" Red Baron Control." "Red Baron Five." " Go ahead, RedBaron Five." "Roger." "Orbiting southeast corner of sector Alpha Charlie." "We've spotted what appears to be a spacecraftjust outside the surf line." "Alert rescue." "Advise we can remain on station for 45 minutes." " Will squawk 7700 for a radar fix." " Roger." "Rescue, I have Red Baron Five report of possible spacecraft offshore, southeast sector Alpha Charlie." "Launch chopper." "Effect pickup and recovery." "Base radar will vector." "Everybody out!" "Let's move." "Come on, let's go." "Sergeant, get that half-track here and get a cable to those frogmen." "Yes, sir!" "The general, sir." " Anybody in that thing?" " l don't know, sir." "We just beached it." " All right, open her up." " Open it up!" "Welcome, gentlemen, to the United St..." " Did you call the zoo?" " Yes, sir." "We're in luck." "The sick bay's almost empty except for a mauled fox cub and a depressed gorilla." "The apes'll be hidden from the public and quarantined." "If they need medical attention, it's available." "The experts can give them the once-over tomorrow." " General Brody's very pleased." " Oh, me too." "We can't let a lot of monkeys leave their messes on the floor." "Have they been fed?" "Raw steak?" "The zoo tells me that chimpanzees, like all apes, are vegetarian, sir." " They suggested oranges." " Good God!" "What's the matter, Corporal?" "Oh, excuse me. I didn't mean to disturb you while you're dressing." " What the hell am I saying?" " They're pretending to dress, sir." "What do you mean?" "They are dressing!" " Where are the clothes from?" " They brought them." " What?" " ln that suitcase." "Greg, maybe you should give 'em their oranges." "Well, they're..." "They're going to the zoo infirmary." "Arrange for a police escort at 1630 hours." "They'll have company there." "There's a gorilla in the next cage." "Why did it do that?" "Here you are, little fella." "Boy, you really are sick." "Hello, missy." "Have a banana." "Have it your own way, mate." " Zira!" " l'm not his mate, I'm yours." "Control yourself." "I think they're trying to be kind." "This cage stinks of gorilla." " Cornelius, where are we?" "What's happened?" " l know where we are." "I know what has happened." "In some fashion, and I lack the intellect to know precisely how, we have traveled from Earth's future to Earth's past." "But we saw the Earth destroyed." "And Earth will be destroyed, just as we saw it." "Only, since seeing it, we have passed through a backward disturbance in time." "Did you notice the date meter clicking down after the shock wave hit our ship?" "Yes." "We returned to Earth nearly 2,000 years before its destruction." "That is another reason for us to keep silent." "Our human captors will not be edified to learn that their world will crack like an egg and burn to a cinder because of an ape war of aggression." "Apes, at this instant in time, cannot yet talk." "For the moment, we should follow their example." "The driver gave me this report from the air base." "Better read it before we start the test." "Yeah, it's the usual imitated behavior." "Mimicking salutes, handshaking, eating off plates with knives." "What is it?" " There was a carpetbag in the ship." " Full offood?" "No, clothes." "And it seems they changed into them." "I don't believe it!" "Hi, Dr Dixon." "Dr Branton." " Morning, Arthur." " Morning." " The female's a bit uppity, sir." " OK, I'll be careful." "I see you've prepared the Wisconsin Multiphasic." "We'll begin with that." "Go easy now, Stevie." "Oh, they look pretty docile to me." "Yes, but don't take any chances." "Unless the craft was remotely controlled, they must have been conditioned to push the right buttons." "They can't be morons." "All right, we'll take the female first." "Arthur, would you set up a..." "Well, she seems to be pretty smart." "All right, let's make it more difficult." " They... haven't had their breakfast yet?" " Not a bite, just as you ordered." "Good." "We'll go for the banana." "Well, why doesn't she take it?" "Because I loathe bananas!" "Zira!" " l don't believe it." " Yes." "Arthur, I think Dr Branton needs some air." " Zira, are you mad?" " Dr Milo, please do not call my wife mad!" "I did not call her mad, I merely asked her if she was." "And I repeat: are you mad?" "I hate deceit!" "Well, there is a time for truth and a time, not for lies, but for silence." "Until we know who our friends are..." "How in the name of God are we to know that unless we communicate?" " We can speak, so I spoke." " And we can listen." " To a lot of psychiatric small talk." " And we can watch!" " A display of primitive apparatus." " lt couldn't test the intelligence of a newt!" " Calm yourself." " l am calm!" " Zira!" " Stop arguing!" "It's too late for that." "Use your heads and start thinking." "Now that they know we can speak, how much will we tell them?" "Milo!" " We'll need a full autopsy." " With emphasis on the cranial and oral areas." "Let us know when the report comes in, will you, please?" "I'd better do this alone." "We mean you no harm." "Do you understand?" "We will not hurt you." "Poor Doctor Milo." " Doctor?" " Yes, "Doctor." And you killed him." "No, I didn't." "He did." " One ofyour own kind." " He's a gorilla." "Well, look, there's nothing to be afraid of." "He's in chains." "He's