Chapter 5: Calamity Star
In the Year 2039, the three races of humanity, Bilusaludo, and Exif established the Earth Unified Government, the Earth Union, and launched Operation Eternal Light, the mission to reclaim Europe.
Empowered by the superior scientific technologies provided by Exif and Bilusaludo, human military might saw a dramatic boost. The Earth Union dispatched the G-Force, a European Reclamation Army, which succeeded in clearing nearly all the kaiju in Europe within a few years, liberating the continent. Emboldened by the establishment of the Earth Union and the triumph in Europe, humanity then planned the return operation to Europe and deployment missions to the Middle East and North Africa.
However, the whereabouts of Godzilla, humanity’s greatest threat and primary target, remained unknown. While persistent efforts were made to locate Godzilla, another menace, distinct from both kaiju and Godzilla, was stealthily approaching the Earth.
… And then, in the Year 2042,
we witnessed the unfathomable power of Godzilla.
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Holly G. Rolls, Former Staff of the Earth Union Space Development Agency
It was discovered in 2038,
the year before humanity united under the name of the Earth Union, spurred by the contact with the extraterrestrial races of Exif and Bilusaludo. From the vast reaches of space, it approached. And as humanity basked in the victories of Operation Eternal Light and the reclamation of Europe, it became gradually apparent that this threat exceeded even Godzilla. Holly G. Rolls was an astronomer involved with this threat from its earliest stages.
The asteroid was discovered in 2038, when NASA had just regained its organizational function after the chaos of the American collapse, following the contact with Exif and Bilusaludo.
It was discovered by a Japanese amateur astronomer, who exercised the right to name it Gorath. But at the time, that was the end of it. There were many near-Earth objects and potentially hazardous asteroids, so this was nothing remarkable. Normally, asteroids would be drawn in by the much stronger gravitational pulls of Jupiter or the Sun in the solar system. A giant meteor impact on Earth was a phenomenon that would require an extremely unlikely coincidence, unlike in the movies. Gorath was briefly mentioned in some occult media with headlines like “Is the newly discovered asteroid Gorath an extraterrestrial Kaiju?”.
We amateur astronomers couldn’t help but laugh at the “extraterrestrial Kaiju” headlines.
After all, we had read papers about how organisms like Dogora in London or Orga might be ancient extraterrestrial lifeforms that had arrived on Earth and laid dormant. With kaiju rampaging daily on Earth, the idea of Kaiju coming from space wasn’t that far-fetched. So in those days, many amateur astronomers were gazing up at the night sky, searching for threats approaching Earth from space. In the end, the extraterrestrial visitors that arrived were not the villainous aliens or tentacled invaders, but the rather peculiar yet delightful gentlemen from Exif and Bilusaludo.
I still remember
those celebratory days after the establishment of the Earth Union. Exif arrived, Bilusaludo arrived, Matthias Jackson gave a speech in New York… We researchers were drowning in a flood of information, as Exif and Bilusaludo generously shared their advanced scientific knowledge and observational data from the era of interstellar travel. It was literally sleepless days and nights. I mean, who could sleep when you’re given access to close-up footage of planets outside our solar system? Even hitting the jackpot in the lottery a hundred times over wouldn’t come close to the thrill we researchers felt.
In 2039, the Earth Union government was formed, and humanity finally united to battle the kaiju. Our NASA was placed under the command of the Earth Union Space Force. The military uniforms were a bit constraining, and frankly, not my cup of tea. But there was no help for it – it was for the sake of protecting the Earth.
In 39′, the human-led European Reclamation Operation, Operation Eternal Light, began, and it was an unbroken string of victories. I saw colleagues from Europe embracing and crying tears of joy as lost family members were found. Amidst this tide of triumph and celebration, of course, no one gave a thought to that pebble called Gorath.
The name Gorath only started being whispered again as humanity entered the 40’s, after Operation Eternal Light had achieved a certain level of success, and rumors of the next large-scale operation began to circulate. With the kaiju largely exterminated from Europe, the political season of divisive factions returned, as humanity debated how to rebuild the old continent. The North American Union mainstream argued for caution, saying the eradication of Godzilla was not yet complete, while the resurgent European faction proposed the ludicrous “500 Million European Repatriation Plan”, Operation Renaissance. I should stop here – you’re Japanese, aren’t you? Let’s move on from this topic.
The small asteroid Gorath is on a collision course with Earth. At this rate, Gorath will collide with Earth in ’42.
In ’40, the first report of this was made by Japanese astronomer Dr. Tajiri, who was affiliated with the former JAXA. The accuracy of his orbit calculations was confirmed by many scientists, as well as observations by Bilusaludo and Gematrian calculations by Exif. However, at first, it was not recognized as such a serious threat. Since the contact with Exif and Bilusaludo, human space development technology had seen remarkable progress, so everyone thought diverting the trajectory of an approaching asteroid would be a piece of cake. In fact, Bilusaludo and others wanted to focus on Kaiju extermination and Godzilla searches, so they handed over the Gorath countermeasures to Exif, and Exif agreed. Our space development agency also dealt with the Gorath countermeasures under the supervision – effectively under the command – of Exif. But as observations progressed, the extremely abnormal nature of the asteroid Gorath became clear.
