Nature's Wrath and Gluttony (Patreon)

In 1960's Japan, a governor of a small city has to contend with Godzilla himself, and find a way to save his city while sating the monster's gigantic appetite. Enjoy!

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1967, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. The Governor of Ibaraki, Ishiro Tanaka, sat in his office, staring out at the modest city skyline of Mito spreading out before his office window. He had just received a call from the Prime Minister's office in Tokyo; a worrying pattern that had not been seen in Japan for a decade was playing out across the coasts of the country. Tankers and ships were being attacked, or outright disappearing. While the first disappearance had been shortly off the coast of Tokyo, the latest was off the coast of Oarai, a small fishing village well within Tanaka's prefecture, and a mere hour's drive from his office. The government sent Tanaka a dire warning: if these disappearances meant what they did thirteen years ago, then it would mean the Ibaraki Prefecture would be invaded by a monster.

Tanaka knew in his gut what this monster wanted. Just two years ago, Ibaraki Prefecture was chosen to be the site of a state-of-the-art facility, the first of its kind in Japan: the Tokai Nuclear Power Plant. The monster that had terrorized the capital had long been suspected to be transformed, somehow, by nuclear waste from a bomb test- thus was Godzilla born. So now, the national government and the Self Defense Force was reporting to the governor that if this monster was out there, Godzilla was going to be drawn to the power plant.

The Governor was given no good options. Evacuation was foremost on his mind, but evacuating an entire city of a hundred thousand was no small task. The monster would show up within hours, no later than nightfall. There was no way that the city could be emptied in time, and Mito was nowhere near big enough to bounce back like Tokyo could- Godzilla would swallow it whole. No, wide scale evacuation wouldn't do, it was simply impossible. He stood up, pacing. There had to be a better way. He thought deeply; Godzilla, if he was coming to Mito, had to be drawn here for the power plant. For what reason? To destroy it? He prayed that was not the reason- if that were the case, Mito would never be a functioning city again, with the nuclear fallout so near. But Godzilla, at heart, was not some vengeful spirit from ancient mythology, a dragon to bear down storms on an unworthy people- he had been born of science and manmade ; he was born of nuclear waste.

The Governor snapped his fingers, struck by inspiration. Perhaps it was a mad hope, perhaps it was a desperate ploy, but he didn't have time to think of anything else. He snatched up the phone, calling the power plant's operators.

"Empty the chambers. I want our stored waste sealed in barrels and lined along the road, all the way to the coast. No questions, Operator- just do it."

That night, the horrible roar echoed across Mito. The Governor, with the local Self Defense Officers, were bunkered in his office, eyes turned to the coast line. Ripples across the bay broke as a massive, reptilian head burst through the surface- Godzilla had come. He approached towards the shoreline, dwarfing the tallest building in Mito, crushing abandoned cars underfoot. His tank-like scales were strong enough to shrug off any weapons, and the Governor had put out the order to the soldiers on the ground to stand down. There were tens moments as the great scaly monster sniffed the air, his eyes glowing in the night gloom. Then, Godzilla turned to the north, away from the city, and towards the trail the Governor had set.

"Come on… come on, you great beast. You have to eat sometime," Tanaka muttered under his breath, gripping his desk until his nails were digging into the wood.

Godzilla sniffed the air further, and began, at last, moving away from Mito. His tremendous footfalls shook the walls of the Governor's office, but the assembled men let out sighs of relief and prayers of thanks as Godzilla reached the road, scooped up a pile of nuclear waste barrels, and swallowed them whole; he had taken the bait, and was following the trail away from the city.

"Congratulations, Governor!" a Major, Koji Hamada, exclaimed. "We have saved Mito!"

"Have we?" Tanaka asked, watching Godzilla gorge himself as he lumbered further away. "Or are we only feeding a crocodile, hoping he will eat us last? I want a helicopter and scouts on him, Major- watch him carefully, but tell the men to keep their distance- do not engage the monster unless it is completely necessary."

Thankfully, there would be no need to engage Godzilla. The Tokai Power Plant, however, would need extensive repairs- but Governor Tanaka would take a few weeks of rolling blackouts over the complete destruction of his prefecture's capital. The great, dragon-like beast trudged to the nuclear power plant and proceeded to gorge himself on every bit of nuclear material in the plant. The scouts reported they had never seen anything like it, but one compared it to his family's pig farm, when the hogs and sows would be feeding. What was more remarkable was Godzilla's transformation; the towering beast of steel-like muscle and scales, with claws and fangs that could snap buildings in two, had apparently turned himself into a pampered pet overnight. He was just sitting there, lazily, on the grounds of the Tokai Power Plant, snatching up any last scraps to force down his greedy muzzle. His midsection had bloated into an enormous boulder of a soft underbelly, immense rolls of flab close to pressing down on the ground. His limbs were swaddled in fat, grown lazy and listless, his clawed fingers and toes left to slowly and limply reach out from bloated thighs as round as the power plant's coolant towers, or arms weighed down by reams of stuffed, most likely radioactive flash. Godzilla's lean, predatory face was now framed by bloated cheeks and rings of flabby extra chins. The photos put on the Governor's desk were remarkable- the bloated beast was practically unrecognizable.

"He seems to be sleeping off his meal now, sir," an aide explained.

Tanaka thinned his lips. "His appetite won't stay sated forever, and it looks like he's picked the power plant clean… if we want to keep Mito safe, then we'll need to have another meal prepared. Get me Tokyo- I want to request the Prime Minister send a message sent to our American colleagues on Okinawa. If anyone can sate a ravenous appetite for nuclear energy, let us pray it is them."