Episode One Minerva's Shield Knowledge is a weapon. I intend to be formidably armed. Richard Cypher The key needed to unlock the mysteries of ancient Wisdom, at whose temple entrance the wise Greeks had carved the dual inscriptions: Nothing in Excess and Know Thyself, could ultimately be found within the soul of each individual, and each individual alone, reckoned Miss Olivia Peyton. Raising a fair head from her hands, the young woman then glanced absently at the many volumes of history scattered atop her writing desk, an active mind elsewhere, aimlessly thinking thoughts she had considered many times before in the past. "How does one reach the point of self-actualization?" she mused aloud, biting on the blunt end of a fountain pen. "Is it possible to ever know oneself, inside and out? Is that true Enlightenment, then? Or is it all really just a crock of merde?" The futility of envisioning a dream-scape where people traveled between what quantum physics had proved were the holographic, parallel universes of past-present-future, caused Miss Olivia to sigh with frustration. Despite a comfortable existence lived in a charming French cottage she had christened Château Gâteau due to the structure's miniature turrets and chocolate-vanilla appearance created by dark wooden beams laid atop white stucco, despite cohabiting with a loving father and tolerant mother, despite her natural good looks and all the blessings she truly did appreciate in her life, the Peyton girl was bored to tears for lack of companionship. Not for a friend who would provide amusement or comfort - she could count such friends by the score, an entire address book filled with names and telephone numbers - but rather, a like-minded spirit who understood and was equally committed to a noble cause...a Grail quest.    Text Copyright 1999 - ad infinitum cybersybils.com All rights reserved