Leopard Girl

Chapter 7

When Jill looked at the clock on her desk next, it read a quarter to seven. She gathered up the notes for her lecture and then left her office to head across campus to the dining hall where they were meeting. She was not looking forward to this departmental meeting at all.

The title of the presentation was "The Pros and Cons of Immersion Research." She would be arguing against it since she felt so strongly about the subject, especially after recently completing her first immersion research study. Hal would be arguing in favor of it.

It was not the fact that she would be arguing against the chair of the department that bothered her. Nor was she worried that it was her owner who she would be challenging. She worried about what humiliating stories he would share about her. And she worried about the pictures.

They had a video camera in the village. It was permanently on and fed its images via satellite back to a server on the campus. Jill had even negotiated its placement with the chief prior to Hal's arrival and it was all set up when Hal arrived.

Negotiations over the thing had been difficult, not because the chief objected to pictures. He just simply did not know what pictures were and Jill had difficulty trying to explain the concept to him. She finally resorted to "it will help us remember." The chief thought it was a foolish request but he allowed it and even helped Jill figure out the best placement. After she set it up, everything that happened in the village within view of the lens, was saved in the computer at GSU. Jill wondered what embarrassing pictures were going to be used tonight by Hal. She did not plan on using any of them.

Dinner was nice and she enjoyed the company of her colleagues. Then Hal stood up at the podium and called the meeting to order. "As you all know, Dr. Wallings and I recently conducted research on the Pacific islanders that she has been following for several years. This time, we conducted immersion research, which she has not endorsed in the past and still does not endorse. Tonight, using a shared experience, we will present the cases for and against immersion research. I will present the case for."

He spent the next thirty minutes arguing his case and using stored images to back up his argument. He explained how they had uncovered the core values of the tribe through immersion. Images of him running naked through the gauntlet appeared on the screen as well as images of the tribe girl jerking him off during his initiation. "Courage, strength, virility and a favorable view by the gods are what they value."

Jill had already documented two of those values but she had to admit that she did not know about virility or the views of the gods. She did notice that he did not show any of the pictures of his balls being dragged low by the rock, though. And the camera was not positioned to be able to record him on his vigil on the point. It was a shame that it wasn't recorded. Jill was certain that it would have shown a desperate man whose face was streaked with fear. He did not comment on Jill during this section of his speech, although she was clearly visible in many of the pictures, standing in front of the chief with the chief's hands playing with her ripe breasts.

"We also learned about the communal nature of child care in this culture. As you can see in this picture, our own Dr. Wallings participated in the daily nursing of the children." The picture showed a boy sucking on one of Jill's breasts as a line of other boys waited their turn. Each of them was sporting respectable erections.

He went on about knowledge that had been gained about fishing and hunting techniques. He talked about food preparation techniques that had been previously unknown. And then he told them that he had a story to tell them. The video started rolling.

It showed the raid. The chief was visible in the center of the frame, gesturing and clearly yelling. Others were standing in front of him, threateningly. The film showed one of the raiders raising his bow and shooting his bow and then showed three of them advancing on him. Two carried bows. The third was brandishing a knife.

Suddenly, Jill burst onto the scene. There was no audio so nobody heard the growls or yells. But they clearly saw her draw her bow string back and shoot, killing the man with the knife. They saw the confused look on the faces of the remaining two as she continued to advance. They saw Jill pull the second arrow from her quiver and aim it back and forth between the two raiders that were standing over the chief. Then they saw as she scanned her arrow back and forth across the other two raiders who were standing farther back. They saw Jill stand over the chief, straddling him in a crouched position with her bow drawn, clearly communicating that she was going to attack. And then the video stopped, leaving the image of her, with her naked body glistening and her wild mane flowing down her shoulders and back, with a determined and threatening look on her face.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," said Hal, "I give you Leopard Girl." He took his seat and there were a variety of giggles and chuckles around the room.

Jill stood up and walked shakily to the podium. She was not sure she could speak. She felt so humiliated in front of her colleagues. She took a deep breath and then looked out at her department. She set her notes aside. She would not be using them.

"I am Leopard Girl," she said. And then she paused. "I defended my chief. And that is exactly why immersion research should never be conducted."

"I am Leopard Girl. And I defended my chief," she said again. There was complete silence in the room.

"Let me tell you why immersion is wrong," she started again. "He was my chief. I belonged to him. He protected me and looked after me. I was his prized possession. As scientists, how can we study and research and observe without letting bias and opinion enter into the equation when we are that close to our subjects?"

"I created a new role for their culture," she continued. "They had never had a Leopard Girl before. Our role is pursuing science; not creating history. In a male dominated society, who knows what the introduction of a Leopard Girl role will do? It could change the culture and it could ultimately destroy it."

"I placed myself in harm's way through immersion research. There is always some element of risk in field work. But in immersion, you become one with the culture and that puts you in danger."

"And finally, I killed a man. I committed no crime. It is not illegal in that country to defend your women. But I will have to live the rest of my life knowing that I took the life of another human being. I have no idea if he had a wife or family, but he probably did. His children will probably grow up bitter and one of them will raid again someday in the name of vengeance. And the harm that comes from that raid, and the next, and the next, will be a result of my actions in immersion research."

She ended her short, sobering speech with the image of her naked, glistening body still projected on the screen behind her. "I am Leopard Girl. I defended my chief. No good can come from immersion research."

The audience was silent for several moments. Jill hoped that they would someday forgive her. They were all good scientists. And then there was a clap. It was followed by another clap a second later and then a rhythm was started and others joined in. Then the clapping tempo was supplemented with a chant.

"LEO PARD GIRL…. LEO PARD GIRL… LEO PARD GIRL!" The audience rose to their feet and kept up the clapping and chanting. Jill looked around, confused. Then tears came to her eyes as she realized that her colleagues were rallying around her in support.

Hal let this go on for several minutes before stepping to the podium, wrapping his arm around Jill's waist and giving her a hug. "Let's hear it for Leopard Girl!"

The audience broke into raucous cheering and Hal gave Jill another squeeze. It would have looked like a chaste gesture to most people but Jill knew that Hal was claiming his property rights over her.

"You have heard both sides of the debate now, "he said. "We will continue this discussion at our next meeting. But I have some exciting news for you. Leopard Girl and I are returning to the tribe in two weeks to conduct another month's worth of research."

Jill gasped at hearing the news. She had no idea. She turned to him and just stared at him, astonished.