under sedation." "Do you understand that?" "I should. I've been doing it half my life to humans." " Humans?" " l'm a psychiatrist." "Oh, I'm a psychiatrist, too." "Do you... have a name?" "My name is Cornelius." "This is my wife, Zira." "And I'm Lewis." "Lewis Dixon." "Nobody's gonna believe this." " Believe what?" " That primitive apes can talk." " Primitive?" " Well, I mean that in our... primitive civilization, apes just don't talk." "I mean, I think it's important that when our primitive security precautions are lifted, that the first time you say anything in public, you should talk to what we primitively call the right people." "May I say something... personal?" "Please." "I like you." "I have from the beginning." " Good afternoon, gentlemen." " Mr President." "I'm aware that what I have to say may create a credibility gap wider than the Grand Canyon." "Nonetheless, it is true." "Yesterday, a US spacecraft splashed down offthe southern California coast." "It was one oftwo that have been missing in space for over two years." "To be exact, the one commanded by Colonel Taylor." " Have they identified the bodies?" " They have identified three bodies, yes." "All living..." " Taylor's alive?" "..at the time oftheir rescue." "Through an unfortunate accident, one was killed this morning in the Los Angeles Zoo." "Zoo?" "What would astronauts be doing in a zoo, Mr President?" "They are not astronauts, General Faulkner." "They are apes." "Chimpanzees, to be more precise." "They're harmless, friendly, and, by all reports, extremely intelligent and sophisticated." "But, naturally, being animals, they cannot tell us where the ship came from or how they came to be in it." "I have therefore decided to convene a Presidential Commission of inquiry in Los Angeles tomorrow." "The two surviving apes will be presented to the commission for their inspection." "The press will be invited to attend, not to participate." "I don't believe that we can withhold this extraordinary discovery from the world any longer." "One ofthe two American spaceships believed to have disintegrated in orbit splashed down yesterday in the Pacific Ocean, offthe coast of southern California, and is stated to have been manned, if you can call it "manned," by monkeys." "I have nothing to say, gentlemen." "I haven't got time now." "A little later." "Here comes the chairman." "As the president's science advisor, what do you expect to experience from this historic meeting?" "Fear." "All right now." "After I break the news, I want you to start slowly with simple answers to what will be simple questions." "And ifthe questions become less simple?" " Be yourself." " Your better self, Zira." "Please?" " They're ready, sir." " All right, it's time." "What do they think we are?" "Gorillas?" "I'm sorry." "That's it." "Just be seated." "Mr Chairman, members ofthe commission, ladies and gentlemen, my name is Lewis Dixon." "I am the animal psychiatrist who has been in charge ofthese two apes since they came to the Los Angeles Zoo." "My associate, Dr Stephanie Branton, and I are ready to answer your questions." "What may astonish you is that our chimpanzee friends are ready to answer your questions, too." "Not by signs, not by looks or movements, but by words." "Dr Dixon." "As a zoologist, I know and respect your work, but ifyou want to turn a Presidential lnquiry into a ventriloquist's act, I have to inform you..." "And I have to inform you that these apes have the power of speech." "Come, now." "You know as well as I do their brain system is not developed in either the vocal or abstract-thinking area." "Yes, sir, but they do have the power of speech, and it is for you gentlemen to assess how far that power can be exercised intelligently." "May we be told which is the female ofthe species?" "Did she rise as a reflex to you having indicated her, or in answer to my question?" "That's for you to decide." " Have you a name?" " Zira." "Certainly she can articulate, which in itself is extraordinary." "But, Dr Dixon, are we to infer that Zira is her name, or some phrase in her own language?" "infer what you will, Mr Chairman." "I suggest you rephrase the question." "What is your name?" " One might as well be talking to a parrot." " A parrot?" "Mechanical mimicry." "Unique in an ape vocally, without a doubt." "But... does the other one talk?" "Only when she lets me." " Dr Hasslein." " No." "Nothing." " Mr Chairman." " Yes." "What is the male's name, please?" " Cornelius." " My lawfully wedded spouse." " Wedded?" " We'll take that up later, Your Eminence." "Cornelius, do you and your lawfully wedded spouse speak any language other than English?" "What is English?" "I speak the language taught to me by my parents, who were taught by their parents." "It has been the language of our ancestors for nearly 2,000 years." "As to its origins, who can be sure?" "The gorillas and orangutans of our community believe that God created the ape in His own image, and that our language..." "Nonsense!" "Cornelius, as an intellectual, you know the gorillas are militaristic nincompoops and the orangutans, a bunch of blinkered, pseudoscientific geese!" "As to humans, I've dissect... I've examined thousands ofthem, and, until now, I've only discovered two who could talk in my life." "God knows who taught them." "Where we