Remotely executed package error

We created a view that depends on the value of a package global variable. The package variable is set during package initialization. The idea was to do a complex lookup once per session and leave the resulting value in memory for the view's WHERE clause; this works much more efficiently than putting the lookup directly into the view. The approach works OK during host access. But when trying to access it remotely through a dblink, Oracle issues this message:

ORA-06574: Function GET_CURRENT_PERIOD references package state, cannot execute remotely

This message does not appear in my copy of the Server Messages and Codes Manual (December 1992). Can anyone explain this message in more detail, and is there any legitimate way around the problem?

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Tad Davis                  215-898-7864 voice
(davist_at_isc.upenn.edu)     215-898-0386 fax