The diameter of the asteroid is about 30 kilometers, about twice the size of the meteor that is believed to have triggered the dinosaur mass extinction in the Chicxulub crater. But its mass was literally astronomical – it was no exaggeration to call it “an asteroid 30 kilometers in diameter with the mass of the Moon.” The composition of the material remains unknown even now. It’s something that can only be described as an astronomical joke. If something like this collided at a speed of a few percent of the speed of light, it would not be surprising if the Earth itself were shattered.
Celestial bodies approaching the Earth are affected by the Earth’s gravity, which makes their orbit calculation difficult. But Gorath was abnormal – it was completely unaffected by the Earth’s gravity and was on a collision course with Earth with laser-like precision. Some scientists tried to explain it as the Yarkovsky effect – where uneven heat radiation changes the orbit – but it was hard to believe that an object with such massive mass would be affected by mere heat radiation.
Gorath itself seemed to be intentionally aiming for the Earth.
It’s ridiculous, but that was the only explanation that made sense.
According to Exif’s calculations, even using all the nuclear weapons on Earth would be difficult to change Gorath’ orbit. “It’s faster to move the Earth to escape Gorath than to change Gorath’ orbit,” and there were even serious plans to relocate the Earth.
Due to its unfathomable nature, Gorath came to be called the “Calamity Star Gorath.”
Yes, that’s right. Maybe Gorath was a space Kaiju coming to target the Earth. Now, no one knows for sure…
In 2041, the Earth Unified Government imposed information control on Gorath, while designating it as the greatest threat to humanity, surpassing even Godzilla and all other Kaiju. While the European Reclamation Operation was already underway, the launch of the Middle East and North Africa Reclamation Operation was postponed, prioritizing countermeasures against Gorath. …This also included contingency plans in case Gorath’ collision with Earth could not be prevented.
Yes, the plan to build space bases to evacuate and preserve a limited number of humans in case the Earth suffered catastrophic damage from Gorath’ collision. Exif and Bilusaludo each led the construction of one such base, which later became the prototypes for the Aratrum and Oratio…
Just in case…
But to us, that was the only option we could think of. No effective countermeasures against Gorath could be found, and the construction of the space bases was rushed forward. If two space-faring alien species who had mastered interstellar travel could do nothing about this asteroid, there was no way anyone else could, I thought. As the ’42 approached, I had no doubt that the Earth would be destroyed by Gorath’ collision.
I remembered the words of a colleague who had lost his family to Godzilla in San Francisco:
“This will be the end of Earth, but if so, Godzilla will be taken down with it. The only solace is that Gorath will avenge my family’s deaths.”
But…
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Euler-U-Prowl, Chief Analyst of the Earth Unified Government Information Corps (at the time)
Information control on Gorath…?
You, as an investigator, are also part of the Information Corps, so you must know that controlling information is not that simple. The more you try to hide it, the more it spreads. That’s how it usually goes. A crisis of global extinction due to asteroid collision? Impossible to conceal. If it seemed like they succeeded in concealing the information about Gorath, it wasn’t because the government accomplished anything, but simply because everyone had their heads buried in the sand.
You must remember the giddy atmosphere back then.
They didn’t defeat Godzilla, and all they managed was to reclaim a tiny corner of Europe amidst the global violence, famine and disease. Yet these so-called “Earth Unified Citizens” started celebrating like they’d won the war, and then even got to work on baby-making.
Do those citizens really want to hear that? Europe has been reclaimed, but in ’42 the Earth will be destroyed by a meteor, or so they say. They had their fingers stuck in their ears. That’s just how it is.
…I wonder how many of those children born in the baby boom are still alive today.
…Those children who were born into irresponsible frenzy, only to be burned to death by Godzilla’s flames – what were they born for? Maybe it would have been better if they had never been born.
Even my own son.
I really knew. That nothing had actually been resolved yet.
I knew we hadn’t won, that it wasn’t over.
But that’s why…
But I didn’t know when I would die either…so that was my only chance…
…Hey, do you have any kids?
How old are they? Are they still alive?
I see.
I see…
Well, that’s good.
That’s really good. Take good care of them.
You have to protect them, no matter what.
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Jack Perran, Squad Leader, 6th Provisional Helicopter Regiment, French Army (at the time)
Godzilla landed on the Eurasian continent in 2034 and ravaged Western Europe until 2037, when he mysteriously vanished back into the sea. One theory is that Godzilla sensed the threat approaching the Earth. If true, Godzilla may have detected it before humans did. How Godzilla sensed something coming from space is another deep mystery, along with many other aspects of the creature.
In any case, Jack Perran’s accounts from the years he fought Godzilla in Europe up until 2037 lend credence to this theory.
2035 – Exif arrives in New York.
2036 – Bilusaludo arrives in London.
2039 – The Earth Union is formed. Operation Eternal Light, the campaign to retake Europe, is launched.
