Maggie looked at Edward, a question showing in her eyes.

“What the hell does Pandora mean? The only thing that I know of is that online music service."

“It's not a what, but who. Don't you know the ancient story of Pandora's box?" His voice cracked little for even as he was asking her that question, he was looking down inside the box as if some horror was about to climb out.

“I don't think so."

“Well I don't know it all that well anymore, but from what I can remember, she was given some sort of box and told not to open it. When she did, every bad and evil thing that afflicts us today was unleashed upon the world."

“What a moronic story. Why would you give someone something like that and tell them not to open it? Everyone knows the person is going to open it!"

“There's probably more to it than that. I said I don't remember it all that well."

“So this is that box?"

“I completely doubt it. If I recall properly, the original story is very ancient, like from the Greeks or someone like that. This box is only a few hundred years old."

Maggie was looking at the contents of the box, which were nothing more than gear after gear after gear. The lid was a separate piece, made to be wound up and set in motion to release the hooks that managed to hold it securely against the rest of the device. But outside of all of the gears and other hidden components, there seemed to be little else to it. It could hardly have held all of the woes of the world inside.

He was examining it as well. Like her, all he could see was a mass of intricate metal parts linked together in a manner that seemed to defy explanation. He knew it had to do something, but whatever that was was beyond his knowledge. There was no crank, no key; nothing.

He said rather humorlessly; “What say we close this damn thing up and stick it back where we found it?"

“No! You're giving up too easily. We were pretty much directed to find this thing and now that we have it, we simply need to figure out what it is. Aren't you the least bit curious?"

“My curiosity is getting worn out. I'd prefer to have a few straight answers for once. Is that too much to hope for?"

“Yes, I think that it is. No one is going to tell us…" She paused because he had suddenly brightened a little. “What is it?"

“There was one thing left in Pandora's box after everything else escaped."

“Something deadly?"

“No, nothing bad. Hope was all that remained inside."

“Hope?"

“Yes, hope. You know; that feeling you get that helps you fight off the things you just know are going to get you down."

“I know what hope is stupid. But how could a box hold hope?"

“How could a box hold all of the evils of the world? That's not the point. I think the story meant that when things get bad or hopeless, you always have one thing to fall back on to see you through the difficult times. It doesn't really affect the outcome of anything, but it makes you feel better about the situation while you're in it."

“Sounds like a credible explanation. You can have hope and still suffer, but its hope that sees you through. Kind of like having a friend to hold your hand during the rough times." She held hers out to him.

He accepted it almost absentmindedly.“Sure, that's one way of looking at it."

“Fine. So how are a bunch of clock parts going to give us hope?"

“I'm still not sure. Should we take it down to the tavern and see what they think?"

“They? Or do you mean Reynard alone? I don't think any one of those old men will have a clue, but I don't see where it can hurt."

They carried the now-open box outside and through the front door of the tavern. Reynard saw them enter with the wooden container and quickly made his way to the table they chose to occupy.

“I see you have gotten it open! What was inside?"

Edward tilted the box as he sat it on the table. Their host saw the complex system of clockwork mechanisms inside and sucked in a breath.

“Wow, would you look at that! How do you suppose it works?"

“That's our question too. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it."

“Pah! There has to be. Just because you don't understand it doesn't make it garbage. You have a brain. Use it."

“We have."

“For how long? Ten minutes?"

“Well…"

“Son, I like you, but you seem to think that answers are just supposed to just pop out for you to retrieve. The man or men who built this likely took a very long time to craft it. I doubt that it was meant for anyone to simply be able to open it and understand it. Saying that, I feel that it was meant to have an important purpose and that purpose can be deduced with a little effort."

“Great! What do you see?"

Reynard picked up the device and turned it around carefully in his weathered hands. A slight smile lit his face as he set it back down.

“I see part of the solution."

“What?"

“Just a moment. I'll need something long and thin."

Before they could ask him why he needed such an item, he slipped into the back and was gone. He returned in good time, carrying with him a stiff wire hook fashioned from a coat hanger.  The crook on the end was quite small and compact.

“You're not sticking that into this device are you?" ask Edward nervously.

“Yes, but I assure you it'll come to no harm. I think you'll find this rather revealing."

