For a moment the Old Man was silent. "Then the element was not within T137 when the adjustment began."
"No. He arrived about ten o'clock."
"During the middle of the adjustment." The Old Man got to his feet and paced slowly back and forth, face grim, hands behind his back. His long robe flowed out behind him. "A serious matter. During a Sector Adjustment all related elements from other Sectors must be included. Otherwise, their orientations remain out of phase. When this element entered T137 the adjustment had been in progress fifty minutes. The element encountered the Sector at its most de-energized stage. He wandered about until one of the adjustment teams met him."
"Did they catch him?"
"Unfortunately, no. He fled, out of the Sector. Into a nearby fully energized area."
"What — what then?"
The Old Man stopped pacing, his lined face grim. He ran a heavy hand through his long white hair. "We do not know. We lost contact with him. We will reestablish contact soon, of course. But for the moment he is out of control."
"What are you going to do?"
"He must be contacted and contained. He must be brought up here. There's no other solution."
"Up here!"