Francis Quinlan

The Masks of Colacoque Francis Quinlan

The story opens in a court room in a Central American city. Hubert, age 30, an American archaeologist, is on trial for allegedly smuggling a native art work out of the country. He is also suspected of an association with Afronta, a revolutionary organization which controls the county's remote provinces. ... Held in prison, most of it in isolation, Hubert is experiencing a psychological disorder: uncertainty as to whether he can trust his own perceptions. Acquitted of the smuggling charge due to lack of evidence, he is found guilty of a lesser charge. His sentence is to be injected with a a serum developed by indigenous shamans: it makes him allergic to fungi (the Mushroom Taboo). This allergy has profound psychological effects. A mutual friend introduces Hubert to Colacoque, a larger-than-life personality whose passion is the ancient and modern civilizations of Mexico and Central America. From his collection of antique masks, Colacoque shows Hubert his masterpiece: a Toltec mask carved in jade with turquoise ornamentation. Hubert recognizes the mask: it had been in his possession, though he dares not admit it. It is the object he was accused of smuggling out of the country. Colacoque then shocks him: the mask, he said, is a forgery. Hubert doesn't show it, but that revelation shocks and depresses him. He had risked his life and spent six months in prison-for a forgery! Colacoque hires Hubert to recover his original mask. He travels deep into the Central American rain forest, a territory controlled by Afronta. He survives a life threatening illness resulting from the Mushroom Taboo, an Afronta attack, a surreal dream haunted by the roar of a firing squad's guns, and an experience of deeply felt erotic love. His adventure ends at a funeral ceremony-a mass hallucination from which he has a narrow escape. Other prominent characters: Adelaide, an archaeologist; Harkness, a Canadian adventurer; Hubert's spinster aunt, Honora; Yvette, a documentary film maker.