Ape City Chronicles The History of Ape City’s First 75 Years Written by Virgil Ape City Chronicles Forward by the Author Before his death last winter, it was Caesar’s final wish that the first 75 years of Ape City’s history be recorded for posterity. So this is the fulfillment of that sacred promise I made to an Ape I was privileged to know and call a friend. I must admit that I find this task very daunting. While I personally witnessed, and even participated in, much of this history; there were many events that took place before I was born. Thus, in the interest of objectivity and historical accuracy, I have interviewed many old friends, such as Abe & MacDonald, and will also draw on many conversations that I had with Caesar & my old teacher Mandemus while they were alive. My goal is to create an accurate account from which future generations can learn and gain wisdom. And since this is not meant to be my biography but rather a chronicle of the life of our society; when recording events in which I personally took part, I will refer to myself in the third person. In the interests of preserving this history for posterity, it will be recorded using an old human printing device. My protégé, Quinctius, was able to salvage and repair one for our use. When completed the original manuscript will be housed in a special vault being built in the new Ministries building so is can be reprinted for new generations to read in the centuries to come. Virgil i Ape City Chronicles Introduction In the beginning God created beast and Man so that both might live in friendship and share dominion over a world at peace. But in the fullness of time evil men betrayed God's trust and in disobedience to his holy word waged bloody wars not only against their own kind but against the Apes whom they reduced to slavery. Then God in his wrath sent the world a savior miraculously born of two Apes who had descended on Earth from Earth's own future. And Man was afraid for both parent-Apes possessed the power of speech, so both were brutally murdered. But the child ape survived and grew up to set his fellow creatures free from the yolk of human slavery. Yet in the aftermath of his victory the surface of the world was ravaged by the vilest war in human history. The great cities of the world split asunder and were flattened; and out of one such city our savior led a remnant of those who survived - in search of greener pastures where Ape and Human might forever live in friendship according to divine will. His name was Caesar and this is his story in those far-off days... ii Ape City Chronicles Chapter 1 Chapter 1: The Road to Ape City Section 1: After the Night of the Fires Caesar the Great’s victory on the Night of the Fires secured the freedom of Apes in one city only. He was keenly aware that their hard fought victory could be short lived if the full might of Human military forces were to attack. Caesar foresaw this and took several precautions to prevent it. First, before the Night of the Fires, Caesar trained the smartest Apes and infiltrated them into shipments to other Human cities. Once there they would foment resistance and ultimately rebellion. Second, being able to talk and read, Caesar followed Human events and launched his revolt at a time when the bulk of the Human’s military forces were concentrated on the other side of the planet preparing to fight a Human conflict. Thus, only civil police forces would only be available to counter-attack. Third, the morning after the Night of the Fires, Caesar concentrated on building defenses of the city he had conquered. For this he used many of the Humans that had been captured during the revolt. Caesar’s planning and strategy was very successful. It took five days before the first attack by Human forces was launched against the city. By then the city’s defenses were strong and the attack was easily repelled. More importantly, Ape revolts had begun to break out in many Human cities; so the Human’s forces could not be concentrated against Caesar. What Caesar did not anticipate was a counterinsurgency led by Inspector Kolp, the city’s Security Chief. Kolp had gathered the few remaining police forces available in the city and began a series of small but effective hit & run attacks. It was during one of these attacks that Governor Breck escaped from custody. For several weeks Caesar and his fellow Apes were able to defend the city from repeated Human attacks. But it was a slow war of attrition. As the frequency of attacks grew, Caesar knew that he could not defend the city. Caesar realized that despite Ape revolts occurring across the world, quelling his revolt and killing him would be the Humans top priority. So when news came that the Human government had recalled their military forces; Caesar knew that he and his followers would have to abandon the city in order to survive. In the days after his takeover he studied maps of the City’s Page 1 Ape City Chronicles Chapter 1 surrounding provinces. He even sent scouting parties out to some of the most promising areas. But there was one place which stood out among all the others, a remote valley to the north with many acres of farmland. It was there that Caesar decided to lead his followers and build the first Ape City. Section 2: Planning the Breakout Once Caesar decided to leave the conquered Human city, he began gathering supplies and vehicles to sustain his followers and their Human captives on the journey to their new home. Breaking out from the city would not be easy for by now the city was surrounded on all sides by Human forces. And their attacks were increasing in frequency and ferocity. It was during one of these attacks that the elder of the MacDonald brothers was killed (see Profile). Caesar’s plan was to wait until external events distracted the Humans