Prominent Citizens of Behemoth
......Tobias "Jester" Horton, born of a Scottish Noblewoman and a mysterious father (referred to only as "my dearest Z" in his mother's diaries) who purportedly died of "an overabundance of wanderlust" before his birth, was a man of his times, and certainly the most enterprising of Behemoth's early citizens. His influence on the Town Council and early Mayors is visible yet today. His designs are responsible for the infamous Pentagram District of Downtown Behemoth, Coralshell Dam, the Blasted Maze of Brannington Park, as well as the Twenty-Three Towers of Liberty, a still-popular walking tour of Greater Behemoth. He built Behemoth's first Post Office, and founded the Leviathan Taxi Cab company, among other still-extant ventures.City Directory......Horton first arrived in Behemoth in October 1866, still recovering from an undisclosed wound recieved in the Second Battle of Bull Run. Whether he fought for the Union or the Confederacy is still a matter of controversy, as "T. Horton" appears on the list of wounded for both sides. That the wound was caused by a wooden stake piercing his breast has never been satisfactorily confirmed.
......In any case, Horton quickly proved a resourceful and able businessman. By December, the Horton Dance Hall and Opera House was open for business, the bulk of which was gambling, despite the terpsichorean influence. By March of the next year he had sold his interest in the Hall to new investors (who promptly renamed the establishment the Malice and Dark Oriental Opera House and Salon, only to have it burn to the ground six weeks later in the middle of a rainstorm), and used the profits to begin the Jester Distillery and Brew-Ha-Hall. This was a pattern he would repeat well into the next century, winding up rich more often than not.
.....He was fond of saying, "My first fortune, I spent on women. I lost my second on drink, so that I could forget the women."* Luckily for Horton, the fortunes kept being made. His 1890's expeditions to the Nile Valley were paid entirely by personal check, and open free of charge to any Behemoth Citizen who could show sufficient "rugged-ness, savvy, and bear-mindedness." By all accounts, it was on one of those trips that "Jester" acquired the priceless Eye of Atreides, as well as his manservant, Jericho.
......The true extent of Horton's dealings with the Freemasons may never be known. Obscure, also, are his early years and education. Clearly, the man was gifted with a magnetic personality and charm to spare, but what made him hire a brass band to perform Wagner Operas on his lawn every January Fifth? Why did he paint the walls of his mansion magenta after every U.S. Presedential Election? It is impossible to attribute these actions to senility, as Horton's business decisions continued to be shrewd until the very end of his life. Were they elaborate jokes? An attempt to live up to his old nickname? Or perhaps part of a larger pattern that only a man who had straddled centuries and continents could appreciate? The legacy and legend of Tobias Horton has yet to be fully appreciated, even in this modern age.
......The rumours concerning his psychic abilities and invulnerability to pistol shot are largely unfounded.
......The following is excerpted with permission from the Miss Thrash entry in The Encyclopaedia Behemoth-mechanica: Rock and Roll in the City of Strange Shoulders, edited by Jeremy K. Hilter, 1988:City Directory
......Hey...what can you say? The Mistress of Pain-ger, the sweetest voice ever made of broken glass, the brightest star in the twisted constellation that was Behemoth's late, lamented punk scene. But who cares these days? Sure she had the credentials, sure her mom gave birth to her in a rainstorm on the anniversary of Janet Dalyrample's classic wedding night freak-out, sure the cows gave purple milk for three days, all that, all that, all that, but didn't she leave us man? Didn't she turn her back on the Big Pig? Oh, you can piss all you want, but it won't get her reputation wet in this cat's eyes.......Jeremy K. Hilter disappeared on August 24, 1990, El-fish still spinning on his turntable. His family would appreciate any information as to his whereabouts.......Wasn't there anything anyone could have done to keep this mean miss-diva on the stage? When she got back from her London studies (Philology and History at Oxford thanks to Dad's death and a brain that could start fires just by looking at a complex problem, natch) Punk music was already a burning comet on the American Flag, but this chick made it home grown and real, right there in the Jasper Room...were you there, man? Did you have your eardrums roto-rootered and floor-waxed every night by this dark banshee from near and far? Every show was a literal scream, and the Jasper Room transformed the West Side as little Suzy Thrash transfixed the Jasper Room. Live performance was never so blatantly brilliant. Why'd we let her get away? What'd we miss that sucked her out the door and into nevermore?
