I suppose there is quite a subtle difference between a monkey and a scientist. I suppose you could do both, because I’m pretty sure monkeys and their cousins have opposable thumbs, but the problem would be their level of interest. I just can’t see a monkey going for science. They have other concerns, like grooming and bananas, and I appreciate that. Sometimes I wish I could just quit my job to worry about grooming and bananas.
One day, perhaps, we will welcome monkeys into our society, provided that they show some kind of interest. Like, they’d need to contribute to society in some way, maybe in a labour intensive job. They could do marine fabrication, because I used to do it back when I was younger and it was really gruelling. Long hours, and sometimes that’s long hours spent hanging from a harness because sometimes you work on ships. Those things are massive, as you probably know because everyone knows what ships look like. Though sometimes it was just boats, and it was great. Could feel the sun on the back of my neck, got to work outdoors and I swear, sea air is good for the soul.
So if the monkeys join our society, that’s where they’ll go. They will go to the coast, where they’ll perform jobs that are labour-intensive but also character building, because they have several thousand years of culture to catch up on. I mean, it’s not like we’ll be the ones learning stuff from THEM. We already know how to open a banana from the bottom, thanks very much. So I guess that’s the plan: integrate the monkeys, but don’t make them scientists just yet. Maybe set them to work on boats. If they can install a fishing rod holder or something similar like a bait board, they can move up. And then they probably won’t even need harnesses for the welding, because they’re really good at climbing.
-Pat