Land of the Apes. - The Only Good Human Is a Dead Human

Urko walked up the steps to the stands beneath the huge triumphal arch, his polished leather armor impressive and his manner kingly. He took the cheers of the crowd with massive dignity, a faint smile on his lips. In the front row, near Dr. Zaius, he turned and raised both fists high over his head. The crowd went wild, and flowers were thrown toward him.

Steve stared out from between the wooden bars of his cage, still stunned and amazed at the sight. Now he heard the crowd of apes calming down and saw Urko turning to those dignitaries who were still standing in his honor, applauding politely. Steve couldn't hear what was being said, even with his ears strained to the breaking point.

Urko looked smugly at Zaius and swaggered close to him, towering over the aged orangutan. "Well," he sneered smugly, "I have succeeded once again, Dr. Zaius."

Zaius nodded, his orange hair fluttering in the wind. He peered out at the still cheering crowd and replied, "And so you have, General. So you have."

The gorilla commander preened egotistically as he took a few arrogant strides back and forth before the important members of his society. This caused a new surge of cheers, and he acknowledged these with a slight wave.

"This hunt bagged more humanoid beasts than any before it," he boasted.

Zaius gazed at him, his eyes wise in the ways of those with pride who first taste real power. "Excellent, general," he said patronizingly. "Simply excellent."

The general paused again before Zaius, letting himself stand very close, invading quite consciously the doctor's personal sphere. But Zaius was used to gorilla tactics and he refused to look up or to acknowledge the looming gorilla.

"Well, as I always say, the only good humanoids are caged ones.... Or better yet, dead ones."

Zira took a step toward Urko, her fists clenched and her face angry. "That's your opinion, Urko! I believe much can be learned from humanoids."

Urko turned to look up toward Zira in majestic arrogance. His eyes roved up and down her, noting his massive size compared to her slim and somewhat delicate figure.

His thick lips sneered. "Learn from them?" He barked a harsh laugh, echoed by his officers, who had assembled below him, a few steps down. "Bull turds!"

He looked down at his officers and made a gesture toward Zira, at which they laughed again.

Cornelius doubled his fists in anger and took a tentative step toward the gorilla commander, who was better than twice his size.

He was stopped by Dr. Zaius. The orangutan glanced at the bulky general. "Urko, you know full well that if even a single humanoid is discovered to possess the intelligence of real language, then all humanoids will be destroyed."

Zira reached over and clutched at Cornelius's coat. He patted her hand and scowled down at the general.

Zaius shrugged and spread his hands in a gesture of helplessness. "Until then, we must utilize them as we always have, as our ancestors did and as our descendants shall...if any of us remain."

Urko's lips pressed together in seething anger, and he turned away to confer with several of the other dignitaries.

The crowd was quiet now but still festive, and in one of the taverns a stringed instrument began to play. Apes began to drift away from the sands, now that the pageant was over. But quite a crowd still remained in the central square when Zira walked down from the stands and over to the cage in which Steve Burton crouched.

She looked at each of the humanoids but quickly was attracted to Steve. Her voice trembled as she stared at him in disbelief. “Oh, what… what breathtaking eyes you have!” she exclaimed, her tone a mix of awe and shock. "Beloved, come here, would you, please?"

He was in deep conversation with Dr. Zaius, who was shaking his head, but after a moment Cornelius came over to the wagon cage.

"What did you say, my dear?"

Zira frowned in curiosity, tilting her head as she studied him. “Look at this one’s eyes… That color… I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

Both Zira and Cornelius peered in at Steve, who was just as curiously examining them. He went over every part of their clothing, from the tunic of Cornelius and long dress of Zira to the strange cuneiform-like designs carved into the leather bibs under Cornelius's and Zira's chins and running down their upper bodies. Steve was stunned that their ape faces had the glint of real intelligence in the eyes. Coming out of his unconscious stupor, he was still ingesting details. The apes in the plaza were three kinds: golden-haired creatures, wider and somewhat shorter than these two darkhaired but light-faced ones looking at him so intently now; and tall, black-haired and black-faced apes, gorillas no doubt. Then it dawned upon him: these three types were among the most intelligent of apes---orangutans, chimpanzees and gorillas. The implications were staggering and utterly fantastic.

