The Modern Kaiju Era

Part III: Earth's Greatest Battle 3/3

Part III

"Earth's Greatest Battle"

Part 3 of 3

By: 2nd LT. Anthony Hicks

United States Army

"And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon."

Revelation 9:11

"He hath harnessed the stars,

now unleashed upon the Earth.

He is death.

The Destroyer of Worlds."

-Excerpt from the ritual creed of The Golden Shadow

"He is already here."

Princess Maas Doulina Salno -Ruler of the Kingdom of Selgina

If anything should have warned us about the devastation, tension, and war that 1964 would bring, it was the asteroid that landed in the Central Siberian Plateau in March of that year. As far as omens go, in retrospect it was pretty on the nose.

Landing so deep in the hostile frozen environment, it was easy for the Soviet government to mask the details from outside eyes. In fact, it wouldn't be until the declassification of the Venona Project in 1995 that the world at large learned the details of the event. The truth, was that even the Soviets feared the presence of the space rock.

Reveled in the Venona papers were startling, and in hindsight very telling indications of the true nature of the object. Reports told that no wildlife could be found alive within 48 kilometers, and dogs brought in to investigate refused to break the boundary no matter what their handlers did to coerce them. Plant life over time was observed to wither a die, then deteriorate and collapse at an abnormally fast rate. This prompted the government to establish camps not far from the epicenter where political prisoners were kept for weeks at a time to see how long they survived.

It was theorized at first that radiation was behind the rapid degeneration of organics, but readings taken showed, amazingly, lower levels of radiation that would be expected. In fact, levels were below than what the should be space-rock or not. After a few weeks, readings became difficult to take when the magnetic force around the asteroid distorted equipment, resulting in false, even random findings. Radiometers were completely unreliable, compasses were useless, and portable radios were dead weight.

For months the Soviets dealt with the frustrating phenomena, in the process losing dozens of human lab rats to the desiccation process. Samples of the asteroid had to be taken by the poor souls, as anyone who got close enough found themselves beset by nausea, vomiting, and violent hallucinations, resulting in dementia and permanent brain damage. Those sent out to collect samples had to be secured with a steel cable so they could be dragged back to a safe distance and the sample recovered.

The spectral and chemical testing had to be done under highly protective conditions, though the scientists still suffered the effects, just at a much slower rate. Analysis' of the material showed that it was not in fact a natural meteor, but composed of several previously undiscovered elements that absorbed all ambient energy, a slight haze of shadow perpetually shrouding the rocks. The samples also maintained a constant temperature of 75°F, even when kept in sub-zero storage.

While the Soviet Union continued to study the asteroid in secret, the United States was about to have their own crucial incidents.

The American Kaiju Defense Corps, in an attempt to establish as functional a defensive method in the Atlantic as the Pacific, fielded a fleet of nuclear submarines to monitor the waters for activity. Though the Atlantic had not been as active, monsters like Gorgo, Varan, and Reptilicus proved that the larger ocean had not cornered the market.