Circumnavigation 48 : The Hand of Fate

[C James]

Chapter 48, "The Hand of Fate" is up. Enjoy. :chris:

 

[Benji]

Chapter 48, "The Hand of Fate" is up. Enjoy. :chris:

 

 

...........That is the most evil cliffhanger of all time!! You will definitely get my vote this year! Leaving our young hero in such a perilous situation!!! Assuming he came overcome his bonds and get back aboard to retrieve his handgun and take out a few pirates. He is now left blind to sail to Australia, unless he is able to retrieve his stolen equipment, still his mast are chainsawed down. Will he be able to take over the trawler and keep the Atlantis secured to it for the voyage? Or will an Egyptian ship appear out of no where? Or an American ship?

 

Oh yeah, I noticed that the weight belt had a quick release but in the front, can Trevor twist it to his rear and release it? And perhaps doing a gymnast move and bringing the strapped hands back to the front via the under the legs move. Getting back onboard and well...............

 

The biggest evil cliffhanger of the year!!!!!!!!!!

 

Thanks for the chapter CJ!

Edited October 19, 2010 by Benji

[TalonRider]

This doesn't sound like the Goat at all. He wouldn't do anything that evil to us readers, now would he?

[Flipper]

Trev's fishfood. The only way he's gonna come back from this one is if The Goat pulls off a "Bobby's dream in the shower" trick (that's an age giveaway heh heh).

 

Why's he dead? Cos:

1/ the physiology for freediving records don't apply - reflex bradycardia, vasoconstriction, blood shift etc (ooooh, big words!) - due to Trev's lack of training, experience and preparation (lots of deep breaths) and panicked thrashings as he sinks to his doom.

2/ he's already been under water nearly 2 minutes

3/ he's 90' down and sinking, exhausted and cramped

4/ he's still got to free the weight belt - more seconds + depth

5/ he's still got to untie the ropes now stiff + swollen (the only thing that is!) from water immersion

6/ his hands are now cold + stiff too, and difficult to move

7/ he's in pitch black and won't know his up from down when he tries to kick for the surface

Trev's a dead parrott .. er ex-yachtsman, he is no more, he's gorn to meet his maker, he's a stiffie.

Edited October 21, 2010 by Flipper

[hh5]

If Trevor does get free ... Atlantis would only be useful as a life raft ... it would take him longer to get to land ...

 

He does have money in the secret place ... not sure what they will do to the engines

[Red_A]

When I first read this chapter, I had a discussion with C James, I wanted the title to be "LOST" , I lost.

[Hoskins]

When Trev transforms into the Zombie Overlord of the Deep, he'll be able to use Atlantis as a lily pad.

[KevinD]

I know this is just fiction, but it left me with a sick feeling. I hope this really isn't the end of Trevor...

[Altimexis]

CJ pulled off an incredible save under seemingly similar circumstances once before, in For the Love, when the two protagonists had drifted out to sea and could no longer see land. He's taken it to vastly greater heights this time . . . or depths in this case.

 

I will be bitterly disappointed if CJ actually kills Trevor off, but equally disappointed if he survives. I can't picture any kind of way of saving Trevor that won't strain believability. The best case scenario is that he somehow frees himself from the belt, manages to kick himself to the surface, latches onto a floating log and either makes landfall or is 'happened upon' by a freighter or the like. More bizarre would be a rescue by a dolphin or a whale, or perhaps a military submarine. Rescue by a dolphin is almost believable and there have been reported incidents but, unless the dolphin knows how to administer mouth-to-mouth, I don't see how Trevor could survive. If CJ intended Trevor to survive, he could have and should have ended Trevor's struggle one paragraph sooner and one step closer to believability.

