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But I am not so interesting," he says, with a self-deprecating diversion of those rather lovely eyes. You suspect that there have been more than a few admirers who have found him very interesting indeed. "Let us talk instead about our purpose here. I have brought you here, Dr. Spillane, to help me find Shambala."

Shambala. A hidden city founded thousands of years ago by expelled religious dissidents, according to Tibetan Buddhist lore. In later versions of the tale, Shambala is a paradisiacal place, a secret kingdom with marvelous technology and fearsome defenses against the outside world.