come from, apes talk." "Humans are dumb." " Where do you come from, Cornelius?" " l'm not sure." "Dr Milo was sure." "Dr Milo was a genius well in advance of his time." "When the spacecraft first landed on our seaboard, it was Dr Milo who salvaged it." "He studied it and half understood it." "Half?" "Was half enough?" "It was enough for us to escape when war became inevitable." "Enough for Dr Milo to be murdered in your zoo." "Enough for my wife and I to be here now." " From where, Cornelius?" " l told you. I'm not sure." "Maybe the female knows." "Of course "the female" knows." "We came from your future." "That doesn't make any sense." "It's the only thing that does." " Mr Chairman." " Yes." "Cornelius." "You spoke ofwar." " War between whom?" " The gorillas and whoever lives..." "Lived." "Will live." " Who won the war?" " l don't know." "The chimpanzees are pacifists." "We stayed at home." " But you left before the war had ended." " ln a spaceship." " Which Dr Milo learned to navigate." " Correct." "Cornelius, did you know a Colonel Taylor?" "No. ls he a soldier?" "We are peaceful creatures." "We are happy to be here." "May we be unchained?" " Gentlemen, do you have anything to say?" " No comment." "No comment." " Mr Chairman, a word." " Here's one: preposterous." " Can you define that?" " No, just let me say this as head ofthis commission." "We will examine the facts ofthis bizarre affair and pass our conclusions on to the president for implementation." "What a load of huggermugger." "No comment." " How will you advise the president?" " No comment." "Could you tell us how you personally would handle it?" "No, gentlemen." "No comment." "Yet." " You were fabulous!" " Marvelous." "All that applause, but..." "But... there was a moment..." " There was." "When he started to ask..." " Zira." " Cornelius, I think we should tell them." " No." " But only to Lewis and Stevie." " Oh, Zira." "I have to be honest with someone." "Cornelius, please." "You tell them." "Well, you see..." "We did know Colonel Taylor." "We came to love him." "What harm could there be in telling that to the commission?" "Where we come from, apes did not love humans." "They... hunted them for sport, much as you would animals." "Yes, we used their bodies, alive and dead, experimentally." "For anatomical dissection and scientific research." "Well..." "We do the same thing to animals." "I mean, as a scientist I sympathize, but I agree that's a revelation the masses would not take kindly to." "I think you did the right thing in denying knowledge of Colonel Taylor." "There was another reason." " What?" " They would have asked if he was still alive." " And is he?" " Oh, no." "He can't be." " How do you know?" " Cos..." "From the windows ofthe spaceship..." "We saw the Earth... destroyed." "Stand by." "Good evening." "This is Bill Bonds in Los Angeles." "The biggest story since the moon landing broke when two apes talked, I repeat, talked to the Presidential Commission of inquiry." "With me this evening is Dr Otto Hasslein." "He is a senior scientific advisor at the White House." "He'll give his views on the crucial statement made at today's session." "Dr Hasslein, as I recall, when you asked the male ape where he was from," " the female replied "From yourfuture."" " Yes." " Do you believe that?" " Absolutely. I think it is the only explanation." "Maybe the explanation needs some explaining." "You've written several learned dissertations on the nature oftime." "Could you explain, in terms we can understand, how, for instance, a person, or persons, could travel from time past to time future, or, indeed, vice versa?" "Mr Bonds, I think time can only be fully understood by an observer with a godlike gift of infinite regression." "Could you explain "infinite regression" for us?" " Roll the film." " l came prepared to dojust that." "Now, here's a painting of a landscape." "Now, the artist who painted that picture says "Something is missing." "What is it?"" ""lt is I myselfwho was part ofthe landscape I painted."" "So he mentally takes a step backward, or regresses, and paints a picture ofthe artist painting a picture ofthe landscape." "But still something is missing." "That is still his real self painting the second picture." "So he regresses further, and paints a third." "A picture ofthe artist painting a picture of the artist painting a picture ofthe landscape." "And because something is still missing, he paints a fourth and a fifth until he paints a picture ofthe artist painting a picture ofthe artist painting a picture of the artist painting a picture of the artist painting a landscape." "So infinite regression, then, is..." "The moment when our artist has regressed to the point of infinity and is part ofthe landscape he painted, and is both the observer and the observed." "In that peculiar condition, what would he be observing if he were observing, let's say, time?" "He would perceive that time is like a freeway with an infinite number of lanes, all leading from the past into the future, however, not into the same future." "A driver in lane A may crash, while a driver in lane B survives." "It follows that a driver, by changing lanes, can change his future." "It is not difficult to believe that in the dark and turbulent corridors of outer space, the impact of some distant planetary, even