That’s how the history books tell it – as if those 3 years between the aliens arriving and Matias starting the big war with the toys he got from Exif and Bilusaludo in New York never even happened. Like we soldiers all just enjoyed a nice vacation in Japan or America while those fancy Maser tanks, G-HEDs, and “flying rice cookers” (the Super X nickname) were being built.
But that’s not how it was at all. The fighting continued during that time. We kept on fighting.
While the bigwigs in New York and London continued negotiations with aliens, and the hero Matthias was doing a reality show for the reunification of America, Godzilla was still rampaging across Europe. We were soldiers, and behind us were masses of civilians that we had to protect. The history books may say dismissively “Humanity lost Europe,” but there were still many civilians surviving there. We soldiers had to scrape together what little forces remained to fight Godzilla. No masers or rail guns. Hell, we barely had any working tanks or aircraft left – weapons are actually incredibly delicate things that stop working quickly without proper supply and maintenance. But we had to protect the civilians from Godzilla. All we could do was act as decoys to try to divert Godzilla’s path. Makeshift “tanks” that couldn’t move, cannons that could barely fire, some of us even making fight with just cloth and tarp dummies – it was a suicide mission. Young and veteran soldiers alike were terrified. But we had no choice. On the other side of the Alps were hundreds of millions of civilians who had evacuated. Rome was already occupied by Rodan, who had turned the Italian peninsula into his “feeding grounds.” If Godzilla crossed the Alps too, it would be the end. Women, children, the elderly – Godzilla would burn them all to ashes. Someone had to risk their life to divert Godzilla’s path, and we soldiers were the only ones who could.
Hey, you.
Why does Godzilla attack humans?
It can’t just be for food, right? Heck, he could even divide the planet, north and south, and that would probably work out fine.
Is Godzilla really that hateful towards humans?
I was originally a co-pilot and gunner on a combat helicopter. In the Battle of Paris, I blasted his head with a gatling gun from just 500 meters away. My pilot called his face as “a face like an old wise man in the forest” – quite a poetic description. If I hadn’t been stuck flying that chopper, maybe I could have become a scholar and avoided dying in Paris. But he was right, you know. We can’t really understand what Godzilla is thinking. But…he’s clearly thinking something. He’s not just a beast – he has intelligence, some kind of philosophy.
It seems that some kind of philosophy is commanding Godzilla.
Anyway, it seems to be telling Godzilla to completely clean the human species and civilization off the face of the Earth. The reason is unclear. We humans have our own philosophy, and Godzilla has his own philosophy, just as a vacuum cleaner has its own philosophy. And so we humans were about to be cleaned up nicely by Godzilla. Apparently, for some “reason it should be done”, quite calmly. Burning France, burning Germany, and now crossing the Alps into Italy… that’s what it seemed to be doing.
The 37-year-old Salzburg diversion operation is said to have been somewhat successful.
Godzilla, which was thought to be intending to destroy Europe systematically, suddenly reversed course and headed straight for Paris it had already burned, and then disappeared into the sea. At least for the short ’42 until then, we were relieved of the terror of Godzilla, and during that time humanity was able to carry out something like “Operation Eternal Light”. According to those in the know, it seems we were the unsung heroes who managed to lure Godzilla with the old-generation weapons and succeeded in the diversionary operation.
Too bad, but we were probably not involved. That was Godzilla’s own “will”. The place we were trying to lure Godzilla to was Moscow… That place had already been nuked and no one survived.
Ah, so in ’37 Bilusaludo had sent an advance party and engaged Godzilla with their weapons? I’ve never heard of that. There might have been something like that. But I don’t think that had anything to do with Godzilla changing course.
I saw the moment Godzilla stopped in its tracks.
By that time, there were no more combat helicopters like the one I was in, so I ended up as the commander of an anti-kaiju artillery battalion. The name was impressive, but the weapon we were actually using, believe it or not, was an 88mm anti-aircraft gun from World War II that the Germans had used. With this antique, we were just ordered to target Godzilla, and then the retaliatory heat ray would come flying and that would be the end of us. We were supposed to become great heroic martyrs who died protecting the citizens. But suddenly Godzilla stopped in its tracks, and that made me hesitate just a little in giving the order. And then Godzilla turned its head westward… and started walking again. At that moment, it seemed like Godzilla became aware of something. Or maybe it remembered something. Maybe it changed its mind about something.
But Godzilla definitely changed its course with some kind of intention.
You know, I think I’ve only seen that same look in Godzilla’s eyes one other time in my life.
In Japan, in 2046.
We were ordered to delay Godzilla to buy time until the completion of MechaGodzilla.
At that time, Godzilla was definitely heading for Mount Fuji – the MechaGodzilla development factory.
To Godzilla, we humans were just enemies to be cleaned up. But the one thing it recognized as a threat to be defeated was MechaGodzilla. At that time, Godzilla was definitely heading for MechaGodzilla.
In Salzburg in ’37 as well, Godzilla found something. A threat to himself.
But what do you think that was?
Ah.
