Planet of the Apes Omnibus 4

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Planet of the Apes Omnibus 4 Page 37

by William Arrow


  Chimpanzees have come over to the gorilla side before, Mulla thought glumly. But they usually were after something—revenge on someone for an insult or hurt, some secret plan of controlling the “stupid” gorillas and through them ruling the planet, or for some other, secret reason.

  Mulla did not trust them, and he trusted the renegade Lykos least of all. He watched Urko grin at him; and then the general, Lykos, and Larko broke into delighted laughter.

  “A wonderful day, Wing Commander Larko! A wonderful day!” Urko’s manner was expansive and jubilant.

  “Even better days lie ahead, General Urko.”

  Nodding agreement, the general turned to the short chimpanzee scientist. “The air vehicle was a complete success, Doctor Lykos. You are to be congratulated!”

  The white-coated chimpanzee stroked his long mustache contentedly. They were white, in contrast to the dark hair on his body. With his other hand he stroked the smooth metal surface of the aircraft’s wing, and looked at it lovingly.

  “Restoring this ancient craft was comparatively simple, General Urko. Merely a matter of replacing the worn and rusted parts with similar of identical components, all carefully made by hand. Now I must find out the principles that make it work. That will not be at all easy, sir.”

  Urko dismissed any future problems with a wave of his hand. “I am certain that you will do as well with that as you have done so far. Since you found the craft in that accidentally sealed cavern in the mountains, you have shown unusual loyalty—and great intelligence—in fixing it up.” The general turned to Larko. “And you, commander, must be awarded a suitable prize for risking your life in learning how to fly this ancient machine.”

  “It was my duty, sir. I figured that if some ape in the long ago had flown it, I could!”

  “Good, good,” beamed Urko. He turned back to Dr. Lykos. “Just make certain that this is working perfectly for the demonstration four days from now. I want Doctor Zaius to be suitably impressed.” The gorilla chieftain threw back his head and laughed. “Yes, very impressed!”

  * * *

  Dr. Zaius was standing behind his desk, his eyes fixed on the face of the arrogant Urko. Drawing himself up, his voice crackled with authority, he said: “Unthinkable, general!” Still glaring at the gorilla commander, he paused to let his words sink in. “Nothing on this planet could make me turn the government over to you!”

  Urko smirked and stepped closer, his massive bulk ominous in the small study. “There is one thing, Doctor Zaius…”

  Urko reached into his uniform, behind the leather breastplate, and pulled out a photograph of the P-40. He threw it onto the Elder’s desk with a triumphant gesture.

  “…This!” The giant black-furred ape sneered. “A relic of the past—accidentally discovered. But it assures my future!”

  Zaius snapped up the photo and stared at it. It took all his training not to let his face give him away. “Where did you get this? It is a link to a past that is best forgotten!”

  “It was found. That is enough for you to know, Zaius!”

  The old orangutan drew himself erect, his eyes flashing dangerously. With a voice trembling with suppressed fear, he commanded, “I order you to destroy it!”

  Urko laughed, sending shivers of dread running down the orange-furred back of Dr. Zaius. “From now on, I give the orders, Doctor Zaius!”

  The orangutan’s head snapped up. “You’ll regret this, Urko! Other gorillas, in other times, have tried to rule the Simian World. They all failed, Urko, everyone. In time, their dictatorships fell. So shall yours—if you seek to establish one!”

  Urko chortled again. “But they did not have the secret weapon I have, Zaius. And soon the sky will be black with my hawks!”

  “You’ll not succeed, Urko!”

  “We shall see, Doctor Zaius, we shall see!”

  * * *

  Zira was working in her laboratory. She was trying to keep her mind on what she was doing, but it kept straying. She looked suddenly at a cloudy, sorry-looking mixture she had just poured into a beaker and became angry with herself.

  Zira, you clumsy Barbary ape! You goon! You ruined the experiment because you were thinking about Blue-Eyes! Now, get yourself together, girl!

  She heard a sudden noise and asked, “Is that you, Cornelius?”

