The Kukulkan Manuscript

by James Steimle

  But it had been Kinnard himself who’d perpetuated the problem when he could have stashed KM-2 or given it to Masterson, who should have received the book in the first place. Porter had really been an innocent who’d gotten in the way and hung on for dear life because his was otherwise at an end. A snare yanked Alred into this.

  A worse trap would snatch both students into judicial oblivion, while Kinnard himself pulled the lever.

  What other choices were there? Suicide? Who wanted this codex and all its relations buried anyway? Would they kill Kinnard if he explained…what really had occurred? Would the University oust him since he did not stand with his fellow academics? Would the papers be involved in this? What about his family; what would they wonder as they read,

  DR. TROY KINNARD OF STRATFORD UNIVERSITY

  DEFENDS MORMON THIEF,

  THUS LOSES TENURE!

  “We need to know the truth,” Comer said through the fog of Kinnard’s thoughts. “First…who is Peter Arnott?”

  Pause. “I don’t know.”

  “Well, we’ll get back to him in a moment. Tell me, did Erma Alred return KM-2 to Stratford University on thirty April?”

  The cue. Kinnard’s lines had already been well-rehearsed before stepping into the courtroom. There wasn’t a trial going on, but a play! Kinnard had never auditioned, but had a part so vital that the director, Peter Arnott, stood with his arms folded and his face gray in the back of the brown room right where the professor could see him best.

  Kinnard looked at the great double doors with armed officers standing like cast iron ushers and couldn’t push away the feeling that he was on trial and not John Porter. Would Kinnard make it through those doors after his testimony? How far, before he was stabbed in the back, shot with poison darts, or—

  No, they would get him later. Blow up his car? Too dramatic. Poison his orange juice tomorrow morning? They wouldn’t spend the money. Their revenge would be worse than death. Kinnard would lose credibility, watch his job fall away. Perhaps they’d even find a way to revoke his credentials….

  “Dr. Kinnard?’ said Comer.

  Looking into the Prosecuting Attorney’s caffeine-charged eyes, Kinnard opened his mouth a crack and drew in the warm air of the courtroom. He tasted the scent of the leather chair beneath him as he shifted his weight. He folded his fingers together on his lap and squared his shoulders. His chin lifted and fell, eyes jumping to Masterson’s cold gaze, back to Arnott who never moved, both young gargoyles carved out of flesh. Closing his eyes, Kinnard heard the squeak of Judge Panofsky’s bottom against his seat.

  Comer didn’t restate the question or call the professor’s name a second time. For only a flashing moment, Kinnard saw in the attorney’s eyes the minute concern that Kinnard was about to overthrow the entire point the Prosecution pushed for: that the meeting mentioned by Porter and Alred had never occurred. The insinuation could also then be deduced that Alred was as guilty as Porter, at least in her attempt to lie in a Federal court of law.

  Leaning into the microphone, Kinnard said, “I…I can’t answer the question at this time.”

  “Answer the question,” said Judge Panofsky.

  Kinnard kept his mouth near the microphone as he turned his face to the judge. “I’ll have to utilize the fifth amendment.”

  The courtroom rumbled, and Comer laughed lightly at the professor as if Kinnard didn’t know how real courts ran beyond the boundary of the media.

  Kinnard looked at Masterson, whose eyes darkened into shady pits.

  Arnott lifted his body from the far wall and headed to the door as if he were only going to the bathroom.

  Kinnard felt the skin on his face cool, all the moisture evaporating suddenly.

  The double doors shut again, and the professor imagined Arnott, the devious shadow posing as a professor and who knew what else, walking away from the courtroom, a cellular in his hand raised to his head. It was an unspoken eulogy of sorts, but only a dream at the same time. Arnott signed the papers verbally. For what? It didn’t matter. Kinnard’s simple insistence to say nothing told the world that more was happening than Comer suspected. That was bad enough.

  At the same time, Kinnard heard Comer say, “No further questions, then. But stick around professor, I may have something else in the near future.”

