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Lara Croft, the daughter of Lord Henshingly Croft, was raised
to be an aristocrat from birth. After attending finishing school at
the age of twenty-one, Lara's marriage into wealth had seemed assured,
but on her way home from a skiing trip her chartered plane had crashed
deep in the heart of the Himalayas. The only survivor, Lara learned
how to depend on her wits to stay alive in hostile conditions a world
away from her sheltered upbringing. Two weeks later when she walked
into the village of Tokakeriby her experiences had had a profound
effect on her. Unable to stand the claustrophobic suffocating
atmosphere of upper-class British society, she realised that she was
only truly alive when she was travelling alone.
Over the eight following years she acquired an intimate knowledge of
ancient civilisations across the globe. Her family soon disowned their
prodigal daughter, and she turned to writing to fund her trips. Famed
for discovering several ancient sites of profound archaeological
interest she made a name for herself by publishing travel books and
detailed journals of her exploits.
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Some time ago...
Los Alamos - New Mexico
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Decades ago, at a United States nuclear testing site in Los
Alamos, New Mexico a nuclear blast caused a strange disk to be
excavated from deep within the earth. The disk, which was apparently
the seal on some strange container, is hurled quite a distance away by
the explosion. The container, now unlocked, opened, revealing the
silhoutte of a woman inside.
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Modern Day
Calcutta - India
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Lara is found sitting in the dark lobby of the Imperial Hotel in
Calcutta, India reading from a magazine called "Adventurer". The
featured cover article is titled, "Lara Stamps Out Big Foot". An
unshaven man, wearing a red flannel shirt and faded blue jeans
approaches her and asks in a Texas drawl, "Whatsa man got to do
to get that kinna attention from ya?"
"It's hard to say, exactly, but you seem to be doing fine", she
replies in her prim British accent.
He smirks and adds, "Well, great! Though truth is that it's not
me that wants ya", and winks at her.
"No?" Lara raises an eyebrow, intrigued as the man places a
laptop computer on the table before her. He opens it and turns it
on. A woman appears on the screen.
"Nooo. Ms. Jacqueline Natla does. From Natla
Technologies. Y'know, creator of all things bright and
beautiful", he says, laughing. His words dripping with sarcasm. The
woman on the screen of the computer is clearly not amused.
"Seal it, Larson", she cuts in.
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"Ma'am", Larson yelps like a bad dog with its tail between his
legs.
"Feast your eys on this, Lara", says Natla as she throws a
handfull of Ben Franklins into the air and pauses to watch the bills
drift down like autumn leaves, "How does that make your wallet
rumble?"
Unimpressed, Lara replies, "I'm sorry. I only play for
sport."
"Then you'll like a big park: Peru. Vast montain ranges to cover,
sheer walls of ice, rocky crags, savage winds... and there's this
little trinket: an age-old artifact of mystical powers buried in the
unfound tomb of Qualopec", Natla replies in a slippery temping voice.
"That's my interest. You could leave tomorrow", Natla adds and then
asks teasingly, "Are you busy... tomorrow?"
Lara stands and smiles. (follow
plot)
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