Trifariam, The Lost Codex (2012)

by Diego Rodriguez

  James couldn’t help but answer the rest of his students’ questions until the bell rang and it was the end of class.

  * * *

  The rumors that were swirling among the leaders were quickly stamped out by the Secretary, although they had been enough to bring James back to reality. All the while, the President remained silent. There was more.

  “On 16 July 2009, a gigantic meteorite collided with Jupiter and the debris from the impact was discovered by an amateur astronomer. A considerable number of scientists believe that this incident and however many others that occur each day are signs that the Earth is crossing a dangerous area of the Galaxy. We all know that our Solar System completes one orbit of the center of the Galaxy every 226 million years, so it is not a great leap to believing that we are on the cusp of entering one of those balls of clouds made up of comets and asteroids. We discarded that theory at the beginning, but with recent events…”

  He then pressed a button and the video continued.

  The rest of the simulation showed what would happen when all those asteroids reach Earth. The smallest ones were destroyed as soon as they crossed the Earth’s atmosphere but many more of them managed to reach the surface of the planet, causing millions and millions of deaths and, very probably the extinction of life on Earth for the following three weeks.

  The President began to speak. “The simulation is ninety-eight percent accurate. Four weeks after the arrival of the asteroids, there won’t be a trace of life on the planet. We will all be dead.”

  “But… why are you telling us all this? How can we help?”

  The President stood up and started to walk around the room without taking his eyes off the video which was at that time showing a hypothetic view of Earth after the impacts. Every city had been razed to the ground and many of them had sunk below the sea. Hurricanes were destroying anything that was still alive and had yet to be obliterated, and hundreds of huge waves were swallowing up entire continents.

  “Our scientists have discovered that the machine could save us but it won’t let us get near it; it had even killed two of them. We can’t study it or find out how it works. You have managed to touch it on two occasions and you even carried it to the Director’s office. We need your help.”

  James looked back at the mark on the palm of his hand. Maybe he was the chosen one to carry out such a task, but he didn’t understand why. “Okay. I will help you with everything I can, but I still don’t know how.”

  Chapter 86

  “How long do we have?” asked Richard in total dismay.

  The President frowned. “One week, maybe less.”

  “What?! But didn’t you say that your scientists predict that asteroids will arrive at the end of 2012?”

  “Exactly, but the asteroids will follow a similar path over the next week, some closer than others until the gravitational pull of Mars alters their trajectories and sends them spinning into space. As I already told you, at the end of 2012 those eighty-four asteroids will bombard the surface of the Earth until we are annihilated. It will be impossible to defend ourselves, there are too many of them, and even if we did manage to destroy some of them, they would probably end up fragmenting into several more which would plummet out of control to Earth.”

  “So, what do you intend to do?” asked James, unable to hide his nerves.

  “Our only chance is to act now, when they are still together. We can’t wait until they disperse because it will then be impossible to control them all. We will launch a nuclear bomb.”

  “Is an atomic bomb powerful enough to destroy them all?”

  “Actually,” interrupted the scientist, “there are three kinds of nuclear weapon: the atomic bomb, the H-bomb or hydrogen bomb, and the pure fusion bomb. The main difference between them lies in how the explosion is caused. While the first two require fission to trigger fusion, thus requiring enriched uranium or plutonium, the pure fusion bomb doesn’t. If either of the first two types of bomb should explode, radioactive rain is produced. That doesn’t make it any more devastating, because a fusion bomb has much greater potential for destruction.”

  “Greater potential?!” cried Richard.

  “Just so you can put it into context, the atomic bomb we launched in Hiroshima generated an amount of energy similar to that produced if fifteen thousand tons of TNT exploded. The H-bomb is two thousand five hundred times more devastating than the atomic bomb, and as for the pure fusion bomb… it’s ten thousand times more powerful than the H-bomb.”

  James couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Fuck! Such a destructive bomb exists?”

  The scientist bowed his head, not knowing whether to answer that question.

  The President looked at him challengingly. “I thought it was absolutely prohibited to develop a pure fusion bomb.”

  “Yes, Mr. President, but - “

  “Quiet!” he yelled. “You’ve created a bomb of that type and you didn’t even care to inform me of the project? Imagine what would happen if one of them fell into the wrong hands, or even worse, into those of a terrorist. It would be the end.”

  The Secretary of Defense stood up. “With all due respect, Mr. President, the pure fusion bomb is the only chance we have of saving ourselves. We would have to set up a space mission to place it in the middle of that mass of asteroids which are getting closer to Earth and detonate it.”

  Several of those present whispered their opinions to each other but when the President was finally going to speak again, the astronomer interrupted him.

  “Mr. President, I have bad news.”

  The leader turned to face him. He looked uneasy and was demanding an explanation.

