Problems and Solutions

                            By:

                         Fox Cutter

2/7/96:

I stretched out my arms a bit, yawning. It was three in the
morning, and I had just spent the last few hours working on
some software code back home.

I grinned wearily, "Not bad for a two-bit hack," I muttered,
saving everything and shutting down the computer. I had been
working on the program since the start of the weekend, and
had been doing some minor adjustments to make it work for
the past two hours.

I was about to crawl into bed for some well earned rest,
when I felt someone tap me lightly on the shoulder.

Jumping, I craned my head to look back. Standing behind me,
with an evil grin on her muzzle, was Oria.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, stifling a second yawn.

She shrugged, "Seeing you. It's not like you've been around
the house."

I nodded, "Sorry, I've been tied up a bit with this
project."

She nodded her head slightly, and picked up a spiral
notebook from my desk. Flipping through it she said, "Dream
Time?"

I shrugged, "Just an idea I'm playing with." Which was true,
it was only a loss collection of ideas that I wasn't even
sure would come to fruition.

She flipped through a few more pages, "_Prelude to the Next
Millennia_, and _Third Year of the Millennia_. A new story,
Fox?"

I shook my head, "No, not really, just an idea."

"Ah," she said, returning it to where she had taken it from.
"So, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," I stammered out, "Nothing at all. Just getting
some programming done."

"Bullshit," she stated, her paws on her hips, an annoyed
look on her muzzle. "You've been like this since you had
your meeting with Jenner. What did he say to you, and what
are the HammerHeads."

I sighed, "The HammerHeads are an organization of meddlers,"
I provided in lew of a full explanation. "They fix things.
Jenner called me because he needed my help. After thinking
it over for a few days, I turned him down."

She looked at me, as she sat down on the bed, "And what
else-- what shook you up so much?"

I licked my lips, "Well, I wanted to do it. Four or five
times I almost called and told him yes."

"Why don't you? Was his request that bad?"

I shook my head, "Nope, just a pop-in then pop-out job. It
would have taken four days at most. We probably wouldn't
have even broken a sweat."

She nodded, "Then why didn't you do it?"

I shrugged, "I would have had to use a bio-drone again; the
thing would have messed up my school activities."

"The Mark 7 is out. It's much better. The links have been
improved by using your translator instead of adding a second
chip." She prompted, the way she said it meant to imply that
I knew just that already. Which I did.

I nodded, "Yes, that was mentioned."

She leaned forward a bit, "So if that's not the reason, what
is?"

"Um... What do you mean?" I shifted in my chair, starting to
feel uncomfortable.

She flipped her hair over her shoulder, "I've pick up a lot
of psychology during my time in bed. You're scared of
something. What is it really?"

I sighed, "Fear, I guess. Fear of what could happen."

She nodded, "I see. Do you know the odds of anything like
what happened last time, happening again?"

I slowly nodded my head.

Oria slowly shook her head. "So, your fear is the reasons
we've not going anywhere."

I nodded again.

She stood, and pulled out her portal controller.  "Fox, I
have an idea, something that may help. If you're willing?"

I shrugged, "Depends."

She hit a few buttons, "All right, I'll tell you what it is
in a few days. I need to set up some things. I'll tell you
what it is then. O.K.?"

I yawned, "Sure. I'll be back at the house tomorrow."

She opened the portal, "see you then." She said, then she
left.

-----

This story is (c) 2000 by Fox Cutter, hardcopy reprints
limited to one per person, all other rights reserved. This
story may not be distributed for a fee except by permission
of the author, and this copyright notice may not be removed.