The council meeting was the most dreaded time of the year. It was a time when the most powerful and influential animals of each species gathered to discuss war, peace, requests, and demands. It was a time when tempers were high and tail feathers were higher, when opinions sounded and arguments flared, when heads pounded and ears rang with clatter and clashing. It was a time dreaded by all.

This year would be different.

Two members of every species that walked on or swam around or flew above the miniscule world were to attend, one male representative and one female. This was true except for the Queen Bee who attended alone, claiming, as always, that she needed no male to assist her in defending herself. And naturally the Black Widow came alone also, seeing as she had previously taken care of her male counterpart.

The meeting was held in a clearing in the heart of the Great Forest, out of the watchful eyes and eavesdropping ears of the uninvited.

The chimpanzees held the power in the meeting. Their abilities of reasoning and compromise gave them the highest possibility to maintain order. They possessed enough logical thinking to hear every concern and to do everything possible to fix them. If they could not fix them, the chimpanzees made false promises to keep hopes and spirits high.

The most important of the attendees was Silver, the self-appointed leader of the chimpanzees. He was one of the few born with the Sight—the brainpower to perform advanced cognitive tasks. Just by looking at an animal, he could sense not only the animal and its goals and thought processes, but also its weaknesses, its way of destruction, and its required techniques of inspiration.

He observed a large number of animals that arrived, making note to himself of the issues they wished to discuss. Silver knew that the elephants were there to discuss dwindling water supplies in their homeland, and he also knew that there was nothing he could do to help them. He concocted a string of reassuring lies he could tell them to keep the peace. The crows and the ravens were present with similar concerns. The crows were there to complain about the common misconception that they were ravens, and the ravens were there to establish once and for all that they were not crows. Silver was not sure that the minimal mental capacity of the other animals would allow to distinguish between the two. He spotted the butterflies on a flower; their radiance would burn the eyes of any less developed than he. He observed the crocodiles and alligators, as he was one of the few who could spot the difference. He heard the cheerful chatter of the dolphins in the water, simply overjoyed to be there. He watched the kangaroo beaming with pride as she turned side to side, showing off her new young one. He witnessed the two worms, who despite all the ruckus, still managed to continue on with their job, so determined that nothing could faze them. He studied the mosquitoes, the most hated of the animals present, who attended only for the mere reason of a free feast.

Silver looked to his left and observed his second in command approaching. “Spirit,” Silver greeted him, “is everything well?”

Spirit walked over and stood next to his leader, scanning the crowd; Spirit also possessed the Sight. “Yes, master. The subject is in place. We can only hope for the best now,” Spirit replied with a firm nod of his head.

Silver gazed up at the sky, and then looked over at Spirit, his Sight allowing him to observe Spirit's true concealed emotions; his comrade was concerned. “Spirit, hope gets us nowhere. We have done all that we can do, and everything will work out as we have planned.” Silver was sure.

He dismissed Spirit with a slight wave, indicating that he wished to be alone, but his solitude did not last. He felt the brush of another sit next to him, and he could tell by her scent that it was Amber. She typically carried herself with poise and confidence, but Silver sensed a hint of uncertainty within her.

“It will go well,” he told her.

“Everything is riding on this Silver,” Amber responded without looking at him, “Our entire future. Have we considered the possibilities?”

“We have considered everything. The only thing left is action,” he replied. He refused to let doubt cloud his judgment. He needed his mind to be sharp and alert, open to anything, even when it was his queen who was unwillingly putting these thoughts in his mind.

“The time is soon,” she reminded him, “two solar minutes or less.” She held her fingers to the sun, measuring as she said this. She then backed away a small length, allowing Silver to address Spirit who had returned.

“Shall we gather them?” Spirit asked his leader. Silver nodded and stood.

