10312 words (41 minute read)

Orientation Day

Letter from Ruby Cardini to Sarah Beth Andrews, dated May 25, 1974:

Dear Sarah Beth,

The menagerie finally arrived today: one professor, one graduate assistant, two cats, one dog, and of course, one special chimpanzee.

The five of us already here were waiting in front of the mansion to greet Piers Preis-Herald and his entourage. I felt like a servant welcoming back the master after a long absence. Wanda had a rough idea of when they would show up, allowing for traffic. Gail spotted them driving up the road from a window and sounded the alarm, so out we all trotted. I was nervous of course; I had only seen Dr. Preis-Herald the one time before, and wondered if he would even remember me. Part of my mind was convinced he had hired me by mistake; he would take one look at me and announce I wasn’t the right one, that he’d wanted a different, older, smarter, more capable co-ed, and I would be sent packing in disgrace.

Needless to say, that didn’t happen.

Piers’s car, an elegant blue sedan, pulled up first; a battered old station wagon whose windows you could hardly penetrate for all the junk piled up inside sputtered in behind him. We all rushed to offer what help we could. Piers (I have to remember to call him Piers; he insists) was very jolly, calling out “Hullo!” and greeting each of us by name as he disembarked.

Maisie put me at ease immediately. She’s Piers’s dog: a beautiful sleek border collie with black and white patterning, a warm tongue, and a fluffy tail that never stops wagging. She bounded out of the sedan and ran right to me. When she jumped up, she came to my shoulders. I could have given her a hug and I almost did. I’ve forgotten how much fun a dog can be.

More fun awaited us. Piers handed Tammy a carrying case containing a black-and-white cat called Peter and then gave me a second case belonging to a lovely calico called Harriet. We’re going of have a house full of pets I didn’t even know about! Technically the cats are Wanda’s, but they’re on loan to the study for Webster’s sake. Dr. P Piers says they fascinate him. Webster gets to play with the cats or the dog as a reward when he performs well in his studies. “They’ll also help to soothe him as he acclimates to his new accommodations. The more familiarity we can provide him, the more comfortable and hence, the more productive he will be,” Piers explained.

We were all dying to meet Webster. I was surprised he was riding in the station wagon instead of with Piers. We gathered around the vehicle, torn between wanting to get closer to see him and wanting to back away so Webster could get enough air and not feel spooked. At long last, the driver emerged cradling the most adorable little being. He was about the size of a 6- or 9-month-old child—small, covered in shiny black hair, and dressed in a toddler’s shirt and pants. He held tightly to his keeper, though he did look up at the rest of us. He has the tiniest wrinkly face and big, silly-looking lips! His big, shiny eyes fill up most of the space on his face.

As soon as we set our own eyes on Webster, we girls began to coo over him. Gail asked right away if she could hold him. Eric was actually closest to Webster and started edging toward the chimp as if he wanted to be first but the guy from the station wagon warned him off. “Careful. He acts up when he’s scared. We’ll just give him a chance to figure out who you all are before we let anyone else have him.”

Part of recreating a familiar environment at Trevor Hall involves this young man, another grad student named Jeff Dalton. I couldn’t picture at first how he was going to fit into the study. It turns out he’s the videographer. Documenting Webster’s learning and our teaching methods is to be a crucial part of the study. All the apparent junk stuffed in the car was his equipment: Super 8 cameras and still cameras, tripods, and rolls and canisters and boxes of film.

It was clear from listening to Jeff talk as we unpacked his car that he knows a lot about angles, close-ups and lighting, but I asked myself how much he could know about cognitive processes and what he might contribute to the study besides recording us. He looks scruffy and doesn’t have much respect for authority. I wonder if he wouldn’t be better off at film school. However, he does seem awfully attached to Webster, and Webster in turn clings to Jeff. Jeff chatted casually with him and showed him around the house like they were a couple of good old buddies.

After we helped carry in all of Jeff’s recording equipment and released the cats to explore the house, Piers called us all together for the orientation…

***

Film footage entitled “Project Webster – Orientation Reel,” dated May 25, 1974:

INT - Library - Afternoon:


Piers stands before a large, ornate fireplace, holding a pipe. He faces the camera sternly, then as if in response to a signal, smiles.


Piers: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen! I’m so pleased that you’ve all agreed to participate in this venture. I promise you, if nothing else, it will be a remarkable time. I have asked Jeff here—


He gestures to the camera


(Piers cont.): --to film this, our first meeting, to set the tone of our investigation.


Piers lights his pipe.


Piers (cont.): I will presently discuss with you an overview of our study’s goals and procedures, but now, for the benefit of posterity, I would like you all to take turns introducing yourselves. I know some of you have had the benefit of getting to know each other in recent days, but as we have all arrived at different times, this orientation will bring us to an equal footing. Wanda, dear, why don’t you lead us by example?


Wanda enters the frame, carrying Webster, who is clutching a small teddy bear with one hand and wrapping his other arm around her neck. Piers hooks an arm around Webster’s middle and Wanda turns away in a quick half circle; Webster peels off her and lands in Piers’s arms. Webster squawks.


Piers: This is one effective way to transfer our subject from one person to another.


Webster squirms in Piers’s grip and his expression twists.


Wanda (sotto voce): Piers, you know he can’t stand your pipe.


Piers glances in surprise at the pipe in his hand.


Wanda (Cont.): If you want him to hold still—


Jeff (off-camera): I can take him.


Gail (off-camera): Oh, please, may I hold him?


Piers: In time.


Piers sets his lit pipe on the edge of the mantelpiece and walks off-camera, still clutching Webster. Wanda folds her arms in front of her and smiles around the room; as she speaks, she addresses the audience instead of the camera.