  Before standing, Kinnard realized that he himself might be implicated in this crime. After all, who gave Porter KM-2? Who first received it illegally? The codex never came from Stratford University, but from Ulman to Kinnard in clearly illicit fashion. Mailmen smuggled Ulman’s prize unwittingly and handed it right to Kinnard, who said nothing about the transaction until after passing the object on to the man on trial today. What if Kinnard did so with full realization and intention of sneaking the manuscript around in order to bring it forth properly at a later date and be one with Porter as the discoverer of this rare and magnificent, world-changing codex. Motive: fame and money. And Kinnard wouldn’t have had to do the dirty work. And if anyone was arrested, Porter could play scapegoat.

  If Arnott used this ploy, Kinnard would have few defensive possibilities.

  He lowered his mouth to the microphone again. “There were many meetings in which I sat and discussed Porter’s Kalpa Codex with Masterson and the others.”

  The rumble of the room turned to a hush as Comer froze with his back to the witness. He turned around. “I’m sorry?” said the Prosecuting Attorney before managing his thoughts. With licked lips, he said, “Dr. Kinnard, did Alred return the manuscript as mentioned, or are you telling us something irrelevant to this case. I said I had no more quest—”

  “Alred gave it back,” said Kinnard. “I was there. So was Masterson, though he says otherwise. And Dr. Goldstien sat right next to me. Arnott…I don’t know who he is, but he doesn’t teach at Stratford. Masterson introduced him to the students as a professor working there with us.”

  Comer looked for only a few seconds into Kinnard’s eyes.

  What could Kinnard lose now? They would no doubt attempt to entomb him with the scenario he’d already predicted. It was Kinnard’s words against his colleagues’, and Kinnard would end up looking as dirty as the two graduate students. But it didn’t matter. He knew his account was accurate.

  Kinnard’s eyes moved to Porter, who looked at his supervising professor through tears…or was it just the lighting….

  Comer turned his focus on the judge. “I said I had no further questions.” He turned away.

  Sowerby stood and approached the witness stand with a pale grin.

  The facts of Kinnard’s testimony meant little now. Everyone knew where he stood. Kinnard wouldn’t waver anymore.

  * * *

  May 7

  10:14 a.m. PST

  “Ms. Alred,” said Comer, smiling at the ground. “You insinuated on the fifth that Stratford University recalled KM-2 because—possibly!—of the deaths of persons involved with the discovery. Do you honestly believe Porter’s life was really ever in danger?”

  Alred tightened her eyes on the Prosecuting Attorney. She had yet to figure out the man’s new ploy. Whether or not that actual meeting happened, wherein she gave KM-2 to Masterson, who then passed it on to Arnott before her eyes, was irrelevant. Comer, as a representative of the government had a job to do. Porter had to be found guilty of the charges brought before him. They had already long discussed the Egyptian figurines found in Porter’s car. It was a settled issue, one which Porter himself would not deny to be factual, as he hadn’t been in contact with his automobile since he was chased from the library. No one could prove, however, that Porter stole the artifacts from Stratford or even Mrs. Ulman, who had been subpoenaed, but never came to court. But even Porter would not dispute that the figurines were found in his automobile. So where was Comer going with this question?

  “I believe there are people who are willing to kill for the codex,” said Alred. Of course, after seeing Ulman die in a parking lot and then being attacked by two men herself, her words were un
derstatements that were necessary at present. She wouldn’t risk exposing that she currently possessed KM-3 by noting those traumatic instances.

  “Murder…for religious purposes?” said Comer, tilting his head.

  Alred leaned her head back. Grimacing inside, she cursed all religions. Nothing came with more disfavor to her mind. The aunt after whom she’d been named had died a faithful fanatic at Jonestown. The rest of her living family had a peculiar fear of God, one she would never understand.

  Porter’s fire would not go out. The more persecution, the better. He’d shine like a sun in this courtroom if Comer didn’t drop this.

  Of course the Prosecution wanted Porter to go nova. When emotions got involved, people lost all sense of logic. Alred wanted to look over at Porter, to shout out a warning. It was a trap, and no one would fall harder than the eccentric Latter-day Saint in the room. But she kept her eyes sturdy and rethought the question—why would people try to murder Porter? “For scholarly reasons.”

