Title:  Century Bug
Author:  Lorelei
Email: bint@iname.com
Size: 8K
Rating:  G
Codes:  H; P, T, J
Summary:  It's December, 2399.  Can Voyager's computer handle the
century change?

Disclaimer:  Paramount made the universe, I alter it as I see fit.

Note:  This story is set in the 29th season, where things are pretty
much the same as they were back in season 5.  I know it's a leap, but
just bear with me.


CENTURY BUG

--Date:  December 15, 2399--

"The Y-what bug?" snapped an irritable B'Elanna, looking up from the
Engineering console.

"Y2K," replied Tom.  "Or, in this case, Y24C.  Don't tell me you never
heard of it!"

B'Elanna leaned forward with both hands on the console and slowly
counted to ten.  If ever she needed to put Tuvok's anger-management
lessons into practice, now was the time.

Tom leaned lazily against the wall, arms crossed.  B'Elanna carefully
thought happy thoughts, and then turned to face him.  "This had better
be good; *some* of us have work to do today."

He held both hands up and pretended to drop the subject.  "Oh, it's
nothing.  Just don't come crying to me when the computer core crashes!"
He made a motion as if to head out the door.

She sighed dramatically.  "All right, Fly-boy, you have my attention.
What in the world are you talking about?"

Delighted to have an audience, Tom launched into yet another of his
tedious twentieth century legends.  This one was even more pointless
than Captain Proton, even less useful than a combustion-engine surface
vehicle.  He excitedly told the tale of the day when the people of Earth
thought the computers were going to stop working, because nobody had
thought to make the computers recognize more than a hundred years worth
of dates.

B'Elanna shook her head dismissively.  Who could be so dumb as to make
computers that would only work for a couple of decades?  Besides, this
is the twenty-fourth century.  Even if his story were true, such a thing
couldn't possibly happen anymore, and his manic warnings were a waste of
her time.

Tom babbled on, oblivious to the lack of interest evinced by the
engineer.  She finally clenched her fists  and shouted, "Oh my god, shut
up!"  Taken aback, he did just that.

"Tom, you are making no sense at all," she told him more calmly.  "This
little·science fiction of yours has nothing to do with Voyager."

He raised an eyebrow slyly.  "Are you so sure?"

"What do you mean, am I sure?  I'm always sure!"

Tom chuckled a little and shook his head.  "All these programs running
all the different pieces of the ship... you mean to tell me that every
single hardware and software designer expected this ship to last past
2399 without upgrades?  You know how much programmers hate to waste
memory storing long dates?"

"I know how much memory *I've* wasted remembering some long dates of
*ours*," she snapped back.

He smiled sweetly.  "Now, I know you don't mean that!  But seriously,
there are components on this ship that are older than I am.  I'll bet
you a month's replicator rations that *something* will fail when the
calendar year changes.  Unless, of course, it's the replicator system
that fails!"  He  laughed at his own joke.  B'Elanna wasn't laughing.

"You drive me nuts," she stated.  "Get out of here before I have to call
security.ä  She gave him her best stony glare, but he didn't miss the
grin she was trying so hard to hide.

"Okay, Chief, but don't say I didn't warn you!"  With that, he bounced
out of Engineering.

***

--Date:  December 31, 2399--

The New Year's Eve party was a tradition on Voyager; after so much
practice at throwing these parties, they were getting pretty good at
it.  This year was different, however.  Besides the holographic
fireworks and synthehol champagne at midnight, they also had the
real-time shipwide diagnostic on a viewscreen which filled one wall of
Sandrine's.  Tom Paris had pestered the captain about it for days, and
rather than mar the cheery mood, Janeway had let him have his way.
Everyone but Tom was ignoring it, anyway.

By five minutes to midnight, the bustle in the holodeck was growing
louder and more festive.  Neelix scurried around with trays of drinks,
and couples began to gravitate towards one another as the midnight hour
drew near.  Tom was alone on the far side of the room, staring at the
screen.

Janeway sidled up to him and handed him a glass of champagne.  "Have we
crashed yet?" she asked innocently.

He sighed heavily and set the champagne down on a table.  "Captain, this
isn't funny.  I still say there would have been nothing wrong with being
prepared!  The first time this happened, everyone  panicked and
companies spent millions to prepare for it, and when 2000 finally rolled
around, not so much as a lightbulb went dim.  So then companies assumed
they had a hundred years not to have to worry about it again, and they
went back to programming two-digit years, and the whole thing started
over again in 2099.  In January, half of the power utilities on the
planet went dead for two weeks!ä  Tom paused, out of breath, and waved
his arms dramatically.  ãEvery century it's a gamble, and nobody knows
how bad it'll be until it happens.  I bet that everyone on Earth is
panicking right now, waiting for their banks to fail and their shuttles
to crash at midnight."  He checked the time.  One minute.

B'Elanna joined them.  "So, have we crashed yet?" she asked cheerily.

"Very original," grumped Tom before returning to his intent study of the
viewscreen.

B'Elanna gave Janeway an amused grin and then turned to peruse the
diagnostic display, more out of habit than concern.  The three officers
stood silently as the rest of the crew began a raucous countdown.

"Five!

Four!

Three!

Two!

One!

Happy New Year!"

Holographic confetti and champagne bubbles filled the air as everyone
cheered and kissed and toasted to *this* year being the year Voyager
would return home.  Tom, Janeway, and B'Elanna kept their eyes riveted
to the screen.  Tom imagined he'd seen a ripple cross the readout, like
a stone in a pond, but none of the ship's systems seemed to have changed
status.

None, except...

He frowned and stepped forward for a closer look.  B'Elanna and Janeway
shared a skeptical look.  "Tom, what is it?" asked the captain.

"I don't know... something with the replicator systems..."  He tapped a
few buttons and then leaned even closer to the tiny numbers.  "Oh god,
it's worse than we thought," he whispered.

Janeway stepped forward worriedly.  "Tom, what's happened?"

He swallowed hard and turned to face her.  "You know all those old
traditional recipes and formulas programmed into the replicators?"

She nodded wordlessly.

"Well..."  He hesitated and tried to think of the gentlest way to say
it.  He put a hand on her shoulder.  "Captain, I'm afraid we've lost the
coffee."

The room went silent as the champagne glass slipped from her fingers and
shattered on the floor.

__

Feedback, give me feedback!  Lorelei ö bint@iname.com