Wanda: Hello. I’m Wanda Karlewicz, third-year graduate student at Yale University. My major is psychology and my area of study is linguistics. I’ve worked as a teaching and research assistant to Piers Preis- Herald for the past two years, so I was one of the first to become aware of his plan to teach language to a chimpanzee. Naturally, that was right up my alley. I helped to prepare the grant proposal to obtain approval and initial funding, and I later worked with Piers, Webster, and Webster’s foster family to implement a learning program and teach him to sign.

(Pause)

Wanda (cont.): I’ve a younger brother who is hearing impaired. My entire family learned Ameslan in order to communicate with him, so I have been signing since I was nine years old.


Wanda looks directly into the camera and smiles purposely.


Wanda (cont.): That was a very long time ago.


Piers (off-camera): Pshaw!


Wanda: At first, our goal was to socialize Webster into a human family in the hopes that he would absorb language organically. Results were promising. The second phase of our project will involve directed, formal teaching by a staff of scientific researchers instead of laypeople. To that end, we have come here—


She spreads her arms to take in the room.


Wanda (cont.): --to Trevor Hall in beautiful Newport, Rhode Island. This house is large enough to accommodate our party and equipment and it has privacy enough for a chimp to get some exercise without frightening the neighbors. Now, the place needs a little work, so you may notice a few nuisances: if your lights short out, or your ceiling leaks, or the shower is taking too long to heat up, you can complain to this guy—


Wanda grins and points off camera to Piers.


Wanda (cont.): --instead of coming to me. He holds the purse strings; he’s got the authority to call a handyman.


Piers (off-camera; nonchalant): Jeff is our handy-man for this term. And Eric, I understand you’ve done some carpentry work in the summers?


Eric (off-camera): Yes, sir.


Piers (off-camera): Then all is well! Only for heaven’s sake, please call me Piers. That ‘sir’ business is for Eton. We’re going to be working closely together; we’ll all be on equal footing.


Jeff (off-camera): Besides, it makes him feel old.


Piers (off-camera): Quiet, you.


Off-screen laughter. Wanda smiles a little unsteadily, looks at the camera, then looks in Piers’s direction. She mouths ‘Is that all?’ Relief brightens her face and she crosses the room. Piers meets her in the left frame of the camera and transfers Webster back to her. He then continues to the fireplace and retrieves his pipe.


Piers: Thank you, Wanda. That was a splendid introduction. Gail, will you favor us next?


From off-screen, Gail giggles. She tentatively enters the frame of the camera, grinning into the lens. She pauses at an unseen direction and takes a step back.


Gail: Right here?


She shifts to the left a step, smoothes her colorful mini-dress, takes a deep breath, and smiles.


Gail (cont.): Hi, everyone! I’m Gail. Uh, Gail Ehrlich. Hi!


She turns in a half-circle waving to everybody. Gail looks into the camera and clears her throat.


Gail (cont.) Um. ..


Gail laughs and turns toward Piers.


Gail (cont.): I don’t know what to say! I haven’t done anything important yet.


Piers (off-screen): Then just tell us about yourself, or about what you hope to accomplish.


Gail (cont.): OK.


Gail smoothes back her loose hair and looks into the camera again. She grins and appears to be on the verge of laughter, but reins herself in.


Gail (cont.): I’m Gail…I’m almost 19. I live with my parents and my little sister, Vanessa, she’s 15. Oh, and our dog Snoopy. She’s not a beagle, she’s a collie-shepherd mix or something but we just call her Snoopy because I like the cartoon. Ummm…hmm…


Gail screws up her eyes and looks up.


Gail (cont.): I’m originally from Lee’s Summit…but I just started college at the University of Connecticut…because I wanted to see what life was like on the coast in the big Eastern cities…and I couldn’t get into SUNY. Ah…I didn’t have a major when I went in because I wasn’t sure yet what I wanted to do. Lots of other girls I met felt the same way. But during my orientation week, Dr. Pr—Piers!—came to our school and did a presentation about his research. And I thought it just sounded like the most far out thing! Talking to animals? That’s like, Doctor Dolittle. I love that movie! So I stayed around to meet with him after the talk and he told me he was recruiting for this study.


She points with both fingers to the floor.


(Gail cont.): And, um, and he picked me to work on it. So I’m here now! And, ah…I don’t know any sign language—


Gail looks toward Wanda.


(Gail cont.) --but I’m hoping to learn. And…oh, I love animals so I really want to work with Webster and teach him and, like, blow people’s minds with all the stuff we’ll be doing. Talking apes! Only not like Planet of the Apes. I didn’t like that movie. That was sad…


Gail falls quiet. Off-screen, Tammy cheers softly and applauds. More applause follows. Gail beams and curtsies.


Piers (off-camera): Lovely, Gail. Who’s next? Ruby, how about you?


Chairs scrape off-screen. Ruby walks to the center of the frame, adjusts her pony-tail and looks fixedly into the camera.


Ruby (tentative): My name is Ruby Cardini. I’m in my first year at Yale, though I’m a junior. I transferred in the spring…


She lifts her eyes and sees something above the camera that makes her smile. Instantly, her posture loosens.


Ruby (cont.): Thanks! It’s easier to talk to a person than to a little flashing light. Though I guess I’ll have to get used to that. Ah…As I was saying, I transferred in the spring from junior college in Scranton, where I’m from. I was living there with my best friend since grade school, and she about flipped out when she found out I was going to be working with Piers Preis-Herald. The way that came about was pure luck. I was going door to door, meeting faculty in my department, the psychology department. I’m a psych major, but I don’t have a specialty yet. Maybe it will be linguistics, maybe it will be learning and cognition. Time will tell. Dr. Preis-


Piers (off-camera): Piers!


