark and sleep until dawn. You’re not going to have any trouble.”

“But what about the hippos?” Kevin said.

“What about them?” Melanie asked.

“Never mind,” Kevin said. “I’ve got enough to worry about.”

“Okay, good luck,” Melanie whispered.

“Yeah, good luck,” Candace echoed.

Kevin tried to stand up and start out, but he couldn’t. He kept telling himself that he’d never been a hero, and this was no time to start.

“What’s the matter?” Melanie asked.

“Nothing,” Kevin said. Then suddenly from some place deep within himself, Kevin found the courage. He rose to a hunched-over position and began to pick his way along the path of moonlight toward the mouth of the cave.

As Kevin moved, he debated whether he would do better to move at a snail’s pace or make an out-and-out dash for the canoe. It was an argument between caution and getting the ordeal over with. Caution won out. He moved with painstaking baby steps. Every time his foot made the slightest noise, he winced and froze in the darkness. All around him, he could hear the stertorous breathing of the sleeping creatures.

Twenty feet from the cave’s entrance one of the bonobos moved so suddenly, the branches in his bed snapped. Again Kevin stopped in mid-stride, his heart pounding. But the bonobo had only stirred and was still breathing heavily, a sign of sleep. With additional light from the proximity of the cave entrance, Kevin could clearly see the bonobos sprawled about him. The sight of so many sleeping beasts was enough to stop him dead in his tracks. After a full minute of paralysis Kevin recommenced his progress toward freedom. He even began to feel the first wave of relief as the smell of the damp jungle replaced the feral scent of the bonobos. But that relief was short-lived.

Another clap of thunder followed by a sudden tropical downpour scared Kevin to the point that he almost lost his balance. It was only after frantic arm swinging that he managed to stay upright and in his planned path. He shuddered to think how close he’d come to stepping on one of the sleeping bonobos.

With another ten feet to go, Kevin could now see the black silhouette of the jungle below. The nocturnal sounds of the jungle were now audible over the bonobos’ snores.

Kevin was close enough to begin worrying about how to make the steep descent to the ground when calamity struck. His heart leaped into his throat as he felt a hand on his leg! Something had grabbed him around the ankle with such force that instant tears formed in his eyes. Looking down in the half light, the first thing he saw was his watch. It was on the hairy wrist of the powerful bonobo number one.

“Tada,” shouted the bonobo as he leaped to his feet, upending Kevin in the process. Luckily, the floor of that part of the cave was covered with refuse which broke Kevin’s fall. Nevertheless, he landed on his left hip in a jarring fashion.

Bonobo number one’s yell brought the other bonobos to their feet. For a moment, there was utter chaos until they all understood that there was no danger.

Bonobo number one let go of Kevin’s ankle only to reach down and grasp him by his upper arms. In an amazing demonstration of strength, he picked Kevin up and held him off the ground at arm’s length.

The bonobo gave a loud, long, angry vocalization. All Kevin could do was wince in pain at the animal’s tight grip.

At the end of his tirade, bonobo number one marched into the depths of the cave and literally tossed Kevin into the smaller chamber. After a final angry word, he went back to his pallet.

Kevin managed to push himself up to a sitting position. He’d again landed on his hip, and it felt numb. He’d also sprained a wrist and scraped an elbow. But considering the fact that he’d been literally thrown through the air, he was better off than he’d anticipated.

More cries echoed inside of the cave, presumably from bonobo number one, but Kevin couldn’t tell for certain in the darkness. He felt his right elbow. He knew that the sticky warmth had to be blood.

“Kevin?” Melanie whispered. “Are you okay?”

“As good as can be expected,” Kevin said.

“Thank God,” Melanie said. “What happened?”

“I don’t know,” Kevin said. “I’d thought I’d made it. I was right at the cave’s entrance.”

“Are you hurt?” Candace asked.

“A little,” Kevin admitted. “But no broken bones. At least, I don’t think so.”

“We couldn’t see what happened,” Melanie said.

“My double scolded me,” Kevin said. “At least that’s what I think he was doing. Then he threw me back in here. I’m glad I didn’t land on either of you.”

“I’m so sorry I encouraged you to go,” Melanie said. “I guess you were right.”

“It’s good of you to say,” Kevin said. “Well, it almost worked. I was so close.”

Candace switched on the flashlight with her hand shielding the front lens. She held it near Kevin’s arm to check his elbow.

“I guess we’re going to have to count on Bertram Edwards,” Melanie said. She shuddered and then sighed. “It’s hard to believe: we’re prisoners of our own creations.”