We have two meadow people and three of ours.
Just so they're young and healthy.
They are.
- They will serve you well in the mines. - Bring them forward.
Lorko.
- Good. - Arma.
- Fine. - Clim.
- I'm sorry. - My men will hunt him down.
It will be good sport.
Don't bother to bring him back.
- Where is his replacement? - We will draw lots at once...
to find one of our people to take Clim's place.
I think I can hear the sound of running water.
Mm. There used to be this, uh, running brook.
It was right behind the house I lived in in Central City. Hah.
You better can it, little chimp. You're gonna be crying in a minute.
Hah. I know. But I can't help it sometimes.
I'm with you, Galen.
Pete, if you've developed a vaccine against memories, give me a shot of it.
Well, of course. I've got a patented cure.
If you lose one home, you try to find another one,
preferably among friendly natives who are about, oh, so tall...
- and round in the right places. - Round natives?
Oh, Galen, you're such a square.
Wait.
- Think they're looking for us? - No.
If they were, they'd be looking around more.
What do you say we get out of here before they do start looking around more?
Huh. You know, if I didn't know you better, I'd think you were afraid.
I am. That's what keeps me alive.
- Really? - Oh, yeah.
Stick with me. You got a lot to learn about the value of creative cowardice.
Creative cowardice, huh?
Quiet!
These are my friends.
Well, whoever you are, I thank you.
I was sure I'd be caught.
- Why were they chasing you? - I don't know for sure.
The patrol comes to our village,
collects the grain tax and then leaves.
And sometimes, they chase a human for sport.
We couldn't find him.
You're slow and lazy!
I'm sorry.
- Is that the new one? - Yes.
He's better than the one that ran.
Strong. He'll do good work.
If the other was so weak, how did he get away?
Can't you control your humans?
What kind of a leader are you?
I have provided you with five workers, twice each summer month.
That fulfills my duty to you.
Next time, I want all five tied,
ready and waiting!
Yes, sir.
Move out!
Find Clim.
Yes, Father.
Do you think it's safe for you to go back now?
Oh, yes. By now, the gorillas are gone.
And Borak, my village, is just over that hill.
- Yeah, well, we'll split with you at the road. - Oh, no, you must come with me.
Everyone should know how you saved me.
I think it's best if we keep on moving.
You will be honored guests. There'll be a day of feasting.
- I would like some fresh fruit. - Anything you want.
I'd like a broiled Maine lobster with melted butter and an ice-cold beer.
I don't know what that is, but if I can get it, it's yours.
What is it, Galen?
- Hide! - Come on! He said hide!
- It's all right. - Your people?
Yes. Miro, here! It's Clim.
I brought friends with me.
I could certainly go for a celebration.
For all I know, this could be the Fourth ofJuly.
Don't be frightened. He can tell you. I'm not gonna hurt you.
He's telling the truth. Just take the two humans.
- What's with you? - You must not touch these two humans.
- They are my servants and under my protection. - Take them.
- You must not disobey me. - You are free to go if you wish.
- They go with me. Humans obey apes. - No!
Yes, sir. Within the law.
Tie Clim.
Why? I brought two humans in my place! Isn't the village better off?
Brun is waiting for you at the temple.
I brought two humans! That should make things all right!
- Take him away. - No!
Now look, we tried to help him. We've done nothing to hurt you.
- Why are you doing this? - It is the law.
My orders are that you release these two humans immediately.
My orders are from Brun, Master of Borak.
- An ape? - A human.
Maybe you better talk to this, uh, Brun, Galen, sir.
Where is this man you call the master of Borak?
At the temple. This way, sir.
Take them to the village.
No!
Who is the human they call the master of Borak?
He is my father. Brun.
Tell him I want to talk to him.
Until Clim has been punished,
- he can speak only to the gods. - Mercy!
I ask for mercy!
No!
Noooooo!
We come before you...
as our fathers and their fathers have done.
The most sacred of our laws has been broken.
Human sacrifice.
One of our people, Clim, son of Porto,
was chosen by lot to serve the apes.
He ran from his duty. Another was taken in his place...
at a time when he need not have gone.
For this, Clim is responsible.
The laws of humans must be upheld.
For breaking that law, Clim's punishment is in your hands.
He's dead.
Nothing... No one touched him.
The gods.
Miro, where are my servants?
In the woods just outside the village.
Thank you.
Galen!
Did you see the head man?
No. I didn't have a chance.
- Why not? - There was this ceremony.
