The Symbiotic Travelers Ch 6

The symbiotic Travelers

California or Bust

BADSAM

After leaving Fort Yuma, it took the two syngeneic lovers twenty days to get to San Diego, arriving on August 26, 1889. During the whole trip, Yaphet was adamant; she didn't want to stop again until they reached their final destination. Throughout the entire journey, she kept insisting, "I don't want stop until we get to San Diego."

Zlatex would answer her, "I'm with you on that Yaphet. I don't want to stop either. I'm tired of getting sidetracked and mixed up in America's wars. California is a huge state. We can travel up and down the state without anyone ever noticing that we are extraterrestrial beings who do not age."

San Diego, was the first area of California in which the Spanish settled, it has often been described as the "birthplace of California." It was established as a fort and a mission in 1769 by Spain. San Diego officially became part of the U.S. in 1848. Then when California was granted statehood in 1850, the city was named the seat of San Diego County. But the town remained a rather small metropolis for several decades. After 1880, it started to grow due to development of houses in Chula Vista and the establishment of multiple military facilities in the area.

At present the two travelers are living in Chula Vista, a suburb of San Diego, California. It is south of the city, about twelve kilometers from the central business district of downtown San Diego. The city is part of the greater San Diego metropolitan area, but it has its own local government; the Spanish originally named it Otai in 1769. Before that, it was occupied by Native American Indians for thousands of years. Around 3,000 years ago, people speaking Yuman, the language of the Quechan people, began moving into the region. The name Chula Vista can be roughly translated from Spanish as "beautiful view."

The day after they arrived, James applied for a job as a writer for the San Diego Union newspaper. He believed that he and his consort could easily get news of any pending wars faster if he were working for a newspaper. The newspaper has a direct telegraph link to the heart of San Diego's government offices, as well as links to Washington D.C., New York, New Orleans and Chicago.

When he applied for the job, he wrote on the application that he could read and write English, French, Spanish and some Latin and that he had experience with editing and publishing a newspaper as well as typesetting a printing press. He also told the man who interviewed him that he knew Morse Code. He showed him a portfolio of some newspaper clippings that he wrote. The manager hired him immediately.

One of the first things he learned while searching the archives of the newspaper for Yaphet was that France gave the Statue of Liberty to the United States on July 4, 1884. The French did it to commemorate the centennial of American independence and as a sign of the alliance between the two nations. Completion of the assembly and dedication of Lady Liberty in New York Harbor was on October 28, 1886.

It is February 16, 1898, James is working as a writer for the San Diego Union newspaper. He has been working there ever since he and Yaphet, his symbiotic equivalent have arrived in the area in August 1889. They have only had to move once since settling down in the city.

They originally rented a house in Otay Mesa, which is a county south of Chula Vista. But after living there for eight years, they moved to the Chula Vista neighborhood. They found a house where the rent was cheaper and closer to the newspaper.

But they are thinking about moving again. They are eating dinner at a local restaurant and discussing whether it is wise to remain working for the paper. This morning one of the other writers of the newspaper asked James how he managed to keep his youthful appearance. The alien just replied that he washes his face, arms and body daily using just plain water.

"Julia, I understand that the San Francisco Call is looking for writers," Zlatex says to his extraterrestrial partner, calling her by her Earthling name, since they are in a public place where someone can overhear their conversation. "I can take a train up there and talk to the managing editor. If he hires me, we can move there. What do you think?"

"I think that's great, James. When do you think you can go?"

"My vacation is coming up starting the 28th. Together, we can go to San Francisco then, and while we're visiting the city and enjoying the sites and tourist attractions of the place, I can go talk to the Call's editor and apply for a position as a writer."

"That's a wonderful idea. Maybe I can search the newspaper's archives and find out more about the history of America and the United States while we're visiting."

As soon as they got off the train in San Francisco, they rented a horse and buggy and went house hunting. Yaphet was insistent, she wanted to "live in comfort," something closer to what they had while living on Herth.

