Part One: Subterra

scene 01

1:16 am
Saturday, March 27, 2004
Top-Secret Underground Laboratories
Utah, USA

Ethan was a truly fortunate engineer, having access to all the latest laboratory technologies, as well as the most high-tech computer systems and CAD programs available. Not to mention the very advanced particle physics simulator where he tested out his theories on particle acceleration. On top of that, he got a fat paycheck from the government for his work on a new, very deadly particle beam. So, what was he doing while working late this night, with such vast amounts of technology at his grasp? He was playing solitaire.

Ethan leaned back in his chair, stretching while he watched the victory screen of his fifth win of the night. He felt victorious in more ways than one. After 13 long months of development, Ethan had finally finished a working prototype for the particle beam he was creating for the U.S. military. He was even working on particle tank designs in his spare time. He felt confident in his service to his country, since the particle beam would surely become the most powerful weapon in the world, second only to the atomic bomb. However, the particle beam would give the U.S. a monopoly on ground forces warfare. Ethan wished he had a wife, a fiance, or a girlfriend who he could celebrate with, but he was painfully single. He did have a crush on the black-haired, blue-eyed bio-engineer he saw every day on his way to work, but she had a ring. All the cute ones are taken, as it goes in Utah.

Getting up from his chair, Ethan's legs ached from unuse as he stretched them for the first time in hours. He hobbled out of the computer lab toward the vending machine down the hall. On his way, he passed by the large laboratory where his prototype beam was. He stopped for a second to look at his baby, a very large, twenty-five-foot-long cylinder which was pointed at a very sturdy blast wall made of the most durable alloys known to mankind. Ethan loved the feeling of the shockwaves emitted when the beam was shot; it created a buzz and slight numbness that would last for about a minute. As he looked in, Ethan noticed that the control console for the beam had been left on.

"I'll shut it off after I grab some grub," Ethan said to himself before continuing his journey to the vending machine.

Ethan's favorite snack was the strawberry gummy snacks, but they hadn't been working all night for some reason. Determined, he decided to try again. After inserting his coins, Ethan automatically began hitting the machine and cursing. However, he kept his cursing light ("gosh-damn" was as hard as he went) because he was a Mormon who was trying to stay temple-ready, in case he ever met a girl and decided to get married on a whim. After delivering a swift, sharp blow to the machine that hurt his hand, Ethan was overjoyed to see the coil around the stawberry gummies turn like an ancient machine that had become operable after centuries of unuse. Ethan could almost see the dust fall off of it.

Just as Ethan's beloved gummies were about to fall into his grasp, the lights in the corridor went out, and the machine stopped.

"GOSH-DAMMIT!!!" Ethan's cry echoed thru the blackened corridor.

Ethan waited for the red emergency lights to come on before he continued striking and cursing at the machine. As he unleashed fury on the machine, he wondered why they were experiencing a power-outage. The power systems of the underground laboratories were the most secure in the country. Ethan was just glad he wasn't in the middle of an experiment. Backing up, Ethan kicked the machine, knocking the bag of gummies out of the coil that held it bound, and he lept for joy.

"That's right, sucka!!!" he gloated to the machine. "Give me my freakin' gummies!"

As he bent over to retrieve the spoils of his victory over the vending machine, Ethan was startled when the emergency alarms sounded.

"Red Alert! We are having a Red Alert!" the intercom blaired. "There is an intruder in the facilities! All personnel must evacuate immediately! I repeat, there is an intruder ... "

In the midst of his panic, Ethan abandoned his gummies and started running down the corridor.

"Evacuate, evacuate ... " Ethan said to himself. "Where am I supposed to evacuate to? This laboratory is a labyrinth!"

Ethan didn't know where he was running, he just ran. He searched the walls for some sort of evacuation map, but he was unsuccessful. All he did in his panicked state was get himself more lost in the twisting corridors. As he proceeded deeper and deeper into the underground maze, he found himself in more natural corridors, with stone walls instead of metal.

