C James

The way I got myself into that situation is, basically, I was cheap! I was renting an aircraft from a rather shoddy FBO at my home field, and the oldest one was the cheapest. This was a very old Piper Cherokee. I was 19 and on my long cross-country solo (a requirement to get a liscence). I had about 30 hours total as pilot in command. This occured on the 4th of July that year, and I'd flown from Southern California up to central california, where I'd planned to refuel. Ooops, tbe FBO was closed, no fuel available. I did some calculations and figured I could make my next stop, a larger airfieild in the high desert. I made it, but I was nearly empty. It was a scorcher of a day; 115 degrees. I told the FBO to fill it to the tabs (a little less than full). They filled it right to the rims. Fuel being expensive, I didn't want to try training it out, and took the work of the FBO operator that it would be just fine. (Baaad idea). The other bad idea was the cheap old plane. They had been doing some rather poor maintanance. The tank seals (around the wing caps) have seals. It helps is they aren't corroded to nothing. It also helps if the rubber grommet seal where the wing root joins the fuselage actually present. They weren't. Avgas, even more than gasolone, expands when it gets hot. So, when you pumb gas from a cold ground tank and into hot wing tanks, it expands. However, it took a little while I guess. I took off, and started to climb. Fortunatly for me, the acitive runway was in the opposite direction from where I was heading, plus I had mountains in my path, so I climbed out, then did a climbing turn, back over the feild. (I was well above the traffic pattern). I continued to climb, slowly passing through ten thousand feet. once the feild was many miles behind me. Then I smelled gas. A glance at the wings (it was a low-wing aricraft, with the wing filler caps in top of each wing) did little to improve my disposition; both caps were spraying avgas like giant lawn sprinkler heads. I could also smell it, very strongly, in the cockpit. I opened the tiny window vent, which helped the breathing isue, but the gas was still spraying. I looked for the overflow tubes on the wing's trailing edge, and found one trailing some fuel (as it should be) and the other, nothing. I immediatly initiated a 360 degree turn towards the airport. At that point, I heard a rather loud bang from inside that wing. Then, that wind stopped spaying fuel. I assumed that I had a ruptured tank, inside the wing. I also had good reson to beelive that the fuel was flowing into the cockpit. The exhaust manifold was my immediate concern. It's under the engine cowling. I had these visions of the fuel trickling forward, and igniting in it. That meant I couldn't lower the nose. I was also worried about any electrical sparks. My first action was to kill the master electrical switch, which shut off everything except the engine. Given the risk of what I considered to be an imminent explosions, I also pulled the mixture all the way out. That shuts off fuel to the engine, shutting it down. So, with no radio, and no engine, at ten thousand feet over the desert, I reefed that old clunker around, hoping to make it back to the airport. I set up for best rate of glide, which in a cherokee sucks. I could have re-started the engine, assuming it would start, but I felt that risked blowing up. I didn't have a parachute, so jumping was not what I considered an optimal solution. I had a few other minor <cough!> concerns; the flaps on that plane were electric; I couldn't use them. Also, I beleived I had fuel in the fuselage, and it would be running down the main gear struts (fixed-gear aircraft) and into the brake assemblies. Therefor, I was coming in hot (Fast, due to no flaps), Deadstick (which means no engine) and no brakes. (That, incidentally, is when i thought of the landing at Edwards, which i used in Ch 38, but it was too far away.) I set up for a straight-in approach, hoping I'd make it. I was running out of sky pretty darn quick. I was coming in at an angle to the runway; I didn't have enough altitude to fly a real final approach. My plan was to turn as I paralleled the runway, right over the numbers. The only problem was, about ten seconds prior to landing, as i sailed over the airport perimeter fence, I realized I wasn't going to make it. I was also in what amounted to a flying bomb, and a bad landing would have been a fatal one. Parallel to the runway was a narrow taxiway. It was for small planes, so it was only about ten foot wide. It was my only chance, So, 30 feet above the ground at about 80 miles per hour, I banked and kicked rudder for the final course change (about 30 degrees) and lined up on the taxiway. I had just enough airspeed to roll out of the bank without stalling. That taxiway was far, far smaller than any runway I'd ever dealt with, plus lading without flaps is a little interesting in and of itself. . That turned out to be the smothest damn landing I ever made; couldn't even feel it. I was doing fine at that point, had the Taxiway run the full length of the runway. It didn't. It angled to the left, into a parking area. , and beyind that, into the airport resturmant. Due to having no brakes (I didn't want to risk using them) I took the turn, doing about 40mph, and rolled out in the aircraft tie-down area, almost stopping. I rolled a few feet fruther, coming to a halt about ten feet from the windows of the airport resturant. I think i got out of that cockpit in under a second, Lol. I'd been perfectly calm on the way down (being nervous would have done me little good) but as i walked away, and people came dashing out to meet me (Thy'd seen me land with a non-rotatian popeller, in the taxiway, so they knew somethign was amiss) that's when my knees suddenly betrayed me. Next thing I know I'm in a heap on that hot asphault, looking up, wondering what the hell happened. I figured that is was just nerves, but do do it in front of all those people? Damn, now that was embarrassing. I couldn't reach my instructor by phone, so I had a problem; what to do next. If I decleired an emergency, I'd have to wait for my instructor to come get me, and that would be expensive. I had a mechanic take a look; the bang wasn't from the fuel tank popping as I'd suspected; it had merely distorted from the pressure. I could therefor have probably used the brakes. The engine shut-down itself might also have been unnececary; I've received conflicting opinions on that, including from professionals. I'd lost only about 1/3 of my fuel, so after consulting with several pilots and the mechanic, I figured that the only thing really wrong was the bad seals on the wing caps. That's just a kind of gasket material, and in a pinch, even fabric will suffice. In other words, i made temporary gaskets out of my socks, fired up the plane, and continued on my way. Let me tell you, I kept a very close eye out for alternate landing points all the way back. LoL. Oh, and thanks to the shoddy maintenance that nearly got me killed, an unspoken deal was struck upon my return; I got free rental of that plane for the following year. (and to answer the question many of you are likely asking by now: OF COURSE I'm crazy! But yeah, i flew that plane many, many more times.) So, that's where Brandon's collapse came from, and the idea for Edwards AFB, too. And the no-flaps landing as well.

