The end of the 1954 typhoon season had many in the affected areas, particularly Japan, worried for their safety. Operation Conqueror, a series of American nuclear tests in the supposedly unpopulated Adona Islands east of Japan, had been delayed well beyond its intended start date in July, but in October the first test was carried out despite the risk of typhoons. Sure enough, only a few days after the test, storm activity was detected in the area. By the end of the month, a typhoon had passed through the Adonas and crossed Odo Island, a mere 100 miles from the Japanese coast, dissipating shortly afterward. Following an investigation, the island was declared to be safe enough for the evacuated inhabitants to return.

A few days later, the School of Paleontology at Yamane University of Biology in Tokyo received a telegram informing them that "a specimen of possible interest to your studies" had been found on the island. A young professor named Kumi Honda was sent by boat to investigate. She arrived on Odo in the early afternoon of November 3rd to find the island village seemingly deserted, despite most of the buildings still standing. One man, a young American scientist, was there to greet her.

"Welcome to Odo Island, Doctor Honda," he said as they shook hands. "I'm Doctor Adam Yuma of the International Commission on Radiological Protection."

"Glad to meet you, Doctor Yuma," she replied. "Where is everybody?"

Yuma motioned for her to listen; sounds of music drifted down from atop a nearby hill. "There's something going on at the temple," he explained. "They believe something supernatural has occurred, so now they're doing some kind of kabuki ritual or something."

"Ah, that sounds...interesting," said Honda. "Shall we take a look?"

Yuma smiled and nodded. "Sure."

A short walk later, they stood at the back of a crowd gathered around the temple. On a raised platform were several performers in ritualistic costumes dancing to somber music. One dancer wore a black robe and dragon mask adorned with two silver horns. Another was a young woman in a crimson kimono with her face painted white. These two danced facing one another while others dressed as tengu circled them.

"Fascinating," said Yuma, scratching his chin. "What do you think it means?"

"If I recall correctly," Honda explained, "these people believe in an ancient sea dragon called Godzilla..."

As soon as she said the name, several people seated in back turned to look at them nervously for a moment before returning their attention to the stage.

Honda continued, "In the past, whenever the fishing was poor, they would send a young woman out on a raft as a sacrifice to the dragon to bring back the fish. That is probably what the woman and the man in the horned mask represent. They're trying to ward off the monster's wrath with this ritual."

Yuma was silent and continued to watch the performance, apparently worried about something.

"I'm sure it's just a myth," said Honda in hopes of reassuring him.

Yuma remained silent a moment longer before saying, "I think it's time that you had a look at that specimen we called you here to see."

He led Honda to a small cove nearby where a great deal of debris had been washed ashore. Amongst the debris was what appeared to be an egg, at least two meters long and one meter tall. Honda froze in her tracks, eyes and mouth open wide.

Yuma looked at her, then at the egg, then back. "Any idea what kind of egg that is?

Honda blinked twice, but her eyes remained wide as she replied. "Yeah...yeah, I think so."

"I checked it with a Geiger counter. It's not dangerous, but I still wouldn't touch it with bare hands." Yuma produced a pair of gloves and handed them to Honda, who slipped them on silently and advanced slowly, excitedly but with apprehension, toward the egg.

First, she ran her hands down the length of it. "It certainly has the general appearance of a dinosaur egg, but I don't think we've ever found one this big before. It appears to be intact. Whatever is in here hasn't hatched...yet."

"Yet?" Yuma walked up behind her, keeping at least two arms' lengths away from the egg. "This thing has to be a million years old, right? It's just a fossil."

"A fossilized egg would just be rock," said Honda, rummaging through her satchel. "This looks brand new. If it is millions of years old, it's been well preserved" She scraped a fine layer of the outer shell into a sample dish, then examined it under a magnifying glass. "Well preserved, indeed."

"Do you think it could hatch?"

"That would depend on how much it's been through and how developed the embryo is. This egg could very well have been carried a long distance by the storm, in which case it must've taken quite a beating. If it's still fairly early in its development, it probably wouldn't be viable after all that, even if it's seen only moderate radiation exposure."

"What do you want to do with it?"

Honda placed the sample and tools in her satchel, then sighed. "I would love to watch it hatch and observe it in its natural environment, but like I said that probably won't happen, and even if it does, the locals might destroy it out of fright."

"So?"

"So I'll take it back to the institute so my colleagues and I can study it more thoroughly. Provided your superiors do not object, of course."

Yuma shrugged. "It's not dangerously radioactive and Odo is under Japanese jurisdiction, so it would be up to your people, not mine."

"Alright," said Honda. "Thank you, Doctor Yuma. Now, how can I send a message to the mainland from here?"


