"One month?"
Lissit, still hand in hand with the chimpanzees, repeated her statement for the UN Secretary and all diplomats in the building.
"You have one month. Legislature must be passed to grant every animal all human rights -- stop killing for food, incarceration for research or entertainment, and otherwise, consider any and all animals free."
The rushed meeting with the Animal Kingdom representatives was peaceful so far, but their demands were not. The men and women in the room shook in their seats.
"And… if we cannot agree to y- your demands?" asked Secretary Meynard, trying as hard as he could to show composure.
The chimps whispered to Lissit's ears. She translated.
"You sampled what we can and are willing to do. We will have our rights in these chambers or by blood. One month. After that, it is, just as you like to say… open season."
Across the room, the few representatives available and hastily gathered together gasped and whispered to themselves.
Someone whispered in the ear of Secretary Meynard. He spoke to Lissit directly.
"What about you? Are you their translator? Are you with them of your free will? Have you been coerced to do this? Or are you, in fact, leading this… circus?"
Something he said must have been pretty bad, because as soon as he finished, some monkeys, lions and bears started protesting noisily. Roaring and screeching, but still in their seats.
The chimps both turned around calmly with their hands up in the air, settling down the protestors.
The chimps did not whisper this time, but simply stared at her, nodding their heads.
Lissit raised her head to the Secretary, not looking down for the first time, but straight up.
"I am. I have cared for most of the animals here for years. Somehow, I felt as if I always understood them. But, now that they... woke up, we can communicate with one another with ease. They did not force me. I have lived for them, and away from humanity, for decades."
It was clear to all in the room that this was the first time that she spoke of her own.
After silence covered the room for almost an entire minute, Secretary Meynard pressed the Animal translator.
"They… woke up?"
"Yes. One day, they simply… awoke. As they are now. We believe we understand why and how it happened, but that's beyond the point. At first, they plotted to kill all of us. All humans, one day, one coordinates strike. The cats were the most vigorous section pushing for this. But the chimps reasoned we could possibly arrive to an understanding, with a reduced surprise attack to level the field first and earn your respect."
Another silence fell over. The ambassador of Mozambique, Mrs. Sitoe, spoke next.
"Madam… how come you can understand them?"
"I am not sure. It is a combination of years tending to their needs, and their change of communication behavior once the event occurred."
"And what is your—"
One of the chimps clapped loudly, signaling their direct conversation with their companion and translator was over. The other one turned to her and relayed another message.
The translator spoke, her face down again, her tone deadly serious.
"For every animal you eat, we will eat one of your babies. For every animal killed in sport, we will hang a corpse high for you to see. For every leather or fur coat, we will wear a skull as beads in a necklace.
For every one of us, there will be one of you. The age of man is over."