1

GATHERING CLOUDS

 ‘The ‘Great Leader’ Has Doubts.’

Lanang eyed the others and wondered if they would win; it had been a long time since he had said to his friends they should stand up for what is right. However, it was too late now to back out of this mission. In the darkness Lanang looked into the wide open eyes of his friends and felt their total trust in him.

  All was still. It was the well-known calm before the coming storm. 

 ‘They look so innocent...’ Lanang took his mind back to when it all began…like some other life…

‘The Phantom Agents!’

The future leader watched television with the Dayak boy Aladdin. Soldiers with netted motorcycle helmets and samurai swords were jumping out of a big station wagon. They were modern day ninjas who were the good guys. These fighters for goodness were using star-shaped knives hidden up the sleeves of their leather jackets to attack black clothed gunmen who had tied up innocent people in a factory. The hostages could only be freed if the kidnappers were given money. 

“What’s this show?” signed Lanang.

“Phantom Agents.” signalled Aladdin. “It’s a Japanese children’s show from the 1960s.”

“They look like they’re wearing pineapples on their heads!” Lanang laughed as he waved his hands while signalling with them. “I like the moon badges on the front of their helmets!”

“The leader is called Phanta. Each phantom agent is named after a phase of the moon. There’s even a female Phantom Agent and her name is Margo. They are all fighting members of an evil group called the Black Flag.” said Aladdin who moved his hands very quickly.

The orangutan also liked the star knives; he copied the action of using them by rubbing the palm of his hand in quick strokes over his other palm.

 Aladdin laughed. “That’s good! I guess you have the best hands for it! You should show the others!”

‘I should!’ thought Lanang.

The evil gunmen did not know where the star knives were coming from - as the phantom agents had hidden themselves very well in the factory - so they were not sure where to shoot. One by one the gunmen were wounded. 

The bad guys were also jumped on from above by the good guys who could climb along the ceiling beams.

Lanang saw the phantom agents tried hard not to kill anyone; it was seen as a last choice to use a gun - only to be done if there really was nothing else to do. ‘Life is important.’

There was a surprise attack by other phantom agents who had been hiding behind a big cloth with a brick pattern so they could not be seen against a brick factory wall.

The last bad men ran off scared – thinking ghosts had been against them! The hurt criminals who could not escape were caught and tied together with a big rope. The other criminals would be found later as the Phantom Agents already knew the whereabouts of their hideout.

 All the kidnappers would be going to court to face prison when they were proven guilty of their wrongdoings.

The freed hostages with big smiles on their faces thanked their heroes.

 ‘A Special Friendship’

Aladdin turned the television off. Pointed to a fruit bowl. “You want a banana?”

Lanang nodded.

After handing over the banana Aladdin looked out of a window.  The boy lived with his parents and sister on the edge of a Borneo rainforest.

 It was very hot but with a heavy blanket of clouds above it looked as if it was about to rain.

 “I think you might get wet going home.” stated Aladdin.

 Lanang eyed the grey sky. He knew to stay dry by keeping under the thick high brush of the trees. Lanang waved his hand at Aladdin to signal there would be no problem.

“I guess you know the rainforest better than me.” Aladdin smiled.

Lanang went down a ladder outside the longhouse that was set on high thin stilts.

Aladdin said goodbye to his best friend as he watched him go into the thick rainforest. Lanang cheerfully waved back.

The two teenagers knew each other very well. It was a special friendship.

The Killing Of Lanang’s Mother

When Lanang was still a boy his mother had been shot and killed by two bad men. Lanang could still remember his mother pushing him into the thick branches of the next tree just before her big body fell onto the rainforest floor. Lanang saw two men with a brown sack run up to his mother who was crying. Lanang wanted to jump to be with her. Yet, he knew what he had to do; his mother was very ‘jungle wise’ and had readied Lanang for this awful moment. Sadly, she knew one day it would come.

Lanang was told to stay well-hidden and to not make a sound. The bad men would kill her and go after him. They wanted him alive. She wasn’t sure why but young orangutans meant a lot to these evil men.

 Lanang’s mother was like all orangutan mothers who would protect their babies even if it meant their own deaths.

Lanang’s mother when she was only a girl herself had seen from the edge of a clearing some other baby orangutans placed in a wooden box. It had been put on the back of a truck that had driven away. Lanang’s mother with her mother had then seen the fly covered bodies of several dead mothers on the brush floor of the rainforest. What made this fearful scene even worse was that some of these dead mothers had missing body parts.

“A cut-up body is truly terrible to see...” Lanang’s mother had stated with tears welling up in her eyes as this childhood nightmare was remembered.

Lanang’s mother had cuddled tightly to her mother while they saw the bullet holes in the bodies of the dead mothers; both had wondered about the loud bangs and the screams that had led them to come over to this part of the rainforest. Alas it was to do with this mass killing of their kind.

 After seeing all this senseless death mother and daughter had then gone deep inside the rainforest to make sure no men could hurt them. Yet, as the years passed and Lanang’s mother grew up to have her own child she noticed that what had once been the heart of the rainforest was now itself becoming an edge. The rainforest was being cut down. The evil day would come when it would be impossible to hide.

‘Lanang Outsmarts The Kidnappers.’

That evil day had come.

Lanang’s dying mother lay on her back. Her crying had stopped. She was breathing heavily. With her head slightly tilted she was looking wide-eyed up at the trees to see her son. Her eyebrows moved up and down ever so slightly signalling to Lanang to stay hidden. As much as it went against every sense of loyalty in his young body Lanang obeyed his mother. In Lanang’s hand was a small hard fruit which he had wanted to throw at the two men who now poked his mother with their rifles. They had expected to find Lanang in her arms.

When it was clear the young orangutan was not on the ground the two men looked up a tree. They were smiling as well as yelling for Lanang to come down. One of the men took out a banana from a daypack and waved it skywards. However, Lanang’s ‘friends’ were looking up the wrong tree. Lanang was now in the next one and knew the two men could not see him. Although only the sides of the faces of these two murderers could be seen Lanang knew he would always remember what they looked like. Both men were very fit; one man was tall with a thick moustache while the other was slightly shorter with a deep scar on the right side of his face and a black eye patch over his right eye. It looked as if a jungle tiger had scratched him.

 It was clear to this clever primate child that these two men who thought they could surely find him could really only guess as to where he was. Lanang’s mother also knew this and knowing her son would be safe she let go of her last breath.

The man with the big moustache looked down at Lanang’s mother. He kicked her to be sure she was dead. He then looked up at the trees and then kicked her again. Again. Again. The man was hoping Lanang would get very angry and in some way give away where he was hiding.

Nothing.

Both men stopped smiling. The banana was thrown onto the ground and the rifles were raised. Lanang kept his cool. He stayed perfectly still.

After a few minutes of this ‘jungle stand-off’ the two men started to angrily shout.

BANG! A rifle shot.

BANG! Another shot from the other rifle.

The bullets whizzed harmlessly by Lanang. Although the two murderous kidnappers were trying to scare him so he would show where he was they would not have been too worried if they had killed him. There would always be other young orang utans they could steal from their mothers. Thankfully, Lanang was not harmed and he was brave enough to keep hiding. The two men angrily shouted again and then suddenly stopped. Looking back at Lanang’s mother they cut off a hand with a big long knife then walked away. “We may get a good price for this off a stupid tourist at the market.”

‘Lanang Pays His Last Respects.’

Lanang stayed in the tree for many hours; looking down all that time at his dear dead, mother who now only had one hand. He did not cry. He was silent. He was not scared. He was angry. He wanted to hurt these men for killing his mother.  However, for now his love for his mother was so great he did what he had to do to stay free – for her sake. His mother had told him that the men would pretend that they had gone away and then grab him when he came down to her dead body. It was true. After half an hour the two men had suddenly come out of nowhere to have another look up the wrong tree. They even checked the banana and saw that it had not been touched.  “Too bad.” said one of the men as he put the banana back into his daypack next to a medical kit with needles. “The sleeping mixture we stabbed into this banana would have worked so well.” 

The nasty men went away. Lanang would wait until nightfall before climbing down. His mother had told him to get away from the death scene as quickly as possible but Lanang had to touch his mother one more time. She was brave. He wanted to ‘feel’ her spirit. He wanted her spirit to be his spirit too. Luckily, no large animal like a tiger had come along to bite pieces out of his mother. It was also a good thing no other of his kind had come along to face being attacked.

 ‘A Very Sad Orangutan Boy Has An Accident.’

Later, in the distance, there were rifle shots and Lanang feared other orangutans may have been killed or kidnapped.  

Night. A full moon was shining as Lanang quietly climbed down from his ‘tree of life’ and hugged his mother. He slept. In the morning, heartbroken, Lanang left his mother where she lay after covering her body with a few leaves, twigs and small branches. The sad son went into the rainforest to find food. Even though he didn’t feel like eating it was what his mother would have wanted him to do.  Lanang was nearly eight years old and soon he would have left his mother to start his own life. Lanang had never known his father and so his mother had taught him how to make his daily sleeping nest as well as showing him the hundreds of fruits and plants which could be used for food, tools and medicine.

Lanang would get by but losing his mother left him very sad. The will to live was not really there and again it was only out of love for his mother that he went on with life. This sad state of mind explained the careless way Lanang moved across the top of the forest. This unhappy primate would not always check that the next vine he would use to carry his growing body could hold his weight. Thus, to his great shock, Lanang one day fell out of the trees when the vine he was swinging on had snapped. Landing on top of a bush softened Lanang’s fall but his foot had banged against its strong trunk to badly hurt his ankle. Lanang had enough sense to climb to the top of the bush to keep away from any big animal that may want him for lunch. Orangutans had learnt over thousands of years that the higher up they were the less chance they could be hunted and eaten. The pain in his ankle was so bad he could not climb back up to the rainforest roof until the aching had stopped.

 ‘Lanang Is Adopted By Mr Aladdin’s Family.’

A loud noise. ‘Oh no! Could be a tiger!’ Lanang couldn’t climb up a small tree next to him as the pain in his ankle was too great. “I’m done for!” His fear grew when he saw the threat was far worse than a tiger: a human boy and man were coming towards him.

 “LOOK father!” pointed the boy. “A hurt orangutan!”

 Lanang was holding his leg; the frightened look on his face made it clear he was in trouble.

 “Wait here Aladdin,” stated the father. “No need to be scared lad,” kindly said the father to Lanang. “I’m not going to hurt you.”  Unluckily for Aladdin’s father despite the calm tone in his voice an immovable Lanang could only think of defending himself: he tried to poke the father’s eyes with a long stick.

“NOW! NOW!” laughed Aladdin’s father. “I’m no giant who is going to eat you!” Although Lanang was trying to blind him the father well understood why the young orang utan thought that a human being could not be trusted. “Aladdin! Come over here!”

“Yes, father?”

“This brave warrior won’t let me come any closer. You’re much smaller than me. So, you are not as scary. Boys will be boys so they say. Sit here and just smile at him. Let him feel he can relax. I’m going back to the house to bring some cream for his leg.”

Lanang saw the man walk away and watched the boy sit down near him and smile. ‘What were they up too – these tricky humans?’ Maybe he was meant to keep looking at the boy so the man could more easily catch him from behind. Lanang quickly turned his head - and half his body around with it - but could see nobody.

‘OUCH!’ His quick body movement increased the pain.

‘OH NO!’ Lanang could feel the boy’s hand on his hand! Lanang had let down his guard and dropped his stick to grab his sore ankle.

The boy now had his hand on top of Lanang’s hand and it could only mean he would be grabbed from the bush to be taken prisoner.  

Lanang was about to pull the boy’s hand away with his free hand but his sixth sense suddenly told him there would be no need. To this day Lanang is not sure what stopped him from smashing Aladdin’s hand to then punch the boy in the face but he did notice that the boy had softly put his hand on top of his hand; as if to gently say that he did care about Lanang.

The hurt orang utan took a big chance and let Aladdin hold his hand. It felt kind. Lanang calmed down. Maybe he wouldn’t be dragged off to a cage. The man came back and Lanang could see that he had a small white tube in his hand and from it came a smell of the cream which to Lanang was much the same as the ‘bush medicine’ he would use. ‘Were these humans actually going to help him?’ It seemed unthinkable. Yet, it was true! The father rubbed the cream on Lanang’s ankle to help soothe the pain.  Trust had replaced mistrust so Lanang ‘allowed’ the man and boy to take him back to their home where they could bandage his hurt ankle. Lanang met the mother and Calypso who was Aladdin’s younger sister. The family would take care of Lanang until his ankle was well again.

‘Mr Aladdin The Learned Scholar.’

“Our little Odysseus.” joked the father. This poor Dayak farmer had no proper schooling but when the missionaries arrived they had taught him to read and write by using the Holy Bible and books by some of the world’s great writers. (Odysseus was an old Greek hero who had many adventures in his ten years of travel to go back home to his island Ithaca after a big war at a far-away place across the seas called Troy had ended; his eventful journey was recorded by an old Greek poet named Homer). The missionaries were now gone but only to be replaced by businessmen who wanted to make money by cutting down the rainforest until it would be no more. The tribal people - along with the rainforest and all the animals in it - also faced losing everything. Thus, Lanang was amongst friends who saw him as someone that was also suffering from the disasters that had befallen the land.

 ‘What The Dayaks Believe.’

As animists the Dayak Iban people believed a strong life spirit or semengut was within all humans, animals and plants. All life was to be cared for. Thus, the damage that was happening to plants, animals and people was sickening the very soul of the planet. These former head hunters believed where they lived was very special. What lay beyond the land of the Dayaks was only disorder which had to be kept away as it was full of evil.

The Dayaks worshipped the Sun known as Mahatala for it was the male part of the Supreme Being who ruled over them while an Underworld known as Jata was the female half of their God. The Dayaks knew Jata as a water snake that circled itself around biting its tail so as to make a sacred mandala which was a special symbol. (It was even believed the land of the Dayaks was on the back of the watersnake).  Jata lay on the waters running between the Upperworld and the Underworld.

The symbol for the land was a snake while a hornbill bird was a symbol for the sky which was also deeply respected.

From the tops of sacred mountains the Dayaks worshipped the Supreme Being who made the world from the Sun and Moon. The End Days would be due to human failings. It was easy to believe that while the rainforest was still logged the world would soon be no more. After the universe had disappeared only a young woman would be left and - hidden in a rock or tree - she would represent the underworld.

‘Lanang Learns About The Dayak World.’

Lanang would wonder if this mystery woman was a symbol of life that could once again come out from inside the earth. ‘Who was to say...’ Lanang hopefully thought ‘...that she be a wise female orangutan like my mother? In that case she will hide in a tree!’

It was Aladdin who explained the Dayak beliefs to Lanang. The young orangutan could also easily believe in a hell world outside where the Dayaks lived; as it seemed this is where evil men came from to destroy the special land of the Dayaks and the orangutans.

Lanang was also interested to learn that after the body’s death a Dayak soul would go on a boat; to drift along a river, that peacefully took the dead person to the Upperworld.

  Some orangutans had learnt to paddle with canoes by watching the humans travel this way on the waterways; so Lanang now thought: ‘I must try to save the rainforest which is heaven on earth!’

 ‘Mr Aladdin Remembers A Very Sad Orphan.’

The father had much kindness for Lanang for when he was a young man he had come across an orphan boy orangutan holding a stick at a small animal help centre. For his own safety the orangutan was in a wire cage as it was feared if this mentally damaged primate went outside he would hurt himself.

The young Dayak man was amazed to see a kind monkey befriend the sad orphan and give him some seeds to eat and keep him company. There was a true care being shown here and it was needed as the young orangutan kept wildly rocking his whole body back and forth in a highly scared way. Clearly this child had never been held for long in the loving arms of his mother who had surely been killed by kidnappers who had wanted to sell him to be a pet.

Mr Aladdin had come close to the unhappy primate who stopped rocking his body. With the red-brown trace in his mainly black hair the young Mr Aladdin understood that the boy orangutan had in his sadness seen him as a father figure. Standing so close to him the ‘father’ saw that his ‘son’ was a little happy. The young Mr Aladdin had to go home but after moving two steps away from the cage the loudest sad crying sound came out of the young male orangutan’s mouth. Mr Aladdin was shocked by this loud sad shout as he thought orangutans were normally quiet. Two steps back to the son. Peace. Two steps away. Screaming. Two steps back. Perfect silence. Two steps away. Crying. Two steps back. Calmness…

Many minutes passed...still no crying.

Mr Aladdin mentally toughened himself. He had to go home or his parents would be very worried. Nightfall was fast approaching. ‘Trust my luck there are no other visitors around.’  Mr Aladdin took a deep breath and walked away from the upset orangutan who sensed something was not right: he stretched out his hand through the thin wire cage to grab his new ‘father.’ Tears. Such crying was too hard to watch let alone listen too. Mr Aladdin walked firmly straight ahead to reach the exit of the animal help centre that was only manned by a couple of government rangers. (It seemed the few orangutans in this centre were only kept here until they could be moved to a larger friendlier place).

Mr Aladdin could never forget the heartbreaking crying of this young male orangutan whom he had ‘left behind’. As the caring teenager walked down the road outside the young orangutan’s loud crying drifted down to him. It was very sad and the boy was very upset.

Meeting Lanang would help Mr Aladdin the man to find a sort of personal happy end to help him get over what was a sad boyhood memory. Although humans hurting orangutans was not of his making Mr Aladdin did feel he should do more to have all people make the government stop this wrong doing. “We must save the orangutans and the rainforest!” Mr Aladdin would shake his head in sadness. “Why is the human race so stupid! So crazy! So bad! All of us must help the orangutans!”

‘Lanang Enjoys His Stay With The Family’

Lanang was well taken care for by the family and so was enjoying his rest. The one day that this hurt young orangutan thought he would only stay turned into one week and the week turned into a whole month before he finally thought to return to the rainforest. Lanang liked the delicious food especially made for him which he was given, the very comfortable bed he was sleeping in, all the loving attention he was getting and he was surely enjoying Aladdin’s enjoyable company. Aladdin’s mother was very caring to Lanang. Calypso would be very cheeky - both to Lanang and Aladdin – which helped raise the low spirits of her new ‘little brother’. Mr. Aladdin would also give both Lanang and Aladdin simple sign-language lessons so they could talk with each other. In what was the first time for Lanang to see a computer Mr Aladdin showed both his students – Lanang and Calypso - a video of a deaf girl and an orangutan talking to each other over the internet by using sign language. The orangutan told the girl how sad it was that the rainforest the orangutans lived in was being destroyed. It brought on body pain not to Lanang’s ankle but to his heart.  As for the ankle it was alright after twenty-four hours but Lanang pretended to be in pain for a few more days. Orangutans were known to be the deep thinkers of the jungle but along with being very smart and wise, they also had a cheeky sense-of-humour so Lanang was in a friendly way making most of the surprising chance to enjoy ‘five-star hotel service’.

Unlucky Sad Orangutans

Lanang was a welcome guest of the family who could freely leave whenever he wanted too unlike the unlucky orangutans sold to be playthings who with bad owners were trapped like prisoners being chained up or put in cages or were not fed well, to live sad lives and to even die while still hoping for someone to rescue them.

Lucky Sad Lanang.

Yes, luckily for Lanang he was living the good life with this human family. It was very interesting for Lanang as he had become a loner who did not mix too well with other orangutans. Young orangutans are known to quickly get over any hurtful event which well displays their mental strength but with Lanang there was never this sense of a full return to happiness. He was friendly enough and there were four or five orangutans he could count on as good friends but always this big sadness would overcome him that made him feel better to be on his own for a few days. It was during such a ‘sad time’ that Lanang’s accident had happened. However, with Aladdin he could be friends especially when there was no need to always have to talk.

‘Lanang And Aladdin Learn To Talk To Each Other.’

Although these two friends belonged to different species they were of like mind. With that said Lanang was amazed that Aladdin’s mind could not send mind messages as Lanang’s orangutan telepathy was very developed; the young orangutan also found it strange that human language (Aladdin practiced speaking in English to Lanang while Mr Aladdin would try out his Latin) was simple compared to the highly advanced speech of his species; it would have surprised Lanang if he ever found out how humans considered his ‘no-word sounds’ as ‘primitive’.

“Same, same but different.” was a common saying which Lanang and Aladdin would use to talk about their special friendship; they were developing ways to understand each other using different hand signs and sounds which looked confusing to outsiders but which to these two were nothing special.

Lanang had no problem using the many hand signs shown to him and Aladdin learnt the different tones of Lanang’s voice to the point that he understood that a long sound maybe a noise of happiness while a short loud yell was a spoken sign of disapproval. It was all a matter of common sense really. Lanang found it suited him very well that he could just pretend that he did not understand what Aladdin was saying if he wanted to be left alone and Aladdin was not offended when this happened; when he wanted company Aladdin was always there to be his friend.

Lanang Kindly Treats His Human Hosts As Equals.’

Lanang’s higher moral sense always made sure that he would not treat Aladdin and the other humans of this family as ‘pets’ but as equals. After all, Lanang was thankful of the kindness the family had showed towards him. An older wiser orangutan male named Bapoo who Lanang had gained some ‘fatherly advice’ had once told him let people think you are stupid because then they will show their true ways to you; meaning that people would often make fun of you because of your ‘stupidity’; while on the other hand a person could be pleasantly surprised by the good nature of people who will still be nice just like Aladdin and his family were very caring towards Lanang. There had also been the ‘fatherly’ advise to ‘always be polite to people’ and so this smart orangutan also acted in a thankful way when his human hosts passed on knowledge to him. Mr Aladdin would tell Lanang that malaria came from mosquitoes but Lanang already knew this and to use rainforest medicines for this terrible illness. Still, Lanang would act surprised and thanked Mr Aladdin with open hands for passing on this important medical fact.

 ‘A New Family Member.’

Although Lanang did finally leave after a one month stay he had become such a part of the family he would visit as he pleased. Lanang was always welcome to stay overnight or longer if he wished. So many years had gone by and here again was the passing of another afternoon at Aladdin’s place; but this time Lanang had watched Phantom Agents and this time his whole life was about to change. ‘Tell the others.’ Aladdin had said and Lanang couldn’t get the idea out of his head. ‘Why not tell the others? Why couldn’t they be Phantom Agents? Why not indeed!’

 ‘Lanang Wants To Act On His Fantastic Idea.’

“WHAT A RIDICULOUS IDEA!” joked one of the three elderly leaders of Lanang’s tribe. These wise, old male orangutans had adopted Lanang soon after his mother’s death.

“You watch too many human television shows! You stupid silly thing!” The tall tree the three Elders and Lanang were in started to shake from the laughter of these adult male leaders who each had the strength of ten humans; for deep down in their hearts they very much liked Lanang.

“There’s no need for such a commando group anyway! The homo sapiens have left us alone for a long time now. We have your first idea to thank for that.”

‘Orangutan Neighbourhood Watch’.

Although the valley’s very steep slopes had up to now kept the loggers away there was still the threat of kidnappers. Lanang had organised a ‘neighbourhood watch’ with everyone keeping an eye out for any humans with guns entering into their tribal land. The orangutans lived in a valley where the ‘bottlenecks’ at both ends could be easily watched. Turns were taken to always have two orangutans on lookout with one on either valley entrance. Whenever a poacher was sighted by an orangutan he or she would blow on a leaf to warn everyone. Orangutan groups would quickly move into parts of the rainforest that were too difficult for human beings to walk into due to the very thick floor vegetation. After three times when poachers could not spot any orangutans in this rainforest valley they had not come back. It was believed by the tribe that these dangerous humans thought there were no orangutans in the valley.

 ‘A Young Primatologist Amuses The Orang Utans.’

One time the leaf whistle was given off for a totally different reason: a young new scientist who studied primates had wandered into the valley.  He would amuse the orangutans as they watched him lie down in the wet mud ground of the rainforest.  It seemed he was trying to hide from the orangutans but unknown to him orangutans from a whole tribe were studying him from their own hiding spots.

The man in the mud had a little black box which he put to his eye; apart from a loud click sound this ‘secret weapon’ was not causing any harm; what was amazing was the small paper square that would come out of the box after every click.

Worry quickly turned to curiousity and it was Lanang who was the first to go up to the very surprised primatologist. An exchange of sign language occurred but Lanang found it frustrating that the range of words that the human could rely on was limited. “Hello...yes I can say HELLO!” A sigh. ‘It’s like talking to a child...’

The primatologist suddenly aimed the black box at Lanang and pressed a button. He then waved to Lanang to come over and look at the wet square he was shaking to dry. Lanang was amazed to see himself! 

The now very welcoming host took out a ‘harmonica leaf’ from behind his ear so he could make a loud rough sound; it was the signal for all the others to come out of the jungle and say hello to their visitor.

Everyone was interested in the Polaroid camera and the primatologist soon found himself taking a few group shots. He even showed his new friends how to operate it which of course they quickly learnt. As these orangutans were well mannered the human was politely offered jungle juice and fruit. The orangutans overlooked how the primate scientist crinkled up the leaf handed to him even though it was meant to be used as a napkin; they understood humans still had a long way to go to be as smart as them. However, after being shown a leaf harmonica the primate scientist played on it for his new friends a recital of Old Man River (retitled as Old OrangUtan River) as a goodbye.

‘It Is Hoped Lanang’s Idea Improves The Young.’

“What do you think of Lanang’s idea?” remarked the First Elder to the other two Elders. It had been decided to have a private meeting.

“I think it is a total waste of time except for one thing...” replied the Second Elder.”

“What may that be?” inquired the Third Elder.

“These young ones need discipline.” grunted the Second Elder echoing the unending complaint that the old always made of the young.

“Yes! I agree!” The Third Elder slammed his hand on his knee to make clear his total agreement. “The other day there was a whole gang of boys screaming and laughing while madly swinging on the vines. I nearly had a heart attack they were making so much noise! I even thought my mid-life crisis was going to come back!” snorted the Elder. “These idiots like to swing down on vines that are about to break but just before they do - switch to a good vine! Lucky no one has been killed! Fun they call it!”  

“My sister was complaining that she had a nephew come and visit her and the first thing he did when he turned up was grab a banana without asking!” complained the Second Elder. “This nephew was staying over for a few days and each night he just slept in the same nest! Even babies know to put a fresh leaf over their heads when it rains! It did not bother him that insects were coming into the nest! He just would not make a fresh insect-free nest every night! Very lazy and unhealthy! The young don’t know the meaning of the word work! We can cover up to ten kilometres a day to gather food but this lot would be lucky to cover ten millimetres! All these kids want to do is swing around! ‘Swingniks’ – that’s what I call them! Generation R for rude is a label which also suits!”

“Yes! Bad manners are all they know!” growled the First Elder. “They are very immature! We have to keep these disrespectful young ones off the vines!”

“Lanang’s idea is crazy but it would be good to teach the younger generation to learn some life skills that will improve their moral fibre!” said the Second Elder.

“It’s agreed.” stated the First Elder. “We’ll let Lanang go ahead with his ridiculous commando unit. We’ll humour him and say it is a great idea. If the younger generation start to behave then that’s all the success we can really expect. If nothing else I’m sure we will be entertained!” The Elders laughed so hard that the tree shook.

‘The Reincarnation Project.’

“He would be a good candidate – wouldn’t he?” suggested the First Elder when the laughing session had finally stopped. “Yes he would...” agreed the other Elders who could all see Lanang in a faraway tree putting up a banana leaf roof. It was noticed how good he was in tying up the branches to make a solid frame for the large leaves to rest on; if there was rain it was certain there would be no leaks. “Hmmm...he might turn out to be like Michelangelo...”

Long ago a scheme had been worked out by orangutans to learn more about the mysterious ways of humanity as well as to try to have a good effect on human history. The basic plan went along the lines that an orangutan would be selected and prepared over time both mentally and spiritually so at the point of natural death their spirit would enter into human shape and live one human life. At the end of this ‘study exercise’ the orangutan would return to the rainforest in the next life and tell all. So, it is funny to think how human art historians do not know the real source of Michelangelo’s very different building supports. that allowed him to paint the Sistine Ceiling; visit to any tropical rainforest with its many interconnecting series of vines and branches along its rooftop would show straight away where he got the idea from. There was also a calm-minded Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius whose philosophical book Meditations liked by many humans to this day had clearly come about from an earlier life spent in silent thought living up a rainforest tree.

Reincarnate orangutans always had red hair but they would sometimes change the colour to avoid being found out by humans; one thing which could never be covered up was their generosity, helpfulness, compassion, humility, good humour, inventiveness, advanced creativity and originality, sense of adventure, off-beat solution solving and high intelligence.

 ‘The Charles Darwin Controversy.’

The strange thing was that when an orangutan returned to the rainforest in the next life and was asked about the human species more often than not the reincarnate would keep silent. Not a word would be spoken! It was very frustrating for the other orangutans – especially for the Elders who along with the tribal shaman had put in a lot of their spiritual energy to make the rebirth possible. It was usually thought that something had gone wrong and another reincarnation would take place to make up for it. Most of the reincarnates kept quiet as they found the human species often very crazy and if this raw fact was told the reincarnates feared they would be tossed out forever from the tribe or cursed or become a laughing stock. It was better the orangutans knew nothing rather than be told the terrible truth of the stupidity that made up most of human history. (So much so that the good in humanity often seemed outweighed by so much that was bad).

 A case in point was an orangutan who returned at the time Charles Darwin had just written Origin of the Species. This orangutan reincarnate was too frightened to mention that human beings believed that they were on top of the evolutionary tree when it was plain to see that orangutans followed by mountain gorillas had top billing while human beings would have to fight it out with the chimpanzees, gibbons, spider monkeys and perhaps even with the baboons for the next place on the evolutionary scale.