  “Yes, dear.” He entered the laboratory and dumped an armload of bound reports onto a desk. “I found these research reports in the Medical Library, dear. I think they might be a help… Oh, what’s this?”

  He picked up an envelope.

  “That’s an invitation,” Zira said, washing out the beaker. “It came in this morning’s mail. I’m not sure I understand what it is, however.”

  Her husband slipped the invitation from the envelope and studied it nearsightedly. “From General Urko…?” He held the stiff paper up to the light and read aloud. “You are invited to a demonstration of a new, secret weapon at the Strategic Defense Headquarters.” Cornelius lowered the card and looked dejectedly at his wife.

  “That invitation was sent to all government members and scientists here in Ape City,” Zira explained.

  Cornelius sank down on a lab stool, holding the invitation in his hand and looking blankly at it. “Then those rumors we’ve been hearing about a secret weapon are true…” he mused.

  “But there’s another significant thing,” Zira said, setting down the beaker to dry. “The invitation is to the Strategic Defense Headquarters! Urko must really have something, if he is bringing everyone out to that place at long last.”

  “Yes,” Cornelius remarked thoughtfully. “Yes… something is up.”

  * * *

  As soon as they had seen the airplane, the three astronauts knew they needed Cornelius and Zira’s aid. Traveling eastward as fast as they could, sometimes using the north road into Ape City and sometimes skirting along its edges when an ape patrol came in sight, they reached a hill outside the eastern part of town two afternoons later.

  Judy Franklin stood, well hidden, under the low-hanging branches of a tree looking down at the capital of the Simian World. Kneeling near their lovely wheaten-haired companion were Bill Hudson and Jeff Allen. Bill was drawing a sketch map of the city in the dirt, should they have to go down into the town.

  “This is where the laboratory is,” he said, stabbing his stick into a crosshatched area.

  “I hope we don’t have to go into Ape City in broad daylight!” Judy worried.

  Bill looked up at Judy. “Do you have that mirror I rescued from the Venturer for you?”

  Judy looked surprised. “What for?”

  “I’m going to try and signal Cornelius and Zira.”

  Judy nodded, blushing slightly. “Yes, I do.” She dug into a pocket of her robe and produced the small hand mirror.

  Bill estimated the angle of the sun and the position of the laboratory of Cornelius and Zira. It wouldn’t be healthy to start flashing at a gorilla barracks or at the home of one of Urko’s allies in the Senate!

  * * *

  Cornelius rested his arms on the edge of the laboratory table, his face just inches away from the pages of the book before him. Nearby, Zira was busy with some flasks and a rack of test tubes.

  But it was evident from Zira’s first words that her mind was not on her work. “Cornelius…”

  “Um?”

  “What apely use would General Urko have for another weapon?”

  Cornelius closed his book and supported his chin in his hands as he looked at his slim wife. “Power, Zira. That gorilla is mad for power!”

  “Well, we’re ambitious, too, aren’t we? We want information, knowledge. Perhaps just as much as Urko wants weapons. Both weapons and knowledge are power. How are we different from Urko, then?”

  “Our lust for knowledge doesn’t hurt anyone. It only benefits. Urko’s lust—and he’s no different from any of the gorilla commanders for as long as I can remember—hurts people: chimpanzees, orangutans, even other gorillas, all those he gets kille
d.”

  “Not to mention the humanoids!” Zira said.

  “There’s nothing wrong with ambition, Zira. That’s what gets things done—really. But ambition for warped goals, for power just to have power… that’s wrong.”

  “Oh, Cornelius, what would I do without you?”

  “And I without you…”

  He rose and went to his wife. They embraced and kissed, but then Zira pulled back.

  “Now, Cornelius, let’s not fool around during working hours. There’s so much to do and so little time.”

  She dashed back to her rack of filled test tubes and carried it to the window, holding the assortment of glass containers up to catch the bright late-afternoon sunlight.

  “Isn’t their color lovely?” she asked, and Cornelius nodded.

  Outside, they could also see the vibrant greenery of the hills. As Zira picked up a test tube and started to pour its contents into another, there was a flash from one of them.

