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He reaches out a hand and you tentatively shake it. ?It is a great honor to meet you, Gabriella Petrenko. I am only surprised to see you so soon.?

?How do??? you start before he cuts you off.

?My name is Roland Ashdown. I am the leader of this group you see here. We are a resistance movement.? You look around, surprised to see everyone gawking at you with wonder. ?As you may or may not now, King Richard recently ordered all Jews to be expelled from England. He has even begun executing some of the more influential Jewish people. Some have left quietly, but we refuse.?

He sits down next to you, and places a hand on your shoulder. At eye level, he seems less intimidating. ?We brought you here to our time. That is to say we prayed for your arrival. Our religious leader prophesized your arrival via a black hole of great power. He also said you would be from a time and place where Jews live in peace amongst Englishmen. While the prophecy said you would arrive today, we are lucky to have found you so soon, as we had not deduced the location of this black hole. Please, tell us, from where do you hail??

Blinking rapidly, you sputter to answer the question. ?I was born in Kiev in the year 1983,? you start. Collective gasps of wonder fill the room, as your words made the prophecy a reality in the minds of the rebels. Frantic whispers are soon cut off by Roland. ?My family moved to a land called America when I was a child. It?s a large land mass far west of here, a place nobody will discover for another two-hundred years.?

Roland?s eyes light up, like a child being rewarded with candy. ?And you live in peace in America??

?Most of the time,? you say. ?I mean, we still fight, but for other reasons. Jews are welcome in America. In fact, many of the richest and most powerful people are Jewish. Sadly, though, there are still many places in the world where Jews do not live in harmony.?

Roland is having difficulty quieting the crowd. Soon, you are being asked questions about an apocalypse, the year 2000, and who the king of England is in your time. ?Silence!? he shouts. ?Please, do not ask her too many questions. Gabriella is not here to tell us about the future. She is here to help us in the present.?

?Help?? you ask, perplexed. ?But how can I help? I don?t even want to be here.?

His eyes fill with sadness. ?The prophecy said that you would come to aid in our resistance. It also said that you had the intelligence, courage, and strength to lead our people to a better England. We don?t know how this is true. But we can only assume it is, as the prophecy has been true up until now.?

?I?I don?t know,? is all you can muster in response.

His shoulders sag further. ?One final thing. The prophecy also said that the decision to help us was yours. We prayed for your arrival, and you have come. But we cannot make you stay with us. And we will not grovel. Please, give it some thought before you decide.?

You can?t believe what you?re hearing. You?re no leader! You can?t even balance your checkbook! But even if what he says is true, should you really wield the power of changing history? Looking around the room once more, all eyes are upon you. Their bodies are motionless but their eyes are groveling, pleading with you to stay.