PLANET OF THE APES: LONE STAR

(Or, Why the Apes Never Took Texas)

North America, 2276

"Lawgiver, why haven't the apes ever gone further east than the Great Desert?"

The aged orangutan smiled as he looked down at the young human boy. He was one of his smartest students and was always asking questions about the past. The Lawgiver put the book of Caesar's writings that he had been reading to the class from aside.

"Well, now, that is an interesting story. You see, it was during Caesar's rebellion…"

Ventura County Free Zone, Southern California, 1991

Caesar read the field reports in disbelief. He looked at McDonald, one of the few humans he had come to trust since Armando's death. "There must be some mistake," he insisted. He gestured at the row of monitors. Live news feeds were showing Caesar's troops celebrating victories in London, Paris, Moscow, and across the United States. "We've defeated our enemies everywhere apes and humans have been willing to join us. What happened in…" he looked down at the report. "Dallas, Texas?"

McDonald tried to explain. "Well, Texas has always been…different."

Caesar grunted. "Humans are the same wherever we've fought-no offense."

"In most places, yes. But if you read the report, I think you'll understand why your troops may never take the Lone Star state."

Caesar sighed. It was true that there were still many areas where humans were stubbornly resisting, even though he had promised them safe passage and eventual citizenship in the new kingdom he wanted to create. "This is from a gorilla who was apparently the only survivor of the battle. It says there were no other humans involved in the conflict. They went into the city with tanks and machine guns, but they were all incapacitated…by one man? Impossible."

"I don't think so, Caesar. The gorillas aren't clever enough to lie about something like this."

"True enough. But still…one man?" Caesar looked down at the name printed on the page. "And just who is this…'Cordell Walker, Texas Ranger,' anyway?"

THE END