by Stargate
"Working on it." Jack turned back to the corpse. In the flickering light of the torch he could see inside the pouch, flaccid now that the rigidity of death had passed. Gritting his teeth, he reached in - and pulled out a blood-encrusted crystal skull.
EPILOGUE
ergeant Harriman turned to General Hammond. "Sir, it's SGl's IDC!"
The surge of hope that swept through Hammond was like a rush of morphine. "What?" He looked over Harriman's shoulder. M4D376, otherwise known as Xalotcan, was a seething ball of hell. According to Jacob, even the atmosphere had burned off. Down into the `gate room, the squad of SFAs on permanent standby were already in position. "Open the iris!"
Grinning broadly, Harriman slapped his hand on the palm scanner. "Yes, sir!"
Hammond's unashamed delight at seeing Jack O'Neill, Daniel Jackson, Teal'c and Dr Robert Dabruzzi stroll through the liquid blue event horizon was tempered by the way Jack carried himself. It was exactly how Major Carter had been when she'd returned through the `gate a week earlier. He had a fair idea of what was going through the Colonel's mind. Hammond reached down to the microphone and called into the PA, "Major Carter to the `gate room, on the double!"
Jack's head shot up with whiplash speed. His eyes bored through the glass, demanding. Hammond smiled, and crossing his arms, nodded slowly. "Stand down," he ordered the SFAs.
By the time Hammond reached the `gate room, Major Carter was hugging Teal'c, whose smile had broadened markedly. Jack caught Hammond's eye, silently not asking permission for something he would never admit to. Hammond nodded once; the only acknowledgement he would ever give. O'Neill opened is arms and held Major Carter like a drowning man clinging to a life raft.
As he held her close, Sam felt something stir between them. She jerked in surprise. The Colonel looked at her with a crooked grin, reached into his pocket and pulled out the black Chihuahua, Xipe. It was the first time she'd seen the animal when it wasn't shivering.
"I was thinking of getting myself a dog, anyway," he said.
Sam heard the trace of mischief in his voice. She couldn't picture the Colonel as the Chihuahua type.
Daniel patted the animal's head. "He saved our lives."
"On two occasions," added Teal'c.
"Uhm... still," said the Colonel hopefully. "We could consider giving him up if - "
"There's a little girl in the infirmary who is going to be very happy to see him." Sam couldn't stop smiling, but she didn't much care. "And you, too, sir. All of you."
"So, Colonel," said General Hammond. "I can only assume that you found the professor and used a skull to reach Yaxkin?"
"Little more complicated than that, sir, but Yak Skin it was. Quetzal's pyramid collapsed after we transferred the first batch of kids out. Figured Dabruzzi was gonna get his wish for a front row seat at the end of the world, but then Daniel tried the skull in the center of the Citadel."
"Just like on Earth, the city is a scale model of the entire valley," explained Daniel. "The Citadel was in the exact center of Teotihuacan, and the caldera acted as a gigantic resonator."
"Worked just fine, sir," said O'Neill.
"Quetzalcoatl must have done something to facilitate the transfer," Daniel added. "From what we can tell, everyone left alive in Teotihuacan - over two hundred and fifty thousand people - arrived under that glass pyramid in one transfer. There are a lot of injured, but they'll be okay if we can organize relief supplies. We would have been back here sooner, General, but it took me a while to figure out the location of the `gate."
"And Yaxkin is suitable for the refugees?" asked Hammond.
"Certainly is," the Colonel replied. "Lots of trees. I even got a little fishing in."
"No volcanoes," griped Dabruzzi, staring at O'Neill oddly. "Fishing? I wondered where you'd disappeared to - "
"We found what we think was Coatlicue's lab," added Daniel quickly. "It was near the `gate."
"Was?" said Sam.
"Yeah, looks like Quetzy found it. Nothing much left." The Colonel looked around curiously. "Uhm...more importantly, did anyone save some Christmas cake?"
"Sir," Sam said to Hammond. "About my transfer - "
The General crossed his arms. "Don't worry about that, Major, I'll talk to General Vidrine. As for the rest ofyou, briefing room, one hour. I may even have some cake myself. And Colonel O'Neill?"
