Chapter 3: Secrets and History

"Professor Frost," Carl said hesitantly, after they were back on the road. Brian was still driving, but Shawn was riding with them in the Humvee again. "We've followed your lead because, well, you're our teacher," Carl continued, determined to have his say. "We volunteered for this dig, partly for the pay, but mostly for the experience of working with you. All of us feel like we can learn a lot from you. You have a reputation of finding things when others find nothing. Professor, today was ... um."

"What he's trying to ask in his normal stumbling manner, Professor Frost," Briana cut in with a laugh, "Is; what happened today? How did you know where those soldiers were? How did you know what they would do?"

"I don't know how he knew where the bad guys were," Amy said with an appreciative smile, "but the Prof has some moves. That wasn't the first time you have faced danger, Professor Frost. The rebels were outclassed from start to finish. They were dead men walking from the moment they decided to attack us." Her smile faded and her eyes turned considering when she concluded with, "I would like to know how you learned to move like that because it sure wasn't in a classroom."

Cody knew questions like this would come up. He wished that the questions were simply about his history. The trouble was, he hadn't decided how he wanted to answer the questions yet. There was silence in the Humvee for a few moments while he considered. Finally, he shrugged and decided to go with the truth, or at least a portion of the truth.

"My 'moves, ' Miss Ruiz, were learned in the Marines," Cody said drily. "You may not realize it but, professors are not born in a class room. I was in Iraq and Afghanistan before America pulled out and the countries were given back to the terrorists. And no, I was not in a classroom in those countries. Miss Jorgensen, have you ever had a flash of intuition?" Cody asked. "I'm talking about suddenly knowing something that you couldn't possibly know. Something that ultimately proves to be true."

"Well, sure. Everyone woman has. It's a woman thing," Briana answered flippantly. "Um, haven't they proven something subliminal provides the information?" she asked defensively.

"I don't know," Cody answered with a shrug. "Have they?" He turned to Amy and asked, "Miss Ruiz, have you felt endangered from individuals before they actually confronted you?"

Amy snorted, in a very unladylike manner, and said, "Sure, Professor. There's a lot of things to account for that though. Body language of the individuals themselves, and body language of others around me that are aware of the danger before I am."

"Are you sure that is all that warns you?" Cody asked softly. "How about when you can't see the individuals before they confront you? How about today, Miss Ruiz? Could you feel the danger from those men before they stepped from the brush?"

Amy's eyes were wide, not with shock, but with the memory of the recent encounter. She nodded her head reluctantly before saying, "But, you told us they were there and where to expect them to come from."

"Mr. Sanchez, you grew up in the gang wars of Houston and the Tex-Mex border," Cody said, turning to the young man. "You have been in many battles before and know how to respond to danger. Today, you shot the man confronting Mr. Miller. That was the correct action, because he was the greatest danger to our group. Yet, logic dictates that you should have been focused on Miss Jorgensen's or Miss Ruiz's opponents. You have expressed an interest in both young ladies and evolutionary instinct requires you to protect prospective mates. How did you know to shoot the man you did, in the heat of battle, despite logic saying that you should have been focused elsewhere?"

Carl shrugged and said, "He was going to shoot Brian."

"And Carl knew that he'd better not express too much interest," Amy said with a laugh. Her glance flickered to Shawn for just a moment, to see if there was any interest from that direction.

"But, how did you know Brian was in the most danger?" Cody pressed Carl, ignoring Amy's comment.

"I, I don't know, Professor," Carl said haltingly.

"Mr. Miller, Mr. McLaughlin, I'm sure both of you have faced challenges and in hindsight, couldn't figure out how you survived," Cody continued, looking at his last two interns. "All of us have had flashes of insight into a problem. All of us have felt endangered by people or circumstances at one time or another. The difference, in my case, is that I've learned to pay attention to those insights. When we're digging, if I get a feeling a different location would be more productive, I change to the different location. When there is danger, I've learned to listen to my intuition and feelings and react accordingly. I've learned that they are surprisingly accurate. Maybe not one hundred percent of the time, but close enough to keep me alive."

"Are you trying to say that you're psychic?" Briana asked in disbelief.

"I'm saying that everyone may be psychic, to an extent," Cody replied with a smile. "I just pay attention more than most."

"We risked our lives of a psychic hunch?" Carl asked, on the verge of anger. He had a short temper, but was placated quickly and easily.

"Maybe so," Amy answered him sharply. "But, he was right every step of the way," she pointed out. "I think that qualifies as a little more than a hunch."

"I'll say," Briana said shaking her head in disbelief but reluctant acceptance. "I don't understand how you can take, well, feelings, and translate them into answers that are so exact. I get feelings about things all the time but that doesn't mean that they mean anything."

"The secret is how you listen to those feelings," Cody said with a smile. "It isn't something I can teach. I can help, maybe, but I can't teach it. In my case, it's all practice and trial and error."

