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“Mr. Sterling? Is there a problem?” Thiago barks, snapping me out of that thought.
When I glance around, I see I’m the last man on the helicopter. I get up and hurry to get off, only to notice we’ve landed on top of a mountain with ruins and agricultural terraces cut into it that seem to go on for miles.
“Okay, thank you for joining us,” Thiago says to me. “Everyone has heard of Machu Picchu, but few people come to see Ollantaytambo, which was just as sacred and important to the Incas. In the valley below, is the ancient town of Ollantaytambo, one of the few places that managed to fight off the Spanish Conquistadors. The streets are made of the original cobblestones from the time of the Incas. Up here, we will visit the unfinished Sun Temple—a wall of six monoliths, including the second heaviest Inca monolith. As you will learn, this remains a great architectural mystery. Stay together, oh, and put on some sunscreen because the sun is strong up here and you will burn.”
I grab my Oakleys and my ball cap out of my bag. When I glance back at Gwen, she’s got her felt bowler hat on and she’s squirting some sunscreen into her palm. The first word that pops into my mind is not a welcome one (or one I use often): adorable.
What is with me today? Pathetic. I need to get busy getting a hold of Donna and Muffy, not waste my time flirting. I hold up my phone, only to discover there is—surprise!—no cell reception. Mother fucker.
We head up the path as a group. Savannah is wearing Richard’s urn and smiling at me while she pats it like a baby, presumably so I can imagine her as a caring mom. Well, I’m not imagining that, Savannah, because it’s not a baby. It’s my quite possibly insane business partner’s ashes.
I slow down a little to put some distance between Savannah and myself, only to wind up walking beside Gwen. Oh perfect. Just what I don’t want. Thiago is telling us all about the Incas who lived here back in the mid-15th century. “The ninth Inca ruler, Pachauri, was not only a great military strategist, but also was very wise. He decided to have these terraces built into the side of the mountain to take advantage of the sun and produce more food than they needed. He knew that an empire is not only about land, but about the people, so he chose to take care of his people and make sure they always had more than enough. This is true of all great leaders. They know the value of those who work for them and live under their rule.”
“Hmm… that does sound very wise. Don’t you think?” Gwen asks me.
“There’s a difference between valuing your people and valuing what they do,” I tell her.
Thiago shoots us a look, then continues. “And here is the Sun Temple—a great mystery to this day because the stone used to create the wall was made of six parts, each one weighing around fifty tonnes. Because this stone is from the next valley over, the question remains of how they managed to drag them up here without modern equipment.”
“Maybe the aliens did it,” I whisper to her.
Gwen purses her lips at me, then mutters, “They obviously used lots of people, rope, and probably rafts of some sort to bring them down the river.”
“Lots of well-fed, valued people, I’m sure,” I say.
When we reach the wall, I check my phone again (as discreetly as possible). No bars. You know what would make me believe in miracles? If the Incas had set up cell towers. The rest of the group walks up to the wall for a closer look while Thiago comments on how each stone would have taken several decades to smooth with the hand tools they would’ve had back then. “Imagine that. Spending your entire life just working on one piece of this stone, knowing the work would have to continue after you die?”
He lets that question linger in the air as we stand around staring at the wall. Gwen saunters back over to me. “What do you think? Talk about a legacy…”
“Meh. Sure, they worked hard, but at the end of the day, what even was the point?” I’m winding her up a little, but only for my own amusement.
“It was an important religious temple that took generations to build. It’s still here after thirty-five-hundred years!”
Shrugging, I say, “They didn’t even finish it.”
“But that’s only because they had to abandon it before the project was done,” she says. “Sad, really. I wonder what it could’ve become if time had permitted.”
“A bigger wall,” I say, shaking my head. “What’s sad is the lives they had.”
“What do you mean?”
“Think about it. You spend your entire life—day after day—sanding down one little piece of a big rock, knowing you’ll be long gone before it’s finished.”
She stiffens a little, then lifts her chin. “I don’t know, I think it gave them a sense of purpose. And maybe they felt good knowing they were an important part of a lasting legacy. They knew they wouldn’t see it to completion, but that their work would always be here—as proof that they lived.”
“Where’s the glory in that?”
“Not everyone cares about glory,” Gwen answers. “Some people care more about being part of something bigger than themselves—something that will move humanity forward.”
“Why do I take it we’re now talking about you?”
“Not just me. Everyone who does SETI research. We all know it’s a total long shot that contact will be made in our lifetime, but someone’s got to keep the work going. If we don’t, we’ll never get there.”
I stare down at her for a second, then say. “Can I ask you an honest question? And I’m not trying to be an asshole here, okay? I just genuinely want to understand.”
“Sure,” she says, but I can tell by the wary look in her eyes that she won’t like my question.
“Why SETI? When you could’ve dedicated your life to anything?” Before she can answer, I add, “I mean, you’re clearly brilliant. You could’ve done anything, worked anywhere. Somewhere with prestige and way more money than you’re making.”
