x
Cornelius rested his arms on the edge of the laboratory table, his face just inches away from the pages of the book before him. Nearby, Zira was busy with some flasks and a rack of test tubes.
But it was evident from Zira's first words that her mind wasn't on her work. "Cornelius...."
"Um?"
"What apely use would General Urko have for another weapon?"
Cornelius closed his book and supported his chin in his hands as he looked at his slim wife. "Power, Zira. That gorilla is mad for power!"
"Well, we're ambitious, too, aren't we? We want information, knowledge. Maybe just as much as Urko wants weapons. Both weapons and knowledge are power. How are we different from Urko, then?"
"Our lust for knowledge doesn't hurt anyone. It only benefits. Urko's lust---and he's no different from any of the gorilla commanders for as long as I can remember---hurts people: chimpanzees, orangutans, even other gorillas, all those he gets killed."
"Not to mention the humanoids!" Zira said.
"There's nothing wrong with ambition, Zira. That's what gets things done---really. But ambition for warped goals, for power just to have power---that's wrong."
"Oh, Cornelius, what would I do without you?"
"And I without you...."
He rose and went to his wife. They embraced and kissed, but then Zira pulled back.
"Now, Cornelius, let's not fool around during working hours. There's so much to do and so little time."
She dashed back to her rack of filled test tubes and carried it to the window, holding the assortment of glass containers up to catch the bright late-afternoon sunlight.
"Isn't their color lovely?" she asked, and Cornelius nodded.
Outside, they could also see the vibrant greenery of the hills. As Zira picked up a test tube and started to pour its contents into another, there was a flash from one of them.
"Ohh!"
Zira staggered back a step, nearly dropping the test tube. Cornelius, who had returned to his book, spun around.
"Zira! What happened?"
She pointed out the window. "A flash of light. It's silly, but it blinded me for a minute
Zira started to combine the contents of the two test tubes again when there came a second flash.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxvXt7ihKUb
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfbRrgfCWtG
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPLa48yuvll
"Do you think it's working?"
Steve stood over Mark, who was kneeling, and tried to sight in on the same line as he was. "I don't know. All we can do is try," Mark said.
"Are you sending Morse Code, Mr. Wilson?" Barry asked.
"No, not really," Mark replied. "I wouldn't think they'd know that. I'm just sending a rhythmic series—three dots, three dashes, three dots—so that they don't think it's some accidental reflection."
"I hope they're the only ones who see it," Valerie sighed gloomily.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyqMMUljG5j
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHQLzkrPRPs
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh2fCXr9VuY
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLOiZzdFUCy
"Look, Cornelius! There it is again!" Zira was pointing out the window. "It's a steady pattern---three short flashes, three long flashes, then three short flashes again. I believe it's some kind of signal."
Cornelius peered intently at the rhythmic glare. "You're right. It's coming from that clump of trees up there on the hill. Isn't that where we had some picnics when we first met?"
"Yes, that's approximately the spot. It's still rather wild up there." Zira quickly turned to her husband with wide eyes. "Do you think---? I mean, could it be Blue-Eyes?"
Cornelius nodded. "Perhaps." He smiled sweetly at his wife. "Why don't we quit work and take a picnic basket up there, just like old times?"
Zira nodded eagerly. "Yes, yes, a good idea!" She looked through the window again. "The flashes have stopped."18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJGgDmRcgaC
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwPp1awpSUP
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDD2JNN3VUQ
"Better give it a rest," Steve said, lying back on the grass. "We don't want these flashes going on too long. Let's all take turns so no one gets spotted too easily."
"I'll sack out under the tree there," Betty said. "Do my feet ache! You wake me in an hour, and I'll take the—"
Fitzhugh interrupted with a sharp, sarcastic tone, "No need to set your alarm, my dear. Looks like our little light show already got results!"
Everyone turned to where he was pointing—and saw a tiny vehicle pulling away from the back of the laboratory, heading straight toward their hillside.