 ‘Human Ignorance Angers The First Elder.’

A very recent reincarnate was also too scared to mention that primatologists believed that orangutans only had the intelligence level of a five year old human child. It was secretly mentioned in passing to the First Elder whose booming voice was not so secret as it could be heard throughout the whole rainforest valley: “WHAT!!!? A FIVE YEAR OLD! EUREKA! WE WHO CAN SELECT UP TO FOUR HUNDRED DIFFERENT TYPES OF RAINFOREST VEGETATION ON ANY GIVEN DAY!!!? WHO CAN IMAGINE IN OUR MINDS HOW TO PLAN AHEAD TO GO THROUGH A RAINFOREST AND NEVER GET LOST! HOW MANY HUMAN FIVE YEAR OLDS CAN DO THAT!!!? WE WHO GAVE THE WORLD THE SISTINE CEILING, MIND BODY MEDITATION AND THE THEORY OF RELATIVITY?!!! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!!!”  Thus, one can understand why reincarnates were afraid to speak up. Yet, the Reincarnation Project continues to this day.

‘Lanang The Student Of Human History.’

It was not the next life Lanang was interested in but this life. Having gained the approval from the Elders Lanang wasted no time to have a commando group that could fight back when bad humans hurt orangutans. Lanang knew he could also count on the support of good humans such as Aladdin, as Lanang had learnt not all humans were evil; in fact, it seemed most human beings were good which made it even more strange for Lanang to understand – as he watched the news - why a few bad human beings were allowed to cause so much harm not only to the rainforest but to the whole world. This interested orangutan was now not only watching Phantom Agents to gain good ideas but also movies and history shows. For instance, Mr Aladdin - with his son’s help – helped to explain a history show to Lanang that was about an ancient leader called Hannibal - who was from a place in North Africa called Carthage - who kept outsmarting the mighty Romans who had one of the greatest empires the ancient world had ever seen. Apart from famously taking his troops over the Alps with his elephants - which totally surprised Rome - Hannibal also beat the Romans at the Battle of Cannae. This clever general would show how brain-power could defeat body-power.

“It’s clear he was another orangutan reincarnate.” laughed Aladdin. Lanang had told him about the Reincarnation Project.

With 80,000 soldiers against him Hannibal’s 40,000 men from Carthage made a tight circle around this big army. Hannibal then used the strength of his enemy against itself for the Roman soldiers could only fall in on each other as they were squeezed by this strong-willed human ring. Hannibal’s outnumbered warriors caused the Romans to lose up to 70,000 men.

“It was a battle of total destruction. It is not for nothing that Hannibal is called the Father of Strategy.” noted Mr. Aladdin.

 It was always great for Lanang to learn from history how a few could defeat the many such as with the fast Athenian ships which trapped the bigger but slower Persian navy at the straits at Salamis; of the three hundred Spartans stopping for many days a hundred thousand Persians at the Greek mountain pass at Thermopylae.

“At Marathon the Athenian commander Miltiades refused to be too careful.” added Mr Aladdin. “His outnumbered forces acted first by rushing in a steady, disciplined fashion towards the large Persian army. Miltiades knew he had to act quickly before the Persian cavalry could get into position on the beach. As such a powerful force would stop any chance of Greek success. The Persians thought Miltiades was crazy to attack them.” continued Mr Aladdin. “Yet his daring led to a brave citizen army out-thinking a surprised, overconfident stronger enemy. The Persians were surrounded and wiped out. The surviving invaders were pushed back into the sea. It is said by some that Hannibal applied the tactics of Marathon at Cannae.” Mr Aladdin smiled at Lanang. “Who dares wins! As the best soldiers say!”

‘Alas, I too have only a few but we too can win!’

‘A Sad Warning.’

 Lanang was amazed when a phantom agent rolled himself up like a bowling ball to knock down some Black Flag bad guys. It seemed these heroes could always cheat death but in one show a phantom agent was blown up by a bomb. All that was left was the phantom agent’s boot.  

‘Yes, it’s not a game to fight against wrong doing…’ unhappily thought Lanang. ‘It can cost me my life - or worse - the lives of my friends.’

 ‘More Is Learnt About Humans On The Internet.’

Mr Aladdin had connected the internet to his longhouse. Thus, with Aladdin’s help Lanang also learnt more about humanity from cyberspace. Aladdin interpreted for Lanang but he was learning many English words which helped him to read the human way.

“English is the present world language.” explained Aladdin. “It’s why so many websites are in this foreign tongue but it is also good to look at those webpages in our local language. I can translate them.”

 Thankfully Aladdin also finally found on the internet an out-of-the-way translator which he played around with so it was possible to change human speech into Lanang’s language which not only helped with Lanang to understand what humans were saying on the internet, television and radio but would also help him to speak with Aladdin and the rest of the family. Anyhow, Lanang’s typing skills were coming along quite nicely – practice makes perfect as they say. As he practiced writing sentences it annoyed him though that grammar spellchecks on word documents always drew a green line when he added ‘who’ after orangutans or any other animal as if it was wrong. According to English grammar rules Lanang was supposed to write ‘that’ or ‘which’ (as well as ‘it’) but didn’t humans realise animals are living beings and not objects!? Lanang would always use ‘who’ while if he was typing a sentence about humans he would in turn use ‘that’ or ‘which’ for them in protest to this ‘higher human’ grammar rule that was against all other life on the planet. The internet for Lanang was certainly turning out to be a window through which he could see the craziness of an outside human world which the Dayaks believed brought only disaster to their land; typified by commercial television which had already made many more questioning human minds wonder what had been the real point of billions of years of evolution if at the end of it all people were watching television for the sake of stupid ads to keep people to so often stupidly buy things they did not really need.  

‘Why did people replace something basic that was working perfectly well with something with ‘improved features’ they are told they now must have?’

It mattered to Lanang to try to understand this human taste for useless things for it led to the unnecessary death of the rainforest. Millions of beautiful trees were being cut down! Rainforests were supplying the world with oxygen and taking in much carbon dioxide. Thus, helping to save the world from global warming! Why destroy them! They are the lungs of the world! Without rainforests the world could not breathe!

 ‘Palm Oil - The Killer Of Orangutans.’

Yes, many orangutans were dying not only because their rainforests were cut down for logging but also to make way for palm oil which first came a long time ago by European boats who brought over palm oil seeds from West Africa. It was not only orangutans and other animals that were losing out but also tribal people who were forced off their lands to make way for palm oil trees. So, Mr Aladdin also did not like palm oil which was used in some fuels and in many supermarket items like candles, shampoo, biscuits, noodles, cosmetics, soaps, lipstick, ice cream, chocolate, bread, detergent, crisps as well as junk food. Lanang could not believe how short-sighted many supermarkets were who also had palm oil in many of the things they sold as it was a cheap way to make their shelf life longer.

“Junk food matters more to these greedy human businesses than trees, wildlife and even the health of humans who eat such sugary, fatty food! I’ve even read too much palm oil could be bad for human hearts! Yes, the good human shoppers MUST be allowed to make a proper choice by knowing all the facts! Children should tell their parents not to buy anything with palm oil so as to help save us and the rainforests!’

‘No More Greenwashing!

‘All palm oil is bad and when someone says there can also be good palm oil I truly believe that’s just greenwashing! To fool people with pretty pictures and pretty words while uglily still really cutting down many trees as long as possible!’

‘The Right Information Needs To Be Shown!’

  An angry Lanang also knew much advertising was aimed at children to annoy their parents to buy junk food.

‘It would help if many good humans could read clear product labels that showed which things had palm oil and who supplied it. Governments needed to be pressured by people to allow for full information palm oil labels! If humans buy less things with palm oil this will help to save the rainforests – and us!’

A ‘Mr Lanang’ Starts To Write A Report On Palm Oil.

Lanang finds a good reason to practice his writing as he thinks a report‹ may help humans to understand why palm oil and logging is bad for the orangutans.

‘In my free time I’ll start to type out some of the many important points humans need to know! However, I will use the human name ‘Mr Lanang’ so humans will think I am one of them as that way they won’t be upset that us orangutans think their simple speech is only ‘children’s talk’ for us.’  

I, Mr Lanang, for orangutans, want the human race to know why they think palm oil is bad for them.  

1.     Humans have to understand that with less rainforest it is harder for young orangutans to hide from the bad people who want to steal and sell them and who kill the mother orangutans to take their children.

 For Lanang it meant so much to him to make this terrible crime the first point as he still thought about his mother every day; especially after having come across a news photo of a wide-eyed frightened baby orangutan with a bandaged broken arm whose mother had also been killed by kidnappers. There were so many examples of orangutans being treated badly by humans. Nearly every day there was a news story of how orangutans had been killed, starving, injured, left to die by a road, chained up or made to work like slaves for humans.

A baby girl orangutan had very bad skin from infections and would hug herself for comfort because it had been treated so badly by humans.

One other story which stood out for Lanang was of an orphan three year old orangutan Mingky caught in the rainforest and kept as a prisoner for over a year just so it could be used now and again to make a family laugh. Mingy was kept in chains in a narrow space between two walls and was not fed well. This was a lonely, horrible life for Mingy. This very sad baby orangutan who would double up on his body to cuddle himself to sleep was luckily rescued by humans who belonged to a group who cared about the orangutans. Yet to also talk about the wider terrible picture which meant saving the rainforests where orangutans and other many animal and plant species lived:

2.     The rainforest is home to many animals and when it is gone not only will they be homeless but there will also be no rainforest food so all wildlife including orangutans will have nothing to eat which means they will go hungry and die.

3.     Other orangutans may go searching for food near where humans live which can also be dangerous. 

4.     For orangutans having lost the only world they knew they have now sadly become lost refugees in their own land.

5.     Thankfully there are some good humans who will help orangutans as well as try to save their rainforests and so they should be helped.  

6.     When the rainforest is gone it is unnatural for the earth to only be growing palm oil trees.

7.     Especially when before there were also villagers who lived with the rainforest and grew many different foods long before the land was taken over by palm oil companies.

8.     There is also the cutting and burning of many trees, bushes and plants to clear and ready the land for palm oil trees only to have big black thick smoky clouds which make it hard for all living things including even humans to breathe.

9.     There are orangutans who cannot get away from these big human-made fires and so are burnt to death.

10.   Still, there are orangutans who are willing to have a kind thought for those people both men and women and even children who with no choice only have jobs with palm oil companies working hard all day yet for not enough money; who even have to use poisonous chemicals to kill weeds and pests which can also make them sick.

11.   To think local people could make a good living from having people from other places come and visit a rainforest to learn how wonderful and important they are to the planet.

12.   The planet also cannot breathe with rainforests cut down and with such a big loss of old trees the earth is becoming warmer-

‘I say again: RAINFORESTS ARE THE LUNGS OF THE WORLD!’

Lanang suddenly stopped typing as all the bad things he was putting into his report all at once was now making him far too upset. 

Lanang Takes A Deep Breath

This unhappy orangutan took a deep breath to help calm himself down as many thoughts whizzed crazily through his mind again about how important the rainforest was to his kind.  

 ‘For us orangutans the rainforest is our ‘supermarket’; our ‘home’ and even our ‘hospital’. Yes! We know how to find many foods growing in the jungle; to build sleeping nests in trees from branches and leaves and to find natural medicines! Orangutans can chew on plants to make an ointment that helps soothe aches in our limbs or to make one to keep away mosquitoes; we must surely know of medical treatments that humans do not yet know about. After all, these ‘learned humans’ always seem so surprised when they find out that we can use the rainforest’s plants to heal ourselves. The rainforest can still offer for the human race many new medicines which is surely another good reason to keep it…? Why is it that human beings have seemed to have lost their common sense to destroy my world when it is so clear that especially those humans who have so much power must put aside their self-interests for the common good and understand that by destroying the rainforest they also destroy the world. Who can breathe without lungs…? NO ONE!’

Another deep breath.

“They make a wasteland and call it progress.” Yes, what Mr Aladdin has said about modern humans is right.’ thought Lanang who knew that with old growth trees lost to the world it was only humans who still lived with nature like Mr Aladdin who still understood the important need to love nature so as to keep it safe. For this orangutan learning more about the bad ways of unthinking humans to now think more about what Mr Aladdin had sadly said: “It was wise First Nations North American Indians who said humanity will only know after ‘the last tree was cut and the last fish was eaten and the last stream was poisoned’ that it cannot eat money to stay alive.”  

There Are Humans Who Love Money More Than A Healthy Planet!

Lanang had decided humans just did not think about keeping the earth living well while they only thought of making money.

Yes, Lanang wisely thought of the planet as a living, breathing thing which needed to be taken care of the same way as any other animal so as not to die.

Money seemed to be the only thing that many humans wanted even if it meant destroying the world to get it!  What was the point of a rainforest to these humans unless it could be cut down for money?

‘What is the point of us orangutans to them if all we do is live in the rainforest? It is better for them to kill us if we get in the way of their cutting down of trees or make money from us by selling our babies or by putting us in shows to make them laugh at us!’

Lanang had sadly looked at all the self-centred reasons humans did use to say it was alright to cutting down trees, killing animals or digging out minerals to always claim as they destructively logged away that they were actually making a better world for themselves while all the fauna and flora was dying all around them.

An Orangutan’s Lone Brave Stand To Inspire Lanang

  To see a single orangutan on a big fallen tree bravely standing up to a bulldozer knocking down trees before having to run off to safety.

   ‘In this David and Goliath fight between orangutans and palm oil companies we are willing to use our intelligence to help stop those who go on willing the destruction of our habitat. Humans who share the same aim can also work towards this aim. The orangutan who fought the bulldozer quickly understood it was the man operating this big machine rather than the machine itself who had to be stopped. The orangutan knew it was impossible to fight the bulldozer but it could be possible to stop the person operating it. Humans can do the same. An idea can be very strong if it is allowed to spread and palm oil companies are doing all they can to stop the idea that a ban on palm oil would finally work. An idea is like a tiny germ that can bring down the biggest animal it is inside. I once saw at Aladdin’s place an old sci-fi film War of the Worlds which had Martians invading the Earth and it looked like nothing could stop them from taking over the world as their three-legged machine saucers with their death rays destroyed all the modern armies that humanity used to battle against these alien invaders. Yet, finally the Martians were stopped by a germ they breathed in and which killed them which is what humanity’s modern weapons could not do. When all seemed lost, when victory seemed impossible, a miracle was still able to happen to save the Earth. There can still be a miracle to save the rainforests and the wildlife if on the behalf of the planet and all living things that good people can come together to not only call for a better world but to simply have the idea to not buy products with palm oil and to have their governments also help them by having food properly labelled. 

‘Lanang Asks The Computer A Few Questions.’

With Lanang’s computer skills having improved a lot and wanting to know more about the human species he started to type many different questions into the computer’s internet SEARCH toolbar:

‘Excuse me why in the human world is there only a few hundreds of millions of people with everything and far too many billions of people with nothing?

 Why can humans be so cruel to animals?

 Why are humans surprised that orangutans can go hunt for fish in streams?

 Excuse me, could you please tell me why humans want to cut down all the trees?

 Yes, I already know rainforest is cleared for palm oil but I see now that many trees are also cut down to make way for cattle so why can’t humans be vegetarians like orangutans? 

 Why don’t humans recycle not just some but everything they make instead of throwing things into landfill which only bruises and hurts the Earth with more environmental damage?

 Why don’t humans just use plantation wood for their houses, furniture and paper and leave old growth trees alone?”

Lanang studied climate change as it seemed Nature was fighting back after hundreds of years of having humanity try to control it – instead of respecting it. This curious orangutan also became interested in the universe with the solar system, its many galaxies and billions of stars.

 Mr Aladdin had once wonderfully said: “All of us are made from stardust.”

 So Lanang would also ask spiritual questions about God and the spaceless timeless beginning of this cosmos as well as to the growth and perhaps possible end of this endlessly curving flat Universe.

Human Kindness To An Old Chimpanzee

At least Lanang came across one wonderful example of goodness between the primate and human species when he discovered a short video of a very old chimpanzee who was soon going to die being visited by a man who had taken care of her many years ago to see her sad face light up with joy remembering him. True friendship. Lanang was brought to tears seeing the kindness of the human towards his old friend which should be so between all primates and humans. 

Lanang Looks At Orangutan Escape Artists

Nevertheless, Lanang now chose to cast his eyes over orangutans who had shown some fight by escaping from zoos. Yet Lanang only became interested to do so because of sadly watching a gorilla family in a zoo looking in a puzzled way at a crowd of laughing human children and their parents all with ice creams in their hands and pointing their messy fingers at a newly born baby gorilla. Despite being locked up these gorillas still looked very proud in front of this stupid, badly mannered human crowd. Lanang could just not understand how humans thought they were better than orangutans and gorillas when it clearly was not the case. Especially when the computer’s internet links led Lanang to see how in Africa that there could be wars fought over the minerals used for mobile phones, laptops and that gorillas would be caught in the crossfire. It was also terrible to see humans including even children who worked like slaves to gain these minerals. Humans hurting other humans seemed to be so common and so Lanang felt it would be up to orangutans to try to make humans see the errors of their ways so as to not only help the flora and fauna of the world as well as planet Earth but for humans to also save themselves from so much self-destroying.  While Lanang felt sorry for the gorillas being laughed at by silly humans at least there were some orangutans in zoos outsmarting their human keepers. There was an orangutan who knew how to undo the lock on his zoo cage and every night with his family go on a holiday around the zoo. Another orangutan cleverly escaped from his cage and would have the last laugh on his human visitors who ran away from him screaming thinking he would hurt them. All he wanted to do was stretch his legs and have some fresh air. A zookeeper rolled his eyes when a journalist said the escapee had embarrassed the zoo. “Yes, he’s always outsmarting us.” The zookeeper then looked thoughtful. “At the end of the day he just wanted a taste of freedom…which is fair enough.”

“He was pretty smart!” cheerfully said a boy. “He must have done a lot of planning to work out how to get over those fences. The way he used that stick! WOW!”

‘If only you knew how smart we really can be!’ mused Lanang who also saw how four orangutans at an Indonesian zoo had worked together as a team to get over a fence.

At an orangutan help centre - which were places more to Lanang’s liking as at least it showed there were humans willing to do the right thing for orangutans - he was still thought it was funny to hear on the radio of a female orangutan who was unhappy that a photographer had taken a bunch of bananas away from her so he could use them to attract male orangutans to photograph them then took all of the photographer’s costly camera equipment and would not hand them back until the photographer gave back the bananas which he did.  It seemed the human photographer was surprised by this orangutan cleverness while for Lanang it was added proof of his belief that the one ‘secret weapon’ his species had was how most humans had a lowly idea of orangutan brainpower!

Lanang Looks At An Orangutan Artist

Lanang turned his attention away from many other orangutan escape artists to look at another example of orangutan smartness: an orangutan artist. At Vienna Zoo was Nonja a female orangutan who painted abstract paintings as good as any human modern art genius. Lanang thought it was strange that Nonja’s masterpieces were seen by stupid human art critics as ‘child scribblings’. Nonja’s art was shown to Mr Aladdin who would surely see straight away their true greatness.      

“Yes, the colours are well composed.” assured Mr Aladdin. “I see abstract art as classical music for the eyes and Nonja’s paintings are certainly musical. Picasso liked primate art.”

‘Lanang Becomes A World Business High Flyer.’

Although knowledge was a good thing what also mattered was training and equipment. With Aladdin’s help Lanang had set up a small banana import export business which was tabled onto the Jakarta Stock Exchange. ‘LANANG BANANAS’. It was hoped the company would become more popular than palm oil. There would, of course, be one important difference: LANANG BANANAS would keep the rainforest. In orangutan society the life of the rainforest came first before anything else. Orangutans along with all other animal species knew that without the rainforest there was no life. As they witnessed the unthinking destruction of the planet by human beings many orangutans wondered how really stupid was the human race if it could not even understand this basic survival fact? At least indigenous peoples were wise as they had learnt to live with nature just like wildlife. Life on Earth was like a big web with every living thing relying on every other living including plants and the elements of the earth like air, soil and water to stay alive and healthy. Even fish knew that without water they could not live; but many human beings seemed to believe they could somehow continue life while still madly ripping up Mother Nature’s living web as well as trashing the Earth’s land, sea and air. Yes, orangutans in their thousands were dying as rainforest areas the size of many football fields were cut down every day to make way for palm oil and logging. Lanang was only interested in creating on paper the illusion of a very big banana empire. This ‘paper empire’ would make it seem the whole rainforest was being used for banana production which would mean it could be kept for ‘sound business reasons’ – which is the only thing the human money makers seemed to understand; and those who made money seemed to control the future of the world. Lanang had also learnt about the political power of bananas: hadn’t a democratically elected government in Guatemala been overthrown in the 1950s to suit the business interests of a North American banana company? Lanang’s own ‘business’ was really just a way into the stock exchanges of the world – this was where Lanang would really make his wealth. The stock markets were Lanang’s true plantations and this is where he would beat the humans at their own crazy money-making games. Once the right money arrangements had been done it did not matter how many bananas there were for this is what was truly happening: Aladdin would give Lanang the receipts and it would show that just two hundred bananas were passed on to Kuching in Sarawak with a profit intake of $US200 for the stock market records. The bananas to be bought simply came from the local fruit stall. Lanang had the receipt records changed to show that 2,000,000 bananas had been sent to Kuching and to other towns and cities in both Indonesia and Malaysia as well as further away like to Bangkok, Sydney, Shanghai, Tokyo and San Francisco. Thus on the Jakarta Stock Exchange the idea was being made in people’s minds that LANANG BANANAS was worth millions of US dollars and better still – seemed to be increasing its sky-high profits. It drew the attention of greedy businesspeople throughout the world who were pouring real money into Lanang’s banana company; Lanang was just as quickly pouring this money into buying the equipment needed for his commando team.

The Elders had thought Lanang would make a few rough helmets out of coconut shells and use banana skins to make a few humans slip over. ‘No siree!’ Lanang was making sure only the best high–tech equipment would do for his ‘Phantom Orangutans! The merchant-of-death arms dealers were thankfully bypassed as direct contact was made via the internet to factories everywhere in the world that could quietly ‘on-the-side’ make a small number of things that Lanang’s tiny commando unit needed e.g. tranquiliser weapons; laser guided plastic star knives with stun tips; climbing ropes, infra-red vision goggles; GPS tracking devices and satellite mobile phones; phantom agent style paratrooper army helmets but with webcams and all weather bullet proof uniforms. Top dollar prices would be paid to the factories which included high bonuses for the workers and it was guaranteed that everything bought by ‘Mr Lanang’ would remain secret. Also NASA which needed the money was very happy to put into space a communications satellite for a ‘Mr Lanang’.

 All the equipment was shipped to a local warehouse in boxes marked LANANG BANANAS. Mr Aladdin and Aladdin would pick up the boxes put them in a van and take them to their place. At Mr Aladdin’s longhouse orangutans would open up the boxes and take separate things into the rainforest. A local very smart donkey named Platero and his friends were also happy to help carry things as they were treated very fairly by both Dayak and orangutan alike. Mr Aladdin mentioned these faithful animals had been brought in from Cyprus by the missionaries many years ago.

Lanang’s first major business enterprise now had the full attention of Wall Street. Wide-eyed speculators who saw only dollar signs in front of their eyes were pouring billions of dollars into a company whose real net monetary value was about $US20. Lanang was laughing himself silly. The world economy was now in the hands of a cheeky teenage orangutan who had outwitted all the businesspeople from every major business centre and financial market on the globe.

The whole shape of the world economy was taking on a different face; although this was good Lanang was wondering in this global card game if he was overplaying his hand. It was time to draw back as Asian Stock Exchanges were starting to go into meltdown after some fact-finding articles in a major business newspaper. Although the business mastermind ‘Mr Lanang’ was yet to be linked with any crooked dealing the share price in LANANG BANANAS began to fall quickly; with this sudden lack of business confidence was the threat of a new global war if the world economy could not right itself. It was feared the world was about to turn into one big ‘banana republic’ - billions of dollars were now going out of bananas.

However, Lanang did not mind – he had made the large fortune he needed and he had already done some good in the world with his buying up of rainforest land; giving money to orangutan rehabilitation centres and establishing art galleries in major cities for orangutan artists. These purchases would still hold as the banks and economic barons of the world who found out the truth could not let it be made public knowledge that for a time the fate of human history had fallen into the hands of a Dayak boy’s pet orangutan who had typed on the family computer. Hush money from many big banks and companies went into Aladdin’s bank account so he would not go on the public record. It added up to a few extra tens of millions of dollars that would further help Lanang’s cause.

The two boys were amused that each bank and company had no idea that every one of their competitors were each giving such big cheques to Aladdin to stay quiet. Lanang had already made sure the things he needed were bought straight away while a spare few billion dollars was put into morally proven business portfolios to keep a very healthy cash flow. Millions of dollars were also poured into third world family planning programs as well as giving money to kick-start the small businesses of many thousands of very poor humans. With rainforests always in mind there was also money given to good humans trying to get governments to fix up the environment; as well as trying to stop first world mining companies from using developing countries as dumping grounds for poisonous waste.

One thing Lanang would not do was open a secret Swiss bank account. Any left over hundreds of millions of dollars were put into a local bank. Lanang’s money principles were very fair for the common good.  It was so unlike many big businesses of whom it had been claimed had hid at least twenty trillion dollars into many secret bank accounts in out-of-the-way places– so much money that could help so many people!

 Everything had worked out well for Lanang and the true reasons for the Global Banana Bubble Crisis or ‘GBBC’ would be a world-wide state secret as human governments did what they did best – cover up any annoying truth from its citizens and put the blame of any stupid error squarely on anybody else but themselves.

 ‘On With The Show!’

Lanang was pleased. He had his equipment and so could start the training. It still mattered that the orangutans learnt to defend themselves for no amount of money could do that for them.

Justice was priceless.

In Lanang’s tribe twenty-five young orangutans both male and female would be enlisted to be commandoes. His greatest enemy would prove to be a lack of interest as no one thought there was a real threat. It seemed Lanang’s neighbourhood watch scheme had worked too perfectly. Yet Lanang was still very aware of the dangers: kidnapping and out of control logging would go on. Lanang also wanted to save the rainforest from the next round of fires that were irresponsibly started once a year to clear land to plant palm oil trees; this also related to saving orangutan lives for as he already knew: in the last Big Fire not only had large parts of Borneo forest been recklessly burnt to the ground but thousands of orangutans had also been horribly burnt to death.

The danger to Lanang’s tribe may not come today but one day it would come – the death of his own mother was sad proof of this frightening prediction.

‘Mexican Wave.’

A meeting was held between Mr Aladdin, Aladdin, Lanang and the First Elder to discuss tactics and primate-human co-operation; for example, orangutans could not drive so human help was needed to take them anywhere as had already been the case with moving equipment and supplies; it was an orangutan mission but back up human assistance would be important. Mr Aladdin would make a remark and it was passed onto Lanang by way of Aladdin using hand signals and Lanang would then pass on what was said to the First Elder. In turn the First Elder would speak to Lanang and he would use sign language to translate what was said to Aladdin who would then speak directly to Mr Aladdin. Mr Aladdin and the First Elder would also communicate their opinions with their hands and to an outsider it appeared as if a sort of hand ‘Mexican wave’ was flowing backwards and forwards between these four males.

It was decided to go for a walk through Mr Aladdin’s big vegetable garden where the talking between the First Elder and Mr Aladdin became quicker. The two older males discussed planting and growing methods. Mr Aladdin explained how good it was not to be relying on supermarkets. Comments were also made on how it seemed so difficult to pass on any wisdom to the young – after all, what did they really know about life? The First Elder was especially going on about this ‘problem’. The two younger ones followed on from behind to interpret when needed which turned out to be surprisingly not too often.

 ‘The Trainees Lack Any Real Interest.’

Lanang would teach the others what he had seen on Phantom Agents and Aladdin would help Lanang. Cultural activities would also be included to help mind, spirit and body be ‘as one’. The first sign of a lack of real interest was in the star knife training. Many of the trainees would just lie on their backs and lazily throw the star knives anywhere they liked instead of at the targets. Secondly, the high rope training was taken as a big joke and the state-of-the-art helmets were being used as drinking bowls! For these free spirits of the jungle having a rollcall was considered just plain stupid when it was simply a matter of a very quick look around to see that everyone had turned up to any session.  Although the first Chinese ink and brush landscape lesson seemed to have gone down well and the backgammon and the karate instructions were accepted several complaints were made after the first yoga class: the stretching exercises had led to sore limbs; such young bodies were stretchy enough thank you very much. The one attempt at parachute diving did leave a big impression to say the least on the trainees who had all dressed up in parachute outfits and goggles. Lanang had hired a big old-fashioned propeller plane for this training exercise. An out-of-the way old jungle runway from World War Two days was used. If nothing else it was the first time in recent military history where it proved to be a good thing for the paratroopers to land in trees. Introducing reading to the trainees ended up with the orangutans cheekily putting the opened Jungle Books they were given on their heads to use as sunshades.

  Some trainees just thought of laughing at Lanang as well as not taking any notice of his leadership. Lanang along with Aladdin was very upset. The whole matter of ‘attitude’ was to be raised with the Elders who would well know how to make these laidback trainee ‘orangutanistas’ work harder. Yet sadly this would prove unnecessary because everyone would soon enough become very willing to work very hard.

2

FIRST RAINS

 ‘Kidnapper Success.’

