Ernest Fitzgerald was a tumbleweed working part-time for Shakespeare and Company, the legendary English bookstore on the rue de la Bûcherie in Paris. The original store on the rue de l'Odéon had published James Joyce's Ulysses in 1922 when no one else would touch it. As an aspiring writer he had to work for a couple of hours in the bookstore and read at least one book a day, in order to be able to stay there. Following in the footsteps of George Orwell, he loved the down and out bohemian world of being a poor artist in Paris. He was writing a time travel mystery. His main character was a scientist based in the Left Bank of Paris, with a time machine hidden among the bookshelves of the store, that had once been featured in Highlander.  When he discovered an ancient Mayan codex in a box of old books he could hardly believe his eyes. He had a rendezvous with Alphonse, the only person he knew that he could trust in such matters, in a nearby cafe.

Alphonse and Sarayu had traveled to Paris with the Thalys, after getting a text message from Ernie. It was Sarayu's first visit to the city of light and she was loving it.

They were sitting in Cafe de Flore, where Sartre used to hang out. It was already dark.

"You have made quite a discovery, mon ami."

Ernie had just handed Alphonse a waterproof plastic envelope containing the codex.

"At first I had no idea what it was. Then I looked at the Dresden codex in the Wikipedia and noticed the script was the same. An old French lady came into the store and asked me if I would like a box of English books that she had found in her house after her husband had died. At the bottom of the box was the codex. She did not leave her name or address, so I have no idea how to contact her. The codex must be worth a fortune."

"Only three others exist in the whole world. Many such books existed at the time of the Spanish conquest of Yucatán in the 16th century, but they were destroyed by the Conquistadors and priests. This is an amazing discovery."

"The codex is in very good condition." Sarayu was scanning it into her MacBook Pro. Within a few hours they should have some idea about what it contained. Mayan writing had been deciphered and Sarayu was about to send the text to a number of scholars around the world. Maybe it held the secrets of the Mayan calender?

They were getting a bit hungry after all the traveling, so Alphonse suggested they get away from the tourists and go to one of his favorite Breton bistros that was quite nearby. The codex gave them

a feeling of being able to travel through time just by holding it.

A few hours later they were sitting in the elegant white room of Alphonse's Paris apartment drinking some green tea and reading some of the first reactions

to the discovery.

'New insight into Mayan calender'

'Confirms importance of Venus'

'Sacred medicine text'

'Sensational!'

"It looks like we have hit the jackpot."

"Ernie, you are going to be famous."

"The BBC has the story already. 'Unknown Mayan codex discovered in Paris.' They were quick. I guess one of the scholars called them."

"It was on Twitter first." said Sarayu. 

"Ha, ha. All this modern technology makes everything happen so much faster."

Alphonse felt a twinge of nostalgia for the Enlightenment. He hoped there wouldn't be a media scrum at the bookstore in the morning.

"I didn't tell the scholars where it is, other than Paris." said Sarayu.

Alphonse was relieved to hear that. Their telepathy was working well.

"We should try to keep the location of the codex a secret. I can put it in my safe for the time being."

Marvin had just contacted Riglet. He had also been deciphering the codex. It seemed to be a healing text connected to the cycles of time. The  beginning of the 14th b'ak'tun of the Long Count calendar (21 December 2012 in our calender) would be a time of healing and the start of a new age.

"At least it brings some good news."

"Well done Marvin."

"Send him our love, Riglet."

The three of them looked at the codex lying on the 18th century desk. It felt like a time capsule. Where had it been all these years? What journeys had it made? Would they be able to find the old French lady without attracting too much attention?

"Alphonse, I want you to keep it. I don't have a secure place at the moment, and I don't want to sell it."

Ernie had made up his mind. Alphonse was a good friend of his father.

"Very well, mon ami. Perhaps I should contact the Bibliothèque nationale. They have the best storage facilities for such ancient documents. We could lend it to them till the rightful owner is found."

"You are the rightful owner, Alphonse. It was given to me, and I have given it to you."

"Mon Dieu!"

Perhaps the positive message of the codex could balance out all the 2012 doom and gloom?