Dr. Smith was still marching up and down muttering to himself when a warrior came into the antechamber and beckoned them to follow him up the candle-lit stairs to the temple. Once there, the warrior drew back the brocade curtain and stood to one side to let them pass. The temple had been transformed. The entire back wall, behind which was Nenetl's tomb, had been covered with a clear sea-blue curtain filigreed in gold and silver threads with fish, sea-shells and crabs, symbols of Tlaloc, the God of Water. In front of the curtain was a stone dais studded with pieces of jade, turquoise and emerald. On the dais stood a golden throne whose delicately worked trellis back was surmounted by a golden eagle with a coiled snake caught up in its beak. But the most remarkable transformation of all was Ann. She was seated on the throne, dressed in a knee-length silk skirt patterned with multicolored zig-zags. Her green lace blouse was decorated with sheave of corn and leaves woven in gold thread. Around her waist she wore a leather belt with an emerald buckle. Her necklace was jade, as were the bracelets she wore on her left arm; on her right wrist she wore the coiled snake from Nenetl's tomb and she held a posy of flowers. Her head-dress was a gold crown decked with brilliantly colored plumes, and her sandals were laced with gold thread. The Doctor, Penny and Don gaped at her in shock and awe.287Please respect copyright.PENANANa7g0lRLRa
Ann glanced at the warrior who stood beside the brocade curtain. "Leave us," she commanded.287Please respect copyright.PENANA5TXWXYlJZo
The warrior bowed and removed himself from the temple.287Please respect copyright.PENANAgsyE9i9Svy
"Ann, what on earth are you doing there?" Don's voice echoed his incredulity.287Please respect copyright.PENANAxpzZEtRdd7
Ann leaned her right elbow on the arm of the throne, held up her hand and shook her wrist, the posy and the snake.287Please respect copyright.PENANANnGL6beuoa
"They think I'm the reincarnation of the High Priest in the tomb."287Please respect copyright.PENANAqoJ7GixAHu
"Because you had put on that bracelet and were caught wearing it by the High Priest of Knowledge," Dr. Smith concluded for her.287Please respect copyright.PENANACGJ0PW17AW
"That's right, Dr. Smith," said Ann. "Tetzal know that I had come out of Nenetl's tomb."287Please respect copyright.PENANAGdSAKhX5nu
Penny looked puzzled. "But if Nenetl was a man," she asked, "how can they believe you are a reincarnation of him?"287Please respect copyright.PENANAwOUWmFktOq
"The form his spirit takes isn't important to them, Penny," Ann pointed to the bracelet. "This is what counted."287Please respect copyright.PENANA0xjiYIRMde
"Tetzal called us Nentl's servants," Don said. "Is that who they think we are---your servants?"287Please respect copyright.PENANA84rEGHZMT9
Ann nodded apologetically.287Please respect copyright.PENANAjVkh6Fo8zu
"Oh, the pain!" Dr. Smith snorted.287Please respect copyright.PENANAJZMTqMInol
Ann turned on him. "But it's ideal, Dr. Smith. We can enter the tomb as soon as we like, get into the TARDIS and be on our way."287Please respect copyright.PENANAVaVQXf6jyd
Dr. Smith drily observed that although re-incarnations could come out of the tomb, human beings couldn't go into one.287Please respect copyright.PENANArTwLMednwI
"You're a god, Ann," Don said with a smile. "Find out how it opens."287Please respect copyright.PENANAnbhpxTxZOI
Ann replied that she would ask, but Dr. Smith tut-tutted testily.287Please respect copyright.PENANA8vG858tPlK
"That's the one thing you must not do." His voice was severe. "As Nenetl's spirit, you'll be expected to know everything. But if you go around asking questions and the Aztecs were to decide that you're not whom they think you are," Dr. Smith paused for effect, "then we won't last long." Dr. Smith sighed and walked around the throne. Penny and Don didn't move. They all realized there was an impenetrable wall between them and the solution to their problem.287Please respect copyright.PENANAaUz1nNoQMw
