UNTOUCHABLE - TIAOM

HISTORY

Kim went out of Jane's office feeling somewhat refreshed. She was about to go back to her room when she passed by the training room. There, she saw Professor Van discussing some stuff to the new AEF recruits. She stepped inside the room, wanting to hear more about the discussion.

"Let's start with how the Evens came to exist in the first place," said Professor Van, busy looking at the slide presentation reflecting on the wall. "A full-grown Even was first seen forty years ago. It started in Texas, USA. Few days later after that, another one was spotted in Argentina. Then another in Africa, Spain, Italy, Cambodia, and so on and so forth. But the question is, where did they come from?"

Professor Van clicked the remote he's holding, changing the slide, revealing a black and white picture of a meteor shower. "Sadly, their origin hasn't been confirmed to this date. We do have theories, but none has been proven yet. First is the meteor shower that happened more than a century ago. It was a huge rain of meteorites that scattered all over the world. They believed that these creatures might've traveled through these meteorites in a different form. They reached Earth and for them to survive, they needed to evolve into different species, which took them about a century to do so."

Professor Van changed the slide again. "Another theory is Neil Armstrong's travel to the moon. They said that Neil and his team obtained samples from the moon, brought it back here without any idea that those contain the microorganisms that we call the Evens now. This is pretty much the same with the first theory, particularly the evolution part. If this is really the case, can anyone tell me how you think these creatures spread into the world?"

"Maybe through air, professor?" said one cadet. "If they are still microorganisms that time, they could've traveled easily without our knowledge. Maybe some fell on Neil's sleeve, it went with him when he goes out. Maybe some fell on a flower, or the sea, etc..."

"That's possible," said Van, pointing at the cadet. "If these creatures really went into some kind of transformation over the years, then yes, we can actually say that. But again, no one has proved this theory yet."

Van turned to the presentation again. "The third theory is the secret underground facility in Dulce, New Mexico. It is rumored that this facility is home to the most bizarre experiments that anyone can imagine. Some say that they hide hybrid creatures and aliens there."

There was a chorus of "Ooh..." from the cadets.

Van changed the slide again and showed the cadets a picture of an Even. "As you can see, Evens look like a combination of an ant, a crab, and a spider. And their behavior is somewhat similar to those mentioned animals. And how did they reach the other parts of the world, like here in Asia? Underground. It is said that the secret facility has underground passageways all throughout the world. Plus, if you remember, the first Even was seen in Texas. This made the theorists conclude that Evens are a result of an experiment from Dulce."

"Did the US government admitted the existence of this research facility in New Mexico?" asked another cadet.

"They denied all allegations," answered Professor Van. "There's no proof that the research facility even existed so everything is just a theory." He turned to the picture again. "If this was a result of hybrid experimentation, they did a good job because it took us years to finally find a way to defeat these monsters."

Professor Van showed a more detailed picture of an Even. "This hard exoskeleton is so thick that neither a bullet nor a grenade can destroy it. Aside from that, even with their size, they move really quick like spiders. They don't have eyes and ears, but they use their antennae to 'see' and communicate. They don't feel pain. So technically, we can't hurt them. They do have one unique trait though, they don't go out alone. The reason we call them Even is because they always come in pairs. Once you see an Even walking around, expect another one is somewhere nearby."