Since childhood, he was raised in comfort by a scientist named Will Rodman, wearing clothes, communicating through Sign Language, but never interacting with other apes. Caesar's mind was enhanced by ALZ-112, a revolutionary Alzheimer's drug, injected into his mother while she was pregnant with him, making him the first of a new breed of evolved apes. In 2016, a hyper-intelligent chimpanzee named Caesar was brought to the shelter. The shelter's abusive handler, Dodge Landon, tormented the apes, and made Maurice fearful of humanity, but also wise with experience of how to stay safe from them by keeping his sign language secret. Before turning fifteen, Maurice was sold from his circus and sent to the San Bruno Primate Shelter just outside of San Francisco, where he bunkered with fellow apes Rocket, Cornelia, Buck, and countless others. Growing up, he witnessed the cruelty of humans, especially towards his fellow apes, from his cage, but was also taught American Sign Language by a kind circus worker. Born in 2001, Maurice began life as a circus orangutan to entertain children.