The two High Priests came into the temple and bowed to Ann.287Please respect copyright.PENANAs2qgSLnWOB
"Great Spirit of Nenetl," Ollin said, "the High Priest of Sacrifice salutes you."287Please respect copyright.PENANAcRxlidfQql
Dr. Smith and Don exchanged a glance.287Please respect copyright.PENANAqFV34VaKHv
"I acknowledge the High Priest's greeting," Ann replied.287Please respect copyright.PENANAnOVcfTGkem
Tetzal approached the throne. "For many days and many nights Tlaloc has looked away from us," he began, but Ann interrupted him.287Please respect copyright.PENANAICOtTUf7IQ
"The God of Water and Vegetation?"287Please respect copyright.PENANAwLsaJmSUcZ
Tetzal nodded. "Our land withers and the people groan."287Please respect copyright.PENANAEmF79yo7AO
Ollin limped closer to Ann. "Those who serve the temple have prayed that the land may again be bountified," he said, "and this day we shall honor Tlaloc's name."287Please respect copyright.PENANAPv5BsvzVQ8
"When the sun's fire touches the horizon to the west," the people will stand before the temple in obedience to our commands," said Tetzal and bowed again. "We humbly beg you, Great Spirit, at that time, to show yourself before the people so that they may know their suffering draws to an end."287Please respect copyright.PENANAb0vxNGXm2k
Dr. Smith leaned over to Don and muttered gleefully that Ann would appear and down would fall the rain.287Please respect copyright.PENANAFXu2fEycgc
"How can he be so sure?" Don asked out of the corner of his mouth.287Please respect copyright.PENANAPOHTq7v1dL
"He's not the High Priest of Knowledge for nothing, West," Dr. Smith replied.287Please respect copyright.PENANA9YrPf52ONR
Ollin was watching them.287Please respect copyright.PENANA2yAyRV7gwi
"I shall do as the High Priest requests," Ann said.287Please respect copyright.PENANA6dUWjTeodO
"We also entreat you, Great Spirit, to permit your handmaiden and servants to perambulate among our people," Tetzal continued.287Please respect copyright.PENANAUTSo1UrL3q
Dr. Smith saw the flicker of doubt in Ann's eyes. He stepped forward.287Please respect copyright.PENANAKSb1ll3xa2
"O' Great Spirit, grant this request." He pointed to Ann and himself. "Thus may we be your eyes and ears and learn how best to serve all our interests."287Please respect copyright.PENANAgZY60sI7zI
"The aged servant of Nenetl speaks with wisdom," Tetzal remarked, looking at Dr. Smith with interest.287Please respect copyright.PENANAbYAPdlX0N6
Dr. Smith bristled. Aged indeed, he thought.287Please respect copyright.PENANANsRU7XagJu
Ann pointed to Penny. "My handmaiden remains with me." She waved her hand at Don and Dr. Smith. "But they may do as you request."287Please respect copyright.PENANAvTMBHN6uYp
The High Priests bowed again to Ann, then Tetzal turned to Don and Dr. Smith. "We shall await you," he said, and they left the temple.287Please respect copyright.PENANAG5RPncvodn
Once they had vanished behind the curtain, Dr. Smith rubbed his hands in delight.287Please respect copyright.PENANARrR02NGHtn
"A beautiful performance, my dear," he enthused. "We've got exactly what we want. You and Penny here in perfect safety, West and myself out and about, trying to find a way to get back behind that wall, into the TARDIS, and off into the great darkness of space."287Please respect copyright.PENANA0MDAuvjF3Q
Don wasn't convinced. "It sounds all right," he said, "but I don't think we should take our eyes off those two High Priests for a second."287Please respect copyright.PENANAaAzmY8UzqN
"Oh, don't worry about them, West," Dr. Smith replied airily, "they'll be too busy timing their miracle."287Please respect copyright.PENANACkF1wdwvCH