Uh, you know, it had to do with that man,
the one who was trying to run from the gorillas.
- What happened to him? - He's dead.
He's dead? How?
I don't know.
Brun, the head man,
took him to a shrine, prayed over him and he just died.
No. Men don't die by getting prayed over. What else did they do?
Nothing. They wheeled him in on a cart alive.
He was struggling. And then Brun prayed...
and he died.
I mean, l-I watched.
He wasn't even touched.
Look, you've got to believe me,
because I saw it with my own eyes.
Look, Galen, the power of suggestion can kill, but only if you believe in it.
In our time, there was voodoo.
Mumbo-jumbo doesn't kill men.
I can think of things that do. Gorillas, for instance.
You wouldn't talk like that if you'd seen what I saw.
Forget it. Concentrate on convincing the head man that we're your property.
And you'd like it to leave with you undamaged and intact.
Uh, it isn't going to be easy.
There's something very special about Brun.
It isn't just that mask he wears.
He's, um, uh...
Well, look, if chimpanzees were ever afraid,
and if humans were what they were afraid of, I can tell you...
that is a human to fear.
We'll, give it a try.
Mm.
I'll do my best.
Char, please open the cage.
I think we get room service.
My name is Talia.
Hello, Talia.
Say, we could sure use an ally. Remember what Pocahontas did forJohn Smith?
- Yeah. - Huh?
- Give it a shot. - Watch.
Hello, Talia. I'm Burke. Uh, Pete Burke.
You know, um, where I come from,
mothers used to warn their daughters about me.
But, uh, you've really raised caution to new heights. -
I could give you a demonstration right now, but I'm a little tied up.
Um... You going to be the one who brings our food every day?
Yes, I am.
Uh, like tonight maybe?
- Yes. - Oh.
Um, you know, there's going to be a full moon tonight.
Yes, there is.
Uh, what does a full moon and, um, a soft breeze...
and maybe a dozen long-stemmed red roses do for you, huh?
Talia? Talia?
Oh!
Boy, you sure didn't make history, John Smith.
Talia.
What's the matter?
Talia, only one man was captured.
It's all right. There's time.
They hunted as far as the hills.
It was as if the meadow people had disappeared into the earth.
The next time will be better. I'm sure.
Oh, Talia, I should have gone myself.
- Then there would be more than one. - No! No!
Ah. No.
I find it hard to believe.
You, a human, telling me, an ape, that you will not accept my orders.
I could have you shot.
Aren't you afraid...
- that I might have you killed? - No.
Why not?
My being afraid will not stop you from doing anything you wish,
so there's nothing to gain from fear.
That is insolence! That is total justification for me to have you shot.
That is if I needed any justification.
Oh.
Look,
I do not believe in punishing humans unnecessarily,
but, obviously, we cannot condone disobedience.
I will obey you in all areas where it is permitted.
Oh, you will?
And who decides the areas? I'll tell you who does. I do.
And you are going to release my servants to me immediately.
- I'm sorry, sir. - By what right do you hold them?
The apes gave us that right.
Any alien human in our territory may be captured...
and delivered in place of our own people to work in the mines.
- It is the law. - Well, I've never heard of that law.
That is a ridiculous law.
I don't believe that... l-I think you made that up. I think you are lying.
A long, long time ago,
the apes raided for slaves and men fought back.
Many were killed on both sides.
Finally, there was a meeting arranged.
The apes wisely allowed us to give them five slaves...
from among any healthy humans.
I refuse to recognize that law.
You may seek an exception from the ape commander. None has ever been given.
Would you like a guide to take you to the garrison?
Perhaps later.
Look, uh,
if you must give these humans to the apes,
why do you waste them?
I mean, that ceremony, that...
that man you killed.
I did not kill him. He was punished by the gods.
I don't think I like your gods.
You have no need to. You are not a human.
Fortunately.
I shall remain here until I decide...
what I shall do about your insolence.
I have arranged for you to have your own hut.
You will be treated as an honored guest.
No. No! No!
I don't know what's gonna happen, but I got a feeling I'm not gonna like it.
- No. - By resisting, you only hurt yourself.
Take him to the fields.
- Will you go without fighting? - Go where?
You're to be made ready for the apes.
Not me, buddy. Ain't no way.
It'll do you no good to resist.
Listen, Miro, your only hope is to fight against the gorillas, not with them.
Let us out. We'll fight alongside you.
Cut us loose. And we'll take the first crack at them.
You can join in.
You are not being given to the gorillas for several days.
