Meeting the press in Washington after her return from space, Monkey Able seemed chipper, jumping around and throwing things almost as if she were fresh from a peaceful monkey house. But after her moment of glory, she was flown off to Fort Knox, Ky., where Army Dr. Thomas Davis noticed that one of the electrodes inserted under her skin, a ¾-inch-square bit of silver-plated wire mesh, had started a slight infection. It was decided to operate, using a general anesthetic, trichloroethylene.
On the operating table, Able's heart began to fibrillate. For 2¼ hours Dr. Davis and others worked over the sinking monkey....
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