"What miracle?" Penny asked.287Please respect copyright.PENANAeIszKVkqJs
Dr. Smith turned to her. "Presenting the great spirit of Nenetl to the people, one second before there is a flash of lightning, a clap of thunder, and it buckets down."287Please respect copyright.PENANAd6pCG5ZXmf
"I still don't see how they can be as accurate as that," Don said, shaking his head.287Please respect copyright.PENANAkG8rhKpw77
Dr. Smith wagged a forefinger at him. "You mustn't underestimate the Aztecs, West. They were a very civilized, cultured people."287Please respect copyright.PENANAhDscYsE8Bq
"Not were----are, as far as we're concerned, anyway," Don interjected.287Please respect copyright.PENANALSW5pLoNEz
Dr. Smith cleared his throat. "They know all about astronomy and the constellations, each of which has its own minor god; their agricultural policies and practices are centuries ahead of their time; and look a the workmanship on Ann's throne," he pointed dramatically to it. "A very advanced people, apart from one or two glaring shortcomings."287Please respect copyright.PENANAByrIMMt0uq
"Like cutting out people's hearts, or chucking them off the temple steps," Penny suggested.287Please respect copyright.PENANAEOBrBVFl2Q
Dr. Smith dismissed her with a look. "I was speaking scientifically," he said haughtily. "For example, they've never heard of the wheel....."287Please respect copyright.PENANA7LJmZMEmJy
The two High Priests waited for Don and Dr. Smith in the antechamber below the temple. Tetzel was studying his posy of flowers while Ollin toyed with the obsidian knife he had extracted form under his priestly robe.287Please respect copyright.PENANApJefv6Zqor
"Mr. Tetzel?" Smith asked suddenly. "You do serve Nenetl, don't you?"287Please respect copyright.PENANAxVH2yLTtCy
"We do, as High Priests of the temple," Tetzel replied.287Please respect copyright.PENANATik06zuZDA
"How interesting. So, what purpose do the others serve?"287Please respect copyright.PENANA3zQDj5nJAY
"Nenetl has said that the...."287Please respect copyright.PENANAyB6ZC0H9wg
Before Tetzel had finished speaking, Ollin pointed the knife at him and asked if it would not be better that one of the strangers should lead their force of arms. 287Please respect copyright.PENANAdUyLNA6iDa
"Nentl's young servant should enjoy this honor. A warrior favored by the Gods."287Please respect copyright.PENANApKuKetEhn3
Tetzel considered this proposal for a moment, trying to guess what Ollin's ulterior motive might be. "But Yaotl is our chosen warrior," he replied finally.287Please respect copyright.PENANAY2NRiP7wWw
Ollin limped over to Tetzel's side. "Let Yaotl prove himself more worthy of command than the servant of Nenetl," he murmured, touching the tip of the knife with his finger.287Please respect copyright.PENANAFTt1Bnni9c
"But were the servant to lose the contest, it would bring down Nenetl's wrath upon us," Tetzel countered.287Please respect copyright.PENANAPZ96AAl6LJ
Ollin almost smiled as he hinted that Nenetl would ensure that no harm came to her servant, as the Gods were all-powerful.287Please respect copyright.PENANALwExxNHHB8
Tetzel was disquieted and tugged at a petal of a flower as he wondered again what Ollin's purpose really was.287Please respect copyright.PENANA9W2cfpVA5l
Dr. Smith and Don entered the antechamber.287Please respect copyright.PENANAfuVrFRcfwP
Ollin sheathed the obsidian knife. "It has been decided that the aged servant may walk abroad," he announced, "but you," he said, turning to Don, "will train to command our armies."287Please respect copyright.PENANA3jtbWqHJyf
Don and Dr. Smith looked anxiously at each other. Don't argue with him, said the look on Dr. Smith's face.287Please respect copyright.PENANAHFSAxoysNP
