Capital City: Kawaka – 6 days later
The courier arrived in the capital city just shy of nightfall. He hadn't slept for almost 72 hours. He felt surprisingly well given the fact that hadn't had much food either. The Lord Prefect would probably be at home rather than the capital building, at this hour. Finding him was going to be an unpleasant task. The city housed several thousand simians. His best bet was to seek out a patrol and report to a superior. "Let them sort it all out." He mumbled.
It didn't take long to find the patrol he was in search of. A noisy rabble a few blocks over caught his attention. A patrol was breaking up a drunken brawl. Several of them were chasing chimp-sots through the streets. Others were loading drunken apes, too inebriated to resist, into a wagon.
Realizing that he was close to a full gallop, he slowed his horse down. He didn't want to convey any misconceptions that might result in a lead ball between his eyes. It was a good thing too because he startled the group as he approached. "You there; Stop!" a soldier ordered holding up his musket horizontally. "What's your business here?"
"I'm Kutos. I've ridden from Arum. I have a message for the Lord Prefect. It's most urgent." The courier stopped speaking as he noticed a gorilla office approach.
"What's going on here, Marcus? We already have enough worries dealing with these drunken fools. Are there other issues going on elsewhere in the city?" The gorilla captain asked. Marcus didn't reply. Instead, he motioned towards the newly arrived messenger.
Kutos struggled for the right words and finally decided to put it him bluntly. "I'm sorry to bother you Sir. I'm corporal Kutos; stationed at Arum City. This…uh… thing fell from the Arum sky. It destroyed much of the city; killed hundreds, destroyed the garrison…wounded many of the local population… There were strange looking humans inside with wea…"
"Humans? Impossible! We've killed every human in the settled territories over half a century ago. The few that we spared are tucked away in zoos. They're a stupid animal, nothing more." The ape captain broke in.
"Sir, these were humans. …From the, uh, sky. They were much like the old legends and stories described too. If I had not witnessed it I wouldn't believe it myself …their muskets fired …repeatedly…they even spoke…It was…"
"You're as drunk as these sots are…that or you're just a prating fool." Marcus said, pointing to the chimps in the wagon. "Those stories are fables. No human can speak. Hmmpf! Winged Humans from the sky…utter nonsense."
Kutos's frustration turned to resentment. He didn't like being called a liar or being thought of as some kind of babbling idiot. He suddenly found himself hungry and overly fatigued. Whether they believed him or not he didn't care. He simply wanted to deliver his message, eat and then sleep for the next week or two. "We'll see who the fool is when I cut out your beating heart. If you don't care to hear my message, so be it. I've ridden five days and spent an additional one crouched in a tree while the sky opened up an ocean of rain on me. I'm hungry and right now your mangy carcass looks good enough to gut and eat."
"You just come here and try it and I'll…" Marcus started to reply but was trumped by his Superior.
"That's enough! I don't have time to listen to you two trade idol threats. I also don't have the time to decipher riddles. Give me the message and I'll pass it on to the Magistrate. If he decides you're not the rambling fool Marcus says you are then we'll take the information to Prefect Sullen. Get yourself some food and rest. Report to the garrison in the morning we'll take it from there. " The gorilla captain ordered.
Kutos repeated his message a third time. He handed the captain the sealed parchment from the lieutenant in Arum, which would at least prove his authenticity. He then saluted the Captain, set off for the nearest tavern, and finally got some long needed sleep.
The next Morning….
Something seemed odd to Captain Gondar. Magistrate Ndola had listened to the strange news without even showing the smallest bit of skepticism. In fact, he appeared to believe it fully. His questions were specific and his voice conveyed no tone of suspicion. He'd sent Gondar to fetch the Prefect before the dispatch rider from Arum had even finished half his story. Besides Sullen, three ape generals and Doctor Pacs were present. It was all very strange.
