ReaderPaul

I like the list of related words given in this.

@Bill W, @drpaladin, @sandrewn, and @Myr -- I am surprised not one of you have brought up the related term -- recapacitate -- meaning to restore capability. Also no one has mentioned decapacitate -- reducing the capability of someone or something. There might be other related forms I am not familiar with.

Online double hernia surgery would be worse -- probably.

The person who carries the nuclear football for the President is also dead. So another question becomes -- where is the football? And who in addition to the President has to authorize the nuclear codes? The Speaker of the House is a Congressperson also. Obviously the California guy is NOT the Speaker, or the question would not come up. At one time it was proposed to add the Governors of the 50 States be added to the succession list, in the order of their statehood -- or, for the first 13 Colonies, the order in which they ratified the Constitution. However, that has never been OFFICIALLY approved. Such would deepen the Presidential pool of choices. That is a close to political as I will get. It is history that the Governor Succession act has not been passed.

Sometimes GA needs a more neutral emoticon, such as an easily accessible "Hmmmmm" icon. Marie-Louise did act in a way not as common for her. Kudos for that. Lorenzo/Larry can prosper with the others at the hotel. The way Marie-Louise reacted to Lorenzo/Larry makes me wonder if ML had younger siblings at home which she sometimes had to care for.

I suspect the Basalt Corporation is -- at least partly -- being manipulated by someone or some group.

Jesse and Marty continue to explore their relationship, and Jesse has a lot of internal analysis of how he feels about another guy. Some of this analysis is sparked by Marty's older sister Parker, but most comes from his own thoughts. Add in new experiences and situations, this story has more to think about that is immediately apparent. Good story.

Not every kid falls in the "normal" ranges of capacities, sensitivities, or way of comprehension. Marty and Jesse learn more about types of persons in the world and possible ways of reacting and acting in different situations. For more details, see the excellent review by @raven1 above. I recommend this story.

@Paladin -- I have heard the term "grey nomads" or "gray nomads" -- applied to persons who live full time in a motorhome or an RV (Recreational Vehicle) or Fifth Wheel (a large camper with many or all features of a motorhome or RV, but pulled (usually) by a high-capability pickup and/or truck. More commonly here in the US Midwest we call them RVers. Some other RVers are not full-time, but have a home they use part of the time. A few years ago, a couple moved next door to me who had been full-time RVers but got tired of the road all the time. They told me they had maintained a Post Office box in the state of South Dakota for stuff which required a legal post office address. Most full-time RVers I have met tend to be be very nice folks, retired from jobs, somewhat more relaxed than average, and resourceful -- and have more than average income.

Dr. Kenneth Allen sounds like the proverbial stuffed-shirt, the self-righteous-prig, the prime example of thinks-he-knows-it-all, the I'm-better-than-you-and-I-show-it, the my=way-or-the-highway guy, and so forth. Also the "I can't ever admit I might have made a mistake" guy.

Well, if Marie-Looser has been with anywhere near as many guys as she claims, she would also be an STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease) risk.

Is there such a term as "comedownance"?

Marie-Loser (but, with the way she acted toward Ryan, Marie-Looser may also be a correct term), could indeed use an attitude adjustment. Benjamin Fitzgerald will be a big help, with his medical knowledge. I question, since asthma and bronchitis have similarities, might persons with cancer and bronchitis also be spared? I do not have enough medical knowledge to hazard a good guess on that. Ryan has a good plan, gathering persons together and trying to see what is going on. If anyone is far-seeing enough into the future, they need to stock up on cell chargers -- both the plug-in types and the types able to charge from vehicle batteries. Many cell towers in the USA have reserve power sources which last from 72 hours to one week. If the power grid or sections of it go out, being able to charge from vehicles would extend the usefulness of cell phones.

