**The current year is 1905. Only mention events up to around 1910.** "Uninvited guests" from Mars. Tripods: The Martian equivalent of a Gundam. They appear in an angular form with legs attached directly to the sides of the hull. Cannons and bullets are ineffective against them. Later, battleships managed to destroy two Tripods with heavy shelling when they appeared to intercept ships attempting to escape by sea, but that was only two. They use lasers and lethal poison gas as weapons; the lasers possess devastating power, incinerating anyone hit instantly. As the Tripods destroy major cities like Liverpool, London, and Manchester, Britain faces near-total collapse. Red weeds begin to grow from the ground due to the gas spread by the Martians; these grow over buildings like vines and make farming impossible. By altering Earth's environment, the post-war world is transformed into an alien landscape filled with red light and constant thunder. Humanity barely survives amidst chronic famine and a plummeting birth rate. However, the story ends on a hopeful note, showing the alien plants dying off and the clouds that covered the sky throughout the war finally clearing.