If I recall, it was Mike who said it would be ironic if the fighter pilot who tried to shoot them down ended up saving them? Well, Major Pierce did just that. His idea for landing at Edwards was about their only hope. Maybe Bonneville Salt Flats would have worked, but most dry lake beds wouldn't; they often aren't uniform enough. Oh, BTW, I'm curious.. Does anyone think Brandon's collapse seems odd? He was fine until he was safely out of the plane and on the ground, then his knees fail without warning. I'm hoping that part of the story doesn't seem too odd, becuase in fact, it's autobiographical. LoL One time, as a student pilot, in a small plane (not a jet, a low-wing single engine) I managed to end up at ten thousand feet, dead engine, dead electrical system, no flaps (they were electric) and no brakes. As an added benifit, I had loads of loose fuel in the cockpit and structure, so it was kind of a flying bomb. I dead-sticked the thing in to an airfieild about 50 miles from Edwards (Now you know where I got the Edwards idea from) and made the best, smoothest landing I've ever done (not easy, with no flaps). I had to- I was landing on a little taxiway, not a runway (I ran out of altitude, lol). I was totally fine when i climbed out of that plane. However, once I got about twenty feet away, my knees went out from under me and I collapsed on the asphalt like a sack of potatoes. LoL

Ahhem! Wildone! How manyh times do I have to tell you: Shadowgod and I are not the same person, so I cannot possibly be the devil! Well, wouldn't it have been cruel if I posted 38 and it didn't mention Instict's fate, but focused instead on other subplots? In other words, if I'd kept everyone hanging until 39? But, unlike you, I'm not cruel so I didn;t do that. ACk, this is so unfair.. I tired so hard to return you to your rightful place on the cliffhanging throne... and "May the best goat win" come on, that's a frame-up if ever there was one!