  “Ohh!”

  Zira staggered back a step, almost dropping the test tube. Cornelius, who had returned to his book, spun around.

  “Zira! What happened?”

  She pointed out the window. “A flash of light. It’s silly, but it blinded me for a moment.”

  Zira started to combine the contents of the two test tubes again when there came a second flash.

  * * *

  “Do you think it’s working?”

  Judy stood bent over Bill, who was kneeling, and tried to sight in on the same line as he was.

  “I don’t know. All we can do is try.”

  “Are you sending Morse Code, pal?” Jeff asked.

  “No, not really. I wouldn’t think they’d know that. I’m just sending a rhythmic series—three dots, three dashes, three dots—so that they don’t think it’s some accidental reflection.”

  “I hope they’re the only ones who see it,” Judy sighed gloomily.

  * * *

  “Look, Cornelius! There it is again!” Zira was pointing out the window. “It’s a steady pattern—three short flashes, three long flashes, then three short flashes again. I believe it’s some kind of signal.”

  Cornelius peered intently at the rhythmic glare. “You’re right. It’s coming from that clump of trees up there on the hill. Isn’t that where we had some picnics when we first met?”

  “Yes, that’s approximately the spot. It’s still rather wild up there.” Zira quickly turned to her husband with wide eyes. “Do you think—? I mean, could it be Blue-Eyes?”

  Cornelius nodded. “Perhaps.” He smiled sweetly at his wife. “Why don’t we quit work and take a picnic basket up there, just like old times?”

  Zira nodded eagerly. “Yes, yes, a good idea!” She looked through the window again. “The flashes have stopped.”

  * * *

  “Better give it a rest,” Bill said, lying back on the grass. “We’ll try again in a little while. We don’t want these flashes to go on too long.”

  “I’ll sack out under the tree there,” Jeff said “Do my feet ache! You wake me in an hour and I’ll take the—”

  “I don’t think we’ll have to wait that long,” Judy exclaimed, the excitement in her voice making her words a joyous song.

  The two men looked where she was pointing and saw a tiny vehicle leave the back of the laboratory and start toward them.

  “Are they going to take that narrow little road up here?” Bill mused. “Or turn off toward—No. They are coming up the hill road!”

  “Great!” Jeff said. “Let’s hope it’s Zira and Cornelius, though, and not some curious gorilla!”

  Bill frowned as he turned to Judy. “Listen, you’d better hide until Jeff and I make certain they weren’t followed.”

  “You seem pretty certain it’s Zira and Cornelius,’ she said.

  “All the more reason to hide if it isn’t. Get behind those bushes, in among the trees.”

  “All right, but be careful,” Judy warned.

  “Jeff, you and I will hide on either side of the road here, okay?”

  Bill slipped behind some thick undergrowth. He could hear the jeep making its way up the dirt road, but when he peered out and noticed that the jeep had come into view, the shade from trees along the road prevented him from being certain it was Cornelius and Zira. Then the blond astronaut heard Zira speak.

  “Slow down, Cornelius. This is it! It was somewhere along here.”

  Bill grinned and inspected what he could see of the road behind the jeep. It appeared clear. He stood up as the vehicle neared, then stepped out into the rutted dirt road.

  “Look!” shouted Zira. “It’s Blue-Eyes! And Jeff!”

  The jeep came to a halt and Cornelius killed the engine. The two chimpanzees jumped out of the vehicle and shambled quickly over to embrace the two humans.

  “Oh, we’ve been so worried! Thank goodness you two are safe!” Zira gasped.

  Bill’s smile of welcome faded. “The truth is, no-one of us is safe, Zira. General Urko has a powerful new weapon.”

  The two chimpanzee scientists exchanged looks.

  “We’ve heard rumors about it,” Cornelius said. “Nothing definite, just that he had something new, something… deadly.”

  “We’ve seen it,” Jeff said. “We know what it is and what it can do. It’s an airplane!”

  Zira’s brow became as furrowed as her husband’s as they tried to understand. “Air… plane… Is it on the order of the hot-air balloon?”

