The Symbiotic Travelers Ch 07

The symbiotic Travelers

The Wars of

the Worlds

BADSAM

It is June 29, 1914, Zlatex comes home from where he has been working as a writer for the Sacramento Bee newspaper since 1899. Yaphet is in the kitchen fixing some peach cobbler, one of his favorite desserts. He gives her a sad frown. They hug and kiss. After they break the lip lock, she wipes some flour residue off his shirt. His arms are still around her waist with his hands in the small of her back, holding her tightly.

She gives him a cheerful smile and says, "The hardware store that I sell my wicker baskets to have sold all the ones that I made. They want me to make ten more of them. The proprietor even gave me an advance payment so that I could purchase the young willow branches that I use to weave the baskets. I'm so excited about it."

"That's good; I'm happy for you, Yaphet. But I have some depressing news."

"What's that my love." She leans back putting her hands on his shoulders, giving him a puzzled look.

"Yesterday Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the presumptive heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife Sophie, the Duchess of Hohenberg, were assassinated by a Serbian Nationalist during an official visit to the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo. The assassinator was a Bosnian Serb student."

Zlatex pauses and takes a sheet of paper from his pocket. "I wrote down some of the more important particulars for us as it came over the wire to the newspaper. Later we can enter the information into SAM."

He begins to read aloud for his symbiotic partner, "They were riding in their open-topped automobile through the streets of Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was formally annexed by the Austria-Hungary Empire in 1908. They were shot at close range while being driven through the city. There was an assassination team that was helped by the Black Hand, a secret Serbian Nationalist group of individuals."

"Oh! That's terrible," Yaphet quips.

"There's more. At 10:10 am, as Archduke Ferdinand's car with a folded back convertible cover approached, a bomb was thrown at the car the imperial couple were riding in. But the bomb bounced off the open sports car into the street. The bomb exploded under the next car in the motorcade. The procession continued. After the first assassination attempt had been unsuccessful, a few minutes later an assassin stepped up to the footboard of the car and shot Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie at point blank range with a pistol. The royal couple were dead by 11:30 a.m."

"You said that it was a group of men that did this," Yaphet asks.

"Yes, the Black Hand was responsible for the assassination. They are a Serbian separatist group of terrorists. The organization was committed to freeing Bosnia from Austrian occupation and incorporating it into Serbia."

"Terrorists are fools," Yaphet exclaims. "They believe that their actions are holy and righteous. They think that their deeds will accomplish victory and bring about peace. But their pursuits only bring about death and destruction. They cause more harm than good."

"It's worse than that," Zlatex adds. "Because many of Europe's national leaders believe the Serbian government was behind the murders, there's talk of war between several countries in Europe. Luckily, it won't involve the United States. At least, it looks that way so far."

"What are we going to do if there is war and America joins it? I mean the government may ask for volunteers and you could get caught up..."

"Yaphet! I'm surprised you would ask such a question," he interrupts his counterpart. I'm never going to go to war. If I got shot, then everyone would immediately find out that we are not human; we're alien beings. There is no telling what would become of us if that happened."

"That's not what I meant, Zlatex. I mean, if numerous European countries begin fighting and the United States joins them, then there's no place we can go. What should we do?"

"I don't know Yaphet," her syngeneic lover answers. "If the U.S. government calls for enlistments, maybe I'll be able to get some kind of deferment. Working at all the different newspapers that I have over all the years we've been living here, I've gotten quite good at producing documents that are actually forgeries."

"Yeah, those embossed birth certificates and marriage certificates that you made for us when we arrived here in Sacramento are excellent. A person would have to actually examine them with a magnifying glass to perceive that they are not genuine," Yaphet responds.

"Right! No one really looks hard at those. So, let's just wait and see what happens and then we'll make some kind of decision."

World War I, also known as the Great War and the "War to End All Wars," started on July 28, 1914, just one month after the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie. But the war had been brewing for several years prior to the assassination. The murder of this imperial husband and wife was just the match that lit the fuse.

