Planet of the Apes Omnibus 4

by William Arrow

  Breath the great arch, in an area reserved for dignitaries, sat, among others, Zaius, Zira, and Cornelius. The apes seated there now looked down upon the festivities in the square with carefully composed dignity. They were much too important to allow themselves to frolic about like the children, or to barter for banners that had stenciled likenesses of Urko, or even to purchase the cones of scented and syrup-saturated ice that the sellers were offering. They spoke slowly and carefully to each other, being cautious about their opinions and avoiding areas of controversy or delicacy.

  Exceptions were Cornelius and Zira.

  Fretfully, Cornelius leaned forward to talk past Zira to the aged Dr. Zaius. “With all due respect, Doctor Zaius… You know how Urko feels about our work.”

  “Certainly I know,” Zaius grumbled, his voice implying that Cornelius was stupid to think he did not know what was going on within Ape City.

  Cornelius put his hands upon the knees of his green leggings and took a deep breath. He hesitated, knowing he was now about to venture into dangerous territory. Zira shot him a fierce glance, but Cornelius blurted out his question.

  “Then you will allow Zira and me to have the six humanoids we require to continue our Behavioral Study experiments…?”

  Dr. Zaius raised his hand, his pale orange fur ruffling in the slight wind. “My word has always been my bond,” he said with great dignity. “Nothing has happened to change that.”

  Zira squirmed in her seat. She had obviously grown angry and her thoughts were ready to boil over. Cornelius saw her state and put a cautionary hand upon her arm. She glanced around at the other gorillas, chimpanzees, and orangutans, all busy with their self-importance.

  Shaking herself free of Cornelius’s hand, she spoke in frustrated anger. “What a thick-brained lout that General Urko is!”

  Zaius looked back up at Zira without much expression. He had heard this sort of racial conflict many times, and knew he would hear it many more times in the future. He sighed, knowing the truth on either side and realizing that his status and power rested upon maintaining a careful balance between the various factions. But even beyond that, he believed in what he was doing, believed that a higher cause was served by his careful maintenance of the status quo, and that Apedom as a whole benefited from a careful consideration of facts balanced against those policies that had long been established.

  Zira shook loose again from the grip of her husband’s hand. “Cornelius—”

  “Shush, Zira, please!” he said in a whisper. “There are gorillas all around us…”

  He looked over his shoulder, seeing several of the huge black apes close by. He was not calmed by the fact that they did not seem to have heard Zira’s outburst.

  “But he is!” Zira persisted. She sat straight, her head up. “Imagine, wanting all the humanoids for himself!” She snorted in anger and her nose twitched. “Imagine him placing the so-called demands of his stupid Gorilla Army over our much more scientific needs!”

  Dr. Zaius leaned back toward her, his voice calm, not seeming to whisper, but his words did not carry very far. “General Urko is responsible for the military defense of the entire Simian Nation. That is a heavy and awesome task. We must admire his dedication to duty.”

  Zira jerked forward in her seat, her hands fluttering. “With all due respect, sir—”

  But Zira was interrupted by a great shout from the rooftops. Cries of “Here they come!” and “It’s General Urko!” Several of the dignitaries stood to try and get a better look and there was a buzz of comments from the crowd.

  “General Urko comes!”

  “Will he have some new pets, do you think?”

  “Doesn’t he always? Urko is the greatest commander we’ve ever had! Hooray for General Urko!”

  “Hooray for General Urko!”

  A line of trumpeters appeared atop the Arch of Triumph. They raised their trumpets to their lips, the red-and-white banners of the Simian Nation hanging from the instruments. The clarion call of the trumpets sent a thrill through the crowd, which grew quiet in anticipation.

  “I can hear them!” someone finally yelled.

  And, indeed, there was the rumble of distant motors.

  Someone from a rooftop cried out, “They’re here!”

  The trumpets sounded their shrill peals again, and this time a group of drummers around the base of the arch gave out a long, military roll. These were joined by a second line of simian trumpeters, with lighter-sounding horns. Together, the big trumpets atop the arch and the smaller trumpeters below joined the drummers in a thunderous roll of honor as General Urko rolled into the square.

