I walked up to the hotel's concierge, showed her my backstage pass, and was pointed in the direction of Scumbini's dressing room. I walked down several hallways, took an elevator one floor down, and finally stood in front of a door marked "The Great Scumbini".

I knocked, but no one answered. I tried the door and found it was open, so I walked in. The room was dimly-lit, a dressing table and large mirror on one wall, and circus posters on the rest.

I walked up to one of the posters. It pictured a young, handsome Scumbini, surrounded by scantily-clad Vegas showgirls, about to perform his famous "blue flame" trick. In the background stood a dark figure -- the outline of a man dressed in black.

I heard footsteps behind me and turned quickly. There, in the shadows, stood the caped figure of Scumbini.

"I am not the one you seek," he said, not a hint of a smile on his face, his eyes staring straight at me -- unblinking and penetrating.

"I have summoned you here so that I can warn you...and save your soul. There is much that you do not understand, will never understand. You must believe me."

I looked Scumbini right in the eyes and spoke. "Listen. I'm not going to let some carnival freak with a silly name and a ridiculous story lead me right into a trap. I don't know who you are, or what you want from me, so let's just get to the point."

Scumbini smiled faintly and replied, "The point is, Mr. Welby, that there are forces at work much more powerful than you could ever imagine. Let's hope fate is on your side…and a little bit of luck as well."

While I wanted to dismiss Scumbini as a con man trying to set me up, I couldn't help but feel that I could sidestep some great danger if I heeded his advice. But what would be the catch -- the price tag for my salvation?

I cut to the chase. " Where is the dark man?" I demanded.

Scumbini replied, "You will meet him soon. But you have so much to learn first. You must be ready. I will help you prepare for him, but ultimately it is all up to you. Come here to the show tonight. It is the first step."

"Yikes," I thought to myself. I'd traveled all those miles just to meet with a crazy Jedi knight who was now going to show me the way to god-knows-what.

I replied, "I might just do that, Scumbini. I just might."