MICHAEL CRICHTON

*A new pharmaceutical factory was built in Western Australia. In this factory allthe pills came out on a conveyor bell; a person had to watch the belt, and pressbuttons to sort the pills into separate bins by size and color. A Skinnenan animalbehaviorist pointed out that it would be simple to teach pigeons to watch the pillsand peck colored keys to do the sorting process. Incredulous factory managersagreed to a test; the pigeons indeed performed reliably, and were duly placed onthe assembly line. Then the RSPCA stepped in and put a stop to it on thegrounds that it represented cruelty to animals; the job was turned over to ahuman operator. for whom it did not, apparently, represent cruelty.there was a case involving a dolphin named Mary, released by a lab technicianinto the open ocean. The University of Hawaii prosecuted the technician,charging loss-of a valuable research animal. Two trials resulted in hung juries;the case was dropped.In November, 1978, there was a custody case involving a chimpanzee namedArthur, who was fluent in sign language. His owner, Johns Hopkins University,decided to sell him and close the program. His trainer, William Levine, went tocourt and obtained custody on the grounds that Arthur knew language and thuswas no longer a chimpanzee.“One of the pertinent facts,” Morton said, “was that when Arthur wasconfronted by other chimpanzees, he referred to them as ‘black things.’ Andwhen Arthur was twice asked to sort photographs of people and photographs ofchimps, he sorted them correctly except that both times he put his own picture inthe stack with the people. He obviously did not consider himself a chimpanzee,and the court ruled that he should remain with his trainer, since any separationwould cause him severe psychic distress.”“Amy cries when I leave her,” Elliot said.“When you conduct experiments, do you obtain her permission?”“Always.” Elliot smiled. Morton obviously had no sense of day-to-day life withAmy. It was essential to obtain her permission for any course of action, even aride in a car. She was a powerful animal, and she could be willful and stubborn.“Do you keep a record of her acquiescence?”“Videotapes.”38