C James

That never occurred to me, but you are right, it could easily have been leading up to that... I recall in DOR when David and Davey got together, David was (purely coincidentally, I'm sure) wearing just baseball pants.

That's who I was thinking of, and I also recall that he died during the initial sniper attack on the hilltop, where Brian was shot. I just have a nagging feeling that I'm missing something else here... Did he have some connection to Davey or Modesto in the earlier timelines? I think I need to re-read the series again...

Well, I sent mine, and am probably wrong... I do hope, though, that at some point you tell us who it is? BTW, for a while I thought, due to the Vampire Jarrod comment, that it was Jarrod who was making a cameo... My response to that was "Too bad he didn't get to meet Connor's Mom.".

I'm so very glad the two of you said those things! It makes it so much easier to know that I have support for the suggestion I'm about to make... Little Buddha, why is there (as yet) no Goat in SOOTB???

I had that feeling, too. I suspect, though, that some major trouble will occur soon. I really loved the conversation between Davey and Brian, especially Brian's conversation with Davey's father! This should prove very interesting... As will Davey's new career dilemma.

I would have to speculate that the speculation regarding the level of speculation is purely speculative.

Well, let's just say that I didn't start calling him Little Beelzebub Taiwan for nothing. Centaur, I think it's only fair to warn you that agreeing with me has proven to be a darn good way to be wrong.

This chapter was a mind-twister! (but I mean that in a good way!) It started out so "normal", but soon it became apparent that Davey was at.. Er, I better use a spoiler space for this (just highlight the black area to view). I'll come back to the thread later, as this was a very complex chapter with a lot to discuss. However, one question is bugging me: Why did Davey make the comment about the name of the Restaurant (Ridgeway's)? I think I need to do some re-reading of the series, as this one went past me. I recall a friend he lived with in Eureka (Kevin) whom I think had the last name of Ridgeway, who died, or could it be that Brian was shot on a hilltop (ridge) in Eureka?

Sparrow, the offensive bits were mainly mine, so I just wanted to clarify my statements a bit, as I was unclear and off-topic, at least. My original comment about Bush possibly using strategic nuclear weapons was part of speculation regarding what might have happened had flight 93 hit the Capitol building (where his wife was attending a meeting at the time). I was merely speculating that, like any man whose partner had just been murdered, Bush might have lashed out in anger. I was trying to highlight the fact that the heroes of flight 93 might have saved far more than any of us realize. As for nuclear weapon use in the middle east, let me clarify: I wasn't advocating strategic nuclear wepons against population centers. However, I did (and do) support tactical nuclear strikes against terrorist centers such as training camps. I was in favor of this due to the fact that nuclear weapons are mainly political in nature: their use would have signaled, clearly and unequivicably, that America would stop at nothing. As for Islam, I don't by any means condemn all Muslims. I do however believe that the problem is far from confined to the Whahhabist sect (which is Sunni). The Shia have their own radical factions, such as the mullahs in power in Iran, and there are many other radical sects in both Shia and Sunni Islam. Regarding my feelings toward Islam: My comments were that everyone should read the Koran and Haddiths and make up their own mind. I ought to have added Sharia (Islamic) law to that, but I stand by my original comments: I urge everyone to read these texts, and make up their own minds. For what it's worth, I have an approximately equal disdain for Christian "fundamentalism", and often compare the two (especially their reprehensible treatment of women). OK, I'm rambling again here, so I'll cut to the chase: I stand my my thoughts and comments, BUT, I was WAY out of line to make them here. This area is a personal blog, so the Blogger (Myr in this case) has far more leeway in what they can say than visitors such as myself do. It's the same as being a guest in someones home: They have far more leeway than I, the visitor, do. So, in my own opinion, I put my foot in it by taking this conversation off-topic (flight 93 movie) and by over-stepping the bounds. In brief, I was wrong, and I should have abstained from making this political. I hereby apologize to Myr for, in effect, making a bad scene in his living room, and to anyone I offended by doing so.

That is a very good point... I've been wondering about that, myself. I suspect that Milo, despite his father being rich, isn't a "rich kid", at all, for whatever reason. It's well to bear in mind that Dom has, after all, written from the point of view of a dog (Valentine's day goes to the dogs). Uhoh....

Great chapter! I really liked it! Everything seems to be looking up for Connor... So, why do I suspect that the sky is about to fall?

Unfortunately, it seems to be the case that the more advanced a technological society is, the more fragile it becomes. Take a look at the societal breakdown that occurred in New Orleans after the hurricane: granted it was exaggerated in the press, but society certainly proved fragile, soon descending to the law of the gun in some areas. US society is indeed fuel-dependant, far more than most. Unfortunately, that means that a major disruption in the fuel supply would likely cause a breakdown in society. In my opinion, Dan's scenario in DOT (with the exception of "control") is not far-fetched at all. Incidentally, for a look at the dynamics of past societies due to resource depletion (mainly due to overpopulation) plus some contemporary examples (such as Rwanda) I highly recommend the book "Collapse" by Dimond. It's not fictional, and contains some good research and insights. Just my two cent's worth... Hmmmmm... That was written on Friday, and it's now late Saturday, and other chapters of other stories have been posted today. Are you sure the e-mail got through?