......It wasn't money, that's a good god-damn bet. If Miss Thrash wanted a new drummer, she got him. If she wanted more lights, she got 'em. If she wanted her fans to scrape a certain symbol on the doors of their houses at midnight, she got it. And when the record companies came calling and had their brains scraped out of their skulls by her performance, she wouldn't record unless they built her a studio on the exact location she wanted. They did it, and then the rest of the nation got clued into our gory glory secret girl; Punk Flamingos was the first long-playing wreckord from Thrash Studios and it made a mint. It was followed in bright succession by ProtoMartyr, Panacea Humidor, El-fish (with the infamous banned-in-Memphis cover art), and Bring Me The Head of E.T. Was that first album the best? Hell, no! But times being what they were, and people being who they are, well...
......It's fair to say that Miss Thrash burned herself out trying to inject a little bit of common sense into the crass system of Behemoth and greater America. And did we ever get to know the little girl who was trapped in those caves when she was twelve and came out speaking of goblins and mushrooms? Probably not. Miss Thrash threw her education and soul into the music, not her secrets. When she announced that her work was done, most people missed the Christological reference and said good riddance to great rubbish. Those lonely few of us who remembered the thrill of the darkened Jasper room could only paint our eyelids black and spin around a few times to the strains of "Miss Me Yet?": Can't stand your torture life or gasoline death?/ Giva-giva-give the old ones a call/ Miss me yet?...
......October 31st, 1901:Peter C. Heide is born on Ellis Island, New York.
......December 25th, 1905: The Heide family arrives in Behemoth. They find lodging in Little Berlin. One sister dies in the Blizzard of '05.
......March 17th, 1910: Salvator Invigliore and Gerhardt Nacht join forces to bring a protection racket to Little Berlin. They lean on the Heides' garment shop for ten percent of the gross. Young Peter vows revenge and is beaten senseless by his father, who advocates appeasement.
......September 1st, 1913: Peter is a numbers runner for the Nacht Mob. He also dabbles in petty larceny, vandalism and alchemy.
......November 24th, 1915: Peter is picked up on a weapons charge. It is the first and only time he will be taken into custody by the police. He is released into the care of his parents. The Invigliore Gang reward him for keeping his mouth shut.
......February 2nd, 1916: Peter, now known as "The Rock", disappears for close to six weeks. When he returns, it is said that his feet no longer touch the ground. His close friend Nicky "Cheese" Chesori later confided that "The Rock" claimed visions had led him on a pilgrimage.
......June 14th, 1917: With war in Europe the uneasy alliances in Behemoth's underground are shaken. Peter makes his first hit, strangling Rudolph Pfetzer with piano wire.
......1918-1922: The Rock's uncanny silence and grace make him the city's most popular killer. Profits from bootlegging alcohol make an all-out war between rival gangs inevitable. Heide goes to work in earnest, slaying 25 German mobsters after their New Year's Celebration. He uses only a saxophone, a can of motor oil and two oranges.
......July 4th, 1922: Peter switches allegiances in the Gang War. No longer working for the Italians, he is no longer called The Rock and vows to never have a nickname again. Herr Nacht, racked with gout, claims that Peter worked for him all along. Thirty Invigliore lieutenants die from chopstick wounds.
......February 14th, 1923: Peter refuses to hit an Invigliore Underboss gathering, saying only that his time had not yet come.
...... May 12th, 1923: Don Invigliore and his two sons disappear from a moving train in broad daylight. Herr Nacht takes over the city in the confusion. Peter feeds Nacht his own hat and coat. The Invigliores return and congratulate Peter. He bludgeons them with an artichoke, then finishes them off with ping-pong balls. At age 22, he is the undisputed criminal lord of Behemoth.