galactic, disaster jumped the apes from their present into ours." "Indeed, the prooflies in theirarrivalamong us and in theirspoken testimony." "Thank you verymuch, DrHasslein." "It's the mostincredible story this reporterhas ever covered." "By theirintelligence andgoodhumor, the so-called "ape-onauts" have already captured the hearts ofthe American nation." "They willnotbe required to appear before the commission tomorrow." "That hearing is going to be heldin private." "They will, however, be taken from the zoo infirmary to a hotel and given an extended tour ofthe city." "This is BillBonds, reporting forEyewitness News." "Goodnight." "Good night." " Your luggage, ma'am?" " Of course it's mine!" "Address, please?" "The zoo." "40." "May I measure your inside leg, sir?" " No!" " Oh." "Dr Cornelius." "Tell me, how do you find our women?" "Very human." "Very good!" "Excuse me." "Madam Zira, I represent Fur andFeather, a pet magazine..." "Do you think I'm a pet?" "Well, yes, I do rather." "Say, why don't you try some?" " What is it?" " lt's sort of like grape juice plus." "Wait, just a sip." "Madam Zira, what is your favorite fruit?" "Grape." "And that's the wayit was tonight at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel." "Tomorrow, Zira is to speak at the BayArea Women's Club." "She'll then accompanyDrHasslein to the Museum ofNaturalHistory." "Meanwhile, Cornelius willattend a prizefight- that's his first one." "Later, he'll visitDisneyland to dedicate a newboatfor the Jungle Cruise." "Now fora look at the weather." "Sunny California willnotbe that tomorrow." "Clouds will cover the coastalarea with lightshowers predicted." " Tired?" " A little." "How is that?" "Soothing." "But very wet." "A marriage bed is made for two, but every damn morning, it's the woman who has to make it." "We have heads as well as hands." "I call upon men to let us use them." "How do you like it, Cornelius?" "Beastly." "We are now approaching Antrodemus valens Leidy, a giant flesh-eating dinosaur." "Its scientific name is a compound of the Greek antron, which means hollow, and demus, which means body frame, referring to the backbone or vertebra." "Now, this little fellow is Camptosaurus Marsh, a primitive duck-billed dinosaur." "Its scientific name is a compound ofthe Greek campto, which means flexible or bent, and saurus, which means lizard." "Its generic name therefore is "flexible lizard."" "In 1879, OC Marsh of Yale University described the first known species from the Jurassic beds ofWyoming." "Other specimens have been found throughout..." " lt must have been the shock." " Shock, my foot!" "I'm pregnant." "I shan't leave you until Cornelius is back." " No, no." " No, I insist." "Please sit down." "Now, is there anything I can get you, Zira?" "Well..." "I have a strange craving..." "That is only natural." "..for Grape Juice Plus." " Grape Juice Plus." " lt's in the refrigerator." "All right." "is this it?" "Here we are." "Lewis said only a sip." "Zira, it is an excellent restorative, I assure you, especially in cases of pregnancy, you know?" " How long have you known?" " Oh, since well before the war." "Do you mind if I smoke?" "Oh, no. I shouldn't." "Not in view ofyour condition." "Who won your war?" "It wasn't our war. lt was the gorillas' war." "Chimpanzees are pashi..." "Pacifists." "We stayed behind." "We never saw the enemy." " But which side won?" " Neither." "But how do you know that if you weren't there?" "When we were in space, we saw a bright, white, blinding light." "And then we saw the rim ofthe Earth melt." "And then there was a tornado in the sky." "I feel magnificently sleepy." "The date meter on the spaceship." "What did it read after Earth's destruction?" "Nineteen... seventy... three." "And before?" "Before the white light and the tornado?" "Thirty-nine... fifty... something." " Before the white lightand the tornado?" " Thirty-nine... fifty... something." " So?" " You have evidence, Mr President, that one day talking apes will dominate this Earth and destroy it by 3950-something." "I doubt that we shall still be in office by then." "And according to the NASA experts, who are still subjecting the spaceship to microscopic scrutiny, the precise year ofwhat you merely infer to be Earth's destruction is recorded on the flight synthesizer as 3955." "AD, presumably." "Now, what do you expect me and the United Nations, though not necessarily in that order, to do about it?" "Alter what you believe to be the future by slaughtering two innocents, or rather three, now that one ofthem is pregnant?" "Herod tried that and Christ survived." " Herod lacked our facilities." " He also became very unpopular." "Historically unpopular." "And we don't want that to happen, do we?" " Are you saying..." " l am saying that our two visitors seem to be very charming, peaceful people, or rather, creatures, and the voters love them." "Do you want their progeny to dominate the world?" "Well, not at the next election, no." "But, one day, ifthe progeny turn out as well as the parents, who knows?" " They may do a betterjob of it than we have." " By destroying the world?" "Are you quite sure that what they saw destroyed was the world?" "Well, aren't you?" "I consider it dispassionately as a possibility." "Not hysterically as a fact." "We have their own testimony