  The crowd had parted before the lead jeep, and Urko stood rigid in the vehicle, head up—the arrogant figure of triumphant power. The crowd broke its silence at the sight of the powerful gorilla leader and a roar of welcome went up. Colorful bits of paper showered from the windows and rooftops, a multicolored snow upon Urko’s helmeted head and shoulders. Apes jumped up and down, snorting and cheering wildly.

  Cornelius and Zira were not enthusiastic welcomers, and Dr. Zaius and the rest of the dignitaries only applauded politely, as befitted their position. But many of them had risen to their feet in welcome.

  Urko acknowledged the cheers of the crowd with a restrained wave of his hand, the picture of a dignified military leader who only barely acknowledged the common ape.

  The jeeps and trucks and other vehicles rolled into the square behind Urko’s command car to form a rough rectangle.

  In a wagon cage, Bill Hudson opened his eyes at the thunderous sound of the crowd. He groaned, and the old humanoid once again put his hand over Bill’s mouth. But the astronaut shoved him aside.

  Dazed, but once again conscious, Bill struggled up, pressing aside the cringing humanoids in their rags and animal skins. He peered out in amazement at the hundreds of apes, at the huge arch, at the strange architecture of the buildings. He stared incredulously at the apes who cried out words of praise for the victorious general; and wondered at their clothing and tools and weapons. He was stunned, and shook his head. All this is some kind of nightmare, he told himself.

  The crowd now began to chant.

  “General Urko!”

  “General Urko!”

  “GENERAL URKO!”

  “GENERAL URKO!”

  Bill’s mouth dropped as the thunderous noise sent echoes over the rooftops. Hundreds and hundreds of apes lifted their fists in salute, their rough voices crying out.

  “URKO!!!”

  * * *

  Jeff stood shakily at the foot of the tree that held the camouflaged tree house. The young astronaut had a hand against the rough bark of the trunk in order to steady himself. He shook away Nova’s tentative touch.

  “I’m all right now,” he said.

  Raising his head, he looked around, trying to orient himself as his vision cleared. All about were woods, brush, and rocks—into the distance. He was startled as a humanoid dropped from a nearby tree, seemingly coming from nowhere. The humanoid saw Jeff, stared at him for a moment, then scampered fearfully away.

  Hearing a rustling noise, Jeff looked at another tree nearby and saw an opening appear in what seemed to be thick foliage. He realized it was a door and that some of the humanoids had hidden their homes in the trees, pulling and shaping the live growth around their hideaways until they were all but invisible. As he heard other noises, Jeff realized almost every tree in the area contained a home and that he was, indeed, in a village.

  A humanoid female came out of the opened door in the nearby foliage and watched Jeff with careful eyes as she lowered herself to the ground on a crude rope of plaited leather strips. Above her, a girl child in rags and pieces of dirty fur pulled up the rope and sneaked out a dirty hand to close the secret door, her eyes on Jeff the entire time.

  The woman watched Jeff from the ground, glancing away from him only long enough to verify that the door to her home was once again closed. Her whole body was poised for flight. She held a crud
ely woven basket and began to back away, keeping an eye on the stranger. When she had gained a little distance, she turned to run, disappearing into the thick brush an instant.

  Jeff took Nova’s arm. His voice was urgent as he asked the humanoid female, “Nova, where’s Bill? We’ve got to find Bill! Where did the apes take Bill?”

  Nova stared at him blankly and Jeff cursed, dropping his hands from her arm and gritting his teeth. He made another try and seized her again with both hands, shaking her.

  “Where, Nova, where? Where did the apes take Bill?”

  The girl only stared at him, and Jeff snorted again in disgust. He dropped his hands from her arms once again, turning away to mutter, “It’s like talking to a post!”

  But suddenly some kind of understanding or comprehension seemed to come over the beautiful girl. Her arm shot out, pointing in a distant direction.

  “Show me,” Jeff said urgently. “Show me, Nova!”

  She hesitated, then started running in the direction she had pointed. She looked back to see if the dark astronaut was following.

  He was, and she began to run steadily.

