The following documents are the reported events that took place
during the 1901 Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, New York.
These documents are not to be duplicated or taken out of the
custody of the Department of Justice or the United States Government.
To do so will result in the prosecution and imprisonment of any
individuals involved in such actions.
My name is Samuel Clemens and I was asked by certain government officials of the highest levels to record a recent adventure I took part in. Most in the world would find this story unbelievable, and some would say it was nothing more than a creation of my writer’s imagination. I assure whoever may read this account; this story is true, fantastic but true. Also this is the only account of this tale because the extraordinary gentlemen I shared this adventure with, as well as myself have been sworn to secrecy. The proper “cover-up” has begun and appropriate steps have been made to keep the world at large from learning the truth, because if the truth were ever fully revealed then a worldwide panic could ensue. Knowing what I know now, I wholeheartedly agree withWashington’s security measures. After these events I am reminded of what Shakespeare wrote of things in Heaven and Earth, and I admit I have been forced to rethink some of my philosophies.
Samuel Clemens;
(Mark Twain)
September 16, 1901
I recently returned home to Riverdale with Livy after a brief visit to a favorite city of mine that I once called home.Buffalo, New Yorkhas grown by incredible measures; industry, invention, population. Basically every aspect of modern man’s life has been expounded by leaps and bounds. A prime example of this growth is how some homes in the region have been outfitted for the new electrical light, while most remain “stuck” with gas. This is all thanks to some brilliant minds being able to harness the unimaginable power out of the American and Canadian falls at Niagara Falls, NY. Although I wonder how long this can last, only man’s foolish arrogance can assume that we can fully ensnare the power Mother Nature possesses.
As I mentioned, Livy and I just returned home from Buffalo, where we attended the Pan-American Exposition, which I must say was very impressive. I am hopeful that the showcase was a boon to the city, but from the turnout I saw, I am doubtful. Of course one must keep in mind the Exposition has been going on since May, and will continue to do so for another month and a half, so only time will tell.
It was good to see some of my old friends and acquaintances from The Buffalo Express, whom I was able to reintroduce, and in some cases finally introduce Livy to. I really have let too much time pass since I met up with old friends and talked about past glories. Introducing Livy to my old friends and showing her my old home on Delaware Avenue made me feel good, letting her into this part of my past did us both good. Granted we met in Buffalo, but there were things, long forgotten by most that I was involved with, that in telling Livy helped me finally clear the air, and made me feel like a new man. Perhaps someday I’ll be able to talk about these events, but for now, they’ll stay between me and Livy.
Well while attending the Exposition we met up with old friends and through them made new ones. One lady in particular was a Ms. L. Barrett, the headmistress of a girl’s school in Buffalo. Ms. Barrett who lives near the Expo Grounds, frequently hosts guests of all sorts in her lavish parlor. The night Livy and I met Ms. Barrett through a friend from The Express, she invited us over for refreshments and stimulating conversation. In exchange for a few libations I regaled Ms. Barrett and her company with some of my tales from my greener days when I piloted steamboats, helped form the Marion Rangers during the Civil War, and wrote of some of the most amazing characters of my imagination including a certain celebrated frog, spirited boys like Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, and the challenging Hank Morgan. I found the lady of the house a most intelligent and intriguing creature of beauty as well, that I must call on again when I return toBuffalo.
As for the Exposition itself there was plenty to see and do for all. Demonstrations and exhibits of all kinds including the Temple of Music, the Vencian Cannels, the African Village along the Midway, the Horti Culture Exhibit, and the Acetylene Showcase. But most impressive was the Tower Electrical Building which stands like a giant beacon for the city. I must admit I felt a swell of pride for a friend of mine who worked on and helped design the Tower. This of course was not the first or last of my friend’s achievements, but quite arguably this massive structure may have been his greatest.