"Sir?"
"In uniform, please."
"And I was just getting used to it!" O'Neill pulled the singed and battered feather-cape around his shoulders in a flourish, and left.
CLASSIFIED
MISSION REPORT: M4D-376
AUTHOR: DR. DANIEL JACKSON
CLASSIFIED
Mission 5-12/01: M4D-376
Excerpts on Teotihuacan, the Aztecs, the Mayan Calendar and crystal skulls.
Teotihuacan
Teotihuacan was built by an unknown race of people in the early years of the first century BC. It was a thriving metropolis until 750AD, when the estimated 200,000 inhabitants mysteriously vanished, and the city was burned. The remaining stone structures were partially dismantled by the Mayans, Toltecs, Aztecs and Spanish, to furnish building materials for their own monumental structures. Despite this systematic plundering, it stands today as the single largest archeological site on Earth. One of the more compelling mysteries surrounding Teotihuacan is the complete absence of writing. It appears as if the inhabitants deliberately erased all evidence of where they came from, and where they went.
When considering Teotihuacan as an historical site, it is important to remember that what little information we have has been filtered through the cultural bias of the civilizations that followed, the Mayans and the Aztecs or Mexicatl. The Spanish then added their uniquely biased cultural interpretations. This has left modem scholars with a highly speculative collection of theories as to the origins, purpose and finally, the ultimate fate of this city and its inhabitants.
The first records of Teotihuacan come from the Aztecs, who, believing that mere humans could not have created such a place, declared that it must therefore have been built by the gods. hi Nahuatl, the Aztec language is still spoken by over a million and a half people today. Teotihuacan means the `place of teotl', or `the place where teotl comes'. The word teotl applies to the forces of nature: the weather, the rivers and oceans, plants and animals, and the heavens, celestial bodies, sun, moon, planets, and so on. A strongly animist culture, the Aztecs believed these forces were manifestations of the gods. Thus `teotl' is synonymous with both `god' and `natural force'. The `place of teotl' can equally be interpreted as the `place where powerful natural forces concentrate'. Given our understanding of the crystal skull transport system, this is perhaps a more accurate description of Teotihuacan - albeit the 'natural forces' are somewhat outside our current scientific understanding.
The Aztecs further believed that the gods came to Teotihuacan to create the current world of existence (see my notes on Mayan Calendar). This belief was not based solely on the city's size, ingenious town planning and architectural splendor, but on two unique features. First, and I should stress this is a feature seen in no other city, ancient or modem, on Earth, the permanent stone structures are an exact scale model of the Teotihuacan valley, with the pyramids representing the surrounding hills and mountains. Secondly, and perhaps more crucially from an Aztec point of view, the largest structure in the city, the Pyramid of the Sun, was built directly over a four-chambered lava-tube.
In a culture that worshipped death as a crucial part of the life cycle, caves were considered to be portals to the Underworld. A four-chambered cave was held as particularly sacred, for each of the caves' lobes was believed to represent the four parts of the cosmos, the very foundation of Mesoamerican existence.
We now know that the architects of Teotihuacan selected this location because of the natural resonance in the valley. The caves were convenient, but not crucial. There is evidence to suggest that they were enlarged to facilitate the functioning of the skull transport
system. This then allowed the inhabitants to travel from the one convenient central location, the Pyramid of the Sun, to the four worlds of Tollan, Orban, Xalotcan and Yaxkin.
From descriptions in early Mayan codex, the Teotihuacan seen on Earth today is merely the skeletal remains of a once magnificent city that `shone like gold'. As Teal'c has pointed out, there were significant differences between the Teotihuacan of Xalotcan and that of Earth. The most obvious, of course, was that on Xalotcan it was a living city, with semi-permanent Aztec structures of clay and wood built on the original stone foundations. The other major difference was in the facades of the two largest pyramids, and the absence of the Adosada platform on the Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl. However, the ground plan and the number and configuration of pyramids and `temple' bases appeared, from what we could tell, to be identical (see the attached ground plan). The description that follows is therefore applicable to both cities.