Screaming. It was a sound that chilled the spine of everyone who heard it. You could sense the fear in those cries. It was the middle of the night and no one had expected the kidnappers to come at such a time. Thus, there was no one on either lookout. The enemy had learnt to change his tactics. Three young orangutans had been heartlessly taken but thankfully the lives of the mothers had been spared. Not out of mercy. It had simply been that the three children had been placed in the same sleeping nest for the night as all three were sick; it was thought best to put them together to be away from healthy orangutans.

The kidnappers must have been watching from afar using super binoculars and infrared glasses. The enemy knew exactly where to go in the total darkness. Anyway, none of that really mattered now – three little lives were now gone to become slaves either as pets or entertainers to more unthinking humans.

‘The Phantom Orangutans!’

“SEE!!!” Lanang’s loud outburst was full of so much anger. “CAN WE GO AFTER THEM RIGHT NOW! CAN WE GET THEM BACK RIGHT NOW!” Lanang slammed his fist onto the ground. “NO! NO! NO!” he cried out. “WE MUST DO OUR TRAINING! PROPERLY! NO SLACKING OFF!” To the credit of his trainees they did. All of them were willing to do anything that Lanang told them to do. They were all ashamed of their earlier attitude and would now train ‘double-time’ to make up for it. Over time - that started to amount to several weeks - each and every one of these trainees would become top line guerrillas who could match any human soldier from any special fighting force. There would be no more kidnappings. No more fear. The Phantom Orang Utans had arrived!

‘OPERATION THREE QUEENS.’

The first mission would be to get back the three kidnapped orangutan children. On a laptop it was seen that Lanang’s satellite had picked up the body heat of each of the kidnapped trio and tracked them to a large ranch tucked away in the mid north-east of the island. Hundreds of kidnapped orangutan children were held at this ranch. It was part of the largest wild animal kidnapping business in the world. Thus, the first mission for Lanang’s commandoes would also possibly be their biggest. The code-word for the operation was THREE QUEENS as all three little children were girls. They were seen as so special by everyone it was thought that it would be like freeing royalty. Woe to anyone who would stop their rescue!

 ‘Mara And Mr Papiyan.’

The evil owner of this so-called ranch was the very kidnapper who had killed Lanang’s mother. His name was Mara and his cruel offsider Mr Papiyan was the man who had been with Mara that terrible day. In a twist of fate that befitted any Old Greek Tragedy Lanang would in this important rescue mission also redress the murder of his dear mother. It was very personal ‘unfinished business’ for Lanang. It certainly did not bother this strong-minded son that this operation was a very tall order. Mara was a rich man who also had a big illegal logging business. Thus, he could easily afford to have a private army to well defend his property

‘MARA BEMOS!’

Mara was involved in many criminal activities that brought to the world much suffering and misery. For instance: MARA PALM OIL that involved illegally cutting down many rainforest trees; such was his greed for money that Mara didn’t even care that many of the trees he was cutting down were a thousand years old! As a ‘legal front’ Mara had his own bemo business. Bemo was the local name for a mini-van and these vehicles which often had very bad brakes were mainly used to drive people around a town or city. ‘MARA BEMOS’ often drove passengers mad with its overpricing; overcrowding and with its always smiling but crazy drivers who zigzagged their unsafe vehicles all over pot-holed roads. Foreigners would especially be wildly ripped off. “These very rich western tourists are always bigger and selfishly take up twice the space so they should pay twice the price!” 

Timetables were ignored but they were out of date anyway. Customer service was always very bad but the customer was always mistreated ‘cheerfully’. “We always smile to the customer! Always say ‘yes’ no matter what! Never disappoint a customer! Hiding the facts helps to avoid disappointment! It’s always better for business! When the customer finally finds out the bus they want has been ‘suddenly cancelled’ it is always too late for them to organise some other way to go! They have to ‘await their fate’ with us! Work on the ‘feel good’ factor! When everything goes wrong still feel good! MARA BEMOS tests your character – don’t be found wanting!” So as to gain worldwide acceptance Mara had offered himself to the world as a public transport advisor. Interestingly bus and train officials from cities who now had many passenger complaints but at the same time were saving a lot of government money had taken up his offer.

Mara’s transport business empire had expanded to MARA AIRLINES; MARA FERRIES; MARA TAXIS AND MARA TRUCKS which ‘specialised’ in carrying logs.

 There were also MARA HOTELS and THE MARA DAILY NEWS which was a big newspaper blamed for causing disasters and finding out about the silly wrongdoings of famous people so as to have big selling headlines. THE MARA DAILY NEWS always trumpeted the ‘goodness’ of those bad politicians who literally let Mara get away with murder. Mara could buy off many government officials who would leave him alone as long as he feathered their pockets with lots of money. Lanang was aware that he was up against a very powerful enemy.

‘Who Cares...?’

Lanang sadly looked on the map for Mara’s big ranch.

‘Who really cares about our suffering anyway?’

A sigh.

 ‘Human indifference MUST STOP!’

 The young orangutan slammed the table with his fist. Satellite photos showed Mara had brought in new iron bar cages to house more of his orangutan captives.

 Also a coal mine at a hill not too far from the ranch had been opened up by Mara. It was a big worry that not only did it look likely that a new round of orangutan kidnappings was about to begin but a wealthier Mara would be harder to defeat.

‘Mr Aladdin Suggests A Trojan Horse.’

Orangutans had already proven in zoos how to use trickery, teamwork and long-term planning to outwit their zookeeper captors. These same skills would be needed to answer the present question: how to overcome a big army with so few troops? It was Mr Aladdin who came up with a clever idea. “I don’t know what you two boys are planning but the Dayaks could help...”

“How do you mean father?” asked Aladdin. Lanang looked on.

“You want to get inside Mara’s camp and free the baby orangutans – is that right?”

“Yes. That’s it in a nutshell.”

“Well,” smiles Aladdin’s father. “He should let you in. A good host always shows politeness to his visitors.”

“It’s no time for jokes father!” 

“Have you ever heard of the story of the Trojan Horse?”

“Of course father...go on....” Aladdin sensed his father did have a serious plan.

“Well, as you know the Old Greeks tricked the Trojans by offering them a big wooden horse as a peace offering. The Greeks knew they could never overcome Troy’s high walls so they hid inside the horse. Under the cover of night - and while the Trojans were heavily asleep after a big ‘victory celebration’ - they left the horse.  The Greeks opened the gate to let the main army in which had been hiding. By the morning the city of Troy was in Greek hands.”

“We don’t have a ‘wooden horse’ to offer Mara...”

“We have a truck – better still a semi-trailer with logs on it. It can be a ‘thank you present’ from the Dayak people. We’ll say we know that if illegal logging is to happen where we live at least we can get some of the profit by helping him cut the rainforest down.  The logs we give to him will show we are for real with the deal. Mara is a businessman and he’ll understand our practical reasoning. I’m sure he’ll accept the present.” Aladdin’s father smiled. “Except, we’ll be offering him some very special logs - hollow ones – with Lanang’s group inside them.”

Aladdin explained the plan to Lanang. “Where will we get the semi-trailer and the logs?” signed an excited Lanang to Aladdin’s father.

“I have friends who work at international legally approved tree plantations so rainforest trees don’t have to be cut down. The Dayaks will carve out enough space in the biggest logs so the orangutans can fit inside them.”

‘The Orangutans And Dayaks Travel North.’

The day came when Lanang and his commandoes would go to the island’s north. The battle equipment was to go up in a minivan driven by Aladdin. He had just gained his driving licence. As for the bemo it was plain white which made it so unlike the colourful vehicles in Mara’s fleet. Aladdin was going to the town closest to Mara’s ranch and Calypso – after pressuring her father – would go with him. The town was called ‘Mara Town’ - a recent name change to show how the houses and buildings in the town as well as the land around it were now owned by Mara.

Mara Town was like a joy park which included many cinemas, fast food, clothing and discount goods shops and carnival fun rides where many of Mara’s bus drivers came to holiday and shop with their families. “Mara Town is just for fun!”  As for Mr Aladdin he had nicknamed this soulless town ‘Hades’ which was an Old Greek word for hell. He and a friend were going to drive the semi-trailer. Lanang and the others would travel through the rainforest.

The plan to free the captive baby orangutans needed total surprise. By day the commandoes looked like any other tribe of orangutans going about their lives while at night they would go through their battle plans; along the way other orangutans would help by supplying food and drink and a place to sleep as there was no time for Lanang and his commandoes to find food and to make sleeping nests. They were truly ghosts of the jungle and the enemy would be made to believe that they were fighting supernatural spirits. Many monkeys were also willing to help and they turned out to be useful as extra food collectors, lookouts and guides.

Humans with their misguided big-headed belief of ‘evolutionary species superiority’ could never understand that orangutans would be attempting to outsmart them on the battle field. Modern top line soldiers prided themselves in their ability to blend in with the land they were fighting so if they were in Borneo they would say how well they could fit into the jungle; orangutans could do one better by saying they were the jungle. Lanang felt very proud and deep down he knew that his group had the measure of anything the humans could throw at them.

After a few days of travel the commandoes were within striking distance of their target. Through mental telepathy Lanang talked to an orangutan travelling with Aladdin and Calypso as a ‘pet’ that they were at the right map points. The message was passed onto Aladdin who speaking in code passed the message on to his father by mobile phone.

In ‘Mara Town’ – which was not far from ‘Mara Ranch’ - Aladdin felt he was in the Wild West. It was clear that many of Mara’s men were in Mara Town so the Dayak had to be very careful not to draw attention to himself. “Maybe we should have disguised our minivan as a Mara bemo.” suggested Aladdin speaking in code to his father over his mobile phone.

“No, no its better you just appear as an out-of-towner. It makes sense you are a Dayak in town as Mara would know I would have friends about. The orangutan with you would be seen by Mara as a ‘gift’. The fact you have her on a chain will make anyone think you are no one to worry about so you won’t be followed. With that said you do stand out anyway being the only person with a cotton shopping bag while everyone else would be using plastic ones. Everyone in Maratown loves plastic so much the supermarkets even put bananas in plastic packaging. I thought I should tell you that so you don’t die of shock when you see that.”

The orangutan with Aladdin was a female named Krista and along with bringing messages to Aladdin from Lanang she would also be going on a small one-off mission to cause some damage. It was certain the special cages that Mara was using to imprison orangutans were made somewhere in the town. They were not something he could buy in bulk as it would draw too much official attention (despite so much official corruption there were still enough honest, dedicated government workers to cause Mara a few problems) and his ranch did not have the machinery to make these much needed mini-prisons. Aladdin would pretend Krista was captured by him and that he needed a cage. It was hoped these two would find out where the cage making factory was to destroy it. As for Calypso she had been dropped off with the battle equipment at a safe house on the outskirts of town which was rented out for a few days to a ‘Mr Lanang.’

Aladdin walked up the main street with a chain around Krista’s neck. The young Dayak asked many men if they knew where he could buy a big cage for his ‘pet’. Finally, a man helped out and took Aladdin and Krista down a couple of back streets until they came to a big tin shed. A high wire fence with barbed wire along the top went around the block the shed was on. It was surrounded by other larger buildings such as a big factory and what looked like a warehouse. The man stood at the gate to the big wire fence and called out towards the shed. A man opened a creaky door and walked up to the fence. It was explained to him a cage was wanted. This man who looked like he was the one that built the cages said to Aladdin to come back this time tomorrow and he would have one for him. The trio then walked back to the main street and the man was given a cash payment for his service. Aladdin and Krista were pleased. They knew where the cages were made and tonight they would do something about damaging this worksite.

 ‘The Orangutans Have A Secret Weapon...’

Lanang had planned for a special finding out trip to take place on this eve before the attack. A mind message was sent to an orangutan who had been waiting for this mental-go-ahead.

The orangutan’s name was Carlos and he had been dropped off at a big hill half way up the island by Aladdin while on his way to the town. Carlos knew exactly what to do. He climbed down from his sleeping nest on this big hill at the edge of the rainforest. Inside the hill was a small cave which faced away from the road so it could not be spotted. The entrance was impossible to see as it was hidden with camouflage netting. The cave contained a special kite sent up by Mr. Aladdin’s truck driver friends after it had been put together by the orangutans themselves.

The kite was a one-person glider and it was based on a design by Leonardo da Vinci. Advice from the world’s best aerodynamic engineers was sought. These experts had been in email contact with the mysterious ‘Mr Lanang’. The kite needed only a short downhill run to take off and once in the air it could stay up for several hours. (Orangutan tradition suggested the original glider design was based on a seed found in Borneo which uses broad papery glider like wings to fly through the air; thus suggesting that Leonardo the ‘human genius’ was really a reincarnate orangutan). The kite was fitted with solar retro rockets for emergencies and had a high-tech dashboard. It was a modernised fifteenth century version of a U.S. Stealth fighter. The only catch was a full grown man could not fly in it for very long but a young, brave orangutan who weighed a lot less would have no problems. Carlos was that orangutan. As soon as it was night he would fly to the ranch and with special infrared glasses take a last-minute look at it. Nothing was to be left to chance. Lanang did not want any ‘surprises’ that the satellite cameras had missed out on spotting.

‘Major Kong.’

Carlos had learnt to fly by going to Aladdin’s place with Lanang to watch air war movies like The Blue Max; The Battle of Britain and Top Gun. A favourite film for both Lanang and Carlos was Stanley Kubrik’s Cold War tragic-comedy Dr Strangelove: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Although Lanang and Carlos recognised the wastefulness of human war they still both loved the leading pilot – a ‘Major Kong’ - of an American nuclear bomber who had outwitted the Soviet Union’s many missile defences. Both male orangutans were amazed by Major Kong’s get up and go to complete the mission against all the odds and to even enjoy riding a nuclear bomb like a rodeo rider after getting it to drop on its target: a nuclear missile site in Siberia. Major Kong yelled with excitement as he happily waved his cowboy hat to his doom. He had been sitting on the big long cylinder bomb while fixing an electrical problem in the bomb bay and when the rewiring was fixed the bomb was released. For the two orangutans this crazy scene - along with the rest of this wild anti-nuclear war movie - easily pointed out to them the full madness of all human wars.

 ‘Madam Krista.’

With Calypso’s help Krista combed herself really well and had a quick facial - so as to at least feel at her best - before putting on a long flowing dress and scarf to hide her body, head and face.

“You really do look like a local woman.” Aladdin was impressed as it was a perfect disguise. He slowly opened the van door and hopped out. No one was in the side street that he had parked. Krista got out. Together they walked to their target. It was very dark. All the windows were taped up with black plastic so no one could see what was inside. Yet under the shed door they could see light coming out so Aladdin and Krista knew the man was inside. It was actually not very late as the sun had just set and the two had picked a time when they hoped the man was still at the workshop. Aladdin went away. Krista started shaking the fence making a lot of noise. The man opened the door to see what was going on. Krista was lying down and when she saw the man she put her arm over her forehead and started crying. She was using the oldest trick in the book: a damsel in distress.

The man carefully walked over. “What’s wrong?”

More crying. Pointing at her feet.

“You have hurt your ankle, madam...?”

Krista started showing a bit of leg.

“Ah, I see...in the dark it looks very bruised...” The man also thought the leg was very good looking and so unlocked the gate. Krista kicked the now open gate which slammed into the man’s face knocking him over. However, the man quickly got back to his feet. Yet he was looking down and his hands were holding his now broken nose.  “Madam...?”

Krista had sprung to her feet and taken off her outer clothes. There she majestically stood - in full black uniform which was similar to a ninja outfit - in front of the small human whose head was bowed down and who walked on the spot with his bleeding nose. Krista put on her head a black beret.

The man finally looked up. “MADAM!” he was very shocked to see a clothed orangutan staring at him.

Krista coolly walked up to the surprised fellow and applied pressure to a spot near his neck. The man fell down and he would remain asleep just long enough for Krista to do her job. Aladdin now joined her. “Good work.” He whispered as he gave Krista her special military boots and socks. (The boots were designed to give the usual protection but were made of a special stretch leather so that orangutans could still use their feet for tree climbing). They went inside the shed and saw how there was a big machine set up to make the cages. A soft voice was heard at the back of the shed. Aladdin and Krista quickly ducked down. The sound didn’t stop. Aladdin was looking at Krista and he saw the smile that suddenly came over her face. She stood up and walked down through the shed.

“Krista...” said Aladdin but he then understood she knew something that he didn’t.  At the very back of the shed was a baby orangutan in a new cage. The poor child had been crying. Luckily, Krista had recognized the orangutan sounds for help. “Must be ‘testing’ the product.” scowled an angry Aladdin who had run down to join Krista. 

On the cage lock was a flash drive with a red light. “Must set off an alarm...” wondered Aladdin.

An alarm was found nearby and its wires were disconnected. A skeleton key was then used to unlock the cage. The child was let free and Aladdin took care of her as Krista looked over the machine. It was a risk to damage the mechanical cage maker the night before the main rescue but Mara would not think anything was wrong if the explosion appeared to be an accident. So a mini-explosive and wiring was placed in a hidden area of the cage making machine. Only when the machine was turned on would there be a small explosion that would do just enough to make the cage maker useless. Aladdin and Krista quickly left the shed and walked past the man who was still knocked out. Krista stopped and turned around to check the pulse of her victim. He was still alive. She had not forgotten the motto of Lanang: to kill no one. Aladdin and Krista knew that the man would not risk telling anyone that he had been attacked by an orangutan commando. He would be put in the madhouse. It was also thought that seeing no equipment was damaged the man would presume that Krista had come to only save the baby orangutan. It was a stroke of good luck that the child had been there- just as it was for the child orangutan that they had turned up. The man would probably not report this ‘misadventure’ for a day or so as people always feared telling heartless bosses that something was wrong. No, the man will wait to be asked. Tomorrow, if all went to plan ‘the accident’ would happen and the explosion would only be big enough to do its job without killing anybody.

 ‘The Control Room.’

It sure was a busy night for the orangutans! Carlos had taken off and was high in the night sky silently gliding to Mara’s ranch. Carlos was wearing infra-red glasses and his helmet also had an inbuilt webcam camera and microphone. To think that the orangutans once didn’t even know how to use a camera! Lanang with his new money had also set up an underground bunker which housed a large Control Room which could give an electronic overview of any commando operation. Having built the super-kite these clever orange primates were so much better in their building skills; with typical orangutan inventiveness they were using human technology for their own aims. (Although it has to be said Mr Aladdin’s friends were needed to bring in materials to the closest point the rainforest met the nearest road). The bunker was very well hidden; with nothing left to chance which included making the solar panels used to power it look like big banana leaves so they could not be easily spotted from the air. Any primatologists found wandering in the rainforest were given a very good display of an orangutan using an ‘advanced tool’ like a twig to dig termites out of a tree. Such a display of orangutan cleverness would satisfy the professional curiosity of these primate scientists. What really amazed these human observers was when an orangutan hanging from a tree and using a home-made spear to catch fish in the river below turned to smile and wave at them. The young male orangutan just couldn’t help himself!

The Control Room was set up along the lines used by Bomber Command in World War Two during the Blitz on London; this time there was no Battle of Britain but rather the Battle of Borneo!  The Three Elders were in the Control Room and they looked down from their watching balcony at a large table lit up with bright energy saving lights with a map of South East Asia showing Borneo and Sumatra. On Borneo were plastic shaped orangutan icons – similar to those that one would find in a Barrel of Monkeys - being moved around the map by female orangutans with metal hooks on the end of long wood poles. Each female orangutan was wearing a head mouthpiece like those worn by operators in a phone-call centre. Mental telepathy was a one-on-one mind activity so orangutan had to swallow their pride and use a human communication system that allowed for many different people to talk with each other and to be heard all at once and at any time. Messages were coming in to an operator from Krista, Carlos and Lanang who was also passing on messages from the Dayaks. All information was sent to the ‘map girls’ who would move the orangutan icons around on the map. Human plastic figures also in a pose like that from a Barrel of Monkeys were used for the Dayaks.

It could be seen that the cage factory mission was a success as a big red cross had been put on it. A big yellow tick was on Maya’s ranch but it would be hoped this would be replaced with another red cross within twenty-four hours. There was also a big counter with many rows of green wooden balls with a picture of a baby orangutan on each one. So far the counter showed one baby orangutan had been freed.

Although the Three Elders liked all that was going on it still left them mystified. It could be safely said that these notable fatherly figures did not expect any of this high-tech gadgetry. The First Elder couldn’t help himself but make the following remark: “The younger generation! Look what they get up too! Whatever happened to just throwing a few big rocks to keep your enemy away?”

What indeed. All eyes were now on the orangutan figure with plastic kite that was Carlos as it moved up Borneo towards Mara’s ranch.

‘The Stars Shine Brightly.’

It was a clever idea this plane trip but not a totally new one. Lanang had worked out this plan after Aladdin’s father had told him that many centuries ago in Imperial China there was a legend that an Emperor had built a big human sized kite so a man could fly up into the sky and look at what his enemy was up to. This ‘man-bird’ knocked out the element of surprise and so the Emperor was always successful on the battlefield. Lanang now hoped for the same success.

Carlos knew the radar on the kite was letting off a signal so the Control Room could see where he was. A beep would go off in the ear piece in his helmet to let him know that he was coming close to the ranch. So far the computerized auto-pilot which had all the flight co-ordinates fed into it days ago would guide Carlos to the right place. He could have gone to sleep but he was enjoying looking down at the world through his infra-red goggles.

A peaceful forest with animals happily asleep. ‘Why couldn’t this always be so?’ sighed Carlos.

The kite flew over towns and he could see how busy some humans were as they drove around in cars and had all their house lights on with people inside their houses making dinner or watching television. He could smell cooking food odours as well as the smelly pollution coming from cars and factories. Later Carlos would see many house lights being turned off as people started to sleep and he knew then it was getting late.

Midnight.

A beep to signal the time.

A new day on this night and with it a new destiny for Carlos and the others; he looked down and with his infra-red sight could start to make out the outline of Mara’s ranch – this well fortified ‘dark heart’ of his kidnapping empire. The auto-pilot was turned off and Carlos had the kite fly in a big circle above the ranch which from his great height showed it up to be a prison camp. What Carlos first saw below were the guard towers and searchlights that looked out over the land beyond the ranch. 

Carlos’s first task was to spot where the cages were that were holding all the baby orangutans. He clicked on the helmet webcam so what he was seeing could also be seen on a big screen back at the Control Room and on small pad screens that Aladdin and Lanang both possessed. There they were! Cage after cage after cage of imprisoned baby orangutans - looking at these many rows Carlos was shocked to see firsthand the hundreds of his fellow kind who had been captured. There below him was the proof of a whole destruction of a species as worse as any suffered by the human race.

‘How evil and horrible! What of the mothers…?’

Carlos did not want to think about the terrible answer. The cages were still in the same position that earlier satellite photos had shown but Carlos flew down in case he could spot anything that had been missed. At first, there was nothing special to see. Another flyover.

‘Wait!’

 Carlos quickly flew around again.

‘What’s that...YES!’

 Very light red lines could be seen. On a closer look by zooming the infrared webcam camera Carlos could see on a dashboard screen that there were laser beams crisscrossing the perimeter around the cages.

Mental telepathy could not be caught on any listening spy satellite so a message could be passed onto Lanang about the laser beams; yet Carlos also wanted to talk with the orangutans in the far away Control Room so the helmet intercom was used. Although it would be impossible for humans to understand the advanced language of the orangutans Lanang had made sure all intercom talking was still coded.

“The stars shine brightly.”

Everyone in the Control Room started to look very closely at the zooming pictures now being sent in. It was one of the female map board operators who first saw the lasers. All eyes spotted them.

“Yes they do.” came the soft female voice over the intercom.

Carlos knew the Control Room understood the problem.

‘An  Other Worldly Threat.’

At a secret American satellite spy station somewhere in the middle of the Central Australian desert the analysts there heard the whole strange discussion. Yet they were totally not-in-the-know. The series of squeaky sounds were put through the world’s best super computers to find out what they meant; all that could be worked out was that there were two different voices. Were terrorists now using a new higher order code? It seemed to be the case for after an hour the sounds had not been decoded. It was amazing as it usually took such mega-computers only a few seconds to work out any secret message. Some of the analysts wondered if they were dealing with super-intelligent outer space extra-terrestrial beings. There was certainly something not human about this situation.

As no spy satellite was in position over Borneo a high-sky U.S. U2 spy plane in Alaska and another one as back-up from Germany were scrambled to make one-off flyovers across South-East Asia. These high-flying planes would take real time photos to see if any strange flight or ground activity was happening in the area. The President of the United States was told what was happening and military forces throughout the world were put on a low risk Condition Yellow which could be upgraded at any moment. U.S. nuclear submarines off the South-East Asia coast were directed to change course and head towards Borneo.

 BLACKOUT! The spy computers had suddenly broken down! Trying to decode this secret conversation was proving too much for them!

“GET THOSE COMPUTER PROGRAMS UP AND RUNNING STRAIGHT AWAY! I DON’T CARE HOW MUCH IT TAKES!” screamed the President’s voice down the telephone to the secret base commander. “I’M RAISING THE GLOBAL ALERT TO HIGH LEVEL RED!”

     ‘Carlos Sees That The Ranch Is Heavily Defended.’

Carlos did not see anything else that was not already known by the orangutan commando force.  It was clear the task ahead looked near impossible. Below him was not only many security traps and barriers but also the huge barracks that showed how Mara kept hundreds of armed men on the ranch. Many guards were on duty and the orangutans knew there were minefields, electric fences, trip wires and now laser lines. Pillboxes and other machine gun posts had been placed in spots where anyone running across a large parade ground could be shot down. Around the outside perimeter was a water moat as well as small concrete pyramid obstacles known as ‘dragons teeth’.  The plan suggested by Aladdin’s father had to work!

 ‘The Usual Inhumanity...’

Luckily, for Carlos he flew down and landed at a pre-arranged safe spot near the town before the U.S. spy planes came over Borneo. Although these two planes saw many terrible things happening in the world the pilots reported nothing strange and just turned around.  The President relaxed and the alert was scaled down – for now. 

“Well, I guess the generals got a fright but all I saw was just the usual inhumanity...” said the pilot to the co-pilot in the aircraft flying from Germany. They had zigzagged over the planet looking down at its many wars. It was a world in which tens of millions of people needlessly died every year - including tens of thousands of  children per day – from stoppable poverty related diseases; many human beings could have been saved by simply having the chance to use clean water and mosquito nets. This was a very sad and needless human global situation that Lanang was well aware of so he knew no one would be coming in a hurry to save the baby orangutans; it would all be up to him and his friends.

‘Troy & Achilles.’

Dawn. Final preparations had to be made. As it was it had already been decided that it would be best to split the commando group in two. One half would go inside the semi-trailer while the rest would stay outside the ranch as backup in case something went wrong. Otherwise this second group would be let into the ranch when possible to help with the rescue. From now on the code-word for the semi-trailer group would be ‘Troy’ (the city won by the Old Greeks with their horse) while the force waiting outside would have the code word ‘Achilles’ (a famous Old Greek hero). Carlos flying over the ranch would be the ‘heavenly eyes’ for both Troy and Achilles. The kite would be used to beam down close up pictures but it could also be used to fight as it also had many special weapons.

‘Electric Blue Freedom Ride.’

Carlos would also live stream everything happening to the Control Room; yet those at this special headquarters would know where everyone was due to tiny GPS sensors sewed in the battle uniforms. All helmet webcams would be turned on and what they saw would be shown on separate screens in the Control Room. Over fifty orangutans working in shifts in the Control Room were each given the role of ‘angel’ to each combatant to work as extra eyes looking out on the screen for anything threatening which a combatant may have missed. Everything that could be done to save a life was being acted on. It should be said that there was more or less an even number of male and female orangutans in both rescue groups. The female commandoes even had the main duty of freeing the baby orangutans from the cages who would calm the babies during this high risk mission. It was hoped silence would prove to be the best weapon for the orangutans.

Mara would only find out that there was a mass rescue when the semi-trailer - with its freed orphans inside it - was noisily well on its way in leaving the ranch. Mr Aladdin’s idea of using hollow logs to hide the commandoes had been upgraded by the orangutans to have one very big ‘log’ to house all the orphans.

With lots of space this long cylinder looked like an oversize petrol tanker. It was covered by real logs so it couldn’t be seen and its stainless steel skin was strong enough to stop bullets and missiles while the inside lining was made of a shock absorbing tropical rubber developed by the orangutans. The undercarriage of the semi-trailer was also specially armour plated. With thick bullet proof tinted glass on all the windows as well as high powered jet stream air vents inside the cylinder and cabin to quickly drive out any fire the orphans and the commandoes were well protected.

 Although the truck ran mainly on diesel it had an engine which also allowed it to use solar power but only during the day as battery storage space had been limited to make more room for the orphans.

What was truly eye catching about this oversized ‘armoured personnel carrier’ was that it was painted an electric blue. Lanang thought it right to paint this rescue vehicle this heavenly colour which to him represented freedom.

‘Killing Is The Last Choice...’

As to the sort of weapons that were going to be used the aim was not to kill the enemy but to only disable him. The more inventive orangutans with the best equipment money could buy had come up with a new generation of ‘no-killing’ weapons that easily outstripped anything made by human scientists such as stun guns; when hit by a stun bullet a sensor in the tip would give a human an electric shock strong enough to be knocked out for two hours. It was enough time for any of Mara’s men to remain knocked out while the rescue was completed. The stun bullets were also biodegradable so they would dissolve when they hit the human body or fell on the ground; only a tiny part of the tip would go a little way into the skin of a person. There was one deadly gun which was to be used only by Lanang when any situation was so bad there would be no other choice but to shoot – if only to hurt, and not to kill. Yet it was hoped this ‘human gun’ would never have to be used.

