Jőrmungandr Mechanism

The Jőrmungandr Mechanism is a device that appears in Tomb Raider Underworld. It was built many thousands, possibly millions, of years ago, by a race known as the Ancients, who may have been similar to the Atlanteans. From it stems many myths and legends, but most notably that of Jőrmungandr and Ragnarők.

It is located in Helheim underneath the Arctic Sea. It stands in a great pool of Eitr which flows down a seemingly bottomless pit towards the centre of the Earth. It's central column has a vaguely serpentine structure, leading to the myth of the World Serpent Jőrmungandr. In fact, the World Serpent is a metaphor for the tectonic plates of the Earth's crust.

The Mechanism is placed over the weakest point in the tectonic plates of the Earth's crust, supposedly where the supercontinent of Pangea separated millions of years before. When initiated, it will start a process known by various names - Ragnarők, Armageddon, and by Jacqueline Natla, the Seventh Age. Using the Mechanism would result in earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis across the globe.

The purpose of the structure is unclear, but presumably it was built as a final solution, perhaps to protect the builder's civilisation.