I’ve thought about that too. But if that was the case, Godzilla could have just headed north directly. It’s true that Godzilla was rediscovered in the Arctic in ’42. But at that time, Godzilla seemed to be heading… well, this is just my own speculation, but it seemed to be heading south.
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Tokumitsu-Yuhara, Head of the Exotic Lifeform Research Group, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (at the time)
(Notes)
(Testimony regarding the period from when Godzilla disappeared in ’37 until it reappeared in the Arctic in ’42)
(Notable, but lacking in evidence. Should the focus be on the testimony regarding the Gorath countermeasures?)
(The South American Kaiju… Am I being influenced by Dr. Alberto’s testimony?)
It’s fair to say that human research on Godzilla had stagnated until contact was made with Exif and Bilusaludo. Godzilla withstood almost any attack, except for nuclear weapons – to the point where you could say it rejected physical interference. And the incredible toughness and vitality that allowed it to instantly regenerate even from nuclear damage, where did that power come from? Humanity had to unravel that mystery in order to defeat Godzilla.
Of course, that wasn’t the only mystery. The principle behind Godzilla’s immense particle beam, the energy source that powered it, and the likely cause of the resulting radioactive contamination – there were many puzzles to solve. No, it would be more accurate to say we didn’t understand anything at all about Godzilla.
But the most basic, fundamental thing – obtaining a cell sample from Godzilla – was something we could barely manage. Can you understand the difficulty? It was extremely rare for Godzilla to shed any body cells, meaning it had to be injured in some way. And its ground routes were almost always highly radioactive, even ground zero from nuclear attacks. Before contact with Exif and Bilusaludo, we lacked anti-nuclear energy bacteria, and humanity was woefully powerless against radiation. Attempting to obtain Godzilla cell samples was essentially a suicide mission. And even the samples we managed to obtain with great effort were given little research authority.
Godzilla’s cells were considered even more dangerous than Ebola or smallpox. A specialized biosafety category, Biosafety Level G, was established to handle them. The only facility in the world that met these requirements and could research Godzilla cells was the “United Nations Anti-Godzilla Biodefense Facility” built on the site of the former American Cipher observation base in the Ellsworth Land of Antarctic Peninsula . Under the United Nations’ strict supervision, even just viewing the cells required the approval of the Security Council member states.
I joined the facility in my 20s. I was determined to unravel Godzilla’s secrets – if we could solve the mystery of its incredible lifeforce, we could not only save humanity, but even provide immortality and longevity to the people.
But the reality was that we could do nothing more than just preserve the Godzilla cells.
The Bilusaludo technicians who learned of our true state were appalled. While the Earth’s soldiers fearlessly fought Godzilla, we scientists were merely cowering in fear of even a fragment of it… This was less a research facility and more a shrine worshipping Godzilla.
They were right, perhaps.
But… there were reasons… reasons.
Do you know what we biologists feared the most?
Yes, that was Godzilla reproducing. Being a living organism, it’s certainly possible it has that capability. Fortunately, we have only confirmed one individual so far, but it may be capable of asexual reproduction being a hermaphrodite. Or creatures like Zilla, Biollante, and Orga. Researchers have differing opinions, but some theorize these could be close relatives…or Kaiju directly derived from Godzilla. In any case, humanity was brought to the brink of extinction by just one Godzilla. If Godzilla started reproducing…that would be the end for Earth, for humanity.
It possessed such astonishing life force. The possibility that even a fragment of its cells could proliferate could not be ruled out… no, in fact… someone had tried to do that.
Dr. Wilhelm Kirchner.
Yes.
He was the foremost expert on Godzilla research, and also my mentor. He had tried to culture the Godzilla cells he obtained and create a Godzilla clone, believing it to be the fastest way to uncover Godzilla’s secrets. I’m not sure how far his attempt had progressed before the higher-ups, who saw through his true intentions, had the cultured cells plasma-incinerated. Dr. Kirchner then broke out of his semi-confinement, went to Europe in search of new Godzilla cells, and disappeared there. Or perhaps the higher-ups, seeing him as a danger…
If…
if that was the case… he was my mentor, but I can’t say with certainty that the decision to stop him was wrong.
I cannot laugh at the judgment of the earthlings, who feared even touching the Godzilla cells, guarding and hiding them as if they were sacred objects.
What if Dr. Kirchner’s research had succeeded?
What if some country had created a clone of Godzilla somewhere? Without any guarantee of controlling it. No, what if someone, somewhere, had managed to control Godzilla? Wouldn’t that lead to humans warring with each other, using Godzilla? Am I overthinking it? I said the same thing when we provided Godzilla samples to Bilusaludo – if after humanity was saved by the Mechagodzilla created from Godzilla research, humans might start fighting each other with Mechagodzillas. They seemed impressed by my foresight. “Even in the face of tomorrow’s annihilation, you can still imagine such a future. That imaginative power is worth cherishing,” they said, perhaps with irony.
Anyway, I’ve rambled on too long.
… I wanted someone to listen. You had gone through such hardship searching for Dr. Kirchner in Europe.