  * * *

  Urko walked up the steps to the stands beneath the huge triumphal arch, his polished leather armor impressive and his manner kingly. He took the cheers of the crowd with massive dignity, a faint smile on his lips. In the front row, near Dr. Zaius, he turned and raised both fists high over his head. The crowd went wild and flowers were thrown toward him.

  Bill stared out from between the wooden bars of his cage, still stunned and amazed at the sight. Now he heard the crowd of apes calming down and saw Urko turning to those dignitaries who were standing in his honor, applauding politely. Bill could not hear what was being said, even though he strained his ears.

  Urko looked smugly at Zaius and swaggered close to him, towering over the aged orangutan. “Well,” he sneered smugly, “once again I have succeeded, Doctor Zaius.”

  Zaius nodded, his orange hair fluttering in the wind. He peered out at the still cheering crowd and replied, “Yes, it looks as though you have, General Urko.”

  The gorilla commander preened egotistically as he took a few arrogant strides back and forth before the important members of his society. This caused a new surge of cheers, and he acknowledged these with a slight wave.

  “This hunt bagged more humanoid beasts than any before it,” he boasted.

  Zaius gazed at him, his eyes wise in the ways of those with pride who first taste real power. “Excellent, general,” he said patronizingly. “Simply excellent.”

  The general paused again before Zaius, letting himself stand very close, invading quite consciously the doctor’s personal sphere. But Zaius was used to gorilla tactics and he refused to look up or to acknowledge the looming gorilla.

  “Well, as I always say, the only good humanoids are caged ones… Or, still better, doctor, dead ones.”

  Zira took a step toward Urko, her fists clenched and her face angry. “That’s your opinion, Urko! I believe much can be learned from humanoids.”

  Urko turned to look up toward Zira in majestic arrogance. His eyes roved up and down her, noting his massive size compared to her slim and somewhat delicate figure.

  His thick lips sneered. “Learn from them?” He barked a harsh laugh, echoed by his officers, who had assembled below him, a few steps down. “What rubbish!”

  He looked down at his officers and made a gesture toward Zira, at which they laughed again.

  Cornelius doubled his fists in anger and took a tentative step toward the gorilla commander, who was better than twice his size.

  He was stopped by Dr. Zaius. The orangutan glanced at the bulky general. “Urko, you know full well that if even a single humanoid is discovered to possess the intelligence of real language, then all humanoids will be destroyed.”

  Zira reached over and clutched at Cornelius’s coat. He patted her hand and scowled down at the general.

  Zaius shrugged and spread his hands in a gesture of helplessness. “Until then, we must utilize them as we always have, as our ancestors did and as our descendants shall… if any of us remain.”

  Urko’s lips pressed together in seething anger and he turned away to confer with several of the other dignitaries.

  The crowd was quiet now but still festive, and in one of the taverns a stringed instrument began to play. Apes began to drift away from the stands, now that the pageant was over. But quite a crowd still remained in the central square when Zira walked down from the stands and over to the cage in which Bill Hudson crouched.

  She looked at each of the humanoids, but quickly was attracted to Bill. “What beautiful eyes,” she murmured. Turning, she called out to Cornelius. “Husband, come here, would you, please?”

  He was in deep conversation with Dr. Zaius, who was shaking his head, but after a moment Cornelius came over to the wagon cage.

  “What did you say, my dear?”

  “Look at the color of this one’s eyes. They are quite unusual.”

  Both Zira and Cornelius peered in at Bill, who was just as curiously examining them. He went over every part of their clothing, from the tunic of Cornelius and long dress of Zira to the strange cuneiform-like designs carved into the leather bibs under Cornelius’s and Zira’s chins and running down their upper bodies. Bill was stunned that their ape faces had the glint of real intelligence in the eyes. Coming out of his unconscious stupor, he was still ingesting details. The apes in the plaza were of three kinds: golden-haired creatures, wider and somewhat shorter than these two darkhaired but light-faced ones looking in at him so intently now; and tall, black-haired and black-faced apes, doubtless gorillas. Then it dawned upon him: these three types were among the most intelligent of apes—orangutans, chimpanzees, and gorillas. The implications were staggering and utterly fantastic.

