Joachim Montgomery rubbed his ear, frowning.  He looked again at the list in front of him.  “World-wide unemployment; water scarcity; air-borne disease epidemics; oceans polluted.”  So many problems, no solutions.  There had been a time when he had had hope for the future.  But not now.

He hated the loneliness of it all.

A knock at the door and his secretary handed him yet another lunch to be eaten at his desk.

He forced a smile.  “This convention means a great deal to you, Mary, doesn’t it?” he said.

“It means a great deal to everyone, Professor,” she said brightly, “but no-one doubts that you have all the answers.”

“And what if I said I had none?”

Her expression darkened.

“Then I would say that humanity is doomed, Professor.”  He noted the tight line of disbelief around her mouth as she left the room.

Looking through the window towards City Hall, Joachim stared at the flags hanging  heavily in the heat.  Two hundred countries.  He felt stifled by the thought of all those who depended on him to clean up the world with a few clear-cut innovations.

The 2035 Convention on Global Social Problems would begin tomorrow.  He had been preparing for eighteen months but he knew his carefully prepared data was uninspired, useless. He also knew his associates, globally, were in the same position.  But because of his reputation as an innovative thinker and practitioner he was their unspoken leader.

If only he could step aside.   His assistant, Dr Michaela Guadalupez, was just the person for the job.  But where would she find the answers?

“Inspiration!” he said to the empty room.  “Just give me inspiration!”

“My research tells me you are the world authority on social problems.  Does anyone worry about your problems, Professor?”

Joachim stared at the slight figure seated opposite him, then pressed his intercom button.  The young woman shook her head.

“I switched all that off.  Mobile phones, too.  A very amateurish system.”

“Unbelievable!  You’re from the Press, of course.  You’d better leave before I have you arrested.”

“Oh man of little faith,” she smiled.  “Didn’t you call for inspiration?  Well, here I am to inspire you.”

Joachim felt light-headed.  Was it her unfamiliar perfume?

“May I?” She reached across, removed the list of issues from his desk, then took from her pocket a tiny, metallic object.  She ran it swiftly down the page.

“What the hell is that!” He reached for the metal object but she stood up quickly.

“A speculative scanner,” she answered. “It’s after your time.  Is this the complete list?”

“Yes, it’s all we could dig up for now,” he said sarcastically.  He closed his eyes.  Obviously he was hallucinating.

“No need to get upset, Professor,” she said.  “It will all be sorted in moments.”

As she spoke, the scanner whirred, producing what appeared to be a plasticised strip.  She tore it off, handing it to him.

“There you are.  I’ll read up about you in the sociology data of your time and see what happened.”

Joachim began to read.  Ten minutes…fifteen…he looked at the girl in disbelief.

“This is a plan for a Utopia for all humanity.  If we can put this into practice…”

She shrugged.  “It can all be put into practice, Professor, believe me.”

He groaned suddenly. “And if I give them this there will be more expectations, more questions.  More loneliness.”  He looked at her.  “Have you an answer to this problem, too?”

“Of course,” she smiled.  “If you’re ready to meet the future.”

It took Joachim only a moment to place the strip in an envelope and to write across it, in large letters, “Dr Michaela Guadalupez. Confidential.”

“Problems solved,” he said, reaching for her hand.

The coroner’s report stated cardiac arrest.  Dr Guadalupez, as she walked into the auditorium to present the opening address to the 2035 Convention on Social Problems, knew better.