"Last night when I arrived home, I spent several hours deciphering the information that you were so kind to give me. It has been so thrilling for me to finally be able to use the knowledge that I have been raised with and to be able to put it to such good use. You must realize that this has been my whole life. Everything I do, revolves around my connection with my past, just as your daily activities are constant reminders of your past, " he acknowledged.

"Before I continue, I would like to share with you some of my own experiences and how they have helped to shape my own deductive reasoning. When I was a young man, I became very fascinated with other cultures that seemed to share an affinity with my own roots. One of these was the culture of the ancient Egyptians."

"The viejos and the Egyptians shared many common attributes, most obvious of which was the building of pyramids. It is said that these structures were an outward expression of the power they derived from their real and supernatural ancestors and from the earth and the sky. A metaphor, if you will, for their devotion to their ancestors."

"However, the Egyptians reigned deity on their rulers as if they were gods on earth, while the viejos worshipped only their ancestors, making a clear distinction between their heavenly and earthly rulers. The Egyptians felt it was the duty of their rulers, upon death, to fertilize the stars with their own seed, in particular the Orion cluster, which seemed to have so much significance for their people."

"Please bear with me," he apologized. "I know this does not seem to bear any connection with your own concerns, but I assure you, that you will understand it better, when I have finished."

"As I was saying, the Egyptians were strongly influenced by the Orion star cluster. So much so, that a special group of Egyptologists............ Pyramidologists, can you believe?............have spent many years trying to prove or disprove, as the case may be, the placement of the great pyramids of Ghiza, based on this particular placement of stars in the sky."

"Some very interesting theories have been advanced, but there is no consensus on any of them. The biggest argument put forward is the fact that perhaps the pyramids were built in their present location, not because of the Orion cluster, but perhaps due to topographical reasons. In other words, maybe there was some geographical obstruction that forced the builders to build the pyramids where they did!"

He paused again, and stood up to pace, because what he was about to reveal to these kids was far-fetched and highly controversial.

"You are all aware of the sometimes bizarre claims that the Egyptians, and many other of the ancient advanced cultures, were descended from aliens. Modern man, in his infinite arrogance, cannot conceive of the idea that people of the past were capable of such advanced thought. It is incomprehensible to us! We are the superior beings, we claim...end of argument."

"But, after hearing your stories and reading of your experiences I have come up with something perhaps even more bizarre." He stood still, rubbing his hand over his mouth and sighing, almost afraid to go on.

"Things change over time. Climates change, which brings about a change in the flora of an area, which in turn influences the fauna that inhabits the place. Animals, and sometimes people, are forced to migrate to more habitable areas. Long ago, the pyramids sat on a fertile plain. Gradually, after many years of drought, the desert slowly encroached on that plain, until today, when there is nothing but desert surrounding them."

"When the Egyptian culture was at its peak around 3000 b.c., there were no Maya living here in Mesoamerica. There were no pyramids and no people to build them. As the drought conditions prolonged in Egypt, people began to worry. Would there be enough food? Would the pharoah continue with his generosity in letting them borrow from the giant grain stores or would they be forced to leave to find a better living environment."

"Some of the people took the courage to leave. Some headed south to the more fertile African savannahs,which at the time were greener than they are today. And I believe that some took to boats, sailing the mediterranean for greener pastures, so to speak. Perhaps some even ventured into the Atlantic, and were fortunate enough to land on these shores. What I am trying to say, is that we have no history of the origins of the ancient Maya, and perhaps this is an alternative choice to their origins."

"But something even more strange occured to me. What if the so-called aliens, who had formed the Egyptian race, had decided to re-populate a new area of the earth because of the rapidly changing climate in Egypt? This part of Mexico and Central America, where the Maya have become indigeneous, is only slightly closer to the equator than Egypt, and there are lush tropical forests here, with fertile land for growing crops."

"And what if, the people who came here and were the forerunners of the Maya race, decided to come back, for the purposes of averting a disaster of univeral proportions, that would adversely afffect the inhabitants of earth?"

He now stood in front of Max, looking steadily into his eyes. "Max, you said that your mother told you that you had lived before. When did you live before?"

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Max looked back up at him, his jaw dropped open as he digested this bombshell.

"So, now you think that I lived 5000 years ago?" he asked in disbelief.

"Is it so implausable, to have lived 50 years ago or 5000 years ago? What difference would it make? You were never actually told when you lived before."

"I guess the big difference being that I was told I was the leader of my home planet and now you're telling me that I was the founder of the Maya race! Big difference, I think!" he looked at him as if he were crazy.