Some very thoughtful comments on this story. While all have been fascinating, I have really liked the comments of @Sherye Story Reader and @Summerabbacat and @Al Norris and @pvtguy and @centexhairysub , plus the analytical nature of @Anton_Cloche -- Almost as fascinating as the story itself. Does the gas have any preserving effect on the dead bodies, causing them to decompose less quickly?

So far, the guys are being resourceful. It will be interesting to see what happens when electricity fails. So much of our society requires electricity to work.

I agree, @VBlew While some things can continue, eventually coal, natural gas, and other power plants will stop working. Trains will crash or derail as engineers die. I went to more than 400 funerals before I was 9 years old. My parents sang at funerals, and unless grandmother was visiting, I had to go with them. I got bored with funerals very quickly. Since George has asthma, might his father also have it? And it is common for men to start having prostate cancer very early, and it grow very slowly for years. George's father could easily be alive -- somewhere.

Very good chapter, @P. E. Knapp

I rarely read poetry. But this one was worth reading all the way through. In 197 words. Lee Wilson has packed in questions, explorations, feelings, and resolution. Well worth reading.

Okay, @Jason Rimbaud, you were right, the prologue does say Clinton, New Jersey. I was right about George Senior living in Knoxville, Tennessee. I will let @Lee Wilson explain how the cloud moved against the wind from east to west to Knoxville. @Gary L can watch as we all get super-involved in fiction. Perhaps @Sherye Story Reader and @chris191070 can referee --

Wow, @Jason Rimbaud. You were right, it does say Clinton, New Jersey. (Population 2,773 in the 2020 Census.)

George Senior lived in Knoxville, Tennessee. Prevailing winds blow from west to east except in rare cases. Since Mission Critical Labs are in San Francisco, the winds would blow west to east, and must have been moving VERY fast Bing says it is about 2,400 miles from San Francisco to Knoxville. For the death cloud to reach Knoxville in 14 hours or less, the wind would have to be blowing about 171 miles per hour (275 km per hour) or more. There are 34 towns or cities named Clinton in the USA.

There is a slightly unclear sequence of events quoted below: The two boys ventured out on their bicycles. They initially covered the area immediately surrounding their houses. Less than a minute after they turned onto Austin Hill Road, a car drove by. They missed it then, but the driver, sixteen-year-old Marie-Louise Small, was doing exactly what they were doing. She was also roaming the streets hoping to find someone else alive. So they had turned a corner and Marie-Louise went down the street where they had been? Or she drove by and they missed it?

@Jason Rimbaud -- Mission Critical Labs were in San Francisco. I was thinking New Jersey also until I used Bing to find out where M C Labs were However, with the distance from San Francisco to Tennessee, @Lee Wilson, it would have taken more than one day -- not just 12 or 15 hours -- for the death cloud to get to Tennessee in the next chapter.

According to the follow-up song, "A Girl Named Sam," by a different artist, A Boy Named Sue married A Girl Named Sam, and they named the baby -- "Who?"

There have been several story titles that have intrigued me enough to read them, including -- It All Started with a Shuttle Flight, by @P. E. Knapp Prompt #134 - "Why is your underwear in the swimming pool?" by @wildone Makarovia? Where The Hell Is That? by @R. Eric One Dark and Stormy Night, by @drsawzall La Tombola, by @drsawzall My First True Christmas, by @Bill W Crash Landing, by @Bill W Take Me to Your Leader, by @quokka The Case of the Short, Short Prince by @Geron Kees (Okay, I would have read that one anyway, since Geron wrote it, but the title caught my eye, and it is a really good story -- but gets even better after the first twelve chapters!) The Charm of Being a Pig, by @Geron Kees -- helpful to read the rest of the Charm series first, but not strictly necessary). Thrift Shop Nation, by @Geron Kees Any of the science fiction written by @Myr Retail Ninja, by @astone2292 Peter the Meteor(ologist), by @Lee Wilson The Beard, by @dkstories I am sure I can think of others, but these stand out.