"Zlatex, I want to find a house that has electrical lighting and indoor plumbing. It's 1898, not 1766. Alexander Cummings invented the first flushable toilet in 1775. There's businesses, apartments and homes all over that have them, and I don't want to live anymore in anyplace that doesn't have electricity and a toilet that I can sit on and flush."

"OK, Yaphet. We'll look for a place..."

She interrupts him, "I know we can't get all the comforts we had while aboard the spaceship, air conditioning, radio, television, microwave oven, refrigerator, freezer, traveling in an airplane or automobile. Earthlings will eventually invent those things and other modern conveniences. But in the meantime, let's find a place that at least has electrical lighting and indoor plumbing with bathtubs and toilets."

They found a furnished two bedroom house to rent not far from the San Francisco Call office building that had everything Yaphet wanted. She was delighted beyond measure. So was her symbiotic equivalent. Although they can lock the doors of their new home, they still keep SAM, the Simplified Automatic Mainframe computer, in its chest for safety. They decided that they will continue to do this until keyboards, SPoDs, screens, printers and other computer peripherals are invented. They are hopeful that that won't be too far in the future.

James applied for a position as writer for the San Francisco Call the third day after arriving in the city. The managing editor hired him; he said that he could start the seventh of March. He also told him that Julia could search through the newspaper's archives any time she wanted to. There was a secretary who worked in that department who could help her find any article she wished to locate.

While searching through the archives, whenever Yaphet found an article that she thought Zlatex might also want to read, she would write down the date and page number of the article, so that her symbiotic lover could also read it.

Zlatex and Yaphet read about the Spanish and American War in the local newspaper. They wanted to make sure none of the battles would take place anywhere near them. If so, they would quickly move away from the skirmish to another city. They wanted to ensure for themselves that neither of them would get wounded. If the injury healed overnight, then everyone would soon discover that they are not indigenous Earthlings.

During Cuba's war for independence from Spain, there was a growing popular demand by many U.S. citizens for the American government to intervene. It became a persistent call, especially after the inexplicable sinking in the Havana harbor of the American battleship USS Maine on February 15, 1898. The outdated vessel had been sent there to protect U.S. citizens after a large anti-Spanish riot in the city.

Due to a prolonged nine year construction period, the armored cruiser USS Maine was virtually obsolete by the time it was finally completed and launched in 1889. Far more advanced crafts were either already in service or nearing final completion by that time. She was not commissioned by the Navy until September 1895.

A number of newspapers had conflicting reports about the actual sinking of the Maine. They reported that she exploded and sank on the evening of February 15, 1898, killing 260 sailors and marines, about three-fourths of her crew. Later, in 1898, a U.S. Naval board of inquiry ruled that the ship had been sunk by an external explosion from a floating mine. However, some U.S. Navy officers disagreed with the board, suggesting that the ship's magazines had been ignited by a spontaneous fire in a coal bunker.

Soon after the sinking, the United States declared war on Spain on April 25, 1898, during the Cuban struggle for its independence from Spain. Numerous Americans rallied to the cause of liberating Cuba from Spanish rule with the slogan, "Remember the Maine."

The Spanish repressive and heartless measures to halt the rebellion were graphically portrayed in many U.S. newspapers. Several sensationalistic tabloids throughout the nation engaged in "yellow journalism" in order to arouse American sympathy for the Cuban rebels.

The Battle of Manila Bay, also known as the Battle of Cavit was a crucial naval engagement in that the United States naval fleet, led by Commodore George Dewey, defeated the Spanish fleet in the Philippines on May 1, 1898, achieving a strategic victory. The battle resulted in the destruction of the Spanish armada, with minimal American casualties and it paved the way for the U.S. occupation of the Philippine islands. It also marked the end of Spanish colonial rule in the that area and manifested the effectiveness of modern naval warfare. It is sometimes seen as a turning point in the history of U.S. imperialism.