As he had done for many years, Silver clasped his hands around his mouth and made a loud calling sound, and every animal in attendance swarmed to be the nearest to the stage. Silver then vaulted off of his perch and walked to the center of the stage, the vines of hundreds of trees angled perfectly above him to cast shadow everywhere except where he stood, assuring that it was he who held attention. He stood and motioned to Spirit, who then led the entire chimpanzee population onto the darkened back of the stage behind Silver, backing him through the whole process. It reassured him knowing that his family stood by him no matter what would happen.

He shook his head, clearing the thoughts from his mind. He could not let doubt cloud his judgment. They had all worked too hard.

“Fellow animals, rulers of the world, keepers of peace and justice. I, Silver, the spokesperson for the chimpanzees stand before you with open ears, ready to bear your sorrows and assist in any way that is possible for me to do so. As you well know, it is customary that the first order of business is the Hearing of Concerns, in which the chimpanzee council shall address the issues that you bring to the stage. However, I stand before you as the leader of this council meeting, and I ask of you to keep your minds, no matter how narrow they may be, open for a brief amount of change.

“I have every intention of hearing your concerns,” Silver continued, “but we have a task we must address before I can do so.

“There is an introduction that must be made, my fellow rulers, an introduction that may change the course of our existence as it is known. You see, my species and I have a creation we must introduce to you. We can finally reveal to you something to which we have dedicated not only our lives but also the lives of the great chimpanzees who have lived before us. We have finally completed and perfected our task, and we would like to introduce you to it.”

Silver motioned to a group of chimpanzees who then pushed three logs of different heights to the ground in front of the stage, making stairs leading up onto the stage. Silver then moved out of the sunspot and allowed the chimpanzees to pull back a vine curtain that revealed a continuation of the stairs. These stairs led to their creation.

The leader of the chimpanzees began ascending the stairs, followed by the chimpanzee population and the leaders of every other species on earth. He knew now that there was no turning back. He was ready.

Silver climbed the stairs, feeling the presence of Spirit directly behind him, and Amber directly behind Spirit. Their positive thoughts radiated to him through his Sight, and yet their nerves channeled to him as well. He could sense the nerves and curiosity of every animal in attendance, and he realized for the first time that every species on earth was united in that very moment, united by the feelings of fear and wonder. It was comforting to know that in a time of such change, peace could exist in just a single moment.

Yet it was also discomforting to know that this could change within an instant.

Silver reached the top of the stairs, and entered the room he knew all too well. He had spent the majority of his entire life in this room, studying and creating and destroying and testing and retesting and preparing for this very moment. He walked to the end of the room around the large pit in the center of the room, allowing for the other animals to fit inside. Silver stood at the far end of the pit, and watched his fellow leaders huddle around and stare down the pit in wonder. He knew that the pit was empty, at least until he commanded it not to be.

Silver waited until the excitement calmed down, and then took a deep breath to relax himself. His life had been leading up to this moment. He could finally reveal the chimpanzees' creation and introduce it to the world. Silver glanced down into the pit and raised his hand. It was time. The floor of the pit opened, revealing a table on which their creation lay.

The table rose slowly and Silver glanced around the room, gauging the reactions of the animals around him. He then stared at the table. The subject was covered in wires, hands and feet grasped firmly within iron cuffs. It was squirming as it always did, red eyes glowing with knowledge and power. It did not seem fazed by all of the eyes staring at it, because eyes were all that it had ever known. The further the table rose, the more the subject seemed to move, attempting to break free of its restraints. The table then righted itself, leaving the subject hanging from the metal cuffs on its hands. The subject looked around curiously, taking in its surroundings and registering with its Sight the reactions of the animals in the room. This creature had Sight more powerful than anything. It could see things Silver could only dream of.

After its scan around the room, the subject's red eyes settled on Silver, staring holes into the leader's soul. It smiled a wicked smile, finally knowing what its purpose was. It was perfected. The subject was their idea, their project, their creation, and now their destroyer.

“I am man,” the subject said, “and I shall rule you all.”