Ok... Nobody quite got it, but Wildone and Benji each mentioned parts of it. So, in honor of this, the correct answer to Mike's puzzle, and Jkeeling's birthday (Happy Birthday!) I'll post LTMP 38. (actually it's already up)

OK, a breif summary of the cliffhanger that needs to be resolved; The first problem is the four inbound missiles. However, even without those, they still have a few slight problems; two F-15's with Sidewinders boring in, ready to fire the second it looks like the Sparrows miss. (and the AiM 9 Sidewinder has a darn high success rate) or, the four f-16's ahead, armed with slammers (AMMRAMS, AIM 120's, the world's most effective air-to-air missle). And if they somehow get away from those, there remains the slight difficulty that their plane is crippled. That broken rudder cable makes landing exceedingly hard for a trained pilot, and their pilot is dead. There are also no parachutes aboard, and any kind of air-to-air transfer is unrealistic, confined to the realms of bad movies. So, that's the cliffhanger that needs resolving. It is resolved in 38. Of course, it might be the simplest resolution: the missiles hit, blowing them all to bits. But, it is resolved. BTW, bear in mind that I COULD have had 38 focus on some of the sub-plots, and not get to the issue of Instict at all. However, i didn;t: Unlike Shadowgod, I'm not cruel. Ahhh, Your Shadowyness! Good to see you, but I must say Im shocked and saddened that you haven't returned to your throne and thus give us the posting of LTMP 38? Oh, I do feel a need to mention that LTMP 37 is in part a homage to Shadowgod's immortal Living In Surreality Ch 26: LiS 26 is, truly, the Mother of All Cliffhangers. One of the ways LTMP 37 is a homage to LiS 26 is that the elipsis at the end was copy-and-pasted from LiS 26. I don't want to give any spoilers for LiS 26 here (If you haven't read Living in Surreality, it's complete and superb: it also won GA's Story of the YEar award.) However, LiS 26 is the ultimate cliffhanger, so of course I pay homage to it. and for this reason I also seek to return Shadowgod to his rightful place on his Cliffhanging throne, so he can once again survey his natural realm; the malevolent precipices of eeevil cliffhangers.

Ok, Mike, I'll see if I can answer your geese formation question... First, we need to look at the reason why geese fly in a V (as do many other migratory species). In general, they do it for efficiency; the following geese get a little bit of assistance from the wake turbulence of the ones before. The lead goose has to work harder, so they often rotate the lead, it's not always the same goose. That much I know, but, as for why the uneven V, all i can do is theorize, I don't know for certain. are we certain that they never fly in an even V? What I'm thinking is this; if there is no benifit to flying in an even V, why would they? As the birds joined up, the V would, per random chance, usually but not always be uneven. This might also occur when they are rotating the lead. Just a guess. Speaking of Geese, what do y'all think of Dimitri's goose plan? Think what you will of him, but Dimitri is clever. Its sadly all too common for investegators (for anything) to latch onto the first clue, form a theory, and dedicate themselves to it. This is atrocious procedure (and totally goes against proper investigative method) but I've seen it over and over, including in Aircraft crash investigations. I'd say Dimitri had good reason to think it likely that his goose stunt would work; a cursory investigation into a fatal crash (due to the authorities having much else on their minds) would make it a near certainty IMHO. If you recall, Dimitri brought down that Russian airliner early in the story, also making it look like an accident. In that case, a small explosive charge on a wing spar did the trick, with the plane coming down in deep water. And won't anyone join me in pressuring Shadowgod to resume his throne? Please?

I just wanted to add; if anyone gets it, I'll remove the post temporarily, replace it with one of mine saying who it was who got it, and post the chapter. I'll return the winning post, along with a spoiler alert, as soon as the chapter is actually oneline. Or, we could just do this the easy way; insist that Shadowgod reclaims his throne. He's really being very cruel to all of you, keeping you waiting like this when all he has to do is reclaim his throne to get the chapter posted... So, add the the outcry; call on Shadowgod to reclaim his cliffhanging throne! It's not as if he doesn't deserve it... Remember Living In Surreality, chapter 26? LiS 26 is truly the Mother of all Cliffhangers.

Ok, one clarification; I've never said they get out of the cliffhanger, only that it is resolved. One possible way for the cliffhanger to be resolved is; of the four missiles, three roar past Instict's jet within the radius of their proximity-fused warheads. The resulting explosions riddle the plane with a hail of shrappenl, shredding fuel tanks, engines, electronics, human bodies, etc. This also causes an explosion which renders the plane in to small pieces of burnt, shredded metal, leaving, of course, no survivors. That would resolve the cliffhanger, no? OK, hrmmm, what else can I say? There are some GREAT theories here. And somebody is warm.

