diff --git a/src/libcore/future.rs b/src/libcore/future.rs
index 2d9bfb4c81c3..e176b2544d4e 100644
--- a/src/libcore/future.rs
+++ b/src/libcore/future.rs
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 
 import either::Either;
 import pipes::recv;
+import unsafe::copy_lifetime;
 
 export Future;
 export extensions;
@@ -31,18 +32,29 @@ export spawn;
 export future_pipe;
 
 #[doc = "The future type"]
-enum Future<A> = {
-    mut v: Either<@A, fn@() -> A>
-};
+struct Future<A> {
+    /*priv*/ mut state: FutureState<A>;
+}
+
+priv enum FutureState<A> {
+    Pending(fn@() -> A),
+    Evaluating,
+    Forced(A)
+}
 
 /// Methods on the `future` type
-impl<A:copy send> Future<A> {
-
+impl<A:copy> Future<A> {
     fn get() -> A {
         //! Get the value of the future
 
         get(&self)
     }
+}
+
+impl<A> Future<A> {
+    fn get_ref(&self) -> &self/A {
+        get_ref(self)
+    }
 
     fn with<B>(blk: fn((&A)) -> B) -> B {
         //! Work with the value without copying it
@@ -59,9 +71,7 @@ fn from_value<A>(+val: A) -> Future<A> {
      * not block.
      */
 
-    Future({
-        mut v: either::Left(@val)
-    })
+    Future {state: Forced(val)}
 }
 
 fn from_port<A:send>(+port: future_pipe::client::waiting<A>) -> Future<A> {
@@ -83,7 +93,7 @@ fn from_port<A:send>(+port: future_pipe::client::waiting<A>) -> Future<A> {
     }
 }
 
-fn from_fn<A>(f: fn@() -> A) -> Future<A> {
+fn from_fn<A>(+f: @fn() -> A) -> Future<A> {
     /*!
      * Create a future from a function.
      *
@@ -92,9 +102,7 @@ fn from_fn<A>(f: fn@() -> A) -> Future<A> {
      * function. It is not spawned into another task.
      */
 
-    Future({
-        mut v: either::Right(f)
-    })
+    Future {state: Pending(f)}
 }
 
 fn spawn<A:send>(+blk: fn~() -> A) -> Future<A> {
@@ -110,24 +118,54 @@ fn spawn<A:send>(+blk: fn~() -> A) -> Future<A> {
     }))
 }
 
+fn get_ref<A>(future: &r/Future<A>) -> &r/A {
+    /*!
+     * Executes the future's closure and then returns a borrowed
+     * pointer to the result.  The borrowed pointer lasts as long as
+     * the future.
+     */
+
+    // The unsafety here is to hide the aliases from borrowck, which
+    // would otherwise be concerned that someone might reassign
+    // `future.state` and cause the value of the future to be freed.
+    // But *we* know that once `future.state` is `Forced()` it will
+    // never become "unforced"---so we can safely return a pointer
+    // into the interior of the Forced() variant which will last as
+    // long as the future itself.
+
+    match future.state {
+      Forced(ref v) => { // v here has type &A, but with a shorter lifetime.
+        return unsafe{ copy_lifetime(future, v) }; // ...extend it.
+      }
+      Evaluating => {
+        fail ~"Recursive forcing of future!";
+      }
+      Pending(_) => {}
+    }
+
+    let mut state = Evaluating;
+    state <-> future.state;
+    match move state {
+      Forced(_) | Evaluating => {
+        fail ~"Logic error.";
+      }
+      Pending(move f) => {
+        future.state = Forced(f());
+        return get_ref(future);
+      }
+    }
+}
+
 fn get<A:copy>(future: &Future<A>) -> A {
     //! Get the value of the future
 
-    do with(future) |v| { *v }
+    *get_ref(future)
 }
 
 fn with<A,B>(future: &Future<A>, blk: fn((&A)) -> B) -> B {
     //! Work with the value without copying it
 
-    let v = match copy future.v {
-      either::Left(v) => v,
-      either::Right(f) => {
-        let v = @f();
-        future.v = either::Left(v);
-        v
-      }
-    };
-    blk(v)
+    blk(get_ref(future))
 }
 
 proto! future_pipe (
@@ -152,8 +190,7 @@ fn test_from_port() {
 
 #[test]
 fn test_from_fn() {
-    let f = fn@() -> ~str { ~"brail" };
-    let f = from_fn(f);
+    let f = from_fn(|| ~"brail");
     assert get(&f) == ~"brail";
 }
 
@@ -169,6 +206,18 @@ fn test_with() {
     assert with(&f, |v| *v) == ~"nail";
 }
 
