Stellar

He does realise this fact rather soon, he just underestimates the duration.

Guess away, you are welcome to many considerations about where it may head! Shay is meant to be underestimated and people do make this mistake. His intelligence and his sense of self and will-power are advanced somewhat from where others expect him to be in terms of maturity; these are all tools to survive Lucere as much as the more visible skills of those around him. The five remaining? Well, I'd suggest you read Ch. 18 and then think again.

apologies, I forgot I had not replied to you. I am honoured by your praise, and I take great pleasure knowing my work is regarded so well and enjoyed thoroughly. Thank you.

Oh the 'sweet spot' .. it is so close now, isn't it? Chapter 19 is going to feature that particular plot mechanism in spades. Shay now knows about the arbiter! Still, the audience is none the wiser, perhaps though given some clues by the additional dialogue and Carlos' description.

thank you! It is indeed the king of wordcount, a fact I wasn't even aware of until I had finished and did a tally.

The view of Aurum's greatest urban centre was at once inspiring and fear-inducing. The feeling of inspiration was quite illogical, but it arose from the familiarity the city's silhouette generated. The outline, the grand spreading cluster of dominating buildings made me think of Seattle and of other American cities too; San Francisco, New York, Boston and many more. Aspira was alike to all of them and yet unlike any; the European influence setting it apart and giving a distinct style. Even in th

Happy birthday!

No, I don't. Games on mobile devices like that, similar to social networking browser entertainment, do not fit into the same category. They are, IMO, apps; entertainment-lite in comparison to the much larger and more complex full-throated standalone software that comprise a major PC or console title. They serve a purpose and are fun, but aren't in the same league. That's why when I see people who claim to be a 'gamer' and list those kinds of things as their preferred interest, it tends to make me do an internal eye-roll (if not a literal one but I usually refrain, out of politeness.) My PC disk space is probably taken up by roughly 80% games, outweighing music, video and other software applications combined by quite a rather ridiculous margin. These are works that dwarf what you can find on a mobile platform by an order of magnitude or two, both in terms of the design complexity and the overall quality of the experience. I will admit though, that one of my guilty pleasures when I'm wasting time on Facebook is Dungeon Rampage. Huge fun.

Happy birthday!

Isn't it exciting news? I feel the same way about my country, New Zealand. We had civil unions become law in 2004, which doesn't seem all that long ago in the bigger scheme of things, and just a few weeks ago, gay marriage sailed through parliament with a 77-44 vote! The most awesome thing about it was our more conservative governing party helped the bill become law, with the majority of them voting in favour. Very heartening how attitudes have matured on the issue.

I do not have many to thank, so I will keep this brief. First would be to Ryan, the beta I had when I began posting on GA. Though he won't read this since he no longer frequents the site, he deserves those thanks for the simplicity and effectiveness that made it so easy to work with him. In some regards, I was spoiled by the bar being set rather high on the first instance, but those thanks are well earned nonetheless. Second, to my current betas; Rob, Paul and Cassie. All three of you bring different perspectives and while I know my own mind very well, that extra dimension and way of looking at things while the creative process is churning along is invaluable. Rob (Yettie) deserves a special mention here, for the simple fact he often goes above and beyond the requisite duties. He puts up with the many foolish trivial questions I pepper him with, in very good grace, all the while secretly wanting me to shut the hell up, I'm sure. It is hard to find enthusiasm and dedication like that and I am grateful to be in the company of such people. Third, to Myr, for showing an interest and for providing the forum for authors to begin with, and to those regular audience members who take the time to offer encouragement and meaningful constructive opinion. While it would not be the end of me without a vocal audience, having that reinforcement does ease the path.

Spock will mind meld with an android?!? This isn't actually possible, though I suppose that's kinda moot given the rest of the conversation

Or Magneto and the good doctor. Too much pop culture entanglement!

Morgan's interrogation was a bit of both, in the end. Physical certainly worked on Federico, but Morgan is a much different person.

Thank you. I must reiterate: I care about all my major characters (except for Hartley, he's just a big jerkbag) and so I wouldn't choose an ending for any of them lightly. Lily was no exception to that and I wanted it to be right. Deeply saddening to experience, but with a fairness that befitted her.

Thank you. Aspira is certainly no place to forget your head, for even a second. Humans haven't been there in a long time and there's a good reason for that. Danger is everywhere in the capital ruins, around every corner.

It was meant to be difficult, and doubly so to be emotional (my assistant readers probably won't mind me saying this, but I made all three cry during the process of preparing the chapter, which probably makes me guilty of cruelty to betas.) I felt very guilty writing this, but at the same time, I knew quite some time ago (and still know) that *some* of the main cast would not make it to the finish. Realistically in a world like this, survival is against the odds more often than not and so the narrative *has* to reflect that.

