Code
B.C. = Battle of Calima

-10 years B.C.

PROLOGUE

"We are all alike, on the inside." -Mark Twain

Twilight.

The twin suns that, hours ago, loomed above the skies and had flared its bright rays upon the lush tropical terrains of the planet was now no more than a speck of light shrouded by the appoaching dark. The air was dry, still, quiet, and certainly peaceful - to anybody seeking solace or wishing to get away from the hustling city life, this was the perfect day to do so.

The humming of nocturnal insects sound as they begin to awaken. But for everyone else, the day is just ending.

Ape City, the capital, was known to be the jewel of the planet. Only located within several miles of Calima, the holy grounds where the first ape, Semos, originated, it was known to be the main center of commerce and entertainment. During the day, apes would come far and wide to trade and establish their business; after dusk everyone would either retreat to their houses or take part in the nightlife which goes on outside.

Ape City was also the center of government. Many politicians (or at least any who were important) resided in this metropolis and dominated the social scene. Such include Governor Cato, Chancellor Adair, Senators Nado, Kateb, and Sandar. The other important figureheads living in Ape City were the army officials, but they lived slightly further away from the city, nearer to the training grounds.

Sizzle--crack!

The warm light given off from the fireplace in Senator Sandar's house illuminated the main room and casted orange hues to everything it touched. The room was nearly empty, save for a young female ape who quietly sat before the hearth of dancing flames, dreaming, thinking...

A loud voice cut into her thoughts. "Ari!"

Ari immediately sat up, looking for the source of the voice. Sandar, nearing forty now, quietly came into the room with his hands behind his back in a contemplative manner. The old ape looked at his fourteen-year old daughter, whose dark eyes merely looked right back up at him. There was a certain unquestionable intelligence in her eyes, young as she may be--and no matter how dark they are, there was always a charming brightness about them. Every ape that knew Sandar's daughter always told him that she has lovely eyes, along with the other compliments about her admirable behavior and winning personality. Sandar smiled proudly, in spite of himself. No doubt she would attract many males in her future.

If only she weren't so stubborn, he sighed. Although obedient in most cases she had a will like her mother's. She never seemed to back down on any of her beliefs and would stop at nothing until the other person gave in. Females were suppose to be submissive in society; it is expected from them. Apparently Ari, to her disadvantage, thought herself as an exception to the rule.

"Yes, Papa?" the little voice chimed.

"My dear, what are you doing sitting there on the floor staring at the fire? Why don't you do something constructive?"

Sandar started to notice a pout forming on her lips, an obvious show of unhappiness and a hidden message that begged for pity. "I want to go outside..."

"No, Ari. It is getting too dark -- I don't want you to be out there alone. Even if you had friends with you, I don't want you to go outside." Sandar often wondered why his daughter had hardly any female companions, especially at this age. Chimps, after all, are known to be very social, and would rather stay with other chimps and apes in a collective group. True, he refused to let the girl go beyond their property, but there was always the seminary, where Ari went for her education. She was in a class full of apes like her. This was perplexing: if his daughter had a such well-liked personality, why wouldn't there be friends?

The pout started to deepen, and Sandar's own resolution nearly faltered. The ape had to say something to keep from changing his mind. He thought of the threat that scared her most: "If you go out there now, the savage humans will kidnap you, and you will never see me again!" It was a detestable way to dissuade the poor child from disobeying him, but he had no other choice. "Do you want that to happen?"

Ari no longer seemed so upset--in fact, the look on her face was more of terror now. "No!"

"Very well. Go into your room and attend to your studies. The commander and his student should be here any minute now."

"Yes, Papa." The little chimp quickly scampered to her room.

The senator looked after his retreating daughter and sighed. Children.

Ari's room was quite large and comfortable. In fact, it was her room that had the best view of the mountain chain beyond Ape City. The balcony, which overlooked the gardens and the central piazza of the town, had certainly been the window to the world. Adorning her room weren't flowers, or paintings, or even dolls, but instead were collections of human treasures.