Ruby blushes and grins briefly.


Ruby (cont.): -happened to be in his office. That was lucky. I understand you—that he—had just come back from a tour, possibly to UConn—


Ruby gestures to Gail.


(Ruby cont.): --and he made the time to talk with me about his study. Like everyone else, I was fascinated and said I hoped I’d get to observe some of it while I was on campus. That’s when he told me the study wasn’t going to be taking place on campus and the next thing I know, I’m living in a mansion.


She laughs


(Ruby cont.): Me, a little working-class kid from Scranton, living in the same city as robber barons and duchesses! This whole experience has been like a dream so far, and whatever happens next, I’m open to it. I’m going to work hard, especially since I don’t know sign language either, and I’ll do my best to help make this project a success. I’m the first girl in my family to go to college and I want to make the most of that. I want to make my mark.


Piers (off-camera): Your parents must be very proud of you.


Ruby (grimacing): I wouldn’t go that far. They weren’t—my dad wasn’t—thrilled about my going away to school.


Ruby straightens and tosses her head.


Ruby (cont.): But I’m hoping he will be proud when he sees the work I do. I’ve tried to prep some for this research. When I was on the bus coming up, I read Robert La Fontaine’s book about his work with Osage—


Jeff (Off-camera): Ooh la la, Row-bear!


Piers (off-camera): We say ‘Ro-BURT La FonTAYN.’


Jeff (off-camera): Actually we try not to say his name at all.


Ruby grimaces, closes her eyes and rubs them with her thumb and forefinger


Ruby: I’m sorry, I didn’t know. I’ve only ever seen his name in print and I studied French in high school so…


Tammy (off-camera): I’ve done the same thing with words I’ve read but haven’t heard before. Once when I had to read aloud in science class, I said that the Mediterranean had a ‘mild climate’—‘mild’ like ‘mildew’ and ‘climate’ like ‘clinic.’ Everybody laughed. That taught me quickly.


Ruby: I feel like a dummy right now.


Piers (off-camera): No need! You’re an excellent ice breaker. You’re drawing out more interesting detail than my own prompt.


Ruby: Well, I think I’ve said everything I needed to. Who’s next?


She looks around. The film cuts abruptly to Jeff standing in front of the fireplace.


Jeff: Push the—there it goes!


He claps his hands and looks around the room, talking fast.


Jeff (cont.): Hey there! I’m Jeff Dalton. None of you know me yet except Wanda and Piers because I’ve been down at Yale all week, so I’ll bet you’re wondering who the hell I am. I’m a third-year psych grad student like Wanda, only my beat is observational learning. Which this definitely falls under. Piers was part of my thesis committee. I was going to do something on youth and violence, like: Does the age at which violent media is introduced make a difference on severity of later behavior, or Does witnessing real violence on the news—


Jeff’s eyebrows narrow and his tone becomes harsher.


Jeff (Cont): --like seeing your president get shot or a bunch of university kids get gunned down by the military, have a more traumatic effect than fictive violence like in old Warner gangster movies. But then Piers tells me about this work and he emphasizes the element of control and how much better it would be than trying to do survey correlations and crunch through a bunch of regressions. And I say, ‘Sure, I’m down for that.’ Because…


Jeff’s voice slows and he slumps faintly


Jeff (Cont.): …proving that animals can communicate with humans is really a lot more uplifting than any of that other stuff. And it’s just as important. Maybe even more so. But to be honest with you all, I think the real reason Piers brought me on board is that he’s always known about my little hobby. I love movies. I love watching them, talking about them, taking them apart and analyzing all the little elements that go into them. And of course I’ve always thought about making them. I’m from Oakland, and when summer vacations rolled around, I would always nag my parents to take us south to Hollywood. But they wanted to go to boring, educational places like Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon. As a compromise and to shut me up, Dad got me a video camera and told me to make my own movies about the places we were visiting. He didn’t know he was creating a monster. For the past ten years, I’ve been investing my money in video gear and my time in learning to use it. I’m not even thinking about Hollywood anymore, to be honest. I just like to film for its own sake. Who better to document this study, right? And my little wordsmith—


Jeff turns, crouches, and waves off-camera.


Jeff (cont):--loves mugging for the camera so he’s been the perfect subject. I was one of the first people to meet him when he came in from the primate center. For a while there, I think he thought the camera was his mother because we were both right there all the time.


Jeff straightens and adopts a serious face


Jeff (cont.): I’m really looking forward to this new phase of the project, the challenges it brings and seeing what discoveries develop. And that’s enough out of me.


Jeff walks toward the camera to the sound of applause. The film cuts to Eric scratching the side of his nose and staring into space.


Eric: Oh, it’s on now? OK.


He clears his throat and straightens up


Eric (cont.): I’m Eric Kaninchen from Harvard. Second year grad student in child development and education. I was recruited when, ah, Piers, came to campus to promote his study and it intrigued me so much that I was willing to go to work for the competition.


Off-camera, Jeff boos.


Eric (cont.): Actually, I never went in for that team rivalry stuff, and I consider myself very lucky to have been selected for this project. One thing that gives me an advantage, I think, is the little bit of teaching experience I have. I work part-time with special needs children. It’s great, very rewarding work. But it pushes you to think outside the box and find new ways to get through to people who don’t think and act like your typical student. I’m guessing I’ll be doing a lot more of that with Webster as a pupil. I’m looking forward to it.


Eric pauses. The others in the room applaud. He turns and beckons as Tammy enters the frame.


Eric: And last but not least…


Tammy: You mean save the best for last.


Eric steps aside and the camera zooms in on Tammy. As she speaks, she addresses the camera, but occasionally glances out at the audience.


