A fictional mythology inspires many Martin MystĖre adventures. It is assumed that, in ancient times, the world had already reached and surpassed our current technological level. In those times, science had discovered, among other things, the nature of what we now call natural magic. Certain energies which are unknown today were then used regularly.

The nations that populated the Earth were divided into two factions: Atlantis (with many characteristics in common with the modern Western World) and Mu (with characteristics in common with the modern Eastern World). This cultural dichotomy caused continual hotbeds of war, fought with the use of an arsenal of high tech devices.

Twelve thousand years ago, the conflict became worldwide and lead to the eruption of the final world war. Following the use of powerful nuclear weapons, the two superpowers provoked a planetary cataclysm, later recounted in Plato's legend of Atlantis.

With the passage of centuries, the survivors began to reorganize themselves, giving rise to our current civilization. More than once, MystĖre has run across discoveries proving the existence of Atlantis and Mu, but each finding has been - and continues to be - systematically destroyed by the Men in Black , who fear that the knowledge of the existence of another past could lead to a radical change in society's current way of thinking.

In a world of fantasy, in which a certain background is taken for granted, MystĖre's attitude towards mysterious phenomena is never fanatical one way or another. Their existence is not denied on principle, nor is accepted by faith. In his articles Martin MystĖre places himself above the parts, for each phenomenon taken into consideration he states - objectively and with full knowledge of the facts - reasons to believe or to reject an unconventional interpretation, without taking up a definite position.

We still cannot conclude whether MystĖre's adventures take place in a universe different from ours, however. After all, Plato had to base his mythology on something.

An intriguing thought indeed.