Hmmmmm! I think you have a good point there... I can't recall any mention of the internet, or e-mail, either. That is interesting... However, cell phones are mentioned, and those are fairly recent for high school students. Also, the social attitudes displayed regarding gays seem to be contemporary, or at least within 10 years. Just IMHO.

Journeyman, that is the funniest thing I've seen in a long time! Thanks for a great mood lifter and a good chuckle!!

Ahhh! Well, yes, I did use a poor choice of words there, didn't I? Dan may keep his characters very consistent, but many of them certainly aren't straight. I for one am certainly glad of this! IMHO, gay fiction just wouldn't be the same if every character was straight...

I wonder if that's a coincidence, or a relative? That was in Eureka, IIRC, so not the same town or state.. Hmmmm... Could be a coincidence, as I just checked in my local phone book (for a town not much bigger then Eureka) and there are four Darnells listed, so I'm guessing it's a common name. BTW, good catch! I usually miss details like that. As for character names and information, I really can't comprehend how Dan does it. This story is incredibly complex due to the timelines, and has a lot of minor characters, and I can't figure out how Dan keeps them all straight.

My own take on Connor's reaction was that he wasn't conscious for some of it, so was spared some of the trauma. The self-hate is, sadly, not far-fetched in the least, and is probably a common reaction. As you say, everyone is different, and thus will react quite differently. Thanks for bringing up the issue. It's one that's all too easy to shy away from.

I second the motion above! Dan's sequels keep getting better and better. Hmmmm.. I have a modest proposal that should make (nearly) everyone happy... Perhaps Dan would write (and thus post chapters) more often, if he had some recreation? So, my suggestion is, we find a way for Dan to do some nice, relaxing, recreational Little Buddha shooting. Hey, everybody needs a hobby, right?

Regarding the proposed WTC abomination, I really can't call it "multicultural BS" as I feel that is far too charitable. I call it Treason and disrespect for the dead (plus a whole slew of four-letter words). I can't even think of it without becoming enraged. I can't accuse all Liberals for thinking that, way, though, as I know many who don't. Unfortunately, though, those that don't are usually complicit by their silence regarding those that do. But Myr, it really is the religion of peace: Death is peaceful, isn't it? Or, it's actually the religion of piece, as in "chop the infidels into pieces..." Seriously, I encourage everyone, whatever their opinion on the matter, to sit down and actually read the Koran and Hadiths, and see for yourselves what they actually contain. Pay special attention to the parts of the Hadiths that show the Prophet Mohamed behaving in a holy manner, such as raping a 9 year old girl (which he did) or marrying a six year old! There is the treatment of women as chattel, and a host of other abominations. I can't say this strongly enough: everyone, especially those who believe the whole "religion of peace" line, need to read the Koran and Haddiths! I've been hearing some Americans claim that Bin Laden and Al Queda only want "to be left alone". For anyone who thinks that, please, please read Bin Laden's Letter to America where he lists his demands. One of which is that America become an Islamic nation! I might not fully agree with Myr regarding Turkey, as I feel that Turkey has behaved far more honorably than many of our erstwhile allies (Take a look at the book "Treachery" by Bill Gertz for disgusting examples), but I do agree regarding the majority of the Islamic world. When I mentioned the nuclear war on 9-11 scenario, my only regret about it occurring would have been if it had caused a Russian attack on the US. I agree with the above, but I don't tend to trust college professors to teach an unbiased class (too many members of the loony left in that profession IMHO) so I strongly encourage everyone to read for themselves the Koran and Haddiths and see for themselves what we are facing. History, though, is something that IMHO both Republicans and Democrats could do with studying. The Republicans in Congress seem hell-bent on repeating the pork-barrel big spending and fiscal irresponsibility that the Democrats were long notorious for, and which caused the Democrats to lose control of the House and Senate. On foreign policy, I feel that Islam is less of a threat (slightly) than China. Yet, both parties seem hell-bent on building up China's economy via trade and economic relations. That has two results: one is to give China the high-tech economy to build a modern military and become even more of a threat, while at the same time causing resource shortages such as we see every day at the gas pumps (high prices). China, due to it's enormous population, also has the capacity to surpass the US economically: If that even comes close to happening, they will become the dominant military power on Earth. There also seems to be a dangerous (and perhaps fatal) misconception that economic trade fosters friendship and prevents war. Unfortunately, the opposite is usually the case. Take a look at economic data for August of 1939: Germany's largest trading partner was France, followed by the UK. On Dec 6th, 1941, Japan's largest trading partner was the USA.