Well I suppose the true starting point of this tale was September 6, 1901, when Polish anarchist Leon Czolgosz shot President William McKinley and then Czolgosz entered the Halls of Eternal Infamy when the commander in chief died eight days later from the gangrene that set into his body. The country was sent into a state of shock and disbelief it had seldom seen and everyone seems to be still in a state of mourning. The world went on, and so did the people of Buffalo. In an peculiar way I believe the Exposition was a benefit to the citizens because the locals who were working at the Expo, and in the surrounding industries of hotels, cab drivers, restaurateurs, rooming houses, and oh so many others who also depend on these industries, these people and so many others not only needed the jobs and the money working the Expo provided but also the care and feeding of the visitors helped bring the people of Buffalo a feeling of purpose that was needed.
I fully entered this story on the afternoon of the fifteenth, the day after the death of President McKinley. I was feeling out of sorts, as we all were and Livy and I left our hotel on Delawareand took a horse-drawn carriage ride to the Expo Grounds. There seemed to be an uncomfortable silence between us, but it seemed to cover the entire city like a shroud. The weather was a surprising treat; instead of the a rainy and foul autumn day, the air was cool and crisp, with blue skies, white clouds drifting about lazily like a puffy dandelion seed carrying stems blown apart by a child on a summer’s day.
As we headed towards the grounds Livy and I tried to discuss our day’s plans and the events and exhibits we hadn’t seen yet, that we wanted to. She was most anxious to see the production A Trip to the Moon. I must admit I was curious to see how this would compare to the works of Wells and Verne. We entered the northwesterly entrance at a portion of the Midway that held exhibits from various cultures around the world. These showcases were insulting representations of the Anglo’s view of people different from themselves. As we passed by these “cultures” of the African, Hawaiian, Mexican, Filipino, and Native American, my own indifferences from my younger and more foolhardy days flashed through my mind and I felt ashamed of past actions and attitudes. Perhaps someday I’ll be able to atone for them.
As Livy and I reached the showpiece of the Expo, the Electrical Tower, we were overtaken with a sense of awe and wonder at the beacon. We had only seen it from a distance the previous week, and at night. But up close during the daytime was something entirely different. This structure was the equal to the Colossus of Rhodes in strength and power. I knew my old friend had helped develop the Tower’s lighting and electrical systems and felt rightfully proud of what he accomplished. My lady fair had been told by our hotel’s bellman of an excellent, exclusive restaurant in the Tower, and she wanted to go. Being the man who I am, who was I to deny her anything?
As we came past the Streets of Mexico displays and turned towards the Tower we saw a man rushing towards the Tower past the crowds as if he were oblivious to the men, women, children and events going on around him. When I saw him I could not believe my eyes because it was the very man I had been thinking about, my friend the inventor Nikola Tesla. I called out to Nikola while rushing away from Livy and towards my old friend, and after a third time he finally heard me and turned back. It was a great moment for us, since it had been some time since we had seen one another, and after the proper introductions had been made, for a few moments there was an uncomfortable silence, but after they passed, Nikola and Livy seemed to take a real liking to one another. The uneasiness may have been due to the initial awkwardness of two parts of my life coming together and meeting one another for the first time. We explained we were about to go to lunch and invited Nikola to join us, then he explained he needed to check some of the lighting equipment at the top of the Tower, but would join us after he finished.
We ordered what turned out to be an excellent lunch of pork, veal, and porterhouse steak, with various cheeses and luncheon meats such as ham, turkey, roast beef, sardines, and caviar as our appetizers. To drink I recall there was Golden fizz, Claret Lemonade, a disappointing Claret, and some good old-fashioned draft beer. All in all a grand meal.
