Snaking through warm blood, primitive dna patterns itself through liquid changing body and brain, a fast photo glimpse of dicey evolution. Its quick train run toward survival elevates one species, drops another to the wayside. Among the howls and hoots, the long bellows and piercing screams, under the broad jungle sun of a dinosaur sky, the first sparks of intelligence and self awareness begin to form.

Some millions of sun revolutions later... Momma, momma, are we going today?

Momma looks around at the vicarious youngster,

Yes, son, we are going today.

Yahoo !

They walk down the main avenue from their home. It is a beautiful spring day, perfect for taking a stroll through the well manicured grounds of the zoo.

There is a new exhibition that has been put in this weekend. An animal, highly exotic and dangerous, has made its way through the loose network of zoo curators around the country. Everyone in town has noticed the large planks and rolls of thick wire that have been making their way to the bamboo-covered area, the area for the opening show.

They made their way through the front gates. The young at least made cursory glances toward the lesser attractions along the way, but there there was one reason they were here. Soon they gathered around the bamboo covered exhibit.

A low murmur made its way around the group as the curators approached the crowd and began describing their newly acquired prize.

The animal was a large creature, weighing in at close to two hundred pounds. He had a skeletal structure similar to the apes around the corner, though his forebrain was slightly more developed. He was known for exhibiting group instincts in the wild, even developing crude forms of communication among his kind.

Without further ado, they pulled back the large bamboo screens.

Gasps accompanied the sight of the enormous ape-thing.

The most dangerous animal in the world to hunt, not because of razor-sharp teeth or claws, or even massive dominating bulk and rhinoceros thick skin. He had none of these. It was the crude intelligence and primitive animal cunning that seemed to shine through the restless, searching eyes. Eyes soulless and damned, deep black pupils falling into deepening mindless pits.

This was a beast that seemed to examine the strong fence surrounding him, wonder were the weak points might be. More than that. It seemed to look out at the crowd, comfortable in their anonymity, their utter inviolable supremacy, and weigh what it saw there. Shattering the sense of separateness that was stated in that symbol, the cage.

An uncomfortable truth opened for a moment. Something seemed to connect or strike a nerve. The children quickly got hungry and uncomfortable, the fathers and mothers became anxious to get on with their weekend. To a place were there were no beasts, no monsters were staring back at them. They had wanted to look into the cage of the beast, but somehow caught themselves in a front of a mirror they had not realized was there. Not liked what they had seen in return.

Soon, the crowds dissipated. The sun wound around the day, then sunk back into its ancient cradle. That night when the lamplights were turned low, a crisp cool breeze blew across the open fields. The beast silently raised his head to the stars and held up a hand, as if he knew them.