 

The zombie almost sounds more believable than having Trevor survive but, seriously, having the ghost of Trevor pursue the real villains before everyone he cares about succumbs to their evil would make for an interesting, if not formulaic plot. Unfortunately, that wouldn't be the story I intended to read when CJ started posting nearly a year ago. At least in stories like the movie Ghost, the transition to the supernatural occurred early in the story - not seemingly near the end. If this is the avenue CJ has chosen, I'll be disappointed as well. And so I guess the best I can hope for is a miraculous rescue, even though it will go beyond straining credibility.

 

Regardless of the outcome for Trevor, I think the possibility of Atlantis' survival is even more desperate. Even if a military vessel appears from out of nowhere and captures the pirates, too much of her will have been sawed up, pried out and dismantled for there to be an effective repair at sea.

[hh5]

Regardless of the outcome for Trevor, I think the possibility of Atlantis' survival is even more desperate. Even if a military vessel appears from out of nowhere and captures the pirates, too much of her will have been sawed up, pried out and dismantled for there to be an effective repair at sea.

 

 

Well the Ali intends to sink the hulk of Atlantis but will soon find out it doesn't sink that easy. they will have to power saw up the boat more. It certainly won't look like an accident. Its seems this is not connected with sanchez.

 

Its does seem to be the end of Atlantis for circumnavigation ... unless some ship gets to whats left of atlantis before they destroy her but they only have a few hours ... but really no other ship is out there so ... they got a another or so to sink the hulk.

 

Lisa getting that cold chill ... will she figure out why? will Joel get it too? There is no way they could reach Trevor ... at most alert Air and Rescue from where? If only Trevor had that SAT phone ... Dirk sure wasn't being a good father ... to at least try to send another one while Trevor was in Seychelles.

 

Joel going to get the insurance money ... that might push the start of ares search ... another can of worms to open up ... Bridget and George to plan drugs on Joel and Lisa ... Dirk and Jim - will they get Bridget and George before ... Dirk going to go nuts finding whats left of Trevor ... will CJ make us suffer for a chapter without Trevor ... being focused on the news of atlantis destroyed ... now you have to wonder how that news will make it there ... the name of atlantis wreck washing a shore on some island ... they would not search fot Trevor until December ... do we expect Trevor to survive two months out at sea with nothing.

 

btw, Oct 1, 2006 is a Sunday ... do they hold meets on sunday? Est Nov 13 Monday arrival ... more like after thanks giving search for Trevor

Is the story during 2005? thats a Saturday

Don't ships logs have mmm dd, yyyy or do they keep logs by year?

 

Will Joel buy a boat off of Bridget?? (Joke)

 

If Trevor does not throw away the rope and belt ... he could string a few trees to make a raft ... fresh water be hard unless rain comes and he keeps his mouth open ... what he going to do for food? eat sushi? Find some of his food stores floating in the water.

 

Hey any chance of Ali ship blowing leaving wreakage due to fighting over the Atlantis spoils.

 

All what Trevor doesn't need is a storm at sea ... its going to be a tought couple of chapters.

 

Can we be lucky that this is a bad dream for Trevor ... sleeping at his bean bag.

[Benji]

Well the Ali intends to sink the hulk of Atlantis but will soon find out it doesn't sink that easy. they will have to power saw up the boat more. It certainly won't look like an accident. Its seems this is not connected with sanchez.

 

Its does seem to be the end of Atlantis for circumnavigation ... unless some ship gets to whats left of atlantis before they destroy her but they only have a few hours ... but really no other ship is out there so ... they got a another or so to sink the hulk.

 

Lisa getting that cold chill ... will she figure out why? will Joel get it too? There is no way they could reach Trevor ... at most alert Air and Rescue from where? If only Trevor had that SAT phone ... Dirk sure wasn't being a good father ... to at least try to send another one while Trevor was in Seychelles.

