Alex didn't mind the pandering that the apes did with him since they acted like slightly less than sapient minions in most regards. it had actually been a topic he had been debating with himself weather or not to push them the last little bit to evolve into actually sapient creatures. on one hand it was pretty clear that the species was well on their way to that higher state of consciousness with how clever and quick they were to learn. but pushing a group to that level had massive implications on the world as a whole as well.
A new sapient race would be an extraordinary discovery and no one would question that it wasn't a natural thing since that species was newly discovered. the biggest issue with the plan however was in figuring out a way to give the group that final push without making it seem obvious that he had something to do with it. in the end alex chose the slow method of a special version of the simian flu that was harmless to other species and only effected the ninja apes. alex made sure to specify that they could only reach the same level of genius as the human race to prevent all-knowing creatures from eventually showing up.
The thing worked very slowly in elevating the minds of those effected by it to higher levels but would only hit true sapience after about a years time. at that time it could easily be passed off as them already being sapient when they were discovered but had only started acting like it after spending a year around other more refined sapient creatures. the dispersal method for this version of the simian flu was a canister that slowly let out a normal looking fog cloud that the wind would carry to do it's job.
As an added bonus the other members of the species that were in other parts of the giant tree would also be exposed to the flu and gain sapience allowing more suspicion to pass away from alex. the reason alex wanted to elevate this race was so he had a base to begin crafting his own form of society. all the other races were far too set in their ways to mold in the direction he wanted without a herculean amount of effort so he chose these apes instead.
What sort of society was it that alex wanted to see you may ask? the answer may surprise you to learn was actually a religious society focused around himself. this wasn't just an idea he had on a whim either as he had discovered that the spirit element could actually be effected by belief. alex had this sneaking suspicion that this was why gods wanted the worship of lower creatures than themselves. large amounts of belief may in fact elevate the powers that a being had drastically but at the same time if that belief was removed that power would also drastically lower.
These apes worshiping him was in fact just a rather expensive experiment to see how he himself would be effected by the spirit element that was already in his body. for the next few weeks the admiral had a suspicious look when he noticed the slowly increasing rate at which the troop of apes seemed to learn new things. the man shared his concerns about the troop being sapient to alex and alex had to act like this was something new to him and toss around ideas to test this theory. in this regard both alex and the admiral were helpless as communication was a good indicator of sapience but the apes couldn't speak.
Without clearing this hurdle it was nearly impossible to say definitively whether or not the apes were sapient. the most concerning thing for the admiral was how quickly the apes were learning from watching and imitating the people they saw at alex's new nest. for example one of the workers showed up to get the shipment of berries and skillfully strapped the crate to the elevator and sent it down. but was soon left speechless as one of the nearby apes tried to imitate him and almost succeeded too.
Several other events like this happened and the suspicion of sapience grew more and more valid but this couldn't be verified yet so it was driving the admiral nuts. "how are you not bothered by this?" the admiral was venting his frustration at alex who just snorted and made a "they worship me , why should i care" gesture. "that's fair i guess but still this could be a huge discovery almost on par with yourself!" the man said dramatically. alex rolled his eyes and made an "do you even realize who you're talking to?" gesture.
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