Farther Beneath the Planet of the Apes

Mendez:  Our apologies, we mean you no harm.

Albina:  Please forgive us.  We have been monitoring your presence with some interest since you arrived within the company of our sentinels

Lyra:  Your Sentinels?

Mendez:  I'm afraid some explanation is in order.   Although we chose not to interact directly with the current surface society we still require information as to the awareness and intentions of the apes with respect to us.

Caspay:  We found it difficult to gather information from most of our kind on the surface as too much damage has been done to their cerebral corteci.  However, with patience and though our telepathic ability we have been able to systematically screen out those with sufficient faculty to communicate with us and act as our advanced sensors as to all that goes on up above.

Albina:  Please understand,  we only wish to pursue our devotions in peace.  But, for our own protection, we Must know what is going on out there

Caspay:  And owing to their greater agility and resilience to the Sun's radiation, they make the best available agents for this purpose.

Lyra:  Is that why I was brought here?

Caspay:  We question Every-One who comes through here.  And your associates, we have sponsored with sustenance and from us, they have gained the sense of non-verbal communication with their peers.  From this, they have developed some sense of identity and community.

Mendez:  They realize that this sets them apart from their brethren on the surface.  It was hoped that they can act as guides for humanity on the surface.  That someday, they will re-establish human civilization above ground.

Lyra:  So that's your goal?

Mendez:  Well,  not entirely..  We are most curious as to your origins and your mastery of the ability to speak.

Caspay:  And how you acquired this,  skill

Lyra:  Well, I don't know if you're going to believe me or not.  I find it hard to believe myself actually, but..

She takes a few steps forward, then stops and sits.

Lyra:  As I best understand it, I come from the Center of Your World

Mendez:  If we might ask, how is it you came into the company of our associate?

Lyra:  He freed me from captivity.

Caspay:  From Ape City?

Lyra (hesitantly):  yes..

Albina (to Bright Eyes):  You were told Not to go there

Mendez:  Is there something that you aren't telling us?

Caspay:  We recommend that you answer our questions, or we will get the answers ourselves..

Lyra turns away only to see images of her freedom from captivity projected on one of the rocks that compose the walls around her.  The scene changes.  Images of the storming of Ape City are seen.  Lyra begins holding her head.  A closeup of Bright Eyes holding her chin..

Lyra:  STOP!

The images disappear.  The mutants turn their attention to Bright Eyes.

<*********************>

Lyra:  But that doesn't mean things always have to be this way.  Peace doesn't happen until both sides are willing to explore the opportunities

Caspay:  Or one side succeeds in destroying the other..

Mendez:  You wouldn't understand, but the violence you are observing is actually part of a larger pattern of conflict between competing strains within our family going back millions of years.

Mendez:  In the history of the advanced primate species such as ourselves.  There has never been a period of peaceful co-existence between two concurrent branches of the hominid family.

Caspay:  Austolopithicus, Neandertal, Cro-magnon..  each of our antecedents has acted to eliminate the competing strain when confronted with their presence.  Assimilation has been the only alternative practiced

Mendez:  Even the surface dwellers who have received our guidance and support have acted similarly when given the chance

Lyra:  That does not mean that it has to be that way.  The apes themselves have learned to tolerate variations in their family.  Between the Chimpanzees and the Orangutans..

Mendez:  That cohesion in their society is accomplished and best maintained by making our kind the scapegoat for all of their perceived evils

Albina:  Please don't be offended, but the simple fact is, no one in our world realistically sees the options opportunity for peace and survival in the same terms as you see them

Lyra:  But you could make a big difference if you wanted to.  Why don't you come out into the open and lead your kind on the surface?  With your knowledge and understanding you could create a new society that wouldn't make the same mistakes.

Caspay: What makes you think we have any intention or desire beyond observing those same laws that created our current society?

Albina:  Although our Devotion is to a peaceful society we also understand that our world is one in which war shall always exist and we must act accordingly if we wish to survive.

Mendez:  Even if we wanted to, our minds might be strong but we are physically no match for those who would seek to physically destroy us.  Without our secrecy, we are too vulnerable.

Albina:  Even the very face we show to others is just an illusion.  Our True faces we must hide from all but ourselves

Caspay:  ..and our God

<********>

Mendez (to Bright Eyes):  Go and do Not Return

Albina:  Go in peace, Lyra Heartstrings.  Our wishes that you find the harmony you seek