"The Great Spirit of Nenetl would not deny me such an honor," Don replied.287Please respect copyright.PENANAGUpA0xS7Ap
Ollin turned to Tetzal and asked him to conduct Dr. Smith to the garden at the temple's base. "There you may sit in comfort with others of advanced years," he added to an inwardly fuming Dr. Smith, whom Tetzal beckoned to follow him down the flights of stairs that would lead them to the ground level of the pyramid.287Please respect copyright.PENANA7N0pJYCZ6R
Then Ollin pointed to the jug of wine and one of the goblets. Don shook his head, but the High Priest picked up the jug, filled a goblet and drank the wine in a single draught. He put the goblet back on the table and wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his robe. He looked at Don for a few seconds with his intense, dark eyes.287Please respect copyright.PENANAbnTyhscuL7
"Come now with me to the barracks," he said, "where you shall encounter Yaotl."287Please respect copyright.PENANAt0Wvo4fsuz
"Yaotl? Is that someone's name?" Don asked.287Please respect copyright.PENANAriQrckY92I
"Yes. He is your rival for command," Ollin replied and limped toward the stairs.287Please respect copyright.PENANA0cEKchoKgu
Considerably taken aback, Don followed, rather wishing that he had accepted the proffered glass of wine.287Please respect copyright.PENANApE5Q2kC0rh
Dr. Smith was slightly out of breath when he and Tetzel came out of the temple. He looked up at the pyramid rising like Mt. Olympus above him and recalled Penny's remark concerning the faster way down and decided he was more than content to pant a bit. Tetzel led the way to the high-walled garden behind the temple. In one wall was a wooden door which Tetzel opened and let the two of them into the garden. It was enormous and beautifully laid out. The inside of the walls was trellised and covered with the rose and purple hues of bougainvillea vines. In the middle of the garden was a lake with an island of multicolored rocks in the middle. A mosaic path encircled the lake, with small paths radiating form it to the walls, and another three concentric paths divided the garden into segments, each one of them a trimmed lawn with beds of flowers and shrubs. There were stone benches along the edges of the lawns where older Aztecs sat. They bowed their heads respectfully to Tetzel, looked curiously at Dr. Smith's clothes and whispered amongst themselves.287Please respect copyright.PENANAQ8zxAs8R7a
Dr. Smith surveyed the scene around him. Color abounded. "Ah! Such a pleasant venue for a reflective afternoon," he observed.287Please respect copyright.PENANAZANPcVH7pJ
"Many years ago, after the body of the High Priest Nenetl was sealed in the tomb, a law was introduced that all who attain their fifty-second year should pleasurably pass the remainder of their years, free from responsibility and care," Tetzel explained.287Please respect copyright.PENANAe3x5fswoCd
"That is highly commendable. But don't they sometimes become bored?"287Please respect copyright.PENANAikN3eTyH0V
"Often we seek the accumulated wisdom of their years."287Please respect copyright.PENANARlRvqXr4aI
"What about?"287Please respect copyright.PENANAYwrm4zXsRK
"All manner of things. Each person here served the community in one way or another." Tetzel began pointing them out. "He was a weaver of priestly robes; she was a woman of medicines; he, an artisan of gold and silver; she, a sculptress in obsidian stone; and that man, a leading architect in the modernization of our city."287Please respect copyright.PENANAgNpDia713z
Dr. Smith noticed a gray-haired, pleasant-faced plumpish woman in her mid-fifties who was using a knife to prune a rose bush. "That lady was, and still is, a gardener, I can safely assume?" Dr. Smith asked.287Please respect copyright.PENANAKlQbpuEBPO