I fully understand. I also know you had high hopes for Gunter. Sorry. Yes, I did. Good catch. I remember my thoughts and feelings on that day. I felt I needed to capture the shock, the surreal feeling of unreality, that is present on such a day. He had to do what he did, for Chase's safety, even at the cost of never seeing him again. I have to admit, that scene, and Eric's offer to stay plus his comment about burying a brother (Brandon), brought a tear to my eye when i was writing them.

Ummm, your Shadowyness, I find us in agreement. You have just offered 38 to anyone who DOUBTS my cliffhanging supremacy. Well, Here you have it folks: Shadowgod is campaigning to get his throne back!! (and no, i didn't edit anything here, and the only thing I changed in the quoted text was to bold the relevant bit). Well, Okay, I wouldn't call my kind offer to resolve the cliffhanger by posting 38 early blackmail, but, if you prefer to reclaim your throne by other means, you have my full support! I'd say this calls for a poll. Okay, now, I will say that it would be cruel to keep y'all waiting for resolution on this cliffhanger.. So, I'll propose a little game. The cliffhanger is indeed resolved, one way or another, in LTMP 38, Death Above and Death Below. The question is, how is it resolved? I'll be honest, I doubt anyone can figure it out. The facts needed to do so, however, are contained in the posted chapters. I'll say this; it's fully realistic. So, here's my offer. If anyone can figure it out, I'll post chapter 38 immediately. Or, we can just install Shadowgod back on his throne. Your choice. So, post your guesses here, and don't forget to include the how. Edit to add; more than one guess per person is fine. However, no one who has actually seen CJ 38 can win.

ACK!! Now, now, let's not be hasty! Y'all don't want to hurt sweet, innocent me, now do ya? Just return Shadowgod to his rightful place on his cliffhanging throne, and all will be resolved.

Perhaps he will need some persuasion? Come on, everyone, let your voices be heard, call on Shadowgod to resume his rightful throne!

ACK!!! But, but, but... I did offer to let Eric take Cody along? To keep Eric company? But nnnno, you wouldn't let that happen.

Peeks head cautiously into forum.... Please don't read anything I'm about to say as anything more than some points regarding what has already been posted. So far, no one (me included) has disclosed any actual info from Chapter 38 (we can't! The Echidna is back, and he of the anti-spoiler spines is honor-bound to make a pincushion out of anyone giving out spoilers). Sometimes, an editor or beta will also drop a few false "leaks", for fun. I've done this myself, such as my recent claims of a dizzying Cliffhanger in chapter 12 of Shadowgod's Dreams and Clipped Wings. The truth in that case is, I have no clue if there will be one or not. The chapter does not yet exist and as such I have no clue what it will contain. As for LTMP 38, The only real "leak" so far is that chapter 38 exists. This, I can confirm, is true... However, it is possible that it's short. "The End". Or, not. A y'all know, I'm a big fan of forshadowing. This situation with the plane was forshadowed from the start: Brandon's flying. Also, I almost never post lyrics in the text. When I've done so, they are always original (written by me) and there for a purpose. Remember the lyrics of the song Instinct sang at their final concert? This could play into the bit Benji quoted a few posts above, from the story description about Brandon's dreams. The mention of "Shot down in flames" could certainly also be rather appropriate. Standing at the edge? Well, um, yes, more on that lower down. The "dreams" part, and i do see the references to "Dallas", well.. let's just say, I never watched that show, but I heard about it, and I feel the whole "dreams" device is contrived and cliche. I also happen to utterly despise cliches. Also, which character has the title of the story? "Let the Music Play"? As we saw in Prometheus, that was the command Jerry gave to order the annihilation of Toowoomba and a huge chunk of Queensland. So, Jerry has the title. An antagonist winning? Is that possible? Hrmmm, anyone remember who, exactly, rde off into the sunset at the end of FTL with a suitcase full of cash? Ok, to calm everyone down, I suppose I could release the title of chapter 38? It's "Death Above and Death Below." Okay, now I've stirred up enough ominous points, I have a confession to make. Please sit down before reading further, becuase this will be a shocker.... LTMP 37, "Fire in the Sky", is a cliffhanger. And I wrote it. Shocked? You should be. I, who never use cliffhangers, have just admitted using one. I do this in spite of the fact I have created a perfect out: Shadowgod wrote the chapter ending. This is, in fact, true: He wrote the elipsis at the end of the chapter. I can prove this, becuase I took a screen cap when I copied it from one of his chapters and pasted it into the end of LTMP 37. But, I have decided that instead, I must confess to using a cliffhanger, and also explain why. The culprit is Shadowgod's cliffhanging throne. Back in January, I was voted in, so unjustly, as King of Evil Cliffhangers. As such, I became the unwilling occupant of Shadowgod's cliffhanging throne. In brief, it's making me dizzy. Is teeters on the crumbling edge of the malevolent precipices, and I, unlike Shadowgod, am afraid of heights. So, I have dizzy spells, and vertigo. This, combined with it's malevolent, evil influence, compelled me to, yes, I admit it, write a cliffhanger. The answer, I think, is clear. Shadowgod must be returned to his honored place, and re-occupy his cliffhanging throne. If this was to occur, I'd be so relieved, so overjoyed, at being freed from the dizzying heights his throne occupies that I would post LTMP 38 early (well before the weekend), and resolve the cliffhanger, once and for all. I hope Shadowgod, out of the goodness of his heart, will reclaim his throne. If not, perhaps y'all could, you know, persuade him a little? An outcry for him to do so might just do the trick. If not, I'm sure we can devise other means of, ahem, persuasion. CJ

