FirstLineFiction beta

from Contest #1

She told him with a little gesture he had never seen her use before.  It was clear she mean "Angry" but it was a modified sign.  Dr. Cardigan tried to clarify by again pulling his cupped hand down his chest, "Angry?"  No mistake, she repeated the same gesture.  Her known vocabulary was growing and now up to about 210 standard signs but was this a mistake or was she creating a new word.

Korin looked disturbed ever since the monkey had been brought into the compound.  Mike had raise Korin since near birth and been there for all the signing lessons.  The research had been going well.  Since the monkey came on the compound, Korin had sulked and not signed until today.  Then unmistakably she signed for "angry" plus something agglutinated in a continuous matter.

Shit, that was it "shit".  "Angry-Shit", the creation of a new word.  She told him with her little gesture that she hated the monkey by using the same taboo language as us humans.  Korin the chimp did not like monkeys and especially a monkey coming on to her turf.

Humans are not along in the realm of scatological language -- one of our nearest relatives use it to display disgust and anger.  He had seen chimps throw feces at window of staring humans in the zoo.  This would upset the Dean even further.  He was already upset that Dr. Cardigan was trying to show that chimps shared language with humans.  The Dean saw this as another assault on God.  The Dean had reached his position because of his religious affiliations but the school was divided and so Dr. Cardigan was allowed to continue his language research with Korin.  But Korin has slowed down at 210 signs and Dr. Cardigan had hope that introducing a monkey would brighten the her mood and perhaps stir her to new language.

The monkey did help.  Korin had been despondent after the death of her mate about eight months ago.  The signing had slowed to a halt.  Cardigan needed vocabulary to continue to grow to allow to reflect actual syntax and not just language that even dogs could do.  This cursing with feces talk was more than he could hope for.  But would showing that Chimps even shared vulgarity with humans push the Dean over the edge.  Cardigan hoped so.  The Dean had a huge Creationist following in the community, at the school and even on the board of directors.  But Dr. Cardigan had tenure and could afford such tiffs.

At the end of the day, Dr. Cardigan was given the startlingly bad news that Korin had killed herself -- hung herself by a chain in her feeding pen.  Cardigan ran to the cage and fell on his knees in disbelief.  Suicide among other primates beside humans was unheard of.  Had Korin learned too many human skills, was language the last straw, had she been able to put words to her pain and grief and then to imagine deeper her own loss?

The Dean cut funding to the research.  Creationists had a deeply ironic victory.

back to Contest #1