The Maya Codex (25 page)

O’Connor grinned. There was a delightful Spanish lilt to Aleta’s accent and her English was perfect. The eminent Jesuit priest looked furious.

‘Not only that, the Maya were often known to settle their differences with their ancient ball-court game, rather than resorting to war, as we so often do. As to their gods, it seems to me that most of humankind’s wars have at their base, disagreements in religious outlook: Islamic fundamentalists and terrorism, the Catholics and the Protestants in Northern Ireland, the President’s claim that God told him to invade Afghanistan, Iraq, right back to the Crusades … I would suggest that far from being the ignorant race you have described, the Maya were responsible for some of the greatest achievements in astronomy and architecture, as well as being possessed of a deep spirituality; a belief that a spiritual force is clearly present in every aspect of the natural world.’

O’Connor could sense the anticipation of the media pack. Several journalists and cameramen were grinning broadly. The pompous Jesuit priest had at last been challenged by someone other than their own.

‘Who’s she?’ one journalist whispered.

‘Dr Aleta Weizman,’ a journalist from
The Times
replied. ‘A Guatemalan, but her grandfather lived and worked in Vienna. She’s well on her way to being just as famous as he was.’

‘I must say, I’m surprised, Dr Weizman, that your assessment doesn’t demonstrate a more scholarly approach. Then again, you’re a woman, and you haven’t enjoyed the untrammelled access to ancient artefacts that is afforded to scholars of my standing.’ Jennings sniffed again.

O’Connor watched the exchange with interest. To the outside world Aleta Weizman might be an obscure archaeologist, but she was obviously known to the Monsignor, and to some of the journalists.

‘Why so surprised, Monsignor?’ the
Times
journalist challenged in support of Aleta. ‘Are you denying the ancient Maya’s ability to chart the movement of the planets? And are you suggesting we should ignore the alignment of those planets in 2012?’

‘That mystical nonsense is entirely overblown. I predict without a shadow of a doubt that 21 December 2012 will have as much effect on our planet as Y2K – another date you media people played for all it was worth.’

‘You yourself have admitted that the Maya also warned that a geographical or magnetic pole shift would be associated with increased sunspot activity,’ a journalist from Montreal’s
Gazette
said. ‘Some scientists, including those at NASA, have confirmed the Mayan predictions of a massive peak in sunspot activity in 2012, and there’s evidence we’re already experiencing increasingly violent solar storm activity. Two years ago solar storms brought down the entire electrical grid in Quebec. Long-range radio communications and GPS navigation satellites were crippled and aeroplanes had to be rerouted to avoid the worst of it. Don’t you think if an ancient civilisation had advanced knowledge of what might happen in 2012, we should at least explore what that might mean?’

‘Increased sunspot activity is nothing new,’ Jennings responded irritably.

‘There’ve been persistent rumours over the years of a missing Maya Codex, Monsignor.’ The young journalist from
Women’s World
seized her opportunity to turn the conference in a direction her readers might find more interesting. ‘A codex that might give us advance warning of a catastrophe … one that might enable some of us to survive. Do you place any credence in these reports?’

‘This so-called Maya Codex is nothing more than a figment of the media’s imagination,’ Jennings snorted and waddled over to a large whiteboard. ‘Unfortunately most of the records of the ancient Maya were burned during the Spanish invasion. The few codices that survived, the Dresden Codex, the Madrid Codex and the Paris Codex – named after the cities in which they now reside – as well as the Grolier fragment, were produced on
huun
, the Mayan paper produced from the bark of the
Ficus continifolia
or
Ficus padifolia
, the largest of the strangler figs.’ The journalist from
Women’s World
turned to her photographer and crossed her eyes.

