This story will only include Godzilla 1954 in its history.
Flight engineer John Malcolm yawned as he looked out his thick window at the vast blue ocean. Puffy white clouds covered parts of the deep blues. John was miles above the Earth in the International Space Station. When he took the job of a nine-month expedition, he figured his sole job would be maintaining the International Space Station and exercising. He didn't expect to be keeping close watch of a prehistoric monster known as Gojira or Godzilla to us English speakers.
The ISS focus was now to keep above the Sea of Japan and keep close records of water displacement. Back in 1954, a terror attacked Tokyo. Just nine years after an atom bomb, the Japanese had to face another grand threat: A lumbering bipod that stood 60 meters tall and had spines that ran down its back. It had thick skin and the military had no answer for it. When it opened its mouth, a radioactive beam came out that could incinerate steel. Its spines would light in a terrifying glow.
After Godzilla was destroyed by an Oxygen Destroyer, Japan rebuilt itself to withstand giant monsters. They were no longer a child's fairy tale. They went on the build 50 m tall laser turrets around their country. These numbered in the thousands and protected countryside and city alike.
They sat idle for a long time. The Japanese gathered scrapes of Godzilla fragments and sent it's DNA to its own top scientists and around the world. When the Americans sent the probe Voyager Two up into space, along with The Golden Record and a phonograph, they included fragments of Godzilla's DNA. If another extraterrestrial crossed this probe, maybe they would have an answer.
In the year 2020, another Godzilla returned. This one even bigger than before at 100 meters tall. A dormant monster that appeared near the Mariana trench. Again, it was drawn to Japan — craving nuclear radiation.
***
Eighteen-year-old Kotoe Hirata had straight black hair that curled on her shoulders. Dark eyes, straight nose that ended above her perfect curved red lips. Her mother had always told her she should be a model. The day she was leaving for school from her hometown, Shima, a more powerful Godzilla returned.
Now eight months later, she had a scar across her cheek that would cause uncomfortable stares. But worse, her mother was dead. She would recount her stories numerous times to therapists to help find a reason. Why this nation again?
The day he returned started out as a typical summer day. A sunrise over the ocean, a warm noon hour, then it changed. Kotoe was busy researching prices of living in Tokyo when the twenty-story apartment building she lived in with her parents started shaking. She had experienced an earthquake before, but this was different. Rumbling shocks that came every couple seconds, like stomping.
Then a deep guttural roar. It started high followed by a low reverberating bass, she had to cover her ears. Her heart was pounding. She heard the sonic blast of jets outside her window. She swallowed as she moved the curtain to see what we were at war with.
She raised her hand and covered her mouth, Godzilla was back. A tale told to her by her grandparents that kept her up late into the night was now terrifyingly real. She picked up her cell phone and called her mother who was working in a clothing store in downtown. The fire alarm went off as her mom told her they would see each other again.
The call disconnected. Water fell from the nozzles on the ceiling. She could see black smoke outside and heard loud booms. A bright explosion illuminated the room. She pocketed her phone and wallet and stumbled out of the door.
Another guttural roar shattered her eardrum. A blue flash outside — a heating sensation flooded her skin. The building shook as she stumbled into the stairway. Pieces of tile crumbled next to her. She raced down the stairs past panicked families. One woman carried a sobbing baby.
Then another rumble shook the building. People tripped and toppled over each other hurrying down the stairs. The woman screamed as she dropped her baby. Kotoe turned to see to the aftermath, but a rush of people pushed her forward.
When she stepped outside, four blocks away — Godzilla. Her eyes widened in fear at something so massive. She felt small and inept, powerless against a mighty foe. Burning detritus lined both sides of the road. Something wet was dripping above her eye, she put her hand to it examined it: her blood mixed with dirt on her hand.
A fiery explosion happened before Godzilla. Screams reverberated Kotoe's eardrums. She gripped her chest as thick dust burned her lungs.
She looked up to see Godzilla moving north away from her. She followed the group of people into the subway. It was a confused and desperate crowd. Why us again?
Wounded were placed out in the open. Tattered black flesh hung from arms and legs. Some were missing arms and legs. Screams of agony echoed down the subway. Kotoe shut her eyes, but the terrifying yells were even worse in blackness.
This scene would revisit Kotoe over in her nightmares. When she found out her mother had died, her mind went to dark places. Only Kotoe's father saved her from ending it all. He took her all over Tokyo to plastic surgeons to try and get her elegant beauty back, but these scars couldn't be healed. As a survivor, she was entitled to computation and living expenses covered. But all her thoughts returned to Godzilla. She longed for the day Godzilla would return — If only for a chance to cause him pain.
***
John Malcolm peered down at the ocean and noticed swirling currents one hundred miles east of Tokyo.
"Hey, Katie."
"Yeah?" Katie, the science pilot, had her brown hair tied into a tight ball. She sat dumbfounded at a glowing screen.
"I think we should contact Houston. Something is moving east of Japan." John said.
"Well, I've got news to share with them too." She turned toward John. "Voyager Two's transmission is back and its anticipated path has it on tract for a collision into Earth."