Page 13 (1/2)

DAY 11: ZINJ

June 23, 1979

1Gorilla Elliotensis

THE GORILLA CORPSES LAY STRETCHED ON THE ground, the bodies already stiffening in thethe animals, both adultfeature was the unifororilla in Virunga, and the lowland gorilla near the coast, both had black hair Infants were often broith a white tuft of hair at the rump, but their hair darkened within the first five years By the age of twelve, adulttheir back and ruray in orillas first developed a spot of gray above each ear, and as the years passed ray Old animals in their late twenties and thirties soray except for their arms, which remained black

But from their teeth Elliot estimated that these hter, eye and skin color as well as hair Gorilla skin was black, and eyes were dark brown But here the pight yellon

AsNext Elliot th was 1392 and 1417 centiorillas had been recorded froht of 175 centiht inches But these animals stood about four feet six inches tall They were distinctly shed thehed between 280 and 450 pounds

Elliot recorded thirty additional skeletal measurements for later analysis by the computer back in San Francisco Because noas convinced that he was onto so With a knife, he dissected the head of the first ani ittal crest, the bony ridge running along the center of the skull froittal crest was a distinctive feature of gorilla skull architecture not found in other apes or orillas a pointy-headed look

Elliot deterittal crest was poorly developed in these eneral, the cranial orilla&039;s Elliot made additional measurements of the molar cusps, the jaw, the simian shelf, and the brain case

By midday, his conclusion was clear: this was at least a new race of gorilla, equal to the orilla - and it was possibly a new species of ani happens to the man who discovers a new species of aniets his family and friends, and all those ere near and dear to hiues who supported his professional efforts; ets parents and children; in short, he abandons all who knew him prior to his insensate lust for fame at the hands of the demon called Science"

Lady Forstmann understood, for her husband had just left her after discovering the Norwegian blue-crested grouse in 1878 "In vain," she observed, "does one ask what it matters that another bird or animal is added to the rich panoply of God&039;s creations, which already nu - in the millions There is no response to such a question, for the discoverer has joined the ranks of the iines it, and he lies beyond the

power of mere people to dissuade him from his course"

Certainly Peter Elliot would have denied that his own behavior resembled that of the dissolute Scottish nobleman Nevertheless he found he was bored by the prospect of further exploration of Zinj; he had no interest in diamonds, or Amy&039;s dreams; he wished only to return home with a skeleton of the new ape, which would astonish colleagues around the world He suddenly remembered he did not own a tuxedo, and he found hiined in the future three species of African apes:

Pan troglodytes, the chiorilla

Gorilla elliotensis, a new species of gray gorilla

Even if the species category and name were ultimately rejected, he would have acco primates could ever hope to achieve

Elliot was dazzled by his own prospects

In retrospect, no one was thinking clearly thatWhen Elliot said he wanted to trans sounds to Houston, Ross replied it was a trivial detail that could wait Elliot did not press her, they both later regretted their decision

And when they heard boo, they paid no attention Ross assuani Munro told her that the fighting was at least fifty miles away, too far for the sound to carry, but offered no alternative explanation for the noise

And because Ross skipped the eological changes that nificance to the explosive detonations

They were seduced by the technology eht before, secure in their sense of indomitable power Only Munro remained iing results "That laser system is splendid but it uses up bullets like there&039;s no toht consumed half of our total ammunition&039;&039;

"What can we do?" Elliot asked

"I was hoping you&039;d have an answer for that," Munro said "You examined the bodies"

Elliot stated his belief that they were confronted with a new species of pris, which supported his beliefs

"That&039;s all well and good," Munro said "But I&039;m interested in how they act, not how they look You said it yourself - gorillas are usually diurnal animals, and these are nocturnal Gorillas are usually shy and avoid ressive and attack men fearlessly Why?"

Elliot had to ad our ammunition supplies, I think we&039;d better find out," Munro said

2The Temple

THE LOGICAL PLACE TO BEGIN WAS THE TEMPLE, with its enororilla statue They returned that afternoon, and found behind the statue a succession of sht that priests orshiped the cult of the gorilla lived here

She had an elaborate explanation: "The gorillas in the surrounding jungle terrorized the people of Zinj, who offered sacrifices to appease the gorillas The priests were a separate class, secluded from society Look here, at the entrance to the line of cubicles, there is this little roouard stayed here to keep people away from the priests It was a whole system of belief"

Elliot was not convinced, and neither was Munro "Even religion is practical," Munro said "It&039;s supposed to benefit you&039;,

"People worship what they fear," Ross said, "hoping to control it&039;&039;

"But how could they control the gorillas?" Munro asked "What could they do?"

When the answer finally ca, for they had it all backward

Theycorridors, decorated with bas-reliefs Using their infrared computer systeed in a careful order like a picture textbook

The first scene showed a series of caged gorillas A blacka stick in his hand