Unsaid: A Novel (31 page)

“And scream she did, when the only person who ever showed her any kindness and, dare I say it, love, was forcibly removed by armed security guards under the control of the United States government.

“That’s correct, ladies and gentlemen, Cindy is not a human being; she is a chimpanzee. But she can communicate in our language as well as a typical four-year-old human child. You will hear and see conclusive scientific proof of that fact and, with it, the inescapable knowledge that Cindy is a vibrant, curious, funny, intelligent, and sentient being.

“It is a remarkable thing to see a chimpanzee use our language. Whatever else happens in this case, I hope at least that you will agree with that much.

“Surely, intelligent humans”—here David pauses to look at Mace—“knew the time would eventually come when we would understand enough about the natural world that we would be able to decipher the barriers that separate us, and in that process gain a better understanding of who we all are. Dr. Cassidy has been at the
forefront of that understanding. She is no criminal—unless insight and caring have become crimes.”

David paces the length of the jury box, giving the seven humans sitting therein an opportunity to consider what he has said thus far.

“So how do we find ourselves here? How is it that you’ve been taken from your jobs and your regular schedule to listen to the government try to prove that Dr. Cassidy is a criminal? That is a sad story indeed.

“The government decided to terminate Dr. Cassidy after four years, which is their right. They wanted to take her years of research, which it is true they paid for. Even that would not have brought us here today.

“But the government also decided that Cindy, this creature with the language skills of a four-year-old girl, would be ripped from the life she knows and returned to the government’s general primate population, which is used for all types of invasive experiments. She could be infected with AIDS, or hepatitis, or forced to undergo experimental surgical techniques without post-surgery pain medications—experimental surgeries the likes of which, I assure you, will give you nightmares for weeks to come.

“Dr. Cassidy couldn’t let that happen, not to this creature whom she had raised as an infant. Not to this creature who calls her by name and probably still awaits her return and rescue.

“It’s not like she didn’t try other means. Dr. Cassidy offered to purchase Cindy, but the government said no. She offered to do literally anything to save this young chimpanzee girl’s life. The government said no. Then she tried to rescue Cindy from her fate, and here we are.

“One of the elements that the government must prove to you is that Dr. Cassidy was motivated by the intent to steal the
government’s property. The evidence will show that her only motivation was to save this chimpanzee—this conscious and communicative being called Cindy—from almost certain death. That is why you should find her not guilty.

“So now let me thank you for your attention and patience and finish this story where Mr. Mace finished his. A dog or a cat in your house.”

David looks each juror in the eye as he continues. “Imagine that you’ve fostered this animal for four years of your life; that your home is taken from you and you’re told you must leave the animal behind, alone in the house you’ve been evicted from; that you learn the animal will be subjected to excruciatingly painful experiments before it is killed. Now, finally, imagine that this creature isn’t really a dog or cat at all, but something that acts, thinks, feels, and communicates with you like a little girl.

“There’s only you. What will you let happen to her? What would you do?” David says so quietly that some of the jurors lean forward to hear him.

“Is she property? Perhaps so. But that is a limitation that is imposed by the law. You will see that this legal status certainly was not a limitation on Dr. Cassidy’s heart. And today it need not be a limitation on yours.

“It has been said—and we have learned from history—that the only thing necessary for wrong to triumph over right is for good men and women to do nothing. Don’t allow this wrong to prevail. Don’t do nothing. Use your voice and set Dr. Cassidy free.”

David finishes his opening, nods to the jury, and then quickly returns to his chair. There is a murmuring from the spectators, but it is quickly shut down by Allerton’s gavel.

Allerton, poker-faced as ever, says, “Let’s take lunch before the
first witness.” He then turns to the jurors. “I remind you that you’ve not yet heard a single shred of evidence. You should not discuss anything about this case among yourselves or anyone else. I will instruct you when it is time to begin your deliberations.”

Once the jury is dismissed and Allerton is off the bench, David allows himself a little smile as he accepts compliments from Max, Chris, and Daniel. Then Jaycee steps up to him. “Thank you,” she says.