Reynard slipped the wire along one side, dipping it in as if trying to connect with something inside. After a few tries, he was rewarded with it snagging what he was aiming for. There was a barely discernible click. He freed the wire and moved around the interior repeating the process. As he did the edges along the corners of the box separated until with the final latch disengaged the sides unfolded downward.

Not only did the sides break away seamlessly from the rest, but as they did so the interior workings expanded outwards as well. Now, instead of a mass of jumbled gears and brass bits, it unfolded, much like a butterfly's wings, into the most extraordinary device they could have conceived as coming from the time period that it did.

At the heart of it was a cylinder that appeared to have a jumble of letters, with numbers mixed in for good measure, though they had been set on there in mirror image. Closer inspection found the cylinder to be made of separate rings, and the rings each had, from what they could determine, twenty three letters on them plus an empty space. There were thirty or so of the rings and ten of the numbers.

On top of that, it was apparent that each and every one of the gears was elaborately engraved and here and there were gemstones and inlaid precious metals. What it lacked on the outside it more than made up for on the inside.

Edward let out a low whistle. “I would never have guessed that this thing unfolded like that. But even now that I can see the whole thing, I'm no closer to understanding what it is."

Reynard listened with only half of his attention on his guest. He was observing the apparatus and making deductions about its nature. It was a finely wrought mechanism, more complex than even the old adding machines he remembered from decades ago. This thing, should it ever get damaged, would be impossible to piece back together.

“You're such an impatient lad, now aren't you? Ahh…." Reynard placed his finger into a tube that narrowed on the opposite end. Nothing happened. He withdrew it and searched some more. As he rotated the device, a small solid brass plate appeared that had a narrow slot cut into the metal. It seemed just right for the placement of a key. And not just any key.

“I believe that someone has gone to a lot of bother in creating all of this a long time ago. Locks are not something as old as many people think, and yet the key that fit the safe might very well fit this also. Do you have it with you?"

Edward pulled it out. “But this box is already unlocked. How would the key; oh wait, do you think it needs to be wound like the lid needed to be?"

“There's only one way to find out. Who would care to do the honors?"

Maggie moved forward, and the two men let her in. She slipped the key in and it fell into place as easily as if it had just been made that day by a modern locksmith. She pushed it in until it was snug before giving it a turn. There was a series of clicks as she did. Emboldened by her actions, she turned it until the motion stopped. She pulled the key out and watched for any movement.

Nothing happened.

Edward sighed.

 Reynard rapped him sharply on the head.

“Patience! Can you imagine if the man who created this was confronted with a modern automobile, even one as outdated and quaint as that thing you presently drive? Would he behave so childishly?"

“You're right, but I just don't have the desire to keep having to wait for an answer."

“You had better learn to desire knowledge enough to await it! Trust me, there are times when you must go searching for your answers and there are times when you simply must wait for them. The trick is to distinguish between the two so that you aren't wasting your time waiting for that which you can expose with your own abilities."

“Are you saying you'll always get an answer if you wait?"

“Did I just say that? Sadly, there will be times when no answer is forthcoming. But that too is knowledge. You learn that some questions remain unrequited."

“But does that make them unanswerable?"

“No. It means that for whatever reason, that which you seek is beyond the ken of your understanding."

“Such as?"

“That will be for you to find out. Though, if you wish an example, this device setting before you provides an excellent one. What is it?"

“I think we've determined that already. We have no stinking idea."

“But you already know a little something. Each step you take gives you a better understanding of it. Just because you haven't achieved total understanding does mean you are at a complete loss."

Edward shrugged and sighed again. “You're right and I admit it. But still, this seems almost excruciating."

Reynard was a wise man, and though patient, was getting his fill of this sniveling American. Without changing his form he grabbed Edward's arm and sank his teeth into it. Maggie jumped back as her mate howled in pain. But just as quickly Reynard let go.

“That young man is excruciating and yet you'll end up healing from it. I would have thought you would have known the difference by now in what is true pain and what is mere impatience. So sit quietly and think. Whining is fit for youngsters, and if you ever intend to grow up, then I would suggest you leave behind your childish ways."

