C James

But I almost never post anyway... Thanks Graeme! Have a safe and happy trip yourself! Hi Ieshwar, welcome back! I think Echidnas eat spiders... uhoh! I can't answer about Eric, except to ponder one possibility; what if the contents of the data stick are the details of a cloning experiment gone amiss, and Eric was the one cloned, there now being thousands of him?

Well, yes! Hrmmm, So are you telling me that residents of the area actually do breathe, even in summer? I have a very hard time believing that... Well, I suspect that the author is laying a trap for us here. A quick google turns up things like this; Turkey Creek Golf Club is located at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains 20 miles from Sacramento, California. The centerpiece of the course is the old granite quarry, now a lake, that comes into play on the third and 18th holes. There are other gold courses in California built around old guarries, and the thing that water to be in the bottom of some is the level of the water table, which isn't low all over soCal. A flooded quarry is possible, it's the beach that is a stretch. But, he even has an out there; if the quarry was in the side of a natural watercourse, if could indeed have a beach of sorts. HOWEVER, I do note something that sounds amiss in the last chapter... Oh yes, we are in serious danger here folks, for I hereby do declare the Dire Disastrous Demented Door-lock Disengagement Dillema! Yes indeed, in ch 23 we have this: feeling the satisfying pop of the door lock before hearing the mechanism give way. Would he indeed feel it before hearing it? This is quite a quandary! Technically, yes, he would feel it before hearing it, becuase sound travels much faster through a solid object than through air. However, would he perceive it that way, due to the relative slowness of the human nervous system? As an added puzzle, we have the backwards-masking effect, which is the brain's method of coping with the delays inherant in synaptic messages; you think you feel something the moment it occurs, but you don't. from the tips of the fingers there is about a half-second delay, and the brain "masks" this by literally altering your memory so that the touch is in sync with the visual memory. So, would Carlos feel the pop before hearing the noise, or would he thing he did, or would he hear it and then feel it?

I do remember that pool scene, plus I also remember Jacob lounging by the pool while phoning Valerie at work in a later chapter. However, there are shocking factual problems in LiS. The most glaring of which is that, many times, the characters are portrayed as breathing! Come on now, this is supposed to be southern California, the home of the smoggiest place on earth! Would they actually be breathing? Would that even be possible in Southern California? :snork:

I missed 13 until today, so I got to read both. I very much liked the lottery win; that would indeed squelch any skepticism from Brian's parents (And I still think they would have been more skeptical, but this is written in 1st person POV so maybe they were and Brian didn't know). I'm still very curious what Brian actually intends to do to fix the timeline. The "Cult of Personality" thing is intriguing. There are still some puzzles though; why would he have come back, erasing all the other timelines, including the one where Davey's father did so much good, merely becuase of a dirty bomb? A sizable nuke in a major city I could see, but a dirty bomb, no. But, maybe it was merely the triggering event, and the real issue was that terrorism was becoming a huge problem? The issue with Clinton was interesting. I applaud Dan for stating (accurately) that he was impeached. Far too many times I hear people (regardless of political persuasion) saying "almost impeached" and it makes me cringe. I also note with interest the way Brian spun his words. Saying "lied about a blow job" sounds so much different than "Perjury before a grand jury (committed by an officer of the court)" and "obstruction of justice" (Which incidentally are why Clinton lost his license to practice law). The fact is that Clinton was guilty of perjury, BUT, I happen to disagree with the law in that issue so I personally give him a "pass" on that; He was compelled to testify regarding Lewinsky only because he was under investigation for sexual harassment of someone else. Does that mean he should be asked about things like ongoing affairs? Maybe, but if so he,, and ANY accused person, deserves (but does not currently have) the right of privacy over the disclosed information if it is of a non-criminal nature. Been as it was bought up in the story, I have a hunch that it is significant to Brian's plan (hence my comments above).

ROFL!!!!!!!!!! I wish I could see it, but you need Flash on your system to play it, and I ripped out flash and disabled its install route a long time ago. However, I'll keep my eyes out and see if I can spot it on TV. Thanks!!!!!!!! A goat wearing a duck's face? That would just look strange, not normal, like, say, a goat wearing sunglasses. ROFL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That would be a bit of an image change, for sure! OK, I do have some news; I'm leaving for up to two weeks. I'll be leaving the evening of June 6th, heading for Wyoming to do some camping and hiking, deep in the wilderness. I'll have little if any chance to log onto the 'net. Therefor, the best thing I can think of it to adjust the posting schedule slightly; Ch 28 will be posted this Tuesday evening, and Ch 29 will be posted the day I leave (Wednesday of the following week). Due to it having to last y'all two weeks, it's a big one in a lot of ways; it contains a lot of info, and it's also more than twice the normal chapter size (it's over 11,000 words). All being well I'll be back in under two weeks, but this is the best I could think of doing. CJ

Happy 21st Birthday Matt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :king: :king: :king: :king: :king:

It is? Cool! (I didn't know, I almost never watch TV.) Does the goat by any chance wear sunglasses? BTW, The title of Ch 28 is "Data Stick Shuffle." Anyone care to guess what this one means? :-)

ROFL! Indeed that's true. I seriously think I need to go back through the older posts and bring up predictions that have come true. I know a certain Echindna has pegged it numerous times. Hrmmm, I'm wondering. Does a four-footed reader have an advantage when it comes to reading the mind of a four-footed author? Hi Conner! Fear not, for birthdays approach. ROFL! The ones with the Duck? They really ought to use a goat... CJ

What? Me? Fuzzy-thinking? Now, what was I saying.,. I forgot? OK, seriously, I liked the story, very well done. I especially liked the way you left the ending open so it could either be a short story, or the first chapter of a longer one. CJ

Yes indeed, I too really loved the way Carlos' attitude and feelings were conveyed by his behavior, that was artfully done. And Conner, I completely agree; We goats are unanimous; this was a cliffhanger!