I've only got a few seconds here, but I had to respond to one point; Don't worry, no one is giving away any inside info on the next chapter, Honest. What we are seeing here is something I do too; when I want to comment in a thread but I've seen the next chapter, I recall my impressions when I read it. That way I can speculate, etc, and join in. Thanks!! CJ

I've only got a few minutes before I have to run, so this has to be quick, but I wanted to address a couple of points. The missiles... They have lock; they had it at launch. It's also far, far easier to hit a lumbering jet than a maneuvering fighter, plus there are four missiles. Also, per the text, they cannot be destructed in flight; there are no range-safety packages on warshots (and these are warshots). I always laugh when I see scenes in the movies where a missile or torpedo is detonated just before it hits; that's just not possible. (for many reasons, but the main one being; the Enemy might find out how to do it, too). The title, "Fire in the Sky", comes from the line, "The four missiles, arrayed across the sky, death incarnate riding on columns of fire, " The missiles are the Fire in the Sky. Enjoy! CJ

Thanks!! And you're very much correct; military gear has to be hardened and that inclues isolation switches, etc. Fire in the Sky will be posted soon. (an hour ago is soon, right?) I just haven't announced it yet. It's a large chapter, larger than 36, twice normal size. Yes, no, and maybe. The area of metal that's part of the circuit (the vehicle body in this case) is large enough to cause major trouble. So, the best answer I can give is a guess; the vehicle being off would make it more resistant to EMP, but a strong EMP might still do damage. I'm guessing here, but I think the ground circuit from the electronics would conduct part of the received pulse.

Tim, I was about your age when my father died. That, too, was at the end of a long illness. There's not much I can say, other than it hurts but it slowly gets better. Try and remember the good times. It's been over ten years for me. It still hurts, though time has made it easier. Stay strong, my friend. CJ

