Ahmok thrusts his spear deep into the robot's eye. Sparks flee from its skull, only to suffocate in the thin, frigid atmosphere. It's many arms thrash and flail in simulated rage. Ahmok can't hold on; he plummets through the climber's rigging until his tunic snags on a power coupling. The outer earth spins dizzily below him like an overturned bowl, pouring its content into the black depths of space.

The Inca fills his lungs with rarified air and clears his head. He looks back up at the blind robot, still trying to cut them loose from the space elevator's impossibly long, golden thread. One of its saw blades bites into a cable and the climber shudders. Gravity wraps its unforgiving hands around their collective throat.

If the climber falls, it's not just the Inca who will die. Manco Capac's dream of reuniting his people with the Sun God dies with them. That, Ahmok cannot allow.

He draws his bronze knife, cuts himself free, and drags himself skyward once again. The metal beast hacks at his limbs, burns his flesh, cracks his bones, but it cannot stop him. He clutches the robot's empty socket with one hand and reaches out to the space elevator's exposed power conduit with the other. When he closes the circuit, Inti's divine power rushes through him and shatters the AI's delicate brain like an eggshell.

This month, Wushu Skidoo completes its second year with a call-back to the very first Skidoo: Aztech. In short, it's a Mesoamerican post-apocalypse. This supplemental article ventures further south to explore Incan mythology and a derelict space elevator. As it turns out, they go together like chocolate and peanut butter.

Tapac-yauri, the Golden Staff

The capitol city of Ecuador was tailor-made for a space elevator. Located just 15 miles south of the equator, Quito sits on the slope of an active volcano 9,350 feet above sea level. That makes for a shorter cable and a convenient, geothermal power supply. Before the apocalypse, it was the crown jewel of Brazil's economic empire.

Somehow, it survived the nuclear strikes and orbital bombardments. It loomed ominously over the Andes mountains for many years, lifeless and abandoned. Then, the New Inca stretched their legs and came north, seeking a direct link to their sun god, Inti. Their priests set up shop at the foot of the Tapac-yauri, as they call it, and began the arduous task of bringing it back to life.

Like their predecessors, the New Inca believe that all things have two spirits: the first to bring it into being and the second to animate it. They believe that it was that second spirit (the animus) that went mad and caused the apocalypse. The Inca do not employ lunatic cyborgs, as the Mayans and Aztecs do. Instead, they try to isolate the animus (AI) and reactivate only the mechanical sub-systems of a device.

When you're turning a smartgun into a simple slugthrower, that works just fine, but really advanced technology requires AI to function. That's what makes the space elevator so dangerous. The physics involved in lifting something into geostationary orbit are unusual, to say the least. Human beings trying to manage those forces by hand will probably get themselves killed.

Kay Pacha & the Outer Earth

The Tapac-yauri offers two distinct sets of environments for your players to explore. The first is the anchoring station, its geothermal power system, and the sprawling shanty town that has grown up around them. This is now the seat of the Inti cult's power and home to its high priests. It has become a major site of pilgrimage for the New Inca and their conquered subjects. At night, Pishtacos and Tzitzimime prowl its dark, claustrophobic streets.

The anchor station itself is a massive complex surrounded by warehouses, helipads, workshops, and administrative buildings. The climbers that ride the cable up and down are housed and repaired here; the priests have one or two of them working (more or less). It is considered a sacred "huaca" and, except on holy days, only the priests and their servants are allowed inside.

Below, the mountain is honeycombed with service and steam tunnels. Gargantuan turbines electrify the super-conducting filaments that thread through the entire length of the cable, providing power for the anchor station and the climbers. Some of the autonomous service robots are still in operation; they do their jobs reliably, but become homicidal when they encounter pretty much any living thing.

Though the Inti cult technically runs Quito, the Inca military is out in force. All Incas are subject to a period of compulsory public service called a "mita," and soldiers are used to keep these workers in line. The Inca moral code is simple: Do not steal, do not lie, do not be lazy. Violators are punished with whippings, dismemberment, or death.

