The Argo Goes West

3, Theodore Roosevelt Convenes Scientists

"More than ever before in the world's history we of to-day seek to penetrate the causes of the mysteries that surround not only mankind but all life, both in the present and the past."

--Theodore Roosevelt "Biological Analogies in History"

In the quiet room where the curtains were closed, the sound of gears crunching resounded. Furthermore a dull spark sound. Then, a pure white square window appeared on the wall. The scenery is blurred and the contours are not clear. Edwin S. Porter, a projectionist, hurriedly adjusted the knobs.Edison's kinescope was originally a viewing system through a peephole window, but sales plummeted due to the popularity of projection-type projectors invented in France, and it had just been hurriedly upgraded to a projection system. The image on the wall is now in focus and can be seen clearly. What was reflected was a room somewhere. No, it's not a room, but a temporary tent. Several doctors in white coats surrounded something. Behind them were Kaiser-bearded generals and government officials in formal attire, watching the doctors at work with great interest. A soldier with a gun was standing at the entrance.

The screen changed to another scene. Surrounded by the doctors were animal corpses. It lay on a long desk covered with a sheet that looked like an operating table. Dense hair, lean limbs-like a horse, but not. Above its neck was the upper body of a human male, not a horse's head. Its hair was brown and curly, with a dusty beard on its chin, and its chest was tanned and strong, and covered with thick chest hair. It looked like a young Latino.

The Doctors cut this bizarre creature at the border between man and horse. When the doctor peeled back the skin, taut red abdominal muscles were revealed. The doctor cut it open further. Steam rises, and the internal organs come out. The doctor carefully sliced ​​and removed each internal organ, and placed it on a tin tray.

"Ew!", someone said and rushed out of the room. He must have been disgusted by this film of the autopsy.

He's spineless. Theodore Roosevelt, Vice President of the United States and the caller of the gathering, was stunned. He has no experience of slaughtering cows, pigs, or even chickens. City life has forgotten the pioneering spirit of their ancestors. A creature's abdominal cavity, stripped of all its internal organs at dissection, looked to Roosevelt like a lump of meat in the town's butcher's shop.

The autopsy scene continued after that. This creature, which could be either a horse or a human, was finally decomposed into pieces of flesh. When the time comes (when the secret is no longer a secret) it may be restored to its original state and put on display in the museum of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia.

After the screening ended, the curtains were opened. A cool breeze with the scent of fresh green blew in through the open window. It cleared some of the oppressive air that had stagnated in the room.

After Porter and other Edison staff left the room with the projector, Roosevelt once again looked around at the faces of everyone present. Scientists that the United States is proud of were gathered there. Roosevelt muttered lightly and said,

"Then let's start the meeting. First, let's ask Dr. Carruthers, who actually performed the surgery, to explain the film you guys saw."

A middle-sized gentleman with black hair brushed with pomade, sitting to Roosevelt's left, slowly rose to his feet.

"Thank you for your kind introduction. I'm Carruthers from Johns Hopkins University. All of you are familiar faces, so I'd like to stop introducing myself and get straight to the point. This creature that we dissected is, frankly, a creature that does not exist in the natural world. The reason is that it does not conform to the rules of evolution in terms of biological taxonomy. For those of you who are authorities on biology, I don't think it's necessary to explain, but for those who aren't, let me explain, (Dr. Carruthers bows to Roosevelt.) This animal has a backbone. Therefore, it can be classified as a vertebrate. However, this animal has six legs instead of the usual four in vertebrates. Four legs resembling a horse and two legs resembling human hands. If you ask me if there are any six-legged creatures in the natural world, there is. it's an insect. But this creature doesn't have the traits of an insect."