“That’s the easy part,” David tells her.

Jaycee leans over to David and whispers so only he can hear. “I think Helena would’ve been proud to hear you speak.”

David nods and walks out of the courtroom.

Proud? I don’t think I’ve earned the right to feel pride. But I am grateful.

F
ollowing the lunch break, the government begins its case against Jaycee. The evidence is, as Mace had promised, straightforward and without any surprises. The guard whom Cindy bit testifies in short order to the elements of Jaycee’s crime—that Jaycee had somehow broken into the building that used to be her lab, carried out the specimen chimpanzee, and was attempting to get to her vehicle with the specimen when she was apprehended. It takes less than an hour to put all the nails into Jaycee’s legal coffin.

As soon as Mace is done with the witness, David rises to cross-examine.

“So, you saw Dr. Cassidy running toward the fence with the specimen?” David asks.

“Right.”

“The specimen was a chimpanzee, right?”

“That is what I observed, sir.”

“So what did you think was going on?”

“I don’t understand your question, sir.”

“You knew the woman was Dr. Cassidy, correct? You’d seen her before? Worked with her?”

“Correct.”

“Well, did you think this was like a chimp-napping in progress or something? You get a lot of that?”

“Objection,” Mace calls out.

There is some laughter from the benches, but Allerton quickly shuts it down.

“I’ll withdraw the question, Your Honor,” David says.

“Good thinking.” Allerton gives David a cold
Stop screwing around
glance.

“When you told Dr. Cassidy to drop to the ground and release the specimen, I assume the specimen, now freed from her clutches, ran away, right?”

“Not exactly, no.”

“How ‘not exactly’?”

“Well, the chimpanzee was still in the area.”

“Not just in the area, but actually clinging to Dr. Cassidy, isn’t that correct?” David asks, raising his voice slightly.

“Yeah. I guess that’s right.”

“Dr. Cassidy was facedown on the ground with your weapon pointed at her and this chimpanzee actually was holding on to Dr. Cassidy, wasn’t she?”

“As I said, yes.”

“When you tried to separate the chimpanzee from Dr. Cassidy, the specimen bit you, right?”

“Yes.”

“The chimpanzee was protecting Dr. Cassidy from you, isn’t that right?”

“I couldn’t tell you what was going through the chimpanzee’s mind, sir.”

“Do you know American Sign Language?”

“I do not.”

“Pity, because if you did, perhaps you could’ve asked the specimen precisely that question.”

“Objection!” Mace shouts.

“Sustained,” Allerton rules.

David begins to walk back to counsel table, but stops in mid-stride, as if he forgot something. “One more thing. When Dr. Cassidy was being removed in handcuffs and you finally pulled the chimpanzee off her, what was the chimpanzee doing?”

“The chimpanzee appeared to be upset.”

“Can you describe that?”

The guard pauses before answering that one. “The chimpanzee was screaming and reaching for Dr. Cassidy.”

“Do you have any children, sir?”

“Yes, a girl.”

David drops into a more conversational tone. “How old is she?”

“She’s twelve,” the guard says with obvious pride.

“Do you remember when she was four?”

“Of course.”

David smiles at the guard. “I hear four-year-old girls can be a handful.”

The guard smiles back. “That, counselor, is what you would call an understatement.”

There is some laughter in the courtroom, and David waits for it to die down. “They can be stubborn?”

“Same answer.” More laughter.

“Do you remember ever trying to take your daughter from her mother when she didn’t want to go?”

“Oh, yeah,” the guard says, playing up to the crowd now. “You never forget those screams.”

At the word
screams,
the courtroom becomes still, David’s point suddenly obvious. “But Cindy’s screams didn’t sound anything like that when you pulled her off Dr. Cassidy, I guess.”

The guard looks down at his shoes, avoiding David’s stare. That is enough of an answer for David. “Nothing further,” he says.

