The Invisible Menace

"The Invisible Menace" is a short story by British-born author William Meikle.
==Synopsis==
In 1955, a group of British scientists are inspired by the film The War of the Worlds to create a magnetic field generator capable of defending against intercontinental ballistic missiles- or at least make the Soviets believe that it will. Unluckily for the people of London, its activation opens a gateway to another dimension through which a colossal, invisible, insect-like creature emerges and begins laying waste to the historical city.
The scientists are a quick-thinking bunch however, and manage to devise a plan involving reversing the magnetism of the field, which sends the beast back home and closes the gateway to its dimension permanently.
==Characters==
*The Unnamed Narrator, project leader of the Rocket Research Group, a government think-tank. Referred to as "Prof" by Thornton.
*George Thornton, a junior engineer on the project.
*The Minister of Defence, a cabinet member in charge of the project.
==Publication History==
"The Invisible Menace" has been published in the following collections of Meikle's own works:
*B.E.M. (2016)
*Home From the Sea: Tales of Lovecraftian Terror (2017)
*Nursery: Three Tales of Weird Science (2020)
==Trivia==
*Despite not containing any direct references to the mythos or any of Lovecraft’s work, Meikle's inclusion of "The Invisible Menace" in Home From the Sea: Tales of Lovecraftian Terror indicates that he believes it to be in the spirit of these stories, even if it is not materially connected. Additionally, the theme of unseen creatures from another dimension may be considered somewhat Lovecraftian, in the tradition of stories such as "From Beyond".
*Prof, Thornton and the the Rocket Research Group appear in another of Meikle's Mythos-inspired works, "Amoeboid".
Category:William Meikle works
Category:Expanded Mythos Works