 

Joel going to get the insurance money ... that might push the start of ares search ... another can of worms to open up ... Bridget and George to plan drugs on Joel and Lisa ... Dirk and Jim - will they get Bridget and George before ... Dirk going to go nuts finding whats left of Trevor ... will CJ make us suffer for a chapter without Trevor ... being focused on the news of atlantis destroyed ... now you have to wonder how that news will make it there ... the name of atlantis wreck washing a shore on some island ... they would not search fot Trevor until December ... do we expect Trevor to survive two months out at sea with nothing.

 

btw, Oct 1, 2006 is a Sunday ... do they hold meets on sunday? Est Nov 13 Monday arrival ... more like after thanks giving search for Trevor

Is the story during 2005? thats a Saturday

 

Will Joel buy a boat off of Bridget?? (Joke)

 

If Trevor does not throw away the rope and belt ... he could string a few trees to make a raft ... fresh water be hard unless rain comes and he keeps his mouth open ... what he going to do for food? eat sushi? Find some of his food stores floating in the water.

 

Hey any chance of Ali ship blowing leaving wreakage due to fighting over the Atlantis spoils.

 

All what Trevor doesn't need is a storm at sea ... its going to be a tought couple of chapters.

 

Can we be lucky that this is a bad dream for Trevor ... sleeping at his bean bag.

 

......................... Remember Ali was given information, this is Sanchez's work. Forget the dream sequence, this is a real nightmare for Trevor, I can only guess that he will get a burst of adrenaline for one more chance at surviving. Making it to a fallen tree in the water has merits and is believable, the fate of the Atlantis is less certain, perhaps a navy ship will head towards them being curious as why the catamaran is being taken apart scaring off Captain Ali.

 

One can hope greed takes it's toll on the crew aboard the trawler, maybe a little blood in the water for Captain Ali to swim in.

[MikeL]

When Trev transforms into the Zombie Overlord of the Deep, he'll be able to use Atlantis as a lily pad.

Lily pad? Don't want any zombies on my lily pad.

 

Does this chapter end with a cliffhanger? Does a goat eat garbage? That's not to say Cliff James won't find an ingenious, even plausible, way to save Trevor.

[Hoskins]

Lily pad? Don't want any zombies on my lily pad.

 

Does this chapter end with a cliffhanger? Does a goat eat garbage? That's not to say Cliff James won't find an ingenious, even plausible, way to save Trevor.

 

Eh, as far as I'm concerned, he died. So when he exacts his revenge, it will be as Zombie Trevor, eating pirate braaaains. When ZT says he wants to do a little "oral" with Joel, it's gonna mean something a little different. And when he finds his mom (who is also a Zombie Overlord), they will sail the ocean on Zombie Atlantis and Zombie Ares, a little zombie fleet there, always searching for Dirk, and always, always looking to warm up. The water is so cold, it's always so, so cold...

 

 

...and deep, too.

[Altimexis]

Rereading the final several paragraphs, it sure sounds like Trevor's a goner. The last two paragraphs describing his struggle leave little doubt about just how futile his situation really is. I don't think CJ would have written it this way if he were going to save Trevor - not if he wanted to make it sound believable. At the end, Trevor is at least 100 feet down and he's already been under water for two minutes. Even if he were freed from the belt, I don't see how he'd have the strength to make it back to the surface, let alone survive once there.

 

Sure, Trevor could stumble upon a submersible, or there could be a diver right there (if so, where's the diver's ship?), but I don't think CJ would resort to such an incredible coincidence. The one thing I could almost believe - and it's a real long shot - would be if Trevor is rescued by a sea mammal such as a dolphin or whale. It's the only plausible solution. The big problem remains as to how Trevor would survive, even if he made it to the surface.

 

Unless CJ can come up with a really plausible way out for Trevor, this turn of events is a real disappointment to me. Although this may have always been the most likely outcome, why would CJ kill off the main character? Trevor isn't one of the main characters - he's THE main character. I don't think CJ would do this, but he'd damn well better have a realistic way out - and not by making it a dream.