Orangutans wondered why was it that humans had not developed such no-killing guns? Was humanity’s love for spilt blood so strong it didn’t want to…? Why couldn’t the kidnappers at least use tranquilisers that would just cause a mother to go to sleep…?  Many an orangutan would shake his or her head in anger and frustration while thinking of such cruel human craziness.

‘To The Safe House.’

At dawn the commandoes gathered at a meeting point at the edge of the forest near Mara Town. If any human spotted this group they just looked like a typical bunch of young orangutans having a lazy day; sleeping, collecting berries maybe causing a bit of playful mischief amongst themselves.

Aladdin’s van pulled up and these disciplined orangutans boarded it straight away. They also knew to squeeze close together so as to all fit in to a very tight space. The van went to the safe house and on arrival it drove down a side driveway; the orangutans could go straight through to the backdoor of the house without being seen by anybody from the street. There was a chance a Mara spy could have been following the minivan once it was back in town. Inside the house the orangutans put on their uniforms and collected their military equipment. Krista was overjoyed to see everyone and she was praised on her success.

The baby orangutan who Krista had ‘adopted’ was also introduced to everybody.  Lanang was told by Krista that the little one was able to tell her that the ‘little black sticks’ on her cage lock were also on all the cages inside the ranch. Such ‘inside knowledge’ was very good to know as the satellite had not sighted such small objects. A plan would be worked out to overcome this technical problem. Both Lanang and Krista were amazed the young orangutan had noted such an important thing.

‘As If Inside A Magic Realism Novel...’

“I think in a few years we will have another willing member. Alas, she is an orphan. I’ve thanked ‘Amparo’ and dearly promised our cheeky friend that we would get all her friends and a brother out.” remarked Krista.

“That’s the little one’s name?” asked Lanang.

“Yes, Aladdin spoke to his father about her and Mr Aladdin said there is a female character of the same name in a famous Colombian magic realism book. Krista laughed. “It does feel like we are in a novel where the magic is real!”

 ‘I agree!” laughed Lanang. “We are in a dream!”

‘Lanang & Krista.’

There was clearly a lot of fondness between Lanang and Krista as they were always looking at each other from the corner of their eyes; when two orangutans had a lot of loving trust between them they would always gently touch each other’s eyes as a greeting when they met and it is what these two would always do. Lanang and Krista had become orphans at about the same time.

Krista had been caught by human kidnappers after her mother was killed. Although Krista was very upset she still had the presence of mind to break free from her cage by using a wooden splinter to pick the lock. When the truck Karin was in was very slowly going up a hill she jumped out and quickly hid herself in the jungle beside the road.

 In the rainforest Krista met Lanang who comforted Krista over the loss of her mother. They took care of each other but at their young age the tenderness shown to each other by this couple was like a brother and sister. Now much older there was gossip amongst the older female matchmakers that romance was certainly afoot amongst these two much liked young orangutans.

 ‘First Victory.’

As the orangutans started having a hearty breakfast a loud explosion could be heard. Peering through a window Aladdin was able to describe that he could see a big orange ball of flame coming from the direction of the cage making shed. Several other explosions followed. It was a total surprise but it seemed that the original mini-explosion had led to gas cylinders blowing up. It was hoped the man in the shed was not seriously hurt but in all honesty any worrying about this human took a back step to what had been done.

“Well that’s that!” stated Lanang. Krista would have been given three cheers but it was important to stay quiet inside the house.  Instead two of the orangutans did a victory rap dance for Krista - twirling themselves in little cartwheels in front of her. Another orangutan placed the tip of his index finger on the top of his head and cheerfully twirled his body around on the spot.

‘The Great Leader Speaks.’

When the fun was over the ‘brainchild’ of this mission had his companions gather around him. “Okay.” whispered Lanang. “You all know what you have to do. We have spent many weeks training hard for something like this and no matter what will happen I promise all of you that this evening will go down in our history as a night of honour. We are doing what we have to do. All of you are brave. I am proud to be your leader.”

 ‘The ‘Trojan Horse’ Picks Up Some ‘Trojans’.’

It was late morning when the semi-trailer arrived. Calypso who was on lookout - sitting lazily on the front porch as if having a rest from doing house work - saw it stop a few houses down the road. Aladdin’s father got out and checked the tyres nearest to the footpath. This was the signal that everything was in order. The semi-trailer then drove off to head out of town.

Half an hour after the semi-trailer had driven off the van would go with everyone inside it to a planned meeting spot outside the town.

The place for the Troy group to get onto the semi-trailer was to be at a big truck rest stop on the main highway. It was a risk but with earlier practice the whole action could be done in thirty seconds. The semi-trailer pulled up to the very back of the rest area where so the van could not be seen by anyone. It was also a time of day that other truck drivers were having a quick sleep, checking their vehicles or eating and drinking at a small cafe. Aladdin’s father knew this truck rest stop very well and had come up to see it a few times.

When the signal was given – a loud cough by Kichapa the offsider with Mr Aladdin - the twelve orangutans jumped from the side door of the van straight up to the driver cabin to then go through an opened back hatch. It took only twenty four seconds for the orangutans to ‘bury’ themselves inside the semitrailer. cylinder.

Everything had gone to perfection; so far so good.

Aladdin went off to buy some coffee then drove off. The semitrailer did not go until Mr Aladdin and Kichapa had lunch.

While waiting to go the orangutans in the truck were making themselves cosy. The cylinder was very wide so there was a lot of space; it felt like being on a big jet airliner. With good ventilation and air conditioning the inside temperature was mild. Television screens and wireless internet had also been set up; there were bar fridges to keep food and drink and along with many other extras such as toilets, toys and hammocks the vehicle was well prepared for the arrival of many baby orangutans.

‘Beware of Dayaks Bearing Gifts.’

Yet for two orangutans they could not get too comfortable as they were to strip down and travel in the driver cabin as ‘presents’ for Mara. It was hoped Mara would let them stay chained to the truck overnight; thus they could be lookouts for the commandos in the truck during the first phase of the operation. In case they were caged both volunteers each had a tiny skeleton key in their mouths to escape.

 ‘Achilles Reaches The Ranch.’

The Achilles team still in Aladdin’s van drove to a spot two kilometres from Mara’s ranch. ‘Achilles’ then left the van and went the rest of the way in a rainforest that went to two hundred metres of the ranch. The land all around the ranch had been cleared but Achilles was able to position itself on a small hill at the edge of the rainforest. Although it was night this commando group had a clear view of the ranch. It seemed strange that a rainforest was allowed to live next to an illegal logging camp but it served as a sort of ‘camouflage’ for Mara in case anyone came to accuse him of doing anything illegal. How could he be logging when he was keeping a healthy rainforest right next door to him? Once again ‘jealous environmentalists’ were trying to shame him for he was actually doing a better job than them!

Aladdin in the van would meet Achilles very near the small hill by going up a fire trail. This back road was very muddy and rough and even though the van was changed to become a four wheel drive it was thought the extra weight of the Achilles group may cause the vehicle to get stuck. At nightfall stun machine guns and stun mortars would be set up. (The mortars sent off long cans that each let off many shock sensor tips when they hit the ground). One commando had a super powerful magnifying night vision telescope and it was his job to keep looking at the main gate for when Troy would open it up to let Achilles go in.

‘A Local Elder Pays A Visit.’

Achilles had a surprise visitor: an orangutan elder from the local tribe had turned up. The elder knew the rainforest so well that even these well-trained top-line troops had not seen him until the last second. “You gave us a fright!” said Ajax who was the leader of Achilles.

“You need to be more on your guard if an old fellow like me could surprise you!” sharply stated this wise elder. “I’ve come to show you where the tunnel opening is.”

“Yes.” said Ajax. “We were expecting you...”

“Right by the main entrance there’s a small trapdoor. The searchlight beams don’t work so close to the fence so no one will see you come out. It’s a blind spot as the guards always look out and not down.”

“Thank you for your help. Lanang told me he is sorry he could not meet you. We are all very thankful that your people have dug a tunnel.”

“The tunnel was no problem to dig as the dirt is very soft.” The old orangutan gave a thoughtful look towards Mara’s ranch. “Lanang has made sure my people have been well cared for. We thank him for that. Some of our young ones have also been stolen by that murdering Mara and his main offsider Mr Papiyan!” The Elder calmed down after his fit of anger. “If they are freed it will bring true joy to our tribe. Many of us are very willing to join you.”

“I will pass on your offer of support to Lanang. Stay hidden. We do not yet know what the night will bring but if your help is needed we will let you know.” Ajax tapped his forehead with his finger to signal that a telepathic message would be sent.

“That sort of thing doesn’t work so well with me in my old age. I’ll bring up a young one with whom you can test your mental communications with. He’ll also show you where the entrance of the tunnel is close to here. It should only take you a few minutes to go along it. Good luck.”

“Thank you.”

“LOOK!” whispered another orangutan.

The elder and Ajax stared at the ranch. The semi-trailer was pulling up outside the main gate.

‘The Trojan Horse Is Welcomed Into Hell.’

Mr Aladdin got out of the semi-trailer. He looked up at the two men standing in a guard tower behind the main gate. “Hello. Nice place you have here. Is Mara around?  He’s expecting me...”

Mr Aladdin had been in touch with Mara for several weeks. Much talking between them had taken place and a large sum of money had been handed over by the Dayaks (supplied by Lanang of course) to get this far. Finally, Mara had decided to take a chance that the Dayak offer to work with him was true. If not he would have these two Dayaks killed and this ‘first payment’ of logs would be his anyway. However, Mara could only believe everything was in order for his spies had told him that the Dayaks were not really in any position to be a threat. Despite being able to scrape together all this money the Dayaks were poor people and from Mara’s way of thinking – just as Mr Aladdin had rightly guessed – the Dayaks were simply making a practical decision in an attempt to make the best of a bad situation.

Kichapa stayed in the truck cabin but another man got out. It was one of Mara’s men who had been directed by Mr Aladdin in a very brief mobile phone conversation to pick him up on the main road leading into town. Mara’s man had taken over the driving for the last part of the trip after blindfolding the two other men. Although it would not be hard to guess the final approach to the ranch Mara still did not want it to be seen.

“Did you check the truck?” shouted one of the tower guards to Mara’s man standing beside Mr Aladdin.

A slight nod of the henchman’s head; yet the semi-trailer had not been checked: what threat could this loaded down vehicle possibly have? The main doors were opened and the big semi-trailer drove in. It was nearly dark and this too had been planned by Mr Aladdin. The semi-trailer could not now be unloaded of its logs until tomorrow morning. The Dayaks had asked for an overnight stay saying it was a long trip to the ranch from their area; Mara had agreed as he wanted the time to finalise his deal with these ‘primitives’. After parking the semi-trailer near a large stockpile of rainforest logs Mr Aladdin chained up the two orangutan ‘captives’ to the rear of the vehicle.

“Ah! My friends! You bring me presents! What a lovely colour is your truck!” Mara stood beside the Dayaks. He was a big strong looking man with a big black moustache. There was a very hardened look to his leathery, sun-tanned face which no amount of false smiling could hide. His white short sleeved shirt and light coloured trousers were of the highest quality just like his sparkling black shoes. Gold chains hung around his neck and wrists. Mara’s watch also looked very expensive.

Mr Aladdin guessed that Mara may have been in his early fifties but such tough businessmen always looked a lot older than what they actually were. If nothing else this ‘charming’ criminal would be in his late forties.

“Those two should be right there for now! Let them enjoy a last evening of fresh air before I cage them! I’m in a good mood!” Mara was suddenly silent and looked closely at the two Dayak men. He lit a cigar. “To tell you the truth I’ve had some bad luck today. I don’t have any spare cages to put your two ‘gifts’ in! There was a big fire in a factory I own in town. My ‘manager’ said there had been an accident and that he can’t make me any more cages! Very troublesome! Worse still a little baby orange girl was burnt to ashes in the fire! Nothing left of her! Poor, poor child! Tch! Tch! Tch! You have no idea how sad that makes me feel!” Mara placed his big hand with its thick fingers over his chest then displayed another horrible smile. His white teeth shined in the light of the setting sun. “I’ve lost some money today! So it’s a ‘godsend’ that you two come now to bring some joy my saddened spirit!” Quiet.

“Sir, to humble Dayak villagers as ourselves…” Aladdin’s clever father made sure to keep the tone of his voice ‘lowly’. “…it is sad a great man like you has suffered such a terrible loss...” ‘Nothing like throwing in at the end a spot of ‘sweet talk’ to stroke the ego of this criminal.’ thought Mr Aladdin as he bowed his head.

“Yes! Yes! That’s what I thought also! No cages either for you two simple minded fellows!” Mara once more let off a threatening laugh. “Ah! I am a bad host! I make jokes at the expense of my visitors when I should be more welcoming! Time to go inside! In the mean-time I will have your vehicle refuelled!”

‘The Two Dayaks Experience Hell’s Hospitality.’

The Dayak men were taken inside a house where they were led to a living room with a dining table set for an evening meal. “There is only us three as Mr Papiyan sends his apologies. He has a very bad headache and is lying down.”

Mara and the two Dayaks sat.

“Enjoy! My friends! We’ll talk business later! Take those colourful Dayak caps off your heads and place them on this side table while we dine!”

 The meal was delicious with beautiful women always bringing in new food dishes.

 Mara drank an expensive red wine from an old wine glass. “Ah...excellent! Would you care to have some? No, the mineral water and orange juice will do you? I have an excellent cook who knows all the local foods. It amazes me you still hunt and fish only for enough food to meet your daily needs. As you still keep to the old animist traditions I believe you will very much like these excellent dishes.”

It was true: the food was very good and the Dayaks did like the old recipes.

“I’ve also included a very good laksa soup you can find over the border in Sarawak such as in Kuching-”

 Mara suddenly raised his index finger. “I’ve planned some entertainment for you!”

 The worrying mood felt by the two Dayaks despite this fine dinner now only worsened for them.

Mara called out to someone in the next room. “Igor! You can come in!”

A tall man wearing a tailored black suit, black shirt and long thin black tie and wide brimmed black hat walked into the room. It was noted that he too was also moustached and there was a scar on his long drawn out angry looking face. In his hand was a long black leather whip. With him were two young male orangutans dressed up as clowns. One was holding a circle hoop and the other had a guitar. They were both shaking from sheer fear.

“Mr Papiyan’s brother...?” asked Mr Aladdin.

“NO!” laughed Mara who thumped the table with his big fist. Silence. Mara then stared coldly at Mr Aladdin as he spoke.  “Igor I wish you to meet my visitors. Two fine men who keep to the traditional ways in the south of our fair island. I offer them the honour of enjoying your fine show!” More silence. “This is Mr Aladdin and – what is the name of your offsider?” icily asked Mara.

“He is known as Kichapa-”

“Kichapa! A fine name! After the famous folk hero of the Dayaks! A fighter of all evil!” Mara spoke in a teasing way. “Igor – we are in very good company!”

Mr Aladdin could not help but think of the bitter irony that Mara was the name of the Buddhist Lord of Death whose other name was Papiyan. A crude, unskilled being in the realm of Life who dulled one’s spiritual senses so that the bliss of nirvana would never be reached; to hollow out a human being by making the worthless features of this world appear interesting yet only to end up in a tired hell.

Yes, here was Mara before him...it had occurred to this wise Dayak elder that Mara and Mr. Papiyan were only made up names of these two cruel men who probably in some accidental way had come across this evil being.  Mr Aladdin looked at this rude man in front of him - who comically attempted to appear ‘civilised’ – and thought the name ‘Mara’ suited him very well.

“Igor is from Russia. He trains grizzly bears and was recommended to me by some business friends on my last trip to Moscow. Have you been to Moscow? The city has some very fine art galleries and very colourful churches. Red Square is so majestic! I thankfully had Igor come to our beautiful land so he could pass on his great skills to some of my own trainers. I make very good money offering such trained orange fellows to certain buyers in the ‘hospitality trade’. Look at these two – ‘sweet’ aren’t they?”

The two shaking nervous orangutans both looked very sad.

WHACK! Igor cracked his whip.

“SMILE!” Mara screamed at the two orangutans. He raised his fist as if to hit them. Mr Aladdin and Kichapa smiled in sympathy at the orangutans to signal what they had to do to overcome their terror. Mr Aladdin knew the orangutans would copy their smiles. The orangutans kept shaking out of fear but they did smile.

“That’s BETTER! Get these two idiots to do their tricks! Gentlemen. Gentlemen. Sit down. PLEASE!”

WHACK! “JUGGLE!” commanded Igor.

The frightened orangutan who was holding the hoop put it down and wanting to avoid any pain he then took three plastic balls out of his trouser pocket and threw them up in the air the way he had been shown. 

“EXCELLENT! EXCELLENT! Good juggling!” A single clap. “Igor you do wonders with these numbskulls! I should have you train some of my guards!” Mara laughed. “Get the other one to do something as well to amuse us! My friends have come a long way and they need some fun!”

 The orangutan swung the hoop around his hip and the other orangutan started to play the guitar.

 “GOOD! GOOD! MUSIC SOOTHES THE WILD BEAST THEY SAY!”

 Igor took out two tennis rackets from a leather bag.

 “HAH! IGOR! YOU ARE A CLASS ACT! ANYONE FOR TENNIS!” coldly laughed Mara.

 The whip cracked again and with tears in their eyes and with stiff attempts to still try and smile the two orangutans hit the tennis ball to each other.

Mr Aladdin and Kichapa felt very sorry for the two badly treated orangutans. It was such a sad sight watching these two very scared beings. The Dayaks felt ashamed to belong to a species that could be so evil. Kichapa was filled with anger but Mr Aladdin had warned him to expect such a horrible display from their host. There was no point risking the mission by fighting to free these two orangutans.

“No matter what we see we have to be patient Kichapa and carry out our revenge on Mara later.” Mr Aladdin had told Kichapa earlier in the day.

“May we be excused?” asked Mr Aladdin.

“Certainly gentlemen! Tired of our little show! Igor let the two orange fellows also rest! Take them away! I - the Emperor of my little kingdom - say you can ALL REST!” Mara looked at the two Dayaks.  “I will have someone take you to your sleeping quarters. We can finalise our business in the morning. You will have to agree to what I want anyway! HAH! Go away! You little men! HA! HA! HA!”

Mara kept madly laughing as the Dayak men were shown out of the house. A young woman led the two guests over to a small cabin. The two ‘captive’ orangutans at the semi-trailer took note of this.

As the Dayaks settled on the beds pretending to go to sleep there was a knock on the door. Three gunmen stood in front of Mr Aladdin.

“Yes gentlemen?”

“Mara told us to let you know that we’ll be standing guard outside your sleeping quarters for the night. It’s for your own ‘safety’. There are so many bad people about.”

“Thank you...” The door was slowly closed. Mr Aladdin who thought the room may have a listening bug commented to Kichapa by writing in a notebook: ‘Mara must feel something’s not right but he has no idea what it could be. I hope our friends are careful.’

 ‘Over The Top!’

Lanang looked at fresh photos taken by Carlos to see how the laser beams were crisscrossing over one another.  It became clear that it was thought an intruder would try walking straight up to the cages. ‘Not from above!’ Yes, that was the way to go! Just like in that first Phantom Agent episode! ‘Over the top!’ It was the one design mistake in Mara’s security set up – he thought men would be attacking him – not orangutans! A climbing rope could be tied to the top of the warehouse and the natural climbing skills of the orangutans would do the rest! It would mean being in view of the tower guards so they needed to be knocked out first.

‘K.L.’

As for the flash drives on the cage locks a jamming radio signal would stop them from setting off an alarm. However, it now seemed smart to disable all security fuses in the ranch’s main switch box. Power had to be cut off to the laser beams and to any other ‘surprises’ that Mara may have in place. Thus a friend of Aladdin’s who was a computer expert working in Kuala Lumper was right now hacking into the customer files of the electric company for the ranch. ‘KL’ would find a wiring plan showing the position of the switchbox.

 ‘Time To Strike?’

The latest mind message from the outside ‘captives’ stated that most of Mara’s men had gone to sleep. There were only a few men awake in a large cabin nearby playing cards. Although the men guarding the Dayaks could be a problem they looked to also be asleep on the porch. As for the security cameras aimed on the cages it had been decided to knock out the staff looking at the live pictures in the security room. A small sleeping gas cylinder would be thrown down an air conditioning vent on top of the building with the security room. It was an oversight no security cameras had been placed on roofs.

The first act of the rescue mission would be for a commando to quietly leave the truck and with a climbing rope scale the security building to reach the air vent. Carlos would inspect the roof from the air beforehand to make sure there were no guards. On this building there were none but there were some guards on other rooftops and at the main entrance but many of these men were nodding off.

These men deep down believed they were safe and so there was no real need to always stay awake; especially if Mara could not catch them asleep when he too was likely sleeping. The orangutans knew this lazy, care-free attitude would be their greatest weapon. Although Mara worried that he could be in danger none of his men believed anyone would attack such a well-defended stronghold. It was time to prove Mara’s men wrong!

‘The Rescue Begins!’

Two more card players had gone to sleep so there was only three left and they had closed the barrack door.

Yes - it was time to move. 

The commando who had to knock out the security building was the first to go. Several minutes passed and a mind message came from this commando that he had succeeded.

After this first little victory the leader was next to go. ‘It’s up to me.’ Lanang had given himself the task of sneaking up to the card players to release a sleeping gas can.

The rest of Troy left the truck and sat low alongside the vehicle to watch Lanang slowly approach the hut. He ran to a small supply shed on his left and then stopped. Wide open space. He was quiet. ‘All clear’ was the mental missive from the first commando who had been on the security building roof. His second task had been to creep up and knock out with more sleeping gas the men inside a machine gun pillbox who could see the open ground that Lanang had to cross. Carlos had already told him the guards on the nearby rooftops were all having a lie down.

Very calmly Lanang ran off to be under a hut window. Lanang’s heart had skipped a beat when he crossed the open space where he could so easily be seen. Sweat was pouring down Lanang’s face but he was still keeping his nerve; no matter how his body was responding there was in his heart the memory of his mother which kept his mind as cool as icy steel.

The card players could be heard in the room.

Yes, it was a big risk Lanang was taking as one of the card players could stand up at any moment and go out to the porch. Sitting against the long hut wall Lanang prepared the sleeping can. The gas would be released ever so slowly and knock out the card players. Lanang put on his gas mask.

“Ah! You’ve beaten me again! Maybe I should go outside and clear my head with some fresh air!”

Lanang’s body froze. He bundled himself up as close to the wall as he could and hoped the shadows would hide him. The man came to the very door. A yawn. “I’m tired!’ He turned around. “I’m off to bed. I’ll leave you two to it!”

Lanang placed the sleep can next to the doorway - that was opened just a little - with the gas came out of a little rubber hose on the top. This tube was bent into the room which after a minute was very quiet. Lanang popped his head up to view both men asleep over the table. One man was still holding his cards up in the air.

‘Hah! Looks like he would have won!’

After taking off his gas mask and placing the empty can into his little backpack Lanang went back to the others. The two ‘prisoner’ orangutans were unchained and they quickly changed into their military clothes inside the semi-trailer and then grabbed their weapons.

Troy went into action. From the semi-trailer to where the cages were it was possible to follow a wide stretch of shadow as the truck was parked next to a big warehouse that covered everything around it with a deep black shade.

The cages were lined next to the warehouse with a large roof sunshade over them so the captive orangutans would be protected from the hot sun and rain. If there were no red laser security beams it would have been simple to bring the captive orangutans from the cages to the semi-trailer.

Troy would now have to go ‘over the top’. The Trojans swung up three pointed hooks attached to climbing ropes to catch onto the roof guttering of the warehouse. The commandoes climbed up the ropes to reach the roof.

A guard on top of the roof had thankfully been asleep but as two orangutans sneaked up on him he suddenly woke up. (This man’s natural survival instincts instantly made him aware that danger was close by). The guard quickly stood up; yet with his automatic rifle still strapped on his back he pulled out a flare gun from a hip pocket.

A Trojan on the ground who saw the suddenly upright man had already lifted his blowpipe to strike him with a dart.

The guard fell off the roof.

Everyone held their collective breath as this limp body hit the ground for his right hand was within a hair’s breadth of the first laser. A commando went up to the fallen guard and carefully moved his outstretched arm back to the side of his body.  Luckily for him, apart from a few broken bones, the man was still alive. The injured guard was carefully dragged away from the laser beams and placed against the warehouse. This man would lie knocked out for a few hours.

Without making any noise the commandoes scaled down to the thin iron sheet tops above the cages. Other climbing ropes were dropped down to the cages. There was now a so called ‘vine path’ from the cages which ran over the warehouse roof and down its side to end up beside the semi-trailer. Even the smallest orangutan baby would have enough climbing skill to go up and down these ropes. The only real worry was for those babies who would be too weak to climb yet there would always be Trojans on standby to carry them.

‘The Amazons Come To The Fore.’

Tranquiliser star knives and tranquiliser blow darts were used to quickly knock out the few sleeping guards on the roofs around the cages. The ‘Amazons’ – that is the female commandoes so named after the human female warriors who fought at Troy – took the lead in rescuing the orphan orangutans while the male Trojans would deal with the main entrance.

After climbing over the roof of the warehouse Krista along with five other female orangutans went to the cages. The flash-drive alarm sensors on the locks had their frequency jammed through a signal that was sent from a laptop Krista had with her. The cage doors were then easily opened by using skeleton keys. The six females calmed the babies and asked them to be quiet. The babies had enough sense that although they were not totally sure what was going on they did at least know they were being rescued. The first saved orangutans would wake up those in the next cage - as they had got to know each other - and whisper to them to be quiet. These orangutans in turn would wake up those in the next lot of cages who were also told what was going on and to also be quiet. It was easy to wake up other orangutans by softly shaking them on the shoulder as the cages were close together.

The first orangutans let out of their cages were taken over the roof of the warehouse to the semi-trailer. It was made clear that at no time while on the warehouse roof should anyone stand up – this way the chances of being spotted were kept very low. The decision was also made to leave until last those orangutans who would need to be carried by the rescue team. Everything was going well but it would take time as there were so many orangutans that needed to be freed. Sadly, it was turning out that far too many orangutans were too weak to walk due to the high level of mistreatment. It was truly shocking what poor condition many of these babies were in. They were only treated better when it came closer to the time to move the babies on to a buyer. Less food, less cost to Mara and thus higher profits for him.

‘The Takeover Of The Main Gate.’

Guards were sleeping in hammocks hanging from posts above the big wide arch going over the main entrance. Automatic stun rifles with silencers were aimed and soon it was safe to say these guards would be having a long, deep sleep.

Climbing up the steps that led to this curving causeway the Trojans fanned out along the walls to put every human they saw to sleep. In this narrow space it was simply best to stab Mara’s men with a stun blow dart. There was one guard actually doing his job at the very end of one high wall. Luckily this man was looking out and so he was brought down from behind with a stun star knife.

At the watch towers at both ends of the front wall of the ranch the guards inside of them were also dealt with very quickly. 

However, when Lanang and another Trojan climbed up the watch tower above the main gate they were horrified to find out that in the guard room on the top were two guards playing cards and listening to a radio. It was only because these two men were so interested in their game that they had not looked down into the camp. They would have seen the many orangutans crawling over the warehouse roof in single file and going down to the semi-trailer.

Lanang stared into the guard room from the top rung of the ladder that led to it. After going down a couple of rungs to put on his gas mask Lanang crept back up to let off the sleeping gas. It went up to the two men.

“I’m getting drowsy...”

“So am I...”

“We need some fresh air...”

Both men stood up. One man looked at the rooftops. “Hey...hey...I think I see some orangutans escap-” The man never had a chance to finish his sentence. One fellow was brought down by Lanang with a pressure grip to his neck. The other guard swung around at the same time but was jumped by the other Trojan who then backed off when a blade swished in front of him; yet what was really feared was that this attacker would start shouting.

 There was nothing to worry about: the unfriendly guard did open his mouth but only to let off a big yawn. The only noise that could be heard was the stop-start sound of the knife dropping to the floor as the guard dozed off. Unluckily for this guard he was standing right beside a handrail and toppled over it to land outside the main gate. The Trojans could hear a sigh so they knew he was still alive and then it was quiet.

“The sleeping gas is taking too long. Remind me to test it again when we get home.” stated Lanang. “Let’s go down and see the others.” First though a look at the playing cards lying on the table. “Mmmm...looks like the one that went over the wall would have won. No wonder he was so angry!” Lanang laughed. “Too bad we spoiled his game!”

‘The Main Gate Opens!’

Achilles saw the gate swing open just a little; followed by the flashing of a small red light. “It’s time!”

 ‘LOVELY!’

Two commandoes would be staying back to use a heavy stun machine gun and a stun mortar. The clear view into the ranch from the high points on the small hill was too good to not take full advantage of it in case there was a shooting fight. These two members of Achilles would be helped by two local orangutans who were given a quick lesson on how to help out with these weapons.

Amparo would help Calypso and Aladdin. The light-hearted child was playing around with her still growing mind powers by making Aladdin’s bottle top on his coffee thermos go up and down on its own. Aladdin couldn’t grab it straight away to open or close it. Amparo was being very playful as she made little objects like pencils, keys, paper and fruit whizz around as if a joking ghost was inside the van. The young babe then found a plastic bucket with which she surprised Aladdin by placing it on his head from behind him. “LOVELY!” giggled Amparo.

“What a great helmet!” laughed Calypso.