"…talking Humans from the sky…repeating muskets…could it be true?" he thought. "The courier's dispatch carried Arum's official seal. Why would he make up such an outlandish tale? Could the fables he'd been told as a child really be true? Had there actually been intelligent human tribes at one time? Impossible; Not even the brightest ape could make flying machines. It had to be a hoax. Whatever the case I have duties to perform." With his thoughts returning to the responsibilities at hand, Gondar shook his head and went on his way.
Inside the chamber there was an awkward silence. The courier had been dismissed. Sullen starred at Magistrate Ndola with worry. Few apes were entrusted with the truth. His grandfather had done his best to rewrite history almost a century earlier. He'd demonized humans and painted them as savage animals that resembled a cross between a giant locus and savage wolves; destroying everything in their path. That wasn't exactly a lie. If not controlled, humans would have destroyed everything they touched. Prefect Sullen finally broke the silence: "So it's true. Somewhere there is a tribe of humans that survived the purging."
"What kind of a threat could a few weak humans be?" General Grazot asked.
"General…" Sullen said. He paused and looked at the other two leaders of his military and Dr. Pacs. "My fellow Simians, what I am about to say is not to leave this room. If these things were to ever be discovered by the general population it could undo over a hundred years of planning. We have a peaceful, structured society but it was not always so."
Sullen continued; "You have all heard the stories and legends of talking humans, stories of huge magical cities, magnificent apparatuses that sailed on land, air and sea, incredible weapons… We have told these stories to our children and grandchildren for many years. Though they've been embellished and evolved slightly over time, they are based in truth."
"Prefect!" Dr Pacs exclaimed with disbelief. "I find that very hard to accept. I've examined humans many times. They're typical beasts. They can't even wipe their noses let alone talk."
"True Doctor but loosely so." replied Prefect Sullen. "When we operate on the humans in our zoos and we cut into their brains we're not really pacifying their primal instinct centers as it's commonly believed? We're actually retarding them. Keeping them dumb. After the purging, it was decided that some of the beasts would be spared for controlled study. Emphasis on controlled. Given their natural state they are extremely dangerous but in all honesty they are highly intelligent. If controlled there certain are benefits we can obtain. Much of what we know has been learned from them. Once a human has served its purpose it is either pacified or killed."
General Grazot grunted and glanced at his superior as if the Prefect had lost his mind. Supreme General Narr tilted his head and signaled for Grazot to keep silent. General Zuglanus, the third military officer present, picked up on the Supreme General's motion and decided it was in his best interest to stay quiet too. Sullen had already noticed the silent doubt in the General's face. Grazot wasn't hiding it all that well, so the Prefect beckoned him to speak.
General Grazot looked over at Narr, respectfully, seeking approval to the Prefect's request. Narr gave a nod and with that Grazot spoke up; "Lord Prefect, with all due respect sir; the human animal is weak. They freeze in cold and shriek in heat. They eat, they sleep…Three humans, six humans, a dozen…an ape child could easily…"
Magistrate Ndola impulsively interrupted the General. He had been patient until now but had already realized that every second they bickered wasted valuable time. Those humans were out there somewhere and already had a week's head start. And any actions taken to find them would take another week just to organize, giving these beasts more time to do…who knows what. "Listen to me! Let this sink in and let it sink in good. The rumors of these humans from the sky is no fable. It is a serious matter and must be dealt with swiftly and decisively. Where there are three, six or a dozen humans, there is bound to be a nest of them. If not contained they will surely reign destruction down on everything we hold sacred. They are a menace. A walking pestilence!"
Whether it was his sudden shouting or his serious tone, it didn't matter; Ndola had the group's complete attention. "About two to three hundred years ago there were thousands of humans and just as many apes. There had been an immense war causing great destruction. Unfortunately, the facts surrounding those events have been dulled over time. Our only certainty is that the humans caused it. Some sort of internal Human squalor over who knows what."
Ndola paused. He took in some air, let it out slowly and went on in a calmer tone. "The humans and apes who survived this war constantly fought. Despite the destruction they caused, the surviving humans continued to war with anything that came across their paths. Yes general, the human is physically weak but he is highly cunning and resourceful. …A born combatant who will turn on his kind for profit or gain. He is a warlike creature who gives battle to everything around him, even himself. He will kill without mercy. He will act without conscience or care of the consequence. From the evidence, man's wisdom walks hand and hand with his idiocy. His emotions rule his brain."
