Episode Fifteen Esoteric Leopardy I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: "O Lord, make my enemies ridiculous." And God granted it. Voltaire Olivia returned to Château Gâteau full of enthusiasm for the new team she and Juan Carlos seemed destined to create together, a not-so-secret society known simply as the Cybersybils. Minerva's shield was beginning to shine in Miss O's mind's eye and the relieved writer mouthed a thankful prayer to Tritogeneia each night before she fell asleep. Soon Professor Peyton, previously a pioneer in cesium clock design, was also recruited to build a website for his daughter that was to be devoted to her search for the Sybilline scrolls. One mid-September afternoon, following shortly on the heels of Juan Carlos' birthday celebration, the assassin-astrologer-pimp entered the inviting atmosphere of Château Gâteau to find Miss Olivia seated at a desk, head in her hands. "What ever is the matter?" the Jackal inquired with mock concern. "Did your computer crash?" "No," she sighed, "the computer is fine - it runs better than a talisman from The Key of Solomon & Sheba - it's all the emails I'm getting from friends around the globe! Everyone needs occult help, it seems. Here's a plea from my lovely German friend Nicole in Aachen - one of the horses from the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin has disappeared..." "Let me see that," the interloper insisted, peturbed. "Hmmm...a job for Basque, most definitely! Too bad he's a horse..." "He talks...to me," Olivia countered. "I know what he's thinking." "Okaaaay..." the jackass man hee-hawed. "What else have you got there?" "Look at this request, from a friend of Bruce's...Miss Olivia, I am in dire need of esoteric help which only a Cybersybil may provide. Could you please point me in the direction of the skull taken from the Templar commandery in Paris by Philippe the Handsome on...hey, wait a minute!" "Delete," Juan Carlos directed, striking a key. "Please, no Templar silliness. We have better things with which to concern ourselves, Olivia. Such as finding Cosimo Ruggieri's magic mirror, last seen at Château Chaumont. Or locating the Book of Love, which I know you have located already, sneaky girl! I don't want you hanging around those sissies Lexi and Bruce or that big, tough guy, Duke, got it?" "What the Hades got into you? Leave Duke alone - you know you're jealous." "I'm not jealous of anyone! You've got me, and you won the prize - I am the son of Eros, you know..." "Just call me Miss Minerva, then," Olivia parried, before adding, "The Sybilline oracles, supposedly burned on a Christmas Day in Rome long ago, need to be located, too. JC, you were right about one thing a while back, we do need recruits - we need to create an esoteric team using all my frineds in the occult community." "NO, Olivia...no old pals. I'll put an ad for Cybersybil try outs in Match this afternoon." "Okay, I guess...and we'll write up some test questions and essays and everyone will meet at Château Columba..." "Ahhh...my house?" Juan Carlos asked wearily. "I'm running a business there, Olivia." "Oh JC, pretty please...your place is much bigger and this is so important to the future of the Cybersybils - please, just this once?" "All right," Juan Carlos acquiesced. "For the sake of Knowledge and not because you're so...so... exasperating sometimes. So stubborn, so fixed, so..." "Taurean?" Olivia quipped before going to a book shelf to begin her search for the most difficult questions of the esoteric Ages, not turning to notice the Jackal's devious grin. "Okay," Miss Olivia gulped as she glanced out a lead-paned window of Château Columba on an October morn, surveying the assembled throng, "today's the day. The first thing we'll do is pass out this essay question to everyone, they'll have fifteen minutes to answer and after we've collected all the blue books, then we'll start calling people one-by-one to ask them other stuff..." "I'll ask them the other stuff, like weight, bust size, Sun sign..." the Jackal laughed, attired in the English suit Miss O had gifted him for his natal day. "You be quiet for once, Miss Mercury in Aries, and read through the literary masterpieces, agreed?" "Sure...I'm so nervous. I hope we find some decent Cybersybils...a couple of cute guys would be nice, too." "Chill out - I'm the only man we're talking about, here - what was the essay question again?" "A Cybersybils' creative writing class was asked to compose an essay containing the following elements: religion, royalty, sex and mystery. What was the best essay submitted, in six-hundred and sixty-six words or less?" "Clever," Juan Carlos winked. "What's the answer?" "I haven't the vaguest," Olivia admitted with a chuckle. "Yet when I see a winner, I'll know."    Text Copyright © 1999 - 2005 cybersybils.com All rights reserved.