Chapter 14

VI

Tinahuaco had died many moons ago; the cold of the puna beat against the walls of the ruins and no one slept there. By day a solemn silence was omnipresent; by night, no one, not even for all the gold in the world, would sleep there.

In the middle of the ruins of the stone astronomical laboratory, a man with his naked torso gazed into the flames. Immune to the bitter cold, he stood in perfect concentration, ready to receive the voices of his god and father god.

The presence soon manifested itself behind his back. Not even he with his knowledge would dare to look at it. That presence as he approached changed its forms; it was a four-legged dragon, which was diluted on the ground, to become a lion, a child or formless forms, diluting in a thousand sinuous shadows and making him feel a burning pressure on his back.

--You have a mission my son,--" said the thousand booming voices at his back; as he watched the flames in perfect obedience,-- "It will be very difficult, that is why I have called you. You will have to live mostly in your physical body and as such you will behave to the fullest extent. It is possible that you will obtain what you have desired so much. Listen to me --- said the thousand and one voices.

The man understood. He would be a mentor again.

-- It will be something special,--" said the God Viracocha.

At Cuzco, in the royal hall, the great Inca was on his revolving throne. During the day, as he remained seated on the pinnacle of the truncated pyramid, where he had placed a rotating chair, which rotated at precise angles.

At that time the great Inca had it approximately perpendicular to the north; indicating that the great sun was giving an electromagnetic massage to his heart. The man stood with his feet bare, in a V-shape and his hands conveniently placed on his thighs. He was absolutely hieratic and gazed intently at his ambassador.

--Sacred presence," --Bibut began to say, lying on the floor with his face hidden in his hands, keeping his face down.

--Stop with the formalities, stand up, I don't have time for chitchat. Hurry up, hurry up,--" said the Great Sun impatiently.

--Genius and figure, identical to the other," --thought the man, as he struggled to get up.

--The thing is,"-- said Bibut to his lord and master, getting up and looking at the Great Sun. A very thin old man, with a penetrating, unblinking look and a permanent rictus of contempt, ----that his sacred daughter Altulay does not pay attention to our recommendations. I sent an emissary to her and personally explained myself; she does not want to influence her husband.

--But... Are you an idiot or what?---" interrupted the Inca, losing his concentrated pose, getting up unexpectedly from the armchair and rushing down the stairs he stood in front of the other. His eyes presaged a storm

- -I sent you to increase our influence, saving face. Be creative. Make an attempt on Altulay's life and hold on to it to impose our ministers. Give more gold to the Jiraharas to make them more aggressive on the southern border. Assassinate an Inca general. Increase tensions somehow. What do I know. But do something. You keep making excuses; I want solutions. If not, I'll find someone who will. I want Saba Tamac out of the kingdom. I need power and influence in the Chibcha kingdom. They are a stopper that prevents me from extending to the north; I want to trade with the Pipilca Confederation, I want contacts with the Mayas and Olmecs, to obtain their scientific knowledge, that is the real power, not the territories and the Chibcha kingdom is the passage to there. Lo N-e-c-e-s-i-t-o. If I have life left, I want to trade even with the Aztecs. If Altulay does not want to cooperate, then state decisions will have to be made.

Bibut remained in one piece, while his hands felt cold. The great Inca had no limits to his ambitions for more knowledge.

---So it will be sacred father and our father.

The other did not answer him and without saying goodbye, he walked towards the corridors. The Tam Tam indicated the beginning of the sacred and forbidden hours.

Bibut was secretly grateful for the saving sound. The sudden attacks of fury of the sacred Inca were not to have very happy results for those who witnessed them.