and help others. He desperately wanted to conceal the fact that we use chimpanzees in our research, for fear that misguided people might object. As you can see, our subjects are not mistreated in any way. It’s important to keep them healthy and active or the research would become meaningless.”
He nodded. “I don’t see any need for that to come into it, Dr. Wooten. He was sick, dying, probably in pain, since it seems he had deliberately stopped taking his meds. Then he took too much sleep medication. Maybe he decided it would be best to go that way, in his sleep like that.”
She continued to sit in the park as dusk fell. The chimps became quiet and a bat squealed overhead. Dale joined her.
“We have to start further back,” she said. “As soon as those anomalous patterns show, we change one of the parameters, and if it shows again, conclude the trial.”
“I know,” he said. “I’ll be going home soon. Are you going home?”
“No. I’ll sleep on the sofa tonight.”
“Don’t stay out here too long. You’ll get chilled or the mosquitoes will find you.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “See you in the morning.”
She remained there until the stars appeared. And she thought, the cage door had been opened, and now it was closed and it must never be opened again. The evil bird that was in Markham’s cage was locked in place or not, but if his death had opened that door finally, the bird had flown far, far away.
Changing the World
—MELVIN H. TOOMY— HE TYPED IN THE WORDS, sat back and studied them, then deleted them. Since it was his confession, he didn’t need to add his name up front like that. He started over.
—It began the day I overheard my wife and daughter talking about me—
He remembered the conversation all too clearly. Penny and her husband Ryan were visiting for the weekend. They had been married for one year, were still in the honeymoon phase, and Penny had little sympathy for anything or anyone who disturbed the roseate glow that enveloped her. Ruth was speaking when he happened to draw near the open kitchen window.
“He’s just so aimless these days. It worries me.”
“Mother, he’s driving you crazy is what he’s doing. Why doesn’t he go play golf or something?”
“He sold the clubs. He said thank God he’d never have to spend another hour with another idiot chasing a little white ball around in the blazing sunshine.”
“Oh, great. He won’t go fishing or hunting, or take up glass blowing or something, or volunteer for anything, so he’s bored. It’s not your problem, Mother. It’s his.”
“It must be terribly hard for him. You know, the big office, secretary, expense account lunches, and now all of it’s gone. Stock options worthless, 401(k) practically worthless. You start out thinking you’ll do great things, change the world or something, and suddenly you’re sixty years old, it’s all gone, and you wonder what happened. He’s put out feelers, but no one will hire a sixty-year-old man… ” The words trailed off.
He grimaced as the words played in his head. He couldn’t stand having his wife pity him, or his beautiful daughter dismiss him that way. And God knew he never had thought of changing the world or anything else. He closed his eyes, remembering the weekend from the past April and how it had changed his life.
That night at dinner Ruth talked about one of her staff at the high school. “She took the laptop home with her, left it in her car while she ducked into the store for milk, and it was stolen. Students’ personal information, personnel information. We have backups, of course, but still, someone has that information now.”
“Happens all the time,” Ryan said. “Everyone should have an external hard drive and carry it if they have to take work home.”
“How does that work?” Ruth asked. She was principal of the high school and loss of the files had been a worry all week.
Ryan explained external hard drives, and
He nodded. “I don’t see any need for that to come into it, Dr. Wooten. He was sick, dying, probably in pain, since it seems he had deliberately stopped taking his meds. Then he took too much sleep medication. Maybe he decided it would be best to go that way, in his sleep like that.”
She continued to sit in the park as dusk fell. The chimps became quiet and a bat squealed overhead. Dale joined her.
“We have to start further back,” she said. “As soon as those anomalous patterns show, we change one of the parameters, and if it shows again, conclude the trial.”
“I know,” he said. “I’ll be going home soon. Are you going home?”
“No. I’ll sleep on the sofa tonight.”
“Don’t stay out here too long. You’ll get chilled or the mosquitoes will find you.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “See you in the morning.”
She remained there until the stars appeared. And she thought, the cage door had been opened, and now it was closed and it must never be opened again. The evil bird that was in Markham’s cage was locked in place or not, but if his death had opened that door finally, the bird had flown far, far away.
Changing the World
—MELVIN H. TOOMY— HE TYPED IN THE WORDS, sat back and studied them, then deleted them. Since it was his confession, he didn’t need to add his name up front like that. He started over.
—It began the day I overheard my wife and daughter talking about me—
He remembered the conversation all too clearly. Penny and her husband Ryan were visiting for the weekend. They had been married for one year, were still in the honeymoon phase, and Penny had little sympathy for anything or anyone who disturbed the roseate glow that enveloped her. Ruth was speaking when he happened to draw near the open kitchen window.
“He’s just so aimless these days. It worries me.”
“Mother, he’s driving you crazy is what he’s doing. Why doesn’t he go play golf or something?”
“He sold the clubs. He said thank God he’d never have to spend another hour with another idiot chasing a little white ball around in the blazing sunshine.”
“Oh, great. He won’t go fishing or hunting, or take up glass blowing or something, or volunteer for anything, so he’s bored. It’s not your problem, Mother. It’s his.”
“It must be terribly hard for him. You know, the big office, secretary, expense account lunches, and now all of it’s gone. Stock options worthless, 401(k) practically worthless. You start out thinking you’ll do great things, change the world or something, and suddenly you’re sixty years old, it’s all gone, and you wonder what happened. He’s put out feelers, but no one will hire a sixty-year-old man… ” The words trailed off.
He grimaced as the words played in his head. He couldn’t stand having his wife pity him, or his beautiful daughter dismiss him that way. And God knew he never had thought of changing the world or anything else. He closed his eyes, remembering the weekend from the past April and how it had changed his life.
That night at dinner Ruth talked about one of her staff at the high school. “She took the laptop home with her, left it in her car while she ducked into the store for milk, and it was stolen. Students’ personal information, personnel information. We have backups, of course, but still, someone has that information now.”
“Happens all the time,” Ryan said. “Everyone should have an external hard drive and carry it if they have to take work home.”
“How does that work?” Ruth asked. She was principal of the high school and loss of the files had been a worry all week.
Ryan explained external hard drives, and
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