Tammy (Cont.): My name is Tammy Cohen. I’m originally from Brooklyn, New York. I attend Columbia, where I am a first-year graduate student majoring in cognition studies. My thesis project will be to compare learning styles between primates and humans. One thing that I feel qualifies me to be part of this project is my extensive time spent in rearing my younger siblings, of which I have five. I’m pretty much immune to begging and I can shut down a tantrum quickly. Not that I’m expecting much trouble from this charge.


Piers (off-camera): Don’t be fooled!


Tammy: I’ll be prepared.


Tammy pauses, then nods.


Tammy (cont.): I think that covers it.


She moves to return to her seat but Piers steps up behind her and sets a hand on her shoulder. Tammy glances back at him and her face flickers in dislike.


Piers: Thank you, Tammy. Your introduction was charming, but it’s not quite our last. Let me take this opportunity to more fully present myself.


Tammy returns to her seat. Piers leans nonchalantly against the mantle, smoking his pipe as he talks.


Piers (cont.): You all know my name, and some of you have read my books or journal articles. I hope a few of you even tune in hear me distill the latest in psychological research on “Secrets of the Mind in Sixty-Minutes.”


Wanda (Off-screen): AM 710!


Piers (cont.): I consider myself a renaissance man in the field. After completing my studies at Eton and Cambridge, I turned to advertising, where I utilized my knowledge of persuasion and attitude change. However, applied psychology was less interesting to me than academic study. Fortunately, I was offered a teaching position here in America, which permitted me to indulge my research interests. Recently, my focus has been drawn toward exploring those human traits and experiences that separate us from the animals. However, my review of extant research suggests we are far more similar than many scientists would care to admit. This study will detail, in part, the process of language acquisition and use in non-human primates compared to human beings.


Piers’s expression darkens and he puffs aggressively on his pipe for a moment.


Piers (cont.): As you know, ours is not the first such study. Osage and now Kiki have both drawn attention for their purported use of language. However, those studies suffer weaknesses in design. The apes in question have learned a limited repertoire of signs that they produce under the guidance of their teachers in artificial learning environments. My goal is to establish that chimpanzees can communicate on a more sophisticated level, initiating interaction instead of merely responding to leading prompts and using grammar to form sentences spontaneously in a natural environment. In the months to come, we shall evaluate how our chimpanzee communicates with us, what words he adopts, and what processes underlie his communication. Naturally, everyone here will have to learn to sign so that we can properly understand what Webster chooses to tell us. Yes, Eric?


Eric (off-screen): Can we also talk to Webster, or can we only communicate with him by signing?


Piers: Nobody is under a vow of silence, Eric. Webster’s hearing is perfect and he’s certainly able to understand verbal commands or questions. However, he doesn’t speak back so in order to communicate with him properly, in a balanced fashion, we must speak with him on his terms. You shall use Ameslan to enhance your speech and I strongly encourage you all to develop the habit of signing so you can eventually use this language exclusively. As you sign in your daily routines, it will normalize the behavior for Webster and encourage him to use signs on his own. It will be arduous, I won’t lie to you. But you are all tough, smart, determined people. The fact that you’ve chosen to pursue higher education proves your ambition. Apply that ambition to make this study a success and when we present our work to the Annual Review Board, there will be no question as to its authenticity, but only questions about which exciting directions we can explore next.


Piers extinguishes his pipe and surveys the room.


Piers (Cont.): Now to review some ground rules for this study. Everyone will be required to sign, as I’ve said. You will receive daily instruction, and you will in turn instruct Webster. Each week, a word list targeting a specific realm of vocabulary will be posted in the drawing room; these target words are what you shall teach and reinforce to Webster. The vocabulary will be practical, usually thematic, and can easily be utilized in daily interaction. The signs that are taught to you will encompass a broader spectrum. If you feel it appropriate, you may teach Webster a sign outside the parameters of the prescribed curriculum, if doing so facilitates communication or if Webster should prompt it himself. If he should indicate a novel object and ask “What is that?” for example, do please tell him. However, to guarantee that the sign is presented correctly—that is, the motions are accurate and the circumstances of use are conventionally agreed-upon—you must inform the rest of the team and the research directors, who are myself and Wanda. This way, other team members will be able to recognize and assess when Webster uses your new sign. Secondly, you will document Webster’s behavior—principally the number of times he uses a sign, the conditions under which production occurs, or any complications associated with production. However, we also want to obtain a general picture of his overall behavior patterns, so you ought to record his daily routines and other activities, including how he interacts with each of you. One means of making records—


The camera tracks his movements as Piers steps over to a desk across the room and lifts a hardcover journal.


Piers (cont.): --is through these journals. You will find one in each of the main rooms: this library, the solarium, the kitchen, the dining room, and Smithy’s quarters. These books are to stay in the rooms for convenient access. I encourage you to review them regularly to see what discoveries or challenges your peers have encountered. Feel free to use them to further communication amongst yourselves.


Piers passes the journal to Eric, who opens and flips through it, then sets it in his lap. Piers smiles into the viewfinder and gestures to the camera.


Piers (cont.): Our other means of documenting our work will be by video camera. Jeff is adept with cameras and other recording equipment and will be filming our interactions with Webster to obtain visual proof of his behavior. Robert La Fontaine frequently stages interactions with Osage for documentarians. We may do the same, but I wish to capture Webster’s naturalistic behavior. To that end, we may have the cameras running freely throughout the course of the day to capture independently expressed communication. Gail? I see you waving your hand…


The camera pans to Gail chewing her lip. She sits beside Wanda, who is balancing Webster in her lap. He stands upright and plucks at the hair falling around her face, stealing cautious glances at Gail.


