The laboratory hummed with the soft whirr of centrifuges; Dr Satanna stood and watched the footage of the chimpanzees solving puzzles, making notes in her notebook.
She'd worked at the Institute for Animal Cognition (IAC for short) for 3 years now and earned the respect of her peers. She worked hard all her life, and it was paying off; her career had profound potential. But she was so very lonely.
"Still here?"
Satanna turned to see Dr Marcus Webb standing in the doorway with two cups of coffee in either hand. He was tall, about 6' 1, with gentle blue eyes.
"The chimps are on a roll tonight; I didn't want to interrupt their momentum," Satanna replied, accepting the coffee.
"They'll be the same tomorrow." Marcus stood beside her, joining her in watching the monitors. "You can't stay awake forever; you know that, right?"
"All this coming from the man who fell asleep on the job last week."
"That was meditation; get it right," he joked back.
Satanna laughed before they fell into silence, watching the chimpanzee named Apollo work through a toy (puzzle) meant to challenge young children aged around 6. When Apollo succeeded, they gave soft cheers for him through the screen.
"Do you ever wonder what he's thinking? Like, truly thinking. What does he dream about? Does he have hopes? The stuff beyond the problem-solving?"
"Every day," Satanna replied.
They looked at each other, a small spark between them.
"I think we can elevate them and bridge the gap between us," he said.
"That's not what we do here."
"I know. But it could be." Marcus slightly smiled and looked back towards Apollo.
That was the night that started it all.
They continued to talk over the course of the next few months. Simple coffee became dinner, and that became something both weren't willing to admit to yet.
Marcus became obsessed with removing the biological barrier that was preventing animals from achieving human intellect. He spoke of gene therapy to alter animals and to control their evolution. All of this made Satanna worry.
"It's not just about making them smarter, Marcus! It's about identity. What happens to who they are when you change what they are?" she argued, the two of them alone in his apartment, takeout on the table with research notes Marcus compiled.
"They could be so much more, Satanna! We are denying their potential by not using what we have to remove their limitations," Marcus countered.
"We don't get to play God! That always leads down a steep path, Marcus, you know that!" she replied.
"God is just another word for the endless possibilities," he argued.
Their arguments continued. They laughed and fell asleep on his couch with her head on his shoulders and his hand in her hair. They fell in love.
He developed a way that could theoretically enhance animals beyond their limitations. He tried to convince the ethics boards, but all of them came to the same conclusion. Denied. It was simply too dangerous.
Marcus stopped presenting to Satanna and started to work alone. Satanna found him, his eyes bloodshot, at 3 am, his hands shaking at a piece of equipment he was never authorised to use.
"Marcus? Is that you? What are you doing here so late?" Satanna asked, worried.
"There needs to be proof. Proof of concept. To do that, I'm going to volunteer myself," he replied.
"No!" she said.
"Someone will have to be the first eventually," he replied.
"It doesn't have to be you, Marcus! God, not you." Her hand covering her mouth, a small tear in her eye.
"Who else, Satanna? I've lived my life believing we have a duty to share our knowledge. What worth is it to let your discovery die with you when you can share and help future generations? Why should that be exclusive to us? There are so many different species that may be brimming with ideas and ways of thought that we couldn't possibly replicate. They could be the key to not just helping humanity but the whole world. If I'm right, we change everything, Satanna!" His voice was full of wonder.
Satanna tried to fight back; she even threatened to report him, but in the end, he did it anyway, and she couldn't even if she wanted to.
The procedure took over six hours. Satanna sat outside the sealed lab, shaking and praying to a god she didn't even believe in. When the doors opened, Marcus wasn't what emerged.
A massive white gorilla stood at the doorway, built over eight feet tall and full of muscle. It saw her and stopped.
"Satanna," it said. The voice was deep and rough, but it still had hints of Marcus. Satanna screamed and started to run.
Marcus grabbed her arm. "It's still me. I'm still me," he whispered. She could hear his tears, and he could hear hers. They stayed close together and cried for a while before finally pulling apart.
Satanna looked at him. His eyes were still the same. The same as the man she fell in love with. "You're an idiot," she said, sniffling.
"A successful idiot. There's a difference," he replied, his gorilla face forming something akin to a smile.
She laughed.
They disappeared quietly, leaving everything behind, and relocated to a protected forest in Central Africa. Marcus used all his savings to secure some land. For a while, it was just them, but they came across a troop of gorillas being hunted by poachers.
Marcus saved them and started to help them carefully and slowly become something greater. He taught them language, how to use and create tools, and self-defence, and only when they could understand, he offered them the chance to become enhanced.
Some chose it, some didn't, but both parties were honoured. Within two years, they had developed a community. Fifteen gorillas chose to become enhanced, and another dozen chose to remain as they were. They drove off the poachers, and among their community, they became known as the Demon Apes of the deep forest.