"I've never been here before," Ethan said to himself. "I didn't know there were natural caverns down here."

He turned around, trying to retrace his steps, but Ethan was so lost he didn't know where "back" was.

"Hello!" Ethan hollared, his voice echoing thru the caverns. "I'm lost!!! Is anybody there?!!"

Silence was Ethan's only answer.

"Maybe they caught the intruder by now," Ethan said to himself wishingly.

Just as he said this Ethan turned a corner and tripped on something. As he hit the floor on his hands and knees, he saw a bloody mess of dead sentries that filled the length of the corridor before him. His stomach turned as his eyes took in the sight. The sentries were not only dead, but they had been brutally slaughtered. Many of them were missing limbs, others were disemboweled, and a couple were cut in half. It looked like they had been killed by someone with a sword.

"Oh ... my ... God ... " Ethan said. He gagged, almost vomitting, but he got to his feet and started running the other way.

"Dear Heavenly Father," Ethan prayed aloud as he ran frantically. "I'm sorry for taking your name in vain! Please save my life! Please deliver me out of this! Please, please, please don't let me die! Please bless the sentries that they will be able to stop the intruder! Please bless them with strength that they may be able to stop whoever has done this! Please bless me and guide me to safety!"

Just as he spoke this last sentence, he ran past an open door and stopped. Backing up to the doorway, he peered in. Beyond the doorway was an anteroom that led to a large, thick security door which was wide open.

"Thank you, Lord!" Ethan said. "I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen!"

Passing thru the anteroom, Ethan grabbed the security door and pulled it closed. When the heavy door was closed all the way, the automatic lock fastened, and Ethan let out a sigh of relief. Wiping the sweat off of his forehead, Ethan walked over to the large table that was in the middle of the room and sat down on one of the chairs. His body was shaking with adrenaline as he slowed his breathing, trying to calm himself down.

As he began to calm down, Ethan looked up at the large sheets of paper that were on the table, his curiosity not calming down in the emergency state.

"Hmmm," Ethan said. "Those must be the blueprints for the observatory they're building on the surface. Wow, that's a huge telescope. They must be looking at distant star systems with that titanic thing. What the ... "

As he looked closer, Ethan noticed that the designs for the "telescope" looked suprisingly similar to the designs for his prototype particle beam. He looked thru the papers for a detail for the "telescope", and he soon found it.

"Oh my goodness ... " Ethan said as he examined the designs. "They've taken my concepts and expanded on them! This thing could probably destroy the moon! I wonder why they're building a large land cannon in the middle of Utah. Maybe they're gonna use it to destroy satellites, or nuclear warheads. Altho this thing could destroy a lot more than satellites and warheads."

Suddenly, Ethan felt a shiver run up his spine as he felt a presence behind him.

"Oh no," Ethan whispered. He didn't have time to turn around before his blood was splattered all over the blueprints that covered the table.

scene 02

Mary was frustrated. The human skin cells she cloned the night before were dead, a disgusting shrivelled mess in the petri dishes in front of her. What is it with skin, she thought. In the 13 months since she started working in the government-funded underground laboratory, she had successfully cloned cells for the heart, liver, lungs, kidneys, and every other human organ. But her attempts to clone skin were all failures. That's it, she thought. I need some emotional support.

Taking her cell phone out of her pocket, Mary dialed her husband's cell phone. Setting it to her ear, she waited as it rang.

"Hey, Honey! What's up? --- Oh, nothing. I'm just frustrated because my skin is dying again. -(laughs)- No, the skin that I'm trying to clone. --- Well, yeah, I used my skin for the sample. -(laughs)- You're so sweet! --- No, I don't think my skin will start dying. At least I hope not! So how are you doing? --- Oh that's cool. --- Oh? Well he'd better talk to his bishop right away! -(laughs)- Yeah. Well I'm gonna eat something and head home. Do you want me to wait up for you? --- Are you sure? I was thinking ... you know ... -(laughs)- Okay, well don't say I never offered! Maybe we can have a little morning treat before we go to work tomorrow. -(laughs)- Alright. --- Alright. --- Well, I'll see you later then. --- Alright, have fun! Seeya, Sweety. I love you! -(laughs)- Alright. Seeya. --- Alright, bye. --- No, you hang up! --- You hang up! --- Alright, we'll both hang up on the count of three. One ... two ... three ... --- You didn't hang up! --- Alright, for real this time! One ... two ... three!"

