Truthseekers by Mike Handcock

up to the window, beer in hand, and smile and point at his Angkor Beer. Rocko’s official Angkor pass, him and a beer smiling had all the girls in the shop giggling at him. David tried it as well, but they took no notice of him.
    “Come, let’s go… David, you want to find the X at the Temple, it may take a long time,” said C.
    David replied: “Yes I need to see it for myself. I know I have seen one.”
    “Sure sure,” C agreed “Let’s go for more tuk tuk.”
    If anyone could find a symbol in 402 square kilometres of ruins it would be Mr C, David thought. The guy knew everything there was to know about what was the biggest city on Earth in the 12 th century. 1.2 million residents had lived in Angkor Wat, which translated simply means Capital City.
    It was a short ride to the massive 7-kilometre moat around the Temple. Just enough time for Rocko to down two beers and keep clinging cans with Mr C continually saying: “Cheers Long Ears Khmers and Si Slap,” meaning ‘We will die tomorrow’ a favourite salutation of the Khmer people during the war.
    At the moat David jumped out and led the way over the causeway to the King’s Entrance. Angkor Wat never ceased to amaze both he and Rocko. Even the big guy was pretty speechless the first time he visited. David dodged the groups of Koreans that seemed to invade every corner of Angkor Wat and strode through the King’s Entrance past the statue of Shiva the world destroyer and into the complex.
    “OK Mr C, point us in the right direction,” enthused David.
    A broad smile came across C’s face and he pointed just a metre away.
    “There’s one.”
    “…oh and there’s another,” he said, grinning.
    “Oh and there…” still grinning
    “… and there and there and there and there…”
    “OK C!” David held up his hand. “I get the picture, they are everywhere. But what the hell, I googled X at Angkor Wat and got nothing.”
    “Ha ha ha,” mirthed Rocko. “Looks like you got X cited over nothing and flew halfway across the world for it.”
    David gave Rocko the glare and turned to C
    “But C, these X’s are everywhere… and no one talks about them. What do they mean?”
    “They mean ancient Khmer people like the shape of X. It’s for the same reason you explain about a man and a woman being an X. King Jayavaram Number 7, he like to make a dick with a pussy… ha ha ha.”
    C started to realise David was getting a little perturbed.
    “But David you come look here. This one a little different.”
    David followed C along a line of Xs upon which stood the stunning frescoes that made up the temple complex. About ten metres from the entrance and just in one spot David saw it. The X was different. It had a hook.
    “C, that’s it. Look Rocko, it’s a hooked X, but why here?”
    C smiled and shuffled his feet as he did when he was being humble but really wanted to prove himself.
    “You want more beer… then I tell you… No… OK … Well, David, this one. It gets the sun at sunrise but only on one special day every year.”
    “The solstice!” Rocko chimed in.
    “No, Rock,” said Mr C “On July 7.”
    “Jesus’ birthday!” exclaimed David
    “But Jesus, he not born at Christmas? … maybe he scared of Santa Claus.” C laughed with Rocko at this stupid joke.
    “No guys…” David replied “Jesus was in fact born on the 7 th of July 40 BC, he wasn’t 33 when he died and he wasn’t born at Christmas. The Church just changed his birthday later on to suit an existing festival. This proves the Templars were here. I knew they were. They went everywhere. But it also means that I doubt they had the chosen one with them. It may have been be too dangerous to bring him here. How well did the Khmers like outsiders back then C?”
    “Is no problem for us. You see Angkor Wat temple started being built in 1113 and finish in 1180. After that we have problem. That is the end of the Khmer empire though and after many war, we run away as Siamese from