City of the Gods

by Stargate

  It seems incredible to me now that I did not immediately see this connection between the Goa'uld and the Aztecs. When one considers the Aztecs within this context, it explains the speed with which their civilization evolved. They performed extraordinary, indeed what some have referred to as `impossible', feats of engineering and urban planning, epitomized by their incredible capital city Tenochtitlan, site of the modem day Mexico City. Here, through a complex system of dams and causeways, they built a thriving metropolis on a series of reclaimed and floating islands, to become the `Venice of Central America'.

  Many scholars refute the more bloodthirsty aspects of the Aztec culture, particularly those involving cannibalism. These same scholars insist that only a handful of people were ever sacrificed during a set number of ceremonies each year. Some have gone so far as to suggest that the anecdotal evidence of cannibalism was mostly Spanish propaganda.

  This denial is, I suspect, a result of these scholars' inability to reconcile what they see as a bizarre juxtaposition of sophistication and barbarity. In effect, they are unable to see past their own modem cultural prejudices and taboos.

  The evidence of mass sacrifice exists on many levels. Even the nature of the Xochiyaoyotl or Flower Wars, resulted in the Aztecs developing a fighting style that was designed to capture, not kill enemy soldiers - a strategy that placed them at a severe disadvantage when facing Cortez's army.

  How many people were actually sacrificed over the course of time is open to conjecture. While some Spaniards reported seeing, `tens of thousands' of skulls in the tzompantli, or skull racks, others claim that the racks weren't large enough to accommodate more than hundreds. When I discussed this with Jack, he pointed out that it depends on the configuration of the skull racks. The ones he saw, courtesy of the Khmer Rouge, contained several thousand.

  The evidence of cannibalism by the Aztecs is equally fraught with inaccuracies, inference, and, I concede, quite possibly Spanish propaganda. Historians who support the conjecture that cannibalism was common have adopted what appear at first glance to be sound arguments for its economic basis. In order to maintain the world, ritual warfare was a way of acquiring victims necessary to `feed' the gods. After the sacrificial victims, the xochimiqui, had their hearts ripped out and burned in sacrifice, their bodies were cooked and eaten. This highly ritualized practice thus reduced the population in times of famine while simultaneously providing a reliable source of protein. The xochimiqui believed they would be greatly rewarded for fulfilling this vital role in maintaining their world of existence, which explains how large numbers of them could readily be controlled prior to and during the ceremonies.

  Scholars who refute the economic basis of cannibalism point out, rightfully so, that the Aztec diet of maize and beans, supplemented by green algae, tadpoles, frogs, and insects, and occasionally, birds and fattened dogs, contains sufficient protein so that cannibalism was unnecessary. But if modem consumerism is any guide, necessity does not necessarily equate with desire. Numerous Aztec codices speak of bringing slaves along on military campaigns, to act as `walking meat'. At the end of a hard day's fighting, given a choice between a plate of green algae and grasshoppers, and a roast haunch of meat, it is not difficult to imagine the preferred cuisine.

  Although I cannot say for certain to what degree ritual sacrifice and cannibalism occurred in Mexico, there is no doubt about what we witnessed on Xalotcan. Having also recently witnessed the Goa'uld, or more accurately, their hosts, eating mature symbiotes, I strongly suspect this predilection contributed to the ritualized nature of Aztec cannibalism.

  Future scholars reading this journal might argue that we cannot infer Aztec behavior on Earth from what we witnessed of Aztec behavior on Xalotcan. I would suggest such an argument is specious. Despite a gap of four hundred years and several hundred light years, the fact remains that the Aztec empire of Earth grew under the tutelage of a Goa'uld, and then migrated off world in a series of military campaigns. While it's entirely possible that the Aztecs of Earth abandoned the worst excesses after the Goa'uld left, there is no doubt in my mind that ritual sacrifice and cannibalism played a significant, even defining role in their daily lives. What we witnessed on Xalotcan was irrefutable, and segues seamlessly with what we know of the Aztecs of Earth. The only significant difference was that the orbital eccentricity of Xalotcan around Meztlf almost certainly exacerbated the economic necessity of cannibalism.

  Mayan Calendar

  The Mayan religion was grounded solely in the belief that the universe functions in a logical, cyclical, and predictable way, and that humans could exploit this by accommodating themselves to these cycles. To this end, the Mayans, an agricultural society, became obsessed with the passage of time and the cycles of life. This in turn led to the creation of an exceptionally accurate set of calendars and celestial almanacs.

