David Golemon - Legend

"Now what is this about?" Mendenhall asked, his eyes still on Ellenshaw.

Everyone started talking at once. Wild gestures and pointing fingers were jabbed by the people surrounding Sergeant Mendenhall.

"One at a time, please !"

"We don't have to stay here and be insulted every two minutes by these people; we're just as valuable to this facility as they are," a young woman with thick glasses said, staring a hole through Professor Keating.

"Just because your science is getting national recognition because of television, doesn't make you a viable scientific resource."

"Dr. Ellenshaw's theory, that a species of vertebrate separated from outside influences and has its own ecosystem, is a viable one!"

"B movie stuff!" Keating shot back.

Mendenhall shook his head. This is going to be a long day , he thought.

Niles was sitting in the Europa direct contact center. The system was networked throughout the complex, but it was here that a person could interface with the Cray system on a one-on-one basis. According to Pete Golding, interacting with the system directly helped both the technician and the Cray, because it was a binary learning platform that could think light-years ahead of its questioner and actually feel the line of interrogation to reason out a solution on its own.

The director wanted to work alone, separate from the others, for reasons of a personal nature. He had tried earlier to distance himself from Helen's possible plight and allow his people to work without micromanaging them. He wished to continue his own duties, of which there were plenty, but he had soon found that he kept coming back to Helen, her face, how she had looked in the morning those many years ago. He figured being by himself would help him concentrate, especially while conversing with nothing as sentimental as a bunch of new-generation silicon bubble chips.

His first line of questioning was simple. He would start at investigating the lead Helen had given them in the letter regarding papal medalists.

"What have we got so far?" Niles asked as he leaned back in his chair.

From the accounts taken from public records and clandestine facilities, the total sum of papal medalists alive in the year ad 1875, were six hundred seventy-one , said the female auditory system of Europa.

"And that is with the elimination of Spain and Italy as home to these medalists?"

Yes.

Niles was slow to proceed. He knew he was shooting from the hip; after all, all they had to go on were written accounts of rumors that had started as far back as 1534. He surmised along with Pete that since the diary had been delivered to Spain by Father Corinth himself, they could safely eliminate that nation as one of the hiding places for the map or the reputed ore samples. And obviously, since Helen said that these papal medalists were all foreign born, they could also subtract Italy, the home of the Vatican. Now it was simple, that left only the rest of the world as their haystack.

"Access Vatican Network," Niles said.

Access has already been gained by the Computer Sciences Department, P. Golding authorization.

So Pete had already started sifting through the archives. Niles knew he should leave Pete to it, since he knew his way around not only Europa but all the security that had to be in place in the Vatican, which was there to keep someone from doing exactly what they were doing.

"Is there any correlation between San Jeronimo el Real, in Madrid, Spain, in 1874, and papal medalists?" Niles asked, as he was interested in verifying the fact that one of these knights did indeed deliver the diary to Spain, and to a knight there for the diary's safekeeping.

Formulating.

Niles was thinking of eliminating coincidence from his obvious guesswork. Catholic cleric Father Sergio de Batavia, papal medalist, 1861, for actions while serving with the Battalion of St. Patrick's during the time of his service in Ireland, when he was asked to join the Papal Guard in 1862 as a reward for services at Castelfidardo, Ancona. He was awarded the Pro Petri Sede and Ordine di San Gregorio medals ofSaints Peter and Gregory, for bravery. At the time his service to Pope Pius IX was ended, he was given leadership of San Jeronimo el Real in Madrid, Spain.

"I wonder what the odds had been that it was he who was given the diary for safekeeping," Niles said as he thought aloud.

Is the question directed at Europa for answering? the female voice asked.

Niles let out a small laugh. "Not unless you can calculate the odds."

Formulating.

Niles lowered his glasses and stared at the large liquid crystal display. It went dark for a moment, sending the entire room into blackness. He couldn't believe that Europa was going to figure the odds.

The number of papal medal recipients who received orders to Spain in the year ad 1861, according to Vatican archives, was four. The calculated odds are three to one.

"Pretty good, low enough to place a bet on," Niles said. "Question. How many recipients of the papal order were from the Battalion of St. Patrick's?"

Six received the order of Pro Petri Sede, two the order of Ordine di San Gregorio, and two received both honors.

Niles quickly reread the letter from Helen and made sure of the facts she had mentioned about the trail's leading to the map would be found through research of the medaled knights of the papacy. He refolded the letter and looked back at the screen. Helen had given him a starting point for trying to find something that she had claimed was unrecoverable, but it was the only real lead they had as to her whereabouts.

The last words spoken by Europa were still there, written on the large screen. Niles unzipped his clean suit and let in some air.

He pursed his lips as he thought. The odds were in favor of the map and diary having gone to highly placed men who Pope Pius IX had trusted, which would most likely have entailed the pope's having met them in person. So, papal medalists seemed the appropriate road to search, and that was how Helen had tracked at least the diary, and supposedly the map also. And since they would never have access to the diary, thanks to Farbeaux, they would have to follow the same trail as Helen had. The legend stated that the diary was separated from the gold samples and map by sending them in different directions — the diary to Spain, the map to the New World, and the samples to the Vatican Archives under lock and key. The diary and map had been despatched their separate ways in 1874. He removed his glasses and bit on the ear piece.

"Question," he said. "How many papal medalists were still alive on North and South American continents in 1874?"

Formulating.

Niles knew it was a long shot, but hoped anyway.

According to public records, seventy-five medalists were in the United States, sixteen in Canada, twenty-one in Mexico, and one in Brazil.

"Question. How many served with the Battalion of St. Patrick's and received both papal medals?"

Formulating.

Niles placed his glasses back on and looked at the screen.

Four recipients of both papal medals were also veterans of the Battalion of St. Patrick , Europa answered. One recipient in Canada, one in Mexico, one in Brazil, and one in the United States.

Niles sat up. It couldn't be that easy. "Question. How many of the four were stationed at the Vatican in 1874?"

Formulating.

Niles waited.

No recipients at the Vatican in ad 1874.

Niles felt deflated, but then decided to take a shot in the dark. "Question. Number of the four alive in 1874?"

Formulating , Europa said as the screen flashed again.