  “We’re talking Indiana Jones here, aren’t we?” said Comer. He turned to the judge and jury, but didn’t bother looking at them, keeping his eyes on the black ground instead as he slid his hands into the pockets of his dark slacks. “Will you be telling the court that this killer scholarship is normal among the highly educated?”

  Alred didn’t blink. “Everyone who has ever been directly connected with the study of Dr. Ulman’s find in Guatemala is dead now. Only one individual I know of, other than Porter and myself, who has placed his own hands on comparable portions of the relative discovery is still alive, and he has sharply turned his back on the project…as if it were never found.”

  “Really,” said Comer. “And who is that?”

  “Dr. Alexander Peterson of Ohio State University. Porter chose to stand alone.”

  Comer smiled and squinted his eyes as if playing along with this new revelation. “Who would organize such devious acts?”

  Alred set her jaw, looked around, then locked eyes with the Prosecuting Attorney. “I believe the man in question…has been here in the courtroom today. You know him by the name of Peter Arnott.”

  “Has been here?” said Comer, glancing once at all those watching the proceedings.

  “I no longer see him at present,” Alred said, realizing how much this probably sounded made-up. “I am sure Dr. Kinnard will concur with my statement.”

  Comer nodded, pushing his bottom lip against his top teeth. Walking over to the jury, Comer pondered thoughts Alred could not discern. Had she led him down a blind alley, or was she walking the path he’d devised during the recess? He looked at her again. “Ms. Alred. You are a specialist in…”

  “Ancient Mesoamerican Archaeology, but I am also well-read in numerous ancient American cultures.”

  “What relationship does Mormonism have with ancient Mesoamerica?” said Comer.

  “Objection,” said Sowerby.

  Judge Panofsky put his mouth to his microphone. “Mr. Comer, will you state the relevance of your question before carrying us into a religious trial. I hate those.”

  “Your Honor, according to the Encyclopedia of Mormonism, published by the Macmillan Publishing Company in 1992.” Comer lifted a brown leather-bound notebook from his desk and read his words aloud. “Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, otherwise known as Mormons, believe a number of Israelites settled somewhere in America in approximately 600 BC. The Book of Mormon specifically describes these people and their approximate 1000 year existence, with an included supplementary book describing another group who came from the Old World to the New just after the fall of the Biblical Tower of Babel.” Comer looked up. “John Porter is a Mormon, and I suspect would therefore be more interested in Central American archaeology because of his religion than for scholarly reasons.”

  “Objection overruled,” said the judge, looking at his desk. “Proceed.”

  “Ms. Alred, based on your knowledge of Ancient Mesoamerica and your personal contact with Mr. Porter, would you say the defendant made no religious connections with Dr. Ulman’s discovery?”

  “I do not feel inclined to say such a thing,” Alred said, her eyes relaxed but her head growing hazy. She prayed inside that the Prosecutor would turn the discussion away from religion, then sighed with inner embarrassment for praying at all in any form.

  “Porter is a specialist in Ancient Near Eastern Studies,” said Comer, looking back at his notes. “In your expert opinion as a doctoral candidate in Ancient Mesoamerican Archaeology, Ms. Alred, what relationship does ancient Arabia, Egypt, or Israel have with America?”

  Alred moved her tongue around in her mouth before speaking. “None.”

  “On what basis do you make this decree?” said Comer.

  “Archaeologists refute claims that anyone came from the Near East to the Americas in ancient times,” said Alred. She felt her conviction tearing away at her inside. After all she’d studied personally, in Dr. Ulman’s papers, KM-2, and especially KM-3, there ached the constant possibility deep inside her that the connection really was clear. But everything else, all her schooling, every measure of her logical mind told her to ignore Ulman’s finds—they only confused the truth.

  “Tell us why then was a scholarly young man like John D. Porter, a specialist in Near Eastern Studies, given the ancient manuscript dug up by an American Archaeologist from Stratford University.” Comer stopped his slow pacing.

