Disclaimer: I do not own Back to the Future or Family Ties.

March 14, 2037
4:30 PM PDT

Leslie Poage was blinking back tears, as she sat beside her teenage daughter. She knew that her daughter had joined the rank of teenagers who actually made a hobby out of dreaming - cyberdreaming, to be exact. When she was a little girl, a very popular pastime included playing The Sims, which was a strategic life simulation computer game.

Since then, the advances in computer technology had put a whole new meaning to the phrase "virtual reality". People could now program their deepest fantasies onto a "cyberdisc", which came equipped with a canister of powder. As you pressed a button on the canister, it would dispense a pill that you would swallow. The pill would then allow you to live our your deepest fantasies, after you fell asleep at night.

The FDA had approved of the cyber pill back in 2030, as it was ruled to be mostly safe. However, people were highly cautioned to never take more than one pill in a 24-hour period - or more than three pills in a seven-day period. It has, since then, been the subject of controversy. There were some concerns that the pill might be highly addictive, and that people could be dependant on it. Then there was also the ethical concern that it might encourage people to escape from facing reality, as the pill allowed people to indulge in their fantasies while asleep.

Amidst the controversy, though, were a lot of positive comments regarding the cyber pill. People who routinely took the pill have commented on feeling more calm and relaxed, and that they would usually wake up feeling refreshed and alert. Even many of the work managers have noted that their employees were more efficient and enthusiastic at their jobs. All in all, the cyber pill was approved by 84 of all Americans - and 77 of people worldwide.

Leslie herself had approved of the cyber pill, and had been known to use it on occasion. That was until today, when she could not wake up her daughter. She hoped and prayed that her daughter would regain consciousness, soon.

"How are you doing, Mrs. Poage?" asked Dr. Krebs, as she walked into the in-patient room with two others.

"Is Natasha going to be all right, Dr. Krebs?" asked Leslie, distressed. "I think she's been unconscious ever since she went to bed yesterday. Do you have any idea what happened to her?"

"It appears that she might have overdosed on cyber," Dr. Krebs said, solemnly. "She appears to have a better chance of making it than Letisha Anderson does. I'm afraid there's only a five percent chance that Letisha might make it."

"Oh, why?" Leslie asked, with despair. "Natasha and Letisha have been best friends since they were in the crib. You can't tell me that Letisha might... well, I can't even say it. It's too horrible to think of."

"It appears that Letisha swallowed over 500 milligrams of cyber," Dr. Krebs explained, shaking her head. "You know, if I had my way, cyber would be made illegal. I swear that it's even more dangerous than LSD. Maybe those of us who are opposed to cyber should make our voices louder. Somebody needs to knock some sense into these guys at the FDA!"

"That's the major problem in this day and age," added Dr. Holtz. "A lot of our youth are living in a fantasy world, in a very literal sense. It's very easy to become addicted to cyber. The reason why cyber appeals to teens so much, is because it allows teens to create their own fantasy world. I believe we should start a petition in order to make that drug illegal. When I was younger, I never thought computer technology would get this bad. I used to think that people who played The Sims were living in a fantasy world."

"I'm starting to think you guys are right," Leslie said, sighing. "I will feel very bad if my daughter doesn't ever regain consciousness. I'm really concerned about Letisha, as well. It appears that she might have swallowed a fatal dose. You're not even supposed to take that much cyber in a six month period."

"I disagree," countered Anne, one of the nurses. "Cyber is really just like any other over-the-counter drug. If you watch your dosage, everything will be fine. If you overdose, then you have trouble. That could apply to pretty much just about anything. You can even have too much water, for crying out loud!"

"What benefits does cyber really have?" Dr. Holtz demanded. "I mean, besides allowing people to live fantasy lives? What happened to the good old days, when escaping reality meant sitting in front of the TV screen?"

"Cyber helps to chase away nightmares, for one," Anne replied. "I very rarely ever had a nightmare, since I started taking cyber three times a week. I swear that you people are way too uptight! There is a reason why the majority of people around the world approve of cyber. I have benefited from that drug in many ways."

"Look at what happened to my daughter!" shouted Leslie. Then, in a softer tone, she added, "Granted, I really would have agreed with you last week. However, I am now having my doubts - as I'm concerned for my daughter. I would like her to stop taking cyber, once she comes to. I'm really concerned for her."

"I sympathize with what you're going through," Anne said, softly. "Really, I do. Can you imagine what life would be like, though, if we banned everything that might be the least bit dangerous? How about banning chocolate, as well - while we are at it? After all, chocolate is bad for people who are obese or have high cholesterol."

"It's not easy to overdose on chocolate," Dr. Krebs replied. "Anyway, maybe cyber isn't the most dangerous drug out today - but it encourages people to escape reality. There is one's mental well-being to be concerned about, as well as one's physical well-being. Teens don't even want to stay up late anymore, as they did back in my day."

"Actually, it's good for teens to go bed early on school nights," Anne replied. "There really are a lot of benefits that cyber has. It causes people to sleep better at night, so that they don't wake up grumpy the next day. When you have had a bad day, it's a lot like taking a little vacation at night - before you have to wake up the next day and face reality. I used to always be so grumpy, after waking up from a terrible nightmare."

"I guess I'm really concerned about the long-term side effects," Dr. Holtz said. "I'm not a dream analyst, but is it really a good idea to manipulate what kind of dreams you have at night. I mean, I agree that nightmares could be very terrifying - but when you really study the nightmares you have, you might actually uncover certain issues that you have. There is a reason why we dream at night, you know."

"Anyway, if you really wanted to," Dr. Krebs added, "we already have a way to manipulate dreams. Lucid dreaming can produce much of the same results as cyber does, without any of the dangerous side effects. Sure, it might take some practice to get the hang of - but where there is a will, there is a way."

"There is one other important thing you're forgetting," Anne pointed out. "Cyberdreaming is not a time-waster, like watching too much TV or playing too many computer games is. People cyberdream when they're supposed to be sleeping, anyway. I don't know too much about lucid dreaming, but isn't that somewhat related to OBEs? Most people don't have the ability to induce lucid dreams or OBEs, but anybody can cyberdreams. Know what I mean?"

"I guess we'll have to agree to disagree, then," Dr. Krebs said, wearily. He turned to Leslie, and asked, "Will you be all right in here for awhile? We'll be back here in about two hours or so. If Natasha wakes up before then, feel free to page me. She might have to spend the night at the hospital, though."

"Yeah, I'll be fine," replied Leslie, as she turned towards her daughter. She began to stroke her daughter's blonde hair, as tears welled up in her eyes. Ever since her husband died over fourteen years ago, she raised Leslie alone. There was no telling what she would do, if she lost her dear daughter.

Leslie's thoughts then turned to Letisha. Letisha had been feeling very depressed for almost a year, ever since her mother died. She was always closer to her mother, than she was to her father. To make matters worse, her father has married a woman who obviously hated Letisha - and was very vocal about it. Whenever Letisha tried to explain to her father how she felt, her father would just yell at Letisha - and tell her that she could not tell him who he should marry. He even told Letisha that his new wife had a right to hate her, and that Letisha had to show respect for her stepmother. As a result, Letisha had come to deeply resent her father, as well as her stepmother.

Leslie wanted so desperately to reach out for Letisha, but she was worried that it might be too late to save her.