Yes, Ari was afraid of the wild humans (after hearing all the horrifying tales about those animals snatching away young apes from their parents), but nonetheless they fascinated her to no end. After attending ape seminary she would be escorted home by one of the servants. Along the journey home she would almost always find a souvenier once belonging to the humans, who must've dropped it accidently while fleeing the soldiers who'd collect them for Limbo, the local slave seller. One of the artifacts she found had been a ring carefully crafted from some sort of black stone which grew near the mountains. How strange, she always thought, that something so beautiful can be created from such savage beings.

Her mother, who died years ago, was the one who told her never to base a character on how they look, but how they are on the inside, which goes for all humans and apes alike. While grooming her daughter, she would always remind Ari of the fact. Her father, whose opinions were always neutral when it came to this topic, shrugged it off nonchalantly. As long as they didn't disrupt the community or the government, he wouldn't care.

Ari stood on the balcony, relishing the beauty of the atmosphere. All these years she has been kept inside by her overprotective father, forbidden to go out by herself beyond the boundaries of their house. And with her father, she never crossed the borders of Ape City, never had a chance to look at the world outside. If Ape City was such a large place, imagine what lies beyond it...

Suddenly, disobeying her father seemed to be tempting.

No one would notice if she escaped for a few minutes, would they? Her father was talking to Commander Altair and his student, the former governor's son, Thade, right now, and was probably too preoccupied to even think about his daughter. The servants, in the meanwhile, were outside and busy attending to the guests.

Ari smiled--this was set up perfectly.

After checking for guards on the ground, she suddenly leaped out onto a large branch near her balcony. The rough bark of the tree scratched her hands when she clung to it, but she wasn't hurt--chimpanzees were born to climb. Luckily, no one was around when one of the tree limbs cracked beneath her foot and fell to the ground, making a loud thud as it crashed onto the dirt floor. The horses roped to the tree stirred, but they weren't heard by anyone.

As she landed on the floor, Ari turned around to her home once more and paused. For a moment, she was having second thoughts. Is this worth it? She cringed to even wonder what her father might do to her if he ever found out she left the house after he said no... Would he ban her from ever setting foot outside the house again? Forbid her to even leave her room?

The doubt only lasted for a minute.

Her mind was made up. Ari ran toward the opposite direction as fast as she could until the house was no longer in sight.

There was no moonlight tonight, but the stars were exceptionally brilliant. Normally Ari was not afraid of the dark; however, she had always been surrounded by family and others. This is the first time she was ever by herself--and frankly, she did not like the feeling. It hadn't been too hard to get lost... in fact, several turns through narrow alleys did the trick, and now the young chimpanzee was confused. It's been a half an hour already, yet the question as to which direction is home remains unanswered.

It wasn't before long when she came upon a stone barrier that stretched on for miles. Two alert ape guards were posted at the gates where the main entrance was, stoically keeping watch upon their horses. Ari was immediately fascinated. There were two entrances to Ape City, and this was the one she hasn't seen yet. Her father always told her no sensible ape child ever went beyond this border, nor would they want to. What could possibly be outside? she couldn't help but wonder. Obviously it was time to find out.

Hiding behind a large tree she picked up a rock underneath her foot and threw it as far as possible away from her. The guards, sensing trouble, rode toward the noise, where the pebble Ari threw landed in a bush. Nobody was at the gates now--it was the chance to make a move....

On all fours, Ari hurried toward the entrance.

To be continued...

**No, this is not the end of the prologue - there's actually more, but I need to brainstorm a bit. Thade (another principle character) will be coming into the picture in the next installment, but Leo, Daena, and the rest of the human characters will appear near the end of this storyl, where the movie picks up. Hopefully this fiction will provide some history of the characters and fill in the gaps that the movie left out. Feel free to review - thanks for reading!