Page 68 - An Evening with Maxwell's Daemons

Lost in the Jungle

mission via airdrop under cover of darkness, launching an airplane
from an aircraft carrier off the Atlantic coast of Africa. Two dozen
men, including a hastily-recruited botanist, parachute into the
southeastern part of the colony at midnight during a full moon.
They have one week to report their findings, via the shortwave
radio one of the men carries. If no word has reached the Allies by
then, the coordinates of the village will be firebombed by high-
altitude planes to prevent the plant from falling into the hands of
the Axis. After landing, they get their bearings in the morning and
head for the village. En route they encounter neither Spaniards nor
Germans, so they decide to make contact with the locals on a
friendly basis.”
“The Fang villagers they meet have not had much experience
with the outside world, and are as curious about the Americans as
the expeditionary force is about them. Language is a problem, but
one or two elders have enough French to make conversation
between the groups possible. The American commander passes
around a piece of rubber, and asks if the villagers have anything
similar. That draws a blank, and the botanist suggests encouraging
the locals to show the visitors what they do have in the way of
useful plants. So he and the best linguist go off with the elders while
the rest of the team amuse the curious populace with their
paraphernalia. Candy and cigarettes are a big hit, as anticipated.”
“After a few hours, the inquisitive Americans and their amiable
hosts return. The botanist is shaking his head and staring at a sheaf
of dried stems and stalks in his hand. ‘Is it the rubber replacement?’
asks the commander. ‘No,’ replies the scientist. ‘I saw nothing like
that. The reports must be wrong. But here is something far better
for humanity in the long run: a miracle cure.’ The Americans stare
in disbelief. ‘Yes,’ says the botanist, ‘some of the phytochemicals in
this plant—the watengi mbasira—when released by prolonged boiling
in a pot with certain other roots, produce a substance these people
use both internally and externally to treat almost every sort of
ailment, from ulcerations and jungle fevers to impotence and
toothache. And it works: I saw many patients doing quite well in
various stages of convalescence. And I could see no side effects. It

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