Gail: Are we going to have cameras in our rooms and be filmed all the time, like that family on PBS?


Jeff (off-screen): No. It may’ve looked like I had a lot of camera equipment when you all helped me unload, but I don’t have enough gear to set up in every room, nor do I have enough film for that kind of surveillance, nor would I ever have the time to sort through it all after the fact. Maybe if I had half a dozen grad students at my beck and call…


Wanda: Also, Gail, we’re not the ones being observed. Our goal is to record Webster’s interactions. We can run the camera when we’re in the room with him and conducting a scheduled lesson, or if we’re involved in structured playtime, for instance, but our own routines will not be filmed.


Piers: Jeff will be making the gatehouse his base of operations so he can periodically review the footage and cut reels to keep on record.


Jeff (off-screen): Or to show the suits back at Yale.


Ruby (off-screen): Oh, is that what that little building is going to become? Your workshop?


Jeff (off-screen): It’s where I’ll be living. I’m a night-owl. The gatehouse will give me freedom to move about when I want, and it has space enough for me to store my gear and screen the film. Oh, and it’s got a TV. We can get together and watch M*A*S*H! Smithy will like that.


Piers frowns.


Piers: Webster will have much more to do than watch telly, but you all deserve to watch an evening program on occasion. It’s good of you to invite everyone, Jeff. Now, I’m sure you all have many questions by this point, but please indulge me a bit longer. Hold your questions until after we take our tour of Trevor Hall. Some of you have been here several days already, but I wager there are parts you haven’t seen. I know Wanda has locked up certain of the upstairs sections floors. What say you to taking a peak at them?


Voices off-camera murmur approval. Wanda stands, shifting Webster to her hip as she approaches Piers.


Wanda (sotto voce): Piers, we didn’t discuss—


Piers (sotto voce): Oh, Wanda, they’re curious. We’ll show them around and put it to rest. It will be a fun interlude.


Wanda turns to exit the room. Smiling, Piers swats her rear end. Ruby, rising from her chair and standing in the frame, shoots a startled glance at Tammy. Tammy spreads her hands as if to say, ‘What can you say?’ Ruby glances quickly over Tammy’s shoulder toward the camera. Her eyes widen, apparently in response to Jeff, and she mouths ‘Really?’ Shaking her head, Ruby turns away and walks beside Tammy, whispering. The camera follows behind them.


Tammy (aggrieved): He gets his own house and I have to share a room with Gail?


Ruby (whispering): I thought you had made your peace with that.


Tammy (whispering): I thought I had too, but that was before I knew there was a whole house available.


Piers (louder): If you young people will just follow me—Jeff, bring the camera; we’ll film this part too—we’ll begin with the first floor since you’ve already seen these rooms. We’ll come back down after we’ve walked the rest of the house and finish in this room again.


The group exits the library and walks down the hall toward the main stairs. The camera moves with them, bypassing Ruby and Tammy.


Eric: Uh, I’m sorry? Aren’t we on the first floor?


Ruby (off-screen, whispering): Well, Jeff has seniority and he has all that camera stuff, so it makes sense that he gets the gatehouse. Otherwise, Wanda’d probably have to open up the rear wing to give him enough storage space for it all.


Wanda smiles up at Piers as the group begins to mount the stairs. Webster hangs over her shoulder and makes faces at Eric.


Wanda: No, this is the ground floor, or it would be in England. The second floor is called the first floor and the third floor is the second.


Eric looks nonplussed. Wanda laughs.


Ruby (off-screen, whispering): Besides, wouldn’t you rather be in the big house with all of us? It’s probably lonely staying in that little cottage all alone. And all the action will be here.


Wanda: You’ll be confused before we’re through. I think the real reason Piers wants to give us a tour is so we’ll be able understand his references to the different parts of the house.


Piers slides one arm, his pipe still in his hand, around her shoulder. Webster’s face twists in disgust; he turns his head and sneezes.


Piers: Guilty.


The camera motion stops and the frame rotates away from Piers and Wanda to focus on Ruby and Tammy lingering behind.


Jeff (off-screen): Hey, do you guys know this is an echo corridor? It’s constructed in such a way that even if you stand in the back whispering, people at the front of the room can still hear you?


Ruby looks up, eyes wide.


Ruby: You could hear us talking?


The camera bobs up and down to simulate Jeff nodding. Ruby looks stricken. Tammy looks annoyed.


Tammy: And you kept on filming us?


Jeff (off-screen): Eh! This part is inessential since Piers isn’t giving any instructions about the study. I can always cut it out or loop some music over it.


Tammy’s face wrinkles; she guides Ruby by the arm until they are standing just behind Piers and Wanda. The camera tracks their movement and focuses on Webster. He continues to sneeze violently and tries to force Piers’s hand with the pipe away from his face and off Wanda’s shoulder.


Piers: Wanda, why don’t you let…Eric here hold Webster for a bit?


Eric’s face lights up, but Wanda holds Smithy more protectively.


Wanda: I don’t know. Eric is a stranger and Webster doesn’t like other males very much as it is.


Eric points to the camera.


Eric: He likes Jeff.


Jeff (off-camera): Smithy and I are old buddies. But Wanda’s got a point. He snapped at Wolf a few times; I wouldn’t want your first impression of our boy to involve blood or bandages.


Gail: What wolf?


Jeff (off-camera): Smithy’s step-father.


Piers (annoyed): All right, we’ll leave things as they are. And, Jeff, what have I told you about not calling him that anymore? I don’t want to confuse anyone reviewing our records.


As the group continues to ascend the stairs, Ruby lingers behind to talk to Jeff.


Ruby (sotto voce): Why do you call Webster “Smithy?”


