Meteorite Artefacts
Contents |
Background
The meteorite artefacts consist of five crystal carvings seen in the games Tomb Raider III and The Lost Artifact. Millions of years ago a meteorite impacted into a lush tropical landscape that is now modern Antarctica. Later, it was found by an ancient Polynesian civilisation based at the Lost City of Tinnos, who carved parts of the meteorite into various different forms - what are now known as the 'meteorite artefacts'.
The Tinnosean tribe abandoned Antarctica years later, after the symptoms of keeping these extra-terrestrial objects became apparent. The tribe was afflicted by sickness and genetic mutation, and fled the land that they called 'Kuma Kuma'. They settled later on the island of Kuru, in the South Pacific.
The stones were not heard of again until the voyage of Charles Darwin on the HMS Beagle from 1831/1836. Five sailors from the crew decided to explore a nearby island off the coast of Antarctica. They found an ice cavern where they discovered the artefacts, but a large black dog disturbed them. The cave collapsed, and one of the sailors, Paul Caulfield, died as a result. From the diary that one of the sailors kept, we know they discovered the island and the ice cave on or about August 14th, 1834.
Stephen, the writer of the diary that Dr. Willard later acquires, was the only survivor of the remaining four. One sailor must have died fairly soon afterwards, as his artefact (later renamed Element 115) was found in the Americas and taken to the United States. The remaining three may have decided to change ships in Sydney - as the HMS Beagle did not visit the South Pacific or India. Another sailor named Smythe met his fate among the original owners of the artefacts on Kuru in the South Pacific. Another sailor died at the hands of the Infada tribe, whose temple Lara sets out to explore in India.
Possibly by way of Egypt, Stephen returned to England, terrified by what he had seen happen to his crewmates. Stopping in Egypt to collect more artefacts to make his own seem more genuinely Egyptian, Stephen auctioned off his artefact in London, re-naming it the 'Eye of Isis' and presumably pretending that it had been found in Egypt.
He therefore capitalised on the wave of interest in Ancient Egypt that had been sweeping Europe and North America since the 1820s, which was in part influenced by the campaigns of Napoleon in Northern Africa. Whether Sophia Leigh acquired it then, in the 1830s, or later, remains a mystery. Stephen's fate is also unknown.
The Meteorite Artefacts
The Infada Stone - recovered from the Caves of Kaliya in India, after battling the RX-Tech field researcher Tony.
Element 115 - stolen from Area 51 in Nevada, USA.
Ora Dagger - taken from the Temple of Puna on the island of Kuru in the South Pacific.
Eye of Isis - recovered from Sophia Leigh in the City area of London, England.
The Hand of Rathmore - recovered from the Reunion level of Tomb Raider III's expansion, in northern France.
Powers
Each artefact has their own effects and abilites (covered in their individual pages), but when brought together in the Meteorite Cavern in the Lost City of Tinnos they have the power to accelerate genetic mutation and evolution. This process was seen at it's most extreme after the mutation of Dr. Willard into a large arachnid. It should be noted that only the four artefacts recovered in Tomb Raider III resulted in this effect - it is unknown whether the combination of the Hand of Rathmore would produce a different result.
Notes
Due to the research carried out by scientists in Area 51, the artefacts are composed of a crystalline structure not seen on Earth. This perhaps explains why the aliens who were found in Area 51 recognised the substance and used it as a power source before they were captured by the US Government. It was declared as a new element.