Unfortunately, there are way too many people that think that. As for the movie, it was based completely on the flight recordings they could recover and the calls. Many of the flight controllers, and the FAA guys were the ones that were actually on duty. They weren't actors. It is something classically American. They knew they were going to die. They were determined not to let the terrorists kill anyone else in another building. They improvised a plan and went with it. It almost saved them. It is a hard movie to watch. It brought back all the rage I felt that warm September morning. Have you been following the debate over the flight 93 monument? Some utter lunatic (and I'm being charitable) who submitted a design, and equally insane government administrators who approved it, were going to build it in the form of a crescent (symbol of Islam)! That IMHO makes about as much sense, and shows as much respect for the heroes of 93, as building a holocaust memorial in the form of a swastika! ARGH! Thankfully, protests from the families and others caused some rethinking, but the mere fact that it almost happened disgusts me. Sorry for the rant (I'll understand if it's deleted due to being too political) but things like that really, really piss me off. I hope the movie is popular, as it's one heck of an important message, and those passengers who fought, and gave their lives to save strangers, should never be forgotten. Incidentally, they just might have saved far more than a thousand or so innocent people on the ground. If that plane was indeed targeted on Capitol hill, it probably would have hit it's target. Laura Bush was in the building at that time, meeting with several members of congress. What would the President's reaction have been, had his wife been among the dead? Could any man be expected to think rationally under such circumstances? But in this case, this man has nuclear launch authority. Sure, there is a two-man rule requiring verification of a launch order, BUT, that rule does not apply if the US is under attack (and 9-11, especially the attack on the Pentagon, would easily qualify). The problem is what the Russians would have done upon seeing a US launch. The flight paths for targets in Afghanistan or in the Middle East would have passed over Russia, had we decided to use ICBM's instead of Submarine Launched SLBM's (flight path for those would vary depending on launch point). With SLBM's, the initial trajectory might also have looked like it was heading for Russia, especially during boost phase. They also knew we were ramping up the DEFCON status, which did make them very nervous. Given the extremely degraded state of Russian early warning and launch detection/tracking capability, they could very easily have assumed that they were the target of our attack. They also still have a large supply of ICBM's on alert, and have come close to launching based upon far lesser threats. So, IMHO, the heroes of flight 93 might possibly have saved millions of lives, in addition to those on the ground whom they surely did save.

ERK!! Ahhh, well, this is the internet, so I can't admit I was wrong, soooo..... OK, It's like this: I live in a very remote area, and we are behind in a lot of ways, including the calander... Or, hmmmm, how about this: It's all dkstories's fault! He writes about time travel, so reading it naturally causes temporal confusion.... That's a very good point... But, poor Jeremy! He got AIDS via a blood transfusion, and his family kicked him out, and now this! The question as I see it is: is Dan really cruel enough to kill him? Hmmmm... This is the same Dan who killed off Brian... Three times! Uhoh... Jeremy's a goner... (sorry, couldn't resist ) I fully agree with your original point that for fiction to be realistic, there has to be both the good and the bad. I still hope Jeremy makes it though.

That's a very good point. The above is from Dan's blog, and answers the AZT question... I have a hunch, though, that we will be seeing more of Davey interacting with Doctor Grayson (from DO) as he's already been mentioned in DIR. Just a hunch, but I don't see Davey and Sean sitting on the sidelines doing nothing (on the medical side). Even if so, that does not contradict Xandra's above speculation, as even with today's (2005) treatments, all too many still die from AIDS.

Well, I suppose one could argue that shooting you with a tranq gun is at least a little improvement from his previous threats to fly to Taiwan to torture your cats, then hunt you down... I loved this chapter! Spoilers below, just highlight the text to see. As for Jeremy... I wonder more and more why he's not on AZT? Is that part of the plot? As I recall, Davey's nudging resulted in AZT being in use by this timeframe, in previous timelines. Also, as someone mentioned, AZT was already around, just not used for aids, well before that time. I've got two guesses here.. One is that Dan either didn't know or chose not to use the fact that AZT existed at that time (Dan can't be expected to know everything about everything) OR, the issue will be addressed in some future chapter.

Kyle's father is an enigma to me at this point... He does seem overly strict, but not too bad, yet. The homophobia will be a major issue, though... As for Kyle minding Cameron being gay... Hmmmm... Just a hunch on my part, but I suspect he might not mind at all... Might be very happy about it, actually....

I don't usually bait them unless they start preaching at me. However, once they do, I consider that licence to have some fun... ROFL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That indeed would be an ideal energy source.. Plus, if it worked, congress could actually solve the energy crisis, by becoming our #1 source of power...