Mary hung up the phone, instantly dialing her friend, an engineer working in a different part of the underground laboratory. She held the phone to her ear as she dumped the dead skin cells in the incinerator, placing the petri dishes in the antibiotic solution bath to soak. She spoke as she walked to the cafeteria.

"Hey, Gwenna! What's up? --- Yeah, I'm just frustrated because my skin is dying again. -(laughs)- No, the skin I'm attempting to clone. --- Yeah, I think it has something to do with the cell membranes. I need to check over my notes on the heart cells I cloned. Those were the hardest ones to clone, so maybe I had an epiphone that I forgot about. --- No, they have other bio-engineers working on bones, muscles, and all that. --- No, we aren't cloning whole humans, just parts of them. It's so people can have organ transplants and tissue reconstruction and stuff like that. --- No! It's for ethical transplantation. Besides, if they cloned a whole human it wouldn't have a spirit anyway. --- No, they clone cows and chickens for that! --- Gross! Whatever! So, how's your operation going? Have you been able to establish a secure electromagnetic connection yet? --- Wow, that's cool! Except I don't know if I'd want to stick a needle in myself just to power my palmtop computer! I'd rather just buy batteries! --- Alright, well I'm gonna grab something to eat in the cafeteria and then head home. --- Alright, well I'll talk to you tomorrow. Bye!"

Mary hung up her phone just as she entered the cafeteria.

"Hey, Rodrigo!" Mary called to the cook as she crossed the cafeteria.

"Hola, Maria!" Rodrigo replied. "Como esta?"

"Bien!" Mary called back. "How are the hotdogs?"

"Old!" Rodrigo replied.

"Okay," Mary said as she approached the serving area. "I think I'll have a hamburger."

"How's your husband?" Rodrigo said as he pulled a hamburger out of the warmer, placing it on the grill and sprinkling some seasoning on it.

"He's good," Mary said as she began gathering up ketchup and mayonnaise packets. "He's working late tonight, training an intern, so I'll be going home by myself tonight."

"You're gonna be all alone?" Rodrigo said as he flipped Mary's burger.

"Yeah, but this is Utah, so I'll be alright," Mary said with a laugh.

"I guess," Rodrigo said. "But you never know. I know Utah seems friendly in front, but who knows what creeps are running the show."

"Yeah, I guess you never know," Mary said. "Oh, and put some french fries on there, too."

"Yes, ma'am!" Rodrigo said as he placed Mary's burger on a bun, placing the hamburger on a tray and piling on some french fries. "There you go! Enjoy!"

"Thanks!" Mary said, dropping the ketchup and mayonnaise packets on her tray and bringing it to one of the tables. Sitting down, she emptied the ketchup and mayonnaise into a pile, mixing it together with the hardest french fry she could find. Taking four french fries altogether, Mary dipped them generously in the ketchup-mayonnaise mixture, bringing them to her open mouth. Mary was startled when all the lights went out, and she pressed the french fries into her cheek.

"Oh crap!" Mary exclaimed in the dark, and Rodrigo laughed.

When the red emergency lights came on, Mary grabbed a napkin and started wiping her face off.

"What happened?" Rodrigo called from the serving area. "Does this mean we get to go home?"

"Not until after I eat!" Mary said, re-dipping her french fries and shoving them in her mouth. She began stuffing her french fries in her mouth and taking big bites of her hamburger, just in case.

"I'm scared, Maria!" Rodrigo joked. "Will you hold me?"

