ColumbusGuy

Just to let you know, Noah is a colossally selfish idiot. He already knows his parents don't approve of him, so why let that seriously affect his love life? As for his brother--talk to him, you idiot...if he seems to have an issue with their parents too, then he may be supportive. I found out years later that all three of my older sisters knew about me, and never let on...nor did they care since one has a gay son as I found out one Thanksgiving. He told me, and then said he knew I'd be okay with it because his mom told him I was too. As for chapter length--to paraphrase Ebenezer Scrooge: 'a chapter is what it is...' If you're trying to constrain yourself for a prompt-inspired piece, or for a flash piece, then yes, length may matter , but not other wise. One of my stories I try to keep to prompt length since I use them as first lines...but I've been known to go over some--nobody complains. Most of my other stories and chapters can go over 10k words, and readers enjoy the feeling it gives them to really 'know' the characters. I tried reading this on Nifty and gave up after the second chapter--this version is much more crafted and cohesive. Waiting for more.

Okay guys, I said I'd see about a second chapter, and I've had an idea or two, but it's taking longer than I thought it would. I have some background figured out, based on research I did for David's ancestry...but my view of the locales here was off according to Geron. Seneca and Indian Lakes are farther apart than I had thought, so I have to figure out a different angle. I'm working on it...and I want to just repeat my thanks for all of your words--bright stars in my winter doldrums. Now...how do you get someone back to life....

Okay, Sebastian has found another way to get his claws into Noah, and he's once more making the wrong choice for the wrong reasons--nothing new there--it's Noah after all. I don't hate Noah--but I am seriously frustrated with his behavior. We're forgetting that his parents' religious doctrines have been drilled into him as long as he can remember, and that isn't going to be easy or quick to overcome, even if he truly is gay. There's also the other aspect--Noah has had zero experience with the real world and how to survive in it. He's been handed everything he wants by his controlling parents, so when has he had time to learn to act on his own? He's never held a job, had to plan anything beyond a meal, and having his own thoughts is obviously new as well. So, frustrated and annoyed, yes...hate him, no. It's easy to judge him if you're safe and content in your world and enveloped in the love of friends and family--but Noah hasn't had any of that in his life. If he's cut off, where does he turn? Not to his other relatives, and not to Jenn or Jordan who can't take on supporting him right now. So, he keeps his life hidden, and despite agonizing over it, he has no alternative right now. Sebastian was a colossal mistake...he should have just kept his distance.

Some disturbing developments with Gestin...I hope he hasn't been given some special artifact to damage Kieran's progress.

A great ending, my friend. It's rare for a couple to meet so young and to remain together, at least in today's world of distractions and lack of privacy. My parents didn't find it, but both sets of my grandparents had. After a long search, I found it but Fate intervened and I lost him after more than a decade. I hope everyone can know the joys of a perfect match, but you have to understand that the magic needs help to grow and endure, just like any precious gift.

I'm not even going to try, my dear. You've captured what my mom meant to me just as yours meant to you. I lost mine five days after my 49th birthday, which she'd planned to spend with me and bake a cake. We did spend it together, but in her hospital room. She went in the day before, and I was there until the end, with her remaining sisters, children, nieces and nephews. That final day in 2007 was the last we were together except her funeral buried in a plot where her husband--my stepfather--would join her two years ago. An infinity of hugs, kisses and love to you, and to our moms who have gone before us, but are not forgotten.

Taking a puppy out in your Winter. Must want a pupsicle pretty bad. 😸 There's nothing like sharing the world with a young heart and pair of eyes to restore all the wonder that we too often take for granted. Baby or puppy...hmm, no diapers to change with this one.

Well I wasn't expecting this turn of events--Griff giving up his stars for a while--but he still has his own star--Benny. The other thing that resonates with me is the fact that they both want to go back to their country roots; I've now lived half of my life in Columbus, and still am not used to it. Sure, it's a residential neighborhood, but houses are too close together and you can't escape noise, whether it's passing traffic at 6AM or the distant hum from larger thoroughfares. I miss the quiet nights, and the open sky above even now. I'm eager to see what awaits in the next chapter of our guys' lives.

Ah good--Gary has found a companion at last! Are you developing your own collection of boys like me?

@GanymedeRex I'm glad you found this one, and believe me it hearkens back to my earliest writing in elementary school--promise, there are no canine aliens foiled at subjugating Earth by being petted. I was twelve, what can I say? I don't think I've read those books by Gerrold, so I'll have to find online copies. The Tribble episode was one of my favorites of the original series, which I saw in the first running. I guess I'd been hooked on sci-fi before that with Lost In Space and My Favorite Martian with Ray Walston, but I can hardly remember that one other than later cable runs. For some great sci-fi, read Robert Sawyer's Human trilogy, and his Quintaglio stories such as Far Seer. More of Harman Halveg ahead for a while...among other things.

