Congo

by Michael Crichton

kanyamagufa, which meant “the place of bones.”

“Dawa,” the headman said ominously, using the Bantu term for magical forces.

Dawa was everywhere, in plants and rocks and storms and enemies of all kinds. But the belief in dawa was prevalent throughout much of Africa and strongly held in the Congo.

the easiest way to obtain information was to steal it.

Her chilly demeanor had earned her the title “Ross Glacier,” after the Antarctic formation.

(In remote-sensing terminology, a “signature” is the characteristic appearance of an object or geological feature in a photograph or video image.)

“S.D.T.A.G.W.” It stood for “Some Damn Thing Always Goes Wrong.”

His management philosophy, tempered in his rain-dancing days, was always to give the project to whoever had the most to gain from success—or the most to lose from failure.

It suggested that any dominant personality trait could be suddenly reversed under stress conditions:

“Apes and Baboons … can speak but will not for fear they should be imployed, and set to work.”

Vicki was not so much incapable of language as incapable of speech.

(Among human beings, vocabulary was considered the best measure of intelligence.)

(like young children, Amy often “talked to herself”);

coprophagia, choking to death on his own feces.

the very intelligence that made apes worthwhile subjects for study also made them as unstable as human beings.

Genetic memory was first proposed by Marais in 1911, and it has been vigorously debated ever since. In its simplest form, the theory proposed that the mechanism of genetic inheritance, which governed the transmission of all physical traits, was not limited to physical traits alone.

in the words of philosopher George H. Mead, that “animals have no rights. We are at liberty to cut off their lives; there is no wrong committed when an animal’s life is taken away. He has not lost anything.…”

That was how it worked these days: protest by appointment.

a primatologist and an ape provided a perfect cover.

Gorillas have their own etiquette. Don’t speak loudly or make any sudden movements until she gets used to you. If you smile, don’t show your teeth, because bared teeth are a threat. And keep your eyes downcast, because direct stares from strangers are considered hostile.

Chimpanzees had a strong need to determine who was in charge.

Whenever gorillas did not feel comfortable with direct aggression, they did something symbolic. In

In her world, “button” was the acknowledged term for a person of high status.

“What’s a triple E?” “Expedition electronic expert,”

The official military position was that UFOs were of natural origin—but the military was covering its bets.

“I think several expeditions found the city,” she said. “But nobody ever got back out again.”

In the developing field of pattern-recognition computer programs, so-called B-8 problems were the most difficult;

In central Africa, local difficulties usually meant cannibalism and other atrocities.

“hard, lethal customer who knew the jungle and was highly effective, when we could get him away from the ladies.”

I am still alive because I am no gambler,”

experts anticipated that by 1990 there would actually be one billion computers—most of them linked by communications networks to other computers.

the prejudices that human beings showed toward apes, considering chimpanzees to be cute children, orangs to be wise old men, and gorillas to be hulking, dangerous brutes. They were wrong in every case.

wild chimpanzees caught and ate human infants—something gorillas never did.

“Nobody,” Ross said, “plants only one bug.

“the indifferent immensity of the natural world.”

“I’ve never jumped before,” Elliot said. “That’s the best way. You won’t be frightened.” “But I am frightened.” “I can help you with that,” Munro said, and he pushed Elliot out of the plane.

“If a man has to do something dangerous,” he said later, “it helps to be angry. It’s for his own protection, really. Better he should hate someone than fall apart. I wanted Elliot to hate me all the way down.”

cannibalism had always been openly practiced in central Africa.

“the cannibals are not schemers and they are not mean. In direct opposition to all natural conjectures, they are among the best types of men.”

The redesigned tents were typical of the NASA approach.

“Studies show,” she said, “that the single greatest factor limiting work efficiency is ambient temperature, with sleep deprivation as the second factor.”

In ERTS slang, the simplest level of electronic jamming was called “tuba.”

Even in the 1960s the jungle remained terra incognita, an unknown land with the power to hold the technology of mechanized warfare beyond its periphery. And with good reason, Munro thought. Men just did not belong there.

most primatologists assumed that there was a need for social contact as strongly perceived as hunger, thirst, or fatigue.

there was no Swahili word for chivalry or sportsmanship, and the same was true of the Congolese variant, Lingala. “In this part of the world, it’s kill or be killed.

Nearly all language-skilled primates swore, and they employed a variety of words for swearing. Sometimes the pejorative seemed to be chosen at random, “nut” or “bird” or “wash.”

“But we Kikuyu say no one escapes from life alive.

“From hippos to hail.”

Munro humiliated them, chided them, encouraged them—and somehow kept them moving.

Then they bite you on the ass. That’s the mark for cowardice in these regions—because it means you ran away.”