Tetzel laughed. "Zuma's advice, of all those here, is the most sought after. She sold vegetables in the marketplace but her eyes were everywhere, missing nothing. You will find in her a companion of great wit and interest."287Please respect copyright.PENANASma6899AAT
"Er, what did you say her name was? I must admit, names have never been my forte."287Please respect copyright.PENANAGrFqFPlXOe
"Zuma," Tetzel replied and begged Dr. Smith's permission to return to the temple. 287Please respect copyright.PENANA71BUqnlP5v
Dr. Smith acquiesced and Tetzel strode away.287Please respect copyright.PENANAljsvnDuLhV
"Oh, yes---Zuma," Dr. Smith muttered to himself. He had already noticed her glancing furtively at him. He wandered along the path, holding a lapel of his jacket, and stopped beside her. Zuma concentrated on her pruning.287Please respect copyright.PENANApneSDPehyc
"Despite the drought, there is water for flowers," he observed.287Please respect copyright.PENANAyIqnyH6Eg2
"It is better to go hungry than starve for beauty," Zuma replied and snipped off two roses which she handed to Dr. Smith.287Please respect copyright.PENANA5lGkjF2z1P
"Thank you, my dear." He sniffed them appreciatively. "An aroma worthy of the gods." He looked around the garden. "Such a delightful place, this garden, though I imagine it must be quite a task to water it."287Please respect copyright.PENANA5eyxpuZyEL
Zuma smiled. "There is a tunnel under the garden," she explained, "and from it run small pipes which lead to the lawns and flower-beds." She pointed to a nozzle with a watering rose on it which stuck up just above the ground. "Water from the city's irrigation aqueducts fills a reservoir with a sluicegate near the back wall. When the sluicegate is opened the whole garden can be sprayed."287Please respect copyright.PENANAOkUGPl112m
"How ingenious," Dr. Smith remarked as he sat down on a stone bench. "I find it so restful here," he said, "so very restful."287Please respect copyright.PENANAGLDNMdPKl7
"It is the garden of peace."287Please respect copyright.PENANAOc4kHJBRbc
"Aptly named."287Please respect copyright.PENANA2KKPWa0xYS
"You speak the words of Atl."287Please respect copyright.PENANAaZJAm5VcIs
"Atl?"287Please respect copyright.PENANAiIIAAFBdKS
"He built the temple."287Please respect copyright.PENANAXV3FcQd1hA
"And set out the garden as well?" But Dr. Smith's mind was clicking over in another direction.287Please respect copyright.PENANAgGUicepbbT
"As a labor of love," Zuma replied.287Please respect copyright.PENANAdtdwDIMCRF
"One senses that immediately. Does he ever come here?" Dr. Smith was all innocence.287Please respect copyright.PENANAwnKyUNwNRf
"He watches over the garden constantly."287Please respect copyright.PENANA8rBtuynXHD
"Really?" Dr. Smith's face lit up.287Please respect copyright.PENANAVTWbcLUiS4
"In spirit."287Please respect copyright.PENANAgmJTlUmJ38
Dr. Smith's face fell.287Please respect copyright.PENANAY3Agix3vrT
"As does his son," Zuma continued."287Please respect copyright.PENANABhlFSHZIM4
"Dead as well, I suppose." Dr. Smith was despondent.287Please respect copyright.PENANAFzYKkbl5do
"His son still lives."287Please respect copyright.PENANAUqkr8Z3Sid
Dr. Smith cheered up a mite. "He's a builder?"287Please respect copyright.PENANAuDVbQX2B9o
"No. A warrior."287Please respect copyright.PENANA7zA73kd4Km
"But maybe he knows something of his grandfather's work." Dr. Smith looked up at the pyramid. "I find the temple fascinating: the interior, the steps, the stairs, the antechambers." He stopped short of mentioning the tomb.287Please respect copyright.PENANAJGVa4rghDH
"A meeting between you can be arranged," Zuma said.287Please respect copyright.PENANAHB832kjyRZ
Holding his roses, Dr. Smith stood up and bowed over her hand. "Dear lady, I would be eternally grateful," he said.287Please respect copyright.PENANAxfcrPpZcWH