It arose mainly from a confrontation between two alliances. On one side was the Triple Alliance, consisting of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria. On the other side was the Triple Entente, which was made up of the United Kingdom, France, Russia, Italy and later the United States. All the Triple Entente members entered the war as Allied Powers against the Central Powers.

As the world entered the 20th century, there was an arms race which began among the European nations, mainly over the number of each country's warships, and the enlarged size of their armies. Warships increased in size, the number of guns on each vessel, their speed, the method of propulsion, and the improved quality of their armor. Governments also began to prepare more and more of their young men for combat.

By 1914, Germany had almost one hundred warships and two million soldiers and sailors ready for war. Great Britain also increased the size of its navy during this time period. Further, in Germany and in Russia, the military began to have a greater influence on governmental and public policy. It was this increase in militarism that eventually drove the nations to war. The assassination just ignited it.

When Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, claiming it was responsible for the assassination of the Archduke, Russia got involved to defend Serbia, also because of its interest in the Balkan region as well as its desire to gain a military advantage over the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. The Russian Tzar had the support of the President of France, although France was only peripherally involved. When Russia mobilized its army against Austria-Hungary, Germany declared war on Russia and France. Germany then invaded France by running its armies through Belgium.

The Ottoman navy had plans to provoke the Russian navy into attacking their two German warships. In order to do this, on October 19, 1914, they carried out naval maneuvers near the Russian navy. But the commander of the two German ships attacked the Russian coast. Although the Ottoman Empire denounced the assault, blaming it on the German commander of the vessels, on November 2, 1914, Russia still declared war on the Ottoman Empire. Three days later, the French and the British also declared war on the Empire, which then declared war against France, Russia and the United Kingdom.

Bulgaria entered World War I on the side of the Central Powers in an attempt to regain territories it lost earlier in its conflict with Serbia and Greece.

The British had naval and military agreements with France and came to the defense of the country when German troops marched across its borders. Great Britain declared war on Germany and then Turkey joined the Central Powers.

Of course, France was drawn into the conflict after Germany crossed its border line to attack it. Then Germany, after seeing that Russia had mobilized, declared war on Russia.

Although Japan was allied with the English, it went to war in order to obtain economic gains. The Japanese Empire seized upon the prospect to enlarge its influence in the East, particularly in China, while also gaining recognition as a significant power in any postwar geopolitics.

Italy, although it had treaties with both Austria-Hungary and Germany, entered the war on the side of the Allies in 1915.

On May 7, 1915, the British passenger liner, the RMS Lusitania, was torpedoed by the German U-boat, U-20. At that time, she was off the southern coast of Ireland, near the Old Head of Kinsale, transporting munitions from the United States to England. These ordnances ignited a second explosion inside the ship, causing her to sink in about eighteen minutes; nearly 1200 men, women and children died, including 128 Americans. The sinking turned public opinion in America against the Central Powers, particularly Germany. It also contributed to United States entering the Great War two years later.

There were several factors that contributed to America entering the War to End

All Wars, besides the sinking of the Lusitania.

First of all, was Germany's unrestricted submarine warfare and its policy of sinking any vessel in the Atlantic without warning. The United States had compelling financial interests with the Allies and their victory was necessary for American economic stability. The United States also had strong cultural ties with France and the United Kingdom, the latter, using propaganda helped biased American public opinion against Germany. Finally, on January 17, 1917, British intelligence intercepted a secret diplomatic communiqué, known the Zimmerman Telegram, that proposed an alliance between Mexico and Germany, if the U.S. entered the war against the Central Powers. In the message, Germany promised to help Mexico regain Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.

But most importantly, there was the desire of the U.S. government to assert itself as a world superpower with the ability to promote worldwide democracy. After breaking off diplomatic relations with Germany, the United States was inevitably pushed toward war. President Woodrow Wilson, using his authority as commander in chief, in March 1917, ordered the arming of U.S. merchant ships, ostensibly so that they could defend themselves against more U-boat attacks.

