ReaderPaul

Question, @quokka -- In the first part of this chapter it talks about Amixorpian culture and so on. Later in the chapter it talks of the Amixorian Domain. Is that a misprint? Or should both be Amixorpian? Also, what does Sua mean?

Getting hard headed scientists and politicians to stop a project already in progress will be a proverbial pain. Scientists can be as Pollyanna-like as any idealistic person.

Wow -- just -- Wow. Brett and Hugh are both getting more than they expected. So: Will Hugh get training in telepathy also?

As I recall thus far in this story, you have talked more of the Armstrong family than the Campbell family. Will we learn more of the Campbell family as the stories progress? If you explained this I missed it -- What relationship is Hugo to Marc? And Hugo's last name? How many brothers and sisters does Mark have? We know Jessica is younger, but how many older siblings does Mark have? I seem to recall that Marc is said to be the only boy, or am I wrong about that? Who is the next-in-command of the Alexander corporation if Marc's father is unavailable to attend the meetings for whatever reason? The Vice-Chairman or whatever the title is? I am enjoying this story immensely, @P. E. Knapp.

Fascinating. So the watch boosts telepathy? If Hugh put on the watch, would he also be able to communicate via telepathy? Or would just touching the watch be able to boost the limited telepathic powers most Earth humans have? Hugh must not read or watch much science fiction and/or fantasy, or he would be less nervous about teleporting.

Evidently Brett cannot effectively shield yet, since Charles and Harold "heard" his conversation with Hugh. So @drsawzall and @damejintymcginty are correct, as was @Al Norris in his comment above. Probably, if there is an effective method for telepathic shielding, Harold and Charles (or is is Dlorah and Selrahc) have refrained from teaching Brett on purpose, just so they can eavesdrop on him. @chris191070 hit the proverbial nail on the proverbial head when he said that interesting times are ahead.

What a great chapter! Janek and Thorpe are learning, as are Lt. Astray and Knippel. And Tom is learning, unofficially. It would also appear that Marc is upgrading the security clearance of Janek and Thorp. Looking forward to more chapters in this story.

Don't get me wrong, what they did in pulling down his pants and checking was wrong. But Brett should also remember that the culture they come from is different than what he is familiar with. I don't know how easy it is to teleport, and we do not yet know whether distance is a major factor in teleportation. Brett has, at least temporarily, missed an opportunity to learn this. @quokka, Hugh and Brett have both had shocks to the system. However, something else may be happening. In an early paragraph, Shawn heard Brett quietly grumbling. Does Shawn have telepathy genes and heard Brett that way, when Hugh did not? And did "Harold" and "Charles" teach Brett anything about shielding his throughs so he would not broadcast them?

Why in the world was Brett so against showing two guys his private parts? Had he done so, he could have avoided a lot of hassle. It it considered a huge privacy issue in Western Australia? Perhaps because I grew up in a rural area, where few homes had indoor plumbing, guys could pee anywhere where there were no females. Therefore, I knew at a very young age from that guys had various sizes and shapes. About half the guys in my community were cut and about half uncut. I think Brett may have made a tactical error in not suppressing his anger and foregoing the chance to learn to teleport at this time. Plus, he has said more than he should at this time to Hugh.

Excellent chapter and discussions. Any word about Ark III yet? Or is that for the future?

Reading this chapter, It is obvious Marc has a brain made for piloting and calculating even microjumps very fast -- possibly faster than an AI could. My imagination tells me that observers were appalled at the microjumps -- but they worked. Is Marc's father anywhere near as good at piloting as Marc?

“Ydaer? – Ready? Ybdnats - Standby." Again, reversing words to create language. And I notice it is now Terb instead of Treb Sua. So instead of Bert backwards, it is Bret backwards on the name. "May I present to you Nailuj Tei who will be your Space Training Mentor, this is the District Governor - Sivart Kai, and also the City Administrator - Siwis Padi," Julian backward is Nailuj, and Sivart is Travis backward. Love the name Siwis Ipad. Also liked the success of the party at the farm. In the last two paragraphs of this chapter, I notice the name "Hob." Is that a nickname for Robert in this case?

I notice something I missed before. Star Cruiser Amixorp is Proxima backwards. Proxima Centauri is one of the stars of the Alpha Centauri system. Revilo is Oliver backwards. Sucram is Marcus backwards. Treb Sua is Aus Bert. It's a neat way of quickly coming up with names.

A wonderful grouping of stories and authors in these lists.

@JamesSavik -- please bring the other sixteen of these here. Every one of the series is very well worth reading.

So, @JamesSavik -- did you write Ingalls' story in another of these shorts? After all, he and Zale were going to trade stories ---

Somehow I missed reading this one, James. Good job.

We had dogs and cats when I was growing up. I own no pets at present. Where I live there is a leash law for cats as well as dogs. Cats don't do well on a leash.

Another question, @P. E. Knapp. In the prologue or an early chapter, the term "stanyear" or "stanyears" is mentioned. Does that mean the length of the year on the planet where humanity originated (in this universe, it is variously identified as Earth, Terra, Tellus, Gaia, third planed of the Sol System, and so on). Or does stanyear mean some other term of time?

Excellent, James. You pack more into a very short story than many authors pack into 15,000 words.

Fascinating chapter. I agree with @akascrubber and @VBlew in their evaluations of the chapter. I can also see how Marc's experience in the asteroid belts gives him an advantage over most, and that the training in the belts he has given to Thorp and Janek gave them an advantage over most of the others. Now to something lighter and funnier. I have mild dyslexia and something was on my glasses, so I read Lt. Astray as "Lt. Ashtray" when I first saw the name. A few chapters back, I mentally pronounced the name Knippel as "Nipple." Sometimes my dyslexia causes me to read names and words strangely. I've learned to laugh about it -- it rarely bothers me anymore to realize I was wrong when reading something. One of several significant passages in this chapter: “Let’s look at what I did and how I did it to each of you. And for the record. The time I spent with Thorp and Wojact made them two of the harder targets today, but the only one I had to truly work for was Lt. Astray.” I said with a nod of respect to him as I turned to highlight our plots and probe data.

Well, at least you did not change Hamilton to Hambelton -- which in some parts of the United States is pronounced exactly the same as Hamilton. The first time I saw Hambelton I pronounced it HAM-belt -uhn -- and was immediately corrected. I don't care if you have six characters in the same story named Bryce or Brett or Thelma or whatever. Please, just keep writing good stories as you have been. Please, @quokka -- also consider continuing your Deep Space series.

So when is part three coming? This is a split from the original posting. Enjoyed reading this section again. but....

I agree with @akascrubber -- Janek will be surprised. I like the way Marc learns very quickly.

Great Chapter again. The brother has the message for now -- but how long will he retain it? I predict it will be retained for some time. Looking forward to the further adventures of Marc and as many others from this story as we may see in future chapters and stories.