The sample was No. GZ-37S3, the largest biological specimen we had. Up until then, the largest we had were 20-centimeter cubes weighing 1-5 kilograms. But in September of 37′, a full Godzilla dorsal fin suddenly washed ashore near Rio de Janeiro. The next day, another one. In the end, we were able to obtain a Godzilla biological sample of nearly 2 tons.
The feeling of bewilderment far outweighed the joy. Something must have happened to Godzilla. Initially, we thought it might have been a natural shedding, as many organisms have teeth or organs that periodically regenerate. Or perhaps Godzilla possessed a mechanism to control the proliferation of its immortal cells. The Godzilla dorsal fins might be a product of such a mechanism.
After all, it’s a creature that can withstand nuclear attacks. What other reason could there be? But when we started the analysis, the situation changed dramatically. The recovered samples contained cells of a clearly different organism from Godzilla.
In other words, Godzilla was engaged in conflict with some other creature – another Kaiju, and the damage he sustained was severe enough to severely damage his dorsal fins. That’s what happened. We don’t know what this other creature – this Kaiju was. The cells that were ingested had moth-like genetics, so we’ve been conveniently calling it the M-cell. That’s the entity that, as far as we can tell, inflicted the most significant damage on Godzilla.
The Kaiju M was subject to extensive investigation, as it was seen as a potential trump card against Godzilla. But to this day, its whereabouts remain unknown. Whether it’s lying dormant somewhere, or was defeated by Godzilla… About a month before Godzilla’s dorsal fins washed up on the shore, the indigenous people of the Amazon basin reported seeing a giant snake-like creature heading towards the sea, or perhaps a venomous insect-like shadow… Whether this was indeed the M creature is unclear.
I see. Indeed, the timing of the reported sightings of something resembling M and Godzilla suddenly changing course towards Salzburg do seem to align.
Perhaps Godzilla had left Europe to go and battle M.
This is no longer the realm of the scientist, but of the movie director.
It’s not even worthy of being called a hypothesis. It’s pure fantasy.
But you know, I do have a talent for fantasy. Bilusaludo himself gave me his seal of approval.
Listen up.
It’s now clear that Godzilla was able to predict the approach of the Calamity Star Gorath. But if that’s the case, why did he need to head south? In the end, he ended up going towards the North Pole.
Here’s a far-fetched idea – what if Godzilla wasn’t the only Kaiju that sensed the presence of Gorath? What if the appearance of the M Kaiju in South America was also related to the approach of the Calamity Star? A creature capable of wounding Godzilla, a peer in power, must have possessed an equally immense well of energy within it. Perhaps Godzilla sought it out… and perhaps M sought out Godzilla as well. The two titans may have engaged in a hidden battle in the South Seas, and the victorious Godzilla then headed northward, possessing an energy that could melt the Arctic ice…
And then.
And then, in ’42, the Earth was saved by Godzilla.
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READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
Yuki Futaeda, Special Operations Division, Public Security Bureau, Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department (“Fuji”) (at the time)
(Memo)
(Testimony regarding a Kaiju that fought Godzilla in the southern hemisphere in the late 2030s)
(The current structure relies on scant evidence and may risk prejudicing the reader)
(While the testimony is intriguing, deletion should be considered)
At the time, I was in the Public Security Bureau, mingling with all sorts of organizations. Surprised a chubby old lady like me was doing that kind of work? Well, that’s exactly why.
Whether it’s Kaiju or aliens, the work of the police never ends. Since the damage from Kaiju in Japan was relatively minor, the capitalist economy and consumer society were still functioning, albeit shakily.
My specialty was mainly religious groups. Unlike the extreme sects in the US that preached happiness through global nuclear annihilation à la the Church of Godzilla, we had our fair share of cult leaders claiming they were the ones keeping Godzilla away with their psychic powers. And then there were the con artists pretending to be the Japanese branch of the Exif religion. They were able to make some inroads, unlike in North America where the religion had taken hold much earlier.
The “Pure Prayer Asylum” was one of the places I was investigating. It was an orphanage run by a new religious group, claiming that “the power to repel Godzilla lies within the innocent children” and collecting “children with special abilities” from around the world to draw out their inner strength. Alarming, isn’t it? Just what kind of child abuse was being done in the name of developing superpowers?
The cover identity they gave me was an employee of a special military research facility descended from Area 51. Don’t laugh. These elaborate backstories are actually harder to see through. If you tell them the military is interested in their research, they’ll welcome you with open arms. …They were pure-hearted people. No human trafficking for profit, nothing like that. They genuinely believed the children had the power to defeat Godzilla. No abuse concerns either. Sure, they were doing some eccentric things, but there were far worse orphanages out there – ones that were militarizing and abused malnourished children in the name of “patriotism.”
So I just filed a report saying they were a bit quirky but ultimately harmless and good-natured people, and left it at that. I felt bad about getting their hopes up, though.