After the guard leaves the courtroom, Mace rises to his feet. “The government believes it has made out the elements of the crimes Dr. Cassidy has been charged with. Indeed, we believe those elements are not disputed, subject only to the defendant’s claim of mitigating circumstances. Accordingly, the prosecution rests its case at this time, but reserves the right to put on a witness to rebut any evidence of mitigation the defense may make.”

“Very well, Mr. Mace. Mr. Colden, you have the floor.”

All eyes in the courtroom turn to David as he rises from his seat and says in a strong, clear voice, “The defense calls Dr. Jane Cassidy.”

Jaycee walks to the front of the courtroom and climbs up into the box next to the judge. “Remain standing while we administer the oath, please,” Allerton says.

The court clerk comes over with a well-worn Bible. “Please raise your right hand,” she says above some excited chattering from the benches and the shuffling of papers at the counsel table.

Allerton stops the clerk. “Hold on a sec, Bev.” He turns to address the rest of the courtroom, and his demeanor is deadly serious. “I’m just going to say this once. The oath is a solemn vow. People have gone to jail for violating it. It is what truly matters in the administration of the law and justice in this country. The taking of the oath is entitled to at least the minimum degree of respect you can show—silence while the oath is being given. That means no talking, no whispering, no getting up and going to the bathroom.
I want complete and absolute silence during the oath in this courtroom. If that is unclear to anyone, you can leave now.” Allerton waits a few seconds to see if anyone takes him up on his offer. He then nods to the clerk. “Okay, Bev. Go ahead.”

Jaycee puts one hand on the cover of the Bible and raises the other as the clerk asks, “Do you swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?”

“I do,” Jaycee says.

“Be seated and spell your name for the court reporter,” the clerk commands. Jaycee complies.

David, a slim binder in his hand, moves to the podium near the counsel table. “Good morning, Doctor.”

David and Jaycee begin the Q&A that they’ve been rehearsing for several days now.

Jaycee, trying to maintain eye contact with the jury, responds to David’s first question by reciting her impressive academic credentials, her employment as part of the research faculty at Cornell and Tufts, and her membership in the International College of Comparative Anthropologists. Then they move on to her work at CAPS.

“Why do you care about the use of language in your work?”

“Our language has always been relied upon as the great divide between us and every other creature. We have it; they don’t. Historically, human language has been used as the proxy for sentience. So I set out to test the scientific validity of the premise that only humans can acquire and use human language.”

“How did you go about testing the premise?”

“Frankly, with a great deal of difficulty. It’s not like you can just put a microphone in front of a chimpanzee and engage it in a conversation. Chimpanzees and bonobos cannot speak as you and
I speak because they don’t have the moving parts in their vocal apparatus that we do.”

“So, why isn’t that the end of the story?” David continues.

“There’s a difference between
unspoken
and
unsaid,
” Jaycee says. “Just because chimpanzees cannot speak doesn’t mean they have nothing to say; the ability to vocalize thoughts is not the same as the ability to acquire and use language. We know this as a scientific fact because the ability to speak language is a relatively recent development in hominids. Chimpanzees share over ninety-eight percent of our genetic code, but they actually have ninety-nine point seven two percent of the specific gene that controls the development of human speech as we know it today. Evolutionally speaking, they are a hairbreadth away from being actually able to vocalize human speech. The real issue from a research perspective is how to bridge the gap between how chimpanzees communicate and how we as humans listen.”

“How did you plan to bridge the gap?”

“We started with the core concept that communication is merely the transfer of information in a manner that has meaning to the recipient. An animal communicates whenever he or she intentionally behaves so that another senses the behavior and reacts. We know that animals are great meaning makers—the dog that growls when you go near his food bowl when he is eating, the cat that purrs in your lap, the parrot that tosses food it doesn’t like from her cage. Language is really just a systematic means of communication through symbols or sounds. Almost all animals use language. The problem is that when it comes to the issue of language, humans are incredibly narcissistic. Since we literally hold the key to their cages, our language is the only one that counts. So we needed to find a way to get Cindy to communicate in a language that counts
to her captors even though she does not have the ability to actually speak.”