In 2104, lithological excavations at the Fourth Mars Colony unearthedan artifact of unknown, seemingly non-human origin; an icosahedron ofan unrecognized, non terrestrial metallic composition, inscribed withstrange, indecipherable sigils and glyphs.
After long months of intense study, epigraphy experts on Earth ascertaineda tenuous parallel between the unknown language on the icosaherdon andcertain obscure Aztec hieroglyphics, and thus were able to extrapolatea meaning from the unearthly inscriptions.
The translation spoke of a legendary repository of ultimate knowledgeknown as the Empyreal Lexicon... a codex of alien origin said to containincredible cosmic secrets; arcane words and psionic waves of power whichwere the keys to unlocking a network of cerebral-transferrence portalslinking the myriad galaxies of the multiverse, and also the means totranscend the boundaries of the space-time continuum, enabling corporealbeings to travel between dimensions and traverse at will the unknownrealms which lay between universes, tapping into the limitless energieswhich permeated the sidereal fabric of the cosmos.
The translation of the Mars icosaherdon also hinted disturbingly at agreat pangalactic conflict which was waged over the possession of thecodex between the mysterious cosmic beings who had appointed themselvesthe keepers of the Lexicon and some terrifying shadowy foe mentionedonly fleetingly in the alien text.
The final battle in this cataclysmic power struggle was apparently foughtin Earth's own solar system, and the Keepers of the Lexicon, their powerdepleted and teetering on the verge of defeat, shattered the codex intoa myriad shards, scattering the fragments across the star system in orderto prevent the secrets of the Lexicon from falling into the hands of theirdarksome nemesis.
According to the Martian artifact, several fragments of the Lexiconwere hidden on the third planet from the sun, the Earth itself.
One fragment was secreted in ancient Atlantis, another in Lemuria.
Further pieces of the cosmic codex fell to earth in Ys and eon-veiled Mu.
Still further fragments of the Lexicon were said to have been hiddensomewhere beneath the frozen surface of the bleak moon Callisto, andon the other mysterious orbs Hyperion and Titan.
Lastly, the alien artifact spoke mysteriously of something hiddenbeneath the cratered surface of Earth's own Moon.
Ascertaining co-ordinates from the Mars icosahedron, an expeditionembarked immediately from the Epsilon IV Moon Base and beganto excavate the lunar sphere.
Thus was a veiled warning unheeded, and no one could know whatto expect as the machinations of humankind breached the ancientsurface of the moon's Mare Imbrium...
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