The rest of the afternoon was a blur between Nikola and I telling Livy of our past adventures, Livy and I telling him of domestic misadventures, or the pair of them telling one another some of my more embarrassing moments and sharing a laugh or two at my expense. After lunch Nikola gave us a tour of the Tower and a private showing of some of his latest inventions on display, some of which were even more fantastic than anything Hank Morgan used in Camelot. After attending the Expo and seeing A Trip to the Moon we began to make dinner plans as the day was drawing late. We headed towards another restaurant along the Midway near where Livy and I entered the grounds, and as we strolled along we could not help but notice a group of children swarming around a young couple. The man and woman looked familiar but I could not remember from where I had previously seen them, and finally the man gave in to the children’s pleas. We stopped and watched as he performed some amazing slight of hand with a girl’s cameo, and collimated his act with a few borrowed props to make his wife, I learned later, “hypnotized” and suspend her in mid air. After the impromptu show it finally occurred to me where I had seen them before. The previous year I had to attend to business in London,England, and while there Livy and I saw a performance at Albert Hall of the great Harry Houdini.
After the children scattered, we introduced ourselves to the Houdinis and congratulated them. Harry and Bess were most gracious and complimentary about my books as I was about their performances, and we invited them to join us for dinner and soon the five of us found ourselves at an authentic Oriental restaurant on the Midway.
As dinner progressed talk turned to how many other famous or infamous celebrities who were also in attendance. We knew Buffalo Bill Cody and his Wild West Show were here to entertain the children, and I understood that Conrad Diehl, mayor of Buffalo has been in attendance regularly, and various members of the Albright family have been seen here, despite the labor and union problems going on with their future museum still under construction. George Pierce who created a motorette, the newly appointed President
Theodore Roosevelt, the once proud and great warrior Geronimo, famous sculptor Augustus Saint Garders and as I found out there was one more who was not well received by one of us, one Thomas Edison. I am not privy to all the details, but I know Nikola and Edison met in 1884 after Tesla arrived in New York City, and the two inventors had a major falling out. As far as I know Nikola has not spoken to or forgiven Edison at all.
After dinner our collective merriment entered the night and it seemed as if the “shroud” I previously spoke of had been lifted much to my relief. The sun had set and the Expo grounds hummed with an electrical buzz of power flowing into the buildings and showing off the lights that illuminated whatever they touched. Most impressive was the Tower’s light which leapt across the inky sky, like a child playing hopscotch.
Our little group was at the Court of Fountains in front of the Tower and as we were talking over lemonades, I noticed Nikola staring off into space, and he pointed out to us that there was something in the sky. We began to look up, as did other Expo goers, which was not difficult to do since the object grew larger. At first glance one could mistake it for another star, but it was growing.
Nikola pointed out that it was not growing but getting closer to us, getting closer to the Earth. With each second that passed the tension grew stronger, and a lot of people began to grow nervous including myself, but I could see Livy was scared and I suspect Bess was as well because Houdini began to rush her towards the exit, and I followed suit with Livy.
Once we all were onAmherst Streetwe saw the crowds turning into a panicked mob, since the object was the size of a house while it was getting larger and closer still. By this point we could clearly see that it was round, almost like a sphere, except it looked angular as if the sides were pieces of glass joined at the ends and sides. The sphere was glowing red hot and its entry into our atmosphere not only left a streaking trail of fire and smoke, but also a hideous and deafening, whistling scream which sounded as if a bomb were being dropped. The closer it came the more noise it produced, and the more cries and screams came from the crowded Expo grounds. Livy and I held onto one another unsure what was about to happen, and finally the sphere crashed into Park Lake sending up a wall of water and the steam was rushing up like a rising curtain when the curious onlookers reached the crash site behind the developing art gallery.
At this point half the crowd had run away by foot, carriages drawn by equally terrified horses, or even on bicycles stolen from the Expo Grounds. The other half consisted of the brave, the curious, and of course local law enforcement and members of the US Army who were in attendance. By the time the five of us reached the site the Army had the area cordoned off, but from what I could see the curiosity of the brave reached a certain point because no one was getting too close to the water, which was still steaming as the object was changing colors from a red hot to an opaque glassy color. Due to the cooling the sphere now looked like a cheap bobble, except for its massive size.