The ironic side of it was unintended and only became 'real' after Morgan's coercion was plotted out. Retrospectively, Shay could feel very guilty about how Morgan was treated.

There could be an argument made for euthanasia in there, though by no means was that a direct allegory; at least not intentionally. I certainly do not believe that any considered "preservation of life" must override the comfort and sanity of an individual simply because a moral standard deems it so. A truly compassionate morality would allow, in the right circumstances, a solution that was merciful and final - if it was so desired.

Ripples of laughter were coming from the other end of the house as I made my way back through. Though my mind was filled with the daunting prospect of travelling to Aspira and all the risks that would surely involve, I couldn't help but wonder what the others were up to that was causing all the mirth. Entering the lounge, Sergeant Morgan was in the middle of what seemed to be a rather elaborate and probably quite dirty joke, if his hand gestures were any indication. Lily and Carlos were sitting

It's a beautiful song. A friend of mine linked me to it a few months back and I was amazed to see an artist in this genre of music producing something like this. It was especially relevant to that same friend not only because her mother is a lesbian, but also because Macklemore is from Seattle, her home town. She got to meet him when he was performing there late last year.

Congratulations to the winners!

I'd agree fairly much with the first four of what Tetrefine listed. Netflix less so IMO because it is restricted to the Americas and parts of Europe, unless I'm mistaken, and doesn't have the same sort of global influence. Though I really hate the service and refuse to use it, I grudgingly submit that 5 would be Twitter

OMG .. hahahahaha. I can tell you, I've owned a Ford Laser and they are NOT big cars, that photo being a pretty good indication. Fitting TEN sheep in one is nothing short of impressive. The theft itself is less surprising, stock poaching isn't uncommon here in some areas.

Oh wow, I only just stumbled upon this thread so I'm sorry if I'm reopening it after a while of dormancy, but I saw it and I *had* to say something, mostly to the OP. I have Asperger Syndrome. My profile has some basic information about the disorder and how it may pertain to me. I discovered the condition as an adult in my late 20s, so I did not receive any special developmental aid when I was younger that might have helped me adjust to a world that did not quite seem right. Curiously enough, I self-diagnosed, instantly recognising myself in the extensive list of 'symptoms' after I happened to see a character with Aspergers on a very annoying local television soap drama and did some research on it. Shortly thereafter, a psychologist tested me with the Cambridge 'official' test and agreed with my self-diagnosis. In many ways, the realisation was more liberating than discovering my sexuality. There was no longer any uncertainty in my mind about who I was. All the weirdness that existed, the parts of my personality that didn't mesh, suddenly weren't quite so chaotic. It was landmark moment, a life-shaping one, certainly. So, I read over this thread although I freely admit that there was a huge amount of text-wall, so portions were skipped for the sake of brevity, I do want to say a couple of things. Firstly, that Bee and the others who have said that no two people with Aspergers are completely alike, are correct. The best analogy I can think of is a sound mixer with various sliders on it. Instead of controlling sound, consider each to represent a trait that is particular to those with Aspergers or mild ASD; the slider could be fully up or fully down or sitting somewhere in the middle for any given attribute. Consider also that the traits are expressed differently from individual to individual to begin with, before you take into account severity. While one trait may be on full blast for one person, it may be turned right down for another. The combination of those 'settings' is what gives you the individual and his (or her) personality makeup. Secondly, that violence is not a characteristic. That is not to say that in conjunction with other factors, it might have contributed to where Adam Lanza's head was at when he committed those murders. However, you can say exactly the same for a great number of life's pressures on the mental state, and simultaneously strip any concept of personal responsibility and accountability for those killings if you start down that logical path. I think it was NNN who was saying that the difficulty reading and communicating emotions can cause a great deal of frustration and irritation (oh boy do I know this one first hand!); while it can provoke what would seem like spontaneous outbursts of intense emotion if pushed the wrong way, this is NOT an ingredient for premeditation. Thirdly, that neurotypical (ie. 'normal') people need to be educated on what Aspergers and related types of ASD really are. I have had the full range of reactions from 'psychology is a sham and yours is a made up sickness' (which was one of the most insulting things I've *ever* had said to me) right through to practically being treated like a cripple and offered sympathy. I much prefer the middle ground. At the end of this, we are still people. People that might be different and fit outside the mainstream but ... with the same capacity for emotion and intellect as any other group albeit with an alternate way of experiencing and perceiving the world This is a hugely complex subject! I'm not usually given to making forum posts at all, so it's a rarity for me to comment. On subject matter that is so close to my heart. though? I couldn't let it go by.