Edward rubbed the openly bleeding teeth marks. He was more concerned with his clothing at the moment, knowing full well he would recover from such minor damage. Reynard's words sank into him with the same ferocity of his teeth. He was being a bit childish. If he had a long life ahead of him, then having the proper dose of forbearance with what life threw at you was going to be a necessity.

“Sorry."

“Don't be sorry. Be mature. Growing up doesn't mean growing old. It means taking a little responsibility for yourself. And others, by and by. I don't care how you live your life, but at some point you'll want to have a family and that's a whole other kettle of fish.  Experience is the father of wisdom. The sooner you start thinking more like a man and a little less like a spoiled brat the better you and your family will be."

Maggie lost her cool. “He's not acting like a spoiled brat! He just has a lot of doubts! You've had your entire life to figure out who you are. He started out in one life and was thrown over into another. So maybe you might want to give him a little slack when it comes to how he acts."

Reynard didn't back down much, but he did lighten up a little.

“My apologies. I forget that neither of you is very old, even by our advanced standards. I only know what I know, and I know that there will be a time when you'll need to straighten your spine and suck in your gut and do things that you may not have the heart to do. Sometimes this makes me a little unsympathetic to those less experienced than myself."

Edward was emotionally shaken. He also felt a little out of sorts after the bite and the lecture. So he kept his mouth shut and pretended to investigate the device. Reynard had stuck his finger in the odd metal cone, to the effect of having nothing happen. Edward stuck his finger in too, waiting for the device to spring to life.

“I wonder what makes you work," he said to no one in particular.

The device came alive. The discs began rotating as the gears jumped into action. Edward almost jerked his finger out, but figured that the bite he had just received was far worse than anything this machine could do.

Slowly, almost like a slot machine, the discs rotated and moved until, in a combination of letters and blank spaces, an arrangement of words was formed. The problem was, there was no easy way of reading them. Reynard and Maggie looked on in amazement, but neither of them could make sense of it. In part, the letters were small and in script; and being backwards made seeing them a little challenging. And for two ignorant foreigners, the last bit of difficulty was that they were obviously not in English.

But Reynard came up with an idea. He went to the register and came back with an ordinary magic marker. He rubbed it over the letters and quickly pressed a napkin up against it. When he pulled it away, it read.

“le désir de coeur." 

The old Belgian smiled. “Ahhh. Apparently this machine will tell you your heart's desire."

Edward pulled his finger away. “But what if I already know it?"

Reynard smiled even wider. “I don't think this will tell you anything you don't already know about your love for your partner. I think that you can ask it a question, and if your question is from the heart, then it can answer it as best as it is able."

“You sound like you know a little more about this than you've let on."

“Hardly. Why did you ask the question that you asked?"

Edward considered that. “Because I really wanted to know."

“So is my suggestion so preposterous? Hope is in the heart, is it not? The logical mind will give up when it sees no escape from a situation, but the heart will carry on undaunted. The heart remains the stronger portion of the brain."

“OK. So if what you're saying is true, then how does this thing even work?"

“That is beyond my knowledge. I think that there might have been more than one craftsman involved in its creation."

Maggie was staring at it intently. “So it's a real version of the Magic Eight Ball?"

Reynard knit his eyebrows trying to figure out her reference. Edward explained it to him. The old man grinned.

“No, nothing as immature and infantile as that I think. Why don't you try it out and see what happens?"

“Uhhhhhh…"

Edward ruffled her hair. “Try it. I'm not sure what my next question would be anyway. I mean, the possibilities are endless."

Reynard corrected him. “Perhaps. Just asking a random question is not likely to get you an answer. Though, I think you could try it and find out if I'm correct or not."

Edward turned the device away from himself and towards him. “You try and see. I'm not asking this device anything at the moment. I don't think I'll like the answer it gives."

Reynard stuck his finger in and asked rather blandly, “Will I ever find love again?"

To his surprise the machine went back into action. He was tempted to remove his finger, feeling that it somehow helped to power the device, but his curiosity, like that of Edward, was overpowered by the need to understand. So he left it in to wait what was to come.

Again, the letters had to be hit with the ink and then have a quickly printed copy made.

“vous avez jamais perdu."