Jeff (off-camera): It’s my little joke. Piers called him a wordsmith in his first interview about the project. So that’s what I nicknamed him. He likes it, even if Piers doesn’t.


Piers: Note the lovely chandelier over our heads; it was designed in Tiffany’s workshop, though it may not look like much now.


Ruby runs up the stairs to reach Piers.


Ruby: Doctor, ah…Piers, do you know where the furniture downstairs came from? It looks antique. Is it by Chippendale? Or is it Shaker, by chance?


Piers (chuckling): I don’t know specific details of the house’s history. The owner didn’t tell me all the details when we drew up the lease. I doubt any of the furnishings have such a fancy pedigree. I’d guess those pieces date from the American Folk Art movement.


Ruby hangs back, crestfallen.


Ruby: I see…I didn’t mean to be a pest.


Piers: Not at all. Your curiosity shows you have a lively mind. Only, please try to save your questions till the end of the tour, dear.


Tammy: Where are the owners anyway, since they don’t live here?


Piers: They spend a lot of time abroad—Ah!


Piers pauses at the landing.


Piers (cont.): Observe: an intact newel post, in the image of Newport’s pineapple of hospitality!


Gail: Really?


She hangs over the railing, fascinated, and strokes the carved pineapple.


Gail (Cont.): I didn’t know pineapples had any association with Rhode Island. I always think of Hawaii when I see pineapples. Tropical islands, not New England.


Wanda: The symbol is particular to Newport, I’ve learned, not the state as a whole. It’s a welcoming sign. The sailors of Newport would bring pineapples back from their voyages in the tropics.


Piers resumes climbing the stairs. The others follow more slowly. He pauses and when Gail draws closer, sets a hand on her shoulder.


Piers: Don’t you find Trevor Hall to be welcoming, Gail?


Gail: Yes, it’s fabulous!


Tammy: It’s a little battle-scarred, isn’t it?


Piers: Alas, that is an apt description. The matching newel post from the ground floor has long since vanished, a victim of vandalism. From 1925 until 1939, this house served as a boarding school. I’m afraid the students living here failed to learn respect for property.


Piers enters the second-floor hallway.


Piers (cont.): This area should be familiar to most of you as you have rooms here. Many of the rooms, however, are vacant.


Piers pauses in front of a random room and opens the door. The interior is bare of furniture. Its carpet is stained and pulled up in the corners. Initials are carved into the wall and a broken window pane is covered with canvas.


Piers (cont.): Let’s move into the rear wing. I know you’ve not seen that part yet. Because…


As he leads the group to a bend in the hall, Piers pulls a key out of his pocket and jangles it.


Piers (cont.) …it has been kept locked. This wing of the estate housed the male students of the Bradley school of which I spoke a moment ago. I’m afraid they were even more careless with their quarters than with the common areas.


Piers unlocks the door to the unused wing. The new hallway is dark and dingy. Pale light slants through the few windows in the middle of the corridor. The floor is uncarpeted and the wood floor displays visible scratches. The walls are mottled with torn paper. A large hole has been gouged into the plaster nearest the open door.


Tammy: I’ll say!


The group proceeds down the hall wordlessly. Periodically, someone exclaims or points out a new piece of destruction. Exposed walls are carved with lewd sayings or students’ names, or stained with unknown matter. The wainscoting is chipped and broken. The mullioned windows are missing panes; these are taped over or tacked over with cloth. Webster kicks and squirms during this part of the tour; his face shows discomfort.


Wanda: Do you want to get down, Webster?


Wanda kneels and sets Webster on the floor. She signs “Walk give hand.” They hold hands as they walk. Webster continually glances up and behind him, slack-jawed.


Piers: I understand that this wing of the house was once richly furnished with antiques and valuable paintings, but over the years, these saw more and more wear and tear. Once the school closed after the Bradleys filed for bankruptcy in ‘39, departing students either snatched the valuables as souvenirs or vagrants sneaking into the house made off with them, doubtless hoping to sell them. This section of the house is also somewhat hazardous. The flooring is weak…


Piers turns a corner and his voice becomes inaudible. Gail, Wanda, Webster, and Eric follow him closely, but Ruby hangs back and finally stops beside a carved wood panel depicting nymphs. The nymphs’ eyes have been gouged out and their breasts X’ed out. Tammy pauses beside her to survey the damage.


Ruby: Tammy, this is crazy. Why would anyone agree to let an ape stay here? He’s only going to wreck this beautiful place.


Tammy: I doubt he can do much worse. The real apes have already been and gone. Look!


Tammy points to a statue of Hercules installed in a nook beside the panel. Its genitalia have been broken off. Initials have been carved into the pedestal. She points up to a darkened chandelier overhead. The camera zooms in on several broken, jagged globes.


Tammy: They must have used a BB gun to do that; it’s too high to reach.


Ruby: Those brats! I hope they all end up on a cell block someplace dark and full of roaches!


Jeff (off-camera): It’s good that you’re pointing out the damage this place has sustained. I can document it now so the owners can’t claim later that we did it.


Tammy spins around and puts her hands on her hips.


Tammy: You again?


Jeff (off-camera): Yup! Still here.


Gail appears behind Tammy, sticking her head around the corridor.


Gail: Guys, Piers wants you to stick with the group. He says it might be dangerous here. He doesn’t want you to step in the wrong place and put your foot through the floor.


Ruby: I didn’t know things were that bad.


Jeff (off-camera): Aw, he’s just covering his ass. Liability. (louder) We’re coming!


Gail disappears and her footsteps are heard retreating.


Jeff (off-camera): Why did Piers have to recruit her?


Ruby: What’s wrong with her?


Jeff (off-camera): She’s a bimbo. She’s got no credentials, no academic experience. All she’s got is T & A.


