Well, his professors might not be happy, but he was getting a lot of interest from the boys on route 128. Ralph, an old dorm mate who was doing research for a computer R & D firm had told him that his work might have interesting implications for silicone chip technology. It might mean sponsorship for post graduate studies, or at least a well paying summer job. He still had 60 credits after graduation before obtaining his doctorate. Right now it looked like a long haul.

He gazed out the window into the Cambridge night. "Jesus," he moaned," somewhere, out there, people are actually getting laid!" He caught a reflection of himself in the lighted window. His hair was getting shaggy, it was actually creeping over the back of his tee shirt. The green lighting exaggerated the pallor of his face and the circles forming beneath his eyes. This was not the Ted Rimer of the fresh face and crew cut who grinned so splendidly in his high school yearbook God, he was tired. A voice sounded inside his head."All work and no play makes Ted a dull boy. Let's go boogie!"

"Oh not that again!" Ted thought. A trickle of desperation crept up his spine. "That damn voice!" When would it stop? The neurologist had promised that the auditory hallucinations would only be temporary, a result of the concussion he had sustained during an explosion at the chem lab. He reasoned, they had diminished in frequency, but he was left with the most peculiar sensation of being observed, monitored in some unfathomable way The times when he was tired, unfocused, like just now, the voice would return. Probably, it was an aspect of his own incomplete personality. Interestingly, it occurred more frequently when he was working with the silicates, especially the larger quartzes. He could almost track it. "Now that would make a really terrific thesis! Quartz crystals and their implication in amplifying inner voices! Whew, they'd take him away to the funny farm for sure." Ted prided himself on his cool analytical mind. It had transported him to his dreamed ivy towers, and cool lights of academia. And he was ......Horny!

An olfactory hallucination assaulted him next." Pizza! What a good idea." He gathered up his work and dumped it into a backpack; ran his fingers through his hair, and he was off.

The stores along Massachusetts Avenue were still brightly lit. The golden light shone out into the street like a cozy beacon. Ted was not sure why he hung back outside in the cold drizzle that was beginning to fall. In the cafes and bookshops that lined the street it was warm and dry, and the smell of bodies mixed in your nose. It seemed as if all the tables in all the restaurants were filled with couples touching and staring into each other's eyes. Their faces all seemed to be filled with a hunger that could only be quenched in the night. A tendril of wind crept up his spine and sent gooseflesh to the base of his scalp."

Damn, mom's right. I should have gotten that heavy jacket. Who knew winter would come so soon?"

"Who knew ? Dummy, there are jack - o - lanterns in almost every window. Even I know that means Halloween. Did you think you had really gotten distorted? That it was some reflection of your tortured soul staring out at the crowd?"

"Oh shit! You're at it again! Do me a favor por favor and get lost. This is my melancholia, and I will enjoy it! Great! Now I'm answering back. Twinkie Time!"

Ted truly hadn't noticed that it was almost Halloween. The constant twilight of the labs made the length of days irrelevant. He remembered back as a boy, the feeling of winter coming on the morning winds. The smell and feel of the grasses as they turned back to the earth. What was it that girl - what's her name - Sara had said about Halloween. It had made him feel real spooky. Unlike any of the movies or stories that set to make your skin crawl.

She had told him a story about the roots of Halloween back in the Celtic isles where it had been called something like Samadhain. "Be careful what you ask for," a voice chortled in his head. Ted snapped back into reality. His mouth dropped open into an unappealing gape. As if she had been summoned, Sara appeared before his eyes. Instinctively, he blinked ,as if trying to ascertain if she were real or an apparition.

"Oh! I thought you were a daydream," he stammered feeling the flush creep up his cheek. Her damn eyes were laughing again.

"It's nighttime. If I'm a dream I shouldn't be getting wet .Want to buy an AVATAR? Twenty-five cents. Cheap price for enlightenment. Alternatively, you could buy the girl of your dreams some coffee before she catches pneumonia peddling papers out on the street like this. If my mother could see this , she would die!" Sara giggled.