Between March 16th and 18th German subs sank three more American merchant ships, causing the deaths of numerous U.S. merchant marines. The President, with the support of his Cabinet, the propaganda in many newspapers and a majority of public opinion, made the decision on March 20th for the United States to declare war on Germany.

Then on April 6, 1917, the United States Congress declared war on Germany and America entered the conflict more than two and a half years, 34 months, after the Great War began in Europe, in Wilson's words "to make the world safe for democracy."

One year later, just a few months before the Great War was declared over, on April 21, 1918, Baron Manfred von Richthofen, known as the Red Baron, due to his noble status as a baron was shot down near Vaux-sur-Somme in France while flying in his Fokker Dr.I triplane, a red three wing aircraft. It was his distinctive red triplane that became iconic and helped cement his legendary status. He had 80 confirmed aerial victories, making him the top scoring ace fighter pilot of World War I. Two theories exist as to how he was eventually shot down. One says that it was by an Australian ground crew shooting at him as he flew by. The other by the Canadian pilot Captain Arthur Roy Brown in a dogfight, an aerial combat between the two opposing pilots.

By contrast, Eddie Rickenbacker, the top American World War I flying ace, was only officially credited with shooting down 22 enemy airplanes during his service.

After heavy losses on both sides in the trench warfare, the Allies were overwhelmingly victorious. The War to End All Wars ended on Armistice Day, November 11, 1918. The Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919; it took effect on January 10, 1920. The Allied triumph over the Central Powers led to the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman and German Empires as well as the end of the Russian Empire.

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The origins of World War I were the imperialism of the empires, the mutual defense alliances among the nations involved, the increased militarism of these same nations and their desire to ascend to positions of international dominance. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, was the shot that started it all.

The War to End all Wars saw a drastic change in warfare. Armies no longer engaged in any type of hand-to-hand combat with swords and spears or just standing and shooting at each other from a distance with bows and arrows or flintlock muskets. Technology, chemical weapons and the birth of advanced weaponry had become the "tools of war." Millions of people had died and another twenty million were injured, some maimed for life. The face of war would never be the same.

During the Bolshevik Revolution, the Czar Nicholas II, his wife, Empress Alexandra and their five children, Olga age 22, Tatiana age 21, Maria age 19, Anastasia age 17 and only son Alex age 13, - each sibling just an innocent victim - were all unceremoniously executed by firing squad on July 17, 1918, a few months before the Great War ended.

Vladimir Lenin led the October Revolution which established a socialist state. His government consolidated power under the Communist Party. He was a Marxist but his changes to the ideology are called Leninism. He was the leader of the Soviet Union until his death in 1924.

Joseph Stalin was the leader of the Communist Party from 1924 until his death in 1953. He initiated the Great Purge, where he executed those who he perceived to be his enemies. Under his orders, over twenty million men, women and children were sent to Gulag labor camps in Siberia, resulting in millions of deaths.

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It is the evening of the 20th of January 1919. Yaphet and Zlatex moved back to New Orleans two years ago. After living in Sacramento for several years, they figured it was time to move on before anyone discovered that they do not age. They discussed between themselves where they wanted to move. Yaphet wanted to return to the Queen of the South; she loves the Crescent City and Mardi Gras.

The two extraterrestrials reminisce about going to their first Mardi Gras in Mobile in 1703, the capital of Louisiana at that time. Then reading newspaper articles about the Mardi Gras parades in

La Nouvelle Orléans

after that. Although the first documented Mardi Gras parade in the Big Easy wasn't held until 1837, while they were living in Texas. Yaphet reminds her consort that Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville set up camp along the Mississippi River near present day New Orleans. He named the spot "Pointe du Mardi Gras" because it was the eve of the festive season in France.

James is working as a writer for the New Orleans Item newspaper; it is his second year on the job. He has just come home from work. They have rented a house near the corner of South Claiborne, where it crosses South Carrolton. Julia is "keeping house" and reading about the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which was made into law on January 16, 1919, ushering in Prohibition.