 

Unfortunately, I too was thinking CJ could really draw this out a while. We could go for several chapters before learning of Trevor's ultimate fate. If Trevor's dead, it could be weeks or months before anyone finds out, if they ever do find out for sure. If Trevor's alive, I can just imagine our sadistic old goat toying with us for weeks keeping us in suspense.

[Benji]

Rereading the final several paragraphs, it sure sounds like Trevor's a goner. The last two paragraphs describing his struggle leave little doubt about just how futile his situation really is. I don't think CJ would have written it this way if he were going to save Trevor - not if he wanted to make it sound believable. At the end, Trevor is at least 100 feet down and he's already been under water for two minutes. Even if he were freed from the belt, I don't see how he'd have the strength to make it back to the surface, let alone survive once there.

 

Sure, Trevor could stumble upon a submersible, or there could be a diver right there (if so, where's the diver's ship?), but I don't think CJ would resort to such an incredible coincidence. The one thing I could almost believe - and it's a real long shot - would be if Trevor is rescued by a sea mammal such as a dolphin or whale. It's the only plausible solution. The big problem remains as to how Trevor would survive, even if he made it to the surface.

 

Unless CJ can come up with a really plausible way out for Trevor, this turn of events is a real disappointment to me. Although this may have always been the most likely outcome, why would CJ kill off the main character? Trevor isn't one of the main characters - he's THE main character. I don't think CJ would do this, but he'd damn well better have a realistic way out - and not by making it a dream.

 

Unfortunately, I too was thinking CJ could really draw this out a while. We could go for several chapters before learning of Trevor's ultimate fate. If Trevor's dead, it could be weeks or months before anyone finds out, if they ever do find out for sure. If Trevor's alive, I can just imagine our sadistic old goat toying with us for weeks keeping us in suspense.

 

............Nope, I think the answer will come sooner then you think!

[hh5]

Unfortunately, I too was thinking CJ could really draw this out a while. We could go for several chapters before learning of Trevor's ultimate fate. If Trevor's dead, it could be weeks or months before anyone finds out, if they ever do find out for sure. If Trevor's alive, I can just imagine our sadistic old goat toying with us for weeks keeping us in suspense.

 

I don't think he'll do chapters without Trevor ...

 

you're right it be a miracle ... so maybe a gay mer-boy from GA will save him

 

[C James]

There's some great comments in this thread!

 

I'm very constrained as to what I can say at this point... but there are some things I can share. One of them is that we aren't at the end of the novel: it will run past 60 chapters.

 

The second point I can raise is that this is not a dream, it cannot be. There are scenes with the pirates on Atlantis after Trevor is thrown overboard, and that's in the narration. The narrator cannot lie. The only dreaming Trevor was doing was before being prodded awake by the gun, and the narration says he woke up. So, this is very real, and not a dream or hallucination.

 

I'm absolutely not a fan of miraculous, overshadowed saves... So, no sudden encounters with submarines, etc, and even if a Navy ship arrived on the scene right at the end of the chapter, there is no conceivable way for them to figure out what happened and find Trevor in time.

 

I'm a big fan of foreshadowing, and hiding clues in the text.

 

I'll even mention that, somewhere in the posts above, someone mentions something that is very, very important.

 

Does Trevor live or die? I am not allowed to say, but I will say this; if he lives, it will be plausibly, and not some wild miracle.

 

Now, I'm well-known for totally avoiding cliffhangers of any kind so this situation is basically a mystery (and Circumnavigation is part mystery). The mystery is, does Trevor live, or die? If he dies, how will the story unfold from here on out? And if he lives, how does he do so?

 

I'll come back to the thread soon; there are some awesome posts above I want to reply to, but I'm being driven offline by a thunderstorm.

[Teeaser]

I am a big fan, but this chapter left me sick and feeling bad all day. I could not sleep last night because I was thinking about Trevor and how to get him out of this mess. If he dies, I think the story will die along with him. Have mercy on your fans and please do not have any more cliff hangers like this one.