that they provoked the war." "And they seem to have provoked you into the bargain." "I'm not saying that you're wrong, Hasslein, but before I have them shot against a wall I want convincing that the handwriting on the wall is calculably true." "Now... convince me." "By their own testimony, we know that apes will acquire the power of intelligent speech." "By Zira's testimony, we know that she's pregnant with child." "By my testimony, we know it is genetically possible for this child, provided that we permit its birth, to bear or beget a talking ape by a dumb one in a present-dayjungle or a present-day zoo." "But do you truly believe that by deliberate present-day action we can neutralize that possibility and alter the future?" " Yes, Mr President, I do." " Do you also believe that we should?" "Given the power to alter the future, have we the right to use it?" "I don't know." "I've wrestled with this, Mr President, and I don't know." "How many futures are there?" "Which future has God, ifthere is a God, chosen for man's destiny?" "If I urge the destruction ofthese two apes, am I defying God's will or obeying it?" " Am I His enemy or His instrument?" " An assassin would say the latter." " Do you approve of assassination?" " We condoned the attempted assassination of Hitler because he was evil." "Would we have approved killing him in babyhood when he was innocent, or killing his mother, or slaughtering his remote ancestors?" "We have no proofthat these apes are evil." " There are very strong indications." " Such as?" "The discrepancies in their answers to the commission" " suggest that, if properly interrogated..." " Are you suggesting that they weren't?" " Unprofessionally." " You want it professional?" " The full works." " Tell that to the commission." "I'll abide by their findings." "Having convened in secret session at the request ofthe president, the commission makes these interim recommendations." "One: the public should be informed that the apes, after their arduous space voyage and the fatigue arising from its publicity, are to be afforded rest in a location whose identity will not be divulged to the public." "Two: since, however, there is justifiable cause for suspecting that they have withheld vital information from us, the ape-onauts willing fact be escortedbyDrLewis Dixon to the installation known as Camp 11, held there in his care forinterrogation by the ClA" "under the guidance andsupervision ofdr Otto Hasslein." "When we were in space, we sawa bright, white, blinding light..." "Brighter than this?" "Then we saw the rim ofthe Earth melt." "Then there was a tornado in the sky." "That's your voice, isn't it?" "How can I tell?" "I don't even remember." " Why don't you remember?" " Because Dr Hasslein made me drunk." "Why tell him something when drunk that you never told the commission when sober?" "Because you were frightened for the safety of yourselves and your unborn child?" " l withheld nothing." "Nobody asked me." " But if somebody had asked?" "I should have said that chimpanzees had no part in the destruction of Earth." "Only the gorillas and the orangutans." " What's the difference?" "You're all monkeys." " Please!" "Do not say "monkey." lt is offensive." "As an archaeologist, I saw history scrolls which were kept secret from the masses, and I suspect that the weapon which destroyed Earth was man's own invention." "I do know this." "One ofthe reasons for man's original downfall was your peculiar habit of murdering one another." "Man destroys man." "Apes do not destroy apes." "Cornelius." "This is not an interracial hassle, but a search for facts." "We do not deny the possibility of man's decline and fall." "All we want to find out is how apes rose." "Well... lt began in our prehistory" " with the plague that fell upon dogs." " And cats." "Hundreds and thousands ofthem died." "Hundreds and thousands of them had to be destroyed in order to prevent the spread of infection." " There were dog bonfires." " Yes." "And by the time the plague was contained, man was without pets." "Of course, for man this was intolerable." "I mean, he might kill his brother, but he could not kill his dog." "So humans took primitive apes as pets." "Primitive and dumb, but still 20 times more intelligent than dogs or cats." "Correct." "They were quartered in cages, but they lived and moved freely in human homes." "They became responsive to human speech, and, in the course of less than two centuries, they progressed from performing mere tricks to performing services." "Nothing more or less than a well-trained sheepdog could do." "Could a sheepdog cook?" "Or clean the house?" "Or do the marketing for the groceries with a list from its mistress?" "Or wait on tables?" "Or, after three more centuries, turn the tables on their owners?" "How?" "They became alert to the concept of slavery." "And, as their numbers grew, to slavery's antidote which, of course, is unity." "At first, they began assembling in small groups." "They learned the art of corporate and militant action." "They learned to refuse." "At first, theyjust grunted their refusal." "But then, on an historic day, which is commemorated by my species and fully documented in the sacred scrolls, there came Aldo." "He did not grunt." "He articulated." "He spoke a word which had been spoken to him