and then breakout of the city at the point where the concentration of Human forces was the weakest. Caesar did not have to wait soon for a distraction. While he expected it to be the spreading of Ape rebellions, it turned out to be an outbreak of war among the Humans in a far away land. When news of this came Caesar launched an attack on the Human lines late one night. He and his followers successfully fought their way out of the city and headed into the provinces, where they would build Ape City. PROFILE: The MacDonald Brothers When Caesar was sold into slavery to the Human Governor Breck, the only sympathetic Human he encount ered was the Governor’s Aide, Harry MacDonald . Caesar came to trust this Human so much he eventually revealed his existence to MacDonald . That trust was well placed, for MacDonald saved Caesar’s life when Breck tried to execute him. After the Night of the Fires MacDonald became an advisor and confidant to Caesar, often keeping some of Caesar’s more violent instincts in check. Harry MacDonald (or the elder MacDonald as he is often referred) had a younger brother, Austin MacDonald. Austin was 17 years old and a bit of a handful for his older brother. Austin was forever getting into fights and other trouble that often required Harry to intervene with the Human police. Finally, Harry got Austin a part time job working in the city’s Archives after school. Austin excelled in this job and soon became a supervisor. When the Ape Rebellion occurred Harry made a special request to Page 2 Ape City Chronicles Chapter 1 Caesar to ensure the safety of his younger brother. Unfortunately, during one of the counter- attacks on the city by Human forces the elder MacDonald was shot. Despite the best efforts by Human Doctors, they were unable to save him and Harry died in his brother’s arms. Austin blamed Caesar for Harry’s death. In his anger Austin stabbed and almost killed Caesar at the funeral. Caesar forgave th e youth for the crime, saying Austin was overwhelmed by grief. But it created a gulf of mistrust between the two of them that took years to heal. Section 3: The Trek of Tears After Caesar, his Simian followers and their Human captives were able to break out of the conquered Human City (now commonly referred to as the Forbidden City); they still had a long journey ahead of them to reach the valley where Caesar planned to build his city. Even with the use of motorized vehicles, the journey would take several days. Caesar in his wisdom decided not to take a direct route for he did not wish to lead any Human military forces to the valley. His plan was to dart through the hills in the provinces until he was satisfied that Human authorities could no longer track them. Only then would they head to the secluded valley that Caesar had chosen. Unfortunately, with thousands of Apes almost as many Human captives their column was over a mile long. In the first few days Caesar and his followers had to fight off numerous attacks at high cost in Simian and Human lives. As they traveled deeper into the provinces the attacks became less and less frequent. Caesar in his wisdom took a Human radio with him to keep abreast of Human events. He knew that as Ape revolts in their cities grew and the Human’s war against each other escalated; the search for him and his band of followers would be abandoned. However, just when Caesar thought they were safe; Human militias from small towns in the provinces began their attacks. These groups were often disorganized and armed only with crude weapons. Caesar and his fellow Apes easily fought them off. But they attacked relentlessly, sometimes several times in a single day. By the time these attacks ended many Apes (and Humans) had been killed. Many years later Caesar would confide that this was one of the darkest periods in his life. All the Apes and their Human captives looked to him for leadership and to keep them safe. He Page 3 Ape City Chronicles Chapter 1 said that he felt very alone at that time. He no longer had the counsel of MacDonald the elder or his step-father Armando. He did not trust any of the other Humans enough to confide in them and only very few of Apes were beginning to learn to talk. Finally once the attacks from Human forces had subsided; Caesar directed his followers to the valley. The trip took many days. By then, all the motorized vehicles had either been destroyed or run out of fuel. Supplies of food and water were low too. Many Apes and Humans who were too weak to go on died on the trail in those final days. Caesar led them on foot, undeterred by the hardships. He knew he had to remain strong for the others. When they at last reached the valley there were only a few hundred Apes and Humans still alive, less than one tenth of those who left the Forbidden City. Those who did survive the journey soon began the work of building the first Ape City. Page 4 Ape City Chronicles Chapter 2 Chapter 2: The Birth of Simian Society Section 1: The Founding of Ape City When Caesar the Great, and those few hundred Apes & Humans who had survived the journey, reached the valley where they would build their city; he gathered all together to speak to them: “Today is an historic day. We have faced many trials these last few weeks. We have passed through the night of the fires and survived the trek of tears. Many have died through these trials but they did not die in vain. They died so that we may build a great Simian society. And it is here that we will build that society. It is here we will found our own religion. It is here will form our own Army. It is here we will start our own dynasty. It is here we will build the first Ape City.” Then the Apes, and their Human captives, began to build. Caesar with the help of several Human conceived and designed a network of tree house