Friday 3:23 PM
“I’m Lucia Carvajal from the Institute,” said the woman standing on the museum’s front door, shaking the rain off her hair with one hand. “Sorry I’m late, but the storm flooded the roads, and I had to take a detour.”
“Dr. Carvajal. I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you,” said Liam, formally introducing himself to the professor he had only seen virtually before. “What a surprise to see you here this afternoon!”
She tilted her head with a puzzled expression.
“I didn’t think we would make it, but Carlos knows the area well. I know that time with the artifact is limited, so I thought I would come get it myself today.“
Liam looked over her shoulder and saw a man inside the car.
It was his turn to look puzzled. He looked at the professor with raised eyebrows.
“But your research assistants already came by earlier today and took the figurine with them.”
“Research assistants?”
“Yes. Margaret Sartini, she said her name was. She came with two men. They had all the documents in order, and-" Liam closed his eyes, "let me guess... they weren't your assistants.”
She reached into her satchel and took out a phone. She made a call, then after a brief exchange, she put the phone back in her bag.
“Liam, I want you to tell me everything that happened, and I'll need all security footage that you have.”
Her almond-shaped eyes had become hawkish accentuated by her angularly cut auburn hair. She turned and headed back to the car, where she said a few words to the driver. The headlights came on, and the car slowly backed up and drove away without the professor.
Liam got the feeling it was going to be a long night.
“Who were those people?" he asked her when she returned. "Why would somebody steal the artifact?”
“That's what I intend to find out," she said.
Liam ran his hand through his hair in confusion. Was he going to be fired for this?
“We- we have- ah- we have a tracker on it," he said. "We can see where it is!”
“Show me!”
Saturday 5:12 AM
The old plane engine sputtered in the turbulence. It was still dark, but Liam could see the jungle canopy stretching along the coast to the southeast with the faint edge of the golden dawn on the Atlantic. He marveled at the chain of events that had led to these great heights. A few hours ago, he had been working on spreadsheets in a museum, and now he was flying across a remote jungle in search of a stolen artifact.
To take his mind off the shaking and rattling plane, he focused on the volumetric map on his table. It showed the continent with layers of information on artifacts that contained the jaguar motifs. They had been found in different regions across different cultural groups. For each element, the map showed all pertinent information such as provenance, processing, analysis, results, storage location, photographs, 3D renders, and so on. The map extended all the way from the bottom part of North America to the Andean region in South America, where jaguar related artifacts had also been discovered. The map tracked each artifact in real time- a fact that the thieves had not taken into account.
The icon denoting the were-jaguar figurine was moving on the map. Liam could see it blinking across the country. The location, direction, and speed of displacement suggested that it was also traveling by plane. Where to, exactly?
He looked at Lucia. She seemed to know.
Why would someone go through such lengths to steal this particular artifact? It was made of jade and was very impressive, no question about it, but the effort expended, along with the costs incurred, surely were cutting into any profits that could be made from its sale in the black market. After all, the value of the artifact lay not in the thing itself, but the information it contained upon the moment of its discovery. This information had already been extracted and analyzed. Other kinds of analysis, chemical and so on, could be made on the artifact, but who would have an interest in doing such a thing?
None of this made any sense.
On the seat beside him, Lucia was busy on her computer. She never wasted a second by staring off into space or idly chatting. Now that Liam thought about it, she was a far cry from the wide-eyed and absent-minded academics he had often come across. She was sharp and practical, always thinking a few moves ahead.
“Why is the institute so interested in this particular artifact?” Liam said speaking over the sound of the plane’s engine.
“It is part of the heritage of this country. They take it seriously, and so do I.”
Then without missing a bit she returned to her work.
Liam got the impression that even as she worked, she was aware of everything that was going on around her.
Dots of lights shimmered through the jungle canopy. A few centuries ago, networks of roads connected communities, perhaps lit with fires at night. Households, villages, towns, and the great cities of stone connected in regional networks of trade and inter-cultural exchange.
Liam noticed that Lucia had stopped typing and was looking out the window.
He followed the professor’s gaze towards the horizon, where on the glowing sky, Venus rose above a hazy moon.
Sunday 6:24 PM
“I’m not a scientist, Dr. Carvajal, but I can put two and two together," said Liam as he waded along the knee-deep water. "Who are you? And who’s paying for this misadventure?”
Lucia stopped and turned to look at him.
“Really?” Her face was sweaty, muddied, and red with mosquito bites. “We’re wading through crocodile and snake infested mangrove waters, not to mention the disease carrying insects, and now you decide to bring this up?”