He said it out loud. They all understood it.

“Who is she?"

Reynard turned red. “No one I will mention at this table. I feel the matter is too personal to be discussed."

Maggie patted him on the back. “Sure. We get it. But I take it it was more than just a random question?"

“I thought maybe it was but I guess it was not. I felt I was past such things. Maybe I need to look deeper into myself before I go judging others."

“We're all human. No one is perfect," she said with feeling.

Edward was still reeling from the possibilities this machine offered. “Mags, you ask it something."

“OK."  She stuck her finger in, closed her eyes and asked, “What is the best way to find Lady Lily?"

The machine whirled and rotated, causing the gears to do double time. As the letters stopped in sequence, it became apparent that there was going to be a definitive answer. Maggie watched excitedly as the rings of letters turned and stopped. When it was finished, she pulled out her finger, grabbed the marker and a napkin and did a rubbing. She held the paper for them all to see.

“aller à l'homme congelé."

Reynard looked at the words three times before he spoke. “Who is the frozen man?"

Edward looked at Maggie and she at him.

“That might mean Leo."

Reynard expressed his confusion. “Leo who?"

Edward put a hand on his host's shoulder. “Leonardo da Vinci."

“How is he frozen? He's dead and long rotted by now."

“No - no he's not. He perfected the deep freeze well before anyone else did."

Rather than dispute the claim, their host ask, “So where is he?"

Maggie stuck her finger in the device again, just to see if it was a fluke. “Is Leonardo the frozen man?"

The rings twirled into three vowels.

“oui."

“And where can we find him?"

The discs rotated once more, spinning freely in their mechanical motion. When it stopped, the word the couple knew was going to be there came up.

“roma."

Reynard looked from one to the other of them. “Are you telling me that one of the most famous of all the Renaissance masters and inventors is alive and living in Rome?"

“Yep!" Maggie said proudly. “We rescued him from his cryo-chamber thingy he had built."

“And after all of this time he'll know how to find the lady whom you seek?"

Edward answered for both of them. “If anyone would know it would be he. We were going to meet up with him before the nasty deal with Mr. Hyde anyway, so this works out perfectly. We got a little sidetracked is all."

Their host was rubbing his chin. “Simple questions give simple answers. I would choose your queries carefully. I see where this machine might give you hope, but I see the possibility for misuse. It still hasn't refrained from answering a single question."

“So what? You think it can answer what next week's lottery numbers are?"

Reynard looked serious. “If that was your heart's desire, then yes, I think it could."

“We have money and we have love," Edward said with sincerity. “I don't think we need anything more."

“But you do. You just might not realize it yet."

Maggie tugged on Edward's arm. “Try it again. Ask it anything. What's the worst that could happen?"

“I don't wish to find out, thank you very much."

“Oh do it!"

“Fine!" He angrily stuck his finger in and asked, “Will we really find the Lady Lily?"

The wheels spun until it came up with the French word for yes once again.

“How will we know her when we find her?"

Again with the spinning, though the device seemed to be taking longer to work with each question, as if it had to think about it. Once it was done he retracted his finger, acting as though he was afraid of losing  his digit. The answer this time was;

“voir le cœur."

“A lot of good that does us. See the heart? Whose heart?"

Reynard had an intent look on his face. “I might hazard to guess it means to see into a person's heart, not their mind. The mind often deceives; the heart as often does not."

“To hell with this!  For all we know this machine is just an elaborate parlor trick." He put his finger back in. “What is the meaning of life?"

He was very much surprised when it became active once again. It was moving ever more slowly now, but in the end it gave yet another answer.

“ce que vous lui donnez."

Reynard smiled. “A wise answer indeed."

Edward was feeling angry with this machine. He himself had some small ability to see the future, but this machine purported to know it all too well. So, in a fit of unreasonable anger, he asked it a question he realized upon uttering it that he should not have asked. But once spoken, it was too late to take it back.

“How will I die?"

The other two gasped at the audacity of such a question. Still, if he didn't mean it, the machine might not respond. When it slowly churned to life the tension in the group became almost palpable. One after another of the rotating discs did its circuit until the individual letters moved into place, giving a mirror reflection of words spelling out Edward's ultimate doom.