Jennings continued, ‘
Huun
being far more durable than the papyrus from ancient Egypt, I have had the rare distinction, the very rare distinction, of being able to study all the originals at first hand. Of the four, the Dresden Codex is the one that sheds most light on these bloodthirsty savages who would think nothing of sacrificing their own children, throwing them into the
cenotes
, the sink holes on the Yucatán Peninsula that connect with underground rivers. And while these codices have undoubtedly helped in deciphering the savagery of the Maya, there are no references to any forthcoming catastrophe – none whatsoever,’ Jennings concluded decisively.

Aleta shook her head. Modern science had confirmed the rare planetary alignment the Maya had warned of, and Aleta knew Jennings had to be aware of the evidence for the missing codex, yet he dismissed it as a figment of the media’s imagination. Who or what was he protecting? The Vatican? Could there be something in the codex that threatened the Vatican itself?

After the lecture, Aleta spotted Dr José Arana standing quietly at the end of the front row of chairs, and she made her way towards him.

‘Aleta Weizman, Dr Arana,’ she said, proffering her hand. ‘We met once or twice when I was a child in San Marcos. I’ve been wanting to speak with you.’

‘So … at last you have come,’ he replied softly, taking Aleta by the arm. ‘You are in grave danger.’

28

THE VATICAN, ROME

E
arlier in the day Santissimo Padre, Pope Benedict XVI, had emerged from his high-ceilinged corner bedroom on the fourth floor of the Apostolic Palace on the northern side of the
Piazza San Pietro
. His two private secretaries were waiting for him in the corridor, and, together, the three men walked briskly towards the bronze door of the Pope’s private chapel. Unlike his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, who frequently invited guests to the early morning mass, Benedict XVI preferred a private ceremony with his aides. Discarding the newer form of the mass that came into use following Vatican II, Benedict started his day with the 1962 Roman Missal in Latin.

‘
In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti
… In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit …’

The chapel was cold. The marble floor and walls offered little in the way of warmth, but the Holy Father didn’t seem to notice as he concentrated on his communion. A soft light diffused through the Luigi Filocamo leadlight ceiling depicting Christ resurrected, mingling with the light from three candles flickering beneath the large bronze crucifix.

‘
Gloria in excelsis Deo. Et in terra pax hominibus bonae volunta-tis
… Glory in the highest to God. And on earth, peace to men of good will …’

Not far away, Sister Ingrid and the other nuns of the papal household were ensuring that everything was in readiness for the Pontiff’s breakfast of coffee and fruit, laid out on the serving table in the dining room next to the Pope’s bedroom. The carved walnut dining table could seat ten, but this morning just three places were set for Benedict and his two private secretaries, and Sister Ingrid had already checked to see that the major national papers were laid out on one of the two sideboards.

Salvatore Felici ignored the salute of the Swiss Guard as he passed through the bronze doors to the Apostolic Palace, his mind focused on the meeting ahead. He powered towards the lift that would take him to the Pope’s private library on the fourth floor.

The library was dominated by Perugino’s oil,
The Resurrection of Christ
, hanging in the centre of the wall opposite the door. The electronic projector for the CIA presentation seemed out of place alongside the two walls of heavy sixteenth-century bookcases containing an impressive set of all the Papal Encyclicals, as well as the complete collections of the Church Fathers. An old bible was open on a small sixteenth-century table, and Romano’s
Madonna
panel highlighted the wall behind the Pope’s desk. Three windows looked over the
Piazza San Pietro
. The Cardinal Secretary of State, and the Cardinal Prefects for the Congregations for Bishops, the Clergy and Catholic Education were already present, soutanes edged in red, gold pectoral crosses on solid gold chains over red watered-silk sashes, and each wearing a red zucchetto. Felici nodded politely to the assembled group before turning to Howard Wiley.

‘Howard, how good to see you again,’ he said. ‘I trust the flight was not too arduous?’

‘Even with a CIA jet, we all have to put up with airports, Salvatore,’ Wiley replied. His smile was mechanical, and his grey eyes restless. ‘You know my chief of station, Richard Snider?’