Steve frowned as he turned to Mark. “Everybody get back—hide in the trees until Dan and I make sure we weren’t followed,” he ordered quietly but firmly.
Barry leaned toward Mark, whispering with wide eyes, “How can you be so sure it’s them? I mean... I don’t know Zira and Cornelius, not really—just their names!”
Mark gave Barry a firm look. “All the more reason to hide if it’s not, Barry,” he said quietly, scanning the trees. “Get behind those bushes, in among the trees.”
Barry hesitated for a moment, then sighed and nodded. “All right…” he muttered, ducking into the undergrowth.
Steve slipped behind some thick undergrowth. He could hear the jeep making its way up the dirt road, but when he peered out and noticed that the jeep had come into view, the shade from trees along the road prevented him from being certain it was Zira and Cornelius. Then the blond aviator heard Zira speak.
"Slow down, Cornelius. This is it! It was somewhere along here."
Steve grinned and inspected what he could see of the road behind the jeep. It appeared clear. He stood up as the vehicle neared, then stepped out into the rutted dirt road.
"Look!" shouted Zira. "It's Blue-Eyes and his friends!"
The jeep came to a halt and Cornelius killed the engine. The two chimpanzees jumped out of the vehicle and shambled quickly over to embrace the seven humans.
"Oh, we've been so worried! Thank goodness you people are safe!" Zira gasped.
Steve's smile of welcome faded. "The truth is, nobody's safe, Zira. General Urko has a powerful new weapon."
The two chimpanzee scientists exchanged looks.
"We've heard rumors about it," Cornelius said. "Nothing definite, just that he had something new, something...deadly."
Fitzhugh stepped forward, adjusting his collar with theatrical flair before gesturing broadly, as if preparing to address royalty. "If I may, Doctor Zira... Doctor Cornelius," he said, with his usual grandiosity. "What we have witnessed is nothing short of terrifying—a machine from the darkest corner of your forgotten history. A relic of war, destruction... and flight. It’s called an airplane."
Zira’s brow furrowed deeply, mirroring the troubled expression on Cornelius’s face. She looked from Fitzhugh to Steve, then back again, clearly unsettled. “Airplane?” she repeated slowly, as if tasting the unfamiliar word. “I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
Cornelius shook his head as well, his voice tinged with wary curiosity. “Nor I. We’ve studied many artifacts from the past... but nothing by that name. What exactly does it do?”
Steve stepped in grimly, “It flies, Cornelius. High. Fast."
Zira blinked. "Amazing!"
Cornelius pursed his lips. 'I do believe there were some old myths, some very old stories, about machines that rode in the sky! But, of course, everyone considered them legends---just nonsense stories, like living underwater and places where the sun shines at night."
Fitzhugh stepped forward with his usual flair, adjusting his jacket as if preparing to deliver a lecture. “What you don’t seem to grasp, my dear apes, is that this machine—this airplane—isn’t just some ancient trinket. It soars through the sky like a hawk, and it—”
Steve cut him off sharply. “I’ll explain it,” he said firmly, stepping between Fitzhugh and the chimpanzees. He turned to Zira and Cornelius, his voice low and urgent. “It works. We’ve seen it fly… and attack. And if Urko truly understands what he’s gotten his filthy paws on, then the skies over this world will never be the same again.”
Zira and Cornelius looked puzzled, concern growing in their eyes. Steve took a steadying breath and stepped forward. “You don’t understand what this thing can really do,” he said, his voice tense. “That plane—it can drop bombs. Explosives. From the air. Wherever Urko wants. And no one will be able to stop him. Not the Council. Not you. Not us.” He looked from one chimpanzee to the other, letting the weight of his words settle. “And it’s not just bombs. They could mount guns on it. Fire into any hideout, no matter how high in the mountains or deep in the jungle. And worse—he can fly over this whole region and watch for us. Spot our every move.”
Dan stepped in beside him, his voice quieter but just as serious. “Or see us try to move to a safer place.”
"He must be stopped!" Steve asserted. "That's why we've come to you."
