ReaderPaul

This story has everything to recommend it. Suspense, surprises, self-smug administrator, scientific spacemen, stability-shifting strata, and more. Well worth reading.

Love it, @Myr. When will the next part come out? The more you add to the King's Rangers series, the more I love it. If you have more fragments laying around from this universe, please, PLEASE, consider posting them. Love the following phrasing: "They left it there. Later, when Toby took a small, permitted draw of the protective emotion that still underlay Justin’s attention, he felt Justin register the feeding clearly and choose not to interrupt it. The reciprocity made the exchange visible in both directions. Toby had never experienced that before. It changed the texture of the act even when the quantity remained small." Excellent paragraph. Actually, the entire chapter is very good, but that part struck me even more than the rest.

Wonderful, @Myr. If you decide to write an epilogue, Karen's trial could be a part of it.

I live in the United States Midwest, in an area where snow is not frequent. It boggles my mind that people cannot seem to understand that snow (and the sometimes ice storm) require different driving habits than dry pavement or regular rain on pavement. One Sunday a few years ago a sudden snowstorm arrived a few hours earlier than expected and I started home in in a car with a very light rear end, and rear-wheel drive. I came to an intersection and saw a 4-wheel drive vehicle on its side in the ditch -- because 4-wheel drive does NOT mean 4-wheel stop on snow which is mixed with sleet. Around the next curve another 4-wheel drive vehicle was also in the ditch on its side. Oh, where I live, there are many hills and curves, BTW (By The Way). My cautious driving got me home, a trip of about 5 miles (8 kilometers). But I saw many vehicles, not just those two 4-wheel drive vehicles, in the ditch or in wrecks. Lots of good stories in this week's wrap-up.

Kurtis has had enough problems already in his life that he may be slightly numbed or used to changes, more than the average teen.

Great chapter. I can only think of one story even slightly like this, from Isaac Asimov. It was titled "The Last Question." But I think this is even better.

@drpaladin and @sandrewn -- "morningtide" is a word meaning "morning time." "Dawntide" is a nonstandard word meaning time of dawn or dawning of tide(s).

Wow -- talk about action. Did Karen personally override safety protocols with the data? Is that why she is being such a [donkey's anal opening]?

Excellent and well worded. Very true.

@Myr, I hope that more of this story will be coming soon.

Wow! When there is poetry from such talents as @Headstall, @Parker Owens, @Mikiesboy, @D.K. Daniels, @Valkyrie and @Aditus, it is hard to go wrong.

@Sherye Story Reader -- and Sage -- I am loving this story!

God puns. The loose cent rolled under the couch.

Actually, P T Barnum didn't say "There's a sucker born every minute." It was said by David Hallam, one of Barnum's bankers, and somehow got credited to Barnum.

I am late to the comments, but something occurred to me. Specialists sometimes get trapped in their field, so to speak, thinking that THEIR specialty is most important, and doesn't need to be closely correlated to other specialties. It MIGHT be that the relevant data sets were not interpolated as closely as needed because of "expert elitism" or the tendency of people to think that THEIR field of expertise is the most important one. "Then the klaxon screamed." What a mental picture! Love it! What day do you plan to post the next chapter? Enquiring minds would like to know!

@drpaladin -- do you have a slight case of dyslexia, as I do?

I really enjoyed this, Chris. One very minor point about the following: "The corridor outside was pitch black, the emergency lighting strips having failed in the feedback loop they had engineered. Only the dim glow of the distant Orion Nebula filtering through the far observation ports provided light." If the light from the Orion Nebula was shining into the corridor, it was ALMOST pitch black. But the rest of the story more than makes up for this extremely minor glitch. Should you continue this, I would happily read the next episodes in the series. Well done indeed.

You have a great donkey? How about a picture? Or do you have a great dong-key?

My parents lived in Arizona and New Mexico for several years, and Mom learned to cook some really good Mexican food. This chapter reminded me of some of those good memories. Looking forward to more of these good chapters.

I would prefer permanent Daylight Savings Time.

I forgot to review this when I first read it. A great story. I don't want to say too much. The story speaks for itself.

I am getting that message on both Chrome and Edge.

I have run into several cases where the AI was wrong. It is not as often now, but it still happens.

Very good and very correct. And then there are the unfortunate persons who seem to not be able to comprehend humor. I feel sorry for those who cannot see the humor in the world about us.

Fascinating. We all search in our own ways. Just because not everyone comes up with the same answers doesn't mean we shouldn't search. I enjoyed this poem.