“I ask because I made a call to the university when we landed,” Liam said, ignoring her quip, “and they said they don’t have you on record.”
Lucia looked at him like one looks at an innocent child who’s about to lose said innocence.
“I never said I was from the university," she said coyly. "I said I was from the Institute.”
She smiled enigmatically, then continued wading through the water.
“And what institute might that be?”
“Just the Institute.”
Liam was about to question her further, but in that instance, he heard the thud of an arrow strike his leg.
And instead of asking his question, he screamed.
Time: N/A
He saw fires flicker. Dancing flames. Ruins. Hot. Sweaty. In the throes of delirium.
The world wouldn’t stand still, just tumble and spin in a sea of confusion. He tried to sit up but hands held him back.
“What’s going on?”
Fade to black then dancing lights again. A myriad faces spinning in liquid tapestries.
“Look, we have to take him to a hospital," said a voice, "or he’ll die. The poison can be lethal, and you know it.”
There was something pleasant and familiar about this voice. Soothing in the feverish dreams.
A cacophony of sounds reverberated. He could not discern one from the other but all sounds were a slightly different variation of the same universal wave.
Venus had risen and now glittered in the sky.
The moon itself had risen and chased after the evening star.
“This belongs to us! It is our tradition.”
“Fine! Keep the darn thing. Just help him! The man's going to die without the antidote.”
Hands held him up.
Voices whispered.
“Drink!”
Time: N/A
A map of the continent in 3D with a spatial and temporal distribution of were-jaguar motifs appeared in the curvatures of geographic space. A dotted line connected all the artifacts with the planet Venus. The days passed. The seasons turned. Wars. Growth. Decay. Empires rose and fell, people made love, and all along, Venus appeared and disappeared as it followed its regular course stalking the heavens. It’s disappearance marked the times of darkness, and its appearance the impetus for action and growth. Agriculture. War. Fertility. Transformation. The symbol of divinity and royal power. Death and sacrifice.
Liam writhed in bone-aching feverish spasms and distorted thinking. His mind melted in visions.
Voices sang old songs in an ancient language. Rattles and whistles blew like wild birds in the forest.
He felt his body change shape, fur break through his skin, hands and feet turn into paws, his teeth give way to fangs, itching and aching, whiskers sprouted from his snout with a meaty rustling sound.
He heard breathing. Heart beats. The scent of incense wafting through the air.
A dark form appeared in the colourful void. It marred the otherwise beautiful array of crystallized visions.
A jaguar pounced onto his visual field and uttered a deep roar.
Liam approached the dark form and watched it from every angle as if it were a computer graphic, then he roared at it, and the dark form began to retreat into the singular void.
He felt a surge of relief and energy course through him.
The jaguar stared at him with curious eyes. Its hide shimmered in a variety of colours as if it were a complex visual language. Then the creature walked away and disappeared.
Wednesday 9:17 AM
The jeep rattled as Lucia drove it down the fiendishly muddy road. The heat was oppressive, but at least the morning breeze felt cool on his face.
“I don’t remember anything," said Liam rubbing his eyes on the seat beside her. "We were in the mangrove when I felt the pain in my leg. Then after that. It’s all a blur.”
“They were being difficult," she told him "but I managed to convince them that it was in the best interest to let us go.”
“What about the artifact?”
“It’s on its way to the institute as we speak,” she said.
“The robbers just gave it to you? They didn’t want any money?”
“Of course they wanted money, but the Institute was willing to pay their demands.”
Why was she lying?
“What about the museum?" Liam asked her. "What am I supposed to say to them? I have to file a police report.”
“There’s no need to worry. It has all been taken care of. You will be given a generous bonus, of course, and a fair severance package.”
“What do you mean severance package?”
“You’ll no longer work for the museum.”
Liam looked at her with open mouth.
“You mean I've been fired?” he said.
“I wouldn't put it that way because it's not going to show on your record as such, but your services are no longer needed at the museum.”
“They can’t do that!" he protested sitting up straight.
A sharp pain shot down his leg like an arrow.
He groaned.
"This is not my fault!" he said shaking his head. "I was just trying to help get it back, but none of this is my doing.”
“They did not terminate your job," she said matter-of-factly. "Let's call it a promotion. You will now be working for us at the Institute. You have shown yourself to be proficient, so when you get home, you will get your affairs in order, pack your bags, and take a flight to the capital. I'm sure you will find your accommodations and arrangements to your liking.”
“But-“
She stepped on the gas, and the jeep bounced up and down the jungle road.
“You’re not going to spend the rest of your career in an old dusty museum,” she shouted above the roar of the car engine. “You’re going to help keep humanity safe.”
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