I don't own Planet of the Apes.
Emperor Ape.
Caesar looked out over his people, the apes whom he had rescued from the San Bruno Primate shelter, the place where Caesar's own mother had been experimented on, and the apes from the zoos around San Francisco. There were so many apes, of various species from chimpanzees, gorillas, bonobos, and orang-utans.
He looked towards two of his closest advisors.
-It's time- he signed to them.
The two apes nodded and they moved forwards with a pair of human backpacks while the other held a small human knife, not unlike the one Caesar had used to pierce the ALZ bottles and released the substance that the humans had used to make him smarter than the average chimpanzee.
While the apes who had been with Caesar during those dark months where he had been separated from his human family and he had become so horrified by the way his people had been treated by humans over the years as if it were their right, and he had seen more proof of how apes were better left on their own from human interference, many of the new apes were not as gifted.
While they were intelligent, it was only a basic level of intelligence. But that would soon change. When he had rescued the apes from the Gen-Syns laboratory, Caesar had ransacked the place for the same canisters that his human 'father' had created, and with the unwilling help of a human technician, whom he had pressed into service with Buck's aid (Caesar lowered his head in remembrance and sorrow for the brave and kind gorilla, promising to ensure that Buck's legacy lived on one way or another), he had gotten a large supply and even had two backpacks and a fresh knife, supplied by the helpful technician who was only too glad to help to carry them, anything to get the apes to leave him be.
As he had collected the canisters, knowing they contained something unnatural but would benefit the apes completely, Caesar had known some of his brethren would need to become smarter in order to survive. Sure, they were already smart, but they weren't smart enough to deal with humans. And humans were a major threat.
Sooner or later, a team of them would be sent to hunt the apes down and they would need to be hyper-intelligent to survive that, and their chances of survival were something that Caesar had wanted to rectify as soon as he had gotten them safely to the redwood forest.
-Take out…three of the canisters- Caesar ordered, pausing while he made a rough calculation of how many they would need for now.
The apes nodded and took out three of the metal canisters while Caesar shuffled his way towards the apes who didn't know him but had already instinctively learnt he was the alpha of the pack. He had one of the apes hold up the canisters; as he expected, the zoo apes didn't recognise it, but the ones from the research laboratory and the shelter did. Their reactions were different, though.
-You will become smart-
With that, Caesar slashed the canisters, letting the grey-brown smoke spew out of the pressurised cylinders and he rolled them over the ground, making the apes panic instinctively but they calmed down with the help of Caesar and his apes.
X
The next morning, Caesar and the rest of his new council consisting of Rocket, Maurice, and several of the older and wiser apes from the different species met to discuss their future plans. Caesar planned on taking the apes further into the forest, but he wanted the advice of the apes who had actually been in the wilderness he had only known about during his studies as a child. It shamed Caesar slightly to know his own experience of the outside world was so basic. But he had to work with what he had.
-How many of those canisters do we have left?- Rocket signed.
Caesar had already counted the canisters. -We have 20 more left.-
-Are you planning on spraying that smoke around us again tonight?- Maurice signed.
-No. I want to wait for the next few days and then we will use 6 more of the canisters-, Caesar decided. While he hadn't been adversely affected by the gas after being exposed to it within his mother's womb, Caesar refused to take any risk. -I want to observe the apes who were exposed last night like I did when I exposed you. Over the next few days, I will expose all of us to another dose, perhaps with two canisters. Right now, I want to know our options for the forest.-
A gorilla, a powerful male like Buck signed next. His name was Luca, but Caesar wanted to know him properly. The only reason he was here at all was that he had lived in the wild before he was caught by humans. -We should move to a place with fresh water and can give us a good position to see if anybody is coming, but will protect us from any downwind which will capture our scent and deliver it to dogs.-
Caesar agreed with the gorilla's insights and he saw the others approved, too. -Prepare scouts. Send apes who are familiar with living on real land, tell them to find fresh food sources and where there is fresh water available.-
One of the bonobo's, a middle-aged male signed. -I was treated with fresh herbs by my mother. We need apes who are familiar with the same things to be part of the search.-
Caesar considered the matter. He hadn't known anything about herbs being used like this, but now he had heard of it, he could see the logic. -Find apes who do know, but when they're sent out I want our camp to be protected carefully. Hide in the trees but have lookouts in case humans come looking for us. They'll come eventually. I want us to be prepared for them-.
-When do you believe they will come, Caesar?-
-I don't know, Rocket. But I want us to be ready. While the scouts are looking for a new home, we will be working on our weapons. I think, with sharpened stones, we can make spears.-
-Yes, when you used those metal spears in the human city, they worked perfectly.-
-True, but we didn't have many of those metal spears, but I think with our strength and our reflexes, we can throw them hard enough to cause a lot of damage. What other weapons can we make?- Maurice asked as he looked around the array of other apes.
-We can throw rocks at them, but we won't have many-, an ape suggested.
-I think it will take some time before we can make any superior weapons, but we will need to move on soon. The humans could come at any time -, Caesar signed. -Be ready, sooner or later we will meet them again-.
X
Four days later after the initial exposure and the troop had moved further into the forest while making sure they didn't leave many clues to the humans as to their location, Caesar passed three canisters over to three separate apes, and he passed on three more to three others, and two more to another ape.
-Get into position around the camp, and when you do pierce the canisters and roll them around-, he signed his order.
The apes nodded and they hurried to obey while Caesar took out two more canisters from the bag. He gripped his knife and he slashed them before he rolled them off. the air became thick with the gas, and as he stood in the midst of the fumes, Caesar wondered how smarter they would become. Soon they would become as smart as the humans, and they would need that advantage if they wanted their freedom.