"Can you fix it?"
"Probably not."
Pitt shook his head and gestured around the computer complex. "You set up all this but can't repair a simple cassette player?"
"My heart isn't in it." Yaeger rose, walked into an office and stood the stuffed kangaroo on one corner of his desk.
"Maybe someday when I'm inspired I'll modify it into a talking lamp."
Pitt followed him and closed the door. "Feel in the mood for a more exotic project?"
"Along what lines?"
"Research. "
"Lay it on me."
Pitt removed the envelope from his pocket and gave it to Yaeger-NUMA's computer wizard slouched in a chair,
opened the envelope flap and withdrew the contents. He rapidly scanned the typed transcript, then read through it again more slowly. After a long silence, he peered over his spectacles at Pitt.
"This from that old ship you found?"
"You know of it?"
"Have to be blind and deaf not to. The story has been all over the newspapers and TV."
Pitt nodded at the papers in Yaeger's hand. "A translation from Latin of the ship's log."
"What do you want from me?"
"Take a look at the page with the map."
Yaeger held it up and studied the uniabeled lines. "You want me to make a match with a known geographical location?"
"If you can," Pitt acknowledged.
"Not a hell of a lot to go on. What is it?"
"An ocean shoreline and a river."
"When was it drawn?"
"A.D. 391."
Yaeger gave Pitt a bemused look. "You might as well ask me to name the streets of Atlantis."
"Program your electronic playmates for a projection of the ship's course after the fleet left Cartagena. You might also try working backwards from the shipwreck site in Greenland. I've included the position."
"You realize this river may not exist any more."
"The thought entered my mind."
"I'll need authorization from the Admiral."
"You'll get it first thing in the morning."
"All right," Yaeger said glumly- "I'll give it my best shot.