-------------------------------------------------- Part 1 - Protect Atlantis and Conquer the Alliance -------------------------------------------------- The Iron Savior is a gigantic vessel in the orbit of the planet Earth. It is controlled by an immortal human brain - the bio-unit - which is hooked to a mighty computer system that carries out its orders and controls the vessel's daily routine. The Iron Savior was built and designed by the ancient civilisation of Atlantis to defend themselves against the deadly threat of the so-called Alliance. Except the lost continent of Atlantis, all land was controlled and dominated by this global force. In these parts of the world the moral evolution took a different path. Gaining ultimate power was their only focus. Ruled by pure egotism, where killing and betraying were legal methods to achieve welfare, this civilisation never developed a social spirit. To care and provide for themselves as well as possible was their only existing law. For milleniums the balance of power between Atlantis and the Alliance made war useless since the Atlantian weapon technology was more developed. But suddenly this balance was about to change and an alliance attack on Atlantis seemed to become possible. In this situation Atlantis developed a global defence project based on a huge vessel in earth orbit, the Iron Savior. Equipped with the latest technology and enormous fire power this project was supposed to regain the old balance of power again. But then the dream of a peaceful coexistance was broken. A traitor sold the secret codes to the Alliance. With these codes the Alliance managed to paralyse the Savior's bio-unit and to take control over the computer. In a devestating assault the defender turned into a dreadful assailant and the moon colony of Atlantis was turned to dust. But the war was not lost yet. A brave landing team managed to board the Iron Savior and to regain control. In a race against time they sent the vessel out into space to make a second misuse of the Alliance impossible. They programmed a course that should bring the Savior back to the solar system 350,000 years later in the hope, that the conflict will be resolved and earth would be united. For those men it was a final journey of no return. Before they died out in the cold a prime directive for all actions was programmed into the computer systems in case the Alliance would still exist: Protect Atlantis and Conquer the Alliance. This directive could only be deactivated by the proper Atlantean security code sequences. But it was already too late to stop the war. In grim and rage the Alliance pushed their buttons and in a final atomic strike Atlantis was destroyed completely and was lost in the seas forever. But the rest of the world also was effected by this catastrophe. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, atomic fall-out and dramatic changes in climate turned earth into a living hell. Those who survived, slowly, from generation to generation, degenerated more and more. Finally evolution was thrown back into the stone age where the dawning of another mankind began. Now in the year 2108 the Iron Savior returns to Earth and is confronted with a scenario where the civilisation of Atlantis no longer exists. All attempts to contact possible survivers failed. The bio-unit is still paralysed and unable to make decisions. So the computer still in charge draws the fatal conclusion that Atlantis was destroyed by the Alliance who still exists and rules the planet. With the logic of a lifeless machine the Iron Savior carries out its prime directive: Protect Atlantis and Conquer the Alliance. -------------------- Part 2 - Coming Home -------------------- It is the year 2110. For about two years now, Earth has been threatened by war. Almost the entire planet is controlled by the lifeless invasion troops of the Iron Savior. Only a small group of people managed to hide in the former Earth Defense Headquarters located under the everlasting ice of Greenland. This cell of resistance feverishly researches everything possible to find a way to defeat the merciless machine in the orbit. Somehow its origin seems to be linked to the myth of Atlantis... Meanwhile, on the distant planet of Caldaris, a deep space signal of the Iron Savior was received. The Calderans - who are the heirs of Atlantis - left the dying earth just before it was destroyed and after decades in space finally founded a new civilisation - the world of Caldaris. But this all happened 350,000 years ago and during the millenia the Calderans forgot about their origin. Only myths and legends gave evidence of the lost Kingdom. Thousands of expeditions returned to Caldaris from their quest of the old world without a clue. But now the transmission of the Iron Savior in the language of the old give the Calderans the most precise hint throughout their entire history. A huge fleet is leaving Caldaris to investigate the source of the transmission. Maybe this time their quest will end and the Calderans are coming home ... -------------------- Part 3 - Unification -------------------- In the year 2110, Earth is controlled by the Iron Savior. The gigantic machine (built in Atlantis to defend the lost continent against its enemies, the so- called Alliance) is still mistaken. The computer analysis still identifies man as the destroyer of Atlantis. So it continues to carry out the prime directive: Protect Atlantis and conquer the Alliance. On Earth, only a few people managed to hide from the bloodhounds of the Savior in the former Earth Defence Headquarters (E.D.H.) underneath the everlasting ice of Greenland. The machine, from the very first moment of its arrival, was transmitting signals directly to the Atlantic