In a state of shock Vince gently took the ring back from Larissa and stared at it for a minute. Grabbing a ballpoint pen the waitress had left, he carefully tried to manipulate the ring as Larissa had, attempting to turn the writing instrument into a rod of pure gold.

After a few minutes of feeling foolish, he put the pen and ring down on the table.

"This won't work for me. What is this, some sort of punk show or parlor trick? I expect to see a camera crew appear here any minute."

Larissa laughed. "No Vince, the technology works perfectly, but our minds are separated by time and evolution. The reason your attempt wasn't successful is because you can't concentrate on the same wave length as I can to activate the ring. My brain waves and synapses have developed differently over the span of time.

Vince snorted.

"You make me sound like I'm some sort of ignorant ape from a Space Odyssey 2010 grunting at an obelisk monument."

"Apes hold seats of Congress in the future."  She laughed at his perplexed expression.

"Come on you're pulling my leg."

"I'm not, I swear. Inter species relations have made leaps and bounds in a millennia."

"Now I see why you like the past. Everything seems so bizarre in the future."  He smiled and placed his hand over hers. "Larissa, I finally understand why your client wants this ring so much."

"Actually, he doesn't want it to transmute elements."

"No? It would sure come in handy to have that kind of technology in this age."

Larissa shook her head. "Gold, jewels and cash aren't used in the future for monetary exchange. They have no value."

"Jesus. So what does he want the ring for then?"

"I don't know, it's not my concern really."

"Really? What's your concern then?"

She leaned forward as her pupils dilated. "It's you."

They skipped desert and ended back at Vince's apartment. Larissa had never felt such a strong physical desire as Vince made love to her throughly throughout the night. She ended up content and nestled in his arms. They fit together perfectly, as if they had been made for each other like two pieces of a complex cosmic puzzle. Vince sighed before falling blissfully asleep. He'd never felt so happy and content in his entire life.