+#[test]
+fn test_get_ref_method() {
+    let f = from_value(22);
+    assert *f.get_ref() == 22;
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn test_get_ref_fn() {
+    let f = from_value(22);
+    assert *get_ref(&f) == 22;
+}
+
 #[test]
 fn test_interface_with() {
     let f = from_value(~"kale");
diff --git a/src/libcore/ptr.rs b/src/libcore/ptr.rs
index 5e3b49da4839..2a99ce3f3d6c 100644
--- a/src/libcore/ptr.rs
+++ b/src/libcore/ptr.rs
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 //! Unsafe pointer utility functions
 
 export addr_of;
-export assimilate;
+export to_unsafe_ptr;
 export mut_addr_of;
 export offset;
 export const_offset;
@@ -136,9 +136,10 @@ unsafe fn memset<T>(dst: *mut T, c: int, count: uint)  {
   ("assimilate" because it makes the pointer forget its region.)
 */
 #[inline(always)]
-fn assimilate<T>(thing: &T) -> *T unsafe {
+fn to_unsafe_ptr<T>(thing: &T) -> *T unsafe {
     unsafe::reinterpret_cast(thing)
 }
+
 /**
   Cast a region pointer - &T - to a uint.
   This is safe, but is implemented with an unsafe block due to
diff --git a/src/libcore/unsafe.rs b/src/libcore/unsafe.rs
index 5f442dc28733..af3f082ea1b5 100644
--- a/src/libcore/unsafe.rs
+++ b/src/libcore/unsafe.rs
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ export SharedMutableState, shared_mutable_state, clone_shared_mutable_state;
 export get_shared_mutable_state, get_shared_immutable_state;
 export unwrap_shared_mutable_state;
 export Exclusive, exclusive, unwrap_exclusive;
+export copy_lifetime;
 
 import task::atomically;
 
@@ -57,15 +58,24 @@ unsafe fn transmute<L, G>(-thing: L) -> G {
 
 /// Coerce an immutable reference to be mutable.
 unsafe fn transmute_mut<T>(+ptr: &a/T) -> &a/mut T { transmute(ptr) }
+
 /// Coerce a mutable reference to be immutable.
 unsafe fn transmute_immut<T>(+ptr: &a/mut T) -> &a/T { transmute(ptr) }
+
 /// Coerce a borrowed pointer to have an arbitrary associated region.
 unsafe fn transmute_region<T>(+ptr: &a/T) -> &b/T { transmute(ptr) }
+
 /// Coerce a borrowed mutable pointer to have an arbitrary associated region.
 unsafe fn transmute_mut_region<T>(+ptr: &a/mut T) -> &b/mut T {
     transmute(ptr)
 }
 
+/// Transforms lifetime of the second pointer to match the first.
+unsafe fn copy_lifetime<S,T>(_ptr: &a/S, ptr: &T) -> &a/T {
+    transmute_region(ptr)
+}
+
+
 /****************************************************************************
  * Shared state & exclusive ARC
  ****************************************************************************/
diff --git a/src/libstd/uv_ll.rs b/src/libstd/uv_ll.rs
index 1e7c2c2c8247..aed7c3167705 100644
--- a/src/libstd/uv_ll.rs
+++ b/src/libstd/uv_ll.rs
@@ -21,8 +21,8 @@
  */
 
 import libc::size_t;
-import ptr::assimilate;
 import comm = core::comm;
+import ptr::to_unsafe_ptr;
 
 // libuv struct mappings
 type uv_ip4_addr = {
@@ -824,7 +824,7 @@ unsafe fn ip4_name(src: &sockaddr_in) -> ~str {
     let dst: ~[u8] = ~[0u8,0u8,0u8,0u8,0u8,0u8,0u8,0u8,
                      0u8,0u8,0u8,0u8,0u8,0u8,0u8,0u8];
     do vec::as_buf(dst) |dst_buf, size| {
-        rustrt::rust_uv_ip4_name(assimilate(src),
+        rustrt::rust_uv_ip4_name(to_unsafe_ptr(src),
                                  dst_buf, size as libc::size_t);
         // seems that checking the result of uv_ip4_name
         // doesn't work too well..
@@ -844,7 +844,7 @@ unsafe fn ip6_name(src: &sockaddr_in6) -> ~str {
                        0u8,0u8,0u8,0u8,0u8,0u8,0u8,0u8,
                        0u8,0u8,0u8,0u8,0u8,0u8];
     do vec::as_buf(dst) |dst_buf, size| {
-        let src_unsafe_ptr = assimilate(src);
+        let src_unsafe_ptr = to_unsafe_ptr(src);
         log(debug, fmt!("val of src *sockaddr_in6: %? sockaddr_in6: %?",
                         src_unsafe_ptr, src));
         let result = rustrt::rust_uv_ip6_name(src_unsafe_ptr,