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The Battle of Cienfuegos, also known as the Raid of Cienfuegos, on May 11, 1898, was a naval conflict that exhibited the superiority of the U.S. Navy in the Caribbean Sea. Despite the losses sustained, the mission was considered a tactical success for the United States because American sailors and Marines were able to successfully severe some of the underwater telegraph cables, achieving their primary mission to hinder Spanish communication. Although the battle was not one of the major engagements of the war, it demonstrated the U.S. Navy's ability to disrupt Spanish military efforts. Cutting the cables was part of a larger naval blockade to weaken Spanish control over Cuba.

The Battle of Guantánamo Bay was an early amphibious assault that secured an American foothold in Cuba on June 6-10, 1898. It was the first overseas land engagement of the U.S. Marine Corps. The Spanish defenders were overwhelmed by the marines and forced to retreat after several clashes. The U.S. Marine and Cuban allies demonstrated effective coordination during the conflict. After the battle, the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps established a long-term presence in Guantánamo Bay.

The lengthy Siege of Santiago, from June 23 to July 17, 1898, was a prolonged engagement that led to the eventual surrender of the Spanish forces in Santiago, Cuba. It marked a crucial moment in the conflict and ultimately led to the surrender of the Spanish forces in Cuba. It also signaled the decline of Spanish colonial power in the America.

The Battle of Las Guasimas on June 24, 1898, was a skirmish that helped secure the American advance toward Santiago. The Battle of San Juan Hill was an important land battle on the island of Cuba, on July 1, 1898. It was famously led by Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt and the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry, known as the Rough Riders. Finally, the Battle of El Caney was fought on the same day as the charge up San Juan Hill, July 1, 1898. The battle proved to be crucial for the American advance into Santiago a month later.

The Battle of Santiago de Cuba was a naval engagement that took place on July 3, 1898. During the battle, the U.S. fleet destroyed the Spanish Caribbean Squadron, which then led to the eventual surrender of Santiago, Cuba.

The Battle of Puerto Rico on July 25 to August 12, 1898, was a series of skirmishes that resulted in the U.S. capture of the island.

Then in August, the Americans and Spanish began negotiations to terminate to the war. In the end, the Spanish accepted the peace terms stipulated by President William McKinley.

The hostilities formally ended on August 12, 1898; then the signing of the Treaty of Paris on December 10. In exchange for a U.S. payment of twenty million dollars, Spain gave up all its possessions in the West Indies, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines. The United States occupied Cuba but, as provided for in the Teller Amendment, did not attempt to annex the island. The amendment placed a restriction on the presence of the United States military on the island.

According to the amendment, the U.S. could not annex Cuba but would leave control of the island to its citizenry. That is, the United States would recognize Cuba as a "free and independent nation." But the United States demanded that the Spanish government remove all its land and naval forces from Cuba and the waters surrounding the island.

However, the United States would not depart from the island until it could be assured that peace would prevail. In order to insure that, the U.S. would be permitted to employ land and naval forces as necessary to complete its objective. Once peace was fully restored, the United States would relinquish authority of Cuba's government to its people.

Until then, the United States would maintain a military base in Guantánamo Bay, which is strategically located at the entrance to the Caribbean Sea and provides the U.S. with a military presence in the region. Having the U.S. military there affords immediacy to Central and South America, and allows America to monitor shipping routes, which is of significant interest for management in the Western Hemisphere.

Many U.S. lawmakers, particularly those with connections to the military, believe that Guantánamo Bay is an important advantage for defending U.S. interests in the region.

Victory in the Spanish-American War transformed the United States into to a world power. Many U.S. citizens saw the conflict as a natural part of the nation's "Manifest Destiny;" the belief that expansion of the United States was both right and inevitable.

Zlatex and Yaphet discuss between themselves whether or not the U.S. government secretly sunk the Maine in order to provoke and persuade Americans to enter Cuba's war for independence. First of all, at that time, the USS Maine was an outdated ship, an expendable pawn that could be "thrown away." Secondly, there were many Americans who wanted to make Cuba another U.S. state. Tossing a lit kerosene lamp into the coal bunker would ignite the coal, then the whole ship would explode. Once it sunk no one would be able to tell how it happened. Then a story could be leaked to the press that would make it look like the Spanish were responsible.

