by Maurice
The next day Ash and Blue Eyes went fishing. When they were on the way back, they came face-to-face with a monster.
With a human.
I heard the gunshot, but I didn’t know what it was. The elders did, and they raised the alarm. We all rushed toward the sound.
I had never imagined they could be so ugly. They had no hair except on the tops of their heads and some on their chins. They were slick, like fish or salamanders. I thought if I touched one, it would leave slime on my hand. Their noses jutted out like beaks. But it wasn’t the differences that made them so frightening. It was how similar they were to us. As if someone tried to make an ape and got it all wrong. I thought I would vomit.
Ash had been shot. Blue Eyes was guarding him, probably as confused and frightened as I was. Caesar was there, of course, and he called us to silence. The monsters just stood there, pointing their guns at us.
And then they began to speak, which made everything worse. To hear words coming out of those strange, flat mouths was awful. I hoped Caesar would tell us to kill them.
One of the men said he meant us no harm, which was a funny thing to say with Ash already bleeding into the ground.
The man who shot Ash told the other men we were just apes, that we didn’t understand him.
The first one asked if he thought we looked like “just” apes.
I don’t remember it all. It’s been a long time. But I do remember how it ended.
Caesar shouted at them to go. Then Koba did. Then we were all shouting at them.
And they left.
What Koba Counseled; What Caesar Decided
The humans left in a hurry, and they dropped some things. One of them was a book with pictures and words. And another book, with drawings. These I took to examine for myself.
The pictures told a story of humans killing humans. Of blood. Of war. I knew the humans had suffered; I just didn’t know how much.
But these humans were not starving, like the last we had seen. They looked well and were armed with guns like those we remembered. Once again, it felt like something had changed. Caesar sent Koba, Grey, and Stone to follow the humans.
The humans not only had guns, but they had traveled into the woods in a truck. Even so, it was easy enough to follow them across the Orange Bridge into the City. There Koba saw that the City was no longer empty of humans. Like weeds after a fire, they had come back. They had formed a colony, and they were beginning to multiply.
The council met. It was the most important meeting in years. To no one’s surprise, Koba urged that we should kill them before they killed us. I advised caution; we didn’t know how many of them there were, how many guns, or what they wanted in the woods. The argument continued until Caesar stopped it.
If we go to war, he said, we risk everything we’ve built here. Home. Family. Future. I will decide by morning, he said.
I saw Koba follow him, in a submissive posture. They spoke, and from the look of them I thought they were agreeing about something. Later, Caesar told me that Koba had urged him to show strength. Caesar told him they would.
But what Caesar meant by strength and what Koba meant were not the same thing.
In the morning, as promised, Caesar made his decision.
We armed ourselves. Those of us with horses mounted. And we rode into the City, from which we had once escaped. It was a strange feeling. We passed the spot where Buck and many others died, pierced by bullets. We rode through streets and crumbling buildings. Evidence of war, destruction, and fire were everywhere. As hard as they tried to kill us after our escape, it was clear that they had tried much harder to kill each other.
And yet Koba was right. What we found was not a handful of humans, but hundreds. There were perhaps as many of them as there were of us. But while we had spears, knives, and catchers, they had guns. Where we had horses, they had cars.
Caesar was right, too. If we tried to kill them, they would fight. We might win, but we would lose so many, it could never be worth it. And we might lose.
Like us, the humans had a wall around their colony, and they watched us from beyond it as we approached. Only one of them came out, one of those from the forest. Malcolm was his name. Blue Eyes returned the bag they had left behind. In it was the book. The drawings.
At first, there was only silence. Then Caesar said what he had come to say.
“Apes do not want war!” he shouted. “But we will fight if we have to.” He gestured back toward the woods. “Ape home!” he pointed at the City. “Human home!”
He let that lay there a moment.
“Do not come back,” he finished.
With that, we left the City and returned to the forest. Caesar hoped that would be the end of it.
What the Humans Wanted
And yet Malcolm came back into the forest. He came to our village alone, with no weapons. He walked in through the gorilla gate. That was as far as he got on his own feet. Luca and the other guardians dragged him into the village. When Caesar appeared on his ledge above us, they forced Malcolm down into the mud, into a position of submission.
Malcolm was brave. He knew what might happen to him. He was also terrified. It is important to understand that one can be brave and frightened at the same time. In fact, it could be said that one cannot be brave without fear.
He told Caesar he understood that he wasn’t supposed to come back. That he wouldn’t have if it wasn’t important.
And he asked Caesar to let him show him something, something not too far away.
“Human lie!” Koba shouted. He was angry, and also confused. He had been talking, and although he didn’t talk to me, I heard some of his words repeated by others. He believed Caesar hadn’t been strong enough, and that this human had disobeyed Caesar’s command and come into our very home infuriated him. In his mind, it also proved Koba was right. No number of words would stop the humans. Only force could do that. In Koba’s experience, that was true.
It made him even angrier when Caesar agreed to see what Malcolm wanted to show him.
