Dominic sadly closed the book and his voice seemed to soften.

"In other words, you cannot run around playing with people's lives."

Becker quickly spun over everything that had happened that night, and in his heart of hearts he knew what Dominic was getting at.

"Do I need to spell it out for you?"

The Administrator banged on his keyboard and up came the Dreamatorium, empty save for a janitorial crew sent in to clean up the remains of the broken Dreams. A touch of a b.u.t.ton, however, rewound the picture back to the moment when an explosion sent Becker through the wall, and further back still, to the point when he had first entered the room.

"Now, do you deny that this is you?"

"No," said Becker, tentatively. "But I don't see how-"

Dominic hit play, and the action slowly moved forward, to where Becker discovered a bubble that was darker than the rest. The one that contained a young girl who had grown up in Vancouver, British Columbia, but now lived in Caledon.

"And here is where you so brilliantly destroyed destroyed Dream #532-a rare and delicate piece of work." Dream #532-a rare and delicate piece of work."

"That was an accident. And besides"-Becker rose to his feet and pounded on the desk himself-"I thought Jennifer was supposed to get a Dream to make her feel better! A special special Dream!" Dream!"

"She was!"

"Well, it looked like a Nightmare to me! I had no choice but to go in there-"

"You're not given enough information information to make that kind of decision!" to make that kind of decision!"

The two of them were only inches apart and Simly was afraid it might come to blows.

"If you were doing your job instead of trying to be a hero, then you would have trusted in the Plan . . ." Dominic slapped the s.p.a.ce bar on his keyboard, accessing the Dream database. "And you would have had patience to wait for the rest of the 532."

Onscreen, Jennifer Kaley was once again surrounded by the hounding crew of bullies. Her hair was still wet from the water balloon (and the tears) and it looked like there would be no end to her suffering. But then something strange happened: the crowd dispersed and a look of wonder slowly came over her face. Something (or someone) seemed to be approaching, and she could not believe her eyes . . .

"Now here comes the good part," explained Dominic. But he and the video were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Enter!"

One of the Tireless Workers poked his head inside.

"She's here, sir."

"Well, it's about time!"

As Dominic's a.s.sistant went to retrieve the new arrival, Becker felt himself begin to sweat. For the first time, he was starting to realize the magnitude of his violation.

"You rang?"

But when the door opened again, and Becker saw who walked in, he realized that he hadn't hadn't realized the magnitude of his violation at all. realized the magnitude of his violation at all.

"Is that . . . ," asked Simly, jaw on the floor.

"Yeah. That's her."

Judging by her bare feet and the salt.w.a.ter in her hair, Fixer Casey Lake had just been yanked off a pretty tasty wave. And she didn't look happy about it.

"I came as soon as I could."

Casey threw a nod to Becker as if to say, "Hey, mate," and Becker nodded back, embarra.s.sed that it had come to this.

"I'm sorry to have to call you in at this late hour," Dominic apologized. "But things have gotten completely out of hand."

"What seems to be the problem?"

"You tell me! I've got a Fixer with a Thumb Violation, a Briefer with a 318 . . ." Dominic pulled what looked like parking tickets off his desk. "And a Glitch without a Fixer wreaking havoc on the Plan!"

"Hey!" said Simly, without thinking. "Becker's done an awesome job toni-"

But Dominic shut him up with a glance.

"Time was a Fixer came in and took care of business-one, two, three."

"A Glitch is no easy matter, Administrator Dozenski." Casey thanked the Tireless Worker who brought her a towel, and she sat on the edge of Dominic's desk. "In fact, it's just about the trickiest bitzer in the book."

"That's why I need you to finish the job-because Junior here has botched the whole thing up!"

"You're speaking about a Fixer, sir," Casey's voice raised to a firmer pitch, "and you will speak of him with respect!"

Fixers and Briefers were a close-knit family, bound by the crucible of what they'd endured during Training. But Dominic was not impressed.

"I've spoken to everyone I need to-including Central Command-and I a.s.sure you, I will have this little boy's Badge."

The blood ran from Simly's face and Becker felt like he wanted to vomit. He knew the penalties for a Rule of Thumb Violation were severe, but he never considered that he might actually lose his job.

"The Court of Public Opinion will be hearing his case tomorrow, but in the meantime, Dawn is on her way, and if she gets here before it's too early, then we could be looking at a full-blown Ripple Effect!"

The very mention of the possibility sent a shiver through Becker, for he had just seen what Ripple Effects look like firsthand. And though Casey was ready to fight for her colleague through thick and thin (after all, she was the one who'd nominated him for his promotion in the first place), such a thing could not be allowed to happen.

"I'm sorry, mate. Maybe if I can Fix this quick, I can put in a good word."

This was almost worse than his Worst Nightmare, because at least that one he'd woken up from. His eyes fell to his Badge and the double-sided wrench that was stenciled onto it. With someone as powerful as Dominic lobbying against him, there was little doubt which way the Court would decide, and by this time tomorrow, the best job he could hope for would be Pencil Pusher. But more than likely he would just be sent back to The World to become a regular kid again.

"I'm sorry, Casey. I was only trying to help her."

"No worries, Drane." Lake gave him a rea.s.suring nudge. "Everybody makes a blue of it sometimes."

Becker nodded dejectedly, then patted Simly on the shoulder, who was fighting to hold back tears. But as he picked up his Toolkit and ambled sadly toward the door, something popped into the Fixer's head. A Memory-only five weeks old-that had already become submerged in everything that had happened since. Perhaps this was the moment his old Instructor had been talking about.

