Abrem shrugged…

Abrem shrugged. “It appears that you are to engage an unidentified foe in the outside world, with powers not known to it.”

“While the rest of us do nothing?” Tilda asked, rubbing her brow. Her voice sounded tired now.

“Paciencia is to face this challenge alone,” Abrem answered. He leaned forward with earnest. “We can still assist her from here … check the archives for clues … perhaps the space between realms …”

As his voice trailed off, Paciencia finally realized what was in Tilda’s voice, what now was reflected in Abrem’s eyes—sadness.

There were all kinds of troubling aspects to this vision, the greatest, of course, being what it could mean to their society and their centuries-old mission. A select few from the outside world knew of New Columbia. The secret of its existence was part of the mandate the people lived by—their executive order. A battle like the one in Paciencia’s vision would undoubtedly raise questions and lead to investigations by the nations of the outside world. While it was most unlikely that any person or nation could find New Columbia, it was just as unlikely that anyone in the outside world possessed the power Paciencia was to confront there.

That was what Abrem meant by “powers not known” to the outside world. New Columbia had technology and individuals capable of such feats. The outside world did not. That suggested someone from New Columbia was behind this. Of it all, that possibility was the most unthinkable, and yet….

Was this why Abrem and Tilda were so upset?