That was around August, I think, after the Salzburg diversion operation, when Godzilla had disappeared into the sea. With the joy of Godzilla leaving Europe subsiding, everyone started to wonder what had happened to the vanished Godzilla. That year, the climate had calmed down a bit, and it felt like a real summer for once. That’s when I got a frantic call from the orphanage. The children had somehow grasped an omen of Godzilla. Apparently, they had all had the same dream. I suppose they felt guilty for having deceived me. When I revisited the orphanage a year later, they showed me dozens of paintings – drawings the children had made of their dreams. The motifs were all the same: Godzilla, a black moth-like or wasp-like Kaiju, and… what should I call it? A legless dragon? A horned caterpillar? Maybe the Kaiju weren’t three, but two, and the caterpillar-like creature was molting into a butterfly-like one.
What did the adults at the orphanage say?
Ah yes, they said a savior had finally appeared to defeat Godzilla.
Honestly, I didn’t believe it. The children didn’t seem to be lying, but there are so many ways they could have used suggestion or group psychology or tricks.
Still, it seems that cult managed to gain some followers. In fact, Godzilla then disappeared for many years after that. There were plenty of people who wanted to believe Godzilla was dead. But that was until Godzilla reappeared again in ’42. Godzilla wasn’t dead. What’s more, they couldn’t foresee the real threat that was Gorath, so the cult lost all credibility. It splintered apart…I heard after that, Exif priests ended up taking care of their orphanage.
…Godzilla’s remains that washed ashore in ’37?
…An organization of other Kaiju?
No,
I’ve never heard of that.
So was Battra real then?
…Battra?
Ah yes, that’s right, I brought that up. Battra – that’s what the children called that black, insect-like Kaiju…Batra, Batoltra, or something like that…….
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Jack-Eagle, Head of the Global Geological Observation Division, French Geological and Mining Research Bureau (BRGM)
In early 2042,
as Operation Eternal Light succeeded, a massive plan to return to Europe was about to begin. At the same time, the threat of Gorath had become urgent, and a secret selection of those to be evacuated from Earth had started. Anomalies were detected in the Arctic Ocean, prompting the dispatch of an investigation ship.
The first sign was the melting of Arctic ice. As you know, successive extreme weather events had sent the Earth into a deepening chill. The Arctic Ocean remained frozen in thick ice even in summer, and in winter, seas off Norway that should never freeze were icing over…The scholars of the last century seemed to have taken global warming seriously, but I wonder what faces they’d make if you told them it was snowing in Bangkok.
But now that Arctic ice was starting to melt.
And not just on the fringes, but close to the very center.
Satellite observation showed an extreme temperature rise at the North Pole.
The Arctic Ocean was boiling.
That was the report.
Naturally, this was a phenomenon that defied explanation. Had an undersea volcano erupted? Some natural event humanity had never witnessed before? Or perhaps…
The vanguard dispatched for the investigation was the third ship of the Todoroten class, the Goten. The higher-ups may have already had some hypothesis. If so, it wouldn’t be a far-fetched one. Wherever those inexplicable “natural phenomena” had occurred on Earth this century, a certain presence was invariably involved.
I was aboard the main force, the Shirase, an icebreaker hastily retrofitted for Arctic observation. It was an old ship, built in the days when the Self-Defense Forces were still called that. It was remarkable the thing hadn’t been scrapped.
The effects of the melting hadn’t yet reached the Bering Strait, so we continued smashing through the thick ice, using the old methods of polar exploration. Exif and Bilsaludo’s technological contributions had been heavily skewed towards the military, so the only thing we could pin our hopes on was the craftsmanship of the workers who built the Shirase long ago. As for Gorath, well, it had certainly become the talk of the town. With a rampaging Kaiju and the threat of a massive meteor impact, it felt absurdly ironic that our task was just Arctic observation. Yet we didn’t abandon our duties, largely thanks to the young Exif and Bilsaludo crew members who joined us – two from each side. They…probably sensed something as well. And throughout the voyage, they diligently assisted us. If beings from another world were working so hard, we Earth folk couldn’t let ourselves be shown up.
The two of Bilusaludo were steadfast, even in the midst of a terrible storm that made even the veteran sailors tremble and take shelter. They went out to carry out their duties on the deck without so much as a change in their expression. To be honest, I had a certain prejudice towards the Exif race, especially regarding their religion. But through sharing meals and prayers with them every day, I came to revise my views. It may seem a little disrespectful to make such an evaluation of their faith, but theirs is truly the “religion of sailors.” They have cultivated their traditions over the long journeys they have undertaken in the confines of their ships, always unsure of when the journey may end. Their traditions know what is most helpful for those who undertake similar voyages.
However, the reports from the advance team, grew increasingly dire as we continued our own struggle against the ice and storms day after day. “The sea ice has disappeared.” “Is this really the Arctic? Isn’t this the equator?” “The relentless storms seem to be caused by the evaporated seawater.” “The sea is beginning to boil.” “The North Pole is simmering.” – These were not mere metaphors. On the morning when Goten was about to reach the North Pole, they sent a message of radio silence. The captain of Goten had likely suspected what was happening, or who was there, at the North Pole. That was the last communication we received from Goten.
