Kevin turned his gaze in that direction, then caught his breath. About fifty yards away in the shadows of the very back of the cul de sac was one of the bonobos! The animal was standing ramrod straight and absolutely motionless, as if he were a military honor guard. He appeared to be staring back at Kevin and the others just as they were staring at him.

Kevin was surprised at the creature’s size. The animal was well over five feet tall. It also seemed oversized in terms of weight. Given its enormously muscular torso, Kevin guessed the bonobo weighed between one hundred twenty-five and one hundred fifty pounds.

“He’s taller than the bonobos that have been brought in for transplant surgery,” Candace said. “At least I think he is. Of course, the bonobos for the transplants were already sedated and strapped to a gurney by the time they got to me.”

“Shhhhhh,” Melanie admonished. “Let’s not scare him. This might be our only chance to see one.”

Being careful not to move too quickly, Kevin pulled the gear bag off his shoulder and got out the directional beacon. He turned it on to scan. It began to quietly beep until he pointed it toward the bonobo; then it let out a continuous note. Kevin looked at the LCD screen and gasped.

“What’s the matter?” Melanie whispered. She had seen Kevin’s expression change.

“It’s number one!” Kevin whispered back. “It’s my double.”

“Oh my God!” Melanie whispered. “I’m jealous. I’d like to see mine, too.”

“I wish we could see better,” Candace said. “Do we dare try to get closer?”

Kevin was struck by two things. First was the coincidence that the first live bonobo they’d come across would happen to be his double. Secondly, if he had inadvertently created a race of protohumans, then he was in some metamorphic way meeting himself six million years earlier. “This is too much,” Kevin couldn’t help but whisper aloud.

“What are you talking about?” Melanie asked.

“In some ways that’s me standing over there,” Kevin answered.

“Now let’s not jump the gun,” Melanie said.

“He’s certainly standing like a human,” Candace remarked. “But he’s hairier than any human I’ve ever been out with.”

“Very funny,” Melanie said without laughing.

“Melanie, use the locator to scan the area,” Kevin said. “Bonobos usually travel together. Maybe there are more around that we can’t see. They could be hiding in the bushes.”

Melanie played with the instrument.

“I can’t believe how still he is,” Candace said.

“He’s probably scared stiff,” Kevin said. “I’m sure he doesn’t know what to make of us. Or if Melanie is right about there not being enough females out here, maybe he’s smitten with you two.”

“That I don’t find funny at all,” Melanie said, without looking up from the keyboard of the locator.

“Sorry,” Kevin said.

“What’s he got around his waist?” Candace asked.

“I was wondering that, too,” Kevin said. “I can’t make it out, unless it’s just a vine that got caught on him when he came through the bushes.”