Zira's brow smoothed out and a look of determination came into her eyes. "How can we help?"
Mark stepped forward, his expression grim. “Zira, Cornelius—we need to know where Urko is keeping that plane.” The two chimpanzees looked at him, startled. “We saw it in the air,” Mark continued. “Circling over a clearing not far from the edge of the Forbidden Zone. But after it was gone, we searched. There wasn’t a hangar, no runway, nothing to suggest where it came from—or where it went back to.” He paused, then added, “If we’re going to stop him before he uses it again, we need to know where he’s hiding it.”
Cornelius snapped his fingers. "It all falls into place!"
"Oh, yes!" Zira said quickly. "You're right, I'm sure!"
"What?" asked Steve.
"It's at his stronghold, his Strategic Defense Headquarters in the Shadowspine Mountains," Cornelius explained. "It's got to be! There've been rumors about goings-on there for months!"
"That's Urko's secret base," Zira said. "Secret in the sense that it's hard or nearly impossible to get there. And it's guarded quite well, I hear."
"In three days, fortunately, we're invited there," Cornelius added, "for a demonstration of the new weapon."
"How do we get there?" Steve asked.
"I've got a map in the jeep. It came with the invitation," Cornelius said, turning to rummage through the vehicle, when he suddenly heard a noise---a rustle in the bushes on the opposite side of the road---and started.
Zira also whirled around at the sound. "Wait! What's that?"
Mark grinned. "It's all right. Come on out, Barry."
The young brunette boy stepped out of his hiding place, causing startled looks to come over the faces of both chimpanzees. "I'm Barry," he said, standing up a little straighter. "Barry Lockridge. I—I guess I'm the youngest of the castaways."
Zira gasped and Cornelius's eyes lit up. "I've read about human children, of course, but I've never actually met one."
Barry blinked. “You’ve never seen a kid before?”
Cornelius blinked as he looked down at Barry, still trying to process what he was seeing. His voice came out slowly, almost in disbelief. “When I first met Steve… and the others… I was astonished. Grown humanoids who could speak, reason, argue—it was almost too much to believe. But a child? A talking humanoid boy?” He shook his head gently; his wide eyes still fixed on Barry. “This turns everything we thought we knew on its head.”
Zira's expression softened as her gaze moved from Barry to Cornelius. Her voice, though quiet, carried warmth and a note of wonder. “This may be more than just remarkable,” she said. “A talking humanoid child… It’s something we never imagined. Proof that intelligence and speech aren’t limited to adults.” Her eyes lingered on her husband, filled with a mix of hope and cautious excitement. “We’re very fortunate to have met him, Cornelius. Perhaps… this is the kind of discovery that could change everything.”
"Well," said Steve, "we have important things to do. We've got to study that map and get out of here. You could've been seen and followed somehow!"
Cornelius shook off his surprise and handed the map to Steve. "Here. It's plainly marked. Keep the map; we won't need it---we'll follow the other cars and jeeps."18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeIUh0FvgtB
"Be very careful," Zira added. "Urko's stronghold is heavily guarded."
"Don't worry, Zira. We'll make it," Steve assured her.
They had started to move off when Zira came suddenly to life. "Wait!" She reached into the rear of the vehicle and pulled out the picnic basket. "Here, take the food. You'll need it."
Fitzhugh adjusted his coat and gave a brief nod, his usual flamboyance toned down for once. “Well then… thank you, both of you, truly. And don’t worry about us—not even young Barry here. We’re a resourceful lot. We’ll take care of ourselves.”
As the seven castaways began to move quickly westward, skirting the edge of the road, they turned briefly to wave back.
Barry cupped his hands around his mouth and called out with boyish sincerity, “I’m really glad I met you, Zira! You too, Cornelius!”
"Well, Cornelius, can we have a picnic without a picnic basket?" Zira sighed.
He reached over and gave his wife a kiss and a hug as they climbed back into the jeep together. "Life with you has always been a picnic, my dear," he said as he drove off.
ns216.73.216.25da2
