The Roosevelt Dispatches - Mike Resnick, ebook
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//-->MIKE RESNICKTHE ROOSEVELT DISPATCHES*Mike Resnick's story, "The Roosevelt Dispatches," is the first of the War of theWorlds stories mentioned in the editorial. In Wells' novel, the Martians land inEngland. Wells deals with Europe, ever so slightly, but never examines whathappens tn the rest of the world:*Mike, whose Roosevelt stories have become classics in the alternate historyfield, puts the Martians in contact with one of the last century's mostenterprising men, a far-ranging intellect who never saw a puzzle he didn't wantto solve. One Theodore Roosevelt, freedom fighter, big game hunter, and futurePresident of the-United States.*Excerpt from the Diary of Theodore Roosevelt (Volume 23):*July 9, 1898:Shot and killed a most unusual beast this afternoon. Letters of inquiry go offtomorrow to the various museums to see which of them would like the mountedspecimen once I have finished studying it.Tropical rain continues unabated. Many of the men are down with influenza, andin the case of poor Westmore it looks like we shall lose him to pneumonia beforethe week is out. Still awaiting orders, now that San Juan Hill and thesurrounding countryside is secured. It may well be that we should remain hereuntil we know that the island is totally free from any more of the creaturesthat I shot this afternoon.It's quite late. Just time for a two-mile run and a chapter of Jane Austen, andthen off to bed.Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to F. C. Selous, July 12, 1898:My Dear Selous:I had a most remarkable experience in Cuba this week, one that I feel compelledto share with you. I had just led my Rough Riders in a victorious campaign inCuba. We were still stationed there, awaiting orders to return home. Withnothing better to do, I spent many happy hours bird-watching, and the event inquestion occurred late one afternoon when I was making my way through a riverineforest in search of the Long-billed Curlew.Afternoon had just passed into twilight, and as I made my way through the densevegetation I had the distinct feeling that I was no longer alone, that an entityat least as large as myself was lurking nearby. I couldn't imagine what it mightbe, for to the best of my knowledge the tapir and the jaguar do not inhabit theislands of the Caribbean.I proceeded more cautiously, and in another twenty yards I came to a halt andfound myself facing a thing the size of one of our American grizzlies. The onlycomparably sized animal within your experience would probably be the mountaingorilla, but this creature was at least thirty percent larger than the largestof the silverbacks.The head was round, and was totally without a nose! The eyes were large, dark,and quite widely spread. The mouth was V-shaped and lipless, and drooledconstantly.It was brown -- not the brown of an impala or a koodoo, but rather the slickmoist brown of a sea-slug, its body glistening as if greased. The thing had noarms as such, but it did have a number of long, sinewy tentacles, each seeminglythe thickness and strength of an elephant's trunk.It took one look at me, made a sound that was half-growl and half-roar, andcharged. I had no idea of its offensive capabilities, but I didn't like the lookof those tentacles, so I quickly raised my Winchester to my shoulder and firedat almost point-blank range. I could hear the smack! of the bullet as it bouncedoff the trunk of the beast's body. The creature continued to approach me, and Ihurled myself aside at the last instant, barely avoiding two of its outstretchedtentacles.I rolled as I hit the ground, and fired once more from a prone position, rightinto the open V of its mouth. This time there was a reaction, and a violent one.The thing hooted noisily and began tearing up pieces of the turf, all the whileshaking its head vigorously. Within seconds it was literally uprooting largebushes and shredding them as if they were no more than mere tissue paper.I waited until it was facing in my direction again and put a bullet into itsleft eye. Again, the reaction was startling: the creature began ripping apartnearby trees and screaming at such a pitch that all the nearby bird life fled inBy that point I must confess that I was looking for some means of retreat, for Iknow of no animal that could take a rifle bullet in the mouth and another in theeye and still remain not just standing but aggressive and formidable. ! trainedmy rifle on the brute and began backing away.My movement seemed to have caught its attention, for suddenly it ceased itsravings and turned to