Tammy whirls around; her face contorted.


Tammy: What did you just say?


Jeff (off-camera): I’ve known Piers for three years. I’ve seen this before. You should have seen some of the ‘lab assistants’ he hired. I ended up analyzing all the data while those girls “worked”--


He coughs.


Jeff (cont.): --one on one with Piers. She’s just like them.


Tammy: And you’ve decided this on the basis of knowing her for, what, two, three hours? Gail is very enthusiastic. What she lacks in experience, she can make up for in energy.


Ruby: That’s right, Gail can learn on the job. This is a learning experience for us as much as it is for Webster. I have no academic experience either, you know. I just transferred in.


Jeff (off-camera): Oh, I never meant you—


Tammy: You flat-out told us Piers hires women with looks and no brains. Is that why you think he brought us on board too?


Jeff (off-camera): No! I’ve read your papers. You’re brilliant, Tammy! I’m very glad to have you working with us. And, Ruby…you might not have written papers or done a conference presentation, but Piers must have seen something in you, some spark, in order to offer you a place on the team.


Ruby folds her arms.


Ruby: Maybe he saw T&A.


Jeff (off-camera): No, you don’t…Don’t get me wrong, you’re cute, but…you’re not Gail’s type.


Ruby turns her back and walks quickly around the corner


Jeff (cont.): You’re classy!


The camera moves quickly up the hallway, passing below a series of skylights, in pursuit of Ruby. Tammy power-walks beside it. Her scornful face is visible in the frame.


Tammy: You’re still taping!


She laughs and shakes her head


Tammy (cont): I can’t believe you’re saying these things at all, but I really can’t believe you’re saying them on camera!

Jeff (off-camera): I’ll cut this part out.


Ruby pauses.


Ruby: What about what we said downstairs about room assignments?


Jeff (off-camera): Gone! I promise. And…I am profoundly sorry. I never meant to antagonize you—either of you. And I was wrong to dismiss Gail. Piers is right: you all have smarts and you have ambition, or you wouldn’t be here.


Ruby: Oh!


They round another bend in the hallway and rejoin the group. They are standing below an oculus opening onto the third floor. The upstairs room’s walls have elaborate wainscoting, largely untouched. However, a couple of the balustrades on the oculus are missing. A small winding staircase leads from the second floor to the third level.


Piers: Here’s a nice spot for a change of pace. This room used to be the lower ballroom where dances were held. The orchestra would be stationed above so that the music would drift down to the first floor while couples would also dance on the second floor. A skylight on the third level just above us brings in most of the daylight.


As the group marvels at the design, Webster starts to pull away from Wanda; he leans out, straining against the tension of her grip as he looks all around the room. His gaze travels to the staircase, then up it. He grows increasingly agitated and when he finally looks up at the oculus, he starts to whimper and pull at Wanda’s arm.


Piers: Shall we go up?


He leads the group up to the upper ballroom, but Webster stays rooted in place, staring up at the third floor. Wanda tugs on his hand repeatedly, but he will not budge. Finally, she scoops him up and carries him up the stairs. Webster continues to whine and his gaze tracks a particular spot on the landing. At the foot of the stairs, the camera pauses.


Jeff (off-camera): Hold up, Piers. I need to change film…


The picture goes black.

***

Excerpt from Smithy: A 20-year Compendium by Reid Bennett, PhD:

Critics of the study frequently complained that Dr. Preis-Herald “cherry-picked” evidence for Webster’s communication skills, only publicizing film of the chimp’s “good days” and his most cogent signing. In response, Dr. Preis-Herald made available over 30 hours of previously unseen recordings from the Trevor Hall days. Initially, news of the so-called “outtake reels” traveled only within academic circles, but word spread to the general public within months of their release, which cynics observed was cleverly timed to coincide with the ten-year anniversary of the trial (Preis-Herald denied any connection), and caused great excitement.

I myself have had the opportunity to view this footage. While some of it is negligible, (e.g., experimental camera staging to determine the best perspective of a room for videotaping), the bulk of the recordings do offer valuable insights into the chimpanzee’s behavior and the interpersonal dynamics of the household, broadening our knowledge of the study beyond the mere academic aspects.

The astute reader of the Yale Alumni Magazine classified ads will find that he may obtain copies by sending a check or money order for $1,000.00 (or choose four installment payments of $250.00) plus $25.00 S&H to Piers Preis-Herald care of P.O. Box 20096 Stamford, CT 06092…

***

“Outtake reel” footage from Orientation film, dated May 24, 1974

INT – Solarium - Day


The researchers meander around the room, ogling Webster. Piers holds him by one hand and Wanda holds another. Maisie follows behind Piers, sniffing the floor. The trio strolls over to a record player standing in the corner. Maisie wanders away and out of the frame.


Piers (addressing Wanda): I took the liberty of bringing up some of your records.


He turns to address the full room and indicates a cardboard box sitting on a table beside the turntable.


Piers (cont.): So that at the end of a busy day, you all might relax and enjoy some music.


Wanda: They’re mostly my old albums from high school…Don’t get your hopes up. But feel free to add to the collection.


In the background, Maisie is heard barking. The camera tracks Gail as she breaks away from the group and approaches the large fireplace in the center of the room. She stands inside it and stretches her hands up, but cannot touch the top.


Gail: I love these big old fireplaces! Look, you can stand right in them! It’s huge!


Ruby joins Gail at the fireplace, facing her. She also stretches out her arms, but even though she is taller than Gail, she can’t reach the top either. The girls laugh. Meanwhile, Maisie nears the fireplace, turning in circles, agitated. She barks at the window, approaches it, then retreats, whining. Piers catches her by the collar and pulls her away; he makes her sit against the wall. Whining, Maisie lays her head on her paws. She continues looking at the window.