"I have a different question, but Bree's and Carl's questions seem to be a part of it," Shawn said quietly. The other interns stopped talking and waited. Shawn was the acknowledged leader among the interns.

"Professor, why are we here?" Shawn asked. "I mean, I know we are here on an archeological dig, but the Smithsonian hasn't sponsored an expedition since the war. There are a lot of places that would seem to have a higher priority for an archeological focus than South America and Inca ruins. The ruins at Machu Picchu have been under a microscope for well over a hundred years."

Cody met Shawn's eyes for a moment before shifting his gaze to meet the eyes of his other interns. He considered how to answer. Apparently, his interns had been discussing this question because Carl spoke before he answered.

"Professor Frost," Carl said respectfully. "However you managed today, we did survive a life and death situation. We appreciate that. If you have some weird psychic sense that saved us, then I'm glad. I'll take any break we can get. But, we also know this isn't a normal expedition. Sir, I think that after today, we deserve to know the whole truth."

"He's right, Professor Frost," Amy said, her voice quiet but determined.

"There's also the question about why we were selected as interns for this expedition," Brian said into the quiet following Amy's statement, as he continued dodging potholes in the road. "I appreciate being selected, but I'm sure there were others with better grades and technical archeological skills. And, I don't think you brought me along just for my driving skills. It seems like you knew an awful lot about us, today, about skills we had other than archeology." Brian glanced at Cody for a moment before looking back at the road and saying, "I don't regret being here, Professor. Even after today, I consider it an honor that you selected me, for whatever the reason was. I would like to know what the reason is though."

Cody chuckled and said, "I selected the five of you for many reasons, but one of the main reasons was that all of you are sharp, and I'm not talking about just in your studies. Each of you have demonstrated other attributes that contributed to your selection," he admitted reluctantly. He shook his head as he considered his next statement, then shrugged and said, "Okay, the whole story. You do deserve it after today. Also, we may be facing a lot more of what we faced today before this trip is finished. I'll send anyone home that wants out after you hear everything."

Cody pulled the amulet his father had found from his shirt and stared at it for a moment. He had worn it on a chain around his neck since he found it in his father's belongings. Finally, he held the amulet out from his body so the five of them could see it clearly.

"Have any of you seen this symbol before?" Cody asked."

"It looks familiar," Amy said slowly, "but I'm not sure from where. It makes me think of early Mesopotamia."

The other four interns didn't recognize it at all.

"Very good, Miss Ruiz," Cody said. "It can be found on Sumerian artifacts, but that isn't where this was found. My father found this on his last dig, in South America, in strata dating about 7000 BC."

"Wow," Shawn said.

"Isn't that impossible?" Amy asked, her forehead wrinkled in thought.

Cody put the amulet back inside his shirt before settling back in his seat. He considered all the discussions between him and his father over the years. He nodded to himself as he came to a decision. He needed to organize these thoughts and the best way to do it was to speak them aloud and let them be challenged by intelligent colleagues. His interns certainly qualified.

"We have several hours before we get to Cusco and the ruins of Sacsayhuaman," Cody said. "Let me ask you some questions that my dad and I have asked ourselves, and talked about, until he was killed."

"Your dad was killed in the DC bombings, wasn't he?" Briana asked carefully.

"Yes, and he called me the day before he was killed," Cody replied with a twinge of pain at the loss. "He told me about this amulet, and how it might be a partial answer to one of the questions he and I had been discussing for many years."

"What kind of questions?" Briana asked curiously.

"Think about those monolithic stones at Machu Picchu and all the other sites in South America," Cody instructed. "South American monolithic construction is dated from around seven to eight thousand BC, to the first century after Christ. The wheel wasn't introduced in the Americas until Europeans arrived. Yet, stones weighing several hundred tons were cut from mountains and, in some cases, moved many miles and up the sides of mountains. Those stones were milled to such exacting tolerances that, in many cases, we can't even get a piece of paper in the gap between the stones, centuries later. Some of what they did, we couldn't do today with modern engineering. Also a very high level of mathematics was required. Some of the sites with these huge stones are situated to observe certain celestial events with an accuracy that would defy modern technology. Yet there is clear evidence that mankind was in the stone and bronze age during the construction of these sites. What does that tell you?"

The interns looked at each other in consternation for a moment. Amy, probably the most impetuous of the interns, spoke up first.

"Hasn't it been proven that massive manpower projects and ropes were used for the construction of the megalith sites?" Amy asked hesitantly.

"The only ropes we have today that would handle some of those rocks are made from carbon fiber," Cody said drily. "You are correct that archeologists have claimed that. The thing you always have to ask yourself, as an archeologist, is, 'Does the answer make sense?' before you accept it."

"So, what answer did you and your dad come up with?" Shawn asked curiously.

Cody sighed and said, "The only answer we could figure out is that there were two different groups of humans up until four or five thousand BC."