"Few recognized the warnings I gave, and yet now many have come true. Humankind is destroying the world. I predicted this, I foresaw the dirtying of the atmosphere and the poisoning of the seas, the death of crops and the spread of disease. Nobody appreciated the powers I had fashioned within myself — born of a melding of pure science and pure magic, the unsullied potential of nature realized at last — and yet the fear I instilled in people is still there.
"It is time for that fear to be turned back upon the world. It is time for me to take action, where governments have not.
"In recent days the world has seen its purest and most natural inhabitants return to their rightful homes. I brought them here, and soon I will introduce more. The world is about to change. I am proud to be the originator of the glorious new age that will arise, an age where myth again becomes reality, and the earth itself will be renewed and refreshed by its new inhabitants and rulers. These are creatures that love their home. A dragon will not dump toxic waste in deep caves. A troll will never rape the land of oil and minerals. A rukh will respect the air, not pollute it.
"I demand nothing, because justice will arise as a natural consequence of my actions. I do not want for anything, because I have the whole new world at my fingertips. This is simply a warning and a plea. The warning is that these creatures, newly returned from Memory and angry at their timeless incarceration, will be untamable and invincible. It is a wild, wild world that the sun will rise on tomorrow, but one that will last forever. Today the earth started getting better. The plea is simply this: let me finish what I have started. Fighting against me will lengthen the process of transition, and each day that fight continues will cost the lives of many more. People will die, and that is a sad truth of todays destiny, but it is all for the good. Throw away your guns, deny your governments, and this war will be brief and targeted. Some of those who die will deserve it; others may not. But I hope that the casualties will be light in comparison with what my victory will give: a new world that can breathe; a place where your children can live in hope, not fear; and, eventually, a humanity that stops eating itself and the planet it calls home.
"This is not revenge. I am not mad. I am simply saving the world. I don't ask for or expect your thanks, but I hope that in the future you will see that I was right.
"If governments had acted on my advice twenty-five years ago — instead of murdering my wife, sending me into hiding, and shattering any hopes my experiments may have raised — this violent transition would not have been necessary.
"Whatever happens over the next few days is not my fault."
* * *
Heathrow Airport, London, England — 1997
"IT'S GETTING WORSE," Tom Manning said. His voice crackling over the speakerphone was tired and jaded, and to Hellboy it sounded as though he'd already given up.
"What's happened?" Liz asked. "What have we missed?"
There was nothing for a while, and Liz glanced at Hellboy. He shrugged, smiled, tried to make light of something that was feeling heavier all the time. He had never felt so helpless. Every time he heard about another cryptid sighting, he wanted to jet off and sort it out, but he couldn't be everywhere at once. It was tearing him apart.
"Well, to start with, Kate was right. It is Benedict Blake. He issued a statement two hours ago, and it's set the media alight. Everyone wants to know who Benedict Blake is, and everyone wants to know whether his claims are true, and who's to blame, and what we're going to do about it."
" 'We' meaning ... ?" Hellboy asked.
"The United States. He claims his wife was killed by the government, and there are a dozen countries — the U.K. included — demanding the truth."
"And the truth is?"
"Hellboy, Kate told you what she thought, and I'm with her. But right now blame will get us nowhere. While the governments fight it out, we have to find Blake and stop whatever it is he has planned."