would fall into the wrong hands, ordered it hidden ‘beneath layers of gold and lapis and other colors of the greatest brilliance.’ Not long after that fact was recorded in the Annales , the monastery of Iona was destroyed by the Vikings. Many of the monks were butchered, and the rest fled back to Ireland—to take refuge in the Monastery of Kells. The map was never spoken of again.”
Glinn drained his glass, replaced it on the table.
“Enter my client. He was sure the map described in the Annales still existed. But he couldn’t find it. So he came to me.”
He removed a silk handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed his lips, carefully refolding it and slipping it back in place.
“The problem proved an elementary one. When the monks fled Iona ahead of the marauding Vikings, they carried with them their most holy relics. Among those was a book, a wondrous illuminated gospel. Which became known—after its new home—as the Book of Kells.”
He paused significantly.
“Recall Columba’s instructions: to hide the map ‘beneath layers of gold and lapis and other colors of the greatest brilliance.’ Naturally, I concluded it had been painted over and bound into the Book of Kells. But which page? That was even easier. One of the pages of the book had already excited scholarly interest because it appeared to be of a different material than the others.”
“The Chi Rho page,” Gideon said.
“Exactly. The Book of Kells was written on the finest vellum available—fetal calfskin. But the vellum of the Chi Rho page is different—stronger and thicker. And the Chi Rho page is the most heavily painted page in the entire book. The vellum was first painted with flake white—which has lead as its base—which was totally unnecessary: the fine vellum was snow white to begin with. It seemed obvious to me the Phorkys Map was hidden under the paint on that page. And thanks to you, we’ve now found it.”
He tapped the enlargement of the map with a crooked finger.
“Which brings me to your new mission: to follow this map to Phorkys.”
Gideon was no longer able to keep the sarcasm from his voice. “And find the secret to eternal life?”
“Not eternal life. Healing .”
“Don’t tell me you actually believe that legend?”
“I do.”
Gideon shook his head. “I’m not sure who’s more gullible—you or this mysterious client of yours. Greeks discovering the New World. Monsters guarding some kind of magic medicine.”
Glinn said nothing.
Now Gideon rose. “I thought you had a real mission for me. It’s bad enough that, thanks to me, a priceless masterpiece has been destroyed. Now you want me to head off on some wild goose chase? I’m sorry, but I want no part of this.”
Without a word, Glinn removed a manila folder from his briefcase and laid it on the table, giving it a gentle push toward Gideon. It was labeled PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, IONA . “This is a confidential report on an archaeological excavation of the graveyard at Iona Abbey. Archaeologists recovered the remains of quite a few monks, many dating back to the time of the Phorkys Map.”
“So?”
“The archaeologists found skeletons of monks who had suffered dreadful injuries, many no doubt at the hands of Viking marauders. Arms chopped off, skulls split, eyes gouged out. They found evidence of birth defects, deformities, various illnesses. But here’s the rub: the skeletons had healed up almost perfectly. These monks had recovered from wounds, deformities, and illnesses that should have been permanently disabling or even fatal.”
“Medicine is replete with amazing recoveries,” said Gideon.
“Perhaps. But that report notes that some of the monks had regrown entire limbs .”
There was a dead silence. Gideon finally said, “I don’t buy it, Eli.”
“When a frog or lizard loses and regrows a limb, the process leaves unmistakable, unambiguous signs. You can see where the bone was severed, where it began to grow back. The new limb is
Glinn drained his glass, replaced it on the table.
“Enter my client. He was sure the map described in the Annales still existed. But he couldn’t find it. So he came to me.”
He removed a silk handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed his lips, carefully refolding it and slipping it back in place.
“The problem proved an elementary one. When the monks fled Iona ahead of the marauding Vikings, they carried with them their most holy relics. Among those was a book, a wondrous illuminated gospel. Which became known—after its new home—as the Book of Kells.”
He paused significantly.
“Recall Columba’s instructions: to hide the map ‘beneath layers of gold and lapis and other colors of the greatest brilliance.’ Naturally, I concluded it had been painted over and bound into the Book of Kells. But which page? That was even easier. One of the pages of the book had already excited scholarly interest because it appeared to be of a different material than the others.”
“The Chi Rho page,” Gideon said.
“Exactly. The Book of Kells was written on the finest vellum available—fetal calfskin. But the vellum of the Chi Rho page is different—stronger and thicker. And the Chi Rho page is the most heavily painted page in the entire book. The vellum was first painted with flake white—which has lead as its base—which was totally unnecessary: the fine vellum was snow white to begin with. It seemed obvious to me the Phorkys Map was hidden under the paint on that page. And thanks to you, we’ve now found it.”
He tapped the enlargement of the map with a crooked finger.
“Which brings me to your new mission: to follow this map to Phorkys.”
Gideon was no longer able to keep the sarcasm from his voice. “And find the secret to eternal life?”
“Not eternal life. Healing .”
“Don’t tell me you actually believe that legend?”
“I do.”
Gideon shook his head. “I’m not sure who’s more gullible—you or this mysterious client of yours. Greeks discovering the New World. Monsters guarding some kind of magic medicine.”
Glinn said nothing.
Now Gideon rose. “I thought you had a real mission for me. It’s bad enough that, thanks to me, a priceless masterpiece has been destroyed. Now you want me to head off on some wild goose chase? I’m sorry, but I want no part of this.”
Without a word, Glinn removed a manila folder from his briefcase and laid it on the table, giving it a gentle push toward Gideon. It was labeled PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, IONA . “This is a confidential report on an archaeological excavation of the graveyard at Iona Abbey. Archaeologists recovered the remains of quite a few monks, many dating back to the time of the Phorkys Map.”
“So?”
“The archaeologists found skeletons of monks who had suffered dreadful injuries, many no doubt at the hands of Viking marauders. Arms chopped off, skulls split, eyes gouged out. They found evidence of birth defects, deformities, various illnesses. But here’s the rub: the skeletons had healed up almost perfectly. These monks had recovered from wounds, deformities, and illnesses that should have been permanently disabling or even fatal.”
“Medicine is replete with amazing recoveries,” said Gideon.
“Perhaps. But that report notes that some of the monks had regrown entire limbs .”
There was a dead silence. Gideon finally said, “I don’t buy it, Eli.”
“When a frog or lizard loses and regrows a limb, the process leaves unmistakable, unambiguous signs. You can see where the bone was severed, where it began to grow back. The new limb is
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