The egg was carefully transported to Japan and placed in an unused room at Yamane University's research center; a bed of straw was prepared and special instruments were set up to monitor heat, radiation, and movement within the egg. The news media was abuzz with excitement, and soon headlines around the world announced the discovery of the so-called Odo Egg. Honda spent a great deal of her time studying the egg, hoping to find some kind of clue as to its age and species. However, she also continued to teach at the university. On the last day of lectures, she was approached after class by a man about five years older than her wearing a press badge and carrying a camera.

"Excuse me, Doctor Honda. I'm Koichi Yamada with Maicho Press."

"Oh, yes. You do that column Mysteries of the 20th Century."

Yamada grinned eagerly. "Ah, so you've read it! Tell me, do you like my work?"

"I do. It's not exactly hard science, but it's fun to read."

"Good! That's my goal with this project: to entertain. My sister's kids love it, and seeing how happy it makes them...Oh, I better stop there before I start rambling! Do you have a few minutes? I'd like to talk to you about the egg."

"Sure. Follow me."

Honda walked them out of the education building and toward the research center. As they walked, Yamada asked questions and wrote her answers on a small notepad.

"Tell me, Doctor. What species do you think this egg belongs to?"

"We still don't know. We've never seen an egg this large before from any creature. We can only guess that it's some kind of reptile."

"Would you care to give an estimate as to how large the adult creature would be?"

"It would have to be a blind guess."

"Really? Couldn't you calculate it by comparing egg-to-adult size ratios for other animals?"

"It's not that simple, actually. Large eggs take longer to incubate, which puts them at a higher risk for predation. Because of that, even the largest dinosaurs laid relatively small eggs. Diplodocus was as big as a blue whale, but its egg was about the same size as an ostrich's. Yet this one is large enough that a grown man could lay inside it."

"Strange. Why do you think that is?"

"The most plausible reason I can think of would be if the embryo needed to incubate for a very long time, like if it was intended to remain dormant for extended periods. As to what advantage that would give the organism, I can't even begin to guess."

By now they had reached the research center. Yamada opened the door for Honda to enter. "Suppose the creature was able to incubate rapidly despite its size?" he asked as they continued down the hall.

"I hadn't thought of that. Seems pretty unlikely; it would require a lot of energy, more than it would probably have while in the egg. Either that or its mother would need to carry the embryo inside her to a late enough point that it would probably just give birth live, instead."

When they arrived at the egg room, two of her fellow professors, Hirose and Nakayama, were examining the egg closely. As the door closed, both turned to look at her, then to each other.

"You see now?"

"Yes. I don't know why that is, but..."

"See what?" asked Honda. "Is something wrong?"

Hirose put one hand on the egg. "Funny thing. A few days back, I...who's this?"

Yamada showed his press badge. "I'm with Maicho Press. My name's..."

"Sorry, sir," said Nakayama, putting his hand on the reporter's shoulder. "We need to speak with Doctor Honda in private for a few minutes. My office is two doors down from here on the right side. If you could just wait in there, we'll be with you shortly."

Yamada gave a frown of disappointment, then shrugged and headed for the door. "Okay. Just let me know when you're ready for me."

"Will do," said Honda. "Thanks."

Once Yamada had left, Hirose opened an envelope and pulled out a color picture. It showed the egg, glowing bright red. "This started a couple days ago," he explained. "I first saw it when I had a shift in here right after yours. The instruments started acting funny, giving erratic readings like there was some kind of interference. I checked it with a Geiger counter and didn't pick up anything. I talked to Nakayama and neither of us could make anything of it. The egg glowed throughout my entire shift."

Honda took the picture and looked over it carefully. "Why didn't you tell me about this?"

Hirose looked surprised. He turned to Nakayama and said, "Didn't you tell her about it?"

"I thought you did, Hirose! You're the one who saw it first."

"Oh...well, anyway. Honda, yesterday you had a shift directly after mine; I noticed the egg had stopped glowing right as I was leaving, and when I left the room you were coming down the hall. I didn't make anything of it at the time, but then I got to thinking. I knew you'd be coming in right after me today, too, so I had Nakayama come take a look at it. Sure enough, it was glowing, but it stopped seconds before you walked in the door."

Honda handed the picture back to Hirose. "What do you think it means?"

Hirose folded his arms. "Nakayama has an idea. I'll let him explain it."

"It's just a guess," said Nakayama, "but I think the embryo might have imprinted on you."

"Imprinted?" Honda's eyes widened. Her tone was that of surprise mixed with skepticism. "You think that whatever is in that egg thinks I'm its mother?"

"It's a possibility. You were the first one to touch it, and you're the only woman on staff who's been near it frequently. It's possible that the energy signature is some kind of beacon to attract its mother. When you're not here, it beckons, but when you return, it calms down."

