Before the Underworld 3: Questions

“Doc, can he still be revived?” Taylor, long platinum hair swept back, her sexy figure cleansed of blood and gore, sporting in what looked like a skin diver’s suit with exposed cleavage and navel.
“I’m sorry, Taylor. The creature had tore off his vital organs; it must have been famished when you fought them. Marten is beyond regeneration”, the white haired, lab-coated, 50 something woman with round gold ringed glasses intoned evenly. Taylor sobbed. The doctor-scientist placed a wrinkled hand on her shoulder, “I’m sorry”, she said, as her whimpers echoed in the antiseptic smelling metal hallway illumined by white overhead flat lights.
“Is this our only life, Doc? We fight and die to protect humans from monsters they don’t even know live among them? Don’t we too deserve a normal, ‘human life’?”
“You want an answer?” the doctor eyed Taylor steadily.
“Yes”, Taylor had stopped crying.
“Since time immemorial, monsters have preyed on innocent humans. You have seen them. Fought them, killed them. Where are they from? They are from other star systems, evolving from alien cells, some sentient, some no. Such creatures could not develop space travel, for they fed on each other.”
“How then did they come to earth?”
“Their seed-cells were carried by the debris blasted from their planets when their suns went supernova. They’re like cockroaches; they survived the thermonuclear explosion, the vacuum of space, hitching a ride on comets and meteorites that unfortunately, crashed into our atmosphere. The ancients believed comets brought bad luck, because they did. They brought the seed-cells of these monsters, which, adapting to our climate and chemicals in nature, have managed to change to human form, and need human blood and organs to sustain that form.
“Where did our technology come from? How did I get my abilities?”
“Your upgrades, our technology, was handed to us by the Atlanteans.”

“You mean Plato’s Atlanteans?” Taylor raised an eyebrow, incredulous at this reference to the legend.
“Yes, but not exactly. You see, it takes an ideal and utopian human-like society to make space level technology without destroying themselves in the process, before their home sun goes supernova. Plato described Atlantis as a city in the middle of the present day Atlantic, citizen-ed by an advanced civilization. It is in fact a large spaceship-city, whose dome could origami-open upon arriving on human habitable planets like ours”, a bearded fellow scientist passed them by, smiling.

“And they traded with the ancient Greeks.”

“They mingled with them. But their main purpose was to safeguard human societies from monsters from space. You might’ve read the Greek myths filled with demigods slaying dragons and monsters. They are actually eyewitness accounts of humans watching feats of strength and superhuman abilities, plus their tech-weapons, of the upgraded Atlanteans waging war on alien predators. Eventually, their mother ship had to leave for other destinations, so a few Atlanteans were left to guard humans from the creatures. Somehow, the fiends were able to infect the human gene pool, hence, every once in a while a monster is born after generations of humans, and they’ve learned to prey in the underworld, avoiding human detection. The last surviving Atlanteans made contact with modern humans, thus, the Center was born. They bequeathed to this Center the science in making upgraded humans and clones, bred in our labs to be Protector Humans, carrying Atlantean DNA. However, Atlanteans, whose evolution was different from ours, cannot interbreed with us. So their DNA is artificially bonded with human DNA. You are among the first hybrids produced by this Center, however, we could not duplicate your abilities with the other fighters. Your quick healing, and fighting skills have so far been perfected in you.
“Marten…” Taylor became downcast.
“If it is of any comfort, dead comrades can be re-cloned. Come with me”, the old woman tagged her along, surprising Taylor with her irresistible pull. The blast proof steel doors slid aside with a whoosh, bathing them with a golden glow from the inside. They walked through a long room rowed with cylindrical holding tanks, and inside them, were naked but battle fit men and women in suspended animation, reserves for the underworld fighting force. Taylor never knew this before, in her years of fighting for the Center, posing as ordinary humans in almost every major city in the globe.
“Marten’s bio-chronometer had informed us he’s already KIA. Here is his replacement”, the Doc brought her before an exact replica of Marten, down to his Josh Hartnet crew cut and lips, “He is almost near vivification. He will be prepped, trained, and be ready for action as your new partner within a month or so”, the Doc said with a grin.
“Will he remember me?” Taylor asked, as she viewed the naked body that had so beguiled her, but whose former owner’s mind she loved.
“No, We can’t download past memories from old clones.” Then, Taylor stiffened. Marten’s clone’s eyes opened, winked at her and closed. However, a smirk remained on his playful lips. Taylor remained calm, staring at his floating form.
“Doc, are there any Atlanteans left?”
“That, child, I can’t answer, I suspect High Command’s got a few of them left, what with sightings of space craft every once and a while. I guess they check on us every once and a while, the others. Meanwhile, rest. Tomorrow, we send you back to the Philippines. The creature had been spotted in Manila. Your knowledge of Tagalog will be of good use there. See you later”, with that, she left Taylor to her own wonderings.

Taylor can’t help being excited. That smirk her new partner had a while ago was the same expression Marten had before they made love.