Bisecting Teotihuacan in a north-south direction is the broad Avenue of the Dead. At its geographic heart, on the eastern side of the Avenue, is the Ciudadela, which could have comfortably accommodated over 100 000 people. [Note: Ciudadela is a Spanish word, on Xalotcan we referred to it as the `Citadel']. Within the Ciudadela sits the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent, Quetzalcoatl. Although not as tall as the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon, it is one of the largest and most heavily decorated structures in the city.
At the northernmost end of the Avenue is the Pyramid of the Moon. The female goddess depicted throughout Teotihuacan in carvings, frescoes and pottery closely resembles the mountain looming directly to the north, the sacred peak of the Cerro Gordo ('fat hill'). The goddess' lower parts represent a cave from which the current `world' was bom. The Aztecs believed that it was from here that the hero god, Quetzalcoatl, emerged from the Underworld, Mictlan, with the bones of the inhabitants of the prior world, in order to create mankind. Thus, mountains and caves represent the promise of life within death, as well as being portals to other, metaphysical worlds.
Five hundred meters south of the Pyramid of the Moon, on the eastern flank of the Avenue, lies the biggest single structure in Teotihuacan, indeed, all of Mesoamerica, the Pyramid of the Sun. Larger at the base than the Khufu pyramid (or Cheops if you prefer the Greek name) at Giza, the Pyramid of the Sun is orientated towards where the sun sets on April 29 andAugust 12, and was built directly over the four chambered lava-tube.
In addition to the principal pyramids, several dozen smaller pyramids are positioned around the city. Some archeologists have opined that their configuration represents the Solar system's planets and moons. They further cite this as evidence that the Mayans built the city.
This attribution of mathematical genius to the Mayans is flawed for a number of reasons.
Firstly, most of the planets and their moons were not discovered until the invention of modem telescopes. Therefore the existence of so many celestial bodies could only have been derived mathematically - unless a more advanced race provided the Mayans with this information. We are therefore left with a circular argument. Who was this advanced race if not those who built Teotihuacan?
Which brings us to the second major flaw in the `Mayan' argument. The principle structures of Teotihuacan were completed by 200AD, one hundred years prior to the beginning of the Mayan Classic period, which itself lasted from 300-900AD. We know from Mayan texts that their cities maintained an extensive trading relationship with Teotihuacan, but it is evident that, like the Aztecs who came later, the Mayans emulated the pre-existent Teotihuacan architectural style.
Thirdly, Teotihuacan was a highly urbanized city, with complex town planning and distinct socio-economic residential districts. The Mayans were never a true `urban' culture. Their cities were almost entirely used as religious centers that supported, and in turn were supported by, a surrounding rural population.
Finally, the Orbanians, direct descendents of the Teotihuacanos, are a fair-skinned Nordic race. The Tollans were also Caucasian, whereas the Mayans were distinctively Mesoamerican. The Mayans certainly had some knowledge of the skull network and transport system, but I believe it was limited to their priesthood (see Crystal Skull in my attached notes).
The popular theory regarding the purpose of the pyramids at Teotihuacan derives from the Aztecs' use of them as temples and sacrificial alters. However, there is absolutely no physical evidence supporting this premise. Indeed, large quantities of mica - a shiny silica rock often used for electrical insulation - found on and around these pyramids offers tangible evidence that they were used for an entirely different purpose. Mayan texts describe the buildings as a collection of observatories and structures housing instruments to observe the cosmos. To be fair, some modem scholars have interpreted this literally. They assume the Teotihuacanos used simple but practical stone structures and instruments to mark the passage of the moon, sun, and Venus, in order to calculate the seasons.
The Goa'uld use the pyramid form as landing platforms and to channel power through their ships. The Omeyocan used the shape to channel power to transport systems. The Mayans copied the architectural style and worshipped it because they knew it had great power, but they did not understand it. The Aztecs adopted an essentially Mayan culture and, having been corrupted by the Goa'uld, used the pyramids as temples and sacrificial altars.
