Chapter 1
“WWJ News Radio 9.50, broadcasting live in the basement level of the Fox DBC Network building in Grand Rapids. I’m Ron Dewy, the time now is 11:50 p.m. and I’ll be staying with you all night to keep whoever may be listening with information on the devastating events that began today and continue on throughout the night. We have been taking calls from people who have access to a working phone or reside in an area of Metro-Detroit that hasn’t gone under attack. We will continue with the phones lines in a moment, but for those who are just now tuning in and aren’t exactly aware of what’s been happening these past hours, I’ll fill you in on the known details.
“This morning around 10:00 Eastern time, the country of Hungary developed a peculiar series of lightning storms, which were the first of thousands to be reported this day. Later on, around noontime, these storms spread rapidly around surrounding countries. Information came to the U.S. at 1:25 Eastern, of the severe lightning in a growing number of foreign countries, and by that time the storms had already struck across Japan, China and Russia. Over twenty more started forming above Canada at around 3:30 p.m. Major cities in America, like New York and Chicago, were also getting hit. Within a couple hours the amount of storms became staggering and so widespread that cities and towns could no longer keep count.
“At 5:38 p.m., in the small town of Port Austin, Michigan, calls swarmed the police and emergency phone lines of a giant machine that crawled out of the ground after lightning had struck. This was the first report we had recorded of a potential terrorist attack, because we later learned that most of Port Austin was left in burning ruins. Everything literally went down hill from there, ladies and gentleman. These walking machines arose all over eastern Michigan, hell, all over the entire state and the whole damn country for that matter! It is not known what they are or where they come from. Please, do not under any circumstances leave your home or place of shelter.
“We’ve heard a lot of peoples claims about these three-legged machines, and we want to continue hearing everyone’s opinions, but right now we finally got through to a researcher from Michigan State University, Dr. Will Kowalski, an astronomer and chemist who once worked for Harvard University’s ‘A Keen Eye to the Sky’ foundation.
“Dr. Kowalski, can you hear me?”
“Yes, Ron.”
“I must say, the amount of people contacting this station has been decreasing as time goes by, and it’s really, really great to hear from folks and know they can still get through to us. But today, all we’ve heard here at WWJ was opinions and information from random citizens. We haven’t been able to speak with anybody who knows what is happening, or provide some sort of explanation, at least a profession hypothesis that is. Doctor, what can you tell us?”
“Well, first of all, have you seen these things at all, Ron?”
“Yes, but only vaguely on the news late this afternoon.”
“And have you ever seen anything like them before?”
“I can‘t say I have.”
“I’ve been listening to the limited amount of radio broadcasts that remain on the air, and all day people claim its terrorists.”
“Are you saying its not?”
“People think its terrorism because they don’t know what else to think. These machines, these tripods, are unbelievably spectacular. Their size, the obviously advanced technology they posses, the way they walk and observe their surroundings... everything about them is absolutely fantastic. People who say its terrorists do not take the overwhelming details of this attack into consideration. Either they’re ignorant, or haven’t been able to view these things up close.”
“So you’re saying this is more than terrorists?”
“A lot more, Ron.”
“A declaration of war?”
“You could call it that.”
“By who? What country is declaring war against America?”
“No disrespect, Ron, but you’re sounding like the many shut-minded who are absolutely clueless as to what it is, yet the evidence is right in front of their face.”
“Elaborate for me, Doctor.”
“What country could posses technology like that we have seen before our very eyes? Remember, Ron, those tripods came up from underground, right after lightning, green lightning that is, had smacked the surface directly above them. These machines arose and attacked all over the country, and who knows how many are out there. It has to be in the thousands! What country could pull that off? None! It goes beyond our understanding. And not to mention, as you already know, these lightning storms occurred all over the world, so it’s not just our country under attack, its the entire planet.”
Both were silent for a moment.
“Do you understand what I’m saying, Ron?”
“You may continue getting to the point.”
“Incredible as it may seem, these tripods that rose out of the ground, are not of this Earth, for it is my sincere belief that these machines are the vanguard of an invading army from the planet Mars.”
More radio silence.
“Extra-terrestrials?”
“Yes, Ron. Martians, if you will.”
“What makes you think they come from Mars, Will? There is no life on Mars.”
“On the contrary, as an astronomer, I have been scrutinizing the red planet on and off for over a decade. Through photos from the Hubble Space Telescope, and the countless rovers scientists have sent to that planet, Mars appears as an orange desert with no water and no habitable atmosphere. We learned a long time ago Mars was once like Earth, and may have supported life, intelligent life at that. Of course, life on Mars was never proven, not until lately that is. You see, scientists discovered that the polar icecaps on the planets northern hemisphere contain enough oxygen and water to prolong life, whereas the rest of the planet remained an endless, barren landscape with unidentifiable vestiges of a once thriving world. Five days ago, when Earth and Mars aligned in close proximity to each other, many scientists and astronomers, including myself, could plainly identify a series of gaseous explosions erupting from the outer perimeter of the icecaps. With the events occurring today, it is my belief that those explosions were but the launch of thousands upon thousands of human sized capsules that had traveled through space to enter our atmosphere by way of lightning. It is not--”
“Hold up, Dr. Kowalski, this is getting a little to sci-fi for me. I’m sorry, but what you’re saying may not be taken well by listeners.”
“Ron, I am only speaking of what I know and what is obvious. If you’ve seen these tripods, then you know just by their unworldly form and actions that they are not of this planet.”
“These machines came out of the ground, not from the sky. Explain that.”
“True, the tripods didn’t come out of the sky today, but those capsules sure did. Every astronomer who had witnessed the icecap explosions knows this.”
“Piece it together for me.”
“I need you, and all the listeners out there to keep an open mind. The tripods must have been buried here a very long time ago, perhaps before humans ever evolved on this planet. Each capsule that launched from Mars would most likely transport a single Martian to reach our world. The lightning served as a portal, if you will, a way to pummel into the ground to get to their war machines. Perhaps the electricity provided a jump-start for these long awaiting mechanical wonders.”
“It just seems so unreal.”
“Maybe before today, but right now I can’t see any other explanation.”
“Why would a hidden race of intelligent Martians want to provoke hostility on our part?”
“As I said before, Mars is a disabled planet. The Martians, living under the icecaps, had no doubt realized that their way of life could no longer continue under such conditions, and for them to be able to thrive as a healthy and advanced race once again, they would need a habitable planet to provide the necessary resources. And what better place than Earth? We have so much water, clean air, warm temperatures, food... we live in a paradise that we take for granted. They’re in it for the taking. To sum it up a little better for you, they are the new tenants, we are the cockroaches, and they want the bugs cleaned out.”
“The time now is 12:18 a.m. I’m Ron Dewy at WWJ News Radio, 9.50, speaking with astronomer and chemist Dr. Will Kowalski from Michigan State University. He has presented us with a rather astonishing and controversial theory. As I said earlier, I will be here all night taking your calls. The phone lines will be open in a short while to continue hearing your opinions and provide any useful information. Please stand by.”
