MICHAEL CRICHTON

No, she signed. Amy no go.“Yes, Amy.” He went to his pack and got his syringe and a bottle of Thoralen.With her body stiff and angry, she tapped the underside of her chin with aclenched fist.“Watch your language, Amy,” he warned her.Ross came over with orange life vests for him and Amy.“Something wrong?”“She’s swearing,” Elliot said. “Better leave us alone.” Ross took one look atAmy’s tense, rigid body, and left hurriedly.Amy signed Peter’s name, then tapped the underside of her chin again. Thiswas the Ameslan sign politely translated in scholarly reports as “dirty,” although itwas most often employed by apes when they needed to go to the potty. Primateinvestigators were under no illusions about what the animals really meant. Amywas saying, Peter shiny.Nearly all language-skilled primates swore, and they employed a variety ofwords for swearing. Sometimes the pejorative seemed to be chosen at random,“nut” or “bird”or “wash.” But at least eight primates in different laboratories hadindependently settled on the clenched-fist sign to signify extreme displeasure.The only reason this remarkable coincidence hadn’t been written up was that noinvestigator was willing to try and explain it. It seemed to prove that apes, likepeople, found bodily excretions suitable terms to express denigration and anger.Peter shitty. she signed again.“Amy.. .“ He doubled the Thoralen dose he was drawing into the syringe.Peter shiny boat shiny people shiny.“Amy, cut it out.” He stiffened his own body and hunched over, imitating agorilla’s angry posture; that often made her back off, but this time it had no effect.Peter no like Amy. Now she was sulking, turned away from him, signing tonobody.“Don’t be ridiculous,” Elliot said, approaching her with the syringe held ready.“Peter like Amy.”She backed away and would not let him come close to her. In the end he wasforced to load the CO2 gun and shoot a dart into her chest. He had only done146