Free Aztec Century by Christopher Evans

ingenuity of the programmers who had created the simulacrum. It was easy to understand why Alex had attached such importance to the disk. The information which his electronic counterpart could obtain seemed limitless.
    Dawn was beginning to break before Bevan finally shut down the terminal. Though exhausted, I was also exhilarated.
    ‘What are we going to do with all this data?’ I wondered aloud.
    ‘Leave it with me,’ Bevan said. ‘Maybe I can pass it on to interested parties.’
    I studied him in the half-light. ‘Have you got contacts?’
    ‘Easier for me to move around than you, isn’t it?’
    ‘Is there an opposition movement here?’
    ‘Not as far as I know.’
    ‘Tell me, Bevan.’
    ‘You said you’d trust me, didn’t you?’
    ‘I have done.’
    But he refused to be drawn, despite all my efforts. I had no contacts myself, and I didn’t want to leave the notes in my suite in case they were found. So, reluctantly, I relinquished them.

Five
    The complex was an even larger building than it appeared from outside, with subterranean levels housing swimming pools, steam baths and gymnasia. There were also numerous
tlachtli
courts where the ancient native ball game was played in a spirit of fierce competitiveness. Formerly the game had had a deep religious significance, with the fate of cities or entire nations resting on its outcome. Nowadays it was played on soft surfaces and competitors were allowed to wear protective elbow-and knee-pads. Despite this, injuries were still common, so keen was the desire to win. It ranked second only to soccer as the Aztecs’ favourite sport.
    I had requested a tour of the complex only the previous day, and Extepan had promptly arranged it. Victoria accompanied me as Chicomeztli led us through the lower levels of the subsidiary pyramids where the married officers were housed with their wives and families. Libraries, cinemas and recreation rooms were provided for them on every level. No less well cared-for were the unmarried men, who like their married counterparts enjoyed the favours of the
auianime
, the courtesans whose honoured status had finally been sanctioned by the Catholic Church in the early years of Motecuhzoma’s reign. There was little to distinguish the
auianime
from legitimate wives except that the former were more mindful of their appearance, taking great care with their makeup and favouring the traditional
huipil
blouse and long native skirts rather than the European styles which had been fashionable for most of the century.
    Every apartment in the complex had access to tier-gardens, each one planted not only with flowers and shrubs but also vegetables from every part of the world, biomodified to thrive inthe British climate. There were ornamental pools and miniature waterfalls, terraces and arcades, grassy spaces with loitering peacocks and sheltered intimate arbours, all of them testament to the Aztec passion for gardens, which exceeded even that of the English. It was remarkable to think that the entire edifice, gardens and all, had been constructed in the space of three years.
    The complex housed perhaps five thousand people, and it included many civil servants, recently drafted in by Extepan to help smooth the transition to the new civilian government. Most were British nationals, and Chicomeztli proudly told us that they were allowed exactly the same amenities as the governor’s men. Privately I wondered whether this included access to the
auianime
and the steam baths, where all sorts of intimacies were reputedly conducted.
    We returned to the central pyramid, and Chicomeztli led Victoria and me into a dim room. As my eyes adjusted, I saw that it was an Aztec chapel, one of many in the complex.
    It was a small room, with a stained-glass window showing the Virgin of the Hill of the Star receiving her revelation from God. We were deep in the heart of the pyramid, and the window was a fake, a back-lit coloured screen set into a solid wall. The chapel