‘The Two Dayaks Also Swing Into Action.’

Aware that the rescue was under way Kichapa unpicked the lock on the door to go out onto the porch. He slowly went up to each of the three men to apply on them a deep sleeping hold. The Dayak then went back to give the all clear to Mr Aladdin who handed him a note: ‘Wait! Our friends don’t know about the two orangutans we saw at Mara’s dinner! Let’s rescue them first then go back! We have time!’

In the Control Room the two dots representing Mr Aladdin and Kichapa were seen on the main screen to be moving not to the semi-trailer but to Mara’s house.

“What are they doing?” growled the First Elder. “Mr Aladdin is a great man and he would have good reason to risk the whole operation but a message must get to him straight away to get back to the semi-trailer to drive it! We have to talk with Lanang! He knows how to speak to these humans!”

 ‘Mr Aladdin Makes A Difficult Choice.’

Mr Aladdin knew the Elders in the Control Room would be very angry but he wasn’t worried. “Mara won’t have the orangutans in the house. They would be too ‘smelly’ for him.” he whispered. “There must be a cage around the back.” The two men saw a small wooden shed as they hid in the shadows alongside Mara’s house. On a bench outside was a clown cap; it was proof the orangutans were inside this building.

A visitor.

“LANANG!” came the surprised whispers from both Dayaks. Lanang signalled to the humans that they had go to the truck. Mr Aladdin rang his son and spoke to him about the two orangutans being kept by Igor. Mr Aladdin then gave his phone to Lanang who spoke to Aladdin.

The two Dayaks closely watched Lanang speak in a puzzling series of dot and dash sounds to Aladdin. Finally, the phone was handed back to Mr Aladdin. “You need to go back to the semi-trailer straight away.” stated his son.

“We just can’t leave them!” complained Mr Aladdin.

“Don’t worry. Lanang says after all the other orangutans are safely in the truck these two will be saved. It’s not worth trying right now. If something wrong happens hundreds of orangutans may never be freed-”

“We are right here! So, so close!” Mr Aladdin looked angrily at Lanang as he whispered angrily at his son on the phone.

“Father...calm down...I thought you were the responsible one...Lanang will guide you back.”

Mr Aladdin was ready to run to the shed. He would smash open the locked door with his bare hands and rescue the orangutans. His body was very tense – hard as a rock. Eyes filled with tears. “Let’s...let’s go...” Mr Aladdin nodded his head towards the semi-trailer.

‘The First Elder’s Son.’

When the First Elder heard about the two orangutan clowns he well understood Mr. Aladdin’s ‘folly’. The First Elder looked seriously at the main screen. He thumped the railing with his fist. “Damn it!” shouted the First Elder. “We will still try to rescue them! For one thing is for sure – no orangutan – not even these two - will be left behind!” A tear. The First Elder had a very young son who had been kidnapped many years ago; a misfortune always too hurtful for him to talk about. The mother – his dearest beloved - had been killed which also brought on renewed heartache; it was all so tearfully painful for this survivor.

One day while going through the rainforest the First Elder found some litter on the forest floor. ‘These unthinking humans.’ he had complained while picking up a plastic drinking bottle; sandwich wrapping and a torn magazine. The First Elder would properly get rid of this rubbish in a paper recycle garbage bin outside one of the human houses he knew was nearby. He looked in the magazine to see a ‘funny’ article about some ‘crazy’ orangutans entertaining the rich patrons in a flashy upmarket restaurant - the First Elder screamed and dropped the magazine. He then picked it up again: there was his dear son all dressed up like a clown holding an accordion. Two female orangutans in dance outfits were on either side of him. It was very sad and pained the First Elder to think what cruelty had befallen his son to be ‘trained’ to perform this silly act. Hearing what the two orangutans had to do in front of the Dayak dinner guests brought all the pain back to the First Elder. Thankfully, the magazine clipping had been kept.

After this big rescue mission maybe his son and the other orangutans with him could be saved by Lanang’s commandoes? “Hope.” muttered the First Elder. He thought Lanang’s idea a ‘ridiculous pipedream’ and did not dare to think it to be otherwise; but now it seemed Lanang’s ‘impossible dream’ was coming true. For the First Elder - as well as for the many other orangutans who had bitterly lost loved ones to the human kidnappers - they could now at least hope. Salvation. Return. Two sweet words that those like the First Elder would never before have risked saying in their heavy hearts. A sigh. “Yes...not one will be left behind...”

 ‘Two Trojans Pay A Visit To Mara’s House.’

The main body of Achilles was guided through the dark by another local orangutan to the tunnel entrance. The tunnel was well built which allowed Achilles to crawl to the main gate very quickly and join Troy. All effort was now made to rescue the baby orangutans.

With the arrival of Achilles two Trojans were ordered to go to the main switch box. A drawn plan of the electrical wiring had at last become available. The main switch box was in the hallway of Mara’s house just behind the front door. It was a surprisingly easy spot to get too which probably pointed to Mara’s strong trust in his security. Alas Mara was to never have the thought that it was not humans who would be trying to get into his house!

The two Trojans climbed onto the roof to reach a chimney stack. The chimney was small but not small enough to stop these two orangutans from climbing down. It was a short trip from the living room down the main hallway to the switch box. (It was guessed Mara’s bedroom was at the back of the house). Along the way a small safe in a wall was spotted. The orangutans skilfully cracked it open to find a pile of shining diamonds. To play a joke on Mara the costly stones were taken and a small food bag of peanuts were put in their place. There was a lock on the switch box but a skeleton key solved that little problem. The fuses for the laser beams and alarms were taken out. The two burglars then took the cheeky step to leave by the front door as the alarm to the house had also been switched off. As it was the guard on the porch was asleep in a hammock.

 ‘The Two Trojans Pay A Visit To Igor’s Shed.’

These two safecracking commandoes now had to free the two orangutan ‘clowns’. The two Trojans reached the same spot in the shadows of the house that the two Dayaks had earlier stood. The door of the shed creaked open. Igor. The Russian picked up the clown hat and threw it inside the shed. Loud crying. The sad sound was coming from the captives.

“At least we know they are inside.”

 ‘Igor Is Fed Up!’

Igor threw the hat at the cage the two captives were being kept in. “SHUT UP!” The two upset orangutans could not go to sleep and Igor was not happy with them always crying.

The two caged orangutans loudly gasped when they thought Igor was going to throw a rock at them. However, the clown hat was pulled through the wire cage by one of the captives. The hat was a symbol of lost self-worth but it was also a known object to its owner who right now felt so out-of-place in this strange surrounding. The recent ‘training’ by Igor had badly upset them. Thus, they could not get to sleep.

Igor was frustrated that he was being kept awake and with his twisted logic felt like a prisoner. He jumped up and down outside the shed. “I have turned those two idiots into true artists! Why won’t they sleep!”  Igor with whip in hand was walking quickly up and down in front of the shed; cursing his ‘thankless’ students as well as his boss for making him stay with them. “Mara can’t trust any of his men so he leaves it up to me to take care of those two!”

“Should we take him out?” whispered one of the Trojans into his intercom. They both had turned on their helmet webcams and so Igor was being watched in the Control Room.

“No...no...we would like you too...but no...” stated a female operator.

“Why not...?” came the complaint.

“That leather coat the target is wearing is bullet proof. It is so strong it would take a missile to get through it. It’s not for fashion reasons that this coat goes all the way down to his feet. You’ll notice that the target has since put on his hat. Not what a person would normally do at night but your webcam sensor shows the inside lining of his hat makes your helmet seem like it is made out of tissue paper.”

“I could aim for the face...”

“The target is walking to and fro doing a lot of zig-zagging and his face keeps twitching.  Our records of both your sharpshooting scores at the firing range show there would be an average 67% chance that either of you will down the target. A perfect bullseye is needed. Even wounding him is not good enough. Any sort of miss and he will alert Mara. We need at least 95% certainty. You are to keep watch.  When the target stops his walking around you will have plenty of time to focus your laser sight and take him out-

“PATIENCE!” suddenly boomed the voice of the First Elder down the intercom giving the Trojan a ringing ear.

‘The Laser Beams Are Gone!’

It was Krista who first noticed that the red laser beams were gone. The good news was signalled to everyone and the rescue continued at double speed with the vine path no longer used.

‘The Orphans Make Themselves Feel At Home.’

The last of the captive orangutans were freed and taken inside the truck. It was very cosy inside and thankfully there was still room to move around. The baby orangutans were not fussed in any way as they found the ‘big tube’ very comfortable compared to the horrible living conditions they had escaped from. The filthy cages had no space and the diet was poor. A yucky banana mash and filthy water was all the orphans had. In this new safe place the babies were each given a juice popper and fresh jungle fruit. On television screens were Bananas with Pyjamas and the four Australian male performers for children known as the Wiggles; the orangutan babies were especially delighted by one of their offsiders: a singing Dorothy the Dinosaur. To also make the orphans feel at home many of them were given leaves so they could make their own leaf dolls - just like they would do in the jungle - for it was hoped it would help them to sleep better.

 ‘Time To Go!’

Everything was perfect. Almost too perfect sensed Lanang who sat in the driver’s cabin. “Okay. Is everyone in?” signed Mr Aladdin. A nod of yes from Lanang. “Good. Time to go!” Mr Aladdin squeezed the driving wheel with both hands.

 The main gate was wide open and would stay that way as the wiring controlling the gate had been cut. The loud noise of the truck engine would wake up Mara and the guards in the barracks. Yet it was still hoped with a quick getaway there would be no gun battle.

     ‘The Two Clown Orang Utans Are Not Forgotten.’

Maps showed there was a gap in the buildings that would allow Igor to see the semi-trailer as it left. A side cabin window would be wound down and Kichapa would stick out his head and wave ‘Bye! Bye!’ to Igor (after all it would be very rude to leave the ranch without saying goodbye to your host). Kichapa would ask Igor to thank Mara for his hospitality. It would only take a split second but it was thought an angry Igor would forget himself and keep his head steady just long enough to take him down.

The two commandoes would pick up the last two captives and all board the semi-trailer. It would quickly continue its turn around and then leave the ranch.

 ‘Ready, Set...’

The truck’s excited passengers knew it was a special moment. (To the two Dayaks it felt like a space rocket was about to be launched). As the truck was about to have its engine turned on every television switched over to a wide-angle webcam view of what the driver could see in front of him. “Ready, set...GO!” The ignition key was twisted round. 

3

STORMY WEATHER

‘No Petrol!’

Nothing happened. “TRY AGAIN!” signed Lanang who kept madly tapping the top of the dashboard with his index finger. Cold sweat was pouring down his face. No noise at all. “WE HAVE NO PETROL!” shouted Mr Aladdin. It was true: the ignition key had at least switched on electrical power to the dashboard instruments: the petrol gauge needle had quickly dipped to EMPTY.

“IT CAN’T BE!’’Lanang and the two Dayaks in the cabin were stunned. Instead of re-fuelling Mara had sucked the petrol out!

As for the solar battery there was not enough energy stored inside it to allow the truck to escape. 

‘I KNEW IT!’

“I KNEW IT!” screamed Mara whose very angry face Lanang could see. In that mad expression was a hint of satisfaction as Mara had sensed all along there was ‘something’ wrong. His hunch had been proved right. Mara started shooting into the air with an automatic machine pistol. No little revolver for him and certainly no stun gun. He let off a flare gun and the ranch was suddenly lit up by a burning orange light slowly floating down.

  ‘Mara Puts On A ‘Fireworks’ Display For The Truck.’

“Enjoy the fireworks little orangutans!” Mara was referring to the orphans for as far as he was concerned he was dealing with Dayaks who had come to rescue them.

Sleeping gas or no sleeping gas the anger of their master could be felt deep inside the mind of every man and everyone suddenly woke up to answer Mara’s call-to-arms. Rows of guns were aimed at the semi-trailer. “FIRE!” came the order from Mara as he swept his arm down like it was a long, sharp blade ready to deeply cut into any victim.

Thousands of tracer bullets struck the logs covering the cylinder turning them into woodchip. Bullets now banged into every square centimetre of the protective tube but it was so strong every projectile harmlessly bounced off. Yet, the noise! It was like the hammers of the gods angrily banging the whole truck. Everyone’s hearing could only just barely withstand this thunderous sound. 

For Lanang, Mr Aladdin and Kichapa sitting in the driver’s cabin it was like watching heavy rain striking the windscreen. Many squashed bullets piled up on the front hood.

Mara’s men - already amazed by the sudden appearance of an enemy force - were even more amazed when they saw that the truck was unharmed.

“Superb...absolutely superb...” Mara was only filled with admiration for whoever had designed such a perfect mobile fortress. He had been very wise to secretly empty the petrol tank. “At least all the eggs are now in the one very big basket.” A laugh. “We can wait! HAH! We won’t!” Mara went inside his house and came back with a conductor’s stick. “There’s one thing that I truly enjoy and that is classical music!” Tchaikosvky’s 1812 Overture came over a loudspeaker.

With his conductor’s stick Mara started directing different sections of the firepower available to him to shoot at the truck. The loud clanging of big machine gun fire and the chatter of small automatic rifle fire would match the rhythm, loudness and changing slow and fast pace of the symphony. The truck occupants watched the mad conductor go through his paces. Mara knew he had a very captive audience. Yet there was some method to Mara’s madness as he was using different types of weapons on different parts of the truck as if trying to find a weak spot.

The booming classical music reached its climax. A well-directed mortar barrage. Relief. ‘Is that all...’ sighed Lanang as the shells bounced harmlessly off the tough armour skin of the semi-trailer. The leader had feared a more destructive finale.

Yet Mara ruthlessly raised his conducting rod to the night sky and suddenly out of nowhere came a helicopter with missiles dangling from its underbelly. This was the real endpoint!

“CARLOS! FLY BACK!” cried out Lanang who did not even bother talking in code. The conductor’s rod was raised higher, higher and ever so higher. The loud clashing of cymbals - the high-pitched ringing sound echoed through the hollow cylinder to shake into the soul of every living creature; the orangutans held their collective breath and wondered if it was the last thing they would ever hear.

 ‘A Dragonfly Attempts To Down An Eagle.’

With the emergency jet rockets switched on Carlos quickly zoomed back to the ranch to see the helicopter circle into its final arc. Seconds! There was no other choice but to aim the whizzing kite straight at the helicopter.

A dragonfly attacking an eagle!

Everyone in the Control Room gasped as they saw on a large radar screen the little dot fly straight at the much larger dot. The kite was at MACH 2 - twice the speed of sound - and on its tip was a small flashing white signal light. Carlos’s life hanged in the balance: either the helicopter pilot knew that the incoming flying object was an enemy plane playing ‘chicken’ which in that case he could take his chances or it was a missile which meant having to get out of the way. There was only a millionth of a second to decide and because the kite was so small and all that could be seen in the darkness was the blinking light the pilot had to assume it was a missile.

Ducking for cover the helicopter suddenly shifted down - it could not go up - as the ‘missile’ was angled directly in the way by Carlos.

Suddenly the big helicopter found its propellers cart-wheeling along the roof of a warehouse storing rainforest logs. A propeller had clipped the top of the warehouse ‘flipping’ the helicopter on its side and providing the finale of the 1812 Overture with a large cartwheel ‘firework’ display. In his panic the helicopter pilot accidently pressed the joystick missile button. Two missiles slammed into the ranch with buildings disappearing into thin air.

Huge explosions erupted all around the semi-trailer. The helicopter came down off the roof to hit the ground and explode in a ball of flame. Luckily for the pilot he had ejected from the breaking helicopter. The whole disaster was like a fantastic fireworks display - but for those inside the semi-trailer - rather than for Mara. The ‘grand conductor’ sadly stood with his lowered stick; his face blackened by the ash of the explosions as he watched his ranch blow up with walls of flames all around him.

All that could be heard over the still standing loudspeaker was the recorded loud applause of the audience that had listened to the Overture. The orangutans in the semi-trailer joined in the clapping.

‘The Calm After The Storm.’

“We all have to stay calm.” was Lanang’s first instruction over the intercom. The remark was also directed at the Control Room where everyone had looked on in horror at the unexpected bad turn of events. (It seemed the helicopter had been hidden in an air hangar where it was thought there was only Mara’s private jet).

“We must call on all the tribes!” shouted the First Elder with his big cheekpads flapping wildly. He and the other two elders were not paying much attention to Lanang’s advice. The young orangutan replied angrily: “There is not enough time to organise our rescue. We will save ourselves and the tribes can be witness to that!”

‘Stalemate.’

As the fires settled down it was seen that most of the wreckage was on one side of the ranch. The big warehouse whose roof many of the orangutans had crossed over had fallen down. Piles of rubble lay all the way to the front wall. However, on the other side of the ranch - where Mara’s house was - the buildings were undamaged. This was lucky for the two Trojans who still hiding beside the house. The small shed was also still standing. Outside this shed Igor was brushing ash off his leather coat that had fallen from the sky.

Although there were already many men who. could no longer fight Mara’s pool of manpower was so large he still had more than enough men to easily outnumber his enemy. As any general can tell you from any war: ruins are a much better line of defence than standing buildings. Mara’s men now had better hiding spots. Most of the perimeter was still protected. The truck still had to get to the main entrance. At least the main road was still clear as it mainly went through open space well away from any building. Thus Mara was very much interested in blocking the road especially seeing the gate could not be closed.

A bulldozer at the back of the ranch was brought up to load rubble onto the road.

A stun mortar round landed right on top of the bulldozer smashing in the driver cabin’s roof. The dazed driver jumped out. A fire shell now lit up the bulldozer turning it into a burning wreck.

Mara was amazed by how well his enemy was fighting back. He was also surprised that his enemy had been smart enough to leave some ‘eggs’ outside the basket. It dawned on him to no longer underrate his enemy.

“Did you see where that mortar fire was coming from?” Mara asked one of his lieutenants.

“No sir, everyone had their eyes on the truck.”

“I want the lookouts along the main entrance perimeter to be looking out from now on!”

 ‘The Three Queens Say Hello.’

As a morale booster it was a good time to remember the original reason for the rescue mission: the three young orangutans who had been kidnapped. Krista brought these three children to a forward area. Louisa, Nada and Suzana stared their cute faces down a wide-angle camera lens so their mothers in the Control Room could view them.

All three queens were wearing bullet proof flak jackets and each was holding a fluffy little toy kangaroo. (Louisa’s outfit was all shiny as she was very much into keeping everything very clean and being a little older than the other two queens would always make sure they were spotless; like a good ‘auntie’ she was holding a cleaning rag.

Nada was still holding the little hand-made twig paintbrush which she had been sleeping with at the time of the kidnap as even at her young age she was very ‘arty’; while Suzana was playing around with the toy mobile phone that one of the Amazons had given her. Suzana was asked to stay still for the webcam which made her mother smile for she was aware of her young daughter’s gypsy spirit).

Tears were in everyone’s eyes as the television reunion took place. Even the Elders were touched by the sight of the three little ones. Despite the dangers overcome and the threats to be faced everyone felt at this very moment the rescue operation had been worth the risk.

“Hello darling...” said the mother of Suzana.  “Mummy...” Suzana’s face lit up when she could see her mother with a webcam link-up to the Control Room. “Is everything okay Suzy?”

“Big bang bang mummy but everything okay.” Curling her bottom lip Suzana pointed to a television screen – it was showing a dancing Dorothy the Dinosaur. A happy Suzana clapped excitedly. Her mother laughed. A chance was given for the other mothers to also speak to their daughters. (Nada’s mother was amazed by her daughter doing a few flamenco steps – Nada had clearly been watching the television quite a lot; as it was Suzana who also danced while Louisa had suggested to the other two that they all dance together to show a good sense of togetherness). The reunion went for about ten minutes. It was then decided to return communications to full operational status.

 “Big kisses to you our lovely darlings! See you soon. We all give you a big hug!”

“Mummies bye-bye!” The three little queens waved to their mothers. Transmission cut.

‘Mara Loves A Challenge.’

How long would the stalemate last? Mara did not care if it would take a week. His profit margins could take that sort of money drop. Insurance would cover the cost of most of the damage and there would be no money problem to replace any of his fighters. The lives of these men were very cheap.

The Dayaks were not to know but the helicopter pilot had been directed to only blow up the driver cabin. That way the losses to Mara’s ‘stock’ would have been kept low.  Mara was very aware that a lot of his money was inside that truck. With the cabin blown up – much like cutting off the head of a snake – it would have been easier to take over this big truck and recapture his babes. As a man with no pity this boss would then make the lives of the baby orangutans so cruel that they would wish they had died in battle. A ‘goal’ had been scored against him in the first half – and an ‘own’ one at that – but it just meant the second half would be more entertaining and the final victory a lot sweeter.

‘How To Get Petrol?’

“The refuelling truck was destroyed in the helicopter crash.” reported Lanang to the Control Room. “We have spare diesel on Aladdin’s van but as you know I have told him to also take fuel from the closest petrol station.”

“We can make you a bamboo hose.” stated the local elder who was speaking from a laptop webcam belonging to the two Achilles members outside the ranch. A video meeting was going on between him, Lanang and the Control Room. “It can be passed through the tunnel but from there to your chariot...”

“If a large wire ring is attached to the end of it Carlos can catch the hose with a hook hanging down from the kite and drop it beside the ‘chariot.”  Lanang paused “I will go out and pick it up and stick it into the petrol tank. I don’t plan it to be a suicide mission for either of us so we will need to distract the enemy.”

“A hook to catch the crook!” snorted the First Elder who went on to mutter: “It will have to be a big distraction...” 

“My craftspeople can make a catapult to fling coconuts at the ranch.” claimed the local elder. “With the fuel you are getting with that good human we can put some of it inside the coconuts with lit fuses to make them burst into flames as they hit the ground. The catapult can have a big enough scoop to send ten coconuts off at the one time. We can also make many firesticks to launch off together using a big bamboo slingshot. Many orangutans will for a short time line up along the rainforest’s edge with lit up branches. Mara’s men will think an outside attack has started and should look the opposite way long enough for your crazy plan to succeed.”

‘Borneo On 24 Hour Notice.’

“Sir, a satellite heat sensor has eyed a big flare up in north-east Borneo. We’ve also got more strange chatter.”

 “Mmmmm...keep that on hold...” The officer on duty at the secret spy base was feeling very unsure as to what could be happening. “We will have to put that part of the world on twenty-four-hour notice. If anything else out-of-the-ordinary happens let me know straight away.”

 ‘The Wise Person Project.’

The C.I.A, the F.B.I and the U.S. military started to work together to understand this ‘strange chatter.’ Trying to break this code became as big as the Manhattan Project when the U.S. atom bomb was made in World War II. All the specialist linguist spy code breakers could guess at was that the ‘terrorist operators’ were somehow using tongue speaking tones from orangutans as a ‘sound base’ for their secret language. Thus this code breaking exercise was called the ‘Wise Person Project’ as orangutan was translated by the Americans from the Malay to mean ‘wise person’ of the forest. If only these humans knew how wise their opponents really were...

 ‘Life On Mars’

If the Americans thought their foe seemed ‘other worldly’ it could be said the orangutans on the truck felt the human way they were now living was also ‘other worldly’. No trees but steel. Mara had played over his loudspeaker the Beatles song We All Live In a Yellow Submarine to annoy his trapped foe but the orangutans had taken a liking to the tune and would hum it; with the likes of Lanang changing the ‘yellow’ to ‘electric blue’ in his mind.

‘Three Russians Have Come On Board’

While living in this treeless tube it was important to keep the orphans calm while the steps were taken to free them. What was a bonus was the discovery of three Russian Blue cats who must have boarded the truck through an open hatch before the mission had started. Two were actually black which Mr Aladdin named ‘Anya’ and ‘Katya’ while the more royal looking grey-silver furred cat who had beautiful green eyes was named Mishka.

 “Tolstoyian sounding names.” smiled Mr Aladdin in reference to the famous Russian writer of War & Peace. The three cats were happy to be patted by the orphans who found great comfort to play with the three of them.

 ‘Koko The Gorilla Who Loves Cats’

 As for Lanang he was reminded of Koko the Gorilla who loved her cats and who was well known by humans for crying when a kitten she liked had died. Koko was already famous as she could use sign language and so Lanang looked forward to meeting her one day in San Fransisco along with Chantek an orangutan at Atlanta who could also use sign language. Meeting Koko and Chantek would make it an interesting ‘speaking’ tour to the United States of America for Lanang. Looking at the three cats he also remembered seeing a video of an orangutan who had saved a chick from drowning and of a orangutan and dog who had become friends.

 ‘Yes, friendships between species was a good thing.’ thought a smiling Lanang. ‘More of it would be better for everyone!’

 More of such a friendship there would be as if Lanang’s hopeful thought had magically become real when Mr Aladdin suddenly appeared with a small black dog who smiled up at Lanang.

 “I just found her! Another stowaway! She loves playing ball! Another welcome escort.” 

 “I hope she gets along with the cats.” stated Lanang.

 “Yes, they have just met but it may take time for a strong friendship to happen. Our feline friends didn’t seem to mind Ola but I think it’s well known that cats do think they are so much smarter than dogs…”

 Lanang patted the dog’s head. “True but dogs to me are more loyal when you read about dogs who will sit by the graves of their owners for days or wait at hospital entrances for a long time for their sick owners to get well.” “What’s her name…?” Lanang has started throwing the ball for the dog to jump up and cheerfully catch with her mouth.

 “Ola is the name on her collar tag.” replied Mr Aladdin.

 “Ola!” laughed Lanang who now threw the ball a long way from himself. Ola gleefully chased after it. “Run Ola run!” cheerfully yelled out Lanang who if the cats proved to be standoffish he had already promised to himself that he would try to be a good friend to Ola who seemed to be the first being who had instantly made him happy since the death of his mother. Not even meeting Krista for the first time had the same instant effect.

 “Ola is a schnauzer and on the inside of her collar it has her birthday and some other information which some of it has been washed out. At least we know Ola is two years old and the big surprise is something that I could read is she is half Australian and half Ukrainian. Maybe after all this is over we could try find her owners. I’m sure the mystery of her being here will be solved. I suppose Ola hopped on board the same way as the cats.  I found her asleep when I went to make sure all the bottom small openings were closed. They now are. Along with the cats I’m happy to mind Ola while you focus on other things but she is cheeky so I think you two will end being good companions! As for now I‘m sure Ola will keep the orphans happy playing ball and having treats.”   

‘A Russian Play with an Old Soldier Who Fools The Devil’

The ‘Russian connection’ gave Mr Aladdin the idea to put on a Russian play as something different to watch from all the children television shows.  A little stage was made with boxes so most of the orphans could see the performance. Mr Aladdin used two Indonesian wooden puppets he had stored away in the driver cabin for such an occasion. A translation was provided by Lanang who was given a rundown of the play by Aladdin over a telescreen.

 All the orphans ‘ooohhed’ at Lanang when he got up on the stage because they knew he was the ‘big leader orangutan’ who had organised their rescue. These young ones nicknamed Lanang ‘Dada’ making him the substitute father of them all!

 As for the play it was based on a Russian story in which Satan was fooled by an old soldier who ended up being broken up into bits and pieces by the Devil so as to be remade as a young prince.

‘Lanang Thinks Of A Real Devil.

As the children cheered Lanang sadly realised how he was trying to outwit the Devil who had killed his mother; hopefully victory would help fix the cracks in his broken heart so he too would also be ‘made new’.

Wild applause as Lanang smilingly took his bow at the end.

‘A Birthday Party For One Lucky Orangutan Child!’

After the play a surprise birthday party was held for one child. It was organised by an ‘Amazon’ named Linda who knew the lucky orphan. A fruit cupcake with three candles was used in this ‘birthday performance’. The lights were turned off and the celebration was also screened - like the play - to the Control Room. A dark area on the stage was suddenly lit up by a torch light shining on the birthday cake with its lit candles. All around the cake were the impish faces of orangutan babes whose faces were filled with joy. “HAPPY BIRTHDAY KRISTINA!” yelled everybody at the smiling girl proudly wearing on her head a pink cellophane party hat with a big white feather; it was as if she had a diamond crown.

There were many coloured lights on the stage and art paper painted with designs by children like Nada stuck up on the wall on either side of it. Balloons were hung up on the stage along with an inkjet copy of the celebrant’s face with yellow, red and green streamers all around it. A banana shaped piñata was smashed open by Kristina and what had come out of it to be handed out was jelly fruit and ‘fairy banana’ (bananas sprinkled with many-coloured ‘hundreds and thousands’ like on chocolate freckles).

Mishka, Anya and Katya let Kristina give them all a good cuddle followed by Ola who was also very friendly. It was such a real treat made complete with a handmade disco ball - made from cardboard and silver tape painted with watercolours - twirling from the ceiling reflecting kaleidoscope colours onto everyone. Thus, for a short time these loved children could joyfully forget the very real outside threat to their lives.

‘Mara The Positive Thinker...’

Mara felt refreshed. A hot shower and a hot meal had fully given back his energy. When the truck ignition key was turned Mara had woken up straight away as he had the uncanny ability to ‘look out’ for certain sounds while asleep. In the unseemly underworld of organised crime a would-be-assassin would slowly turn the door knob to enter Mara’s room only to find a cheerful Mara waving a quick hello before finishing off the surprised hitman. The soft sound of the turning key was enough for a still fully clothed Mara to spring to his feet and run outside.

This cheerful criminal mastermind sat down on a comfortable chair beside a coffee table on his porch to have some scrummy fresh pancakes after watching a recorded television episode of ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?’ Mara read a newspaper article about a ‘jigsaw expert’ who had put back together for a very thankful man thousands of dollar notes that he had accidentally shredded. “Mmmmm...I could use such a gifted man in my money hiding operations.”