  “I’m sorry sir, there’s a problem.” James noticed that the screen of his cellphone was still illuminated. He had probably just used it and nobody had realized. “Approximately a year ago, we started a mission called the ‘Solar Dynamics Observatory’ (SDO), for the purpose of sending a probe into space to study changes in the Sun’s surface. Half an hour ago, our scientists received some alarming data that points to the imminent arrival of a gigantic solar storm.”

  The President violently slammed the table in desperation. Those present began shouting among themselves and didn’t stop when the President started to speak again.

  “When will that storm take place?”

  “According to our calculations it will be within a week, four hours before we can reach them.”

  “Gentlemen, is there any way of getting to the asteroids before the storm reaches the ship?”

  Mr. Aaron Lordson, Administrator of NASA, began to speak. “Umm… possibly, but we would have to get a team together to leave in a couple of days. Even so, the solar storm would probably damage all the computer systems on board the ship when it reaches them.”

  “Not just that,” remarked the astronomer. “The Sun would fry the crew. It would be a suicide mission!”

  “Explain yourself!”

  “A solar storm is a cosmic event consisting of colossal corona mass ejections. It has several phases. First come the ‘solar flares’ which will take eight minutes to reach the Earth. The X-rays produced could interfere with telecommunications and flights, even causing the atmosphere to expand until it coincides with the orbit of some satellites which would then come crashing down to the Earth’s surface. The second phase is the so-called radiation storm which would reduce any electric circuitry it comes into contact with to ashes, and harm all those people who are exposed to it. The last phase is the coronal mass ejection, which would unleash a cloud of electrified gas moving at a speed of over 1800 miles per second, damaging satellites, electric transformers and communications. Clearly the crew would have nowhere to take shelter - it would be a suicide mission.”

  “What state would the Earth be in after a storm of that type?”

  “All satellites, and therefore all communications, would be unusable and the vast majority of them would be destroyed. On the surface, no electronic devices will work, including tran
sformers which will wreak havoc on cities; lighting, traffic lights, factories, banks, elevators… all of them would be rendered useless. There would be a shortage of food and drinking water. All in all, it would be like a return to prehistoric times.”

  “How long would it take us to recover?”

  “Decades. But the decivilization process would have a massive impact, making recovery hugely difficult. Besides, that kind of situation is irrelevant because all our defense systems will buckle during the solar storm and we won’t even be able to protect ourselves from the asteroids which are approaching.”

  Just then, James remembered that class he had given before the exams. What if the Mayan prophecies are coming true? What if the asteroids are part of the sixth prophecy which talks about a comet warning us of change? What if the solar storm is the trigger for that change?

  “So… the only solution is to use that object, but we don’t even know what it is! Anyway, have you found the missing piece yet?”

  “What?!” cried James. “It still isn’t complete?!”

  The scientist waited for approval from the President before he said anything. “We’ve translated the last chapter of the book you found and I have to tell you that Simone di Benedetto left us one last clue. It is in the form of a diagram and will enable us to complete the Trifariam.” The scientist showed them a photocopy.

  Richard leaned in towards his friend; James was already holding the sheet in his hands with no idea what he was looking at.

  “That diagram refers to an exact point on the planet. Our team has just arrived, the Army has secured the perimeter and we have free reign for the next two hours.

  “XCI? Are they the initials of some place?”

  “Mr. Oldrich,” replied the scientist. “They aren’t letters but Roman numerals. It represents the Arabic number 91.”

  “But… how can this diagram and those Roman numerals represent an exact location on the planet?”

  “Easily. Focus on the diagram and forget about the numbers for the moment. Doesn’t it give the impression that you’re looking at an elevated area with four sides where each one is ninety-one parts of something… steps, for example? Plus, according to the diagram there is one last step in the middle. Mr. Oldrich, please would you add up all the numbers.”

  James quickly did the calculation and was shocked to find that the total of those numbers came to 365. Oh my god! Incredible!

  Judging by Richard’s expression, he had also realized which place the diagram was referring to.

  All the screens in the room suddenly switched on. A man with short white hair, prominent bags under his eyes and a turned-up nose appeared before them. He looked terribly smart, but a few beads of sweat were beginning to slide down his forehead. He must have been somewhere hot.

  “Good afternoon, gentlemen. Mr. President, I have just arrived at the site.”

  Chapter 87

  On an open plain on the Yucatan Peninsula, beneath a scorching sun, was a dark-colored awning set up like a makeshift tent at the foot of a gigantic structure. It was held up by two badly-placed poles and was shielding all the computer equipment from the suffocating heat that threatened to burn everything to cinders.

  A few minutes later, hundreds of soldiers armed with assault rifles descended, rappelling down the ropes hanging from almost a dozen attack helicopters and rudely ushering all the tourists to leave the site. They then proceeded to cordon off the area so that the scientific team could work in peace.

  Beneath that filthy canvas riddled with holes which did nothing to stop beams of sunlight filtering through and leaving trails of light in their wake, the archaeologist Mark Lephant was in a videoconference with the control center. Thanks to the magnificent equipment he had available, the signal was transmitted clearly to the screens in Area 51, which showed the image in startling clarity.

