I apologize, I did not realize the code was essential to solving the problem. The following is a sample code because the original code is much too long to list:

# First we must create our data structure.

$master_matrix->[0]->{'animal'} = "tiger";
$master_matrix->[0]->{'size'} = "big";
$master_matrix->[0]->{'speed'} = "fast";

$master_matrix->[1]->{'animal'} = "bear";
$master_matrix->[1]->{'size'} = "bigger";
$master_matrix->[1]->{'speed'} = "medium";

$master_matrix->[2]->{'animal'} = "sobes";
$master_matrix->[2]->{'size'} = "tiny";
$master_matrix->[2]->{'speed'} = "quick";

$master_array = [5, 7, 9, 12, 4];
    
# Now we can do the parallel processing.

use IO::Handle;
use Data::Dump;

$max_core = 1;

foreach $core_number (1..$max_core)
    {
    pipe ($reader, $writer);
    
    $writer->IO::Handle::autoflush(1);
    
    $pid = fork();
    
    if ($pid)
        {
        # This is the parent process
        
        close $writer;
        
        undef $master_matrix;
        undef $master_array;
        
        $child_process_numbers{$core_number} = $pid;       
        $child_file_handles{$core_number} = $reader;
        
        undef $reader;
        }

    elsif ($pid == 0)
        {
        # This is the child process
        
        close $reader; 
    
        print "child master matrix: $#{$master_matrix}\n";
    
        $frozen_data = Data::Dump->pp($master_matrix);
 
        print $writer $frozen_data;
        
        close $writer;    
     
        exit(0);
        }
        
    else
        {
        # Process is undefined    
        die "couldn't fork: $!\n";
        };    
    };

foreach $core_number (keys %child_process_numbers)
    {
    $pid = $child_process_numbers{$core_number};
    $reader = $child_file_handles{$core_number};

    $frozen_data = <$reader>;   
    undef $reader;    
    
    $thawed_data = eval($frozen_data); 
 
    print "thawed data: $#{$thawed_data}\n";
    
    waitpid($pid, 0);
    };
    
exit;
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I have decided to use Data::Dump because of the Storable "version" problem (discussed on your website and several others). The code is set up to generate multiple children, but I have it set to only generate one for simplicity. The code is able to produce the correct answer if I use the $master_array, but it does not produce the correct answer if I use the $master_matrix (an array of hashes). Hopefully this will help everyone.

Thank you Monks for all of your help.

Scott