We knew the place Malcolm led us to, although we didn’t know what it was for. It was made of the strange stone humans built so many things from, and it trapped the river to form a pool. When it swelled over the lip of the pool it plunged in a waterfall and continued on. Malcolm called it a dam and a “small hydro.”
As Caesar listened, the human explained what it had been created to do. Caesar began to understand. The dam created the sparks that made the lights that once lit the City. That made human machines work. He remembered living with Will, how many things needed those sparks. How much humans depended on electricity.
“This is your home,” Malcolm said. “And I don’t want to take it away from you. But if you can just let us work here—”
“You brought others?” Koba interrupted.
“Just a few,” Malcolm said. “I’m not a threat. If I am, then I guess you can kill me.”
Caesar thought about this, about the lights, the demeanor of Malcolm. And finally, he agreed to let them do their work.
“You must give us your guns,” he told Malcolm. “You cannot keep them and stay in the forest.”
Malcolm agreed to Caesar’s terms.
The humans made camp near the dam. We returned to our village, and by the light of our fire destroyed the guns the humans gave to us.
Koba had been silent for some time, his mind turned inward to the nightmares he had experienced at the hands of men. But now he spoke his mind.
If they get power, he told Caesar, they’ll be more dangerous. Why help them?
I had the same thought. Without their guns and machines, humans weren’t much of a threat to us.
They seem desperate, Caesar said. If we make them go, they will attack.
Let them, Koba said. We’ll destroy them while they’re weak.
And how many apes will die? Caesar replied. We have one chance for peace. Let them do their human work and they will go.
“Human work?” Koba gro
wled. He pointed to one of his scars. “Human work,” he snarled. He touched another. “Human work! Human work!”
His voice rose dangerously with each repetition, became challenging.
Caesar rose up over him, responding to Koba’s threatening stance.
Koba understood he had gone too far. He shrank down and extended his hand in submission.
Caesar withheld his acceptance. He knew he had reached a dangerous moment. He had to make it clear that even if his decision was unpopular, it could not be questioned. He let everyone see his displeasure with Koba, gave everyone time to absorb it before finally swiping the outstretched palm.
That should have been the end of it. But Blue Eyes was there, too. He said what a lot of apes were thinking.
Koba say apes should hate humans—he began.
Enough, Caesar said. From humans Koba learned hate and nothing else.
But Koba had been planting these seeds in the young ones for a long time. They were now starting to put out shoots. Blue Eyes fell silent, but he was not convinced by Caesar’s words. Many were not.
The next morning, I found Koba sulking on the wall.
We’re going to the human camp, I told him.
I should not go there, Koba said. When I look at them, I only want to kill them. I follow Caesar. But Caesar is wrong this time.
Caesar is thinking about all of us, I told him.
Caesar trusts the humans, Koba said. He should not.
Caesar wants you to come, I said.
Koba shook his head. I’m going hunting, he said. Best for everybody.
I knew he was probably right. Koba was too angry, too full of hate, and Caesar was in no mood to be challenged. The weight of everything was again settled on him.
To make matters worse, your mother was sick. Tinker tells this part.
Your Birth: Tinker’s Tale
Cornelius, your birth was very hard. Cornelia would not let us tell Caesar. She said he had too much to worry about. I hoped she would get better after you were born, but before long it was clear she was only getting weaker. Her breath was cluttered with the rasp, and her skin was hot.
I had seen this many times. Often, it ended with the mother dead. There was a certain herb that helped sometimes, the bark of a tree that grows mostly at the edge of the forest. I took Lake with me. She was very young then, no more than six, I believe, but it was time for her to begin learning women’s ways.
Why is everyone so upset? she asked, on the way.
It’s the humans, I told her.
Blue Eyes say we should drive them out of the forest, she said.
You’ve been talking to Blue Eyes? I asked.
She looked embarrassed. No, she said. Not exactly. I heard him talking to Ash.
So you were close enough to hear them?
I’m concerned about him, she said. About his wounds.
They’ve been cleaned, I said. They will heal.
Yes, she said.
So? I asked.
So what? she replied.
Do you think he noticed you?
She blinked and looked away.
I wasn’t trying to be noticed, she said.
Right, I said.
She was silent for a moment, and then she chuffed out a little giggle.
Maybe, she said. I thought he was looking at me.
We found the tree, growing near a small stream. I showed her how to strip the bark. Then we returned to the village, and I showed her how to steep the bark in water. When it was cool enough, we gave it to Cornelia to drink.
It helped a bit. Her skin cooled a little, but before sundown she had begun to worsen again. I began to fear our queen would die.
She needed sleep, so I took you, Cornelius, and gave you to Lake.
Take him to Blue Eyes, I told her. Let his brother care for him.
What Happened at the Dam
The humans began working on the dam. We watched. Caesar wanted to see what they were doing. Even though he had agreed to let them work, he did not completely trust them.
When I heard the explosion, I remembered the sound. Nothing outside of the world of man sounds exactly like that. At that moment, I feared Koba was right. The humans were attacking us.