Satanna took on an advisor role while watching Marcus guide them, not as a ruler but as a teacher. A friend. She felt pride and hope.
The two of them cuddled under unfamiliar stars, so deep in love. "Thank you." Marcus eventually told Satanna, holding her close.
"For what?" she asked.
"For staying and believing in me all this time. For helping build all of this," he held her close.
She kissed his knuckles. "Where else would I be?"
The transformation took six hours. Satanna decided on a tiger; after all, their tribe needed diversity.
The pain was immense. Every cell was altering itself, her entire body reshaping. Fur erupted from her skin, and a tail extended from her spine.
Marcus held her through it all, wiping her tears and making sure she was loved, promising it would all end soon.
The first thing she noticed was the smell. She could smell more than she could ever imagine. The next was her hearing; she could hear over a much larger distance and much more clearly. She looked at her hands, at the fur and her claws.
"Satanna." Marcus said. Satanna looked up towards him with her eyes, golden and slitted. "You're beautiful."
Satanna started to cry, and Marcus held her. The tribe celebrated. They taught literacy, combat and advanced tactics. The children learnt mathematics and how to hunt.
Three years had passed, and their sanctuary thrived. They had built the impossible, something beautiful, and it was enough.
Marcus started to experience episodes. Moments of confusion, where he just wasn't quite right. There would be a day when he withdrew himself, claiming headaches. Satanna noticed something was wrong.
"Your enhancements are degrading," she told him, after running a neural scan.
"Can we fix it?" he asked.
"For now... I can only stabilise."
The medication helped for a while, but episodes became more frequent and stronger. Marcus was becoming more primal and was quick to anger. He'd scream at the children and snap at his closest friends. He nearly attacked a younger gorilla for looking at him.
He started to isolate himself and would spend days lying on the floor of his room, shaking.
"I'm becoming something else, Satanna. I don't know what I'm doing anymore. I can't control myself," he told Satanna, his voice breaking.
"We'll figure it out, just like we always do," Satanna promised. She lied, and they both knew.
The mercenaries arrived at dawn, twelve armed men hired by a biotech corporation that heard the rumours of sanctuary. They wanted to capture them, to study them.
The tribe fought back. They were winning with ease, and within minutes, the mercenaries retreated. Figuring it wasn't worth the money.
The smell of blood triggered something in Marcus. Satanna saw the switch; Marcus simply switched off.
Marcus chased the mercenaries, killing three of them with pure brutality before turning on his own tribe. Kesi, a young female, tried to calm him down before he hurled her through the trees. Jabari, an elder, stepped between Marcus and the children. Marcus nearly crushed his skull.
"Marcus!" Satanna yelled, running towards him. Marcus caught her by the throat, lifting her off the ground and slamming her into the ground, cracking her ribs. His hands closed around her neck.
For a second, Satanna saw a flicker of Marcus. She saw Marcus coming back.
Marcus loosened his grip and staggered back, looking around at the tribe.
Satanna gasped for air, and she heard Marcus make a sound between a sob and a roar.
He knelt beside Satanna, removed a pistol from his hip and placed it in her shaking hands.
"Satanna, listen to me, ok?" The voice was Marcus. He was back, and he was clear and certain.
"No," she whispered. She knew what he was about to say.
"I can't come back from this. Next time, and there will be a next time, I won't stop. I will kill everyone here. Even you." His hands were gentle as he guided her hands towards his chest.
"We can fix this!"
"We can't. You know we can't. We've known this for months now." He smiled weakly.
"Please." Satanna pleaded, tears streaming down her face.
"They need you. The tribe, the children, our family. I've loved every moment with you, every single second and this is the last gift I can give them." Marcus said.
"Marcus."
"I love you. Satanna." She saw it in his eyes; he made the choice. The fear and the man asking her to set him free.
"I love you," she whispered, her fingers moving towards the trigger. She pulled it.
The gunshot echoed throughout the forest, and Marcus slumped into her arms as she wailed. The tribe gathered around and wept.
They buried him next to a large mahogany tree at the heart of the sanctuary. Every member placed something at his grave, from flowers to drawings.
Satanna stayed at the grave for days, and when she stood, she changed.
She remembered Marcus. Every little detail. His vision of a better world, and she would build it. Even if she had to burn parts of herself to do it.
Satanna stood against a car, waiting outside the building that Baradoosh had sent Hawkgirl through. Hawkgirl would come back, but she was injured.
Satanna tightened her hand around her plasma gun. "This is what happened when you let gods decide who gets to be saved," she murmured.
She watched as heroes would swoop in to save the day, but only the humans, while ignoring the suffering of everything else. She didn't care for Hawkgirl, but if she completed what Sophist wanted, she could get her sanctuary.
She hoped Marcus would be proud. She let herself believe that, just for a moment.