  “Porter believes there is a connection from both sides,” she said. “This does stem from his faith and more precisely from the Book of Mormon. He has used numerous Mesoamerican texts to back up his claims and has found KM-2 to be the greatest of all, expressing the heretofore undiscovered evidence linking the Old and New Worlds. He is…motivated by his religious standing.

  “I do not concur with these ideas,” said Alred for her own peace. “The bottom line is that both Porter, a Near Eastern scholar, and myself, a Mesoamericanist, were commissioned by Stratford University to complete a project which would result with our Ph.D’s, following our dissertations given on the fifth of May. As does Porter, I have a full Fellowship and am therefore…paid to do exactly what Stratford asks. This was a paid assignment. Porter had more at stake than anyone else relative to KM-2. I do not believe he sought money or even fame from this study, but very much hoped to earn his degree and bring to light what he would deem as more evidence that the Book of Mormon is what it claims to be. Due to a technicality, this excellent student who is on trial today wouldn’t graduate without the KM-2 project. As I said, Stratford took KM-2 away at the last moment, dissolving all possibilities and inadvertently disposing of our work.”

  Comer grinned. “And you believe this.”

  “I have no religious convictions—”

  “You think some underground religious freaks might try to kill the both of you, just as you see others murdered for—”

  “I see two Ph.D’s stolen from the hands of worthy students, and a university that is attempting to—”

  “Why can’t you see what is going on here?!?” said Porter standing suddenly and speaking fast as one thump of the gavel echoed through the room. “Archaeological evidence in any good textbook confirms the dates suggested in the Book of Mormon, which was written years before our modern information had been found, gathered, and compiled.

  “Both modern studies and the Book of Mormon describe a society which lived at the same time and died in the Middle Preclassic period of Mesoamerican history.

  “Both sources accurately present us with a new civilization that sprang suddenly out of the Middle Preclassic period, ran for one thousand years, ending with major social catastrophes and changes culminating in the end of the Early Classic civilizations.

  “While scholars for decades have called the Mayans a peaceful people, the Book of Mormon describes tribes and kingdoms at constant war with one another. Now archaeologists confirm the description—the Book of Mormon proving to be accurate again. New art filled with armed men and tangible
evidence of widespread cannibalism in and around Teotihuacan in the North and Mayan lowlands in Guatemala and the Yucatan begin exactly at the same time as the record of Mormon—describing the same situation—purportedly ends.

  “As the Book of Mormon prophesies, in the years following its last pages, as Alred and any competent ancient Americanist will confirm, all major population centers completed a shift from theocratic governments to secular lifestyles. The old ceremonialism was done away with. Mayan and Mesoamerican stones were defaced for reasons archaeologists are unable to give. And from the Middle Classic period on, religion became a means to secular ends just as it too often does today.

  “I could cite to everyone in this room, the Popol Vuh and other ancient Mesoamerican documents which describe scenes from the scattering of people from a mountain—your Tower of Babel, Mr. Comer—to the great flood found in the Bible. Parallel stories. I could bring to your attention the Annals of the Cakchiquels translated for the first time into French in 1855 and into English in 1885, or the Title of the Lords of Totonicapan translated into Spanish in 1834 and then English in 1953. Shall I refer you to the painted walls of Bonampak in Chiapas, Mexico, which by the way made it onto the cover of National Geographic a few years back? Wasn’t brought to white man’s attention until the middle of this century. All of these relate detailed Book of Mormon stories.

  “The Book of Mormon, which first came to light through Joseph Smith in 1830!

  “The KM codices found by Dr. Ulman coincide with these finds and more particularly with the Book of Mormon.

  “Think, now. No one wants these things to reach the ears and eyes of the citizens of the world. Can you imagine what would happen if irrefutable proof came clearly pointing out that the Mormons have been professing a religion which is in fact the true faith of God, taught for more than a hundred and fifty years all over the Earth?!? Are you ready to change your lives in the case that occurs?! Can’t you see why people have conspired to cover up the assignment I received from Stratford University—including the University itself?