Life has a way of being put on fast-forward sometimes - like a bad DVD one picks up from Blockbuster and starts skipping losing pixelized digital chunks of data in a moment. The world is changing so rapidly and it feels exciting to be guiding some of this change. It is finally cold here in the desert and the winds whisper the change through the dusty skies. The red and orange skies turn to magenta and then to purple in another perfect choreographed sunset. I stand and watch it in my worn leather flight jacket when I suddenly feel that I am also being observed.

I turn and see that Tech7 is walking towards me.

"It's gorgeous isn't it?" she says quietly.

"Yes. Sometimes I allow myself the luxury of appreciating it."

"Face it...you're a romantic idealist who hides behind pragmatism. You'll always be admiring sunsets and wondering why the world doesn't stop to admire them with you. That's what I like about you. You can see death and suffering and not shed a tear. And yet while others think you're just a hardened agent...I am one of the few who know the real truth."

"Oh and what is that pray tell?"

"You don't believe in death and you see suffering the way others see a school textbook. In your world...pleasure and suffering do not exist."

I can't help but notice she included the word pleasure into her assessment. Her words catch me off-guard and I pause, leaving her comments unanswered.

"You know its true. You have turned emotion into a weakness. Your feelings are as compartmentalized as any SDAI program - perhaps even significantly more compartmentalized.

"This is about us isn't it?"

"Damn right it's about us. But it's not just about us - it's about you and your mission to save the world from itself. You stand here and admire the beauty of a soulless sunset and completely overlook the human beauty and love that surrounds you. You push me away each time I start to get close to you. You think that no one can understand you - but you're wrong. You're like one of the rare, dusty old texts in your office there - an open book."

"Ah this is good...go on....give me both barrels - you'll feel better."

"Don't turn this on me. This is about you. As long as you feel you are on a solo mission to save humanity - you will be on a solo mission. Even when the team goes out on a mission, you are still singlehandedly waging your private little war on evil and ignorance. You wan't to save the world...fine. I want to save the world too - and I want to help by saving you from yourself."

"I'm that bad off am I?"

"Yes. You are. You can laugh it off with a quip or a famous quotation or some bit of eastern philosophy you throw around like tickertape at a parade, but at the end of the day the bottomline is you're alone - and unless you stop appreciating sunsets and spend more time with the people who care about you - you will remain alone. I'm alone too and I don't like it. All I can assume is you like to be alone. I know the way you feel about me - and I've known it since we first met years ago. If you don't let me in to your heart - I can't share your pain and joy."

Her words hurt. Like tiny daggers that have guidance systems attached they target and seek my most vulnerable spots. I wonder if she is right - if I have some sort of martyr complex and have to deny myself happiness until the rest of the world is in order. Other thoughts deny such a possibility with vehemence. No. I am no martyr. But why then delay destiny? Why put off the preordained? I seek a quick answer but can't get one before she continues.

"This war on terror will go on a long time. The world will be messed up long after you and I have turned to dust. What are you waiting for? Perhaps an executive order from the President thats says "Go for it Tech1! The war on terror is taking a two week hiatus?"

I turn to look at her deep in her eyes. They are ablaze and alive and she knows she has put it all on the line. She is more beautiful than I have ever seen her and it is shining out from deep within her. Her eyes seem to keep on speaking to me as I walk towards her and she keeps her eyes fixed on mine. I take her shoulders in my hands and I pull her towards me.

I kiss her.

I kiss her like I've wanted to kiss her for years. Her lips are soft and warm and better than I ever imagined them. I stroke her tender cheek with my hand and I realize that she is crying. Suddenly, I feel tears welling up in my own eyes and at that moment I feel her mind reach out into mine as if our joined lips somehow merge us into one being.

I feel her infinite joy and I know she feels mine. We are one...for a precious moment. A timeless moment.

I don't know how much time has passed it could be minutes or hours. It is now dark and colder. I am suddenly aware that half the base must have been witnessing our embrace and turn and look back at the main structure - only to see the office window lined with applauding Techs.

For once I just don't care. I take off my jacket and put it on Tech7. The stars are out in force, trillions of them it seems and for the first time I realize the brightest star of all, and the one I want to spend the most time admiring is right here in my arms.

SDAI-Tech1