Welcome, Lurker!! Thank you for raising an excellent point! I did indeed consider EMP, but EMP effects are mainly caused by gamma and x-ray radiation causing a free-electron cascade. The optimal location for this is at very high altitude (over 10 miles but under 170) At that altitude, you can have massive EMP effects for enormous areas (over a thousand miles across) Wikipedia has an article on it here that is mostly accurate. Generally speaking, EMP affects electronics in direct proportion to the exposure surface area. However, you can shiled electronics quite easily; placing them in a metal box (assuming the box is insulated from its contents) is one way (assuming they have no external components such as power leads or antena). Even foil would suffice. For something the size of a cell phone, the receiving area is so small that it would likly be unharmed even by a edge-of-space massive EMP. The Land Rover's electronic ignition would be more vulnerable, but at twenty miles from a one hundred killoton ground burst, my guess is it would be unaffected. The EMP at that range would be real, but quite weak (from a ground burst). If the detonation had occured in the stratosphere of higher, you are quite right, the EMP damage would have been over an enormous area. And thank you very much for joining us, and this is certainly not intrusion, but rather a point I'm delighted to see. (and the same would be true if I'd made a technical goof; that's how i learn. I originally had them at 30 miles, but after mulling it over decided that twenty would be safe enough. Yep. The blast wave would diminish with distance, massively. It could knock down a building at a mile, but not even break a window at 5 miles. We'll see what the effects are at twenty miles. The biggest danger (not counting fallout) at that distance would be being blinded by the flash if they were looking directly at it. That's why they turned around. The personel who have been affected would have either been far closer, or would have been affected by fallout rather than the blast itself. The fallout issue is why Dimitri checked the weather for wind direction. For the sake of simplicity I omitted the fact that he'd also be wise to check high-altitude winds (which are often different in direction from surface ones) but he did check the winds and basically the wind is to the north, and they are to the south. To give an idea of the safe distances, many of the observers at the Bikini and Nevada test sites observed tests from five miles away. Most of the resulting health damage came from the fallout, not the blast itself. Another example is the Castle Bravo test. Some observers, out in the open, were less than 25 miles from it. The test (the first test of a solid-furled (Lithium-deuteride) thermonuclear, was expected to yield around four megatons. However, due to an oversight on the calculations (A reaction was missed) the yield was 15 megatons. The fireball alone was four miles wide, but it was survivable at 25 miles, *IF* you weren't in the fallout. (and even for most of those that were). To give an idea of the size difference here, the device in LTMP is 102 Kilotons, and Castle Bravo was 15 megatons (15,000 kilotons, a megaton is 1000 kilotons). CJ

The problem is that the info is out there. It's part of nature (physics) and after that, it's all engineering. It's far from complicated to build a 15 kiloton nuke; the Hiroshima design, for example, was so sure-fire (gun-assembly of U-238) that it was never tested. (the Trinity test was an implosion device, not gun-assembly). And this was before they had the knowledge that we have today. I wouldn't say anyone could do it. Actually, yes, with Uranium, a decent machinist could. I probably could, given a decent metalworking shop and a gunsmith's shop. It wouldn't need kryton switches of advanced electronics, or even an exacting design tolerance. Plutonium? Nope, i couldn't. I don't have the math skills to calculate, say, the shape and congiguration of the explosive lenses, or a plethora of other things. You would need, at a minimum, millions of dollars worth of specilaized equipment. Could it be done as The Scar did it? In my opinion, yes (otherwise I wouldn't have used that method). But it took his special access to components and equipment (he's an arms dealer, which helped). But, yes, *IF* someone has weapons-grade fissionable materiel, making a nuke is not hard to do. It's also why the fissionable material itself is such an issue. Once someone has that, they can make nukes. Also, the cobalt salting I portray, which vastly increases the fallout (by a factor in excess of 100) is very real. Leo Silzard one calculated that 60 such bombs coudl render the surface of the earth uninhabitable for in excess of twenty years. That's true, sort of; they would have to be aerial detonations, and would have to take place at numerous locations on both sides of the equator due to varying wind patterns. But, given a rudumentray delivery system (no accuracy required) and a string of them fired in a line streaching a thousand miles each side of the equator, and that oughta do it. And you can do this with small, crude nuclear weapons. It's insanely easy; for a simple fission warhead you use cobalt metal (Anyone can buy it) as the tamper. For a multi-stage weapon (thermonculear; an H-bomb) you sinply encase the bomb in it. Also, due to the massive neuton cascade from the third stage of a thermonuclear, you don;t need as many bombs; I'd guess 15 would do it, but 20 surely would. The information is freely out there. The hard part is obtaining the uranium or plutonium. The rest is just engineering. Very scary. CJ

