In “R Is for Rocket,” a collection of science fiction short stories by Ray Bradbury (1920-2012), there is a tale called “The Fog Horn.”

It tells the story of a massive creature emerging from the farthest depths of the vast ocean.

Believing the sound of a lighthouse’s foghorn to be the call of its own kind, a surviving dinosaur comes seeking a companion. The creature, presumably a million years old, is suggested to be the last of its kind.

What might it be thinking as it approaches? The author’s haunting question resonates deeply. What would it be like to go through “the million years of waiting alone, for someone to come back who never came back”?

On April 21, 1934, exactly 90 years ago today, a photograph appeared in a British newspaper. It depicted something with a long neck serenely swimming on the water’s surface.

It was alleged to be the first photograph of “Nessie,” a large, aquatic, mythical creature that some people believed inhabited Loch Ness in Scotland.

Nearly a century has passed and, scientifically, the theory that Nessie could be a surviving dinosaur has been deemed impossible.

The photograph in question was later revealed to be a hoax. The perpetrators themselves admitted that it is actually an image of a plastic-and-wooden head attached to a toy submarine.

Yet, the search for Nessie has not ceased. Just last year, one of the largest searches to date was conducted.

Why are so many people captivated by tales of monsters? John Steinbeck (1902-1968), a titan of American literature, once wrote, “An ocean without its unnamed monsters would be like a completely dreamless sleep.”

Given the choice between a world where Nessie’s existence is definitively disproved and disbelieved, and another where belief in the possibility of monsters lurking somewhere remains, which would you prefer to inhabit?

--The Asahi Shimbun, April 21

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.