This always scheming underworld boss looked up from the newspaper to view in the truck cabin the two Dayaks with the young orangutan in army uniform. “I’m sure the mascot can provide some useful advice.” laughed Mara. “It’s heartening to see that these primitives have a sense of humour! Oh he’s off behind the back curtain to have a lie down with all the others in that big tank! Maybe he has a sore head from all the noise! We should offer him a headache pill just to show our guests some goodwill! At least give him a change of clothes!”

Mara knew the Dayaks needed fuel and to satisfy his twisted curiosity he was happy to wait and see what they would try to do to get some. It looked like an impossible task but there were those enemy ‘eggs’ outside the ranch to think about. All his snipers knew they had to stay alert.  A soft pat of the mouth with a serviette after finishing the pancakes. A burp. “To think they were inside my house and didn’t say hello! I’m offended! HAH!”

 ‘Epiphytes And Flying Buttresses’

“TM3 you two need to wipe the ash off your helmet webcams. We cannot see anything.” Lanang was mentally speaking to one of the two commandoes still outside. Full vision returned with Trojan Male Three’s webcam showing everyone the other Trojan who looked ghostly as he was covered from helmet to boots in a fine grey dust.

“As expected the human has gone inside the shed so this is the chance for the both of you to go behind it. Our sky vision shows there are no guards in the area. We have the enemy’s full attention. I’ll give you further instructions after you have moved on.’ 

The two Trojans made a dash to a nearby building on their right; they sneaked around the back of it until they were in line with the shed. The belief that there were no guards had to be trusted: the Trojans would otherwise be seen in the run to the back of the shed. Although everyone was sure there would be no problem it still made for exciting television as the very shaky image of the shed came ever closer. A whirr of black sky as both combatants dropped to the ground to snuggle beside the hut.  

‘Well done. You should now be able to make direct mind contact with our two friends. Tell them help is at hand. They will be our eyes inside the hut.’

This task would not be easy. Over thousands of years orangutan had developed social rules so no one could just read someone else’s mind. Otherwise it stood to be a big problem if it was known what anyone else was thinking unawares! An orangutan had to ask permission off another orangutan before any mental discussion. As the two captives would not know who was trying to mentally talk to them there was a chance they would be unwilling to do so.

Mental contact was made with one of the two captives who at first thought he was imagining voices. ‘Who are you…?’  

‘Friends...there are two of us. We are nearby and are going to get you out.’ 

‘How do I know this is not a trick?’ 

‘Ask me about something an orangutan would obviously know about.’

‘What is an epiphyte and which one is most important to the orangutan diet?”’

Trojan Male Three smiled at being given such an easy question. He quickly decided to give a detailed answer which in ‘mind time’ would only take a millisecond to pass on: ‘An epiphyte or air plant comes from the Greek word epi which translated means ‘upon’ and phyte which we know means ‘plant’. Every orangutan knows there are thirty thousand epiphytes in tropical rainforests; epiphytes can be orchids and ferns that rely on the wind for their pollen and seed to travel through the air and land on trees where they take root and grow. In Borneo the staghorn and birds nest ferns are common epiphytes and they do not harm the trees they are on but the strangling fig is an epiphyte that surrounds the whole of the tree hosting it. As a result the tree dies as it is denied enough sunlight to its crown which is covered by the fig as its roots at the bottom are also covered up. Most rainforest trees do not have very deep tap roots and their main support comes from flying buttresses that fan out at the base. In fact, one is reminded of Medieval cathedrals which also use flying buttresses to transfer the weight of the building to these outside supports which act as counterweights. No one knows who the unnamed architects were that came up with the flying buttresses but I argue it was reincarnate orangutans inspired by the flying buttresses of rainforest trees-’

‘I believe you! I believe you! I have heard enough-

‘So do you trust me...?’

‘Yes! We both do! I have just passed on what you said to my companion. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is-‘

‘Do not tell me! As I understand it you are both males so your codenames will be CM1 and CM2.”

What does the CM stand for...?’

A pause. ‘Don’t be offended but as everyone knows you as the ‘clown orangutans the C is for clown…’

“I understand...’ sighed CM1.

“Sorry…the M is for male. I need to ask: are you in a cage and if so is there a red light on the lock?’

‘Yes we are in a cage but there’s no red light…’

‘That’s good there is no light. It means there is no alarm. What is the human doing?’

‘He is sitting on a chair and drinking a clear liquid from a big bottle. I don’t think it is water as he is getting very drunk. This man is very unhappy.’

(Igor was drinking vodka).

‘Okay. I will speak again with you soon.’

The welcome news about the lock as well as what Igor was doing was passed onto Lanang. The two codenames which were very quickly ‘thought up’ were also reported. Further instructions from Lanang were passed on to the captives.

‘Is the front door locked?’

‘No. It never is.’

‘Is it possible for you to pick the cage lock?’

‘This silly clown suit I am wearing has a safety pin. I can use that.’

‘Excellent! We are expecting the human to doze off then you two can climb out through a window; we’ll be right outside and then the four of us will go hide until we can leave the ranch. If our friend doesn’t go to sleep soon then we will get him to come out by throwing some pebbles at the front door. That should get his attention.”

   ‘Flying Buttress Principles Put To Good Practice.’

Igor’s mobile phone rang. “Mara! What a ‘pleasant surprise’!” Mara had rung to check that his two remaining ‘products-for-sale’ were alright. “Yes! Yes! They are okay! You know that already because I know you are spying on me! I can feel someone is out there! Don’t deny it Mara!” Igor hung up. It was this sense that somebody was looking at him that was making Igor now stay inside. However, what was worse was feeling like a prisoner which was sourly increasing with every drink of vodka.

Mara rang again. “NO MARA! I HAVEN’T SEEN ANYTHING SUSPICIOUS!” The mobile phone was again clicked off. Igor - who felt so upset - stood up and spoke to the orangutans. “You have your cage and this room is my cage! I’ve had enough! Friends! I’ll lift you up onto my shoulders! We’re going to escape!” Igor threw the now empty vodka bottle at the cage. The two frightened orangutans fell back and huddled together into each other’s arms as the bottle smashed into pieces. Igor laughed then stopped – the cage door swung open. “YOU TWO CLOWNS PLANNING TO ESCAPE FROM ME! AFTER ALL I’VE TAUGHT YOU! HOW UNGRATEFUL! YOU’VE HURT MY FEELINGS!” A tearful Igor lifted up the cage with the two orangutans still inside it only so as to throw it to the ground.

‘HELP! THIS MADMAN IS GOING TO KILL US!’

The front door of the shed suddenly burst open and the two Trojans threw themselves at Igor as the two captive orangutans climbed out of the cage. The five tangled up beings cart-wheeled into a wall. The two freed orangutans who were the first to peel themselves off from this ball of flesh started punching Igor with their fists; afraid that he would not let go of their two would-be-rescuers. Igor simply threw everyone off him and picked up his large whip. SWOOSH! WHACK! SWOOSH! WHACK! SWOOSH! WHACK! A table, shelves, chairs were ripped apart into wooden splinters. The whip was slashing against the metal bed frame that had been turned up by the orangutans to get behind and use as a shield. (There was so much blurring from the helmet webcams it was if a big earthquake had hit the hut). Each time the whip hit their ‘shield’ the four orangutans pushed it back towards Igor to offset the effect of it being driven back by the full thrust of Igor’s ancient powerful weapon. Also the two commandoes had put their boots against the wall behind them for support. “Flying buttress...flying buttress...” gasped TM3 to CM1. ‘TM1 WE CAN’T HOLD ON FOR MUCH LONGER! FAREWELL-’

‘HIGH RISK!’

“DO WE KNOW EXACTLY WHERE THEY ARE IN THAT ROOM!” screamed Lanang over the intercom to the Control Room.

“GPS positions confirmed TM1.” came the soft, soothing voice of the female operator.

“Achilles mortar crew! You have permission to load up a high explosive shell. Lock in your mortar’s co-ordinates to the opposite side of the room of where the GPS readings say both Trojans are.”

“What...?”

“JUST DO IT!”

“Done.”

“FIRE!”

The mortar shell slammed into the hut and destroyed it. However, Lanang knew that the bed frame would protect the four orangutans from the explosion. As for Igor his leather coat saved him. Yet the Russian lay knocked out as his foes scrambled over his body to go hide.

 ‘An Interesting Tale Waits To Be Told.’

Mara with a few men went over to the smoking ruins of the shed. Twisted long bits of the cage were found. It had suffered a direct hit. “Poor clowns – vaporised!” Nothing made sense. Surely the Dayaks would have known the two orangutans were with Igor when they decided to carry out this act of revenge on him? “Okay.” stated Mara when he was told Igor was still alive. “Carry him over on a stretcher to my place. Let’s wait until Igor wakes up – he must have an interesting tale to tell...” 

4

STRONG WINDS

‘Half Time Is Over!’

Mara blew a whistle to begin the ‘second half’. From the ruins nearest to the truck a man with a flamethrower spurted long lines of orange and yellow flame onto its side.

 “Whatever their plan is to get petrol I can hurry them.” said Mara. “It’s about time I hotted things up! Especially if there might be spies hiding about!”

While it was a clever idea to clear out those inside the truck with heat - seeing it wasn’t possible to break into it – Mara had also ordered a security sweep of the ranch to find any other unwelcome visitors. Yet the four orangutans knew how to keep one step ahead. As for the attempt to ‘cook’ the truck it would fail as the air conditioning would keep the inside temperature mild and there was no fear of an explosion seeing there was no fuel.  

What was feared was that Mara surely had other ‘surprises’ in store; to show they were not going to just ‘sit around’ and wait to find out what they may be Lanang ordered that the flamethrower be fired on.

An orangutan sniper scored a perfect hit. “Sweet dreams.” she cheerfully whispered as the flamethrower operator keeled over from the stun bullet. The shot was able to be taken as there were little portholes in the side of the cylinder which could be unplugged to fit through a rifle barrel. The rifle could then be aimed by using a screen attached to the side of the rifle showing a mini-computer image of what was in front of it; on top of the rifle near the nozzle was attached a tiny wireless webcam which gave a wide-angle view. (Mara’s men had made it easier for this practice to be carried out by shooting up the logs that had covered the cylinder).

The enemy had seen the flash of the sniper’s rifle shot go off and so replied with automatic gunfire. This return of fire was noticed with interest by Lanang who now ordered that a full salvo to be fired by all his commandoes. The enemy went crazy shooting at all the rifle flashes along the side of the truck.

“That’s good.” remarked Lanang who was watching from the driver cabin. “Only those in the centre will shoot then followed by those on their right closer to the front of the truck; those left of the centre I want you to leapfrog everyone and move further to the front of the truck. You are to fire after everyone else. The shooters in the centre are to leapfrog the others then fire and so on with the next group and so on.” Gradually, the attention of Mara’s men was directed to the very front of the truck. It was what Lanang wanted as he knew he would soon be leaving from under the rear to collect the bamboo hose.

Carlos was right now quickly flying down as the end of the hose stuck out of the tunnel exit.

“I want everyone bunched up the front and do not stop firing until I am back in the truck!”

Lanang and two other male commandos left the vehicle using a rear floor hatch. As the trio lay unnoticed on the ground under the truck they watched the streaky lines of tracer bullets from the two opposing sides match up to become a long thick white column as if connecting the truck to the jagged ruins. The amount of automatic fire was so much it looked as if anyone could walk along the top of this big throbbing white ‘bridge’ of light. The noise was also maddening but the three orangutans were deep in their own thoughts quietly preparing for what could be the last few minutes of their lives. The three tried to scan the darkness beyond them wondering if there were any snipers disciplined enough to keep their eyes off the ‘light show.’

Mara’s men on the front walls above the main entrance would surely be watching the bright shooting fight and this would allow for the local orangutan who was leaving the tunnel with the bamboo hose to remain unseen. After attaching the big thin metal ring to the end of the hose the orangutan went back into the tunnel.

‘Carlos’s Death-Defying Dive!’

A whistling sound. It is so high pitched it could be heard above the gunfire. Many of Mara’s men looked up fearing that a bomb was about to explode on their heads. It was the kite at high speed diving to the ground.

Carlos was going through a G-Force ‘high’ which would have blacked out a human test pilot. Yet this skilful orangutan flyer was able to keep his aircraft screaming down while his cheeks started to wildly ripple from the fast moving air passing over his body. With the use of his night vision goggles Carlos could see that the ground was roaring up at an ever quickening pace; he was relying ever more on his on-board computer to keep the kite on the exact degree of descent so the kite hook could effortlessly scoop up the hose as he passed under the arch at the main entrance. The dive could not now be over quick enough for the enemy had made out the outline of the kite and seeing it was not a bomb started to shoot at it.

An Achilles commando with the local orangutan at the tunnel entrance popped out to stand up and shoot at the guards who were firing their guns up at the sky. Thankfully he downed several of these gunmen and he directed the local orangutan to throw a few stun grenades.

As these two orangutans were about to go back down the tunnel they were blown off their feet as the kite soared by to hook the ring to take the hose with it under the main arch. Enemy bullets coming from all other parts of the ranch madly screeched all around Carlos as he pressed the release button to drop the hook holding onto the end of the hose at the exact time the kite would start flying high. In the reflection of his goggles Carlos could see the white lines of tracer fire following him upwards. He could also see the firesticks and the glow of the explosions of the ‘fire coconuts’ that started to land at the front of the ranch at the same time the kite soared to the silent paradise of the night sky.

‘An Angel Helps Out Lanang.’

All eyes were on the rainforest especially when a row of fire torches was sighted. Lanang rushed out to grab the hose that had landed nearby. He was taking it back to the truck when a bullet struck him in his Achilles heel. It had passed through the soft leather where the boot could easily bend to help with climbing. The two commandoes spotted the sniper’s rifle flash and they broke cover to shoot the enemy gunman. A rifle webcam was also aimed by a commando inside the truck to where Lanang was lying on the ground. A red dot brightly went over the black scarf covering Lanang’s face.

“DANGER! ANOTHER HOSTILE!” yelled an ‘angel’ in the Control Room. 

The glowing tip of the laser light was straight away seen and fired on. After this near hit Lanang’s comrades dragged him along the ground as he kept holding onto the hose. It was a high risk moment when time seemed to pass by in slow motion when actually it only really took up a few seconds. Thankfully, by the time Mara’s other men angrily realised they had been cleverly distracted all three commandoes had run under the truck. Spurts of dust from a flurry of bullets sprung up at the very spot where the tricky ‘Dayaks’ had gone underneath the vehicle.

“FOOLS!” yelled Mara down his field telephone at his lieutenants. “AIM AT THE HOSE!”

Lanang’s offsiders had the good sense to attach the hose to a petrol tank valve before sliding their wounded leader back into the truck.  Thus when Mr Aladdin turned on the ignition key he could see that by the time the hose was shot up enough fuel had already gone in to the petrol tank to allow the truck to leave the ranch.  “We can go a few kilometres up the road. It’s the most we could have ever hoped for.”

“Aladdin will refuel us.” remarked Lanang who put his bandaged foot up onto the dashboard.

“Your Achilles heel.” joked Mr Aladdin.

The boot that had been taken off was beside Lanang on his seat. The injured orangutan looked at his footwear and suddenly thought of the unlucky phantom agent who had died…

‘Operation Petrol Station.’

The Dayak teenager had a small petrol pump that allowed for the diesel in the big barrel with him to be passed into the bamboo hose. This barrel was now well and truly empty and so it was with good foresight that he had been told to obtain more fuel.

With a local orangutan Aladdin had already driven to the nearest petrol station which thankfully was not very far away; yet it was not a simple exercise of just buying the diesel as this fuel stop - along with all the ones in this part of the island - were owned by Mara.

Every petrol station attendant had already been ordered not to sell fuel to anyone who wanted to buy a lot of it with many gasoline cans. However, the attendant had been shocked when he saw a van pull up with an orangutan hop out of the passenger door side and start filling up gasoline cans with the petrol hose. Aladdin had taken the large cans out of the back of the van and given the local orangutan the ‘easy job’; knowing the petrol station was a Mara business they were aware that ‘the job’ had to be quick.

When the attendant ran out with a gun to threaten the two petrol thieves the orangutan had the good sense to turn the petrol hose on the attendant and squirt him with gasoline after putting his forefinger over the nozzle. No way would the attendant now fire his gun which would have been such a stupid thing to do in the first place. The attendant simply started to shout curses and was so angry he threw his gun at the orangutan. It missed. Aladdin coolly picked up the gun and waved it at this unthinking, petrol soaked attacker.

After a few big gasoline cans were filled up it was time to go. The orangutan had the pleasure of tying up the attendant with some rope to a petrol pump after his mobile phone was taken off him. Aladdin went inside the petrol station shop and ripped out the landline phone from its socket and took it with him. First helping himself to some chocolate, drink, fruit, ice cream and food Aladdin loaded the vehicle with the petrol and then drove off after thanking the attendant for his ‘customer service.’

A family in a car had pulled up and was amazed to see a van drive off with a smiling orangutan waving goodbye to them. A pickup truck with three Mara men in the front had also appeared but after giving chase for a few kilometres they were forced to stop when a fire had started in the back.

Unbeknown to Mara’s men Carlos had been called in who dropped a small fire bomb when it was seen by Aladdin and his offsider that the pickup truck was closing in on them.

‘Time To Leave The Party!’

Mara’s men started shooting again at the semi-trailer. Scratching, squealing sounds could be heard as the semi-trailer started moving through the scattered wreckage all over the ground as it turned on a big arc to face the entrance. 

“Time to leave the party!” joked Mr Aladdin.

Somewhere along the way the four orangutans who had been going from hiding spot to hiding spot would be picked up. These four would wait for other telepathic instructions to guide them to a spot towards the front of the ranch where they could be saved.

“ALL EYES ON LOOKOUT!” suddenly commanded Lanang. He knew Mara would have a backup plan to stop the truck.

‘A Fight To The End.’

Mara had watched the pet orangutan yell into the truck intercom and started to crazily wonder if the creature was in control. “I need to sit down! I have such a bad headache! My back hurts! All is misery for me!”

A large cane chair was brought to the bewildered master criminal. He looked through his binoculars to see if the truck would continue on its expected course.

The shooting stopped as the semi-trailer finished wheeling its way around. The unbearable noise was now replaced with an unearthly, nervous silence. All that could be heard was the chugging of the engine. The vehicle stopped.

“Come on...come on...” said Mara impatiently to himself as he watched the semi-trailer through his binoculars. However, those inside the semi-trailer felt they were about to step into a deadly trap. The semi-trailer stayed still.

Carlos told Lanang that from the air he could see nothing unusual. Yet everyone knew something was wrong as their strongly evolved survival instincts told them Mara was about to play his trump card. The engine was turned off to save on fuel. The present situation was discussed between the truck and the Control Room. Yet there was only a tense airing of the opposite life attitudes which universally existed between the older and younger generations: the Elders preferred to lean towards playing it safe. “Life has taught me to be careful.” stated the First Elder. “You should tell the two outside to check the path out-”

“-we do not have any real choice!” interrupted a very frustrated Lanang. “The sooner we leave the better!”

“I do not like it!” growled the First Elder. “Not one bit but we do have to move!”

Lanang spoke in a brave steely manner. “One thing we will be doing is be quick! We will not give Mara the time to spring his trap! If the rescue truck is stopped we will still get the orphans to the tunnel! For their sakes Troy and Achilles will fight to the very end…!”

‘Mara’s Secret Weapon.’

As the semi-trailer’s huge engine ignited back to life Mara was relieved. The truck was ready to go.

Carlos confirmed there was nothing unusual. ‘If anything there seems to be less men about.’

‘Less?’ inquired Lanang.

‘We have given Mara a good beating...’

‘That’s true...” agreed Lanang who gave the signal to go down the road. Mr Aladdin throttled the gear stick up as the truck picked up speed.

“A lot fewer men...” wondered Lanang “…but the stun gun effect would have worn off by now-”

“I’M PICKING UP BODY HEAT SIGNALS!” suddenly yelled Carlos.

“WHERE!”

“IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD! MEN ARE COMING OUT OF THE GROUND!”

Mara’s secret weapon was a shovel – or rather: hundreds of them. Out of sight of the truck Mara had started a tunnel straight after the helicopter crash. Only picks and shovels could be used for the use of larger equipment or explosives would have given the plan away. Carlos had not seen anything as the tunnel entrance was inside a damaged building which still had most of its roof so it was easy for Mara to have his men in small groups - so they wouldn’t really be noticed - go inside it where altogether they then didn’t have to worry about being seen by the enemy. Many shovels were already inside this building as it was used to store equipment for Mara’s new mine; (it was the sight of so many of them which had given Mara the idea for a tunnel). 

Still, it was thought a long shot that the tunnel could be quickly dug but as extra men became available after the effects of the stun bullets wore off Mara’s ‘impossible dream’ became real. The tunnel only had to go under the road so boxes of high explosive could be put there.

These explosives had not yet arrived and a hollow space had to be dug out to fit them under the ground. This was done just as the truck started to turn around. Yet, with the truck now going down the road the few men who had been given the job to complete the finishing touches to Mara’s grand plan knew he would not spare their lives if it meant the truck escaping before the explosives were set off. These men decided to dig up as they knew the surface was not far above their heads. It was when they broke through the soft dirt that Carlos saw them.

 Mara had his fingers on the explosives switch. Yes, it was true: he was not going to let the lives of a few worthless workers spoil his brilliant plan. “FLICK!”

‘No Tunnel Vision!’

“A TUNNEL!” shouted Lanang. “WE DIDN’T THINK OF THAT!” A worried Lanang looked at Mr Aladdin. “THE BRAKES! THE BRAKES! PUT ON THE BRAKES!” Lanang threw himself onto the brakes as there was not enough time to explain to a mystified Mr Aladdin what he was saying in his orangutan tongue. As he landed with all his body weight on the brake pedal the semi-trailer jolted to a sudden stop; a booming noise followed by a high pitched sound rang in Lanang’s ears as dirt showered the window screen.

As the dirt slid down the windscreen the only thing the driver cabin occupants could see was a huge crater. Lanang’s quick thinking had led to the half second grace needed to stop them from being blown up sky high. He had typically saved the mission.

‘Mr Papiyan Can’t Get Any Sleep.’

Mr Papiyan was in a very annoyed frame-of-mind. He had gone to bed early with a very bad headache and had hoped to sleep it off with a very good night’s rest. Yet all the battle noise kept waking him up. It would have been a lot of fun to join in the fighting but Mr Papiyan’s headache was so terrible that for now it was the last thing he wanted to do. Although, like everyone else, he was surprised that someone had the courage to attack Mara’s stronghold, all he could really think about was how this attack had to happen on the one evening he could do without it. “Life is so unfair!” He had angrily screamed from his sick bed. (No rest for the wicked as they say...).  When Mara saw that his closest friend was upset he did try to calm him with a promise that the Dayaks would soon be defeated. However, sliding out of bed soon after the truck had been refuelled Mr Papiyan just rolled his eyes in disbelief.

“Mara – you’ve had enough time to finish them off! Your idea of blowing up the ground under the truck is a good one. Yet if that fails I’ll smash my way into that tin can and finish the Dayaks off all by myself! You’ll have your orangutans back and I’ll have some peace and quiet!” It was no empty threat when Mr Papiyan said he would break into the semi-trailer as his body was very much pumped up having taken over the years a steady dose of body building pills and working out for hours in the gym every day. Mr Papiyan had truly become a superhuman strong man. He had always been Mara’s right-hand man and as Mara’s criminal empire went from strength to strength Mr Papiyan felt his strength should mirror Mara’s high position in the criminal underworld. As for the Dayaks they were nothing more than ants that had to be stamped on.      

‘Are The Gods Against The Orangutans?’

“Everyone all right?” signed Lanang. Mr Aladdin and Kichapa were only a little shaken. The powerful windscreen wipers were used to clear most of the dirt and it became clear that the semi-trailer was on the edge of a big crater. “Keep going!” Lanang signed to drive the truck a little back so it could get into a good position to go around the large gap.

The semi-trailer had to go along a narrow path in between the crater and a bullet pockmarked building. It would be a tight squeeze. The right wheels would have to turn over the edge of the crater so there was a horrible chance the semi-trailer would fall into this deep hole. Wide boards or planks needed to be placed on the edge of the crater to keep going straight ahead. After everything the orangutans had been through it seemed so unkind that a hand length of ground not available to them would now stop them from gaining their freedom. Humans and orangutans alike wondered if fate had finally settled the outcome of this battle.

Even Mr Aladdin wondered if the gods on high Mt. Olympus were now looking at a situation map in their own temple Control Room; hastily choosing to fling off their war board the icon that represented this ‘Trojan Horse’ to signal its defeat. 

 Thunder.

 Yes, Zeus had tired of this game and would thoughtlessly end it in favour of the humans. The gods did not have time to think of the cruelties they would unwittingly hand out to earthly mortals – animal or human – when they became impatient for only wanting to narrowly satisfy their personal desires. Perhaps, even a rain goddess would pour down a heavy monsoon that would leave the rescue truck stuck in a bog of mud…?

Mr Aladdin closely eyed the ground around the vehicle to see if there was anything suitable to place in the path of the right hand front wheel. He tapped Lanang on the shoulder and pointed to a steel ladder that looked strong enough to support the weight of the semi-trailer’s big wheels. The ladder had belonged to a fallen lookout tower. Mr Aladdin saw that it was several metres in front of the vehicle and had only noticed it amidst some other scattered ruins when the reflection of a distant lightning strike shone on its silver metallic surface. “The gods offer us a lifeline but they will expect a sacrifice for saving us.” Mr Aladdin wondered what would be the cost to gather in the ladder and place it in the correct position.

Lanang understood straight away why Mr Aladdin wanted to show him the ladder. He could not be bothered to think of absent minded gods who unjustly played with earthly lives – no, he was straight away contacting the Achilles mortar group and the two commandoes who were outside to get ready to perform their tasks: Achilles was to get ready to send off smoke mortars to screen the two commandos to move the ladder onto the very rim of the crater.

“The enemy doesn’t know they are out there so won’t be looking out for them. When the smokescreen clears the enemy will think the ladder moved itself!”

There would also be a steady round of stun machine gunfire from the truck’s portholes but this time from the rear. Mara’s men fell for the same trick again and the whole ‘surgical exercise’ went off without a hitch.

‘We are going back to protect the two ‘clowns.’ came the mental message. (The four outcasts could not really be picked up until after the truck had safely passed the crater).

The smoke disappeared to show that the ladder was right over the rim.  With no chance that the truck could fall into the crater a finger was pointed forward to let Mr Aladdin know to go ahead. The wise Dayak was thankful the gods had not sought their blood sacrifice.

‘Mara Plays His Trump Card.’

However as the truck moved slowly over the crater rim Mr Aladdin’s feeling of relief still had the possibility of being wrong. So in those few seconds when everyone’s focus was on whether the ladder would or would not buckle under the truck’s heavy weight the orangutans did not think it strange there was no enemy gunfire. Carlos who was showing a live television view of the truck going over the crater rim also did not think about the lack of shooting. Some orangutans were keeping an eye on the building on the left but their minds were also more on the ladder; thus they did not see the perfectly still man hiding on the roof until it was too late.

A loud thud on the cabin’s top. As if something had dropped on it. What now? BANG! BANG! Dents! The cabin roof was being smashed in! On the screen was an aerial view from Carlos’s kite camera of a huge man wearing a black jump suit standing on the roof of the driver cabin and kicking it in with his boots. The giant sensed ‘something’ in the sky and glanced up. For a few seconds everyone clearly saw what this new danger looked like. The most striking features of this ‘superman’s’ long, hardened face was his black eye patch and the deep scar underneath it. No fear. Carlos could not shoot anyway in case he somehow damaged the truck if he missed; yet, the human beast did not know this – he was not scared of death for it seemed he was Death.

“It’s Mr Papiyan...” gasped Mr Aladdin as if he had just seen one of the Four Men of the Apocalypse.

Lanang who had always tried to keep a tight control over his feelings suddenly found them wildly swinging to and fro from deep despair all the way through to strong fury. He angrily slammed the dashboard while at the same time tears flowed down his face; the upset orangutan let out a long scream. Lanang knew he was dealing with his mother’s murderers but apart from seeing photos of Mara and Mr Papiyan (his pained heart had missed a beat the first time he had looked at them) he as yet had never seen them in real life. Now, one of Lanang’s two most cruel foes was standing on the cabin roof above his head. The dents that Mr Papiyan was putting into the cabin were very big; the bulges going deep down into the cabin space.

“He’ll crack his way through soon!” announced Mr Aladdin - more out of amazement than fear. If Mr Papiyan broke into the cabin he would end the rescue mission. As it was Carlos who would have now shot at this monstrous man had been forced to fly up as the enemy all fired at him.  

“NO!” yelled Mr Aladdin and Kichapa together as they saw Lanang madly open the door and jump out boot in hand. In the Control Room everyone heard heavy breathing and watched the world go topsy-turvy as Lanang’s helmet camera showed him rolling head-over-heels for the truck had picked up a little speed as it passed the crater rim when Lanang threw himself out. The vehicle squealed to a halt.

‘Does Mr Papiyan Want A Banana?’

Mr Papiyan stopped smashing in the top of the driver cabin which was wrinkled with high ridges and deep dips. The only flat level on the roof was where he was standing. With the diamond studded knuckle busters that were over his dark gloves Mr Papiyan was not far away from slicing open the cabin roof like a can opener. Yet, he now stopped to look with amusement at the Dayak pet orangutan which was dressed up in military gear.