Perhaps there was still a glimmer of hope.

Inst.i.tute for Fixing & Repair, The Seems, Five Weeks Ago On the grounds of the IFR there was a small tented pavilion where lectures, weddings, and symposiums were occasionally held. Today's event was the Elevation Ceremony of one F. Becker Drane, a Briefer who had distinguished himself on seventeen challenging Missions, but particularly on his most recent a.s.signment to the Department of Weather.

The entire Fixer and Briefer corps were sporting their dress blues, while higherups from the Big Building sipped c.o.c.ktails and ate "pigs in a blanket" in the late summer air. Over by the punch bowl, Becker tried to steal a moment for himself, for even though it was fun to be the center of attention for a little while, the endless schmoozing, handshakes, and pats on the back had started to become a little much.

"Worth its weight in gold, huh?"

Fixer Blaque caught Becker admiring his shiny new Badge.

"More."

The Instructor walked up beside him. With his formal attire and blue-tinted shades glinting in the sun, he was that much more impressive.

"Can I borrow you for a minute?"

"Of course, sir."

They took their plastic cups and strolled across the lawn toward Finnegan's Pond.25 "Is there something wrong, sir?"

"Not at all, Cand-I mean, Fixer Drane. There's just something I wanted to show you."

Halfway there, they crossed paths with Briefers Carmichael and Von Schroeder.

"We right on your heels, yo."

"Ja, dogg. Wir sind Wir sind right on your heelz." right on your heelz."

"Wunderbar !" Becker laughed as C-Note and Frau Von Schroeder b.u.mped fists. "I guess I'll see you on the Flip Side." !" Becker laughed as C-Note and Frau Von Schroeder b.u.mped fists. "I guess I'll see you on the Flip Side."

"On the Flip Side," they replied in unison.

Fixer Blaque smiled, then led Becker down toward the gazebo by the water's edge. "It's good to have friends-especially on a job like this."

"Yes, sir."

The gazebo itself was painted white and Blaque pointed to the gold-plated dedication that was inscribed above the stairs: Dedicated to the Memory of Fixer Tom Jackal Lost in Time, 13,444 All Gave Some. Some Gave All.

"Tom was my best friend. Did you know that?"

"No, sir."

"He was a good man, and the best Fixer I ever met. Even though I know he's in a Better Place, I miss him terribly."

A breeze blew in and light sparkled off the pond, and Becker could tell that Fixer Blaque had something to get off his chest, so he remained silent.

"The last Mission we ever went on together was called 'Hope Springs Eternal.' "

Becker had never heard of that one but he was all ears. For him, hearing about legendary Missions was almost as good as going on them.

"Back then, The World was full of despair, and everything they tried to do here in The Seems had failed to fix the problem. So a decision was made to send a group of Fixers to the Middle of Nowhere, in order to bring back some Hope."

"I thought the Middle of Nowhere was off-limits."

"It is."

Fixer Blaque took another sip of punch, then continued.

"Three of us were chosen-me, Tom, and Lisa Simms, who I think you've served with before."

"Yes, sir. On the 'Broken Heartstring.' "

"Anyhow, we took the Train out to the End of the Line, and believe me, nothing can prepare you for what it's like. Time, Nature, Reality-they don't exist out there-it's just an endless wasteland full of Nothing."

Becker could only imagine what that looked like, because the only people who had ever seen the Middle of Nowhere didn't come back. This must have been the story behind the picture on Blaque's "Wall of Fame."

"Tom and Lisa took the mountains, I took the dead riverbed, and for eighteen days we searched to no avail. But at sunset on the nineteenth day, I spotted something-a cave, with a strange flickering light inside of it. I probably should have waited for help, but there was no signal on my Receiver and not much time. So I went in on my own."

The way Blaque's ma.s.sive fingers were gripping the railing of the gazebo, it was like he was back inside that cave again.

"I wish I could describe it to you. Hope, flowing like water from a spring in the rock-and so bright that I could barely stand to be in its presence."

Becker thought he noticed his Instructor wincing at the memory of an old wound.

"Two jars I know I filled, but midway through the third I must have blacked out. The next thing I remember, Tom and Lisa were dragging me out of there. How they found me, I still have no idea-but we pulled it off. We brought back a little bit of Hope for The World."

"Cool."

Over by the ceremony, the crews had begun to break down the stands, and the crowd filtered back toward the monorail that would return them to their homes and jobs. The teacher watched them go for a time, before finally looking down at his student.

"You're one of the most talented Candidates I've seen at the IFR in a long, long time, Becker. Not just because of your skills and your 7th Sense but because of your dedication to the Mission. And make no mistake about it, you deserve to wear that Badge." Sense but because of your dedication to the Mission. And make no mistake about it, you deserve to wear that Badge."

Becker felt his own rush of pride.

"But sometimes I forget you're only twelve years old."

"Yes, sir. Sometimes I do too."

The Instructor laughed heartily, a sound Becker always loved because it was so infectious. But it didn't last long, for now was the time he'd chosen to deliver his most precious gift.

"There comes a moment in the life of every Fixer when everything you've tried has failed, and there's nowhere left to turn-and trust me, it happens to us all-but when that moment comes for you, Becker, I want you to remember . . ."

Fixer Blaque reached into his pocket and pulled out a souvenir from the most dangerous Mission of his career.

"You'll always have this this."

Office of the Administrator, Department of Sleep, The Seems "Where in the name of the Plan did you get that that?"

Even the great Casey Lake was blown away by the sight of what Becker was holding.

"Graduation present."