"I say this to you because I can think of no other explanation for your grandmother's insistence on telling you about this purported connection.. Perhaps you were also the leader of your home planet before you were called here.....and maybe you returned to your planet to continue your duties there. Please Max, suspend your disbelief for one moment and look at what we are actually discussing here. Anything is possible in your situation!"

Max thought about this for a minute, and had to agree with Balam's assessment. He, of all people, should realize that this was the case. Anything was possible!

"Okay," he allowed. "So what's this terrible disaster we're supposed to avert?" he asked with a little sarcasm.

"I do not know that, my young friend. That, too, is a supposition on my part. I am just trying to help you keep an open mind on this subject for now. But let me deal with some of the more concrete examples you have given me. Perhaps that will put your minds at ease, " he suggested.

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"Let me address now, the meaning of the caves to your story. You have indicated four caves that have held some type of information for you. They are:

A.The cave in the San Andres Mountains

B.The cave at the Mesalinco reservation

C.The cave in the mountains outside Carlsbad

E.The cave in Mexico...El Diablo Grotto

"Are there any other caves that you have yet to visit or that you have neglected to tell me about?" he asked hopefully.

"No, those are it," Max confirmed.

"I see," he frowned. "I was hoping that there was one more. There seems to be a gap in your information. You see, I joined up all the points in your cave discoveries and came up with this diagram."

He showed them a picture that resembled a pipe with a long stem and conical bowl suspended at the top.

"Now, I then went through your own files to see if I could find something resembling this and I found something very similar, but the bowl of the pipe was not conical....it was instead trapezoidal. I thought, perhaps, this was just a coincidence, but the more I thought about it, the less convinced I was of this. So far, your journey has had very definite sign posts, and I cannot help but feel that there is still one more cave to discover, and I think it is there, that the truth will finally be revealed."

"Please listen very carefully to what I am about to explain, bearing in mind the properties of a trapezoid. I have assigned letters to the various caves to make this easier." He showed them a second diagram with all the letters and distances marked:

A to B................121.67 miles

B to C.................73 miles ( direct vertical distance)

C to D.................?

"As you know, the top and bottom lines of a trapezoid are parallel and of different lengths, while the side lines are sloped either inward or outward depending on the length of the line to which they are extended. For example, if the top line is the longer of the two, then naturally, the lines extending from its end points will slope inward toward the shorter bottom line.The angle of slope will be the same on both sides. And it is most important that for the lines to remain parallel, their vertical distance must remain constant."

"We can determine the angle of the slope in this case, by looking at the placement of Carlsbad in relation to the Mesalinco cave. Carlsbad lies southwest of the upper cave, and will therefore give us the correct angle when the two points are joined. We can follow the same procedure by running the same angle of slope from point A to the unknown point D which will lie at the intersection of the two lines."

"Now we can determine the distance from point C to point D and then it is just a matter of joining up the final line from point A to point D to complete the trapezoid."

They looked at him in total confusion.....all except Liz, of course, who understood everything he had just said.

"Please, just take my word for it. I am sure that when you see the completed diagram, it will make perfect sense. I have determined the distance from point C to point D to be 86.67 miles. Therefore what I am saying, is that if you travel due west for 86.7 miles from the cave at Carlsbad, you will find the cave you are looking for."

He showed them the completed diagram and they finally understood what he was talking about. Liz looked at it carefully, and said that it looked like one of the symbols she had seen at El Diablo. They all scrutinized the symbol and had to agree that it looked like one of the ones at the Mesalinco cave, too.

"So the pointy tail from the trapezoidy thing to El Diablo must mean something, right?" Maria questioned.

"Yes, it does, but I do not know what, " he shrugged. "That is still a mystery."

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"There are a few more things I would like to address, if you will permit me," he continued. "I am not cerain what to make of the gift from Brody. It does not seem to fit in with the rest of your story. I am afraid only time will tell, but since it has not put you under any financial burden, then I would not let it concern you too much."

"As far as the various symbols you have sketched and photographed, I have not had enough time to properly study them. There are twelve symbols that are common to the Maya glyphs. These seem to appear frequently. Some, you are already aware of, but I have compiled a list for your benefit. He handed them a short list of twelve names with their corresponding meaning:

OWL...............symbol of the underworld TREE............symbol of the universe

JAGUAR.........symbol of royalty CAIMAN.....symbol of perseverence

MONKEY......symbol of the royal scribe DOG.............symbol of companionship

SNAKE..........symbol of deceit PARROT......symbol of communication

SCORPION...symbol of cunning IGUANA......symbol of camouflage

TURTLE.........symbol of earth surrounded MACAW......symbol of reverence by water

"This may help you in trying to decipher the symbols you have already collected. I will continue to work on the material you have supplied me with, and as soon as I have some answers, I will contact you."

