The Long Tunnel

Fifteen thousand years after the end of the Second Age of Atlantis, life changed dramatically on At-lan, and eventually, would for all Terrans; for the first time since the Olympian gods departed, another alien race visited the planet. The Kryloneans were explorers who only recently discovered the secret of travel beyond the speed of light. Advances came quickly, allowing them to search for life as far out as the Sol system, 226 light-years from their homeworld. The Atlanteans were the only technologically advanced race on a planet of otherwise primitive people, crediting their technology as a gift from their long-departed gods. Finding them to be a peaceful people, the Kryloneans requested permission to remain for a while, offering only their friendship in return; three thousand years passed since then.
At-lan, home of the fabled city of Atlantis, was rapidly approaching the end of her Third Age, the last for the legendary land. That end came from the collision with a rogue asteroid, Phaethon. The Kryloneans could have returned to their home planet, but they remained, seeing the same redeeming quality in all Terrans that they held dear. The Atlanteans, as even the Terran-born Kryloneans thought of themselves, sought safety in their colonies after the cataclysm. The death of At-lan became a matter of history as the planet remained in turmoil for a thousand years. The Atlanteans eventually ventured out, finding that most of the races blamed them for the destruction. The Atlanteans returned home to wait in isolation for their brothers to mature socially. Terrans grew technologically until they once again threatened the Atlanteans. Rather than leave, the Atlanteans relocated, this time to three underground cities, to wait a little longer.
By the Terran calendar, the early 1900’s brought a confrontation for the Krylonean homeworld when one of their marvelous craft strayed into the Daag system. Forced to the surface of the fourth planet, the Daagans repeatedly interrogated the two pilots concerning the secret of their craft’s propulsion. Their honest answers eventually earned them death sentences. Befriended by the Daagan Thocohl, they escaped, but the war with Daaga was inevitable. Ancient prophesy foretold the destruction of Krylon, an end that came much too soon.
Another possible mass extinction was approaching in Earth’s history, one due to environmental abuse. When the Atlanteans abandoned their underground cities to assist the Krylon homeworld, too few remained to assist Earth’s surface races with their ecological problems; the timing couldn’t have been worse. Foreseeing just such a scenario, the Kryloneans set a plan in motion that would ensure the survival of Terra’s races. Selected from the world’s population, two people waited in extended sleep to unite humankind if a major cataclysm occurred while an android cared for them. When his programming upgrade initiated after fifty years, he abducted six additional people, placing them in extended sleep. The android woke everyone when his power source neared the end of its life. Awakening progressed according to his programming, but not the implementation of the original plan, the one he altered, unable to justify the changes. Would he be able to implement his plan or would he run out of power, stranding the survivors forever in the underground cities and tunnels? Only time would tell if his power persisted.