@GanymedeRex I try to keep the science within the boundaries of what might be possible, and some signs indicate that humans could live a lot longer with the effects of aging slowed or eliminated...with what we are learning about genetics and cloning, why not toss in some nano-tech that could make the process easier? We are learning what genees control certain things now, and how they can be manipulated to turn off other evolutionary factors... We also are finding other species of man that we didn't know about before, and that they too contrib uted to our genetics through interbreeding, like the genes that make high altitude living easier in Tibet. I forget the name right now, but it starts with a 'D', so that's at least a second or third species that has helped us evolve...and both of them so far have done it within the last 50,000 years or so. More to come, and I'll try to keep things in the realm of the possible as we know it--but we all know that advances come often from leaps of intuition and wonder too.....

Man it's difficult to merge outlooks which seem so opposed to one another. My California friend I met when he was an undergrad at OSU, and he has degrees in Metallurgy and Programming, but he's also into science-fiction and D &D, which meant we had a couple things in common. My science is more historical in nature like archaeilogy, while his is more mathematical and physics-oriented. The boys are working this dichotomy out rather well...lets just hope one isn't into anime or manga like my friend is--I just couldn't get into it despite his efforts, though Nausicaa was okay.

Okay, this is just too good to not get everyone involved. You have a way of getting us to see the scenes quickly, and you've done it again here. Celestron eh? You own one? Maybe my friend helped program the mount software....

Hoping for an early Spring? Is tomorrow soon enough? 🎁 As beautiful as you make the sun on snow sound, I'll stay inside with my central heating and wish for a cup of hot chocolate. We've had it easy so far--upper 20s, but as you say, the coldest month for us is a couple weeks away. I can do without it all since it's not fun anymore. As a kid, I'd be out in it sledding or building a fort or snowmen, and having snowball fights with the neighbor kids...now, just hoping my arthritic knees aren't going to hurt at the same time. Sigh. ☕

Fear not, Starry...I've just got a few decades of wide-ranging reading and a lot of sci-fi inhalation to base my story on. Believe me, I research things online now to see what is going on in my fields of interest like Mars, and some fields like space travel and archaeological discoveries. I got my BA in English Lit--does that tell you how bright I am? I doubt it...when was the last time somebody needed a quote from Chaucer? I had wanted to go into archaeology but my high school counsellor talked me out of it, so I went with my next interests: Literature and German. At least I've always liked reading and learning, so I can fake it. :)

Such a great story, makes me want to be a vampire if it really worked this way. Gives a whole new meaning to the question of what McDonald's special sauce is made of from your comment above. I know the place I worked didn't use what John and Rendy found. 😸 Gotta wonder if vampires would become adept at computers to alter records to keep their longevity a secret....

Damn it, G-Man, ask the question that hadn't even occurred to me! The only problems, I think might come on Earth from the GA, but clearly Harman can't ever go back there with the Hunt for any of his family going on. For the 'thals, if they find out, I don't think it will be a problem since they were created as well. It appears Harman is a product of Hartmann and Pavel...but what is the significance of the numeric sequence that seems to be involved? You guessed my response, my dear. 😸

Ah, that's a good question...can this thing be set on an automatic timer? Doubt it. More to come in the next thrill-packed chapter....

Oh, it's no wonder GA banned Hartmann's plans--but is there more to this than we can see so far? Amor vincet omnia, or so the adage goes....

Not being any sort of expert, I hope the idea of phasing is at least possible. Maybe my computer friends can give me a clue...one works on obsolete machines for fun, and the other works in programming and has an engineering degree.

As improbable as it sounds plotwise, perhaps molasses is a more likely culprit? You know, sappy....

And unlike my first ending, not quite a cliff-hanger...but only I know that for sure. 😸

Man, I hope this works out--this guy seems to be more in touch with Robbie's personality than Nathan had been. Let's give Don something to really get a poke in the eye over.

“Where did all of that come from?” Ernst-Karl stared into the holo-cylinder of the Mini Colossus after the screen cleared once more. Where there had been maybe six folders in the current directory before the update, there were now nearly twenty. Each bore initials indicating they were more collections of image files like those previously displayed, but neither Ernst nor Jakob recognized who they might belong to. A cursory inspection of a few confirmed they were indeed pictures, and in some

My condolences James, and I do know what you're talking about, but from it being my oldest sister rather than a brother. I was the youngest of four and the only boy; my sisters were 6, 8 and 10 years older from my mom's first marriage, but I shared more with the oldest because we both liked art, reading and kept our minds active with interests in odd subjects like the lore of gems and mystical beliefs. She was an amazing artist and painter, but I could only draw and sketch, but she always encouraged me. Just as I was in middle school, she went South into the Marines, then stayed there until she died four years ago. We'd visit on vacations and she'd come up to visit for a couple weeks once her kids were grown and she had time. May not sound like much to others, but the bond was strong and distance didn't affect it. I miss her to this day.