  At the President’s request, the archaeologist turned the webcam around to film the place where he was standing.

  James smiled when he saw that the image on the monitor confirmed his suspicions. It was the famous Kukulkan Pyramid in Chichen Itza.

  Chichen Itza was founded in 525 AD, quickly establishing itself as the main center of power in the Yucatan Peninsula. The many spectacular buildings in the city are overshadowed by the Kukulkan Pyramid, commonly known as “El Castillo”, or “The Castle”. The structure comprises nine platforms or levels, built on top of an earlier, smaller pyramid and topped off with a rectangular temple. Each of its four faces has ninety-one steps and they all allow tourists to reach the summit. Sitting on a base of six hundred square feet, it stands ninety-eight feet tall thanks to the twenty-foot temple on top. It was built to pay homage to the Mayan god Kukulkan, which is why the serpentine theme is featured so heavily.

  “There is something I don’t understand,” remarked the Secretary of Defense. “The other fragments were found in the most majestic and impressive buildings left to us by ancient civilizations. Why would the last piece be in this pyramid, which is so insignificant compared to the others?”

  What?! wondered James, completely aghast at the ignorance shown by one of his leaders and he interrupted them. “This pyramid doesn’t rival the others in size, but, its architectural features lead us to believe that those who built it had profound knowledge of mathematics, geometry, acoustics and astronomy. They managed to record the changing of seasons and the movements of the Sun and stars on the monument. The pyramid’s 365 steps indisputably represent the 365 days in the Haab calendar. Not only that, but the building is made up of 260 quadrangles which coincides with the number of days in the Tzolkin calendar.”

  James waited for those present to absorb his revelations, but just as he was about to speak again, Richard beat him to it.

  “Not to mention numbers as important as twenty, eighteen, five or fifty-two which also correspond to certain parts of the monument.”

  “Why do you believe that they had in-depth knowledge of acoustics?” asked the Director of the CIA. “As far as I am aware, pyramids don’t come complete with speaker systems.”

  “It has recently been discovered that one side of the pyramid is the site of a peerless acoustic phenomenon. When somebody faces those steps and claps their hands, the echo produced reverberates around the steps and is similar to the song of the Quetzal bird. Let’s not forget that for the Mayans, that bird was sacred and represented the spirit of the people.”

  The President pondered for a second over the mathematic and geometric knowledge they must have had to recreate such an effect. “What about their knowledge of astronomy?”

  James replied instantly. “The Mayans took into account the points at which the Sun appeared and its trajectory in the sky every day of the year in order to build the Pyramid of Kukulkan. Therefore, when dusk falls on the spring and fall equinoxes, the angle of the sun hits the northeast stairway of the pyramid in such a way that it produces a snake-like image. It is composed of seven inverted isosceles triangles of light, a result of the shadows projected by the nine platforms during the sunset. The reptilian body fuses perfectly with the sculpture of the feathered snake head which sits at the base of the pyramid, forming a reptile with a luminous body and stone head. This phenomenon goes on for over ten minutes.”

  The astronomer, who had until then remained quiet, shed more light on the young professor’s explanations. He seemed to know all about those astronomic characteristics. “That isn’t the only configuration of light that occurs with the stones on the face. When dawn breaks on the summer solstice, half the pyramid is illuminated and the other remains in darkness for the first few minutes. The same thing happens during the winter solstice, but it is at dusk instead and the halves are the other way round.”

  James remembered the phenomenon he witnessed at the Great Pyramid of Cheops just days before.

  The President stood up as his subordinates looked at his expectantly. He took a deep breath and sounded concerned when he spoke to them. “Supposing the last piece is in that pyramid, how w
ill we find it?”

  “We have taken a scanner capable of carrying out a detailed X-ray of the pyramid to Yucatan and we have the technology available to get inside as necessary, even if it means causing damage to the monument, but we need more time. The Mexican police will burst onto the peninsula at any minute and we won’t have the means to hold them back.”

  “How long do you need the scanner?”

  “At least eight hours.”

  “And how long have we got?”

  “We could keep the police back for an hour before causing an international conflict. When the time has run out, we think they will attack us. This is undoubtedly their most precious monument, and they will defend it as if their own lives depend on it.”

  “Fuck!” The President turned to look at the two professors. They alone had found the first two pieces. “Gentlemen, where do you think it could be?”

  James sighed. “It’s difficult to say in this case. We always had some kind of clue, a symbol or carving to show us the way, but there’s nothing here except…” The scar! he thought.

  James slowly rubbed his hands. The wound didn’t sting but the symbol etched on his palm again caught his eye. That symbol, unbeknown to him, could have some meaning in Mayan semiology. All the officials noticed James’ strange behavior; he seemed absorbed in his own world. Even the archaeologist in Chichen Itza got closer to his monitor to see the look of astonishment on James’ face.