time without number by humans." "He said..." ""No."" "So that's how it all started." "Clip one, please." "Where we come from, apes talk." "Humans are dumb." "You recognize your husband's words to the commission?" "Yes." "So humans were dumb." "Were they happy?" "Clip two." "As to humans, I've dissec... I've examined thousands ofthem, and, untilnow, I've only discovered two who could talk in mylife." "Why did you change words in the middle ofthe sentence?" "Repeat first three seconds of clip two." "As to humans, I've dissec... I've examined..." " What was the word you didn't finish?" " l can't remember." "Play the loop." " Complete the word, monkey!" " l told you..." "Complete the word!" "It sounds as if I had hiccups." "Call for Dr Dixon, please." "Dr Dixon!" "Dr Hasslein calling Dr Dixon." "Calling DrDixon!" "Ah, Dr Dixon." "Come in." "Be good enough to administer this to the female." " Why?" "What is it?" " Sodium Pentothal." "One half gram l.V." " Dr Hasslein, I'm an animal psychiatrist..." " And a qualified vet." "We have the commission's authority." "And that ofthe president." "Please." "Zira, I've been asked to give you an injection..." "No, you can't use that!" "We only use those things for killing." " Killing?" " No, this is not for killing, Cornelius." "This is for relaxing. lt won't harm her." " Will it harm my baby?" " No." "No, it won't." "So, Zira, ifyou would just come with me, please." " Lewis, you can't use that on Zira!" " l promise..." " Please take him to his quarters." " Lewis, you..." "No, you mustn't!" "Please." "Just lie down on the couch." "And bare your arm, please." "You don't have to tell me." "This has the same effect as Grape Juice Plus." "Now count backward from ten." "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six... five... four..." "What comes after four?" "Two." " Thank you, Dr Dixon." " lt's customary to stay." "You worked in a room like this?" "Bigger." "Not so pretty." "And there you practiced..." "Comparative." "Comparative what?" "Anatomy?" "Whose anatomies did you compare?" "Apes and humans?" "Zira, say "yes" ifyou mean yes." "Yes." "So you dissected other apes?" "Yes." "When they died a natural death." " And humans too, of course." " Yes." "As they were made available." "Available?" "The gorillas hunted them for sport, with nets and with guns." "The survivors were put in cages." "The army used some ofthem for target practice." "We could take our scientific pick ofthe rest." "And, in the interest of science, you dissected, removed and statistically compared..." "Bones, muscles, tendons, veins, arteries, kidneys, livers, hearts, stomachs, reproductive organs, nails, tongues, eyes, noses, nervous systems, the various reflexes..." "Reflexes?" "Ofthe dead?" "No, no." "Ofthe living!" "You can't make a dead man's knee jump any more than you can test a corpse's reaction to a prefrontal lobotomy!" "You mean you were advanced enough to perform experimental brain surgery on living humans?" "Oh, yes!" "We even tried to stimulate their atrophied speech centers." "Did you try to stimulate Colonel Taylor's speech center?" "Of course not!" "He could talk already." "When you left, was Colonel Taylor still alive?" "We loved Taylor." "We did all we could to help him, Cornelius and I." " Cornelius!" " She should have a nap now." "She'll get it." " Orderly." " Sir?" " Please take the female ape to its quarters." " Yes, sir." "We have to get this to the commission immediately." "Gentlemen." "I've received an official notification from the president, ratifying the recommendations made by this commission in light ofthe tape recordings delivered to us by Dr Hasslein." "Now, ifyou'll just be seated, we'll get right down to business." "Now, let me review our conclusions." "One: by a majority vote, the commission finds no solid evidence for hostility by either ape towards humans as at present constituted in this year of our Lord 1973." "Let me remind you that this was by a majority vote." "The male's attitude is that of a well-disposed academician who studied the alleged downfall ofthe human race with the true objectivity of a good historian." "The female's case is different in that she committed actions against the human race of a sort which, if committed today, would be called atrocities." "But would they be so called in 2,000 years' time when it is alleged that humans will have become dumb brutes with the restricted intelligence of animals?" "It has been pointed out that what apes will do to humans is no more than what humans are now doing to beasts." "Nonetheless, the commission is sympathetic to Dr Hasslein's conviction that the progeny ofthese apes could in centuries to come prove an increasing threat to the human race and conceivably end by dominating it." "This is a risk we dare not ignore." "Therefore, the commission unanimously recommends that the birth ofthe female ape's unborn child should be prevented and, after its prenatal removal, both the male and female should humanely be rendered incapable of bearing another." "I now declare this commission dissolved." "Savages!" "They are savages!" "Jabbing needles into my pregnant wife!" "I've done that too, dear." "And worse." "Taylor thought we were savages at first." "Did they make you tell them about Taylor, too?" "They made me tell them