Thanks! I very much (largely through necessity... I don't have the mathematical skills) avoided actual engineering specs for the bombs; no numbers, no diagrams, no actual designs. All I portrayed was a concept, not a detailed design. Also, when books like Rhode's "Dark Sun" (an excelent book on the early hydrogen bomb project) are about, it makes what I did look quite trivial. For anyone who shares my interest in nuclear engineering, I most highly recommend that book. It makes the math understandable, as well as the design concepts, as it recounts the history of the nuclear program (including some interesting failures). So, if they NSA is interested in my for this, LoL, they need to go take a peek in the bookstore or on the internet sometime. She found out what he did for a living. Joe discovered the body before The Scar could get rid of it. Is it any wonder that Joe was one messed-up kid? That could be! BTW, what did y'all think of Jerry's fax? It showed that those who predicted an auction were partially right, and also so were those who predicted blackmail. Incidentally, his demands might sound outlandish but they're not. He literally could cause more in economic damage than he's asking for by merely informing the press of nukes in the cities. Anyone figured out by what he intends by ?

The physics, to the best of my knowledge and ability, is accurate EXCEPT in the inner core configuration; it would be a little harder than I described to achieve a cylindrical implosion from a spherical implosion; forming the shock-front is complex and requires varying densities of material. I glossed that over mainly becuase the description of the construct would have taken about a page. (To anyone who thinks the tech was long-winded as it was, bear in mind that I could have easily stretched that page to about 5 chapters, easily. ) I made similar short-cuts regarding the neutron source, and in past chapters I really cut down on the detail of the fabrication process. (Trust me, it could have been a book in an of itself, easily). Oh, one other aspect; using litheum hydride as a fusion neutron source. That's highly appreviated. To do it the lithium hydride (it would be far more normal to use lithium deuteride, biut that is made in reactors and The Scar would not likly have access to any) ) requires special treatment. Used in the way I portray, I'm not positive it would work. I also freely admit I took a guess at the efficacy of the fusion-boosting; I've long forgotten how to do that kind of math so all I could do was guess. I know I'm in the ballpark, but that's it. I picked a factor of three becuase I figured 4 for the top end and 2 at a minimum. Fusion neutrons are ideal for feeding a fission reaction due to their higher energy (+11 MeV, or 11 million electron-volts). Also, i tried to keep all the math out, as that would have given lots of people headaches. It sure gave me one when i came up with the design. I had to do my own theoretical design; the Plutonium being sub-weapons-grade made it essential; I couldn't do a simple spherical implosion as the PU-240 would give it about a 50-50 chance of preignition (resulting in a subkilaton yield. This is likely what went wrong with the nuke the North Koreans tried to test). So, I have to come up with a different design. There isn't enough posted detail in mine for anyone to actually make use of it, and there are errors and ommisions. Consider this a minor spoiler (The echidna is away, so the goat will play! ) or a very large hint; there is a specific reason for everything there to be there. For example, the thermocouples for an battery-charging source; they had to be there to give the bombs a ten-year shelf-life. Now we know why; they were designed for nuclear blackmail, long-term. There is also a reason for the reader to understand the way in which a nuke detonates, but that's for the future. Ahh, but there was no cliffhanger here!! The bomb detonated, we know it, so no cliffie! Actually, one of the reasons this chapter is longer than normal was so the entire scene could be included. Originally, I had the chapter break halfway through the detonation (ending 36 with the fluorescent tubes flashing), which would have been a bit of a cliffie. So, I avoided one! I do the same thing with Chapter 37: It's even longer than 36, in part to avoid any cliffie. It actually took very little research to plan the chapter; I'm familiar with nuclear weapons design. I did need to confirm a few things, but interestingly (and scarily) all the info is freely available. Yes, Jerry, I'm afraid, may have sullied his image as a father by including his son in the target list for the hit. I'm not certain, but I think taking out a hit on your kid is a potential disqualifier for the father of the year award?? Lol, who said anything about aroused? To give you an idea on how I view repeated sex scenes, think what LTMP would have been like if I had, say, a dozen nukes, all with very similar but slightly different designs, and then had a technical description of one in every chapter. LoL. I once saw a story where the author had, quite literally, written two sex scenes, and then pasted them into his story, alternating them, page after page, dozens of times each. No variation, identical right down to the typos. Good point. I do include the "animation" as I describe the actual effects of the bomb once its energy starts to release. I blew it in describing the scene between Joe and Phil. I meant to have the resolution to that come in later but it didn't work out. I should have added a sentence. I meant to make it obvious that The Scar killer her (via garroting, which seems to be one of his favored methods.). The Scar's "Let The Music Play" is the reason for the title of the story. I did say in the last chapter thread that we'd learn the reason for the title, and it wouldn't be what anyone thinks. Did anyone ever guess that the title was The Scar's? The Scar sure likes his theatrics. And me? a nucleomituphiliac? Awww, sweet, innocent me? OK, in Prometheus, I tried to bring it all together; Jerry's mysterious letter (the details of his plan). Also, Vladimer's fate, along with the rest of the crew. I've been forshadowing and hinting at that all along; Vladimer did ask to see the detonation, and both Dimitri and The Scar adore Irony. That's also why Dimitri made a few remarks such as Vladimer having a bright future (very bright, due to being as hot as the surface of the sun). Mario now has his final go ahead for the hit, so no more waiting for that. Also, someone (I forgot who, sorry.) thought is incongruous that Adam Weston's body would be stashed inside a spare steel case and just stuck in the back of a storage shed at the towoomba facility. I couldn't say why, then, but now we know; Jerry and Dimitri knew the place would cease to exist in a few weeks. Prometheus also begins the final sequence of the story. It's closing in on the end. The next chapter, 37, is called "Fire in the Sky."