‘Of course. Richard.’ Felici offered a fine, bony hand as one of the Pope’s private secretaries slipped into the library, quietly announcing that His Holiness was approaching. Moments later, he arrived, with a second secretary in tow.

‘Santissimo Padre, may I present Signor Howard Wiley, Deputy Director of Operations for the CIA. And of course you know his chief of station, Signor Richard Snider.’

‘Welcome to the Vatican,’ the Pope replied with a charming smile, extending his ring for Howard Wiley to kiss. He spoke English with a thick Bavarian accent. ‘I’m grateful for this briefing, Signor Wiley. Central America is perhaps not as stable as we would wish?’ His Holiness observed, taking a chair.

‘Indeed it is not, which is a cause for some concern,’ Wiley replied, taking charge of the briefing and flashing up a map of Central and South America on the screen. ‘Recent elections in Nicaragua, Brazil, Ecuador and Venezuela have seen Central and South America moving well to the left, Holiness, and the United States is keeping a careful watch on these developments. As you’re aware, a former Catholic bishop, Bishop Fernando Lugo has been elected President of Paraguay. The first bishop ever to be elected to the presidency of a country, Lugo has been much impressed by liberation theology. He’s the first president of Paraguay since 1946 who has not come from the conservative Colorado Party, which up until this election had been the longest continuously serving party government in the world.’

Felici scrutinised the Pope for his reaction. Since Lugo’s election, speculation had been rife that, having refused his resignation, the Pope would now defrock the man who was known throughout Paraguay as ‘the priest of the poor’. The pontiff remained inscrutable.

‘Lugo does not intend to move to the Presidential Palace,’ Wiley continued, ‘and he recently stated that Paraguay will no longer accept intervention from any country, no matter how big. That sort of rhetoric causes us some concern as it puts in doubt the viability of our Paraguayan military base, which we established in 2005 at Mariscal Estigarribia, 200 kilometres from the Bolivian border.’

‘Do you have a presence there?’ the Pontiff asked.

Wiley nodded. ‘After Paraguay granted us immunity from prosecution by any Paraguayan court or the International Criminal Court, we deployed equipment and some 500 troops. That base is capable of housing up to 16 000 troops. It will be important, Holiness, with the enormous gas reserves in countries like Bolivia, for the US to maintain influence in the Andes. We do have a forward base in Manta on the coast of Ecuador, but since the election of the left’s Rafael Correa in that country, the viability of that base is also in doubt.’

‘Perhaps, Holiness, it’s time to take a harder line with Bishop Lugo, and consider excommunication?’ Felici suggested.

‘Excommunication would be a very grave step, Holiness,’ the Cardinal Secretary of State interjected. ‘A bishop’s sacrament is for life, and it is many centuries since the Church has taken such drastic action. Even if he has been influenced by liberation theology, if we take on Bishop Lugo, with his reputation as a priest for the peasants and the poor, it may weaken our position.’

‘Appeasement didn’t work with Hitler, Holiness, and it won’t work with Lugo and Central America,’ Felici retaliated, glaring at the Secretary of State.

The Cardinal Secretary of State raised a quizzical eyebrow. Given the Vatican’s sordid involvement with the Nazis during World War Two, the irony of Felici’s argument was heavy, but the veteran diplomat remained silent.

‘They are arguments we will have to take into account,’ the Pontiff replied, the use of the authoritative ‘we’ an indication that he wasn’t going to be rushed. ‘Do you have the same concerns over other Latin American countries, Mr Wiley?’

‘Unfortunately yes, and if I may, Holiness, there are dangers for the Church there as well,’ Wiley added, coming to Felici’s aid. ‘Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, for example, is not only a vehement opponent of the United States and our efforts to bring democracy to this region, but he’s also fiercely critical of the Catholic Church.’

‘Whilst proclaiming himself to be a Christian and calling Christ the greatest socialist in history!’ Felici added.