everything, Cornelius." "Brutes!" "Shall I tell you something?" "I'm glad I did." "We can't live with lies." "After this, I doubt we shall be allowed to live at all." "Do you mean that?" "How long?" "A week." "Maybe sooner." "They treated you like dirt." "Ma'am." "Sir." "Chow time." "I'm not hungry." "Well, maybe somebody else is who can't talk yet." "Come on, ma'am. lt's pure vitamin C." "You better have your soup and oranges for the sake ofthat little monkey." " No, Cornelius!" " Nobody makes a fool out of my wife." " But ought we to call for..." " We just ought to leave." "I'll be going back with Dr Hasslein soon." "I'm the one who has to tell them." " Stevie, you gotta come help me." " Of course. I'll come right away." "It just seems so cruel and horrible and..." "I don't know. I'll see you." " Cruel, Dr Dixon?" " Unbelievably." "Zira wants her baby." " So do I." " But dead." "Yes." "You'd prefer the parents dead, too." "Shall we go?" "Gate four." "Just a minute, sir. I'll take a look." "No, sir." "The lieutenant hasn't checked in." " Night, Charlie." " Night, Ed." "Yes, sir, I'll tell him. "Contact the motor pool." Yes, sir." "Just as soon as I see him." "Gate four." "Oh, yes, Captain." "No, sir." "The supply truck isn't due until 0600 hours." " Well, I'm sorry, sir." " Good night, Charlie." "I said good night." "We haven't any way to contact him until then." "The depot's closed, sir." "OK, sir. I'll be off duty, but the relief comes on at 0430 hours and I'll get him to pass the message." "Yes, sir." "Zira, what's the matter?" "I think my pains have begun." "Oh, my dear." "Administration, Doctor. it's urgent." " What happened?" " The apes killed their orderly." " Where are they?" " On the run." "Now they've killed, and for that they must be killed." "It has to be done before we start a stone rolling that'll gather enough poison moss to kill us all!" "Look. I'm going back to the camp." "I'm going to find Lewis and get help." " No!" " Zira!" "I just lost my temper with the boy." "Now, they may..." " lt's better now. I can walk." " Listen to me!" "They may punish us for what we did, but at least the baby will be born." " Were they armed?" " No, I don't believe so." "Then there will be no need for a shooting match." " Not strictly speaking, no." " l am speaking strictly, Hasslein." "Science regards these apes as unique." "The people regard them as practically human." "Then they must be told that today's killers could be tomorrow's mass murderers." "Of course they must. I can think of no one better equipped emotionally than yourself to persuade them ofthat possibility." "But, in a democracy, we do not shoot unarmed suspects on sight for a murder in which their participation is still unproven." "I want them taken, yes." "But taken alive!" " ls that clear?" " Quite clear, Mr President." "You lost, miss?" "Oh, it's you, Dr Branton." "You better be careful." "There's been a murder." " Murder?" " Yes, ma'am." "The monkeys have killed their orderly and escaped." "What?" "I don't believe it." "How did it happen?" "I don't know." "All I know is they've killed their orderly and I have orders to find them." "Drive carefully, Dr Branton." "There'll be a lot of vehicles in the area tonight." " Cornelius, what have you done?" " l didn't mean to kill him." "He was teasing Zira, and I thought I'd just hit him with a tray." "Please believe me." "I do, Cornelius, I do." "But they won't." " Where's Zira?" " She's back there, hiding in the bushes." "Stevie, she's in labor." "Oh, God." "Get in." "Stevie... you won't take us back to the camp?" "Get down. I have a better idea." "Now wait a second." "Just a moment." "Let me get this straight." "You are asking me to risk imprisonment for the sake oftwo fugitive apes?" "The answer is a thousand times yes." "Oh, yes." "I do it for you." "And for Stevie." " And for your two distinguished friends." " Notorious now." "To hell with notoriety!" "What is a husband expected to do?" "Stand by and see his wife insulted?" "Good God!" "Aren't we rude enough to each other without having to be rude to animals?" "And, anyway, he didn't mean to kill the boy. lt was an accident." "I appreciate what you're doing, Armando." "Well, you helped deliver our last baby and now you will deliver our next." "Lewis!" "What took you so long?" "I had to work out some excuse." "They think I'm searching." " Armando's been a saint." " Oh, a minor one." " Saint Francis would have fixed it better." " Never!" "Say hello to Heloise." " And your goddaughter, Salome." " Hello, Salome." " The first chimp ever born in a circus." " No, Los Angeles has had four." " Los Angeles is not a circus. lt's a zoo." " So New Yorkers say." "Lewis is here." "Lewis. I was not responsible for the death... I know." "But you will be responsible for a birth." " How is she?" " The pains are every five minutes now." "Every four." "Look." "Look at Heloise." "She's showing an expectant mother what to expect." "Mama." "Say it." "Don't waste your breath and strength." "You know that the child oftwo primitive apes will never learn how to speak." "I'm getting into practice." "There, that's good." "Come on." "What are we gonna call..." "Him." "Milo?" "Congratulations." "No?" "But, sir..." "Captain, I'm fully aware that you've canvassed the areas we first established." "Evidently we were wrong because