Instead, we learned that the humans had hurt only themselves. The explosion was meant to clear debris from the dam, but it had also trapped them in a tunnel inside of it. The humans who were still outside tried to dig them out, but we could tell they weren’t going to succeed.
With some reluctance, Caesar ordered apes to help, and soon the trapped humans were free.
The humans were grateful. Malcolm thanked Caesar.
No one died. But one of the humans was wounded. The female, Ellie, knew medicine. She was trying to help him.
And here came your first act in the story, Cornelius. You hopped out of your brother’s arms and ran to Ellie, just as if she was a female ape. You climbed up on her. You had no fear, no revulsion, only curiosity. Ellie and the human young one, Alexander, laughed and played with you.
For the first time, I understood what Caesar had in his mind. For many of us, there could be an ape world or a human world, but never both.
But Caesar could imagine a world in which apes and humans could coexist.
That moment did not last long. After playing with the humans for a little while, you went to the pile of human things, pulled aside a rag, and revealed a gun. One of the humans had broken Caesar’s rules.
The wounded human leapt forward and struck at you. Your brother reacted without any hesitation, hitting that man and then another.
But the wounded man had the gun now, and he pointed it at Blue Eyes.
Before anything else could happen, Caesar snatched the weapon from the man’s hand, knocked him down, and prepared to club him to death with the gun.
Malcolm begged him to stop. Caesar did, but then he pointed the weapon at Malcolm.
“I said no guns,” your father growled.
He pointed the gun at each of the humans in turn, so they would know how it felt to be threatened. Then he threw the gun in the river and told the humans to leave. They had broken his rules, and their work was over.
How Koba Played the Fool
Koba lied to me. He did not go hunting. At least he did not go hunting for game. Instead, he took Grey and Stone across the Orange Bridge. On the other side of it they saw humans working. They had guns, many guns. And Koba heard guns firing. He heard men talking, too. Talking about fighting apes.
I have no direct witness to this part of the story. But Grey told others about it, and it became a popular tale. Even now, apes tell the story of how Koba Played the Fool.
Two of the men with guns saw him and meant to shoot him. But then Koba made a funny sound. He stuck out his tongue and began to act silly, stupid. Like a trained ape.
Koba had been a trained ape, when he was little. He had learned to act in the ways humans found amusing. And what humans find amusing, they do not fear. The two men did not shoot him. They laughed, and they let him go.
We all know what Koba saw there. He saw humans preparing for war. Not just with the guns they hold in their hands, but also bigger weapons. Koba believed that while Caesar was helping the humans, the humans were preparing to kill us all.
How Your Mother Was Cured
After commanding the humans to leave the forest, Caesar returned to the village, only to find more bad news. The midwives called him up. Despite their best efforts, Cornelia was getting worse. She was dying. Caesar sat beside her, touching her, feeling powerless. Everything important seemed to be slipping from his control.
Outside Caesar heard an uproar. The human, Malcolm, had once again invaded the village. He entered Caesar’s very home. But he wasn’t alone this time. The female Ellie was with him.
“I’m sorry,” Malcolm told Caesar. “This is all my fault. But I will make him leave.”
“This is my home,” Caesar said. “You should not be here.”
“I understand,�
�� the human replied.
As the men spoke, Ellie noticed your mother. She heard the rasp in her breath, saw how the midwives attended her. She said Malcolm’s name, and then he seemed to suddenly understand what was happening.
“She’s sick,” Malcolm said.
“How long has she been this way?” Ellie asked. “I have medicine.”
“Maybe she can help,” Malcolm said.
Caesar looked away.
“I do not trust you,” he said.
“I don’t blame you,” Malcolm said. “But believe me. We’re not all like him.”
“Please,” Ellie said. “Let us help you.”
Caesar said nothing, but Ellie came over anyway. She knelt and opened her bag of medicine.
“One day,” Caesar said, as he watched the human woman attend your mother. “You stay one day.”
Father, no! Blue Eyes signed.
“We may need a little more time,” Malcolm said.
“One day!” Caesar shouted. “Ape will help.”
I will not help, Blue Eyes signed.
How Koba and Caesar Fought
Malcolm sent the man who attacked you and threatened Blue Eyes away, and the next morning apes came not to watch, but to work.
We were working when Koba arrived. He had been to the village first, where he found Blue Eyes. Blue Eyes told him about the man with the gun. Then he led Koba to the dam.
Koba arrived in a rage. He demanded to see Caesar, and he struck the young human, Alexander. Malcolm jumped between Koba and his son, but Koba kept advancing on them until I stepped in front of both.
I wasn’t sure why I did it. My experiences with humans were not as bad as Koba’s, but they were bad. Yet I sensed that Malcolm, Alexander, and Ellie really were different. And as humans and apes worked together, I was drawn to Caesar’s vision of a world of apes and humans that was also a world at peace.
Koba glared at me, but he stopped. Then he started demanding to see Caesar again.