Summary

Chapters 23 and 24 cover Day 22 in the novel. As Chapter 23 begins, Frankie entered the bonobo enclosure and the bonobos laughed, anticipating her awkward climb onto the structure. They played with her clothes and hair. The tourists were fascinated and often took video of her with their Bindis.

Frankie dictated notes about the bonobos onto her BodyWare. On this day, Adele was ovulating, and she mated with Rupert without penetration. Frankie checked back over her notes, and they were poor transcriptions. For example, “Adele mating with Rupert” had become “A Dell may ding with rude perp” (2465). Frankie finally made an appointment to upgrade her implant.

Later, after lunch, Frankie saw Adele join Sweetie in the pool, in water up to their waists. Sweetie stood behind Adele, grooming her, then looked around to see if any other bonobos were watching. The two mated silently there, not making...