“But I have to back up for a moment. Once the Mu leaders had directed the asteroid toward Atlantis, they had fulfilled their part of the bargain. Never mind that the asteroid took a few weeks to reach the Earth. Even before it became visible in the sky, the evil star people drained the blood of each of the leaders of Mu and replaced it with Cryo. Then the star people quickly left. Maybe they left laughing.”

“Why?” Adam interrupted, fascinated by the tale, even though he wasn’t sure if he believed it. Bum was right—he had never read about any of these things in any history book. Then again, he hadn’t gone to school in Spooksville yet. Maybe they had a whole class devoted to prehistory. Bum replied to his question seriously.

“Because the Cryo stopped the aging process in the leaders, but it did other things to them as well, some of which were not very pleasant. The leaders became super strong and super fast. They also gained strange visual powers. Not only could they see far away, they could freeze people by glancing at them. In fact, they could make others like themselves, if they wished.

“But the problem was they were not really alive. They didn’t feel alive. They just felt cold all the time, and they hated the cold. They were like the walking dead. They envied normal people. True, they would live for a very long time, but they couldn’t enjoy anything. They understood this right away, even before the asteroid reached the Earth. They realized they had been tricked by the evil star people.

“But back to the asteroid. Like I said, it was headed straight toward Atlantis and the people there knew who had aimed it at them. But despite all their technology, they couldn’t stop it. An asteroid can be pretty big. This one was over twenty miles in diameter and it was traveling at hundreds of miles a minute. Sure, the people of Atlantis shot nuclear missiles at it, but it just kept coming, straight on course. They were in a real bind.

“They didn’t want to lie down and die, at least not without getting revenge. Just as the asteroid began to near the atmosphere, they fired off every weapon they had at Mu. From coast to coast, Mu burned. When the asteroid did strike, Atlantis was crushed beneath the Atlantic Ocean. Worse, it was forced beneath the Earth’s crust. That’s why there is almost no sign of it these days. The geological plates of the Earth shifted under the blow of the asteroid. Mu, which was already burning, also slid under the Pacific Ocean. Both great lands were destroyed together. Both great civilizations were wiped out, and people don’t even remember them today.” Bum paused. “I think it’s a sad story.”

“But what about the Cryo Creatures?” Sally insisted. “They’re our problem right now.”