  The Tzolkin, or sacred calendar worked on two cycles, one of thirteen numbered days and a second of twenty named days. These cycles repeated themselves every 260 days. The Tun, or ceremonial calendar was 360 days long plus five concluding, `unlucky' days. The Katun calendar had a cycle of 20 tuns. Both calendars ended after 18 980 days or fifty-two years, with six `unlucky' days left over, called Nemontemi. In addition, they maintained a half-year lunar calendar, a Venus calendar, and cycles of the sky gods. When used together, these calendars were accurate to one day in 6 000 years.

  From a cultural point of view, the complexity of these calendars and almanacs resulted in a continuous cycle of rigidly controlled behaviors and religious ceremonies.

  The Mayans also believed that there were four `suns', eras, or worlds of existence prior to the current one, which they named Xalotcan. These suns are the glyphs seen in the center section of the Mayan/Aztec stone calendar. Each of these worlds met a catastrophic end at the completion of each 6 000 year calendar cycle.

  The Mayan calendar will reach the end of its current 6 000 year cycle in the Gregorian year 2012.

  Crystal Skulls

  Dozens of ancient skulls fashioned from blocks of stone, including a variety of clear and colored crystals, have been discovered on Earth. However it is the quartz crystals skulls, all of which have thus far been found in Central and South America that have inspired so much debate and, indeed, rancor among archeologists.

  In 1970, the Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, who specialized in crystal oscillators, ran extensive tests on one of these skulls. HP declared that the skull `simply should not be'. In their very detailed analysis, they reported that the interior of the skull was made up of a complex system of lenses, prisms and channels that together created unusual optical effects. Any ray of light that strikes the eye sockets is reflected into a form of prism located within the bottom back of the skull. This `prism' is not a discrete section, but inherent within the structure of the skull.

  This is only one of numerous puzzling attributes. The skull weighs 11.7 pounds, and is roughly 7 inches long, 5 inches wide and 5 inches high. Together with the hinged jaw, it was manufactured from a solid block of crystal, which itself seems to have been created from three or four separate joints that have been somehow fused together. HP further reported that the crystal has a hardness slightly lower than that of topaz, corundum and diamond. Thus, the skull could only have been cut with diamonds. However, there are no tool marks whatsoever, even at a microscopic level, anywhere on the skull. Additionally, and this is the perhaps the most astonishing aspect, the skull has been cut against the grain.

  It should be stressed here that quartz crystal has a particular grain', an internal alignment of the crystalline structure. Even using modem lasers and other high-tech cutting tools, it is a physical impossibility to cut crystal of this type against the natural molecular symmetry, otherwise it shatters. Nevertheless, this `impossible' skull exists.

  In conclusion, what we have is an artifact that appears to have been manufactured sometime prior to 200AD (current estimates place its manufacture between 6 000 and 36 000 years ago) by people who had an adv
anced understanding of crystallography and fiber optics. The manufacturer completely ignored the axis of symmetry, using tools that prevented the crystal from splitting during processing, and left no tool marks whatsoever.

  Two further crystal skulls, a smoky clear one discovered in Mexico in 1979 by a Mayan priest, and an opaque amethyst skull, discovered by the same priest a few years later, were also tested by Hewlett-Packard. Both displayed similarly unusual, indeed, `impossible' properties. The location of these skulls is currently unknown.

  In Nick's notes on skull lore, I found multiple references to Native American legend that tells of the existence of thirteen crystal skulls. It is said that they would only be found and brought together during a time of great crisis, wherein they would reveal information crucial to the survival of mankind

  We now know that the skulls form part of an ancient transport system, one presided over by the Omeyocan. We also know that one skull led to P7X-377, while four skulls led to a network ofplan- ets settled by the descendants of Teotihuacan. If there is any basis in this legend, it means that eight skulls are yet to be found.

  According to Nick, there are dozens of map rooms on P7X-377. It is entirely possible that many of these maps lead to non-human in addition to human civilizations that have remained free of the Goa'u1d. However, as the Omeyocan have not returned to P7X377, and we have no way of accessing these map rooms, we may never know.

  Following events on M4D-37X, Nick pointed out that references to crystal skulls in other Earth mythologies claim them to have originated in Atlantis. Here they were supposedly used as repositories ofknowledge, and virtual `maps' of the cosmos. When Atlantis fell, thirteen skulls were rescued and given to a secret society, the Brotherhood of the Snake, who were charged to protect them throughout all time. Some of the descendents of this Brotherhood were said to have led their followers to a great land `in the west'. By all accounts, this is the city we now know as Teotihuacan.

  Information gleaned from Atlatl, the leader of the Yaxkin settlers, and the codices discovered by my grandfather, Nicholas Ballard, and Stanislaw Wodeski, have together provided a cogent chain of events.