The silence of the crowd slowly changed over to a murmur of questions, speculations, innuendos, anything but the truth. All sorts of ideas were tossed about like balls on a tennis court, and some sounded as fantastic as any story I could have written. “Was it a weapon from a foreign power? Or perhaps it’s something from the gods of old. Or maybe it’s just a fake object.” No one was sure but as the seconds passed the crowd’s fears gradually were overtaken by the natural twinges of curiosity, and from our position we could see some folks trying to get a closer look as others who attempted to venture into the water were detained by the Army troops who were surprised by their sudden duties, after only expecting to be on display in either parades or in the mock battles with Geronimo.
As the soldiers began to force back the encroaching onlookers, the sphere shifted a bit, and as it rolled to a dead stop a crack formed. This tiny fissure ran across the vessel like quicksilver, as everyone looked on in shock and soon horror took hold of all when the vessel fell apart and the vessel’s passenger came out. At first it looked as if there were a smaller vessel inside the first one, but much to our terror it wasn’t. The second crystal structure began to move with stiffness and groaning that could have paralleled Lazarus. A serpentine neck arched upwards with a head that could have belonged to the Hydra that Hercules slew. It stretched out four legs with a flaying tail in the rear, swiping back and forth slamming into whatever was unlucky enough to be in its path. It was round, smooth, and just like the vessel that brought it except this… whatever was alive, and very angry.
The Crystal Dinosaur (for lack of a better term) roared with the sound of a hundred exploding railroad engines come to life. The people did not have to be told what to do; as soon as the beast quaked with life the crowds began to run. In truth they panicked and the madness was equal to the destruction that was coming. The masses ran back towards our group, but we were moving as fast as we could towards the closest carriage, which was hard to catch considering the horses were justifiably panicky. We were able to stay ahead of the mass exodus, and able to load the ladies in and about to join them when the monster did something totally unexpected. From standing on one of the wheels I saw the creature pausing, inhale deeply, then exhaling a cloud of some sort. The cloud spread out and I could see the crowds closest to the beast dropping like flies, all the while screaming out in agony in levels I never thought possible.
As we watched, a couple of men tried to force their way onto our carriage and almost pulled Bess out, but before Houdini or any of us could act, our driver stood up, kicked one of the men in the stomach, while he used the horse whip on the other, the one who grabbed at Bess. Once he was down Houdini gave him a gut shot that took the wind out of his sails. I can’t blame Harry in the least. With Nikola in the front next to the driver, who we learned was a decent fella named William Donovan, and the rest of us riding in back in the carriage, we headed off the grounds for safety among the insanity. We went right for Ms. Barrett’s home since it was closer than the hotel was and we decided to leave the women there if Ms. Barrett was home; if not we’d leave them nearby. The three, now four of us realized we had to go back and help anyone there; it wasn’t a matter of choice. We had to go back and find out what was going on, and hopefully the Army had stopped the creature.
Luckily Ms. Barrett was home hosting a few guests in her parlor, but they had heard and seen the sphere streaking into the atmosphere, and she was happy to allow Livy and Bess to stay over until our return, but our wives were understandably not pleased with our decision to return. The moment Houdini and I said our goodbyes, we made similar promises we would come back.
By the time we reached the grounds there wasn’t any traffic about, foot or otherwise and we couldn’t understand where everyone had gone to. Surely the creature, whose bellowing roars we could still hear, couldn’t have killed everyone there. The horses were more than skittish and obviously showing better sense than us since they wanted to get out of the area like every other form of animal life had. Donovan tied the horses to a fence post and gently patted them down, trying to steady their nerves and calm them before joining us even though we implored him to leave us, but our new friend showed his true character when he told us he couldn’t leave us behind. One can only hope this new century is full of such men. From the sounds of the beast, we figured it had come ashore and was on the grounds, and we knew more people died. We knew we would have to defend ourselves, and Nikola led us to the Electrical Tower where we found some of the Expo goers had held up and were hiding. They told us the monster had stomped all over the grounds using its breath to kill whatever and wherever it could. We knew we had to stop it or at least make the attempt. The witnesses told us the Army attempted to stop it, but were unsuccessful.