But he was brought back to the moment by Zira's finger coming through the bars to touch him. "Hello, Blue-Eyes," she cooed, as if to a child or a pet. "Kootchy-coo...."

Steve stared and stared at her, yet in a state of shock.

"Would you like to work with me and Cornelius, Blue-Eyes?" she asked in a soft, inquiring voice.

Steve looked from Zira to the other chimpanzee, and around at the cage of cowering humanoids, but he did not respond. The whole thing had such an air of fantasy, a world turned topsy-turvy, that he had no reference points from which to orient himself.

Zira bubbled to Cornelius, "Oh, isn't he beautiful?"

Cornelius nodded slowly, his expression a mix of admiration and unease. “Yes, dear, he is… but something isn’t right. His skin—it’s so pale. That’s not normal.”

Dr. Zaius now walked up and also peered in at Steve, who looked back, his eyes darting from Zaius's intelligent eyes to his yellow robes and signs of office.

Zira turned to the golden-furred doctor. Dr. Zira turned to the golden-furred doctor, her brow furrowed in curiosity and concern. “What do you make of this one? Pale skin, blue eyes… what is he?”

The Elder offered a gentle smile and waved a dismissive hand. “Nothing to be concerned about—he is simply an albino humanoid, nothing more.”

He started to leave, but Zira reached out quickly and stopped him. "Doctor Zaius, I'd like Blue-Eyes as one of the six humanoids you promised to Cornelius and me."

Urko loomed up behind Zaius and his voice thundered out. "Promised you?! There are no humanoids here for you!" He sneered at Zira and glared down at Zaius.

Zira was uncowed, however. She lifted her head to the big gorilla and stared at him with uncompromising fervor. Then he spoke, but it was to Dr. Zaius as she still glared up at the gorilla commander.

"Dr. Zaius," she said firmly, "I'd like Blue-Eyes, please."

Urko raised a leather-gloved fist and made an angry gesture. "No!"

Zaius turned toward him and spoke mildly. "Why not, General?"

The gorilla strongman struck one of his heavy fists into the other. "Because I need all the humanoid beasts! All of them! Our work details are depleted, and we're staging new war games next week! That's why!"

Zaius raised his eyebrows. "But there seem to be enough humanoids to divide among all our groups that need them...."

Cornelius raised his voice six for our experiments."

Urko snarled, his voice a deep and angry rumble. He was livid, his nostrils dilated, and his eyes were dark spots of fire under the heavy brown. Once more he struck a fist into the other hand. Then he bent down toward Zira and Cornelius and growled, "Rot on your experiments!"

Zira tipped her head up to him, her face stiff with angry resentment. "And rot on your war games!"

Urko at once made a threatening gesture and Cornelius pushed Zira and raised his fists toward the bigger ape.

But Dr. Zaius quickly threw up a hand. In a voice of authority that no one---not even General Urko----wanted to dispute, he cried out "Silence!"

Cornelius stepped back, his face bristling with anger at the general for threatening Zira and put his arm around his wife. He felt her trembling and knew that he, too, was shaking with rage and frustration. They and several apes nearby all looked at Dr. Zaius as he held up the commanding hand.

"It is unseemly of intelligent apes to argue in public."

Steve had been following the proceedings with wide eyes.

Zaius now stepped past Urko and on up the steps to the stands. He held up his hands and the crowd slowly became quiet. "Hear me...." he said in a stentorian voice.

"Big oaf," Zira muttered, looking back at Urko.

"Shush, dear!"

"Well, he is."

"Yes, dear, but listen to Dr. Zaius now."

"....Bring out the humanoids," Zaius commanded.