"There are two final items that I am concerned with. The first deals with the ritual killing of King Chac. I believe you are correct in assuming the connection between King Chac and your own experiences. And it appears to have escalated since your arrival in Mexico. I would caution you to be very careful now."

"This brings me to the second item.......... the number 8, which you have correctly determined is of great importance to my people. There is an ancient saying: Everything lies concealed in numbers. The Maya have lived by that very truth. The number 8 itself represents fate. I know, I know," he held up his hands in defense," you do not want to hear about fate and destiny, but you have become a part of something that goes beyond destiny. I can no longer tell you what will happen or what choices you must make. That is not up to me. You have been sent here for a very good reason. Your journey is not over yet and it must be completed before the truth is revealed to you."

"As I said, I will help you with the information that you have already supplied me with, but that is where we must part ways. It is now up to you to decide whether or not you wish to continue. It will not be an easy road to travel but I can tell you that it will end soon. In a few short months it will be over, either way. I will leave you now, to ponder your fate."

He bowed to them as he left them to their thoughts.

The room was very quiet. No one seemed to have the energy to move.

"Well, this SUCKS!" Kyle finally spoke up.

No one answered him.

"What's wrong with you guys, anyway?!" he exclaimed. "Don't you get it.....he's full of crap! He doesn't know anything!"

Still silence.

"JEEZ, what a bunch of losers!" Kyle shouted as he stomped out of the room.

Tess jumped up and gave an apologetic shrug as she ran after him.

"Well, Maxwell?" Michael looked at him questioningly.

Max looked up from his bent over position and just shook his head as he brought it back down on his chest.

"Okay, you guys," Maria interjected. "Enough of these mopey faces. I vote we forget this destiny crap, for one day at least, and get the hell outta this place. We need to have some holiday time without the whole world depending on our next move!"

"Yeah," Isabel spoke up."But it has to be fairly close by and somewhere we don't need to take a guide. I mean, they've been really sweet to us, but I just need to get away from all of this."

"Well, how about the cavern?" Liz suggested. "It's close and we already know how to get there, so we don't need a guide."

"Okay, but let's take some of that snake bite stuff just in case," Maria said, as she gave Max an impish look.

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When they were left alone, Max took Liz in his arms and hugged her close.

"I didn't mean to make your life so complicated," he sighed. Forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive Max," she assured him. "We both knew that our lives wouldn't be easy, but as long as we're together, it doesn't matter. Look, I'm going to rinse my hair. My head feels really hot.....must be all that talk from Balam." she joked.

She extricated herself from his grasp and went into the bathroom. She turned on the bath faucet and stripped off her clothes. The sound of the water reminded Max that he had to relieve himself, so he followed her into the bathroom, but quickly forgot his reason for being there when he saw Liz's creamy ass sticking up in the air, as she leaned over the tub to rinse her hair.

He tugged at his clothes as he threw them on the floor and scooped down behind her. She shrieked at the sudden feel of a naked body behind her.

"Shhhh," he cautioned her. "You'll wake the whole place. I want you Liz.....and I can't wait," he moaned, as he sucked on her ear lobe. She sighed as she felt his mouth on her body, raining kisses over her neck and back, and reached over to turn off the water. Then she grabbed the towel that she had laid close by, and dabbed at her hair.She threw it on the floor and brought her hands behind her to wrap them around his waist as he kissed her neck.

He moved his hands to cup her breasts and she moaned loudly as he massaged them while her nipples responded achingly to his touch. She rubbed her bottom into his arousal and then reached down to bring its throbbing force to her ready passage. She slipped it inside and they both groaned loudly at the feel of it. He pumped her slowly at first and as they became more excited, he quickened the pace. They peaked quickly, both shuddering as their release came.

Max slumped onto the floor, falling to the side as his legs gave way. He lay there quivering as he heaved in deep breaths. Liz fell back and rested against the wall, too tired to make a move. Her legs fell to the side and her chest rose and fell heavily as she struggled to catch her breath. Finally, she was able to focus on rising from her slumped position and managed to crawl out of the bathroom towards the bed.

She pulled herself up onto the mattress and pulled the covers over her trembling body.

"Max, hon, c'mon, I know you can make it!" she called to him.

In a minute, she heard him struggling up from his prone position, as he made his way from the bathroom. He fell onto the bed and threw the covers over his shoulders. He wrapped his arm around Liz and pulled her close.

"Good night Babe. Love you," he mumbled into her neck, as he quickly drifted off to sleep.