THE AZTECA AND TECHNOLOGY
Technology has had very little effect on the Azteca, because for the most part it is denied them. Only in two narrowly defined areas is technology allowed within Azteca society.
The first is, of course, weapons of war. Even here the powerful magics of the Huitznahua are available only to a very few. Most warriors of any given city-state make do with wicker shields and wooden war clubs just as they did on earth. Only the elite of any city-state are allowed the priviledge of using powersuits, and only the best of the best are granted Warrior Skins. The Azteca consider these items to be magical in nature, gifts granted to them by the Huitznahua, and have no real concept of how they work. The vast majority of the warriors have no idea how to repair, or even maintain their god-given equipment. For this reason, within every city-state there exists a sect of priests and hereditary slave families dedicated to the god Macuiltotec (mah-wil-TOE-tec), the patron of the Tlacochalco (tlah-koh-CHAHL-koh: "House of Darts"), or armory. These priests and their slaves alone are taught the proper rituals that enable them to build, maintain, and repair the powersuits, warrior skins, and weapons bestowed upon the Azteca. In order that the secrets of the gods not be revealed to others, priests of Macuiltotec have their tongues cut out as part of their initiation ceremony. They converse using a special language consisting of hand motions, and using written symbols distinct from those of the Azteca. Only their hereditary slave families may learn the sign language - the penalty for any other is death. Nor are the slaves permitted to teach the language to any other for they would likewise suffer death. Finally, the slaves of Macuiltotec are forbidden from learning to read or write.
The priesthood of Macuiltotec is loyal to its own city-state first, and to Macuiltotec second. Thus, priests of Macuiltotec from Chantico share no particular affinity for their compatriots in Toxcatl.
The House of Darts is almost always the largest single structure in any given city-state, though much of it is given over to underground halls, foundries, and storerooms, so from the surface it usually appears that the temple to the city-state'e patron deity is larger. It is in the House of Darts that the giant repair and maintanance bays for warrior skins are found. These bays, refered to as "shrines" by the Azteca, are where the city-state's warrior skins are stored when not in use. A House of Darts usually contains around 500 of these "shrines" varying in size from 15 meters in height for "light" mecha to 45 meters or so for the monster "super-heavy" mecha. Below the shrines is a second level allowing for the repair and maintanance of up to 4,000 powersuits.
The second major area of technological impact on Azteca society is health care, particularly childbirth. Because they are a people at war the Azteca must have a very high birth rate and a good survival rate to go with it in order to recover from battlefield losses. All of the city-states have a temple dedicated to Cihuacoatl (kee-wah-KOH-ahtl) the goddess of childbirth, which serves as a massive obstetric hospital for the city-state. Furthermore there is an active priesthood of Ixquitecatl (ix-QUIT-eh-catl) who serve as doctors. They are granted powerful gifts by the Huitznahua, and have access to powerful antibiotics, advanced surgery techniques, and are even able to clone replacement limbs or organs for the badly injured. These advanced gifts are not for everyone, however - only warriors, children, and those who's continued well-being is deemed crucial to the survival of the city-state, can expect such advanced treatment.
The city-state of Tepeyolohtli has a unique use for the healing arts - the priests of that city-state use cloning technology to produce a ready-made labor force. It is not uncommon for them to produce as many as one hundred laborers and slaves each day by this technique. Such individuals are designed to perform unskilled labor, and are hardly considered human by the Death Messengers. Should a brain be needed for a slave mech or powersuit, the priests will remove one from a clone with no more thought than one might give to changing a lightbulb. The existance of these pitiful creatures is ghastly, even by the standards of Tepeyolohtli, as even the human slaves of the city hold them in utter contempt.
Outside of these two areas, life among the Azteca continues much as
it did during their time on earth. In fact, the Huitznahua have declared
a moratorium on study and experimentation. As such the Azteca do
not even have the copper weapons that their decendents on earth developed
towards the end of their empire. There is still no pack animal among
the Azteca, and peasants still bear their loads on their backs.
The photo is a terracotta eagle-warrior sculpture unearthed from the War God Huitzilopochtli's half of the Great Temple (Templo Mayor or Teocalli) of Tenochtitlan, Mexico City. Obtained from Edgar Martín del Campo's Mesoamerican Art Page.