Lanang’s hasty action had saved the mission - thus far. Whatever madness was going on in Lanang’s heart his mind was still thinking calmly. It was important that Mr Papiyan was somehow led away from the semi-trailer; once Mr Papiyan was inside the cabin he would kill the two Dayak men with his bare hands and then drive the vehicle over to Mara. A way would certainly be found to open the door hatch in the back of the cabin to gain access to the orphans. After a terrible ‘last stand’ fight in which many brave orangutan commandoes would die Mara would finally have his ‘prized goods’ returned to him.

The strange appearance of an orangutan dressed up in a Special Forces outfit was a curious thing. Thus Mr Papiyan wanted to see what this ‘clown’ intended to do; this human killing machine knew he would soon enough be returning to the task of finishing off the Dayaks.

Standing back near the edge of the crater Lanang looked up at Mr Papayin as he slowly put on his boot. Lanang then took out a banana from a side pocket; he smiled unkindly at Mr Papiyan as he waved the banana. “Here, here...a nice banana....very delicious...come and get it...” 

Mr Papiyan squinted his eyes; he did not know what the orangutan was saying but from the tone of his ‘gibbering’ this proud man knew he was being mocked. The end of the Dayaks would definitely wait – his honour was being attacked – this little upstart primate had to be dealt with straight away.

Lanang’s face and body was covered with many circling red dots as Mara’s men aimed their rifles at him; yet Mr Papiyan had to be allowed his opportunity for a first strike on his ‘teaser’.

  ‘After So Many Years The Past Finally Catches Up...’

Mara asked himself: ‘Have I met this orangutan before?’ It also dawned on Mr Papiyan that this orangutan somehow knew him. Suddenly a surprised look on the faces of both poachers: ‘Was this the orangutan that had been hiding in that tree? YES!’

‘Would Lanang Remember His History Lessons?’

Mr Aladdin looked at Lanang and knew he would be recalling other ‘mismatches’ in history which the learned Dayak had earlier shown him. The so called weaker opponent had always outsmarted the bigger foe. The one ‘unfair duel’ that now came to Lanang’s mind was that between David and Goliath. David had won through his planned, well-aimed skilful use of a single sling shot at the forehead of the giant. Lanang did not have a slingshot but only a banana. As David had known Goliath’s forehead was his weak spot Lanang was assuming that Mr Papiyan’s male pride was his. So far the plan was paying off as Lanang saw his enemy jump off the driver cabin. When Mr Papiyan landed on the ground it was with such a thud the ground and the surrounding buildings shook as if an earthquake had just happened.

‘Mr Papiyan Talks About Coco Pops.’

Mr Papiyan smiled at his tiny foe to display two shining white rows of very sharp teeth. “You should be very scared little one! I’ll have you for breakfast!” A grin. “Coca losa! You will be my Coco Pops!” Mr Papiyan thought of Coco the monkey in the Coco Pops ad who famously talked up this chocolate rice cereal. Mr Papiyan laughed. “I’ll be giving you a very good shake and you’ll soon be very crunchy!” Mr Papiyan was going to pick Lanang up and throw him into the crater with such force as to kill him. 

    ‘Volcanoes: The Bringers Of Both Life And Death.’

Lanang would also use the crater to defeat his opponent which was deep in their minds was seen as the top of a volcano cone by both foes. In this part of the world the volcano was seen as a natural living mountain of fire that gave the gods an active way to express the forces of both creation and destruction.  A volcanic eruption could wipe out life but it also threw up rich soil that could be used to grow plentiful crops or vegetation to keep life going. Thus as both opponents slowly moved towards its edge this black hole would offer life to one of them as a result of life being taken away from the other.

‘Lanang Keeps Offering Mr Papiyan A Banana.’

Lanang kept waving the banana down in front of his legs; Mr Papiyan kept his eyes on the yellow fruit as he slowly walked towards the orangutan to throw him down the crater.

Like a tightrope walker Lanang strolled along the very crater rim hoping Mr Papiyan would follow his exact path. Lanang nimbly cruised along the thin rim as his curving feet pretended it was a tree branch. It was hoped Mr Papiyan’s big body would find it increasingly difficult to keep walking along the thin edge and so fall into the pit. However, Mr Papiyan knew exactly what the orangutan was doing and was being doubly careful. It looked more and more unlikely that Mr Papiyan would slip. Nevertheless, Lanang kept egging his opponent on - this brave orangutan would not run off - which was very sad as his death now looked very likely.  Lanang’s only hope was that when Mr Papiyan tried to grab him he could trip the giant up.

This tall man started to tower over the small orangutan who knew that if it was daytime Mr Papiyan would be blocking out the sun which would have had Lanang standing in deep shadow. “COME ON! NICE BANANA!” yelled Lanang. “COME DOWN AND GET IT!” Lanang stood his ground.

Mr Papiyan stopped. A smile: this ridiculous performance was about to end. The hunter slowly lowered his arm to grab his victim.

‘A First Class Clown Act!’

THWACK!

Out of nowhere by the crater’s rim the orangutan only known by the codename CM1 - who was still wearing his clown suit and hat - had struck Mr Papiyan’s right leg with Igor’s whip like an experienced rodeo cowboy. The clown orangutan had grabbed this ‘souvenir’ while leaving the bombed out shed. The whip wrapped around the leg of Mr Papiyan. The giant lifted his leg up to shake off the whip. Yet the clown orangutan pulled the whip towards himself to make Mr Papiyan lose his balance.

 Luckily for the owner of the whip it slid off Mr Papiyan’s leg as the giant fell into the crater.

‘Like Two Trapped Flies In A Spider’s Web...’

As the whip pulled back into his hand the clown orangutan quickly dropped back behind the crater rim as bullets shot the dirt up in front of him; thus he was spared the horror of seeing Lanang also go over the edge as a falling Mr Papiyan turned his lunge at Lanang into a push.

Both man and orangutan slid to the bottom of the crater.   

Luckily for Lanang he was just out of reach of a very angry Mr Papiyan who tried to grab him.

Gunfire started coming from the top of this very deep crater as Mara’s men ended their standoff. It was time to go in for the kill. Carlos dived down to fire at Mara’s men who were along the crater rim. Stun rifle fire also rang out from the portholes along the side of the semi-trailer.

Lanang scrambled behind some of the bigger rocks that lay on the steep crater slope. The bullets coming from the top could not hit him. Yet, there was Mr Papiyan to worry about. The real gun which Lanang always kept in his side holster was taken out and pointed at his strong foe. The man’s hard face twisted in disgust. “The Dayaks have taught you very well orangutan! You are now like us!”

Nevertheless, as Lanang applied pressure to the trigger he could not pull it back. The gun was lowered. The thin moral line that made this brave orangutan different from the murderers of his mother would not be crossed. Panting away Lanang spoke into his helmet intercom. “Don’t risk the mission to try and save me! Time is of the essence – GO!”

‘The gods have what they want.’

“Lanang is right! If we put him first there will be no mission!” grimly stated the First Elder.

Carlos flew down to the crater with a long rope dangling from the kite. He was seen by the enemy. Many of Mara’s men shot wildly into the sky forcing Carlos to fly away.

“SEE!” Tears welled up in the First Elder’s eyes. “Any attempt to rescue Lanang is doomed to fail!”

‘Fearing The Curse Of Sisyphus.’

“JUST GO!” screamed Lanang who clicked off his intercom as well as refuse permission to everyone trying to speak to him mentally – including Krista. The helmet webcam was also switched off with the last image being Mr Papiyan’s sour face yelling abuse at Lanang. This strongman kept trying to climb up the crater towards his brave foe but his big size was now proving to be his weakness: as his huge body kept sliding down over the millions of pebble-like fragments that covered the whole surface of the crater. The giant would go up about a metre to only slip back.

Looking at Mr Papiyan go back down again and again Mr Aladdin explained to Kichapa the story of Sisyphus who in Hades was damned by the gods to roll a big rock up a hill to only see it roll back down again just as he reached the top. Sisyphus would have to start the whole climb again only to see the heavy rock roll back down. This useless hardship would continue forever.

“We face the risk of the same fate – of trying again and again to leave – to only never succeed.” stated Kichapa.

A sad look at the night heavens as the accelerator pedal was firmly pressed down.

‘Mara Sorts Out A Mystery.’

Mara was amazed to see the two masked Dayak troopers roll under the truck with the two clown orangutans with them. He had been right all along to believe that there were intruders (and it must have been them who had just moved the ladder rather than anyone from the truck). This criminal mastermind realised how the bed frame was in one piece amid all the other wreckage of the shed; it must have protected these four fugitives from the mortar explosion. “So that’s how the two orange ones and their rescuers which Igor spoke about didn’t die…Igor’s whip must have been picked up by one of them.”

‘Another Turn For The Worst.’

The semi-trailer moved slowly towards the main entrance as  machine guns, mortars, mines, rocket-grenades, flamethrowers could not stop this unbeatable vehicle; with his ‘trump card’ still at the bottom of the crater it was certain Mara was about to fail.

The victors felt as hollow as their defeated enemy for they knew as the truck moved them forward they were going away from their very saviour. Instead of wild cheering there was a funeral silence.

Yet, a dreadful threat – even far worse than Mara’s devilry – now screamed over the truck: fighter jets.

 ‘A ‘Doomsnight’ Scenario...’

“They’ve come too soon…” sighed Jelan who was one of the two Achilles members outside the ranch. It had been his idea to hack into the U.S. military’s computers to prompt an airstrike on Mara’s ranch. “Without his ranch Mara can no longer threaten us.” The idea was gladly taken up by everyone. When Mr Aladdin heard about this plan he thought about an old movie then joked: “We’ll be like a mouse that roars!”

At the time the truck was being refuelled there was in an unknown top-secret base in the Australian desert an intelligence officer speaking to the President of the United States.

“You mean they have hacked into Level 4?” There was a touch of quiet desperation in the President’s trembling voice.

“Yes Mr President. Trillions of firewalls have been made useless. All transmissions have been transferred to DELTA ONE and DELTA TWO which as you know sir even you are not allowed to know where they are. You have the envelope sir…?”

“Yes. The Secretary-of-State has brought it in.”

“It contains the code you have to use to order the destruction of both DELTAS.”

“Why is that?” the President was nervous.

“The Defence Secretary of State has not informed you…?”

“No! Informed me of what?! He was only woken up ten minutes ago. He won’t be at the Oval Office for another five minutes at least...”

“You’re at the White House sir...”

“Yes...should I be somewhere else?”

“Apart from Air Force One I know we have a very good underground bunker that would suit you sir...”

“Suit me for WHAT?!”

“If I maybe so kind as to inform you of what the Defence Secretary maybe too late to tell you anyway Mr President...”

“Yes...?” The President was all ears.

 “Sir...these terrorists are only a whisker away from Security Level Five where they will be in full command of our missile system.”

“TURN OFF OUR WHOLE SYSTEM!”

“It would just be turned back on. With all due respect sir we are dealing with people who have outwitted a security system which our greatest technical minds would take ten years to crack.”

“TEN YEARS!” The President was beside himself with worry. “IT’S TAKEN THESE PEOPLE TEN MINUTES!”

“We have to destroy the DELTA bases. It’s like what they say sir – if you want to delete information off a hard drive once and for all then attack it with an axe. All final missives for nuclear attack go through these two bases.”

 “I understand. No need to repeat the point.” firmly stated the President who thumbed the envelope. “I have no choice?”

“No sir.”

“What is the worst-case scenario?”

“If these people get to Level Five then we have to assume they are capable of operating everything....have you seen the film Dr Strangelove – sir...?”

“Yes. Of course...you mean...The Doomsday Machine...the one that can blow up the whole world...the United States has a Doomsday Machine like the Russians in this movie...incredible...why have I not be told...?”

‘No sir...the great United States of America – may God bless her soul – does not have a Doomsday Machine but-”

“WHAT! WHAT SIR?!”

“When these people obtain final computer entry they can launch every nuclear missile from air, land and sea. They will have codes that can override anything in the computers on our bombers, submarines and missile silos. Our personnel could just only standby and be totally powerless.

The enemy could automatically let everything off and when you throw in the payback strikes from Russia, China and all the other nations in our crazy world’s nuclear bomb ‘family’ then you might as well say a Doomsday Machine does exist. It’s in little bits all over the world. DELTA ONE and DELTA TWO are the final two jigsaw pieces that safeguard against a total takeover of our nuclear ammunition. Both DELTA ONE and DELTA TWO have to press the same launch buttons at exactly the same time like two nuclear missile silo operators to allow a full scale global nuclear war to happen.

We are dealing with such technical wizards that if we do not stop their cyber-attack within the hour then the whole world may die. They will be able to have both DELTAS working together to hold the world to ransom - or to its end. They are madmen sir. Total evil geniuses that is almost unearthly. Sir, the Cuban Missile Crisis looks like a walk in the park...our computer defences are being sliced through like a knife going through melted butter...”

‘It’s Just Like Playing A Musical Instrument.’

“Mmmm...they think we are very clever...” Jelan had on a wireless telephone headset to listen to the intercepted conversation between the President and the intelligence officer; it was transmitted through Aladdin’s laptop with his software to translate human speech into orangutan sounds.  

“Yes...” smiled Aladdin who was also wearing a headset so he and Jelan could use the same software to speak with each other.  “The Americans believe you are about to end the world.”

Jelan was surprised. “We are worried humanity will end our world! They are this so-called doomsday machine!”

“I know you only want to scare the Americans but they are amazed you have broken through all their cyberspace security…it surprises me as well.”

“We are using our minds to break into their computers. In the bunker is a room we have nicknamed ‘the Secret Laboratory’ where a few orangutans take a turn each sleepily lying in a hammock wearing a bicycle helmet with electrodes that can read the brain. Much like the headphones we are wearing now it is wirelessly connected to a GPS box. A brain signal is passed onto our satellite which then continues undetected to the powerful computers at the secret spy base which - as we know are linked - to the whole U.S. military network. This brain signal will follow its way to these other bases.” Jelan tapped his forehead. “The mind is not breaking into the computer system as such but rather riding it. The billions of electronic signals that go on in a computer imitate the billions of signals in a living brain. We can mentally hop onto the backs of the computer signals to pass through each cyber barrier. The computers work for us – not against us – with the ALL of our minds entering into the ALL of the computers we can control them.” Jelan smiled. “We are like musicians playing a musical instrument.”

“Are you going to ‘tune’ your ‘new violin’ so the Americans will pick up a pitch that will take them to Mara’s ranch?”

“We will send to these two DELTA bases the information that will make the Americans believe that Mara is the source of the threat. This ‘intelligence miracle’ will be believed without question as the Americans right now have lost all hope. The Americans will then surely launch an airstrike – which we will allow them to carry out.” On the laptop screen was a view of the semi-trailer wheeling around. “As you can see with the truck refuelled the rescue mission is about to succeed. We are sending the Americans what we want them to know and by the time their jets reach the ranch you will be safely refuelling the truck well outside.”

 ‘One Can Only Hope...’

The orangutan belief that the rescue truck would be long gone by the time the American fighter planes reached Mara’s ranch now looked foolhardy. Yes, there had been the delays caused by the tunnel explosion and by Mr Papiyan but the Americans had also been working on a hunch that Borneo was the source of all their troubles due to the earlier security scare and secret chatter. The jet fighters had come from one of the aircraft carriers that had been moving steadily closer to this island so their flight time to Mara’s ranch was a lot less than originally estimated. When American spy satellites picked up a ‘transmission glitch’ which included the exact co-ordinates of Mara’s ranch it was pounced upon by the President’s security council as proof of its ‘well found’ suspicion. In hindsight it would have made good sense to wait until the truck had left the ranch before giving the Americans this ‘ray of hope’

If only the mind capture of the human computer system had been delayed by only a few minutes. (“Throw caution to the wind!” Lanang had yelled at the elders during the discussion to stay or leave.

 Alas - as winds whipped up by the screaming jets whirled down around him at the bottom of the pit - Lanang now wished some caution had been shown with the timing of the mental cyber-attack).

“You have no say over these planes?” asked Aladdin.

“Well...we could have locked down their on-board computers to stop them from flying in the first place but now they are up in the air the Americans control them. Partial control by us is a little tricky...” was Jelan’s less than confident reply.

“So the rescue truck can be destroyed?”

“We hope not – but yes, it is possible. Until a pilot actually presses his trigger button we cannot be a 100% sure what will happen. It is us who are now hoping that our ‘cyber telepathy’ will direct the aircraft computers to recognize the rescue truck as a friendly object. A missile aimed at the truck would not then leave the aircraft to attack it.”

“You definitely don’t know anything about American ‘friendly fire’.” Aladdin feared the worst.

‘The Toaster That Ambushed Mara’s Convoy.’

A major enemy attack had already been foiled by Jelan. After learning about how Dayaks had stolen fuel at one of his petrol stations (the orangutan was not mentioned to Mara) many reinforcements in Mara Town were called up. These new gunmen were to search and destroy the Dayak outpost outside the ranch and set up a big roadblock in case the truck was somehow refuelled. Prevention is always better than cure and as soon as Jelan heard of this blockade idea through the usual satellite intercepts he worked out a very clever plan to make sure this new enemy force never became a threat.

It had been expected anyway that more of Mara’s men would be sent to the ranch. So local orangutans lookouts along the road were already in place and they were now being used to gather information.

The convoy was very easy to spot as loud party music could be heard coming from the colourful well-lit minivans before they came over a hill. No attempt had been made to blacken the vehicles or even turn off the inside lights to make it difficult for an enemy scout to see them. The headlights could have also been turned off as Mara’s drivers did have night vision goggles. On every bemo were dance songs blaring away at full volume with men playing cards, drinking and dancing in the aisles with women folk brought along for the ride. On some bemos were men playing electric guitars. Men on top of the roof of each bemo were either sleeping or happily drinking or eating instead of keeping an eye out for any enemy ambush. The drivers were honking their horns in tune with the music. Bemos with outside loudspeakers were screaming out the tunes being played. The many coloured neon lights that decorated these minivans were also flashing on and off in time with the loud music.

Party time!

Going up to Mara’s ranch was to be fun. The ‘rumour’ of a major Dayak attack was not taken seriously as it would have spoiled the festive mood.

“May I borrow your toaster?” Jelan asked Aladdin. The orangutans were reluctant to use mines – even stun ones – as they did not want to add to the global land mine problem but the enemy would not know this.

The toaster was very shiny and Jelan strapped it to his back as he quickly travelled through the top of the trees that were beside the road. Jelan had his helmet webcam turned on so everyone could see what was to happen after he placed the toaster in the middle of the road. The toaster was at a spot where it could only be seen after a vehicle had turned around a bend.

The first Mara bemo soon went around this corner and its headlights shone on the silver toaster. All that the driver could see was a very shiny object and not willing to take any risks he slammed on the brakes. “I.E.D!” shouted the driver into the radio intercom. “I REPEAT: AN IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVE DEVICE!”

 The bemo screeched to a sudden halt to avoid hitting the big ‘road mine’. Yet as the driver let out a sigh of relief Jelan knew the real fun was about to begin. He was aware from all reports that the convoy had been whizzing along the road without a care in the world so when the first bemo stopped it had become the real obstacle. The bemo that was right behind the stopped vehicle slammed into it. All the minivans in the convoy were travelling too close together and so like the carriages on a derailed train started to smash into each other as each vehicle came to a screeching halt. The minivans piled up one on top of each other. Everyone had scrambled out of the wrecks to stand on the side of the road.

 No one dared go into the jungle to pass by the heap of wrecked vans blocking the road; as everyone feared the Dayaks were waiting in the rainforest to easily finish them off. Thus this Hawaiian loud shirt army started to go back into town with party music blaring from a ghetto blaster on someone’s shoulder.

After a lone guitarist at the very rear who was singing a love song walked by Jelan left his hiding spot to coolly eye the damage. He was confident the rescue truck could bulldoze its way through the big pile of scrap metal on the road. Mission accomplished. All that had to be done was to politely return the toaster in case Aladdin was hungry.

 ‘Lanang Awaits His Fate.’

Both Lanang and Mr Papiyan stared up at the fighter planes roaring overhead and knew the endgame was out of their hands.

“Little orangutan! We’ll die together!” laughed the brute while lying on a sled that was being winched up the crater slope. Luckily for Mr Papiyan the winch was turning automatically as the men who were with it had run off. Mr Papiyan stretched out his open hand to Lanang. “Come over orangutan! I was only joking! You don’t deserve to die like this! You’ve fought me well! Maybe there’s a chance this slide will get us both to the top before these jets-”

A small rock hit Mr Papiyan in the face. It was Lanang’s answer to this unlikely offer of help for he would rather die than rely on one of his mother’s killers for his rescue. Why hadn’t Mr Papiyan and Mara spared his mother? A cruel life symmetry was in play whereby Lanang’s life would end as unfairly as his mother’s and in front of his mother’s murderers. It was all Lanang could think of as he heard the planes slowly arc around the ranch to be on course to start their straight bombing runs.

“Die then orangutan!” angrily yelled Mr Papiyan. “See! I’m nearly at the top! Those planes will be back very soon to end your misery!” A laugh.

 ‘An Empty Feeling.’

As the jets wheeled around in the night sky everyone in the truck watched the smashed main gate pass by them as they left the ranch. It was a strange moment - both triumphant and anti-climactic - for although the exhausted occupants now had their well-earned freedom they were still grief stricken over Lanang. A mental message of this victory was sent to their brave leader; so even though he was also not communicating with anyone from the truck it was hoped he would still learn his bold plan had succeeded.

 ‘The Underworld Is The Only Safe Place.’

 “ALL HATCHES OPEN! GET EVERYBODY OUT - QUICK!” With the truck now outside Krista knew there was no time to think about this history making achievement. A new worse threat had to be faced. “The sooner we’re down the tunnel the better! Lanang knows this!” It had been decided by the elders, Krista and Ajax that it was too risky to drive the truck into the open; once well on view in the fields it would surely be fired on by the jets. Krista would lead the evacuation into the tunnel while the Achilles team and some Trojans - all led by Ajax - would protect the orphans while outside the truck. For although the ranch was being abandoned by an enemy frightened by the jets there were still some loyal Mara men ready to fight.

Lanang would have been so proud to see how professional his well-disciplined companions carried out the final step of the rescue. A long row of orangutan fighters was set up from the truck to the tunnel entrance. The orphans guided by Krista and other commandoes would go from the truck to the tunnel behind this defence line.

A Mara man along the top of the ranch wall had already been shot down while trying to spitefully shoot at the first orphans leaving the truck. However, for many Mara men they were more concerned about their own lives as they left by the main entrance in their hundreds to cross the field. All of these scared gunmen were aiming to hide in the nearby rainforest. The orangutans were amazed that they had been fighting so many. Unluckily for these humans they were walking straight into a trap – the fighter planes knew exactly what they were doing when they had screamed over the ranch a few times: it was hoped the ‘terrorists’ would be so terrified that they would flush themselves out into the fields to escape any destructive blow. As this large group scrambled away from the ranch a fighter plane suddenly did a ninety degree turn and dipped down to fly right over the road and fields. As if it was one person this huge body mass suddenly stopped. A heart felt cry as the napalm was dropped on top of the men. Huge orange and black plumes covered the field.

Screaming. The barbeque smell of burning flesh. It was horrifying to think what would have happened to the orangutans if they had crossed this field that was now a sea of fire. The cooking meat smell for many of the commandoes brought back bitter, painful memories of when thousands of orangutans had suffered a similar fate in the human made Big Fire that had swept through large parts of the island several years ago.

Despite such a scene of horror the baby orangutans remained well behaved as they continued to totally trust their rescuers. Once outside the semi-trailer the orphans had lined up and sat down in rows when in turn they moved in an orderly single file to the tunnel entrance. Wearing flak jackets and helmets and each sitting on a green mat many of these brave little souls also had with them fruit lollies, games boys and squeaky toys which kept them amused. Most orphans seemed more upset if someone tried to take a sweet off them without asking or if a toy didn’t work properly rather than with the frightening possibility of being killed by a bomb or burnt to death by napalm.

Stun gun fire. A few stragglers still leaving the ranch saw the orphans going down the tunnel entrance and with their arms raised ran towards it. “WE SURRENDER! WE SURRENDER!” they shouted at the fully covered uniformed ‘Dayaks’. Yet these humans were quickly dealt with by a round of stun gun fire into the air which shooed them away. “LET US STAY! LET US STAY!” shouted some of the gunmen who stood their ground. They were shot down. No mercy was going to be shown especially when the lives of many orphans were still at risk.

There were other scared men who had escaped being burnt alive in the napalm attack now running back towards the ranch; some of these men also spotted the tunnel entrance but were forced to go away or be shot by the orangutans who had not only become masters over their own destiny but also masters over these weak humans.

 ‘Blessed Are The Children…’

A small group of women and children also ran towards the orangutans. Kichapa ordered this group to stop. No one was sure what to do with these non-combatants. The men were shown no sympathy for they had only been too willing to follow Mara’s orders to kill and enslave the orangutans but should these women and children also be hurried away? An orphan suddenly ran up to a tearful girl and holding her hand took the child to join a line of other orphans about to go down the tunnel. Compassion. Everyone understood and was humbled by this little one’s noble action. This small group of innocent humans were allowed to go underground. Baby orangutans are more aware than human babes and this young orangutan had shown more wisdom than the oldest adult of either two species. In such a mature little one lay the hope for a brighter future.

 ‘The Apocalypse!’

As yet there was no sign of Mara but everyone believed he was hiding somewhere safe. On the other hand Carlos was gliding over the ranch (he dared not use his retro rockets whose flames would have given him away to the jets) with the hope of diving down to save Lanang.  

“For your own safety you must stay out of the area!” The order kept coming from the Control Room and Carlos kept ignoring it. Thus as the kite was over the ranch everyone in the Control Room could see on the big screen the big missile explosions which joined together to form one huge towering fireball. It was easy to imagine the intense heat just as it was impossible to believe anyone could still be alive. A few high pitched, pain ridden screams were quickly snuffed out by this monster white heat ‘night sun’ that spread over the whole ranch. A female operator who was given the task of keeping an eye on Lanang’s GPS position on her screen saw the dot disappear. The operator didn’t have the heart to tell the others to put a red cross on Lanang’s last known whereabouts; she also took hold of the far away hope that maybe there was a technical breakdown with Lanang’s tracking equipment. As it was there was not a dry eye in the Control Room as everything in the ranch burst into flames. Carlos had to fly away as the air in his lungs was being sucked out by a hot hurricane wind. The inferno below was further fuelled by ammunition dump and fuel tank blasts. “Hell on earth!” he gasped.

 ‘A Deadly Surprise!’

After the bomb sortie the fighter jets were interested in wiping out anything or anyone that had somehow survived this fiery blast. Thus the semi-trailer came into the sights of a jet which still had one missile left.

Thankfully most of the orangutans had already gone down the tunnel but there was still a group of twenty five orphans still waiting to go. During the attack everyone had taken cover by going back inside the semi-trailer. The fireball had poked out hot tongues against the truck and a few flames flicked their way inside through a couple of open hatches. The sprinkler system switched itself on and a small electrical wire fire was put out with fire extinguishers. However, there was thick smoke everywhere and as Krista helped to put on gas masks that would cover the eyes, noses and mouths of the orphans she also made sure to keep them calm. “Just another surprise!’ she laughed. The little ones had to wait until Ajax and his platoon - now back outside - gave the all clear to go to the tunnel.

However, as Krista put on her own mask she suddenly heard thumps as if someone was walking through a section of the truck further down. ‘What was that?” Krista was about to take off her face mask to see more clearly when suddenly through the smoke she saw the face of a man yelling at her. “DAYAK DIE!” he screamed as he lifted up his semi-automatic rifle. Krista had no chance to use her weapon as it was slung across her back; all she could do was think that she would soon be seeing her mother - as well as Lanang - who surely was also already in the ‘next world’ “AAGHHH!” The man’s rifle fired up into the ceiling. The bullet zinged back down but luckily an amazed Krista was not hit. It was not that she was still alive that Krista was in wonder about but rather at having seen Mishka the stylish Russian Blue cat quickly fly through the air from a hiding spot - with all her legs stretched out - to land her sharp claws onto the man’s face. A little fuzzy black ball that was Anya then suddenly appeared and wildly scratched at the man’s hands making him drop his weapon. Right behind Anya was Katya as back-up who smartly made a roaring sound to further scare the enemy. However, after the real shock of being attacked by the three cats the man’s fear turned to anger and now only madly thought of picking up his rifle but yet there was one more big surprise for him when a growling Ola jumped on him from out of nowhere to knock him off balance so he could not grab his weapon. “GET DOWN!” ordered Linda. Krista dropped to the floor as a single shot breezed overhead to bring down the Mara man. Krista then stood back up to fire her stun machine gun. “KEEP MOVING! GET THE OTHERS OUTSIDE! I’LL HOLD OFF THE ENEMY!” The orphans were hastily directed to another hatch further along the vehicle. Linda had to be quick as it would seem that a strong-willed hard core of Mara’s men had waited until the very last minute to leave the ranch when it became a sure thing it was about to be blown sky high by the American jets. Having spotted an open hatch on the rescue truck these maddened Mara assassins boarded this strongly built vehicle to avoid the fireball. Instead of getting straight back outside these top-line enemy gunmen thought it best to attack the Dayaks in the truck as well as wickedly try to take some of the orphans. “Is everyone here? Help Monyong – her arm is still very weak!” Linda looked closely to see who the other young ones were as it was now known in all the chaos of the jet attacks some orphans had been overlooked but now they were thankfully all together; “Maximillian! Sebastian! Dante!” Like a good teacher she started to call out their names as if doing a roll call. “Mola! Blanco! Now the girls! Julie! Jacqui! Denise! Imogen! Bianca! Soraya! Mary Jane! Kirsten! Bronnie! Beatrice!” Another minute passed before all the little ones with their sweet names were checked out. “Lola! Trista! Wenda! You’re all here! COME ON! Let’s go!” Linda hurried the orphans to leave the cylinder not only for their own safety but so she could go back and help Krista; her leader was calmly walking backwards very slowly and shooting at any sound coming from behind the smoky veil which was easily hiding the enemy. Emergency alarm bells were loudly ringing and the automatic “EVACUATE! PLEASE EVACUATE! STRAIGHT AWAY!” warning voice was shrilling away taking turns in both human and orangutan tongues.