This is a prime example of how a religious belief structure evolved from real events and practical, scientific applications, the origins of which have been lost through time. Form does not necessarily equate with function, especially when one is dealing with different cultures and vastly different technological levels. The attribution of a function through the cultural bias of civilizations that followed is a common error. It has been, and continues to be, a major problem in archeology. Instead of taking a genuinely scientific approach, of formulating a theory based on hard physical evidence, most archeologists vigorously dismiss even the most compelling evidence when it does not fit accepted wisdom. Further, they attack the credibility of any who dare challenge their essentially unscientific stance. The crystal skull that Nick found, and the evidence I unearthed at Giza, being cases in point.
From the codex that Wodeski's team discovered in the tomb beneath the Pyramid of the Sun, we now know that the smaller pyramid structures held machines similar to the one in the map room on P7X-377. This explains how the Mayans acquired such an accurate calendar system, one that formed the cornerstone of their culture (see Mayan Calendar in my notes) and was later adopted by the Aztecs.
Further evidence suggests that the inhabitants of Teotihuacan took the machines with them when they evacuated the city . It now seems that members of the Brotherhood of the Snake (see crystal skull notes) remained behind and burned their city in order to destroy evidence of these machines' original function, thus preventing the Goa'uld from discovering their whereabouts. Today, on Earth, only the stone bases of these observation and map rooms remain. When the Aztecs invaded Xalotcan, the inhabitants there also destroyed their technology rather than allowing it to fall into Goa'uld hands. The invaders then used the pyramids for the same purpose as they had on Earth, as temples and sacrificial alters. One can only assume that the Xalotcan did not destroy the crystal skulls because the Aztecs had already used the skull transport system to locate them. That these skulls were later hidden is a testimony to the determination of the secret Brotherhood.
On the basis of this, I am somewhat reassured that the Tollan would have destroyed all of their technology rather than allow it to fall into Goa'uld hands. Sadly, with the Tollan now wiped out by the Goa'uld, it seems that the only survivors of this once great civilization are the Orbanians. They are deeply curious about their past, and even more curious as to why their recent ancestors chose to eradicate all memory of that past. Until they discover the answer we can only guess at where these people came from before they settled Teotihuacan. To that end, I believe we must look to the origins of the crystal skulls.
From a personal perspective, I should mention it was Teotih
uacan that played a pivotal role in my decision to become an archeologist. After my parents were killed, and Nick chose not to adopt me, archeology didn't exactly top my list of career choices. When I graduated from high school, Nick, no doubt deciding that I was old enough not to be bothersome, invited me to visit him in Mexico. He was researching something in Museo del Templo Mayor at Teotihuacan at the time. I remember how he all but ignored me, and, bored, I walked up the Avenue of the Dead and climbed the Pyramid of the Moon. I was staring out at the city, more or less wondering what the hell I was doing there; when it suddenly struck me that the skyline of the city reflected the exact shape of the mountains behind. I raced back down the Pyramid, along the Avenue, then up the Pyramid of the Sun. Despite offering a completely different perspective, once again, I saw that the skyline of the city exactly followed the topography of the mountains. At that moment I knew that Teotihuacan was far more than a city; it was some sort of vast machine. The `gods' that the Aztecs believed had built Teotihuacan must therefore have been a technologically superior race of people, perhaps even more technologically advanced than modem man. It was a gut-wrenching epiphany.
Although I would not return to Teotihuacan for some years - something to do with avoiding Nick's `territory' and his by then debunked `alien' theories - it was there that my career, and a quest that would ultimately take me to other worlds, began.
While this quest has, naturally, evolved and expanded in the intervening years, discovering the truth about Teotihuacan has provided me with a certain sense of completion; of coming full circle.
The Aztecs
Given the religious basis of the Mayan cities, the decline of the Mayan Classic period after 900AD had little impact in real terms on the mostly agricultural population, which itself continued to thrive. It is now evident that the Goa'uld, Coatlicue, having lost almost everything in her battle with the Omeyocan, slipped into the residual Mayan culture and belief structure, adapted it to suit her needs, and, after the birth of her first offspring, established the Aztec empire.