When she had driven around sufficiently to give me a general picture of the town, Zira stopped her car in front of a tall gate through which I could see .banks of flowers.
“The park,” she said. “We can go for a little stroll. I should have liked to show you some other things—our museums, for instance, which are outstanding—but that’s not possible yet.”
I assured her that I should be delighted to stretch my legs.
“And besides,” she went on, “we’ll be left in peace here. There are not many people about and it’s time for us to have a serious conversation.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“I don’t
think you realize, do you, the danger you are in here on Soror?”
“I’ve already had some experience of it; but I feel that if I showed myself in my true colors—and I can do so now by providing proof—the apes ought to admit me as their spiritual brother.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. Now listen . . .”
We were strolling through the park. The paths were almost deserted and we had passed no more than one or two courting couples who were roused to a momentary curiosity by my presence. I, on the other hand, stared at them shamelessly, being firmly resolved not to miss a single opportunity to learn about simian customs.
They walked along together holding each other around the waist, the length of their arms making this embrace a tight and complex encirclement. They would often stop at a corner of a path to exchange a kiss or two. From time to time also, after darting a furtive glance all around, they would take hold of the low branches of a tree and swing themselves off the ground. This they accomplished without separating, each of them using one hand and one foot with an ease that I envied, and they would then disappear into the foliage.
“Now listen,” said Zira. “Your launch”—I had told her in detail how we had arrived on the planet—”your launch has been discovered; at least what’s left of it after being pillaged. It has aroused the curiosity of our researchers. They realize it was not manufactured here.”
“Do you build similar machines?”
“Yes, but not so perfected. From what you’ve told me, we’re a long way behind you. We have, however, already launched artificial satellites around our planet, the last one even being occupied by a living being: a man. We had to destroy it in flight because we were unable to recover it.”
“I see,” I said, lost in thought. “So men also serve you for this sort of experiment.”
“It can’t be helped. . . . Anyway, your rocket has been discovered.”
“What about our spaceship, which has been in orbit around Soror for the last few months?”
“I haven’t heard anything about it. It must have escaped the notice of our astronomers . . . but do stop interrupting me. Some of our scientists have put forward the theory that the machine comes from another planet and that it was inhabited. They are unable to go a step further and imagine intelligent beings in human form.”
“But you must tell them, Zira!” I cried. “I’ve had enough of living like a prisoner, even in the most comfortable of cages, even looked after by you. Why are you hiding me away? Why not reveal the truth to everyone?”
Zira stopped short, glanced all about her, and put her hand on my arm.
“Why? It’s purely in your own interests that I’m doing this. You know Zaius?”
“Of course. I wanted to talk to you about him. Well?”
“Did you notice the effect your first attempts at rationality produced on him? Do you know I’ve tried a hundred times to tell him about you and to suggest—ever so carefully!—that perhaps you were not a beast in spite of appearances?”
“I’ve seen you having long conversations together and noticed you didn’t agree.”
“He’s as stubborn as a mule and as stupid as a man!” Zira burst out. “Alas! it’s the same with almost all the orangutans. He has decreed once and for all that your talents are due to a highly developed animal instinct, and nothing will make him change his opinion. The unfortunate thing is, he has already prepared a long theses on you in which he asserts that you are a tame man, in other words, a man who has been trained to perform certain tricks without understanding them, probably during a former period of captivity.”
“The stupid beast!”
“Certainly. The only snag is, he represents official science and he’s powerful. He is one of the highest authorities in the institute, and all my reports have to go through him. I’m almost certain he would accuse me of scientific heresy if I tried to reveal the truth in your case, as you suggest. I should be dismissed. That’s unimportant, but do you realize what might then happen to you?”
“What fate could be worse than living in a cage?”
“Be thankful for small mercies! Do you know how I’ve had to scheme and plot to prevent him from having you transferred to the encephalic section? Nothing could restrain him if you insisted on claiming to be a rational creature.”
“What’s the encephalic section?” I asked in alarm.