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Project Greg |
| Written by cody brinkman (fresh ta deff) | |
| Wednesday, 16 January 2008 | |
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Share it:      Project Greg CodyBrinkman
Arthur Wells worked at the "Seeking Heaven Research Laboratory". He was a mid level researcher, until he was recently asked to accept a promotion. His higher-ups asked him to replace a now retired head researcher whom was leading a project called "Project Greg". Arthur was excited to begin work right away, even though he had no idea what"Project Greg" was. It was a Tuesday when Arthur began his new job. He went to the lab, checked in, walked through the various security implements, then down the A3 hallway which led to the A5 hallway, he had never been down this wing before. About halfway down the hall he found the former Dr. Rumbaugh's laboratory. He walked in and had a look around. It was like every other laboratory in the building, it seemed. It had a computer, a printer, a small explosion proof glass space, and odd glass fixtures that nobody uses. One difference, however, was the ape that Arthur found sitting on a small couch, apparently watching television. This shocked Arthur, because as far as he knew, no research was done on animals at the "Seeking Heaven Laboratories". Shouldn't this animal be in a cage, or a special room at least? Then the ape turned around and looked at Arthur, then to Arthur's horror, spoke to him. "Well hello there, you must be Dr.Wells, my name is Greg, how do you do?" The ape said in perfect English, with a slight accent, similar to people from New York City. Arthur did not respond to the talking ape, he slammed the door, locked it from the outside with his key, and ran like hell.
"There is a talking ape in my new laboratory! What is going on?" Arthur Wells was screaming at his boss. "Maybe we should have explained what exactly Dr. Rumbaugh was working on" This is what he told Arthur:
In 1973 a group of scientists took a group of twelve bonobo apes, or pygmy chimps, from they're home in the jungles of south Congo, and brought them to the "Seeking Heaven Laboratories".The Bonobo ape is renowned for being the most humanlike of all apes. The research team raised the apes taken from the Congo. They participated in many human social activities, and began to adapt accordingly. When the apes had offspring, they naturally taught their young to trust humans. The second generation adapted to people even better than their parents had. The apes were taught to identify pictures based on the English word associated with them. The apes also developed more advanced social skills, such as how to eat properly at the table, and how to wipe their ass. This trend continued, and the apes became more and more adapted to modern human life, and they taught they're offspring the same. Greg was of the newest generation, and he was the most intelligent Bonobo ape that the "Seeking Heaven Laboratories" had seen thus far.
Arthur did not adjust to the idea right away. After a while however, he realized that the concept was not as alien as it might seem, apes were hailed as highly intelligent creatures, but they lived in the wild where instinct rule over intelligence. If suddenly thrust into the jungles, wouldn't humans digress to wild men? Arthur decided to continue with the experiment, which basically consisted of talking to the ape.He went in each day and had breakfast with Greg, they would watch television,and Greg would tell Arthur what he was thinking of, sometimes Arthur would ask specific questions, other times he would be vague and let Greg fill in the blanks. Everything that was said would be recorded and filed away in the catacombs of the "Seeking Heaven Laboratories" basement. The ape often said how happy he was to be the first among his kind to rise above the wild. He often spoke ofreturning to the jungle and enlightening his fellow Bonobos. This was not possible, Arthur would tell him; those apes would tear him to pieces if he were to go there. Greg did not realize it took four generations before he was what he is today. Wild Bonobos would not accept him as they're own kind. The ape also spoke of his wishes to travel outside of the lab, and learn more about the world. This was also not possible yet, Arthur would tell him. The general public had no idea of his existence, and they would probably tear him to pieces worse than the wild apes would. Studies had also indicated that Greg did not have a developed ego, nor did he have a sense of "the lie". To Greg, human life was one of enlightenment and freedom, it was always good, never bad. One must remember that Greg did not understand that humans had immense problems, the kind which has never been felt in the animal world. Once a creature dose not have to struggle each day to survive, it creates it's own, new problems. Humans did not have to worry about whether they would eat today, or be eaten, so they worried about things that do not "exist". One may not always realize the immense psychological warfare going on within us, and between each other. Paranoia, Self Esteem, Egocentricity, Collective Conscious, Mental Abuse, had no meaning in Greg's mind. Arthur told Greg often that he would trade in all of what humans have built, to have the basic struggle for survival be the center of existence again. Animals don't need meaning in life,they just need to live. Animals don't care where we go when we die, they just know how to avoid it.
Then one day the United States of America declared war on Iraq for the third time. The next day it was discovered that a new version of the influenza virus had been found, and the strain was lethal, it would be five weeks before a vaccine was ready, and it may not be effective. The disease was already found on the west coast of America, and in several parts of Europe and Asia, it would only be a couple days before it was everywhere. The women Arthur was seeing had dropped him like a hot stone three days prior. She didn't even seem to realize what she was doing; apparently they weren't what he had thought they were, news to him. Then a recent article that Arthur wrote in a science journal was bashed by many critics. The article was about the social behavior of the Bonobo ape, it of course did not mention Greg. Arthur's brother, an alcoholic, had recently lost his home because of back-taxes, and the same may happen to Arthur soon.
That was it. That was the state of things on that fateful Friday when Arthur Wells, Senior Researcher of the Greg Project at the "Seeking Heaven Laboratories" walked into his lab to say good-bye to Greg, his last friend. Greg asked Arthur where he was going. "To the Congo, Greg, I'm going to visit some of your relatives, no you cannot come, I'm going to do the same thing we've done to you here, only in reverse, I'm tired of people and all of their stupid intelligence, you keep doing so well around here Greg, maybe you can teach us something one day." With that Arthur Wells grabbed his bag and began to leave, and as he did, Greg the Bonobo Ape, the Pygmy Chimpanzee, said this: "Tell Dr. Rumbaugh I said hello"
Copyright 2008 cody brinkman (fresh ta deff) |
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 16 January 2008 ) |
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