Nikola led us to one of the displays Livy and I had been shown that afternoon, that possessed some very special arms, and inside we found some new types of rifle that fires bolts of electricity. Nikola explained they were meant to stun or shock the target without killing it. He calls the weapons “stun guns”, not a bad name if I do say so myself. After a fast explanation of how the guns operated, the four of us headed out of the Tower in search of the creature, despite the fact several people tried to keep us from going. We could see the Midway to the Court of the Fountains was clear, but when we reached the bandstands we came across one of the grizzliest sights imaginable. I am a skilled writer, but even I doubt I have the ability to convey the sheer nightmarish horror we saw when we came across some of the victims of the beast. Bodies were dissolving right before our eyes, and from the smell Nikola told us the beast’s cloud bursts had to be pure sulfuric acid. He knew the odor from his works but never imagined it could be used in such a way to destroy. The people in front of us were dead and the only thing we could do was pray for them and stop the creature from killing any more, but the sight of the dying Poles, Irish, Germans, Negroes, nationals and foreigners, young and old, men, women, and children will haunt me to my dying days.
As we crossed over and went around the dead towardsMirrorLakewe heard two things; first was a man at the Tower who was yelling for us to get inside, while waving us back. The second was the roar of the beast and it was coming closer. We saw its crystal, serpent-like neck peering over the Horticulture Building, and we could see it eyeing us. We moved quickly back towards the Tower as the beast inhaled deeply and started to give chase. One step that thundered was followed by another, and another, and another, and each shook the ground nearly causing us to fall. When it reached the bandstand, we were at the Tower entrance, and we could see it was about to exhale.
The young Mr. Donovan lined up a shot to cover the rest of us and instead of lead, a crackling blue/white energy exploded from the barrel. The beast howled out in pain when the shot hit its head, then it got a massive burst when the rest of us joined Donovan in firing at the beast. Fortunately it did not like the sensation and retreated back towards Park Lake. Once inside the Tower we met with the man who waved us back, and much to our surprise it was fellow author Arthur Conan Doyle.
Naturally I wanted to speak to the man about a great many things, but that would have to wait. He lead us past many of the same people we saw before, some who just saw us make our stand, and now they had a sense of hope after the monster’s retreat. As he led us past the lobby and the shell-shocked, Doyle explained that once the beast started attacking, people ran for any shelter they could find because those left outside were struck down by its acidic breath. He led us to a private elevator and explained he was sent to get us by some men upstairs who were trying to come up with attack plans, but could not agree on any one plan. Doyle went on to explain that after we left to protect the women, the Army, local police, and Expo security tried to stop the monster, but their standard rifles and side arms were like gnat stings against a rampaging elephant, and when the beast let out a second burst of its acidic breath, the defenders were killed instantly. When the elevator opened up a few floors below the beacon that was still dancing in the sky above us all, we found ourselves in a boardroom of some sorts that overlooked the grounds and the spot where we were just fighting the beast. They saw everything and saw that men would not give up without a fight. Inside the room we met one of the Exposition’s backers, a man who many considered to be a “robber baron” J.P. Morgan and much to my surprise and Nikola’s disgust Thomas Edison. As soon I realized who it was I thought the situation was tense enough and this would not help matters.
After the introductions were made, Morgan and Edison told us they witnessed our stand and were impressed, and they were wondering if Tesla’s rifles could kill the creature. The rifles were incapable of killing. I knew the very idea went against Nikola’s philosophies, but he explained that after seeing the beast first hand, he formed a theory that the rifles would hurt it, but to do any real damage we would have to penetrate its crystal hide. We would need something of incredible power that could continue to hammer through. It was here that Nikola hit his head with his hand when he realized what he called for should have been obvious. He explained the Tower’s light at the top could be converted into a source of energy he had been experimenting with. He claimed it would become a “death beam” right out of the science fiction genre. With help it could be converted, the only problem being he was unsure of the range, so the beast would have to be in front of the Tower. This meant someone would have to be the bait.Edisonhated to admit it but he agreed with his former partner’s theories and supported them. It was quickly decided Nikola, Edison, and Morgan would gather some of the men who were hiding with us, those who knew the equipment and would make the changes needed, while Houdini, Donovan, Doyle (who volunteered to aid us), and myself would draw out the invader. May fortune favor the foolish and the bold.