"Hello! Married!" Mary said with a full mouth, holding her left hand in the air and showing off her ring.

"Friends hold eachother!" Rodrigo said.

Mary choked on her food when the alarms sounded. Getting up from her chair, she began hitting herself in the stomach. Rodrigo hopped over his counter and ran to her aid, giving her the heimlich maneuver and dislodging the piece of burger that threatened her life.

"Thanks, Rodrigo!" Mary said. "You can let go of me now!"

"Are you sure you're still not choking?" Rodrigo said.

"No, but you will be if you don't let me go!" Mary said.

"Okay," Rodrigo said, taking his arms off of her. "Your husband, is he a violent man?"

"Yes," Mary said. "He's a taurus, which makes him insanely jealous."

"Red Alert!" the intercom announced. "We are having a Red Alert! There is an intruder in the facilities! All personnel must evacuate immediately! I repeat, there is an intruder in the facilities!"

"I guess we get to go home then," Rodrigo said. "Do you know where we are supposed to go in an evacuation?"

"Yes!" Mary said proudly. "I actually pay attention during the monthly meetings. Follow me."

"I'll follow you to the ends of the earth, Maria!" Rodrigo said.

Mary shot a sharp glance back at Rodrigo.

"That is, until we're evacuated," Rodrigo added.

Mary led Rodrigo out of the cafeteria and started down the corridor.

"Good thing you came to eat," Rodrigo said as he kept up with Mary's rapid, determined pace. "If you didn't, I would probably get lost and end up getting killed."

"Well, things happen the way they are meant to," Mary said. "We should be getting close to a ladder that leads to higher levels."

"I wonder if this is just a drill," Rodrigo said. "Why would someone break into a laboratory?"

"Corporate espionage probably," Mary replied.

"Corporations have spies?" Rodrigo said. "Well, I bet everyone has spies these days. Whatever you have to do to make the dinero, I guess."

"There's the ladder!" Mary said.

She started running for the ladder, and Rodrigo followed her. When she was about thirty feet away, she got a feeling and stopped. Rodrigo kept running.

"Andele, Maria!" Rodrigo said. "Why are you stopping?"

Just then, Rodrigo stopped dead in his tracks. He was staring down a corridor that Mary couldn't see, and his entire body began to tremble.

"What is it, Rodrigo?" Mary called.

"El Diablo!" Rodrigo called, a second before he was grabbed by an unseen person and pulled into the corridor, out of Mary's sight. Mary stood in horror as she heard Rodrigo's painful screams, accompanied by the jarring sounds of cracking bones and ripping flesh, followed by the sound of Rodrigo's blood splashing on the floor. Mary's motionless body was jolted into motion when she saw a pool of Rodrigo's blood creep out from around the corner.

Mary didn't know where she was running, but her legs were moving. She made her way thru corridors, around corners, and thru doors. Since the evacuation route was blocked by "El Diablo", Mary didn't know where she could escape to. As she ran, she noticed that she passed a Restricted Area sign.

When Mary stopped to catch her breath, she noticed that she was in a laboratory that she had never seen before. There were many liquid stasis tanks, like the ones she used to hold her cloned organs in, but they were much larger.

"Oh no," Mary said. "I hope this isn't what I think it is." Then she screamed.

In one of the stasis tanks, she saw what looked like a human fetus. It appeared to be inside of an artificial uterus.

"This can't be ... " Mary studdered, her words shaking. "This can't be ... "

As she walked thru the lab, Mary saw more human figures in the stasis tanks, getting larger with each one she saw.

"This can't be real," Mary said, holding her stomach. "They've been using my studies ... This can't be ... " Then she screamed again.

In the back of the lab was an observation box, inside which was an adult woman, naked, strapped to a chair with scores of wires sticking out of her body. Or at least it looked like a human. Mary approached the box with shaking legs. She felt like she was going to throw up. The "human" strapped to the chair was hairless, and her skin was deathly pale. Mary felt very uneasy in its presence.