This barbarism would then inspire the American people to support a war with Spain.

The two symbiotic lovers come to the conclusion that such an idea, while grotesque, even fantastic, is plausible. It is a well-known fact that governments commit atrocities in order to entice and incite their citizens to war against perceived enemies. It's totally ludicrous to believe that nations have never done anything like that in the past. Then to believe that some U.S. government personnel and greedy corporate executives of munitions companies and other corporations that supply the armed forces with the things they need to go to war, are above these kinds of barbarisms is at the least naïve and gullible.

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It is Friday July 8, 1898, the sun is low in the sky, about to sink into the Pacific Ocean. Zlatex has just returned from the San Francisco Call where he works as a writer. He has news for Yaphet about the annexation of Hawaii by the United States the day before.

"Hawaii, where's that?" Yaphet asks her syngeneic consort.

"Its in the middle of the Pacific Ocean."

"You aren't suggesting we go there, are you, Zlatex?"

"No, of course not. It takes about a week sailing cooped up on a steamship to get there. I have no desire to subject us to something like that. The other crew members could very easily discover that we are not humans. Besides, it would be very hard to conceal SAM, our central processing unit.

"You're right." She pauses and then says, "For our dinner, I've cut up and boiled some potatoes to go with some pork chops that I've breaded and fried. I left the skin on the potatoes. I know you like that. Why don't you go washup and I'll put everything out on the table."

While the two aliens are eating their dinner, Zlatex tells his partner about the history of Hawaii.

The United States annexed the island of Hawaii in early July 1898. The annexation was formalized by Congress a few days later on July 7, then signed into law by President William McKinley. This led to Hawaii becoming a new U.S. territory.

On January 18, 1778, the English explorer Captain James Cook became the first European to reconnoiter the Hawaiian Islands when he sailed past the island of Oahu. After his initial landfall, Captain Cook named the islands the "Sandwich Islands," after the Earl of Sandwich. He was killed by the native Hawaiians on his third voyage into the Pacific in February 1779 in a dispute over the taking of a longboat that some natives had stolen.

Eight islands make up the island group: Hawaii is the largest. It has three active volcanoes on it. The second largest island is Maui. It is divided into two volcanic mountain ranges, the Haleakala and Maui Mountains. The third largest island, Kauai is known as the "Garden Isle;" it has lush foliage, valleys and jungles, making it home to several botanical gardens.

Oahu has the highest population in the state and is home to the majority of the residents of Hawaii. Honolulu, the state capital, is on this island. Pearl Harbor is on the Southern side of this island.

Lanai is known for the many pineapples that are grown there. Molokai has the highest percentage of native Hawaiians. It has also been called the "Friendly Isle." With a very small population, the island of Niihau has become known as the "Forbidden Isle." Finally, Kahoolawe, the smallest island is used by the United States military.

In April 1898, when war broke out with Spain, the military significance of Pearl Habor on the island of Oahu, became apparent. The naval base was an intermediary port to the Spanish Philippine islands. President William McKinley signed a joint resolution annexing the islands, much like the manner in which Texas joined the Union in 1845.

The annexation of Hawaii was not only important militarily it was also valuable economically to American business. But Queen Liliʻuokalani stood in the way.

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The United States acquired a strong toehold in Hawaii as a result of the sugar trade. The U.S. government provided liberal terms to the Hawaiian sugar growers, and after the American Civil War, profits began to increase. The sugar industry grew significantly, with American planters investing heavily in Hawaiian agriculture. A turning point in the Hawaiian and U.S. relations arose when Congress approved the Tarriff Act of 1890, which raised import rates on foreign sugar. Hawaiian sugar planters were then being undersold in the American market.

In 1887, members of the Reform Party of Hawaii imposed a new constitution limiting the monarch's constitutional power. The sugar growers, mostly white Americans, knew that if Hawaii were annexed by the United States, the tariff problem would then disappear. However, the Hawaiian throne was passed to Queen Liliʻuokalani, who believed that the heart of Hawaii's problems was foreign interference.