"Want a glass of wine?" she asks her alien counterpart after he enters the living room and falls exhausted onto the sofa.

"No thanks, my love. All I want is a hug and a kiss. Come here."

After they break their embrace, she asks, "Are you sure you don't want to break the law and drink some wine? We could add another crime to our resumé." She smiles mischievously.

"Yaphet, I've told you before, it's not against the law for us to live here."

"Yes, it is my darling. We're illegal aliens because we were not born here in America, and we are not registered as such with the government. Therefore, we are illegal aliens." She continues to give him an impish look.

Zlatex smiles and answers his syngeneic equivalent, "But we are not that kind of alien, Yaphet. We are not from Australia, Canada, India, Italy, Mexico, Venezuela or some other foreign nation. We are from the planet Herth which is 4.24 light years away from here." He returns her playful smile with a patronizing smirk of his own.

The syngeneic being then wraps his arms around his extraterrestrial consort and kisses her hotly on her mouth; their tongues entwine. He reaches down, groping her buttocks and pulls her into himself. She shoves her hand into his trousers and wraps her fingers around his manhood. Within minutes they are both completely naked. When they break the lip lock, she begs him to spank her ass until her flesh is red and stinging and her face is streaked with her tears. After beating her with his belt, they make passionate love.

The National Prohibition Act, known informally as the Volstead Act, after the House Judiciary chairman who managed the legislation, launched the prohibition of alcoholic beverages. Influence for the bill came mainly from the Temperance Movement, a social crusade that promoted complete abstinence or at least temperance in the consumption of intoxicating liquors. Its adherents emphasized the negative effects of alcohol on a person's health, their mental state, their personality and their family's wellbeing. They also advocated for the education of the effects of alcoholic drinks, especially for teenagers, and demanded the passage of laws against the distilling of whiskey, beer and wine.

The Anti-Saloon League, the Women's Christian Temperance and the Prohibition Party were the main supporters for the law, which banned the production, transportation, importation and sale of all alcoholic liquors.

Many of the organized efforts that supported prohibition involved religious coalitions that linked alcohol consumption to immorality, dishonesty and the criminal element. It saw the rise of bootlegging, speakeasies and the illegitimate importation of alcoholic drinks through Canada. Around the nation many illegal distilling operations burgeoned, some openly in plain view of law enforcement officers.

Prohibition also saw the rise of organized crime bosses; men such as Al "Scarface" Capone, Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, Charles "Lucky" Luciano, George "Bugs" Moran, Meyer Lansky, George "Machine Gun" Kelly, Frank Costello, George "Baby Face" Nelson, John Herbert Dillinger and Bonnie Parker & Clyde Barrow and many others. They all used prohibition to enhance and broaden their criminal careers and lawlessness.

Finally, after fourteen years, Americans increasingly began to understand that prohibition was not only unenforceable it was also aiding the crime element. On February 20, 1933, Congress proposed the 21st Amendment. It was ratified by the requisite number of states on December 5, 1933. The 21st Amendment ended Prohibition.

But in the midst of this crime wave was the Great Depression. It was a worldwide economic recession that lasted from 1929 to 1939. It saw bank and business failures around the world with high rates of unemployment and poverty all coupled with reductions in production, trade and the Wall Street stock market crash of October 1929, which marked the beginning of the Depression. The United States, Great Britain and Germany were the countries that were mostly affected with unemployment.

It was eventually the mobilization of industry for World War II that helped bring the world out of the Depression. World War II, also called the Second World War, lasted from September 1, 1939, with the Third Reich's invasion of Poland, and ended on September 2, 1945, when the Japanese surrendered. Like World War I, it was an international conflict between two major coalitions, the Axis and the Allied Powers. Again, nearly all the world's great sovereignties participated in the hostilities. Again, those involved invested all their energies as well as their available economic, industrial and scientific abilities in the interest of total war against their enemies. The distinction between civilian and military resources frequently became imprecise and often obscured.