That night, I saw it.
The endless storm suddenly stopped, and we found ourselves under a starry sky. Navigating through drifting ice floes… yes, the ice was no longer something to be broken through, but to be carefully avoided… we were heading towards the North Pole.
That’s when it happened – the night was suddenly pierced by daylight.
The starry night sky vanished, replaced by a blue sky.
In the perpetual winter darkness of the Arctic, daylight had arrived, when it should not have.
This midnight dawn did not come from the east, but from the north… from the direction of the North Pole.
Rising from the north was a deep red… not the morning sun, but a massive, crimson pillar of light.
Yes, it was definitely a deep red…
No mistake about it.
Spiraling upwards, the scarlet column… a raging, crimson dragon ascended into the heavens.
And I heard it.
Its roar.
The same voice I had heard countless times in recorded footage
the cry of the destruction god that had pushed humanity to the brink of extinction.
It might have been an auditory hallucination.
We were still over 300 km from the North Pole, and Godzilla had likely fired that from the depths of the ocean. There were no records. That red dragon’s strike… the maximum output of Godzilla’s particle beam in the historical record had generated electromagnetic waves of a completely different magnitude. Most artificial satellites in the Northern Hemisphere suffered some form of disruption. The Shirase was no exception. Even the shielding enabled by Exif and Bilusaludo technology was breached, and most of the ship’s electronics were destroyed. Night returned, and the storm came back. It was no longer a matter of investigation – blindfolded and bound, the Shirase had to face the onslaught of the storm and drifting ice. It took three days for the radio to be restored. We had resigned ourselves to death many times. Without the hardy physiques of Bilusaludo’s youth and the indomitable faith bestowed by the Exif priest, we would have surely abandoned all hope of returning.
Through the static-ridden communication, the captain exchanged something, and then addressed us gathered on the bridge. Likely, none of us truly understood what he was saying. The captain repeated it once more. He said, if I recall correctly:
“From the North Pole, a torrent of charged particles has erupted into the atmosphere, fragmenting the asteroid Gorath that was approaching Earth. Given the circumstances, the laser beam we witnessed was likely fired by Godzilla.”
And…
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Abdul-Majid Haji Shaikh Akkarak
Refugee from Karak, Jordan (at that time)
At the time, I was in Iceland.
There, relatively unaffected by the Kaiju, the entire country had become a refugee camp after the devastation of Europe. People had fled from all over – the Middle East, Africa, China, India… even a few escapees from Australia. It wasn’t the most comfortable place for people from warmer climates, but at least we didn’t have to worry about being devoured by the Kaiju.
I believe it was while we were having our evening meal after a day’s work in the collective farm – the usual Manacorn soup, the usual mild seasoning. Yet it grows so well even in this northern land. Bless the aliens. That’s when… I think it was Ibn, who had come from Cairo. He told us to go outside, and that’s when we saw the northern sky ablaze in red, a dazzling beam of light rising into the heavens. The sky was split in two by the crimson beam.
“Oh God,” someone said. Or perhaps it was me.
The names of the gods and prophets of various nations were heard –
God, Allah, Jesus, Buddha… even the Exif religion.
Everyone was praying to their own deities.
I, too, felt no fear, despite the abnormal sight of dawn coming from the north. I think we all felt as if we had witnessed a divine miracle.
It was soon after that we learned Godzilla had intercepted the approaching asteroid to save the Earth.
That’s when… I felt a deep despair.
The savior who had protected the Earth from destruction was our enemy, the one that annihilating us.
Such a godlike being is our enemy.
The residents of Sodom and Gomorrah, condemned by God, must have felt this same hopelessness.
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Tomoko Sonoda, Elementary School Student (at the time)
Oh yes, the light when Godzilla defeated Gorath.
We could see it from Hokkaido too. It was so, so beautiful.
Like a crimson rainbow.
Hey, mister, Godzilla saved the Earth from Gorath, right?
So why can’t Godzilla and us get along?
Can’t Godzilla and we live together on Earth?
I don’t want to go to space.
I want to stay here,
with everyone.
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Lloyd Pool, Head of the Propulsion System Management Group, Interstellar Migrant Ship “Aratrum”
Migrating to extrasolar planets? The height of irrationality.
Just under 15,000 people – and we’re sending them to distant exoplanets whose true nature is still uncertain…
It would have been far better to establish lunar settlements instead of constructing interstellar colony ships. The resources used to build the Aratrum and Oratio could have been used to build lunar bases, allowing us to evacuate a hundred or even a thousand times more people from Earth. With alien technology, even terraforming the Moon or Mars could have been possible in the future.
But…
After Godzilla’s interception of Gorath, such “realistic” plans were blown away.
Faced with a creature that could shoot down asteroids from Earth, even the Moon was no longer a safe haven. Just how powerful and long-ranged was Godzilla’s particle beam? Of course, there must be limitations. Godzilla had accumulated its power for years to intercept Gorath, and even needed the Arctic seawater to cool down. But what if that wasn’t even its full strength? Who can guarantee that Godzilla couldn’t pierce the Moon? Even if humanity fled to the Moon, what if Godzilla refused to spare us?
