Institute expressly grants permission. I initial next to it. Compliance is total and irrevocable .
I initial next to it. Upon punishment of death. I sign and date it.
I initial next to it. Upon punishment of death. I sign and date it.
The Director has been watching us carefuly as we sign, each hunter in turn. His eyes are black holes, sucking in observations with a slippery, keen acuity. He never misses a thing, never guesses wrong. As I hand over my waiver papers, I feel his eyes clamp down on me like a suddenly jammed stapler. Just before the papers are taken from me, they dangle off my hand, shaking ever so slightly.
His eyes fl ip to the papers, to the way they are quivering. I know this without looking, from the piercing cold burn on my wrist where his eyes settle. I grip the papers tighter to stil them.
Then I feel his stare shift away, the cold burn on my wrist evap-orating. He has moved on to the next hunter.
54 ANDREW FUKUDA
After al the papers have been colected, he continues without missing a beat. “Much of what is known about hepers is more fi ctional than factual. It’s time to debunk these myths.
“Myth one: They are wild beasts at heart and wil be continual fl ight risks. Fact: They are easily domesticated and are actualy quite afraid of the unknown. Truth is, during the day while we sleep and the Dome is retracted, they are unsupervised and free to roam.
The whole stretch of the plains, as far as you can see, free for them The whole stretch of the plains, as far as you can see, free for them to escape, far and away. If they choose. But they never have. Of course, it’s easy to understand why. Any heper who leaves the safety of the Dome is— come nighttime— free game. Within two hours, it would have been sniffed out, chased down, and devoured.
In fact, this has happened. Once or twice.” He does not elaborate.
“Myth two: They are passive and submissive, ready to lie down rather than fi ght back. Ironicaly, this myth has been perpetuated by previous Hunts when the hepers showed anything but re sistance. Historical accounts of that Hunt refl ect how useless they were: fi rst, the initial fl ight, where they proved to be slow and disorga nized; and second, their submissive surrender when surrounded by us. Even when we were two miles away, they just gave up. Stopped running. And when we came on them, not a single one fought back, not so much as even a single raised arm.
Practicaly lay down and let us have at them.
“What our research has demonstrated, however, is that hepers can be trained to be aggressive. They’ve demonstrated surprising acumen with the weapons provided. Primitive weapons, mind you, mere spears, knives, daggers, axes. And, quite endearingly, they’ve even fashioned leather guards that they place around their necks for protection. Those naive darlings.” He starts scratching his wrist, then stops. He jots something down in his notebook. “Not sure how they got the leather. Surprisingly resourceful, they can be.”
THE HUNT 55
We sit stil as he fi nishes writing. He snaps the notebook shut, starts speaking again.
“Myth three: They are a male- dominated society. This is another myth perpetuated by previous Heper Hunts. You’ve al heard about it, how it’s always the men who take charge— futilely; the men who make al the decisions— the wrong ones, as we also know.
The women typicaly do nothing but folow. Folowers. Submissive.
We thought this was simply how they were ge ne ticaly wired: men dominate, women submit. But our research has produced some startling results. Currently, we have fi ve hepers in captivity, al but one of which is male. Four males, only one female. Want to wager a guess who’s the leader?” His eyes sparkle with excitement.
“This is one of the more surprising discoveries. In fact, it was I who was the fi rst to spot the trend. Even early on, when the hepers were mere toddlers, it was I who noted that the sole female heper seemed to
I initial next to it. Upon punishment of death. I sign and date it.
I initial next to it. Upon punishment of death. I sign and date it.
The Director has been watching us carefuly as we sign, each hunter in turn. His eyes are black holes, sucking in observations with a slippery, keen acuity. He never misses a thing, never guesses wrong. As I hand over my waiver papers, I feel his eyes clamp down on me like a suddenly jammed stapler. Just before the papers are taken from me, they dangle off my hand, shaking ever so slightly.
His eyes fl ip to the papers, to the way they are quivering. I know this without looking, from the piercing cold burn on my wrist where his eyes settle. I grip the papers tighter to stil them.
Then I feel his stare shift away, the cold burn on my wrist evap-orating. He has moved on to the next hunter.
54 ANDREW FUKUDA
After al the papers have been colected, he continues without missing a beat. “Much of what is known about hepers is more fi ctional than factual. It’s time to debunk these myths.
“Myth one: They are wild beasts at heart and wil be continual fl ight risks. Fact: They are easily domesticated and are actualy quite afraid of the unknown. Truth is, during the day while we sleep and the Dome is retracted, they are unsupervised and free to roam.
The whole stretch of the plains, as far as you can see, free for them The whole stretch of the plains, as far as you can see, free for them to escape, far and away. If they choose. But they never have. Of course, it’s easy to understand why. Any heper who leaves the safety of the Dome is— come nighttime— free game. Within two hours, it would have been sniffed out, chased down, and devoured.
In fact, this has happened. Once or twice.” He does not elaborate.
“Myth two: They are passive and submissive, ready to lie down rather than fi ght back. Ironicaly, this myth has been perpetuated by previous Hunts when the hepers showed anything but re sistance. Historical accounts of that Hunt refl ect how useless they were: fi rst, the initial fl ight, where they proved to be slow and disorga nized; and second, their submissive surrender when surrounded by us. Even when we were two miles away, they just gave up. Stopped running. And when we came on them, not a single one fought back, not so much as even a single raised arm.
Practicaly lay down and let us have at them.
“What our research has demonstrated, however, is that hepers can be trained to be aggressive. They’ve demonstrated surprising acumen with the weapons provided. Primitive weapons, mind you, mere spears, knives, daggers, axes. And, quite endearingly, they’ve even fashioned leather guards that they place around their necks for protection. Those naive darlings.” He starts scratching his wrist, then stops. He jots something down in his notebook. “Not sure how they got the leather. Surprisingly resourceful, they can be.”
THE HUNT 55
We sit stil as he fi nishes writing. He snaps the notebook shut, starts speaking again.
“Myth three: They are a male- dominated society. This is another myth perpetuated by previous Heper Hunts. You’ve al heard about it, how it’s always the men who take charge— futilely; the men who make al the decisions— the wrong ones, as we also know.
The women typicaly do nothing but folow. Folowers. Submissive.
We thought this was simply how they were ge ne ticaly wired: men dominate, women submit. But our research has produced some startling results. Currently, we have fi ve hepers in captivity, al but one of which is male. Four males, only one female. Want to wager a guess who’s the leader?” His eyes sparkle with excitement.
“This is one of the more surprising discoveries. In fact, it was I who was the fi rst to spot the trend. Even early on, when the hepers were mere toddlers, it was I who noted that the sole female heper seemed to
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