Everywhere he went, Cornelius felt vulnerable. Even the Hyperion, albeit a safe haven (or so he was told,) was against him. At least, in his mind it appeared that way. He felt like the walls were closing in on him. And the odor of humans was constantly attacking his nostrils. He felt dirty. Disgusting. And alone. Very much alone.
It wasn't that he hadn't received fair treatment at the hotel. No, on the contrary, those who had the strength of will to approach him had been very pleasant. Well, as pleasant as humans could be, he supposed. Speaking, intelligent humans. Yes, intelligent. It was hard for him to believe such a thing could be possible. Sure there was Taylor. And Brent. But they were flukes of nature. Two rare specimens within thousands of years of constant, unwavering change. But this place? Oh, this place was a horrible contradiction of science.
And Cornelius felt like God himself must have been laughing at him. That he alone could be chosen for such ridicule. And receive the unending feeling that someone was scoffing at him. The story of his life.
But he couldn't stay hidden away in that hotel forever. No, it was driving him mad. He needed the fresh air and the sense of openness that only the outside could provide. Perhaps it was a fallback to his more basic natural instincts, but he never felt fully comfortable surrounded by walls. He'd never say so to Zira, because she'd use some of those psychiatric tricks on him to get him to reveal some dark secret from his childhood, but it was true. Outside he felt free.
Still, he had to be careful. The people of this place weren't accustomed to seeing Chimpanzees wandering the streets. So he tried to stay away from crowded places. Which was very difficult because all he wanted was a nice open field. A park. Some place quiet. Some place that reminded him of home.
"Look! It's a monkey wearing clothes!"
Cornelius heard the voice call out from across the street. A monkey? It wouldn't have been the first time he had been insulted in such a way, but they weren't talking about him. They were talking about--
ZIRA!
He saw her hide behind a building and he quickly rushed to meet her. He almost got clipped by a Ford Escort in the process, but luckily he missed the vehicle and received a bombardment of horn honks instead.