The sound triggered Ted back into awareness. Her long legs stuck out from the shiny micro-mini and the blue floppy wool jacket. They did look cold. He would sure like to be the one to warm them up. Not hardly likely. Ted knew he wasn't her type. She liked the flowing haired musicians who sat in the Bick late into the night.

"Want coffee?" he almost stuttered.

"Thought you'd never ask!" she grinned."Let me stop over by the record shop and turn these unsold papers in."

They walked silently through the damp evening, not speaking until they were settled behind some steaming cappucino at the cafe.

"So what's happening, man?"Sara inquired, a sweet grin on her lips. Ted looked into her eyes.

Ted stammered slightly. He covered himself ungracefully by snuffling his nose." Do you remember the conversation we had about Halloween? You were talking about it being an ancient pre-Christian holiday called Samadhain. What was it all about?"This was strange. Ted never would have thought he cared about old superstitions before. Was it her influence? Sitting with her here sure felt good. "

" The sacrifice of the Ale King. Sometimes it was the Oak or the Stag King. But he was sacrificed to the fire as a symbol of the earth's need to decay and wither before regeneration and rebirth." Sara continued ."We don't know if they really tossed men in the fire, of if the sacrifices were from the earth. It was probably largely symbolic but if times got tough, whoever carried the title of king was leaving the earth plane in a hurry.They have even found peaceful, smiling mummies in the bogs somewhere in the British Isles, so I guess it was an honor to die, or they had a neat way of sending you out."

He watched the way the enthusiasm had lit up her face. She loved what she was talking about. He had the same attitude around mineralogy. He could start talking for hours and people would drift dazedly out of the room. But tonoght Sara seemed interested in what he was saying.

He never did remember exactly what was said as the evening whirled by. He had the distinct impression of pouring out his dreams to her as the hours passed by. Suddenly, it seemed, they were entering the ramshackle commune, bypassing the assemblage in the living room, and slipping into her startlingly blue room.

Sara peeled off her coat and pluncked herself down nonchalantly on the bed. Ted nervously eyed the lack of furniture and gingerly seated himself on one of the cushions. His legs had a hard time wrapping around properly. He began to feel goonish again.

Sara noticed the discomfort flitting across his face and got up and put the new Donovan record on the turntable. The music filled the room, soothing Ted's agitation somewhat.

"Heard it yet?" Sara asked.

Ted mutely shook his head "No,"

Behind the music, the tension hung heavily in the air. "God!" though Ted. "What am I supposed to do? Make a pass? She'll probably laugh at me."

Sara was rifling through some boxes on the dresser, and triumphantly pulled out a huge joint."Want some Maui?" Not waiting for an answer she lit the thing, and dragged deeply, her eyes closed. After a few deep tokes, she passed it to him.

Ted dropped the pass, and had to scoop the joint from the folds of the flocati rug, stamping out burning embers around him."Now she knows I'm a jerk," he thought morosely. He tried to look cool as he forced the smoke down his lungs. The weed was strong, and he coughed profusely, watery tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Good stuff, huh?" Sara giggled. "I've been saving it for weeks."

"For weeks?"he thought."Well, she must like me some after all." His chest began to swell and he took a deep breath, letting the cannabis swirl through his bloodstream. Within a few minutes, they were both thoroughly stoned. They rolled on the pillows laughing like children at unknown jokes. Soon Sara had rolled into his arms. Kissing her seemed like the most natural thing to do. Before long they were in each other's arms ,somehow they had gotten naked, thrusting with the pent up passion of late adolescence.

Sara rolled over sleepily,"hungry?"

"Is that an offer for an encore?" Ted smiled.

"No," she yawned. "I've got an early class .I just wanted to know if you needed some food. Tofu in the fridge."

He shook his head and kissed her.

"Stay the night?" her eyes were soft. He hugged her closer and they rolled into sleep.

This was the chance Niami had been waiting for."Kramos!" she projected. "I know you're there, don't joke now."

Niami twined in surprise, then let down her barricade. She had known Kramos for a long time. This would be a new experience between them.

In a few moments, in the darkened room on Western Avenue, there were two bodies and four beings making love behind the closed doors.