After letting off another blast from her stun gun Krista rolled out in front of her a thin foil wall from one side of the cylinder to the other. It was one of many fire barriers positioned in the tanker which - although they could not go all the way to the top – could help stop a fire from spreading; Krista was using this one to hold up the enemy even though it would not be too hard to roll it back.

The one dog and three cats were at Krista’s feet - following her while she steadily walked backwards - when one of the cats let off a warning meow: the firewall could be heard being pushed back.

  “DAYAK! THERE ARE MANY OF US! GIVE UP!”

 A machine gun blast came from Krista’s semi-automatic stun rifle to let her ‘gate-crashing guests’ know she would refuse their ‘request’. A gun went off but Krista was already on the floor.

A man suddenly rushed out of the fog and Krista calmly shot up at him. The man fell down. Krista knew there was not far to go before she would reach the next hatch. The others would have surely reached it by now.

A breeze coming from an open hatch behind her.

“KRISTA GET DOWN!”

 All hell broke loose as Linda with a rescue party exchanged heavy gunfire with Mara’s men.

The noise of battle in the small space was maddening. PING! PING! PING! Bullets were flying everywhere!

“EVERYONE OUT!” commanded someone on the orangutan side of this hellish battle scene still filled with the fog of the electrical fire.

 The last commando orangutan to leave threw a stun hand grenade back into the truck. BOOM!

“CLOSE THE HATCH! LOCK IT! LOCK EVERY HATCH!” Krista calmly watched her command being carried out.

 Banging on the hatches from inside the truck by Mara’s murderous men could be heard.  

“LET’S GET OUT OF HERE WHILE WE STILL CAN!” shouted Krista who knew the lives of the orphans were still in danger. As the last few of these little ones with the remaining commandoes rushed to the tunnel an incoming jet was seen.

“THERE’S A JET COMING STRAIGHT AT US! TRY GET IT OFF COURSE! HURRY!” yelled Krista into her helmet microphone to the kite.

Flying over the rainforest Carlos switched on his retro rockets to soon be underneath the zooming jet as it was going into its last dive. It would have been easy to shoot at the jet’s underbelly to down it but the Americans were seen as misguided friends who thought the rescue truck belonged to terrorists - should this human pilot die for simply making an honest mistake? 

Flames started to come out of the tail of the jet’s missile. Yet it was not flying away so the brainwave attempt by the orangutans to jam the firing signal was having some effect. Amparo’s youthful telepathic power - as she looked at the missile on Aladdin’s laptop - was delaying more than anyone else its take off.

 “NOW OR NEVER!” yelled Carlos as he flew to be alongside the cockpit of the jet so the pilot could see him.

“WHAT!” yelled the very surprised airman.

The kite was flicked diagonally in front of the cockpit forcing the jet to dip so there wouldn’t be a crash. Amparo did not see this skilful flying as she had covered her eyes thinking the kite was about to smash into the jet; so the missile flew off but it was now enough off-course to miss the truck and slam into the front wall of the ranch. The big explosion thankfully hurt no one as the last of the orphans and their rescuers were finally in the tunnel.

‘The End Of The Trojan Horse.’

The American jet fighter pilots decided the ‘petrol tanker’ was really a moving headquarters. Why else would the terrorists send in a kamikaze pilot to stop an attack on it?  “It’s our new ground zero.” With all their missiles gone the jet pilots started to shoot at the truck but their normally powerful armour piercing bullets were only bouncing off the tough metal skin of their target. The Americans kept shooting anyway as they were totally fixated with the thought of destroying this grand vehicle.

More jets arrived and one of them dropped a big smart bomb on the driver cabin. It blew apart and huge flames went through the rest of the wrecked truck which was also hit with missiles. Whatever instrument was inside this moving H.Q. causing so much trouble with the U.S. military’s computers was certainly now destroyed. “We’ve saved the Free World!” hoorayed everyone in the White House and the Pentagon.

“Now the humans can feel good about blowing up the world one day all by themselves.” dryly commented Jelan who listened in on the wild celebrating.

5

CLEARING SKIES

‘Mara’s Escape.’

Mara was lucky to be alive. He had hidden in a small bomb shelter underneath his house along with his guest Igor. This secret bunker was reached by a trapdoor hidden underneath a rug in the living room. When the raid was over the two men went up to the surface. The house had totally disappeared. What about Mr Papiyan? Both men went to the crater going quickly from one pile of ruins to the next in case a jet flew back and spotted them. To their surprise Mr Papiyan was still alive. He had found safety in the tunnel that was dug out to take the high explosives. When the air attack started Mr Papiyan went inside the underground passageway.  He had blocked the entrance with rocks to stop the fires from reaching him. 

 “Hah! We are the ‘three last standing’!”  laughed Mara. “We can escape using a secret tunnel that will take us deep into the rainforest. We can then go to the main road where my men in town can pick us up.”

The three fugitives went back to the bomb shelter where there were supplies such as food, jackets, torches, maps, weapons, ammunition and water which could all be put into daypacks. Mara also had stored some of his music collection and took with him some classical music and Frank Sinatra classics. “We shall fly to the moon gentlemen!” he laughed.

“I also have this!” Igor took out a vodka bottle from under his black leather coat and had a drink.

The tunnel started at the shelter and after going along it for a few minutes the trio could feel it warm up as directly above them were the fields still burning. The three criminals congratulated themselves for not getting trapped in these deadly fires. After about an hour Mara’s torch shone on a steel ladder that went up a narrow shaft. “We’re here!”

To Igor’s surprise he watched Mara go up the ladder to swing out a small periscope tube from a side box. The rainforest was looked at with an infrared night vision camera attached to the top of the periscope. “It is safe.” Mara climbed up the rest of the ladder to lift up a cover at the top. Igor could see that its topside was all covered with leaves. It would have been difficult for anyone to find the tunnel. Fresh air. When everyone was outside Mara took out a map in his top pocket. “This will show us the way through the landmines I have put around here.” whispered Mara. “Follow me – and be quiet!” After about five minutes the trio came to a small track. “We’re out of the danger zone.” stated Mara. “We’ll reach the road at daybreak.” Mara put on his night goggle glasses. “Do the same. From here on - no torches!”

Spongy ground. Suspicion. Mara raised his hand to stop-

WHOOSH!

WHOOSH!

WHOOSH!

Three net traps. Three victims. Mara’s careful approach to not be captured had come to nought. In much the same way the three queens had been tracked by the orangutan satellite a high-flying robot spy drone controlled by the Americans had the criminal trio in its sights all along. The thermal grainy green images which showed three body heat images walking along the rainforest track had been sent to American Special Forces who had parachuted in nearby. Map co-ordinates of the tunnel entrance had earlier been openly communicated by the orangutans so the Americans could easily find out about it. This message also said that the leader of the terrorists was using the tunnel to escape.  It was not known if Mara was still alive but if he was it was for certain he would use this escape route. It had always been common knowledge there was this tunnel as Mara had never thought of hiding its construction from the animals of the rainforest.  As soon as it was known there were only three terrorists - as well as the direction which they were going - the American commandoes cleverly decided to prepare three light-weight but very strong net traps further down the track. It was important that these leading terrorists were caught alive to gather information from them. The American President and his national security team were very happy as they all looked on a screen at the three men swinging in nets several metres above the ground.

Everyone in the Control Room were also very pleased. It was important that Mara be captured by the Americans as the orangutans knew that this murderous poacher would then have to face justice in a human court. The orangutans didn’t want to take the law into their own hands; the men killing them and stealing their children had to be properly punished by way of the human legal system. Justice rather than mob rule still had to have the upper hand. The orangutans wanted a long term solution to the evil situation that was wiping them out. Hopefully by having Mara put on trial in an international court his wicked acts would be publicly highlighted to the whole world. Moral support for the orangutans would grow so as to have worldwide pressure placed on authorities to put in safeguards to protect the orangutans.

‘Hanging Around…’

The lightweight metal string used to make the nets was very strong and could not be cut.  “Come out! Come out! Cut me down and try to fight and defeat me like real men!” shouted a frustrated Mr Papiyan.

Laughter.

It was not coming from the jungle but rather from another net. Igor was very pleased to see Mr Papiyan in such a weak position. He had always been jealous of this other poacher’s superior physical strength. The vodka bottle was opened. As for Mara he saw no point in being upset. The present ‘inconvenience’ was simply an ‘occupational hazard’ in his line of ‘expertise’ that one should ‘humbly’ accept. After he had paid off the right dishonest police, judges and government officials and claimed his big insurance money payout on his burnt-out ranch Mara knew that in no time he’d be back in business. He simply took out his white conductor’s rod and looked up at the moon as he listened to Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata on his portable music player’s earphones. The wild beast was soothed.

‘Let Freedom Reign!’

Mara’s ‘quiet time’ was interrupted by a tranquilizer dart.  Igor and Mr Papiyan were also drugged and the three criminals were taken back to the ranch tied up and hanging from poles on the back of an army truck like captured jungle animals.

 At the ranch the three prisoners woke up to each find themselves in cages that Mara had used for imprisoning orangutans. It was theatre for the waiting world media who had been tipped off by a press release that publicized that there had been a big operation by the American military against a big time poacher. The press release said the Americans had ‘kindly offered’ their ‘humanitarian services’ to local authorities who ‘happily accepted’ this ‘committed effort’ to finally put an end to the illegal trafficking of orangutans. No one had any idea who sent this press release to every news outlet on the planet. Of course it had been organised by the orangutans.

As far as the U.S. military was concerned what had been knocked out was a major terrorist base. It was real news to the Pentagon that Mara was no terrorist but a ‘two-bit poacher’. Security checks showed that Mara had not even financed any terrorist organizations. The world’s only superpower had been tricked by a ‘Mr Lanang’ (whereabouts unknown) into doing some cleaning up of a very dirty business. 

The Americans had no choice other than go along with the press release which stated that the President of the richest nation on Earth was going to happily confirm that all rainforests would be immediately listed on the World Heritage List.

“Let us have a world where every old growth tree may never fear a chainsaw again!

Let us have a world where all animals will have their safety guaranteed!

Let us have a world where we can rely on renewable energy to cleanly end the Carbon Age!

Let us have a world which will fairly share the world’s wealth to all peoples! 

Let us have a world where there is no more unnecessary sickness!

Let us have a world where there is no more enslaving or torturing of animals and human beings!

Let us have a world where there is no more land clearing by big farmers so animals like koalas and orangutans will not lose their trees and face starving to death!

Let us have a world where all its leaders are honestly elected and are honest!

Let us have a world which truly co-operates in international peace efforts!

Let us have a world that adopts the great scientist Albert Einstein’s suggestion that all people should vote for all their representatives in a United Nations where all countries always have equal say and voting rights!

Let us have a world where the richest nations will not just hand out charity but carry out justice so they will have reforms which will always give a hand up to the poorest nations! So no one will be poor!

Let us have a world where there will no longer be bad governments that hurt their people or want to invade and hurt people in other countries which also means there will be less need to spend so much money on guns!

Let us have a world where the land is not dug up or people thrown off it just to make money!

Let us have a world where everyone feels safe and comfortable in their own countries so they will not have to leave them out of fear!

Let us have a world where women and children especially are not treated badly!

Let us have a world where everyone treats everyone else with respect no matter what their differences!

Let us have a world where there is always cheap healthy food to eat and all unhealthy things are got rid of!

Let us have a world where everyone has somewhere safe to easily live, sleep and play!

Let us have a world where everyone can easily go to school, college and university!

Let us have a world where everyone can easily go to a hospital or see a doctor at home!

Let us have a world where we make art and not war! A world with paintbrushes and without guns!

Let us have a world where everyone welcomes and happily helps each other to end all bad things and to do only good things!

LET US HAVE A WORLD WHERE FREEDOM REIGNS EVERYWHERE!” proclaimed the U.S. President (with fingers crossed behind his back) to a world audience of billions of pleasantly surprised people. The global ‘Commander-in-Chief’ and his generals knew that whoever was behind the near nuclear destruction of the whole Earth would be very pleased with the President’s promises.

‘The Mysterious Mastermind ‘Mr Lanang’.’

All attempts to gain information about the mysterious ‘Mr Lanang’ had failed. The sales receipt to pay NASA for the satellite launched by Mr Lanang only led back to a fruit stall in central Kalimantan. Anyhow it seemed this satellite played no role in the cyber-attack but to be safe it would have all its on-board operations turned off.

While questioning the likes of Mara, Mr Papiyan and Igor only had them going about orangutans! Nothing they said made any sense especially when these three born liars falsely accused the Dayaks. The interrogators knew these upright tribal people were only being named out of jealousy as the Dayaks would of course be very happy that the murderous Mara - along with two of his high-ranking offsiders - had been arrested and faced life imprisonment.

 “After all,” noted one senior American military man, “how could these jungle men who only know about blowpipes threaten the United States? Dayaks training orangutans to fight – that’s crazy!”

American intelligence stayed totally in the dark and so were still left with the fear - that could now never really go away - that this ghostly ‘Mr Lanang’ may try again to cyber-start a nuclear attack.

‘THREE STUPID MEN!’

As for Mara, Mr Papiyan and Igor if it was not bad enough that they were photographed in the cages for the whole world to laugh at them they also had to pose in an opposite way of the famous Three Wise Monkeys who saw no evil; spoke no evil and heard no evil. This human trio were photographed sitting next to each other with Mara pointing with both index fingers at his eyes seeing evil; Mr Papiyan was shown with cupped hands around his mouth speaking evil and with Igor with his hands next to his ears listening to evil. Evil was what these three men carried out on the orangutans and so underneath this staged group photo ran the newspaper headline: THREE STUPID MEN!

With so much bad publicity Mara’s dishonest backers could no longer risk being connected with him. No bribe on offer by Mara was big enough to get him out of gaol. If Mr Papiyan and Igor were beaten men then Mara was a broken one.

‘Justice Always Heeds A Push Along.’

The orangutans were very happy that Mara had no chance to become a poacher again but they knew in the human world that justice often needed a push along to get its way: if there had been no worldwide publicity then Mara would not have been arrested.

 It was noted how as ‘nobodies’ the orangutans had been killed and kidnapped in their thousands but now with the world’s spotlight on this evil practice they could hope to live in peace.

 ‘After The Tunnel A Final Walk To Freedom.’

Yet all this talk of freedom was still a distant dream at the time of the rescue. The orphans had escaped the ranch but they could not yet relax: the grassfires started by the napalm were spreading to the rainforest. If the wind picked up there would be a monster bushfire.

“If we stay here we may all die.” remarked Krista.

“Let’s head to Mara’s mine.” suggested the local elder. “It’s big enough to fit everyone.”

The orangutans and the humans including the small group of women and children started the walk through the rainforest as the first trees caught fire. It was decided to walk for many of the orphans were still too weak to climb along the top of the rainforest or to even hold onto the adult orangutans while in the trees. Many local orangutans were happy to move along the ground and piggy back an orphan but as there were hundreds of them many children still had to walk. Aladdin, Kichipa along with six commandos went in the minivan to the mine. They would flush out any guards. It turned out though the mine had been abandoned by Mara’s men after the air raid on the ranch.

‘More Fireworks And A Very Happy Surprise!’

It was an amazing sight to see this orange primate mass in the darkness steadily moving towards the mine. Although the bushfire was spreading there was no wind. Thankfully it looked very likely that everyone would be safe. However, to quicken the pace this refugee column switched to walking along the road that led to the mine when it was in sight. Walking onto the cleared ground around the mine - which was on a raised plateau - the red orange glow of the distant bushfire could be seen and then the night sky was lit up by two zigzagging shooting stars! White tracer lines started to come out from one shooting star. It was understood by everyone that they were watching Carlos in his little kite being chased by a fighter jet.

The bigger star which was behind the smaller one suddenly turned away and it was thought it had given up the chase.  Yet the small star suddenly burst into a big firework ball of many different colours.

“OH NO!” screamed many orangutans: had they just seen the death of Carlos? 

Sadly, there was no longer any star in the sky.

“LOOK!” shouted a small orphan who pointed her little finger up to the sky. “A big butterfly!”

“That’s no butterfly my sweet darling!” cheered Krista. “It’s a parachute!”

 Weeping turned to cheering as the white fluttering canopy was spotted floating down. Yes, it was Carlos but a large lump was suddenly seen on Carlos’s back and it was now feared he was seriously injured.

“Dada, dada...” said a baby orangutan. Tears of joy ran down Krista’s face. “Yes! It’s your Dada! Daddy’s back! LANANG IS ALIVE!”

The celebration which everyone refused to have because they thought their leader was dead could now began!

Lanang was thrown up into the air three times as everyone let out three victory cheers.

There were was also wild clapping for the three queens. In the Control Room - where there was a victory toast with coconut juice - it was seen on screen that although many adults were having a dance it looked more like a big children’s birthday party was going on as the orphans outnumbered everybody else by many hundreds.

 The few human children also joined in the festivities with their mothers joyfully looking on.   

A red cross was put on the map where the ranch had stood. Many green balls on the big counter showed that all the orphans had been freed and better still there had been no casualties. Apart from Lanang’s wounded heel no one else in the rescue team had suffered anything more serious than bruises, cuts and scratches.

There was a brief scary moment with radio talk of a big American plane called Elvis but renewed concern turned to more joy when it was understood that Elvis was dropping big buckets of water onto the bushfire.

“The fire is nearly out!” yelled the orangutans. “Hooray for the Americans! HOORAY!”

At dawn the very happy orangutans headed into the surrounding rainforest to have a well-earned sleep. From their hiding spots they saw hundreds of local soldiers brought in to do sweeps of the area looking for ‘terrorist survivors’. A few of Mara’s men were found.

 The women and children who had been with the orangutans were harmlessly picked up where the mine road met with the main road going to Mara Town; they had earlier been driven there by Aladdin. These poor humans who were thankful the orangutans had been so kind to them said nothing about their hosts.

The troops led by American military ‘advisors’ never thought the orangutans happily lying in the trees around them had anything to do with the events at the ranch. The orangutan commandos had taken off their battle gear and hid all of it with their weapons in a well-covered hole deep in the jungle. The minivan was left at the mine but its computer hardware was taken out and placed with the other equipment. An orangutan guide would take the Dayaks along secret rainforest trails to safely return home.

A soldier did see three cats and a dog with an orangutan in a tree but didn’t tell anyone as his fellow soldiers would think he was losing his mind. The soldier put the strange sight down to tiredness; especially with the three cats seeming to be very friendly to the dog. “I’m seeing things...”

 ‘The Orangutans Are Free At Last!’

It was such a wonderful feeling for the orangutans to be wholly free to peacefully relax in the beauty of a rainforest without having to worry about being killed or kidnapped by human poachers.

 The orphan orangutans would in the days ahead be taken to different parts of the island and to Sumatra where they would be adopted by aunts and uncles and have new brothers and sisters. They would be able to have full, free lives again. 

 As for Amparo she happily met up again with her brother. Other luckier children were able to get together with still living parents such as in the joyful case of the ‘three queens’.

 ‘How Lanang Cheated On Death.’

Lanang was very quiet but as this first new day of a brighter world for the orangutans took its peaceful course he told Krista and Jelan what had happened to him. 

After Mr Papiyan had left the crater Lanang saw it as his chance to climb up the crater. It was hard going as he was also sliding down from the pebbles but was able to step on larger rocks.

“I noticed a black hole in the side of the crater and realised it was the tunnel. A wall of dirt blocked the tunnel a little way in but there was enough space for me. I knew the jets were going to bomb the ranch. There was no way I could get out before this air attack started. The entrance was very small so I took off my battle vest which had the GSP tag. I was going to put the vest back on after the bombing but it was burnt to ashes by the fireball. When I got back out and saw there was no trace of it I did think you may all have thought I’d died. That didn’t happen as the flames didn’t enter the chamber. I had covered the entrance with a big rock. I left my safe little cubby hole when it seemed it was a little less hot outside. I kept going up the crater and it was easier than before as there was now a lot more wreckage to step on.

At the top there was no sign of Mr Papiyan. Yet I didn’t think he was dead although I had no idea how he would have stayed alive. My instincts told me just to stay on my guard. It worried me that everyone thought I had died but with everything burning all around me there was still a good chance I would still not pull through.

I was so happy to see Carlos fly back down. I suppose he was expecting to see my burnt body in the crater. I waved to him. I couldn’t send a mental message as my mind was just too tired. I knew Carlos had seen me as even in the darkness I could see his face light up with joy. Carlos managed to land on a flat bit of ground next to the crater. I was able to sit behind him. Then funnily enough the crater slope became the perfect platform for Carlos to make a quick run downhill to fly off!

When we were well and truly on our way I was going to suggest to Carlos to let everyone know I was alive but as soon as we had gained some height a jet was on our tail. The pilot must have seen us leave the crater.

 It took my breath away when Carlos turned on the retro rockets and started to swirl the kite up, down and crossways through the air to try and shake off the big fighter. The white lines of the jet’s tracer bullets were first above us then below us!

The jet copied exactly whatever we were doing or whatever way we were going and is as if there was an invisible string connecting him with us. I started to think every second was going to be our last!

 The jet finally left as unlike us it would have been getting low on fuel but not until one last burst of tracer fire. A bullet clipped the wing. We thought nothing of it but a smouldering trace of flammable phosphorous caught alight. We parachuted just before the whole kite went up in flames and exploded.  Carlos glided us towards you before opening the chute. All of you looked so happy to see me but I was just as pleased to see that everyone was safe and well.”

 ‘Years Have Gone By & Lanang Still Remembers...’

Lanang sat up in his tree. So many years had passed since that lively escapade and thankfully no poacher had come back. He was old now and it pleased him the children he had with Krista as well as his grandchildren could live in the rainforest with the horror of those dark days - when thousands of their kind were slaughtered or kidnapped at the hands of humans - was now only a distant memory.

 Nevertheless, this communal nightmare would never be forgotten.

After every yearly monsoon season Lanang always went to the spot where his dear brave mother died so as to remember her. Thankfully, this rainforest area had not been chopped down. This loyal son would imagine she was under the tree he had climbed to hide in; that she came alive as young again in the Dayak underworld. Always, tears would fill up in Lanang’s watery eyes...

‘The First Elder’s Son Is Freed.’

After the rescue of the orphans from Mara’s ranch there were some smaller missions until all poaching soon came to an end through a new worldwide effort to get rid of this evil. Along with the poachers it was also those caught with a stolen animal or part of an animal who also faced heavy punishment. Krista, Lanang along with Bulan – the clown orangutan who had now joined Lanang’s commando team and who still had Igor’s whip as a souvenir – organised with Aladdin to free the First Elder’s son.

The rescue would be done at the restaurant the First Elder’s son was forced to perform. So when the day came Bulan strolled into the restaurant dressed up as a clown (wearing the same outfit ‘given’ to him by Igor) and juggling balls; Krista was beside him as a Spanish flamenco dancer wearing a bright red dress with a black fan up to her face and clicking castanets. Lanang was also walking in with them playing a Spanish guitar and wearing a big straw sombrero, a red silk frilly shirt and black trousers.

The First Elder’s son and his two female orangutans offsiders were all dressed up in black and white skeleton jumpsuits doing a dance during a Mexican Day of the Dead fancy dress theme party.

Bulan, Krista and Lanang looked like they were three extras brought in for this ‘fun event’. With all the cheering costumed humans clapping in tune with Lanang’s fast guitar strumming this trio had the other three orangutans join them in a conga line. The six performers went to the front of the restaurant and quickly out the front door to Aladdin and his station wagon!

Aladdin whisked all the cheerful orangutans away as soon as they dived into the car. “Trick not treat!” he yelled.

Krista blew a kiss and waved at the angry restaurant manager –also wearing a skeleton suit – who ran out onto the footpath when he realised something was amiss. This restaurant as well as other places and zoos with mistreated animals were soon shut down.    

 ‘The Bomb Is Downsized.’

The reforms that the President had announced were put into place. After all, this superpower had little choice knowing that its nuclear armoury could be used on itself. Most nuclear weapons were pulled apart to lower the threat from Mr Lanang’s computer wizardry; (but the American generals illogically felt they ‘just had to’ keep some atomic bombs). At least the other countries in the ‘nuclear club’ also chose to hugely reduce their nuclear stockpiles after seeing the United States carry out such a surprisingly big nuclear disarmament program.

‘Blessed Are The Peacemakers.’

Huge amounts of money wasted on the world’s arms race was now spent on improving billions of people’s lives. The Earth was now a more peaceful place to live for both animals and human beings. The orangutans hoped the humans would get used to a calm world with far less problems where everyone was more relaxed. After all, why couldn’t people live in harmony with each other and with nature just like the orangutans?

With humans behaving better it also made life easier for all other life forms on the planet. The Earth itself came back to life in so many ways as the air, land and sea started to heal from all the sicknesses brought on by so many years of unthinking human harm. Many animal and plant species no longer faced dying out.

It was hoped by the orangutans that after many happy years the humans would find it unthinkable to go back to the unequal, unhappy days of before. Yet Lanang wondered if this could be so as Mr Aladdin’s history lessons had taught him that humanity always had a way of returning to its bad ways after looking as if it had given them up for good.

One day this keen student of human history reminded Mr Aladdin of this depressing point. The wise scholar smiled and spoke into his translator’s microphone: “Oh young wise orangutan don’t pay too much attention to the misgivings of an old man!” Mr Aladdin said cheerfully. “One should always have hope. You have shown me how a faith in a better future can truly blossom. You can inspire others! You should be TIME’S Person of the Year!” Mr Aladdin became excited. “YOU DESERVE THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE!” Mr Aladdin gives a kind calm look at his thoughtful student. “Blessed are the peacemakers. They shall inherit the Earth. They are the true children of God. We should always consider looking beyond what we can see with our eyes to what is ‘unseen’ to what is true and real underpinned by our hopes and our memories. Life is a mystery.”

‘An Advanced Civilization.’

In his later years Lanang made sure that the orangutans would not follow the tempting path of so called ‘human progress’. Thus when this wise fellow became First Elder he had the Secret Laboratory and Control Room closed. Orangutans would return totally to the ways of the wild as they knew them before the rescue of the orphans. However, the knowledge gained and the stun weapons used would not be forgotten but stored within the memory of every orangutan; to be passed on into the minds of one generation and then to every following generation in case the human curses of poaching and deforestation ever raised their ugly selves again. Lanang’s great wealth would also be put into very long term bank deposits to keep earning interest so there would always be plenty of money in case it once more had to be used by the orangutans to defend themselves. ‘Money really can grow for trees!’ he once joked. Yes, the orangutans would never again be defenceless. Meanwhile these glorious primates would live as wonderfully as they had always done for tens of thousands of years; after all, this is what they had fought for all those years ago.

At the time of the orphan rescue the orangutan race in the rainforest had so few numbers left it was feared that within a few years orangutans in the wild would be totally gone. These days it was hoped the numbers would only keep going up and up; so there would be many hundreds of thousands of orangutans again spreading their gracious presence all through South-East Asia for many more tens of thousands of years.

 Lanang mused that maybe in a 1,000 years the Secret Laboratory and Control Room would be found by some human archaeologist to announce to an amazed world that a lost very advanced civilization had been found!

 ‘Two Old Friends.’

The only allowance that Lanang gave to himself to ‘human luxury’ was when he would go over to Aladdin’s longhouse to watch taped episodes of Phantom Agents.

 The two old fellows would also climb up a ladder to a tree house that was built for Aladdin’s children. These two brothers would look up at the moon and stars through a telescope that Lanang treasured and would never part with. Mr Aladdin had given the old celestial instrument to Lanang one year after the orphans had been saved. “I’ve heard you believe that the sun is made up of all the stars coming together.” A smile. “The world and this universe will always be far greater than what we will ever understand.” Mr Aladdin had said on this anniversary. “Always remember me and what I have told you when you look through this my young hero. One day I will be looking down at you.”

  As Lanang looked back up at Mr Aladdin he would fondly talk about old times with his son; swinging the telescope down to look onto an antique tourist paperweight of the ‘three stupid men’. 

Laughter.

Like two little boys Lanang and Aladdin would often play out favourite scenes from Phantom Agents. Lanang always had the advantage of climbing out onto the top of the tree house to pop his upside head down and cheekily give his human friend a good old fashioned fright!

 ‘Lanang Has Peace At Last...’

Another monsoon season had passed...Lanang was back in the same tree that he had hid from Mara and Mr Papiyan. He closed his eyes and could feel himself in his young mother’s arms as she lovingly licked her baby son clean after giving birth to him. All was dark but there was the light of love in Lanang’s heart. A warm, never ending tenderness would never let go of him. He was at peace.