  But he was brought back to the moment by Zira’s finger coming through the bars to touch him. “Hello, Blue-Eyes,” she cooed, as if to a child or a pet. “Kootchy-coo…”

  Bill started and stared at her, yet in a state of shock.

  “Would you like to work with Cornelius and me, Blue-Eyes?” she asked in a soft, inquiring voice.

  Bill looked from Zira to the other chimpanzee, and around at the cage of cowering humanoids, but he did not respond. The whole thing had such an air of fantasy, a world turned topsy-turvy, that he had no reference points from which to orient himself.

  Zira bubbled to Cornelius, “Oh, isn’t he beautiful?”

  “Yes, dear, but—”

  Dr. Zaius now walked up and also peered in at Bill, who looked back, his eyes darting from Zaius’s intelligent eyes to his yellow robes and signs of office.

  Zira turned to the golden-furred doctor. “Isn’t he a beauty, Doctor Zaius?”

  The Elder smiled. “Beauty is in the eye of the ape beholder, Zira.”

  He started to leave, but Zira reached out quickly and stopped him. “Doctor Zaius, I’d like Blue-Eyes as one of the six humanoids you promised to Cornelius and me.”

  Urko loomed up behind Zaius and his voice thundered out. “Promised you? There are no humanoids here for you!” He sneered at Zira and glared down at Zaius.

  Zira was uncowed, however. She lifted her head to the big gorilla and stared at him with uncompromising fervor. Then she spoke, but it was to Dr. Zaius as she still glared up at the gorilla commander.

  “Doctor Zaius,” she said firmly, “I’d like Blue-Eyes, please.”

  Urko raised a leather-gloved fist and made an angry gesture. “No!”

  Zaius turned toward him and spoke mildly. “Why not, General Urko?”

  The gorilla chieftain struck one of his heavy fists into the other. “Because I need all the humanoid beasts! All of them! Our work details are depleted, and we are staging new war games next week! That’s why!”

  Zaius raised his eyebrows. “But there seem to be enough humanoids to divide among all our groups who need them—”

  Cornelius raised his voice. “And we’ve
requisitioned six for our experiments.”

  Urko snarled, his voice a deep and angry rumble. He was livid, his nostrils dilated, and his eyes were dark spots of fire under the heavy brown. Once again he struck a fist into the other hand. Then he bent down toward Zira and Cornelius and growled, “Rot on your experiments!”

  Zira tipped her head up to him, her face stiff with angry resentment. “And rot on your war games!”

  Urko at once made a threatening gesture and Cornelius pushed Zira aside and raised his fists toward the bigger ape.

  But Dr. Zaius quickly threw up a hand. In a voice of authority that no one—not even General Urko—wanted to dispute, he cried out, “Silence!”

  Cornelius stepped back, his face bristling with anger at the general for threatening Zira, and put an arm around his wife. He felt her trembling and knew that he, too, was shaking with rage and frustration. They and several apes nearby all looked at Dr. Zaius as he held up the commanding hand.

  “It is unseemly of intelligent apes to argue in public.”

  Bill had been following the proceedings with wide eyes.

  Zaius now stepped past Urko and on up the steps to the stands. He held up his hands and the crowd slowly became quiet. “Hear me…” he said in a stentorial voice.

  “Big oaf,” Zira muttered, looking back at Urko.

  “Shush, dear!” Cornelius murmured.

  “Well, he is.”

  “Yes, dear, but listen to Doctor Zaius now.”

  “…Bring out the humanoids,” Zaius commanded.

  The gorilla officers repeated the command and the soldiers slapped open the locks on the wagon cages and began impatiently to prod out their captives. Bill evaded the sharpened driving stick of one soldier, started to yell at the gorilla in anger, but was jabbed in the ribs by the old humanoid. Bill jerked aside in surprise, almost falling out of the cage. His grunt of indignation was lost, however, beneath the shouts and commands of the gorilla warriors as they drove the helpless and thoroughly cowed prisoners from their cages.

  The gorillas slapped and shoved them into a line that ran across the square and seemed a long, manylegged insect of rags and suntanned skin, unkempt hair and an unwashed body. The sheer brutal power of the gorillas somewhat cowed Bill, and he decided not to make a fuss until he knew more about what was going on.