We realized we needed speed to outrun or circle the beast so after showing Doyle how to use the rifles; we acquired a few more exhibits from the Tower’s lobby. George Pierce’s 1901 Pierce Motorette carried myself and Doyle, while Houdini and Donovan rode out on a pair of 1900 motorized chainless bicycles. As our quirky safari headed out I could not help but think of Hank Morgan and the Knights of the Round Table coming to save him and Arthur Pendragon in my tale of a Connecticut Yankee.
Nikola told me afterwards, as soon as we left he and the others gathered all the men they could, and led them to the top of the Tower to convert the light into the most powerful weapon mankind has ever seen, and God willing would never be needed again after this night.
Nikola told us they would need ten minutes to make the proper changes whatever they were. Fortunately the Tower already had the equipment needed, so we figured we would distract the monster with a version of the children’s game of tag, where we would take turns getting the beast’s attention and then flee, ultimately drawing it towards the Tower. Breathing was getting difficult because of the amounts of acid that hung in the air, but we went on and found the beast near the Indian Mound, and after a moment’s silent prayer we opened fire at the neck (which looked like a weak point) and did little damage, but we got its undivided attention.
It howled out in pain, and was very mad. It began a raging charge and we retreated as fast as the vehicles could go. We split up with Doyle and I headed west towards the Elmwood Gates, and the others went northeast, but the beast came after us. Seeing this Donovan stopped and fired, hitting the beast in the tail, and in doing so drawing its rage. Suddenly it turned and went after them. It picked up speed and was determined to kill again. Doyle and I went north past the Indian Congress Building, trying to keep up. We could see the beast trying to reach our friends and we couldn’t reach the beast with our rifles from where we were, so we crossed the mall and saw the duo split up with Donovan coming towards us and Houdini headed north towards the stadium. The beast targeted Donovan and then us. Seeing this Houdini got into position, fired and hit the beast in its posterior. After another deafening roar it turned and charged after Houdini, smashing its way through the Agriculture Building in a desperate attempt to get him. We could see the beast inhaling knowing what it was planning, while the mage was swerving back and forth trying to confuse his pursuer, but it didn’t do any good. We could see the monster exhale its cloud destroying all in its wake. One moment we saw the magician outrunning it and the next the acidic cloud overtaking his bicycle. After that we could only see the monster standing amid its clouds at ground level and it was roaring celebration.
We could not tell if our friend was alive or dead, but we knew this monstrosity had to be stopped or there would be no telling how many would die in the city, let alone the world. Donovan ordered us to exit the Motorette and got in; he told us he might be able to buy us some time. Doyle and I took our rifles, and watched as Donovan built up sped and momentum then charged at the creature. He fired his weapon at the head, and seeing what he was doing we fired to help blind it from seeing Donovan’s charge. Just before he got too close Donovan leapt from the Motorette, rolled onto the ground as the vehicle slammed into the left front leg. Its bellowing roar was louder than before, so the exploding carriage did the trick. The thing’s head whipped back and forth in true agony, and finally it saw Donovan running towards us, and attempted to move as best it could, but there was a noticeable limp and we could see cracks in the leg at the point of impact. As Donovan reached us, Doyle and I fired at the head going for the eyes of the beast, as it crossed the grounds towards us preparing to belch out more acid. Donovan fired at the fresh wound which only enraged the monster more, and as it came closer to us we were preparing to run, then an amazing golden/orange light exploded from the Tower. The beam focused on the grounds and at the beast and stayed there. It pierced the side of the beast causing it to glow from the inside and out. From our position we could see the internal skeletal structure of it, and it seemed as if black obsidian was surrounded by the opaque crystal. The invader turned to face the new threat and tried to attack the Tower, but the energy beam kept on coming at it, destroying it from the inside out. Ultimately its organs must have finally given out because the beast gave out an agonizing death knell. It slumped to the ground and it tried to rise again but was unable to. Seeing the creature in this state gave me no joy, and in a sense I felt a touch of pity for it, but it had to be done for the greater good. With the energy beam continuing, the body glowed as bright as a summer’s sunset off Lake Erie and the remains cracked and splintered finally shattering into a million pieces.