- Where are you taking us? - To cut logs.
You must be made strong. The gorillas will not accept the weak.
That's like asking a turkey to sharpen the ax before Thanksgiving.
- Take them. - Hey, wait. Wait. Call 'em off.
We'll work.
Thank you, Talia.
Talia!
- I'm leaving on the hunt. - So soon?
I'll be back in a few days.
I'll come back with two, three, four, even five.
Talia, I've never failed on a hunt. I won't fail now.
- Believe me. - I believe you.
I love you.
I love you, Talia.
Miro's going out to hunt humans, isn't he?
- Yes. The meadow people. - Too bad they don't have antlers.
He could have one stuffed for the wall of his den.
Talia, don't you realize that makes you no better than the apes?
Both of you hunt humans and then make them into slaves.
That's not true. We don't take slaves for ourselves.
But it still slaves. Can't you see that's wrong?
You don't understand.
The men taken by the gorillas to run the mines don't live longer than a few months.
The women might last longer, because they just cook and serve.
But they die early too.
That's why we take the meadow people so we don't have to go.
Galen.
- Nicely done. - What took you so long?
Mm.
Uh, thank you.
Oh, no.
Tag.
- You asked to see me? - The gorillas will destroy this village...
when they find out you have imprisoned an ape.
You were freeing the slaves. I'll tell them that, and they know I don't lie.
Oh, they'll never accept the word of a human over that of an ape.
I think they will when they learn you risked your life to save two humans.
No matter what I did, apes cannot be imprisoned by humans. It's unnatural.
It's unnatural for you to be so concerned about your servants.
I'm sorry, but you'll have to remain here under guard...
until the gorillas do come.
- Good morning. - Hello, Talia.
- Does your hand hurt? - Yes. Does that surprise you a lot?
Come on, back off, Pete. It's not her fault.
Yeah, okay.
Hey, Talia, you scratch everything I said, all right?
We're still friends, aren't we?
I mean, uh, you forgive me if we don't shake hands?
Only one.
He should have sent someone who could hunt better than me.
Don't be angry with yourself. No one is better at hunting.
After the first night, Talia, I didn't sleep.
Every day, every night, I hunted.
It must have been something I did wrong.
No, please! No!
I prayed for a good hunt.
Well, you should have prayed for a son who wasn't a failure.
I know he did the best he could.
Tie him off in the... Tie him to the back of the cage!
- Miro! - Is it bad?
It's deep.
Come to the temple. I will pray.
He could die if you don't stop that bleeding fast. Do you know how?
- We pray. - That's not gonna save his life.
- Can you help him? - Yes.
- Come, Miro. - Pray all you want. He'll still bleed to death.
Listen to them, Brun. We know men often die from bleeding.
- No. - Brun?
Please?
Get me a strip of cloth or leather and a stick.
Do as he says and he's got a chance.
Keep on arguing and he's a goner.
Brun, please.
Turn them loose.
All right, bring him over here.
A strip of leather.
The bleeding has stopped.
- I was afraid you would do this. - Afraid?
We're not expecting a round of applause, but the man is saving his life.
A long time ago, men learned that a tight cord...
could stop the bleeding in an arm or a leg.
Better to bleed.
In a day, the arm could grow big, the fever would come.
Men would die crying out in pain.
That's true. That would happen.
But if you loosen the cord from time to time very carefully...
and eventually the bleeding will stop without any swelling or fever.
I will pray that you are right.
All right, let's sit him down. Take it easy.
It'll be an hour or so before a clot forms.
- Move your fingers. How does it feel? - Good.
- Is he all right? - Well, he'll be weak for a while, but he'll be fine.
Thanks to the miracle of ancient medicine.
- Thanks to you. - And the gods. My father prayed.
See how the gods do the next time on their own.
Be careful. The gods are very powerful.
They proved that by what happened to Clim.
Oh, him. Mr. Grateful.
Haven't any other men tried to avoid being taken as slaves?
Yes, a few. Like Clim, they are caught and taken to the temple...
where they are punished by the gods.
Only the leader can walk into the temple and live.
- Someday, Miro will be leader. - No, I won't.
Brun will take his son into the temple,
but Miro will not be struck dead as you or I would.
He will protect Miro while he teaches him the magic known only to the leader.
Someone else. Not me.
You see, the leader must have a wife.
I won't have one.
- Yes, in time. - I'm telling you no, Talia.
I'll have no other woman but you. Not ever.
When the gorillas come, they will take you two and the meadow people.