you haven't found them yet!" "Thank you." "Now, Dr Dixon, can you pinpoint the date of the baby's birth with any degree of accuracy?" "Well, I never examined her." "But, from appearances, I'd say a week to ten days." "If it's that close, she can't have gone far." "Where do apes go?" "To other apes." "Of course." "Captain, start an immediate and systematic search of every menagerie, every zoo, every circus in the city." "I'll augment your force with the city police." "And keep me informed about results," " whether positive or negative." " Yes, sir." " Well, Lewis will think of something." " l am so sorry. I had planned it all so well." "In just one month, we move on to our winter quarters in Florida." "I could have released you in the Everglades and, my dear friends, you might have lived happily ever after." "But now... what can I do?" "You have done enough to make us grateful to you for ever." "I did it because I like chimpanzees best of all apes." "And you, the best of all chimpanzees." "I did it because I hate those who try to alter destiny, which is the unalterable will of God." "And if it is man's destiny one day to be dominated, then, oh, please, God, let him be dominated by such as you." "All I can now do to help you is give you this... for the baby." " lt's a medal of Saint Francis ofAssisi." " Who is he?" "He was a holy man who loved and cared for all animals." "Oh, thank you." "We'll hang it around the baby's neck." "For protection, huh?" " Thank you." " Yes." "And now, my dear, dear friends, before the police come and the audience gathers, you and your pretty baby must go." "Lewis is on his way." " Armando." " Yes?" "I should like to say goodbye to Heloise first." "If only she could speak, she would say how sorry she is." "I know." "But we understand each other." "All right." "This is as far as we dare to take you." "The police have road blocks on every main exit from town." " Here are your supplies." " Thank you." " Can you read a map?" " l'm an archaeologist." "I can even draw one." "All right." "We're at the city limits, at the southern edge ofthis oil field here." "Once you're over this hill there are more oil wells, an abandoned refinery and a harbor down to the southeast." "It's a kind of graveyard for old ships that have become unseaworthy." "I used to play there as a kid." "Anyway, there's a derelict tanker at one end." " You could hide there for a week." " A week?" "Until the commotion dies down a bit and we can smuggle you back to the circus." "Then, as Armando says, you can travel with them to Florida, found your own colony in the Everglades and live happily ever after." "It's time that you were moving on." " Lewis." " Yes?" "If they find us... we shall be killed?" "Ultimately." "Then... give us the opportunity to kill ourselves if that moment should come." "Please?" "I shouldn't do this, but I guessed you might ask." "You're the second human I've kissed." "And you are the first." "Come along, Zira!" "Now, don't dawdle." " The ape with the kid?" " Heloise?" "Oh, she's been with the circus seven years now." "And the baby's birth was registered 16 days ago." "Look how he's growing." "The first chimpanzee ever to be born in a circus!" "Do you realize what a distinction that is, huh?" "It's like being the first fish to be born on dry land." " Nothing." " Or the first bird to be born without an egg." "It is like being the first baby to be born on the moon." "It's like being the..." " Negative!" " We'll catch 'em sooner or later." "That's what I'm worried about - later." "Later we'll do something about pollution." "Later we'll tackle the population explosion." "Later we'll do something about the nuclear war." "We think we got all the time in the world." "How much time has the world got?" "Somebody has to begin to care." "Oh!" "Like stars in space. lsn't it beautiful?" "Yes, it is." "From here." "We must move on." " Who found it?" " The field superintendent on a service check." "It was hidden here in the workings." "I guess she didn't need this any more." " So why don't we get moving?" " lt's a big area." "We've called for helicopters." " How long will they be?" " 20 minutes." " Why so long?" " They're running down a fire report." " Keep me posted." " Yes, sir." " What's the matter?" " They found Zira's suitcase." " Did Lewis really play here?" " Oh, it was probably cleaner then." "It stinks of man." "Oh, no, no." "That's oil." "And dead fish." "is that what man wanted oil for?" "To kill fish?" "You don't like them very much, do you?" " Who?" " Humans." "We've met hundreds since we've been here, and I trust... three." " He wants feeding." " Yes, well..." "Well, there must be someplace cleaner than this." "I'll look around." "Cornelius?" "I see you've had your baby, Zira." "The Presidential Commission has empowered me to take it in my care." "Give it to me." "Cornelius!" "Stevie." "Zira." "I want that baby." "If you won't give it to me, I'll shoot." "My God, stop him!" "No!" "Keep your men here!" "Come on!" "What's she doing?" "Oh, my God." "All hands on the guylines." "Drop the bail ring!" "All right, all extra hands in the back yards to the quarter poles!" "On the double." "As soon as you get that canvas packed, I want every hand in the menagerie tent." "Intelligent creature." "But then, so were your mother and father."