Ocean, North Africa, South America and the Easter islands. This behaviour led some people to the "theory of Atlantis". And, in fact, after a major search for anything related to the old myth, some artifacts were found on the Azores and on the Easter islands. The dig on the Easter islands uncovered something like the entrance to an ancient structure of unknown purpose. Shielded and protected by force fields of unknown sources, the station couldn't be entered by anybody yet. But all of a sudden another transmission - similar to the Savior's transmission but yet different - was detected. Sensors indicated that the source must be located right in the heart of the ancient structure. The attempts to enter the station made the last Atlantean on earth awake from his 300,000 year stasis sleep. The "Sleeper" was the last member alive of the Atlantean Iron Savior Defense program. But when he transmitted the secret codes to direct the controls of the Savior to his station, something unexpected happened. The computer unit refused to obey his command. It almost appeared to him as if the unit was conscious - with a will of its own, just like an organic life form. The awakening of the Sleeper and the contact with the last Atlantean on earth brought a lot of clarity and turned the "theory of Atlantis" into a hard fact. On the other hand, the situation did not change at all since the machine seemed to disobey the orders of its creators. The only chance to free mankind from the Savior was to awake the Bio-unit. But even the possibility of that seemed doubtful if the robot had indeed developed a consciousness and now acted like a being, with emotions and the hunger for power. It was very likely that the computer would also disobey the orders of the Bio-unit. So the Savior had to be defeated or destroyed, which at that time seemed to be impossible. In this situation, a big fleet of alien vessels enters the solar system. They have come from the distant planet of Caldaris to investigate the transmission of the Iron Savior. The Calderans are the ancestors of the Atlantean fugitives. Their forefathers left the dying civilization of Atlantis to find a new home in the vastness of space. But over the millennia they forgot about their origin and the Old World became a myth of legends and tales. The Calderans had never given up the search, although thousands of expeditions returned to Caldaris without a clue. But this time they have reached their final destiny. Together with the Sleeper, mankind is able to make contact and explain the fatal mistake of the Savior. So now, with the unexpected help from the stars, Earth will fight the final battle and it seems that the Savior will be defeated. And the time of unification for all of mankind is about to come. -------------------------- Part 4 - I've Been to Hell -------------------------- It is the year 2134. 24 years ago, mankind and Calderans defeated the Iron Savior. The ancient machine left the solar system and vanished into deep space. Today mankind and Caldarins live unified on Earth, and are growing together more and more. The Caldarins shared their knowledge and technical development, so deep space travel has become quite normal for man. It was also this year that a small vessel on its way to Earth disappeared mysteriously without any trace. A bigger "starbird class" cruiser was sent out to investigate this matter. The crew detected a small but fast-growing abnormality 6.8 light-years away from the solar system. Two weeks later the distortion was as big as the planet Jupiter and a stationary research center was established. It seemed that inside the abnormality, space and even time itself were somehow contorted, not following any known laws of physics of our continuum. A theory that the abnormality might be something like a gate to multiple strings of time or even multiple continuums was developed. But suddenly a huge fleet of alien vessels emerged from the phenomenon. Without any attempt at communication, they opened fire on the research center and destroyed it completely. The gateway theory was proved to be right. A violent species of predators with the ability to manipulate time and the continuum burst into the hemisphere of man and Calderans, sending out their greetings with deadly fire. They call themselves the Masters of Time... --------------------- Part 5 - Dark Assault --------------------- Over 30 years have passed since the Iron Savior was defeated, and humans and Calderans have finally united. Both worlds, Earth and Caldaris, have been living in brothership ever since. Within the "Federation of Atlantis", humans and Calderans have grown together more and more. But these golden decades were ended abruptly when space and time were ripped apart and a gateway opened its mouth between the dimensions like the Jaws of Hell. A violent and highly aggressive species emerged from the gate. This was the day when the Shadow came. The Shadow came from another dimension, a different universe where after millions of years no other species existed any more. Since ancient times, they have moved from one world to another draining all resources and energy and leaving behind cold and lifeless matter, wasteland and exploited planets. And so the universe of the Shadow has become a universe of everlasting darkness where night has fallen for eternity. The Shadow were doomed to die, but they developed technology to travel into different dimensions and realities in order to search new hunting grounds. Thus they are expanding their Empire of Darkness more and more as they have done for millions of years. This gateway brought the Shadow into the hemisphere of man, into a virgin and unspoilt universe with all its resources to exploit. And so the black army