There is also a regiment of Manco Capac's personal guard stationed at the future site of his earthly palace. Manco Capac is the founder of the New Inca and a "direct descendent" of the Sun God. Everything that happens in Quito is a result of his desire to rule the world from a heavenly throne.

Hana Paca, the Upper World

Riding the space elevator is dangerous, bordering on suicidal. Each climber is composed of two counter-balanced warehouses on massive support cables. Each has its own living quarters, kitchens, workshops, and life support systems. It would take more than a week to reach the space station, even at top speeds with no time out for technical problems (and will certainly be technical problems).

Here's a list of entertaining things that can go horribly wrong:

• The climber isn't as repaired as the priests thought. A few thousand feet up, the wheels slip and the climber starts to slide back down to earth! If the PCs don't get it secured to the elevator cable, they'll end up in freefall!
• Another climber drops from the space station and turns into a cable-guided meteor as it re-enters the atmosphere. The climbers are designed to pass each other safely, but the heat and the shockwave will still cause a lot of damage.
• A storm rolls in and sheer winds unbalance the climber enough to tip over! The PCs have to climb through a sideways interior, then out into the wind-whipped rigging to right their craft.
• After years of aimless drifting, the space station is out of position and the drag caused by a rising climber is actually pulling it out of orbit! The PCs have to 1) diagnose the problem and 2) figure out how to avoid a meteoric crash.
• A micro-meteor punctures the hull, resulting in rapid depressurization (everyone gets the bends) and a crippling oxygen shortage. The PCs have to repair the breach and figure out a way to survive on what little air they have left.
• A few hours from their destination, the climber collides with a maintenance robot that was repairing the elevator cable. It brings the climber to an abrupt stop and then claws its way inside to "fix" the human infestation. If the PCs make too much noise taking it out, they could exacerbate the cable damage and cause the whole elevator to snap in half!

Unlike the rest of the elevator, the space station was not spared the terrors of the apocalypse. The interior is a scene of carnage, littered with the desiccated remains of its long-ago inhabitants. Violence has left telltale scars on every object and surface. However, the solar collectors are still providing a steady stream of power and life support is operational. (Operational, but minimal. Feel free to make the place ice cold and thin of oxygen.) Oh, and there's no artificial gravity; that's just science fiction.

The central AI is dead, but some of the sub-system are still running, so there are plenty of black dogs lurking around. Obviously, reactivating the central AI would be a Bad Idea (tm), but the PCs might do it by accident or a black dog could trick them into it. If that happens, the whole station goes mad and tries to kill them via decompression, radiation exposure, killer robots, death lasers, you name it.

Many of the climber-related accidents could also occur here, but while someone else is riding up the elevator after the PCs. Stopping a climber from snapping the cable or dragging the station out of orbit would be challenging, but maybe the PCs also want to stop the newcomers from crashing their party. In that case, they could send that homicidal robot down the cable after them. Oh, and you can send climbers up the cable past the station and fling their payloads into outer space. Just a suggestion.

Pick Me Ups

A bloodthirsty gang of Pishtacos and Diableros prey on the pilgrims who flock to the Tapac-yauri. Play a group of Inca soldiers who must investigate the disappearance of a priest and track his killers to their subterranean lair deep in the heart of the mountain. Environmental hazards (heat, toxic fumes, collapsed tunnels) vie with insane robots and black dogs to kill as many interlopers as they can, and that's before your heros even catch up to the Pishtacos!

A crack team of Inca priests and their guards ride the first operational climber up the Tapac-yauri. Their mission is to explore the space station and make it ready for Manco Capac's arrival. First, of course, they have to survive the trip.

A group of Mayan astronomers wants to use the space elevator to regain control of some orbital weapons platforms. First, they'll need to convince the Inca priests to let them use it. Then, they'll have to survive the ascent and access the space station's satellite link without waking up the central AI. All the while, Aztec assassins will be right behind them, waiting for their chance to seize control of the weapons and/or cut out the Mayans' still-beating hearts!

Next Up: April Fool's Day pranks for the Datarchy future!