  By 650AD, Teotihuacan had colonized four worlds: Tollan, Orban, Yaxkin and Xalotcan. The city was then abandoned because of a `star war' - presumably the great battle between the exiled Goa'uld and the Omeyocan. A handful of the Brotherhood remained behind to bum the city and hide the evidence of its true purpose. They buried four of the skulls beneath the Pyramid of the Sun and took the fifth `key' skull to Belize. There, they built what Jack aptly referred to as a skull network `substation', the Temple of Quetzalcoatl, and adopted the role of Mayan priests.

  In the earliest codex, the priests shown using the skull are dressed in Mayan clothing befitting their rank. However, they were represented as a fair skinned, pale haired people with somewhat Roman noses. It is only in the more recent codex that the distinctive `Mayan' profile evolved. According to Atlatl, when Coatlicue failed to arrive on Earth in the years after Teotihuacan was deserted, the Brotherhood took Mayan wives and passed their legacy onto their olive-skinned children. Their descendants carried the secret down through the generations.

  Almost five hundred years passed, during which time the Mayan empire collapsed. Coatlicue arrived to find Teotihuacan long abandoned. After seducing a Mayan priest who had heard stories of the four skulls at Teotihuacan, she founded the Aztec empire. Although Coatlicue eventually located four of the skulls, she never learned of the existence of a fifth skull. The Brotherhood ensured the protection of this skull by infiltrating the Aztecs and becoming high-ranking members of its society. They were among the first priests and warriors to be sent off world on the Goa'uld's campaign to conquer Xalotcan, Tollan, Orban and Yaxkin. Although we do not know what happened on Tollan and Orban, once on Xalotcan, the Brotherhood successfully hid four skulls until the `earthquake' triggered by Professor Stanislaw Wodeski revealed their location.

  The mythologies of countless religions across many human cultures are connected by one common thread, the concept of good versus evil, with the snake or serpent as the most predominant thematic representation of evil. The origins of this are often considered metaphorical. However, the secret Brotherhood was so named because it swore to protect the knowledge of the skulls against evil alien `reptiles' that evolved in the Constellation of Orion.

  The connection to Orion is interesting because the Pyramids at Giza are a representation of Orion's belt, and the shafts in the King and Queen's Chamber of the Khufu Pyramid point to Sirius and Orion. This was one of the pieces of evidence I used to postulate the theory that the pyramids had been built as landing platforms for alien ships. We now know that reptilian Goa'uld evolved on the planet P3X-888, which is in the constellation of Orion.

  In the middle ages, those of the Brotherhood who lived in Europe, and who were by then known as the Knights Templar, were charged with blasphemy by Philip IV of France and Pope Clement V, for worshipping Baphomet, a name derived from a composition of abbreviations: `Temp. ohp. Ab.'from the Latin, `Templi omnium hominum pacis abbas,' which translates as `Abbot - or high priest - of the Temple of Peace for All Mankind'. By all accounts, Baphomet was a `supernatural' being of exceptional strength, longevity and self-healing abilities. He was generally portrayed with a caduceus (hence the use of the caduceus to signify healing) or snake in his belly, and a tattoo on his forehead. It now seems likely that Baphomet was a Jaffa who, like Teal'c, betrayed his Goa'uld master in order to help the Brotherhood protect mankind against the `reptilian' Goa'uld. By the time the Inquisition was finished with the Brotherhood, the image of Baphomet appeared as a `homed goat' and became synonymous with Satan. The Brotherhood's leader was burned at the stake and the order supposedly disbanded.

  The story, however, does not end there. Some of the Brotherhood, having acquired a small navy with their accumulated wealth, used the symbol of the artifact they had originally been charged to protect, the skull, and sought revenge against the King and Pope by attacking their ships. It was only in later years that their symbol, a white skull on a black background, was adopted by adventurers and privateers.

  Master Masons are believed to include the descendants of the original Brotherhood. Whether they have any knowledge of the remaining crystal skulls is open to conjecture.

  Cheops Pyramid Razor Blade Sharpener

  Registered by Karel Drbal in 1959 under the Czechoslovakian Republic Patent Number 91304. The factory began making razor blade sharpeners out of cardboard m the 1970s they switched to Styrofoam.

  About the author

  With a degree in geomorphology and anthropology, Sonny Whitelaw decided that a career in academia wouldn't be as much fun as running a dive charter yacht and adventure tourism business in the South Pacific. Photojournalism came as a natural extension to her travels, and Sonny's work has been featured in numerous international publications, including National Geographic.

  Sonny is also the author of The Rhesus Factor, a contemporary eco-thriller, and Ark Ship, a sci-fi drama. She currently resides in Brisbane with her two children.

  For more information, visit www.sonnywhitelaw.com

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  METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER T, & © 2007 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.

  Table of Contents

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

 
CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  EPILOGUE