Although this was either the fifth or sixth RGB story I wrote (the sixth, I think, and the last I completed), it was the first story I wrote involving any of the BTTF characters. I hadn't quite thought out the entire logical progression of future events when I did it, so it doesn't dovetail seamlessly with my other BTTF fanfic. As I scanned and revised it, I attempted to make some corrections, but I may not have made the connection complete. Perhaps this is one of those versions of the past/present/future that got slightly overwritten due to later travels through time. That's my excuse and I'm sticking with it.

I suppose I ought to reflect on why I wrote this thing at all. The answer is both simple and complicated. The simple part of it is this: BTTF is only the most recent of the various genres of fan fiction I've written over the past twenty years. A concept I called "The Times They Are a-Changing" was one of the original six ideas I had when I first considered writing Real Ghostbuster stories back in 1987, but it never seemed to work. Late in November of 1989, after I'd just seen Back to the Future II, I was on the phone discussing the film with a friend when I innocently reflected on how Egon and Doc must belong to the same Mad Scientists' Society -- and bingo! I now knew how to make the story work. Turning it into a  cross-universe tale solved all the problems I'd been having. I determined to wait 'til after BTTF III had come out before writing it. Not long thereafter, it was finished.

That's the simple explanation. Now, the complicated one.

Actually, in hindsight, it's perfectly logical for me to have written these two  universes together. The original Ghostbusters and the first Back to the Future were two films I strongly resisted seeing when they were in first release, for some of the same reasons: People whose opinions I did not value were pushing me too hard to go see them, and I didn't like the way they were being hyped in the press, as the ultimate teenage films of their respective summers (since I was no longer a teenager and hadn't been for nearly fifteen years, this was not a way to make something appeal to me). When the films hit video and/or cable and I finally forced myself to see them, I loved both. I've expounded elsewhere on why GB and the subsequent RGB universe appealed to me. But about BTTF....

I confess, this is one of my all-time favorite films. Why, you ask? Largely, for three reasons:

1. Its sense of humor. There are three comic lines in filmdom that best exemplify what really tickles my funny bone. One is from Star Wars ("What an incredible smell you've discovered!"); one is from GB ("Sorry, Venkman, I'm terrified beyond the capacity for rational thought"); and the last -- I admit it, the one that illustrates it best -- is from BTTF ("There's that word again -- heavy. Why are things so heavy in the future? Is there a problem with the earth's gravitational pull?"). Does this tell you something about the way my brain works? Yes, I occasionally have to explain to people why I find certain things amusing....

2. The writing. In my humble opinion, BTTF is one of the most tightly-plotted films I've ever seen, comedy or drama. I read somewhere that Robert Zemeckis is a maniac for details, something I always suspected (guess it takes one to know one). With one minor exception every "gun" he puts on this story's "mantlepiece" goes off before the end; precious little that happens is just a throwaway (the exception? Doc's allergy to all synthetics. I know, there's a cut scene in which 1955 Doc goes through Doc 1985's suitcase, but the allergy itself never made a difference to any of the three films). I realize that the other two films weren't as tight; BTTF II in particular has some pretty glaring logical holes in it (how did Biff know how to operate the Time Machine? If Doc had been committed before October 26, 1985, how could he have completed the Time Machine? I can find more, but those are a couple of the biggest). But even with their troubles, they're still a lot more sensibly plotted than many of today's more lauded films. I could aspire to this kind of tight plotting in my own stuff, and I'm crazy enough on the subject as it is.

3. Doc Brown. Of all the characters in all the fanfic universes I've ever been inclined to explore, I can understand Doc the best, and thus he's been one of the easiest to write. Back in my school days, I was essentially the class eccentric, the one who dressed strangely and pursued bizarre hobbies (such as astronomy and botany and Arthurian Legend) and frankly went out of my way to be as unlike everyone else as I possibly could. Compared to me, the hippie-types were conventional (well, heck, they were; the standard they all conformed to wasn't society's, but they all still dressed pretty much alike and did most of the same things. Not me). Thus, having lived the life of the smart but too weird local outcast who doesn't really give a damn about others' opinions, I have an intimate understanding of the type. I also understand the sensation of love at first sight, and applaud the writers' decision to let Doc get the girl in BTTF III. Hollywood doesn't often do that with the odd and/or geeky types; if they do, it either doesn't last, the girl is another outcast (even worse than the guy), ugly, or some other such ridiculous stereotype.

Now, for the disclaimers.

1. I did not invent Peter Venkman's fascination with trains. That showed up in at least two separate episodes of the cartoons.

2. I did not invent the story about Doc's first girlfriend. That came straight out of the writer's mouth (specifically, Bob Gale's).

3. I did not invent the real '75 Nobel Prize winners. Look 'em up if you don't believe me. And yes, I know that it usually takes a long time between the completion of the original work and awarding of the Prize. For the sake of the story, I ask that you suspend your disbelief in this area. It's just a teensy thing.

4. I did invent Alexandra. I tried to explain who she was in Chapter Fifteen so that further reading about her shouldn't be necessary, but if you haven't already read it and are interested, look for more on her and her "problem" in my RGB story "The Great Selkie."

5. I did invent John "Stickyfingers" Stassen, but he only appeared as a passing mention in my first RGB story, "Pandora's Box."

6. At least one person has already asked why I didn't use the DeLorean in this story. For a very good reason: Unless Doc spent an awful long time bopping around through time before returning to October 26, 1985 to pick up Marty and Jennifer, we already know pretty much all the adventures through which the DeLorean lived, and this wasn't one of them. Besides, certain thematic aspects were better served by the presence of Clara. And I just couldn't resist using the Time Machine from the end of BTTF III.

7. The date at the beginning of the prologue is not a mistake, as someone attempted to point out. Think about it. In order for a movie about the Ghostbusters vs. Gozer to have been released in 1984 -- especially a movie crammed with special effects -- the Boys had to have been in business for at least a year by then, probably two. Ergo, it's perfectly possible for Ray and Doc to have met and established a correspondence well before Doc took off into the fourth dimension in October of 1985.

8. There are probably a zillion typos in this story. If so, I apologize for them, but you can blame them on my scanner. For some reason, it did NOT want to scan this manuscript, and the cleanup process was long and incredibly tedious.

9. For the curious or perplexed: The Ghostbusters half of this story is based primarily on the characters and general situations as they appeared in the better episodes of The Real Ghostbusters, the ABC cartoon series (Saturday season one and syndicated season one), not Ghostbusters the movie (with the exception of the stuff about Gozer). Those who have seen both will know the difference; for those who have not, RGB is sort of a "kinder, gentler" version of GB, less edgy in an adult sense but with surprisingly greater depth in some other ways (when it was done right. This show was a classic case of "when it was good, it was very good, and when it was bad, it was awful"). The BTTF half, however, is based on the characters and general situations as seen in the Back to the Future films, not the CBS cartoon series, which I did not like (the reasons for which I have expounded on elsewhere, to my own peril). Strange, but they actually suited one another better this way.

Lastly, because the plot concept had its roots in RGB rather than in BTTF, it may come across as more heavily RGB to some readers. This was not intentional, but the story may give that impression. Strangely enough, its illustrations (which, sadly, will not be presented here) give exactly the opposite impression. Go figure.

I think that's all. So here it is, another of my peculiar tales of mixed universes. It was tough to write, but a satisfying experience, nonetheless. Enjoy.