[Bondwriter]

I am a big fan, but this chapter left me sick and feeling bad all day. I could not sleep last night because I was thinking about Trevor and how to get him out of this mess. If he dies, I think the story will die along with him. Have mercy on your fans and please do not have any more cliff hangers like this one.

I'll say it's not TECHNICALLY a cliffhanger, since it all takes place in the sea already. As for your emotional distress, and maybe this of other people in this thread, my (shady) lawyer tells me that some sort of class action can be undertaken. Considering the insane amount of money I'm paid for zeta-reading, I'll tell you, we're not dealing with a goat, but the proverbial golden goose. Come on, a night of insomnia (and, having read the rest, I'll tell you,

brace yourself for MORE ADVENTURES...

) and all the associated trauma caused by such an inhuman author, you might get yourself a few nice trips around the globe at the goat's expense. Just saying...

[hh5]

If trevor survives this ... he'll be piss that Atlantis met the chop shop of the high seas ... Joel be piss at someone running up a cell bill

 

I am surprise a ten pound belt can bring one down so deep

[Flipper]

"... we're not dealing with a goat, but ... an inhuman author"

.

That's right - pure evil, pure malignant evil.

 

 

[Altimexis]

Well, CJ certainly has given us much to think about. It's too bad we won't know the answer for a week - maybe. I, too, lost sleep over this - such is the power of CJ's writing.

 

There are lots of clues in the story, but not many that hint at a way for Trevor to survive. On the other hand, not many hint at Trevor's demise either, other than the obvious ending scene of desperation and Lisa's feeling of a chill.

 

Of the clues in other people's posts here, I think the most significant are that Atlantis won't sink, so she could very will be used as a life raft if Trevor could free himself and make it back to the surface, that the belt could twist around or be twisted around so that Trevor can activate the quick release, and that he has money stored in his secret compartment. His gun's in there, too, which might hint at how the pirates would know there's a secret compartment - one they might have difficulty figuring out how to open. A metal detector, after all, would pick up the presense of the gun.

 

I can picture the weight belt rotating around or even possibly releasing itself from all of Trevor's writing, but would the release of ten pounds really be enough to make a difference on a 150 pound person? If the pirates find there is a secret compartment and cannot figure out how to open it, would they go back and try to retrieve Trevor? Could they rescue him, even if they wanted to?

 

Could this be Sanchez's work? We are told that Ali was given information - why would CJ have brought it up if it weren't for this possible link? The fact that Ali seemed to behave otherwise means nothing. If he had the opportunity to collect money from Sanchez *and* to ransdome Trefor for additional profit, I have no doubt that he would do so if he felt the risks were low enough. If it was the work of Sanchez, we'll know soon enough, as he will undoubtedly notify Bridget that the task has been completed.

[wildone]

CJ is a cruel, cruel, cruel goat . Not only did I wake up to find no internet on Tuesday morning (obviously the goat's work) but after I read the chapter on my phone, I couldn't respond in the forum (once again, the evil goat's doing). I finally have the internet again (the goat must have finally fell asleep), so I can do my first and foremost thing...

 

Remember everyone, by Talonrider's rules, CJ has now made himself an official candidate for the 2010 King of Evil Cliffhangers Award with this chapter. I'm sure that anyone who read this chapter will definitely agree that he has outdone himself.

 

CJ mentioned in his post that there is clues hidden in the text. I am now going off to research some past chapters as I do think it is plausible for him to save Trevor and the one thing I do remember in the text was the discussion between Trevor, Jan and Eric about how the style of Catamaran that Trevor had was virtually unsinkable due to the design of the two hulls.

 

Off to find more...................

 

 

Bad bad bad goat

Edited October 20, 2010 by wildone

[TalonRider]

I think everyone is forgetting one important thing. CJ is writing a mystery.

[Hoskins]

Who was standing on the cliff with binoculars?