That's four. This month, I was chosen.
I am the ffth.
Because I failed.
Feeling sorry for yourself is not going to help her very much.
There's nothing I can do.
What would you do if one of the meadow people grabbed Talia and tried to run off with her?
I would stop him. I would kill him.
But a human does not fight apes.
Apes are not going to treat her better than they are.
If you'd stand up to them, why won't you stand up to the apes?
- They're wrong. They don't understand. - You don't understand.
All right, now listen to me.
Men have had to fight for what's important to them since...
Well, for longer than you can imagine.
The only way they've been able to make a decent life for themselves...
is by burying their differences, by banding together.
A human cannot fight apes!
The gods made the apes rulers of men!
- Talia, come! - Miro.
You didn't listen to a word that I said.
You are trying to put lies into my mind.
You are telling me to question everything that has ever been,;
What was meant to be by gods and apes!
You can't reach these people. They just roll over and play dead.
Father.
Miro.
What is it? What... What's wrong?
How soon before the gorillas come?
Today?
- Tomorrow? - Tomorrow.
I want to go in Talia's place.
Miro... you know the law.
Village law. Made by us, not by the apes.
Everyone chosen to go has a wife or a brother or a father...
who would change places if they could.
I want to go for Talia. I don't ask anyone to suffer for me.
I would suffer for you.
No matter what you or I feel, it cannot be.
You would tear down the law. There would be no order.
- You can change the law! - What reason would I give?
Any! None!
- In time, you will change. - I want Talia!
You teach your secret to someone else.
In time, you will change.
Is that a new law?
A very old one. A son will honor his father.
I did honor my father.
And I never stopped loving my son.
Then grant my request.
I cannot.
- Good morning, Ort. - Good morning, Miro.
You're relieved. I will take over until Lurt comes.
Yes, Miro.
The gorillas come tomorrow.
If I set you free...
will you take Talia with you?
Sure. Wait. And Galen.
- The ape? - Or it's no deal.
Well?
All right.
Say nothing to Talia. She'll think I'm going with you.
- Why don't you take her? - That has nothing to do with you.
- Okay. Okay. - Let's go.
Follow me.
- Tag, uh, I'd like to talk to you. - Yes, Miro.
Now the gorillas are coming tomorrow, so what I want you to do is to...
Miro, I don't think you should do this.
Believe me, Talia, I know this is the right thing.
- I know it is. - If you say so.
As long as we're together.
Yes.
You all set? Which way?
Follow this path. Once you're past the stream, you should be safe.
- Okay, good. - You will go through the foothills.
Talia will show you the trail.
No, Miro. You're coming with us.
- Miro, I won't go without you! - If you love me, you'll go.
- No! - Shh! - Take her! Hurry!
- No! - Miro! Miro!
Miro, the slaves are gone. The chimpanzee too.
- Well, call out the hunters. - I have. They're waiting for you.
- I will take them and block the paths. - The paths are already blocked.
And we're closing in. Don't worry. They can't escape.
Good. Follow me.
You promise no noise, no trying to run?
- Can they block every way out? - Yes.
- And then they'll find us. - Talia, now listen to me.
Miro will be in bigger trouble if they find us.
You must know someplace where we can hide.
Our men are great hunters. They know every path and every trail.
Wait a minute. Didn't you say that nobody would ever go into the temple?
Accept for Brun, anyone would be killed by the gods.
- We'll take our chances. - Do you think we should?
Yes, Galen. Do you know how to find it?
Yes, but... I would rather we found another place.
We have no other choice.
Well, all right.
Talia, I know you're afraid of the temple,
but trust me, nothing will happen to you, I promise.
I will go into the temple with you.
- Good girl. - I want to die.
Beautiful.
Talia! Come on, Talia!
Look, I'll... Watch and see.
Look, it's all right, see?
Honest. It's all right. Come on!
Alan. Alan!
Stay here!
It's gas. It's bubbling up behind the altar.
I don't know what kind it was, but it's deadly.
You know, I thought I could smell something.
I didn't know what it was. It was faint, but bitter.
I am sorry. He will die.
- Pete! Pete! - Oh, man.
I'm floating.
Five thousand feet and holding.
All right now, take deep breaths, pal.
- What hit me? - Some kind of poison gas.
How did Brun live? I mean, he was standing right where Pete was standing.
The gods protect the leader.
Yeah, right.
Man, that stuff hit me like a club. Now what?
Well, that temple looks like it's built into the mountain.
