City of the Beasts by Isabel Allende Read Free Book Online

madame… what did you tell me your name was?"
    "Kate," she clarified, for the third or fourth time. Apparently Professor Leblanc had a bad memory for women's names.
    "I repeat: very simple. It has to do with the lethal competition that exists in nature. The most violent men dominate in primitive societies. I suppose you have heard of the term 'alpha male'? Among wolves, for example, the most aggressive male controls all the rest and claims the best females. It's the same among humans. The most violent men command; they obtain more women than other men, and pass their genes on to more offspring. The others must be content with what's left. Do you follow that? The survival of the fittest," Leblanc explained.
    "You mean that brutality is natural?"
    "Precisely. Compassion is a modern invention. Our civilization protects the weak, the poor, the sick. From the point of view of genetics, that is a terrible error. And that is why the human race is deteriorating."
    "What would you do with the weak in society, Professor?" Kate asked.
    "What nature does: leave them to perish. In that sense the Indians are wiser than we are," Leblanc replied.
    Dr. Omayra Torres, who had been listening attentively to the conversation, could not help offering her opinion.
    "With all due respect, Professor, it does not seem to me that the Indians here are as ferocious as you describe; on the contrary, for them war is more ceremony than anything, a rite to prove their courage. They paint their bodies, prepare their weapons, sing, dance, and go out to make a raid upon the
shabono
of another tribe. They threaten each other and exchange a few blows, but rarely are there more than one or two deaths. Our civilization is just the reverse: no ceremony, only massacres."
    "I am going to give you one of my books, señorita. Any serious scientist will tell you that Ludovic Leblanc is an authority on this subject," the professor cut in.
    "I am not as learned as you." Dr. Torres smiled. "I am only a rural physician who has worked more than ten years in this area."
    "Believe me, my esteemed doctor, these natives are the proof that man is no more than a murderous ape."
    "And woman?" interrupted Kate.
    "I regret to tell you that women count for nothing in primitive societies. Only as booty in warfare."
    Dr. Torres and Kate exchanged a glance, and both smiled, amused.
•
    The first part of the trip up the Río Negro turned out to be a true exercise in patience. They moved forward at the pace of a turtle, and stopped almost as soon as the sun set in order to avoid being rammed by unseen tree trunks carried by the current. The heat was intense, but it got cool at night, and a blanket felt good. Sometimes, when the river looked clean and calm, they seized the opportunity to fish or swim awhile. The first two days, they passed boats of all kinds, from motor launches and houseboats to simple canoes hollowed from the trunks of trees, but from then on they were alone in the immensity of that landscape. This was a planet of water; life sailed along slowly, at the rhythm of the river, tides, rains, and floods. Water, water, everywhere. Hundreds of families lived and died on their boats without ever spending a night on solid ground; others lived in houses on stilts along the riverbanks. Everything was transported by river, and the only way to send or receive a message was by radio. To the American, it seemed incredible that anyone could survive without a telephone. One radio station in Manaus transmitted personal messages continuously; that was how people kept in touch with the news, their business interests, and their families. Upriver, money wasn't used much at all; the economy was based on barter; fish was traded for sugar, or gasoline for hens, or services for a case of beer.
    The jungle loomed threateningly on both banks of the river. The captain's orders were clear: do not wander off for any reason; once among the trees, you lose your sense of direction. There were stories of