It could cause some odd situations, that's for sure. LoL

Chris should have run for it. Thanks Conner! I tried to make it look like he was safe at the end of the last one. LoL. ROFL! That was indeed it, their plans unraveling as the phone rang. Plus, the mysteries themselves are unraveling; a lot of things come together in this chapter, more than is obvious. Poor Chris, he should really have run for it... But it was too late once she could recognize him I'm quoting this post of Ethan's for the last chapter; he pegged it with the running out of gas!

Awww, but that is what is on the data stick, really! Hi Jack! OK, In Ch 25, the Sheriff was heard to use the phrase "If blood wasn't thicker than water, I'd kill you myself." to Eric. In Ch 27, Betty makes note of it, and what it means (It is a claim that they are related.). Steve, however, has no knowledge of this. In Ch 28, we will find out why, and a whole lot more. I can't reply to Graeme's post, though, for fear of his anti-spoiler spines.

I don't know about that the "being fed lead" part; we don't know what Veronica and Betty are going to do yet. What State has a half-hour time change? Arizona has none at all. Yep, but the listing in the forum counts replies, so it read 1000 when Emoe made post #1001. Thanks Graeme! What? Me? Would I do something as sneaky as that? Okay, Okay, I'll spill the beans if you'll spare me your anti-spoiler spines... Here's whats on the Data Stick. Cliffhanger? But this was good news? Your questions are all good ones, and are answered soon. Hey, that's a good idea! It would lay the blame on California!! I like it!!!

What? Surely you aren't upset that I have exposed your black-hearted past? So, does this mean we need not worry further about, say, Motorcycles?

I think my photo of "Ben" is closer than yours, because Ben is described as having a developed chest, which your Ben does not appear to have.

I won't be posting the announcement until tomorrow but ... Chapter 27, Unraveling, is now up! :nuke:

Hi Emoe!! You made the 1000th reply! And I think the post counter on my account must be broken. Indisputable? But... But... But... I dispute that! As for any bombs, there either are, or aren't, and barring computer errors or internet outages, Ch 27, "Unraveling", will be posted in a few hours.

This is true; flashes are, by definition, brilliant. Good point though, had he not done that, Steve's Charger wold have been chopped up. A very fortuitous flash, that. But if we reduce the first percentage, that means some of my defense-of-Eric posts would have to go? ROFL! Well, I should hope you were kidding, as it was actually on topic until you posted! I feel I must remind you that I am the official forum lurker and resident hypocrite, so you can't be! Not at all! I'm merely trying to convince you that you don't actually exist. :ranger: BTW, This is the 1000th post in this thread. Thank you so much, everyone!!!!!!!!!

Remember, folks, he's evil, so "surprises" probably means bad, bad things...

Hey, No slave here! Though, you will be one as soon as Bondwriter (Frosty Hunter) and I catch you... I really, really liked the very clever misdirection at the end of the last chapter and the beginning of this one; I had no clue they were friends and joking around. That was very well done! I am still very much enjoying the traveler's eye view of Montreal, the little background details really give a good feel. Pictures, huh? Well, OK, I'll give this a try... Ben Steph Adrien (and the Author).

All I can say is that the real Blackheart, once you get past his veil of anonymity, makes Eric look like a saint. Hrmmmm... I'm unsure about this. I subscribe to the theory that Canada does not actually exist and is a media fabrication. Therefor Canadians, like Unicorns, are fictional. No fair posting my picture! Dessert, eh? Well, if you insist, I suppose that can be arranged, Eric sat down at the table, meeting the glances of all those assembled for the occasion; Chris and Steve, officer Jacobs (his leg wound almost completely healed,) the two sheriffs, Betty making pleasant chit-chat with Reverend Thadious, as his brother unveiled the candle-bedecked double-chocolate fudge cake, the perfect dessert after a wonderful celebratory meal, as Chris lead them all in singing "Happy Birthday". Well, this might look bad for Eric, but there are a few other things so far, Blackmail, Kidnapping, Endangerment, Torture, Illegal flight to avoid prosecution, Assault with a deadly weapon (the dart gun and overdosed tranq) Plus a very long list of "Conspiracy to commits" FTL is currently planned for 40 chapters, so should wrap up in August sometime. I hope. :-) He did confirm it; During the stake-out he was griping about how much he would normally sell that much Ketomine for, so he's definitely running a sales buisness. (see? I told ya he was industrious) Don't forget, the eric/piedmont claim is that The guys staged the whole stake-out to frame Eric, becuase they were actually running the porn site themselves. And that incident occurred in Piedmont County, so we will just have to trust in the Piedmont legal system to see that justice is done. ROFL! Indeed! The round-robin was "Collision," and excellent read! Chris does indeed show promise, though perhaps he needs some improvement in the "covert" department, such as learning not to take flash photos when trying to be covert.

I thought the match-making was sweet. I also loved the way Jer leveled with Zach. That worked great! And Cappuccino? Heavy-duty caffeine! LoL I loved the club scene, and Rebecca's planned visit could prove interesting, resulting in Jer's "outing" at school as an exotic dancer. Howdy Conner! I agree, I am waiting for the other shoe to drop...

I think it's great that he's trying to save a marriage. One of my favorite things about Bobby is his car; driving an old clunker just fits so well. I love it. Bobby's fast becoming one of my favorite characters. Loved the latest chapter, but I suspect that there is trouble afoot.