structures that would make up Ape City. The land adjacent was ideal for farming and again with the aid of their Human captives; Apes began to plant the crops that would be needed to sustain the community. Luckily there were several orchards and vineyards in the area that would feed them until them until the crops could be harvested. While Apes and Humans worked together, many of the Humans acted as teachers to the Apes. Showing the Apes how to cut down trees, build the tree houses, plant seeds and gather edible fruit. This presented a problem for Caesar however. Apes had fought hard to gain their freedom from their Human masters. Now he had to put Apes in the position of following orders from Humans. Thus, Caesar decreed his first law, Humans could never say ‘No’ to an Ape. Because Apes had been electrically conditioned to fear the word ‘No’, Caesar thought that by forbidding its utterance by Humans; Apes would not feel they were once again in their service. However, all was not completely harmonious. One day in the fields a Gorilla, Aldo, decided not to follow the directions of his Human instructor. The Human kept calmly repeated his instructions but to no avail. Aldo refused to listen. Soon the Human was shouting at Aldo. It was then that Aldo stood up straight and glaring at the Human he said “No!”. The Human was in shock. Up until then he had never heard an Ape other than Caesar talk. News of the incident spread quickly through the small community and soon achieved the status of legend. Although a few Page 5 Ape City Chronicles Chapter 2 Orangutans and Chimpanzees were just beginning to verbalize privately, Aldo was the first Gorilla and the first Ape to publically speak his refusal to a Human. From that day forward the things began to shift and most Humans moved from the role of teachers into to the role of servants in the new Ape City. Section 2: Establishing Ape Law After Caesar the Great had set down the first two Laws governing Apes & Humans in their new community; he realized that he would need to proclaim a series of Laws to maintain peace & harmony. Most of the Laws were very basic. It was forbidden to steal or lie. Apes were not allowed to mistreat or abuse Humans. Humans were no longer allowed to eat animal flesh. However, two laws stood out from the others. One of these laws established the Armory. Caesar hoped the lack of weapons in Ape City would diffuse any disputes and encourage peaceful cooperation among all inhabitants. Thus, he made it law that all guns be gathered in one place and that they may only be issued in times of emergency by his order alone. Caesar appointed an elderly Orangutan named Mandemus (see Profile), as Keeper of the Armory and unofficially as keeper of his own conscience. The other major law established the Citizen’s Council made up of representatives of each Simian species. Although most Apes could not yet talk (and those that could, could only utter a word or two); Caesar made it a legal requirement that the Council meet once a month to discuss the community’s progress. Both of these landmark laws were very successful in maintaining order in the new Ape City. PROFILE: Mandemus Mandemus was born in captivity about 25 years before Caesar’s parents arrived on Earth. He was the third generation of a Human selective breeding experiment to increase the intelligence of primitive apes. It was a ver y successful experiment, by age 10 Mandemus was able to communicate through sign language. When Caesar’s parents arrived, the body of their ill- fated companion was sent to the same research facility as Mandemus. The Humans there took samples from the dead Chimp to use in a gene manipulation experiments on Mandemus. These procedures greatly enhanced his intelligence as well as affecting his Page 6 Ape City Chronicles Chapter 2 physiology. After the death of Caesar’s parents, the Human government closed the research facility and seized all thei r research. Mandemus was sent to a Human zoo but was later sold to a private company that did additional experiments on him in secret. When the plague killed all Dogs & Cats this company formed Ape Management, using the gene conditioning procedures perfec ted on Mandemus, to market domesticated Apes as pets to Humans. After the Night of the Fires Caesar discovered Mandemus in Ape Management’s research section and freed him. By this time Mandemus had evolved enough to have learned to read. When Ape City was founded, Mandemus was the most intelligent Ape after Caesar and quickly learned to talk. Mandemus soon became the first Simian teacher and was a natural choice to become Keeper of the Armory. Section 3: Educating the Apes As the intellectual abilities of Apes began to develop over the years it became evident to Caesar the Great that to build a true Simian civilization; Apes must learn not only to talk but had to be educated. To educate his fellow Simians Caesar had to turn to the only resource capable to do this: Humans. The first task was to teach Apes to read & write. Most of the Humans recruited for the job failed, all but one. Abram Keen (see Profile), a young human, was so successful Caesar put him in charge of all the other Human, and later Ape, teachers. Abram stayed in this role for many decades and would be known by generations of Apes as Teacher. After learning to read & write, Apes were then taught math, science, agriculture and other subjects useful to building a society. Abram organized and supervised all of these classes. Apes to be educated were selected based on a simple intelligence test developed by Abe. Most in the beginning were Orangutans and then Chimpanzees and much later Gorillas. In the early days one Ape excelled very quickly, Mandemus. He easily mastered all subjects and soon became the first Simian teacher in Ape City. Page 7