"Magistrate, if the human is so, uh, superior…" General Zuglanus asked sarcastically; "then why are they extinct? Why does the ape rule? Where are his tribes? Where are his vast magical cities? I have never seen any evidence of ruins." Grazot grunted in agreement. Both considered themselves, simple soldiers, seeing an issue as black or white. There was no gray. Not for the warrior. Not in battle. Not in leadership!
The Magistrate was a chimp. He was never surprised at the response of the simple-minded gorilla brute. Sure the ape was a general! And good at what he did, but so was a pack-mule. Since time was of the essence and to make his point stick Ndola set two books down on the table. All three of the Generals looked down at the books and then strangely stared back at each other. "See for yourselves." Ndola said, motioning for the general to pick up the books.
The first book was tattered and old and had the words: The Toledo Zoo on the cover. The second looked like some kind of technical manual; Guns of the American Revolution. What seemed even stranger were pictures of peculiarly dressed humans on both of the covers. The 'zoo' book showed a naked gorilla behind bars as human children pointed towards it. The second book showed colorfully dressed humans holding muskets and shooting at each other.
Ndola picked up Guns of the American Revolution and turned to General Grazot; "Your musket was built from specifications in this book, General Grazot. Specifications designed by humans. We have similar books on medicine, science, economics, psychology, and religion. Most of the books were destroyed in the war but a few were secured before the purging."
"I…I don't understand…I mean how…" The General mumbled battling reason against the proof he was staring right in the face.
Prefect Sullen put a hand on the shoulder of General Grazot and said: "Both my father and grandfather told me that relations between the human tribes and apes was extremely volatile. Hatred and distrust trumped reason. The humans were organized, cunning, and slowly but systematically killing off the ape population. One to one the ape is a far superior specimen both in strength and stamina. However, that is, as I said, one to one. The weapons the humans possessed were highly efficient and destructive. Some could take down fifty gorilla soldiers at once. Others could strike without warning. You were dead before you even knew what happened. They also built machines …some of which were flying machines as the courier described."
"Sir, I have to go back to what General Zuglanus asked earlier. If the humans were so superior why are they not the dominant species? How is it that only a few exist? Where is the evidence of machines and these destroyed cities?" asked Dr. Pacs
"We used their own deadly weapons against them, Doctor. Food and water were scarce. And though the humans had unique weapons their resources were running dry. And despite even that, the ape was still losing." Sullen replied. "So deals were made. Uneasy alliances between ape and human were formed where mutual interests existed. The human's poisoning influence began spilling over to apes. Power struggles ensued. In rare cases humans provided apes with weapons pitting ape against ape. There was no honor among Simian or Human. It seemed that all might be lost when…Well, The exact details are not clear but the whereabouts of an old weapon was discovered. It was rumored that it could light ten cities ablaze. That weapon was stolen and then ignited by several brave apes, some of whom were part my own family. It went off in the heart of the human populace."
Sullen paused and then continued on quietly. "However the estimate on the weapons destruction was grossly underestimated. Thousands of apes were killed by it as well. There was sickness that followed and then mass death. The land, water and air had been poisoned. My grandfather rallied our race from the rubble. Every remaining human found was killed. Both man, woman and child. The entire ape population was moved. How far? I do not know. My grandfather had maps, books and other equipment that he'd secured from the humans. We pilgrimaged here. And this is where we rebuilt society. It was decided that for the ape to flourish, all humans would have to be exterminated. "
Sullen poured water into a glass and took a drink. He opened a window and then waved his hand towards the city. "The humans in this region were not as organized as the ones we'd left. There were far less of them, as well. They were rounded up and killed. Hunting parties went out hundreds of miles slaughtering any human they came across. And that my Simian friend is the answer to your questions. "
Sullen closed the window he had just opened. "Now…We need to find these humans and kill them." He said calmly. "So this is what needs to be done."