face me. Then it began advancing slowly and purposefully-- and a moment later it did something that no animal anywhere in the world hasever done: it produced a weapon.The thing looked like a sword, but when the creature pointed it at me, a beam oflight shot out of it, missing me only by inches, and instantly setting the bushbeside me ablaze. I jumped in the opposite direction as it fired its sword ofheat again, and again the forest combusted in a blinding conflagration.I turned and raced back the way I had come. After perhaps sixty yards I chanceda look back, and saw that the creature was following me. However, despite itsmany physical attributes, speed was not to be counted among them. I used that tomy advantage, putting enough distance between us so that it lost sight of me. Ithen jumped into the nearby river, making sure that no water should invade myrifle. Here, at least, I felt safe from the indirect effects of the creature'sheat weapon.It came down the path some forty seconds later. Rather than shooting itimmediately, I let it walk by while I studied it, looking for vulnerable areas.The thing bore no body armor as such, not even the type of body plating that ourmutual friend Corbett describes on the Indian rhino, yet its skin seemedimpervious to bullets. Its body, which I now could see in its entirety, wasalmost perfectly spherical except for the head and tentacles, and there were nodiscernable weak or thin spots where head and tentacles joined the trunk.Still, I couldn't let it continue along the path, because sooner or later itwould come upon my men, who were totally unprepared for it. I looked for anearhole, could not find one, and with only the back of its head to shoot at feltthat I could not do it any damage. So I stood up, waist deep in the water, andyelled at it. It turned toward me, and as it did so I put two more bullets intoits left eye.Its reaction was the same as before, but much shorter in duration. Then itregained control of itself, stared balefully at me through both eyes -- the goodone and the one that had taken three bullets -- and began walking toward me,weapon in hand . . . and therein I thought I saw a way by which I might finallydisable it.I began walking backward in the water, and evidently the creature felt somedoubt about the weapon's accuracy, because it entered the water and came afterme. I stood motionless, my sights trained on the sword of heat. When thecreature was perhaps thirty yards from me, it came to a halt and raised itsweapon -- and as it did so, I fired.The sword of heat flew from the creature's hand, spraying its deadly light inall directions. Then it fell into the water, its muzzle -- if that is the rightword, and I very much suspect that it isn't --pointing at the creature. Thewater around it began boiling and hissing as steam rose, and the creaturescreeched once and sank beneath the surface of the river.It took about five minutes before [felt safe in approaching it -- after all, Ihad no idea how long it could hold its breath -- but sure enough, as I hadhoped, the beast was dead.I have never before seen anything like it, and I will be stuffing and mountingthis specimen for either the American Museum or t he Smithsonian. I'll send youa copy of my notes, and hopefully a number of photographs taken at variousstages of the post mortem examination and the mounting.I realize that I was incredibly lucky to have survived. I don't know how manymore such creatures exist here in the jungles of Cuba, but they are toomalevolent to be allowed to survive and wreak their havoc on the innocent localshere. They must be eradicated, and I know of no hunter with whom I would rathershare this expedition than yourself. I will put my gun and my men at yourdisposal, and hopefully we can rid the island of this most unlikely and lethalaberration.Yours,RooseveltLetter to Carl Akeley, hunter and taxidermist, c/o The American Museum ofNatural History, July 13, 1898:Dear Carl:Sorry to have missed you at the last annual banquet, but as you know, I've beenpreoccupied with matters here in Cuba.Allow me to ask you a purely hypothetical question: could a life form exist thathas no stomach or digestive tract? Let me further hypothesize that this lifeform ingests the blood of its prey-- other living creatures-- directly into itsveins.First, is it possible?Second, could such a form of nourishment supply sufficient energy to power abody the size of, say, a grizzly bear?I realize that you are a busy man, but while I cannot go into detail, I beg youto give these questions your most urgent attention.
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