On the day that the first human zoo opens, there will possibly be a long line of people waiting to get in. There will possibly be a long line for two reasons: one, after all the animals are gone, people will be bored enough to pay money to stare at anything, and, two, the thrill and attraction of something so grotesque will be too much for most people to ignore. After standing in a long line on the day the human zoo opens, they will pay hard-earned money to be shuffled through heavy iron gates.
It is possible that some will get annoyed at the wait because most people are annoyed at waiting for anything these days. It is possible, also, that the waiting will only increase the excitement of the visitors, especially the younger ones. The older visitors might possibly explain how zoos used to work: people would pay lots of money to walk around and stare at the helpless creatures behind the glass, going about their lives oblivious to the voyeurism around them. It is possible that the younger visitors will find this stupid because virtual zoos are better and safer for all involved. Yet, there they remain, waiting to be let inside the human zoo.
Once inside, it is possible that the group of people will be uneasy about being the first to explore. The few who are both braver and more sardonic will push forward and head off to the right.
The humans will possibly be grouped by country to make it easier to navigate. The first geographic area will possibly be Asia. The curators of the zoo will insist there is no intentional preference of the layout, but everyone will possibly think otherwise. As the crowd moves by the cages of humans, they will be struck at how normal it looks to see them caged and trapped. It is possible that some were anticipating fear, and even nausea, but no one will complain about it.
It is possible that the humans inside the exhibit will stop whatever they are doing and look at the people filing past them. One of them might possibly move to give himself better cover from the intruders, while the others might possibly stare in awe at the sight of more humans.
There will be plaques denoting the culture and natural habitat of every human group, but it is possible the visitors will see this for the farce it is. While intended to bring cultural awareness, the visitors will possibly have very different ideas on the subject.
As the people wander around the Africa exhibit, it is possible a few people will feel uncomfortable as they watch the way the caged humans are being fed. It is a nice healthy meal, to be sure, but it seems rather strange to see them so thin and helpless. The food could possibly taste disgusting, but the people outside the cage will never know, because they will not ask. It is possible that the people who feel uncomfortable as they watch this will make themselves keep walking regardless, because they know that as long as they aren’t looking at it, it no longer exists.
Under such circumstances, the humans in the cages will have become used to being watched and will, eventually, begin to carry on their normal routines regardless of the visitors. It is possible that the people will watch and laugh when one of the humans does something amusing, like running, jumping or any form of playing.
The part for visitors that will be the most intriguing will possibly be the open sexuality of the humans. The people will possibly be offended by the frank sexual practices of the caged humans. Some will possibly leave in an outrage at having to watch such vulgar acts. It is possible the children will laugh and point, making very crass jokes. Only a few will possibly understand that what they are witnessing is the progression of nature as it has developed for millions of years.
In the interest of science, it is possible that a viewing area will be set up for visitors to see the sick humans. Some will be placed in special units so they cannot hurt themselves, and some will be placed in isolation chambers and put on drugs to calm them down. It is possible that this might also upset some visitors, so discretion will be used to decide what level of observation will be allowed for the dying humans. The ones that are terminally ill or dangerous will be disposed of in the most humane way possible. The people will know about this, but it is quite possible that they will not wish to see it. Another possible option for the curators of the zoo would be to charge extra to watch the executions of the ill humans. There is much money to be made in death, and the zoo could find many possible ways to use the extra funds.
Of course, the other humans will be given excellent medical care. It is in the best interest of the zoo to maintain their commodity, and, therefore, they will give the best possible care they can. All in all, being a captive of the zoo is an excellent position to possibly land. A captive would receive free food, home, medicine and entertainment. The humans will possibly be content and well cared for. A better life could not be possible, for some.
It is also quite possible there will be a nursery area for people to view. Nestled in artificial wombs, people will be able to file by and stare at the underdeveloped cells. A mother might possibly point to the various parts of the body to help educate her young children, while other mothers might possibly shoo them along to keep them from seeing. Regardless of how the mothers react, the creatures will continue to develop and once they are ‘born’ (a term used lightly), they will possibly be heralded as the greatest scientific breakthrough. They will be raised as the first captive humans, and, depending on what the courts say regarding their rights, it is possible they will be raised as primitively as possible. This is will give the people the best glimpse into the past as to what barbaric humans looked like.
It is possible that they will be raised without speech. Thinking will be encouraged in any possible childcare enrichment programs, but not too much. This is possibly because the curators will understand that too much thought will allow the humans to question their cages, and this would not be allowed.
If the visitors get hungry, it is possible that some will stop at the restaurant in the zoo. The restaurant will not be operated by humans, of course, but by automatons. The people can sit in the high balcony of the restaurant and watch the humans below them, playing on the ropes course built by the curators for the North American exhibit. The visitors will possibly be very happy as they sit above the rest and eat loudly, stuffing their faces and laughing at those below. It is possible they will have made the balcony glass with a one-way-mirror so that the humans below will only see themselves staring up, and will not be able to see the people above them.
It is highly unlikely, but entirely possible, that a group of protestors will form outside. As human sympathizers, they will carry signs with catchy slogans and chant rhyming chants for the human cause. It is possible that a few of the curators will secretly agree with them, but understand that their paycheck is much too nice to cause trouble. It is possible that the solution the curators will find will be to simply shut the large iron gates and continue on their work caring for the humans.
It is possible that the biggest problem the curators will encounter while working with the caged humans is the need to stop the ongoing violence among them. Even among the natural human groups, the violence will possibly escalade to dangerous proportions as the humans find more and more issues with themselves. It is possible that this will create such a problem that they will all have to be caged in isolated rooms and viewed individually, because they can no longer stand living together. That is the biggest possible reason they could not be grouped any other way, because the death toll became too great among larger clusters of caged humans. It is possible that the curators will consider violent matches for ‘enrichment’ among the caged humans, while charging money for visitors to watch the fights between the two groups. The matches will possibly last until there is one man left standing. Regardless, the humans will need as much possible care to be looked after because they cannot possibly make any decisions on their own.
Of course, it is quite possible that on the day the first human zoo opens, no one will show up at all because, honestly, who would support such distasteful ideas.
But it really is impossible to say.
this is bloody brilliant, well done x
Great imaginative idea and fairly well written about a fictional situation! Many interesting lines of thought emanate – perhaps some of the poor would be happy with the shelter & food – an improvement on their normal conditions, and the sick with the medical facilities that will be freely available will be delighted to be selected, as observed, without commenting on the ‘exhibits’ who were already better off. While ‘automatons’ to serve food to the visitors have been mentioned, what about the ‘curators’ and ‘zoo managers’?
Whatever it may be – an interesting and enjoyable piece by Samantha – keep it up.