The beam ended as we ran to the Tower and were greeted by Morgan, Tesla, and Edison who explained they kept an eye on us as best they could, and had made the final connections to the beacon just as the creature was coming at the three of us. The moment of celebration passed when Morgan asked about the whereabouts of Houdini. We told them what we knew, and went to find his body for Bess. We owed it to her, and to the world. As we were about to begin the grim search a miracle happened; from behind the Tower, a haggard and looking almost drowned Harry Houdini emerged from the shadows, as if he were walking out of the jaws of death once again. He explained as we gathered around him, that when the monster was on top of him, he drove his bicycle right into the Vencian Canals that surround the Expo Grounds. After his drive and dive, Houdini swam underwater till he reached the rear of the Tower almost as if he were performing a stage illusion.
A few hours later after reinforcements arrived, including military and government officials we were all debriefed and asked by certain agents, some men in black told us that someone special wanted to speak to the seven of us, since we were the major players in this game. We were brought to a small white and green wooden structure with glass windows on all sides, which was near a powerhouse. Inside we met with President Roosevelt, and essentially he asked us to not to speak about what happened. The officials would pass on the story that a methane gas explosion caused the problems at the Expo, killing a large number of people. We agreed when President Roosevelt told us after the assassination of President McKinley, he believed the country was enough on edge, but if the truth were known this could ensure a worldwide panic no society could handle.
It was here Nikola mentioned he may have been responsible for the attack. He once told me he could make radio waves reach the planets Mars and Venus, and this was not an idle boast. While he was conducting this sort of experiment in the past few days at the facility inNorth Bayon the Electric Fountain location, he thought it was appropriate with Venus being so close to Earth’s orbit the “whatever” may have come from there. Nikola’s theory was that someone or something sent the “Crystalsaurus” as it would be known, to Earth as a possible precursor to an invasion or to see where the radio wave originated from; either way President Roosevelt told us that “certain individuals” would be ready to handle any more “visitors”. I do know the guilt Nikola felt plagued him till his last days, I’d wager. We shut down his radio wave experiments and Nikola swore to never do this again, and hopefully this event would not happen again.
I found out the remains were to be buried under the foundation of the Albright Art Museum since it was still under construction; the officials felt it would be an appropriate hiding or burial place. The pieces were placed in bedrock and poured over with cement, but I know Edison and Tesla both were able to sneak away with a piece of the crystal body, due to their scientific curiosity, I gather. I found out Nikola believed the creature was a life form based on silicon not carbon like us. Fascinating theories from these minds. Well the survivors either agreed to go along with the gas explosion story, and certain pay offs were made to people or certain threats were made. I guess government business as usual, but I agree with why this was done.
Finally I was asked by President Roosevelt to make a record of these events for posterity, but maybe we need to forget, just in case. And for us seven life goes on back to normal, whatever that is.
—Samuel Clemens
Mark Twain
September 16, 1901
C.G. (Chris) Eberle is a proud life long resident of Buffalo, New York. A writer since he was 5 years old, Chris started with his homemade comic books and story books, and then seriously took to writing in high school. While in college, studying English Education, C.G. was published twice in 2004 & 2006, and then switched gears to one of his major passions, mysteries.