Kind of gives a whole new meaning to "making the earth move", no?

I'm short on time so I have to make this quick.. I'll return with more later on the other points (thanks everyone!!) but I wanted to weigh in on the technical stuff at the end of the chapter. I knew when i started that reactions would be mixed. Some people, like me, utterly love a detailed technical description. Some don't. Both points are very valid IMHO. In the end, several factors weighed int my decision not to trim much of it; The first was that I knew some would enjoy it. The second was that (minor spoiler here) there is a need, later on in the story, for the reader to understand how a nuclear warhead works. (however, fear not, no more technical descriptions of same. ) The final and biggest factor in my decision is this: How is the technical stuff any different from a sex scene? Plenty of stories have sex scenes, yet the same criteria apply; some readers don't like them. I happen to be one of them. When I encounter one, I usually just skip over it. I made this chapter so much larger than normal for that reason; so, just like a sex scene (and this was no longer than many sex scenes I've seen) the reader can skip it if they wish, and yet it can still be here for those who like it. CJ

Something tells me I WILL have the last laugh here. *starts humming the theme from an 80's movie* Ack! How could you possibly have the last laugh? Hmmm, I sense Evil afoot... But then again, you are evil, aren't you?? And, one might ask, what is the name of the movie?? notice how you convieniently didn't respond to the no light = no shadows ?? Thats okay, I,and everyone else, did. Ahhh, but no light=everthing in shadows, as a shadow is merely the absence of light. Hrmmm to me this appears to be taken out of Context. what same fate? and was the info contained in the parenthesis there or did you add that diddy?? I only added the bolding for shadows.. The original page is here. And interesting, another little connection: "It was believed that Apep waited at Bakhu - the mountain of the horizon" Hmmm, and what do we find on mountains? Why, CLIFFS, of course. I never said he wasn't. Just imagine the scene though, they are all gathered around the airport, waiting to fly off to Telluride. Eric comes to the conclusion about what really matters in life and says "Uh guys, I gotta go!" and runs off to the ticket counter to buy a ticket to where he wans to be Cut to DnCW, Eric is next in line in the begalry. Stacey asks what he'll have.... "Cody" Hrmmm. But, Eric and the band have work to do. I could always write it the other way, Cody showing up to tag along to Telluride? lets see, there are only two real options you, or Jerry. seeing as I am of the firm belief that these two identities are the same... Lets just go with YOU!!! Now, now, Your Shadowyness, you know full well that Jerry is only partially based on me! Just a few things, key amongst them a shared love of Irony. Also a shared love of travel, and a tendency to get stressed out when a plan is coming apart. Also, a shared interest in weaponry of all forms... and, hmmm, a shared interest in history (remember Jerry in Rome?) but that's all! So And shame on you for saying such mean things about me!