Honda scratched her head. "Weird. And you say this started two days ago?"

"Right."

Honda stepped closer to the egg and pressed her right hand up against it. "I wonder if this means it'll hatch soon. Nakayama, could you ask one of the night guards to stay close and watch the egg?"

"Sure thing."

"Good. We should monitor this egg as much as possible so that we can be ready when it hatches. This animal is coming into an environment very different from its home; it might need veterinary help to stay alive. Now, if you'll excuse me, Mister Yamada is waiting for me in your office."


A few days later, Honda awoke early in the morning to a telephone call.

"Hello," she murmured into the transmitter. "This is Kumi Honda."

"Honda, it's Hirose. I think the egg is about to hatch."

Honda was upright in a flash. "Are you sure?"

"The glow is brighter than before, it's shaking, and the readings are all over the place."

"I'll be there as soon as possible!"

When she arrived a short time later, the egg was still glowing and shaking. Hirose and Nakayama were staring as though transfixed. "It's not calming down," said Nakayama, "even with you here. Something's definitely up."

A ringing sound suddenly filled the air. One of the instruments blew, throwing out sparks. Hirose and Nakayama jumped backward and covered their ears, but Honda found herself compelled toward the egg. She did not know why at the time, but it was as though a voice were crying out to her and she could not resist. She ran forward and put both hands on the side of the egg.

Hirose shouted, "Honda! Get back!"

However, as soon as she touched it, the egg's glowing and trembling began to subside, the ringing sound disappeared, and the instruments returned to normal. The room was still and quiet. Then the first crack appeared on the egg.

"Come on!" Nakayama hissed between his teeth. "Get away from there!"

Honda stepped back as the egg continued to break apart. Large chunks of shell fell to the floor. A long tail and two large, powerful arms emerged from the egg and battered away the shell until the creature within was free. Honda and her colleagues had not known what to expect, but what they saw defied any predictions they could have made.

Amongst the remnants of the obliterated shell stood a reptile, though what kind they did not know. It stood about two meters tall with a tail at least the same length over again, much larger than any dinosaur hatchling. Its scales were green-grey and a row of bony protrusions ran from the crown of its head along its back, almost to the tip of its tail. Strangely, the creature's build was unlike any other dinosaur. It had features of the suborder theropoda – a bipedal stance, sharp teeth and claws, strong jaws – but was distinctly different. It stood not just bipedal but almost fully upright, and its arms were rather manlike. Its head was shorter and not as long as a theropod's; its skull would look more like that of a bear. Even then, its eyes were disproportionately large, almost the size of a man's hands, and they were bright yellow with jet black centers.

The reptile stood motionless, gazing intently at Honda. Then it let out a high-pitch moan and advanced toward her, its tongue trailing from the corner of its mouth.

"Honda!" Nakayama hissed under his breath. "Come away!"

She did not hear him. All she could hear was the dinosaur's footsteps and gentle cooing. She knew that by all logic she should afraid; the creature was obviously predatory and would definitely be hungry right out of the egg. Yet while she may have been excited, confused, and uncertain, she was most definitely not afraid.

The dinosaur stopped right in front of her and lowered its head, still drooling everywhere. Its eyes filled with the familiar red glow, albeit fainter, and Honda felt the strange sensation again, like a small voice pleading with her. She put her hand up to the reptile's mouth.

"Honda!" Nakayama hissed again. "What the hell are you doing?"

The dinosaur licked between Honda's fingers, which tickled and caused her to giggle. The red glow disappeared again and the creature brushed its cheek against hers, making a low growling sound in its throat similar to a cat's purr.

Hirose approached to get a better look. "Amazing!" he exclaimed. "I've never seen a specimen like this before!"

The dinosaur raised its head to look at him, and again its eyes glowed and Honda felt as though it were somehow speaking to her. She reached out and stroked the dinosaur's head; its eyes darkened again and she felt relaxed.

Hirose chuckled as he reached out to touch the animal's neck. "He's a marvelous creature, isn't he? To think that he may have been dormant for millions of years only to emerge here and now."

"What should we call him?" asked Honda.

"Well," said Nakayama, "he's your discovery. I think you should name him!"

Honda stroked the reptile's chin, causing it to close its eyes and incline its head. It was an expression of satisfaction, but one that gave the animal a look of regal pride. Her thoughts returned to the Odo Island ceremony and the dancer in the dragon mask. "Godzillasaurus odo."

Hirose was surprised. "Godzilla? Like the sea monster?"

"Yes," said Honda. "It's a good name, isn't it? Strong, mysterious, and beautiful...just like our little guy here! Isn't that right, Godzilla-san?" The dinosaur wagged its tail like a dog as Honda rubbed his neck.