A wartorn urban landscape. Within one ruined building, a small fire struggles to stay alive against the frigid winds. Around it, two huddled female forms: one small and young, the other crooked and elderly. Both emaciated and ragged.

“Granny, can I ask you something about Sam? Sam Stone, I mean, the one everyone calls...”
“Serious?”

“Yes, granny... well, why do they call him that? Everyone says that he is always jovial and optimistic, and that nothing can break his spirit.”

“Ah...” the elderly woman pauses.

“You see, Hannah, a long time ago, before MENTAL attacked, Sam Stone was a truly serious man. Those that knew him said that he rarely smiled and never joked.”

“What changed, granny?”

“Well, when MENTAL first came to Earth, Sam’s four best friends went out to handle this minor nuisance, as it was then believed to be. They were all great men and women, and Sam was convinced that they could do it without him. However, not everything went as planned. They were lost, and Sam’s story became one of retribution, of redemption and of hope. For the rest of us, the war against MENTAL is a battle for survival, for him it is something far more…serious.”

“I want to hear this story, granny.”

“Of course you do. Come, huddle closer, lest a stray Gnaar hear us.”