of the Shadow intruded into our world, merciless and cruel like deadly predators on the hunt for prey. Desperately man tries to fight back and stop the Shadow, but it seems to be impossible... Far away from all this, the Iron Savior is drifting alone in deep space. After the Iron Savior was defeated by man, the bio-unit desperately tried to regain control over the machine. But the artificial intelligence of the computer was still deranged and confused. The computer had gained a consciousness during the millennia out in space but somehow it was still tied to its basic programming from Ancient Atlantis. Due to the non-existance of the Atlantean continent, it had come to the fatal conclusion that Atlantis had been destroyed by the Alliance and that man was the Alliance. But finally the bio-unit is able to convince the machine that after 350,000 years the basic programming is not relevant any more and that humanity actually consists of the sons and daughters of the ancient creators. And now, both bio-unit and machine will have to protect and serve Atlantis. And so the Iron Savior is on its way to return to Earth. Meanwhile, a devastating battle between man and Shadow is raging. Even though man fights in defiance of death, the Shadow race is thrusting forward more and more. Through the gate, the invasion troops get a neverending backup - for every destroyed Shadow vessel, ten new ones seem to emerge from the gate. If the gate was inoperative, the Shadow would be cut off from this backup... So a brave command dares to pass through the gate in order to destroy it from beyond. The men do not know what awaits them, but it is very unlikely that they will ever see Earth again. How can they return when the gate is destroyed? And the suicidal mission begins... The Iron Savior opens fire to the Shadow vessels. Grimly and relentlessly, he carries out his orders and the fable seems to turn. The force of the ancient machine drives the Shadow back to the gate. Now the gate command must be successful in order to defeat and ban this dreadful and mortal danger to man and the entire universe... ---------------------- Part 6 - Condition Red ---------------------- In the year 3597 of the Northern Dragon, the High Council of Atlantis voted in a clear majority for an extensive defense project against the Alliance: The Iron Savior. This gigantic vessel was supposed to defend and protect Atlantis from its orbital position against the enemies. Unlike other constructions, the station was controlled by a computer being supervised by the Bio-Unit, a human brain. The work of Randor CulDranoc - an ingenious scientist - made this unique technology possible. In a way he was the father of the Iron Savior, because also most of the construction was developed and designed by him. Therefore it was his dream to become the Bio-Unit... to become one with his creation... to become immortal... but the High Council was worried about Randor's state of mind. Would he be strong and stable enough to stand the test of time? Would he stand the temptation to use the powers of the Savior for his own needs? The Council was doubtful... and in the end they decided against Randor and made his deputy, Jord Braal, the one. Randor was outraged and deeply hurt. He felt betrayed and fell into a long lasting depression, which resulted in him being expelled from the project. His soul became tainted with rancour. When the Savior was finally put on duty, he couldn't fight back his dark feelings any more and, by giving the construction plans to the Alliance, he became the traitor of Atlantis. The rest of this story is known. Atlantis was destroyed and the Savior departed for his long, long journey. After the destruction of Atlantis, the Alliance was also facing nuclear radiation and finally death. Randor, still possessing knowledge of the Savior, left Earth with some fellow scientist. Throughout long and hard years they managed to build another machine - not alike, but similar to the Iron Savior. This machine was designed to serve and obey its one and only master: Randor CulDranoc. He implanted himself into the machine as the all-controlling Bio-Unit... and the Dark Savior was born. The radiation on Earth after the nuclear wipe out changed the genetic codes of those who survived. The majority just got sick and died cruel and painful deaths, but with Randor things went differently. He gained a talent. The talent to read and control the thoughts and minds of intelligent life forms. Together with his powers of the Dark Savior he was simply invincible. For ages and centuries he marauded through open space attacking and conquering many peaceful and harmless creatures and civilisations. He became the "Protector"... and the fires of hate were burning within his soul. Finally, his plundering raids brought him back to the hemisphere of Caldaris, the world of ancient Atlantean men. He attacked and brought Caldaris under his control. But something strange and unexpected happened. Those who were born or blood related with humans from Earth could not be controlled by the Mindfeeder. They were immune to his powers. It was most likely that the genetic code of the humans who came after the fatal catastrophe also were altered by the radiation and the evolution. It would have been wise for Randor to withdraw, but his burning hate for Atlantis made him daring. So he got on his way towards Earth, the old world, to finally take revenge. On Earth the biggest fleet ever left their quarters to stop and defeat the aggressor. Led by the Iron Savior, the forces once again had to follow the battle's call... --- Plot (c) by Iron Savior. Unofficially translated (Engrish-English) by David Newton ("Wong Chung Bang") - no copyright infringement intended.