Then where could we run to? Mars? Venus? Pluto? No one has the answer, for we don’t know the true limits of Godzilla’s charged particle cannon. The construction of the two space stations, originally planned as countermeasures against the menace of Gorath, ended up being repurposed as interstellar colony ships… It was no longer a matter of logic. Just to get as far away as possible, faster than light, from the planet where Godzilla dwells… We couldn’t stay on this terrifying world any longer. That fear was what drove us.
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*** continue
Todd N. Simon.
United Earth Army – Special Formation Armored Division – Tank Cadet (at the time.)
The Gorath incident was classified, but the rumors were already circulating among the soldiers. It was too big of a lie to keep hidden. Intercepting an asteroid and having an emergency evacuation plan for Earth – trying to do that in secret was just crazy. Not that we soldiers could do anything about it. Our options as tank crews were limited.
I was stationed in New York at the time, undergoing transition training to prepare for the coming battle against Godzilla. Transitioning from the tracked M4 to the G-HED walker was quite a challenge. I personally preferred the similar Maser Tanks, but those were a product of the Far East military… Even the Earth Union had its internal factions.
New York had been converted into an armed city to intercept Godzilla. On the site of the World Trade Center, destroyed by Kamacuras in ’99, the Twin Markalite Cannon had been constructed – the most powerful cannons in human history. They even had the nickname “Infinite Freedom Tower”. Whose idea was that, I have no idea. But the plan was that once Godzilla appeared on the horizon, those four fusion reactors would power up and try to shoot it down.
My division was mobilized in the early ’42. I thought they were finally going public with the asteroid story. The commander addressed all the tank crews, saying, “Gentlemen, I have both good news and bad news.”
“As you’ve likely heard, the giant asteroid approaching Earth has been destroyed today. Rejoice, for the Earth has been saved from the crisis of destruction.”
This was the good news. I see, that would be good news, wouldn’t it? If they had just told us beforehand that Earth was facing imminent destruction due to Gorath, and that even the alien powers were helpless, we might have cheered. But to be suddenly told, “actually, Earth was on the brink of destruction, but has been saved, so be happy,” what kind of reaction were we supposed to have?
The bad news was the problem.
“The asteroid was shot down by Godzilla, as estimated. Godzilla’s activities are expected to intensify in the future, so from this point on, the entire Earth Union military will enter an indefinite state of alert.”
…It felt like being told an unfunny joke.
It was too outrageous to comprehend.
Granted, Godzilla is a terrifying Kaiju. I experienced its power firsthand when it blew away a mountain in Colorado Springs. But the humans of that time and us now are completely different. We have the aliens on our side, after all. Blowing away mountains is nothing for us now. From Operation Eternal Light onward, humanity has been victorious in every battle. Godzilla must be hiding from us in fear. Until that day, I had never doubted it.
But you know.
Shoot down the approaching asteroid threatening the Earth?
The one that even the aliens had had trouble with?
Didn’t we completely misjudge the threat posed by Godzilla? By like, three or four orders of magnitude?
Can we really defeat him, even with the aliens helping us as much as they did?
A chill ran down my spine.
And that ominous premonition became reality sooner than a month had passed…
Indifferent to the bombardment from the Twin Markalite Cannon, he came ashore in New York and swept everything away in flames.
Humanity could do nothing. Not the Exif, not Bilusaludo.
Nothing changed.
It was just a repeat.
No different from the 2030 North American landfall, or Colorado Springs.
Just an endless back-and-forth between insects and humans.
The Earthlings, the Exif, Bilusaludo – they were all swept away, burned to ashes, forced to flee helplessly.
His heat ray obliterated the Statue of Liberty, and the severed head of Lady Liberty crushed the G-Head right in front of me.
The Bilusaludo spaceship evacuating the command center was caught in the collapse of the Twin Markalite Cannon.
The Exif field chaplains and Bilusaludo soldiers were frozen, lost for words.
I found myself thinking how this must have been the same look we had on our faces 10 years ago.
It was all the same.
What difference does it make if the bug and the divine engage in their squabble, with the rhinoceros beetle and the stag beetle coming to aid one side?
It changes nothing.
Nothing at all.
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Keith Grisham, G3 Operations Staff, G-Force (at the time)
The root cause of the failure of the Mechagodzilla construction project was none other than Gorath.
The two space stations planned as a means of escape from Gorath’ collision course – if it weren’t for that, the Exif would never have started talking about building an interstellar spacecraft for Earth’s evacuation, and there would have been no alternative to Bilusaludo’s insistence on an all-out defense of the Earth. Then, we would have poured every resource we had into Mechagodzilla, and nothing else. But that’s not what happened.
Gorath implanted in us Earthlings the sweet delusion of “escaping the Earth.” Divided between fleeing or fighting, we arrived at the foolish conclusion of building both Mechagodzilla and the evacuation ships simultaneously. How idiotic. If we had committed everything to Mechagodzilla…
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