Piers: That’s enough from you. All right, everyone. If you’ll please take seats, I’d like to begin the next activity. Jeff, is your camera ready? Did you find your best angle?


Jeff (off-camera): Roger that! But I need to change reels again.


Piers: Again?


Jeff (off-camera): You talk a lot!


Everyone in the room laughs.


The film cuts to a blank screen.

***

Continuation of letter from Ruby Cardini to Sarah Beth Andrews, dated May 25, 1974:

…The third floor was once the servants’ quarters. All its rooms are tiny and clustered together. It’s hard to believe they used to pack two or three people into a single chamber. Many servants even had to share beds! That gave Tammy a new perspective. Then again, the help spent nearly all their waking hours working, so the rooms would have only been used for sleeping. I’ll bet the mansion didn’t seem so beautiful to those who had to clean it. As much as I love history, I’m grateful to be alive today when I have options and the agency to lead my own life. No one else owns my time or can tell me what to do!

Nevertheless, I do wish we had some servants who could help us tidy up Trevor Hall. It made me ill to see how the house has either been allowed to decay or was purposefully damaged. It’s incredible to me how anyone, even a vicious schoolboy, could do such things to such a lovely place! Had I been a servant from the old days who had spent my life on my hands and knees making the great house shine, I surely would have come back to haunt whoever defaced the fresco of the Graces.

Gail suggested that we could try to fix or clean up the part of the house where we’re living. Wanda approved that idea. I would love to try to restore it, but I can’t see myself having enough energy to learn sign language, teach it to a chimp, and play Cinderella.

I think my qualms about Webster may have been overwrought. He was pretty well-behaved on the tour, though I think the dinginess of the closed wing put him off. He got fidgety, and Wanda continually had to put him down so he could walk, only to have to scoop him up again because he was lingering or had started whining. That isn’t being naughty though. I suspect he was just tuckered out from the travel and all the excitement.

Webster even wanted to go to bed early. He actually asked for it! We saw him sign “sleep” several times. Webster himself developed this sign, covering his eyes with both hands, when he was young. Piers said some signs we use won’t be standard, but particular to Webster. “The main thing is to preserve consistency, though our goal with the new vocabulary will be to standardize his signs as much as possible.”

He wanted to make Webster wait for his usual bedtime. “Otherwise, he’ll wake too early in the morning, or even during the night, and make our lives unpleasant.” So we all played with him in an effort to keep him awake.

We did a version of Monkey in the Middle, though Piers wasn’t keen on Gail calling it that. I don’t think he knew the American name of the game, or maybe they don’t play it in England. He seemed to think Gail was showing her ignorance when she called Webster our monkey. He reprimanded her: “No, no, my dear. Don’t make that mistake. Webster is a chimpanzee; pan troglodytes; an ape; a primate. Never a monkey!” Tammy set him straight, more sharply than the situation warranted. I think she still felt offended on Gail’s behalf because of the ugly comments Jeff made.

The game was great fun, and it was a good teaching opportunity. Everyone sat in a circle around Webster and threw the ball to one another. However, we had to sign in advance to whom we would throw the ball. In that way, we sacrificed keeping Webster in suspense about where the ball would go in order that he could learn who we were.

Wanda instructed us to make name signs for ourselves so Webster could learn our identities. First, you choose a sign that stands for something special to you or about you, and combine it with a letter from your name. For example, Piers’s name is the letter “P” and the sign for smoking a pipe, since he’s rarely without one. Wanda suggested “T” and the sign for glasses for Tammy, since that’s her distinct look. Wanda’s own sign is a “W” and “think,” to signify her intellect, I suppose. “There must not be a sign for ‘bossy,’” Tammy kidded to me afterward. “She could have picked that.” She was a little hurt that Wanda’s symbol is for something she does while her own is just based on her looks.

When Wanda asked me for a suggestion for my sign, I went blank. I don’t look distinct. I don’t have any special mannerisms either. Jeff came to my rescue by asking me about my hobbies. Since I like to read, we went with “R” and “reading.”

All in all, I think Jeff probably isn’t as bad as he seemed on the tour. He helped me out twice today: once when I was taping, by getting me to look at him instead of at that awful, cyclopean, blinking camera light, and again when we named ourselves. Jeff also offered to sleep in Webster’s room for the first night to help him get adjusted, so that if he does wake up early in a strange place, he’ll at least have someone familiar nearby. He really does love that little chimp. He’s a lot warmer with him than Piers or Wanda are; they treat Webster more like a possession. Maybe first impressions aren’t to be trusted. I still can’t believe I thought he was just a film bum when it turns out he’s one of the founding members of this study. “What does he know about cognition?” indeed!

I’m tempted to trust him, even though Tammy thinks he’s a jerk. When it comes to the orientation film, I don’t have much choice. We said some things we shouldn’t have and Jeff caught them on camera. He promised he wouldn’t use them in the final cut, and I hope he really will follow through on that.

Tomorrow will be our first real day spent working with Webster! I’m feeling so nervous already that I can’t sleep; hence, I’m up writing this letter to you instead. Looking at the stack of paper next to me, I see that I’ve written a novel all about Orientation Day! Maybe I should copy it before I send the manuscript off to you. Piers might want my report as documentation for the study. Think of it: I’m writing historical documents for a history-making study! I am watching history unfold. No: I am making history, Sarah Beth!

I’m sure I’ll have plenty to write about tomorrow’s opening day of the study too. Should that be the case, you’ll see another fat envelope from me shortly. Until then, have my warmest wishes, and please write me soon!

XOXO,

Ruby

Next Chapter: Diary of Ruby Cardini, dated June 5, 1974