From the anthology Other Earths (DAW Books, 2009), 11 original stories about the different paths our world might take if certain events never occurred, comes Jeff VanderMeer's "The Goat Variations." It begins:
It would have been hot and humid in September in that city, and the Secret Service would have gone in first, before him, to scan for hostile minds, even though it was just a middle school in a county he'd won in the elections, far away from the fighting. He would have emerged from the third black armored vehicle, blinking and looking bewildered as he got his bearings in the sudden sunlight. His aide and the personal bodyguards, who had grown up protecting him, would have surrounded him by his first step onto the asphalt of the driveway. They would have entered the school through the front, stopping under the sign for photos and a few words with the principal, the television cameras recording it all from a safe distance.
He would already be thinking past the event, to the next, and how to prop up sagging public approval ratings, due both to the conflict and his recent "indecision," which he knew was more analogous to "sickness." He would be thinking about, or around, the secret cavern beneath the Pentagon and the pale, almost grublike face fo the adept in his tank. He would already be thinking about the machine.
I suppose I should have caught it at this point - any mention of September and "that city" in a book about how the world might have ended up if certain events hadn't occurred should naturally have perked my thoughts toward 9/11. VanderMeer doesn't take much longer in nailing that idea home for the reader and with this story, creates a fascinating and very unique take on the 9/11 story. These two paragraphs foreshadow the story very nicely. It's just one more in what is becoming a long line of work by VanderMeer that is really enjoyable and well done - what more can you ask for?
Comments