Lost City of the Sun

11

"IT WAS AN IDEA that crossed my mind one day, after I had been here for some time," said Jack. He stood and stretched, then settled back on the bed, but in a more upright position.

"It was actually the arrival of my first child that cemented my place in the tribe, and my desire to 'go native' as they say."

Skip gave Nusiri a look. "I can certainly relate to that," he said.

"My wife, Inti, named for the sun, you see, she had been the one to rescue me, the one who talked the People into taking me in, into letting me become part of them. I was building a new life here, I had a family and a new community. Still, I had family left behind in the 'old life.' I needed a way to get out a message, letting people know I was alive and well. At the same time, I didn't want them to come 'rescue' me, just to know I was okay and happy. Inti had taught me the codes of the quipu, and so I got this crazy notion to leave a clue that only those with the right knowledge, the right worth, would be able to figure out.

"And so, with the help of Inti and a few others, I made my way back to Dead Horse Camp, and left that," pointing to Skip's quipu. "A long and dangerous journey, to be sure. And of course, after I got back, I began second-guessing myself, regretting my plan. Those able to figure out my clue would not be satisfied just to know I was alright. They would no doubt launch a rescue mission, and quite likely never make it out of the jungle themselves. And the fact that it was coded into a quipu was sure to raise unwanted questions. So, eventually, I made my way back, hoping to take it back before it was found. I was too late, as we all now know."

"My grandfather, when he was not much older than Zane, spotted it, on a search for you and your father, with his father and uncle. Another small family expedition, as is our own right here." He waved his hand, encompassing himself, Nusiri, and Zane. "But there is still an unanswered question. Why a quipu? What is the connection with these people, and who are they, really? What is the story of your great-granddaughter Killa's people?"

Killa looked out the open doorway. "It is a nice day," she said. "Let us go outside and enjoy the sun."

She stood up and helped her great-grandfather, Jack Fawcett, shuffle outside. They saw now how weak and frail he really was with his advanced age. They settled onto benches carved out of tree logs ages ago by Jack himself.

"The quipu is the key to everything," Killa told them once they were seated and she was ready to begin her tale. "The key to Great-Grandfather's clue that he left behind, the key to my people and their history, the key to the answers you seek."

She eyed Skip and Nusiri, her gaze drifting back and forth between the two. "I will tell you now because I have been watching you. You, Skip, are like Great-Grandfather. You also have 'gone native,' as he puts it. And you, Nusiri, are of people like myself. I have seen the way you have been teaching your son, Zane, the ways of the land. For this, I think I can trust you with our story." She stopped for a moment and looked around. "There are many in this village who would not."

Killa took a deep breath, then began. "You are correct in your assumptions," she told them. "Our people are not from the forest. We were people of the mountains, far away from here, for we are indeed descended from the People of the Sun, the People of the Tawantinsuyu, where the four regions, North, East, South, and West come together. The people whom you call Inka. But while many of the descendants of our ancestors live on in our homeland, our village is special, for we are descended from the ones who were the guardians of the Sun god Inti, the keepers of the final Secret. We kept the Sweat of the Sun safe from those who would conquer and pillage."

She exchanged a look with Nusiri, to see if she understood. Nusiri's almost imperceptible nod, unnoticed by the rest, told her what she needed to know.

"The story begins with the imprisonment of the Inka ruler Atahualpa by Pizarro in the last years of the Spanish Invasion, what you like to call the Conquest. Atahualpa offered up a ransom, to fill his cell with gold for the Spaniards, which he did. But Pizarro had him killed anyway. When Atahualpa's general, Ruminahui, heard about this, he ordered everything of interest to the Spanish to be removed to the farthest reaches of the land, where the Andes meet the Amazon."

Skip had heard about this legend of the lost Inca gold. Supposedly, it was hidden in a cave or buried in a lake somewhere in the Llanganatis Mountains of Ecuador. Other accounts placed it in the Lost City of Paititi, a last refuge of the Incas.

"With nothing remaining for the Spanish overlords to plunder, Atahualpa's nephew, Tupac Amaru, ruled what was left of the empire, doing what he could to resist and fight the Spanish, until he was killed in 1572. Those tasked with hiding the artifacts continued on, never to see their homeland again, in order to keep the secret safe. But the further east they traveled, away from the Spanish, the closer they came to the Portuguese, who were exploring to the west, up the Amazon. And so, they built a new city, the City of the Jaguar, in a place where they would be safe. And as an outpost to guard against the Portuguese, they made use of ancient ruins they discovered, which they built upon, calling it the City of the Monkey. We here, this village, are their descendants."

"Something should be noted about the names of cities," said Jack. "Each city has an animal totem and an astronomical name. So the City of the Jaguar here is also called Mach'acuay, named for the dark constellation Serpent."

"Dark constellation?" asked Zane. "What's that?"

"The Inca not only saw shapes in the stars, they saw shapes in the dark space between the stars. One of the most important was Mach'acuay, the serpent who swims the river of the Milky Way."

"Back in the homeland of the Andes," Killa continued, "the place where they took refuge before leaving the region altogether is the City of the Condor, of course, or the City of the Sun, for it is the city of Inti, the sun god. And that outpost City of the Monkey, is also known as the City of the Moon."

"City of the Moon?" said Skip. "Isn't that where that spring, those healing herbs come from?"

"Oh, there are more wonders in this land than you can imagine," said Jack, with an uncharacteristic youthful twinkle in his eye.

"So, what about Z?" asked Zane. "Did you ever find it? Whatever became of the Lost City of Z?"