Maria decided to donate the skull to the Museum of Anthropology in Merida. Upon speaking to their curator, we learned, quite to our surprise, that similar skulls had recently been unearthed in burial grounds located on the Nazca plateau in Peru.

Was there a link between the Maya and Inca civilizations?

The three of us found ourselves at an archaeological crossroad. Should we continue on to Chichén Itza, an ancient Mayan city central to the doomsday prophecy, or leave Mexico and pursue our lead to Peru?

Maria’s instinct was to travel to South America, believing that the Mayan calendar was but an important piece to the doomsday puzzle. And so the three of us boarded a plane bound for Nazca, unaware of where our journey was leading us.

As we flew across the Atlantic, I found myself perplexed by something the physician in Merida had shared with me. Upon examination of the elongated cranium, the medical examiner, a man of good reputation, had stated, quite emphatically, that the massive bone deformity of this particular skull could not have been caused by any known elongation technique. To back up his claim, he arranged for a dentist to examine the dental remains, the results of which yielded something even more startling.

It is a fact that human adults possess 14 teeth in the lower jaw.

The elongated skull Maria had found only possessed 10.

—Excerpt from the Journal of Professor Julius Gabriel,

Ref. Catalogue 1969-73 pages 13-347.

Photo Journal Floppy Disk 4: File name: OLMEC-1-7.

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

OCTOBER 9, 2012
WASHINGTON, DC.

President Mark Mailer enters the Oval Office from his private study and takes his place behind his desk. Seated before him are members of the White House staff.

“All right people, let’s get started. We’ll begin with the issue of nominating a new vice presidential running mate. Kathie?”

Chief of Staff Katherine Gleason reads from her laptop. “These are the results of a public opinion poll taken last Thursday. When asked who they preferred to see share the party ticket, registered voters selected Senator Ennis Chaney to Pierre Borgia by a fifty-three percent to thirty-nine percent margin. The issue of trust appears to be their key motivating factor. However, when asked to identify what they felt was the central issue going into the November election, eighty-nine percent of the public named the escalation of the strategic arms buildup in Russia and China as being their primary concern, with only thirty-four percent of registered voters interested in pursuing the construction of a radio telescope on the moon. Loosely translated: Chaney gets the ticket, we focus our campaign on stabilizing relations with Russia and China, and you remain noncommittal on the radio telescope, at least until after you’re re-elected.”

“Agreed. Any new developments at NASA?”

“Yes, sir.” Sam Blumner is the president’s chief economic advisor. “I’ve reviewed NASA’s preliminary budget for building this contraption on the moon.”

“How bad?”