There might be a way out back.
What good will that do? There's still the gas.
Well, the temple's the only answer. The way I see it,
either we go in there or flag down some gorilla and ask him to come and get us.
Hey, you remember your chemistry?
It might work, Pete.
- What are you doing? - Some gases are absorbed by crushed charcoal.
Okay. See, we wrap this, uh, crushed charcoal...
into a wet cloth and it acts as sort of a filter.
Really? And you can breathe through that?
Well, we'll find out in a couple of minutes.
- Provided we're not asphyxiated. - All right.
Now hold these over your nose and mouth tight and breathe through them.
- You ready? - Everybody ready?
All right, come on!
No!
No. I think it's all right.
I don't smell the gas in here.
Well, lookee here.
Hey, how about this? An old gas mask.
This is what they worship.
At one time, someone must have discovered that...
- this could keep a man alive around that gas. - Yeah.
It must have seemed like some kind of magic to them.
Their god wears a gas mask.
Their god is a gas mask.
Brun must hold his breath till he gets to here.
Unless he knows another way in.
What's that light up ahead?
- Fresh air. - From the tunnel?
Yeah. What's in here?
Oh, for...
There's that same smell.
It's coming from there.
That's the same stuff from the temple.
The gas is being drawn up through here.
And then collected in these bottles.
This is a do-it-yourself kit for making poison gas bombs.
- What are gas bombs? - Talia, what are these jars used for?
- I have never seen them before. - What are gas bombs?
They're an efficient gadget, Galen.
Instead of killing one person at a time, you can wipe out a whole batch.
- You defy the gods! - Wait! Hold it.
If we defy the gods, how come we are still alive?
Only the wearer of this mask can walk in the temple and not be punished.
Therefore, you will be punished!
This isn't one of your god-given masks.
Now watch.
But how can... How can you?
You are only men.
That's right. Just like you.
But how... how can you walk in the temple with only that and live?
Just as you can with your mask and live.
My mask? It came from the gods!
No. It was made by men when they destroyed other men...
- with gas like this. - You're lying!
Oh, no, he is not lying. He-He knows about such things.
What are you planning to do with these?
When I get enough, I will go to the ape village.
My mask will protect me, but they will be killed.
You can't use this gas. You can't control it.
You can start by killing apes, but you can wipe out the whole planet.
All our lives we have obeyed, begged and crawled...
and gave up those we loved because the apes were strong.
Now the gods have made me strong.
I will free my people!
Not this way. You can't win freedom by destroying the world.
I will teach them to make masks like yours.
We will fight the apes again! The gas will kill them,
but the masks will save our lives.
Man, this poison gas of yours is just the beginning.
Sooner or later, the apes will find their own gas and make their own masks.
Listen to me. Please, listen.
We've been there. We've been all through poison gas...
and germ warfare and atomic bombs.
When you use them, nobody wins.
- Do you side with the apes? - That's not the point.
Fight to stop slavery, all slavery, but not this way.
We will kill only apes.
And we won't stop only in this valley.
You mean you want to kill all apes with this gas?
As long as it won't kill my people,
nothing else matters.
- Galen! - He won't kill my people either.
You certainly picked a classic way to settle an argument.
You think he's going to be fonder of apes when he comes to?
Well, I am not going to wait to find out.
Talia, Galen, get out of here! Through that back tunnel!
- This stuff could blow! - Bombs may be efficient, but I do not like them.
- Where-Where am I? What happened? - You'll be all right, Brun.
Wait!
- No! It can't be destroyed! It can't be destroyed! - Brun! Galen, no!
He's not going to get those bombs!
- Good luck, Talia. - You gonna hand her over to the apes?
No. Even though that's what my father would have wished.
No. No, Miro, not wished.
Your father might have thought it was the only way, but he hated slavery.
- You can be proud of him. - I am not my father. I make my own way.
Which way is that?
I would rather not say in front of him.
I won't repeat anything I hear. My word is as good as yours.
Yes. And all apes are not the same either.
I plan to meet with the meadow people.
Only by banding together and burying our differences...
can we make a new life for ourselves, a decent life.
- You were listening. - We'll lend a hand, Miro.
No. This is our fight.
I don't know if we'll win.
But with the help of the meadow people...
and the people beyond the hills, we can keep fighting.
Men must fight where they have their roots.
So this isn't your fight, just as it isn't his.
I'm not sure it isn't.
I don't like fighting, but I do like you.
Thank you.
- Good luck to you. - Good-bye.