The gorilla officers repeated the command, and the soldiers slapped open the locks on the wagon cages and began impatiently to prod out their captives. Steve evaded the sharpened driving stick of one soldier, started to yell at the gorilla in anger, but was jabbed in the ribs by the old humanoid. Steve jerked aside in surprise, almost falling out of the cage. His grunt of indignation was lost, however, beneath the shouts and commands of the gorilla warriors as they drove the helpless and thoroughly cowed prisoners from their cages.

The gorillas slapped and shoved them into a line that ran across the square and seemed a long, manylegged insect of rags and brown skin, unkempt hair and an unwashed body. The sheer brutal power of the gorillas somewhat cowed Steve, and he decided not to make a fuss until he knew more about what was going on.

"Hear me," Zaius said, and the gorillas quieted their guttural commands. "What is the count?"

A gorilla officer quickly made a tally and trotted up to give the Elder the total. Urko glared at the officer for being so quick to obey the orangutan leader, and the gorilla looked sheepish.

Zaius once again held up his hand. "Hear me, citizens of Ape City." He turned towards the side of the square where a sign said HUMANOID PET STORE and where several apes waited eagerly, chains and leashes in their hands. "Twenty percent of the new captives will go to 'Pet Detail.'" A number of shopkeepers started happily counting out their share.

"Fifteen percent will be assigned to 'Animal Labor Detail,'" Zaius proclaimed.

Urko ground his teeth and there came a deep rumble in his massive chest. He watched with glum, dull anger as the fanners began to count out their share.

"Another twenty percent of the humanoids will go to the 'Animal Replacement Preserve,'" Zaius commanded.

"Well, at least there will be some saved," Zira sighed. "We need to preserve the species, Cornelius," she said earnestly.

"I know, dear. If Urko was in charge, they would be on the 'Endangered Species List' tomorrow and extinct next week!"

Dr. Zaius looked over at the general as he made his next pronouncement. "The remainder will go to the army for their war games."

At once, Urko let loose a growl. He stalked up the steps toward Zaius, his face livid, his nostrils flared with hate.

"I protest!" he snarled. "That is far too large a percentage to give away to others! We caught them! We gorillas endangered our lives to reap this harvest of animals! We deserve the largest percentage---if not all!"

Zaius was unflinching before the verbal attack of the giant looming over him. "Protest all you want, Urko. But my word is law!"

Urko's throaty growl caused many a head to turn. Steve stared with fascination as the apes confronted each other. The general's meaty fist waved beneath the nose of the fragile and elderly Dr. Zaius.

"Today your word is law, Dr. Zaius....But tomorrow? Who knows about tomorrow? Tomorrow," he emphasized with heavy sarcasm, "it might just be we gorillas who are giving the orders----not taking them!"

Zira gasped and Dr. Zaius narrowed his eyes.

The gorilla commander turned on his heel and stalked off, his feet ringing heavy on the stone steps. As he reached the bottom, he struck a heavy blow to an empty wagon cage, then knocked several humanoids out of his way as he strode toward his jeep. His driver scrambled to climb into it and get it started before the angry general struck him. The jeep roared off, scattering startled civilians and disappearing up a street toward Ape Army H.Q.

Dr. Zaius stood where he had been, his slitted eyes pondering the disappearing ape commander. A hint of steel glinted in his irises, carefully hidden, but frightening to those who happened to catch it. When the gorilla leader had disappeared, he turned to face the gorilla officers still in the square.

"All right, don't just stand there like humanoids, you hairy lumps! Parcel out the animals." Zaius then pointed at Cornelius and Zira. "Take your six equally from the various details, but not from the percentage assigned to the army."

"Yes, Dr. Zaius," Cornelius said quickly.

"Thank you, Doctor Zaius," Zira added with a happy smile.

Zaius grunted and turned away.

"Come on, Blue-Eyes," Zira said, reaching for him. "That's a good boy! Come on Zira."586Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡStT7ATm1vc

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