A Dinner of the Wars

Chapter 1

On the first of March in 1987 nine men received invitations to a dinner party in New Orleans at the Gracey Manor hosted by Betty White. Now these men were not sure as to why they were invited but it would be rude to not attend. They were instructed to be there on May 4th at 10:00.

It was a dark and stormy night when they arrived at the manor. They all arrived separately except for three. The first to arrive was the trio, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and John Williams, they had pregamed at the local club with vodka cranes. Next arrived Harry Truman and shortly after Dr. J. Robert Oppenhiemer. Truman and Oppenhiemer have notoriously not gotten along after disagreements and regarded each other with disdain. Ronald Reagan arrived followed by Richard Nixon and minutes later Lyndon B. Johnson. The last to arrive was Mikahail Gorbachev. The gentleman all observed each other with curiosity, for why would someone invite them to a dinner together. They waited on the porch for many minutes barely protected from the rain when all of a sudden lightning lit up the sky and a large crack of thunder was heard. The men were startled as they looked out at the front lawn of the manor. It didn't appear to be well maintained with overgrown weeds, broken pieces of concrete that if they had looked closer they would have realized were headstones, and the large black metal fence and concrete pillars were crumbling and rusted. When they turned back around to the manor the looming front door was open. They all looked at each other not knowing if they should enter when John Williams took charge and strode in quickly followed by the rest. It was eerily light by candles and cobweb covered chandeliers. The candles all of a sudden began to burn brighter and their attention was brought to the middle of the two large staircases and their mysterious guest was revealed. Betty White stood there with a flute of champagne, "Welcome gentlemen," she said, " I hope you're all hungry. My staff has designed a perfectly curated dinner for you all." She descended the stairs and walked through the middle of them down the long dark hallway. After many twists and turns they found themselves in a grand ballroom with a large table in the middle. She took a seat at the head of the table and gestured for them to sit down. "I hope you don't mind. I have assigned you all the seats, so you can just find your place card and take a seat, the first course should be out shortly". As the men found their seats many were displeased. Truman was placed next to Oppenheimer and Eisenhower. Oppenheimer and Truman had a conversation following the dropping of the Atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Oppenhiemer felt guilty for his involvement in it while Truman disagreed and claimed it was the right decision and his decision. Truman and Eisenhower had a strained relationship due to differences in political ideals and while cordial with each other, sitting together at a dinner was not their idea of a good time. Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and John Willams were all placed together which they were happy about. Lucas and Williams next to each other and Spielberg across from them. The most upset pair was Richard Nixon and Johnson. They had a notoriously sour relationship after Nixon sabotaged the Vietnam War peace talks. Gorbachev and Reagan were seated next to each and were pleased by this as they were close acquaintances. As they were waiting for their first course George spoke to Nixon and Eisenhower about the influence the Vietnam War had on Star Wars. He discussed the parallels of how a global superpower was being opposed by a smaller rebel force. He also discusses with Oppenheimer the allusions to nuclear warfare in his movies and universe. That the Death Star was an imitation of the fear Americans lived in of a Russian space station that would have the power to destroy them. Steven Spielberg discussed with the men who had been presidents during the Cold War and Gorbachev how his movie Jurassic Park had been commentary on global capitalism and how during the Cold War the US wanted to spread it. His movie criticized it and how it can be taken too far and not thought through. The first course was served, a delicious French onion soup, then the second course, filet mignon with asparagus and mashed potatoes, and before dessert was served they were given glasses of wine and a cheese plate was placed in the center. Betty excused herself, " I'll be right back gentlemen, I just have to take care of something. I'll be back shortly, and enjoy the wine and cheese." Fifteen minutes passed and the men began to grow anxious. Steven announced he would go look for her. He returned minutes later flushed and out of breath as if he had been running, " Come quick," he said, " she's been murdered...