Next to the observation box was a panel of what looked like electrical guages. Then it struck Mary's mind.

"They're cloning humans so they can use them as sources of electricity," Mary said. "Like in the Matrix. How horrible!"

Then Mary's eye saw something reflected on the glass of the observation box, and her body surged with fear. She started to turn around, catching the sight of a tall, dark figure in the corner of her eye, but her head was cut off before she could see who or what it was.

scene 03
Colin was tired, and he wanted to go home, but he had to teach Joe, the new intern, how to archive digital video files on the laboratory database. Joe seemed like a nice guy, but Colin didn't like how open-minded he was.

"Did you know that the endowment ceremony you go thru in the temple is just a copy of the Freemason temple ceremony?" Joe said, sitting back in his chair. "Joseph Smith, Hyrem Smith, and Brigham Young were all Freemasons."

"Well ... " Colin replied, trying to come up with a retort. "That's just because the Freemason ceremonies go back to Solomon's temple, which is the same place where our temple ceremonies came from."

"Oh yeah," Joe said, unfaltered. "Did you know that the Mormon church and the Jehovah's Witnesses were started by the same group?"

"Whatever," Colin said. "Where did you hear that?"

"I read about it on David Icke's website," Joe said.

"Yeah, well," Colin replied. "David Icke is a crackpot! I bet he takes LSD and comes up with all that stuff."

"Sure," Joe said. "LSD isn't that far from LDS."

"Hey, man!" Colin said, perturbed. "Why did you join the Mormon church in the first place?"

"So I could get better tuition rates at BYU," Joe said casually. "And also because they pretty much isolate you here in Utah if you're not a Mormon. It's pretty much 'Join Us or Die' here."

"Whatever," Colin said. "You're going to Hell."

"That's the good thing about Mormonism," Joe said. "Even the lowest kingdom is heavenly. I'm shooting for the middle kingdom myself."

"Well, good for you," Colin said. "I need to show you how to date and label video files for the archives. Every video file is categorized by date, of course, but also by which lab the video is from, who was performing the lab work, and what type of lab work it was. There are codes for each type of lab work, and you can refer to your code book ... "

"Did you know that Joseph Smith wasn't martyred?" Joe said, ignoring Colin's instructions. "He actually died in a gunfight. Him and Hyrum both had guns. That whole 'I'm a lamb going to the slaughter' thing in the Doctrine and Covenants was all bullshit."

"Hey!" Colin said. "I'm glad you're a sinner and that works for you, but I don't want to hear every lie that Satan puts into the hearts of wicked men, okay?"

Colin's cell phone rang, and he gladly answered it.

"Hello? --- Nothing, really. What's up with you? --- Oh no. I guess I'll get some lotion. Very strong lotion. --- Oh. Good. Did you use your skin, or the skin you so painfully scraped off of me? --- Okay, so the cloned skin must be soft and beautiful. --- Wait, is your skin gonna start deteriorating also? --- I'm doing suuuper. Just training the new intern. Or, trying to. --- I'm not sure about 'cool.' He's trying to deconvert me with anti-Mormon propaganda. --- He'll probably try to deconvert his bishop, too. --- No. I think this is gonna take a while. Joe's already behind on his training modules. --- Alright Joe, we're outta here! Let's shut everything down! Actually, I'll probably get demoted if I don't shove something into this guy's head. --- I'll get the whipped cream. You get the oreos. --- Or fudge bars if you prefer those. --- Or maybe you could grab something from the cafeteria. --- I guess so. Maybe Joe will run out of propaganda soon. --- I love you, too. Oh, not you, Joe! --- Alright, seeya. --- Alright, bye ... are you gonna hang up? --- No, you hang up! --- You hang up! --- Alright. One ... two ... three ... --- I thought you were gonna hang up! --- Okay. One ... two ... three!"

"Was that your wife?" Joe asked.

"Yeah," Colin said.

"How long have you