...... May 24 th,1929: Peter is named Behemoth's most popular citizen for the fourth year in a row. He donates to many charities, finances urban renewal and visits his mother every Wednesday. He is one of Tobias Horton's close confidants. He has the ear of the Mayor, as well. In a box.
...... August 13th, 1933: The end of Prohibition forces Peter to legitimize much of his organization. His warehouses, trucks and labor are directed towards construction sites. Much of outer Behemoth's Horton Novis look is due to his plans.
......1934-1944: Peter expands his influence, stays under J. Edgar Hoover's radar and gets rich. Lavish parties are thrown. Beautiful people flock to Behemoth. Peter never marries. His enemies disappear. His friends prosper. A movie is made of his life, but he dislikes it and has every print burned.
......1945-1948: Peter spends much of his fortune constructing the massive Wotan Tower, his "legacy to the City". Its architects are plagued by bad dreams. Other setbacks include heavy floods and a rain of frogs in 1946. Peter perseveres, but loses control of his other interests.
......October 31st, 1948: Peter C. Heide leaps from the top of the Wotan Tower, holding a bottle of whiskey in his right hand and a snowglobe in his left. The body is damaged beyond recognition and his mother authorizes a closed casket. The entire City attends his funeral.
City DirectoryIn February of 1966, the body of Margaret Haines was found in a washroom on Langley Street. Behemoth's Daily Mirror reported the homicide as "bizarre" and "ambitious". The Behemoth Chronicle called it "derivative" but added that its composition and fetishes showed some promise. The same killer struck again two weeks later, then again two days after that. Two more bodies were found in the following fortnight. The victims were both men and women, from varying backgrounds. Public outcry resulted in a new Police Commissioner and the arrest of Darren Miguez, a street artist living in Little Berlin. The following is excerpted from an interview that ran in The New Jacksonian. ......Q: You do know that you're accused of five murders.
......A: I'm not accused, I'm accursed. "R" is the most significant letter in the English language.......Q: What does that mean?
......A: For you, I cannot say. For me, it lends a certain poignance to dance hall songs... Behemoth has no "r".......Q: Is that why you came here?
......A: I've always been here.......Q: Metaphorically?
......A: Yes, and physically. I was born in the Water Tower on a hot night in June. My mother wore red. So did I.......Q: But there's no record of that.
......A: No. Things burn, like time.......Q: Did you ever burn a victim?
......A: .........Q: Right. What is your profession?
......A: Peacemaker. Gerry-rigger. Keeper of the Water Tower. Grail Knight. What else?......Q: So, you are not "the mighty Beast, Cleanser Jack, he who washes with the blood of the lamb and delights in the sufferings of young Goethe"?
......A: Sounds like something written on butcher paper with a quill pen and sent to the police wrapped around an occultishly significant organ. Nothing to do with me.......Q: It seems your style.
......A: I know which way the wind is blowing. I have heard the mighty whispers at dawn. I dream in a maelstrom of confused and screaming futures. But I'm not unique. Anyone can write like the Worm.......Q: Have you killed?
......A: Killers are an ending. I would never be an ending. I have been arrested and indicted because of my continual motion towards a greater goal. I'm a creator.......Q: What is it you create?
......A: Fear.... I'm an absolute symbol of fear. I'm anxiety, tension and queasiness. That's why I'm imprisoned, that's why I'm innocent, and that's why I will be found guilty. The Bogieman doesn't need to kill. He needs to be a martyr.
Three days before his trial, Miguez complained of severe stomache cramps and would not leave his cell. When the prison doctor arrived, the cell was empty. A search was immediately launched, but no trace of the so-called Behemoth Mangler was ever found. He may still be at large.
......Under Construction while we work out the tenses.City Directory
Back to Behemoth© 1996 Mark Anthony Masterson
The address to write to is casey_j@whittier.edu
