VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED

"Let the rest of the world know that this hemisphere intends to remain master in its own house."
- John F Kennedy, President of the United States of America, inaugural address, 1961

"I want peace, but if you want war, that is your problem."
- Nikita Khrushchev, Premier of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, 1961

NOTES:
As I've noted elsewhere on this site, I first had the idea for a counterfactual, 'alternative' version of the Cuban Missile Crisis around 1998. Originally it was going to be an "Alien" story, but never got further than the first chapter. I couldn't make it work, because an alien is too much of a hot potato in terms of plotting. Too hard to contain. One rampage and it'd be over, unless I found a contrived way to avoid that. But as a "Predator" story, it seems to be working, because a Predator is more of a sentient being, capable of reason - and just not as good a killer.

The basis for the story, then and now, was a conspiracy theory that there was more to the Cuban Missile Crisis than met the eye. What if Khrushchev established missile bases on Cuba because he thought the Americans had already pre-emptively attacked the USSR with an alien, or Predator (or, in a non-fanfic version of the story I once toyed with writing, A N Other big scary beastie)? That the Soviets had nukes on Cuba for ages before the Kennedy administration made an issue of it is the only historical fact I've glossed over in this story. Indeed, all the other dates/names are genuine.

Incidentally, I gather "Voyage Of The Damned" was also the title used for a film about a boatload of Jews fleeing Nazi Germany who were turned away from British ports - but I thought it up before I found that out, so still consider myself justified to use it.