  “Yes, it’s a vehicle that travels through the sky, but motor-driven, and much heavier,” Bill told her.

  Zira blinked. “Amazing!”

  Cornelius pursed his lips. “I do believe there were some old myths, some very old stories, about machines that rode in the sky! But, of course, everyone considered them legends—just nonsense stories, like living underwater and places where the sun shines at night.”

  Jeff grinned. “We could tell you some stories that would—”

  “No time for that now, Jeff,” Bill cut in.

  Jeff sobered. “You’re right. With a weapon like this in Urko’s hands—Well, it’s a very dangerous weapon. He can do some great damage with it now, and as soon as they’ve had a chance to play around with it they’ll begin to find out what it can really do!”

  Zira and Cornelius looked puzzled, so Bill filled them in. “With an airplane Urko can drop bombs—explosives—anywhere he wants. And no one will be able to stop him. He can also mount guns on the plane and fire into any hideaway, at any height. And he can fly around and spot any movement we make—”

  “Or see us move the humanoids to a safer place,” Jeff added.

  “He must be stopped!” Bill asserted. “That’s why we’ve come to you.”

  Zira’s brow smoothed out and a look of determination came into her eyes. “How can we help?”

  “We need to know where Urko keeps it,” Bill said. “We saw it in the air over a clearing near the border of the Forbidden Zone, but found no indication nearby of where it might be housed.”

  Cornelius snapped his fingers. “It all falls into place!”

  “Oh, yes!” Zira said quickly. “You’re right, I’m sure!”

  “What?” asked Jeff.

  “It’s at his stronghold, his Strategic Defense Headquarters in the Mukalla Mountains,” Cornelius explained. “It has to be! There’ve been rumors about goings-on there for months!”

  “That’s Urko’s secret base,” Zira said. “Secret in the sense that it is difficult or almost impossible to get there. And it’s guarded quite well, I understand.”

  “In three days, fortunately, we’re invited there,” Cornelius added, “for a demonstration of the new weapon.”

  “How do we get there?” Bill asked.

  “I’ve a map in the jeep. It came with the invitation,” Cornelius said, turning to rummage through the vehicle, when he suddenly heard a noise—a rustle in the bushes on the opposite side of the road—and started.

  Zira also whirled around at
the sound. “Wait! What’s that?”

  Bill grinned. “It’s all right. Come on out, Judy.”

  The pretty young astronaut stepped out of her hiding place, causing startled looks to come over the faces of both chimpanzees.

  “This is… Judy,” Bill said. “This is Cornelius and Zira.”

  “Hello,” Judy said.

  Zira gasped and. Cornelius wet his lips. “Another talking humanoid…!” he said softly and with amazement.

  “Another talking ‘human,’ “Jeff corrected him.

  “I thought one was fantastic. Then Jeff came along… Now, a female…” Cornelius was still in shock.

  “I won’t bite,” Judy said with a smile.

  “Oh, Cornelius, a female… Isn’t that fortunate?” Zira’s eyes went to her husband.

  “Well,” said Bill, “we have important things to do. We’ve got to study that map and get out of here. You could have been seen and followed somehow!”

  Cornelius shook off his surprise and handed the map to Bill. “Here. It’s plainly marked. Keep the map; we won’t need it—we’ll follow the other cars and jeeps.”

  “Be very careful,” Zira added. “Urko’s stronghold is heavily guarded.”

  “Don’t worry, Zira. We’ll make it,” Bill assured her.

  They had started to move off when Zira came suddenly to life. “Wait!” She reached into the rear of the vehicle and pulled out the picnic basket. “Here, take the food. You’ll need it!”

  “Good-bye—and thanks! Thanks for being so good to us—and to the humanoids. We’ll save them yet!” Jeff called out as the three ex-astronauts hurried off to the west, skirting the road and waving back to the chimpanzees.

  “Glad to have met you…!” Judy shouted back at the couple.

  “Well, Cornelius, can we have a picnic without a picnic basket?” Zira sighed.

 

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