ReaderPaul

The attackers might not have really known that Mitch was gay. Often those of dubious intent throw insults with the intention to hurt, not from certain knowledge. The story is very realistic. And, it underscores that not all outcomes are good ones.

Regarding Mars --- Quote: Joel was right. There were hundreds of messages, postings and news to sift through. He was almost startled to see Mars! Necessity had caused them to expand the domed cities. They grew crops in the Martian soil. There were three major cities below the surface of Mars in huge complexes.... In our solar system, Mars will take a lot of work. Since Mars has almost no magnetic field, according to the various probes, the protective particle fields similar to Earth's would be missing. Also, without a significant atmosphere and near Earth pressure, there is no ozone layer to protect from much of the radiation which would otherwise hit Earth and does hit our Mars. Thus the need for mostly underground living. Over a period of time, an atmosphere could be built up and ozone eventually produced. Also, carbon dioxide would need to be included in the Martian atmosphere, probably at a higher percentage than in in the atmosphere of Earth, to help act as a heat trap. Good story, @R. Eric.

I will be interested in seeing what the temperature is inside the One Ship. Bzup and Azim and their kind are obviously more adaptable in temperature than humans. Also, will others of Master Gwinn Portland's crew be as adaptable as he seems to be?

I wish! I am also hoping for the next Road story, and the third Thrift Shop story --

@centexhairysub, I agree with you. I tend to be cautious of the motives of Mikulsa. I am also wondering why Hans Kim was not mentioned in this chapter. Is he staying aboard the craft he pilots? Or did he just stay silent at breakfast? How long is the Benteen day, compared to a day on Earth? Has he had further opportunity to observe Bzup? Has anyone asked Hans his thoughts on what is going on? Is Hans a spy for some at Colonial Administration? And, @Geron Kees -- when are you writing the sequel to this story? Hopefully as quick as next year, after you write a fourth Door story, a second story featuring Jamie and friends from The Case of the Short, Short Prince, and two or more new Charlie Boone stories, and a story featuring the younger sister and even younger brother of Ricky Travers plus Kiernan Willman plus Jeremiah Hawkins? (That would take a bit of setting up!) But for now, looking forward to finishing this tale. As always, Geron, you are freely encouraged to use any ideas triggered or suggested by my musings free of charge. My reward would be an enjoyable story.

Wow, with authors such as @Geron Kees, @Myr, @Thorn Wilde (sorry, Thorn-- when I've read your stories I was not doing hardly any commenting), @dkstories, @W_L, @JamesSavik, @astone2292, @Mikiesboy, and @Mawgrim on this list -- great stuff.

I still think Jem needs to ask Ana about the siffle, and see if his father's report (and possibly the report of other hungers) has made it to her attention. Sometimes lower level admin persons take it upon themselves to act as the flappers did in Lemuel Gulliver's third Voyage, to the flying island of Laputa. If you have not read the third Voyage of Gulliver, the high level officials of Laputa had "flappers" to fan them and also decide which things should be heard by the officials. Jem's father's report might not have made it up the "chain of command." I still am not completely trusting Mikulsa on his motives.

I had trouble with reading Philip K Dick. I had better luck with Delany, but have not read much of either. Both showed much talent, but when I read stories by Dick it was not a style I was into at that time

I agree, @centexhairysub. And not as smart as the donkey type ass, either. I do think Jem should talk again with Nita about the siffle behavior.

Well, well, well! At the rate Bzup learns, he will probably communicate very well by the time the visitors get to the ship.

Glad to see this continuing.

A bit late to the "comment party." @Geron Kees is reminding me of J R R Tolkien in this story. Wait a minute: How so? When I originally read "The Lord of the Rings" books in the early 1970s, my college roommate told me, "It will take you at least 50 pages, and probably 75, to really get into this story. So don't give up." He was right. Well, it took me three chapters to really get "into" this story, this time because "real life" kept interrupting my reading flow. Plus, Benteen is considerably different than anything of which I have previously read about. I hope, Geron, that you are willing to be compared to Tolkien, in the way you have masterfully created a new world, complete with its own history. I still think there is something different -- a mutation possibly -- about Jem, which makes him more adapted to Benteen than most of the humans there. You might not be willing to answer this question now, Geron, but could an Earth human successfully mate with a Benteen human, and the resulting child be carried to term and live after birth? Or has the DNA and RNA been altered too much even for a successful fertilization to take place? Or have you even made a determination on that factor yet? After all, you are a master of plot twists and surprise plot turns -- a ship from Old Earth or one of the other colony planets might yet show up in this story! Just what would be needed to add more surprises, perhaps? The story keeps getting better and better.

"Curiouser and curiouser," said Alice. I don't remember if that is from Alice in Wonderland or from Alice Through the Looking Glass, but it seems to fit. Nita should, if possible, do a brain scan of Jem and also a scan of Jem's larynx. But something is different about Jem -- we just don't know what at this time. But I look forward to finding out!

I have known persons who would rather mow the lawn. No imagination at all, and want no types of adventures. I met a guy years ago who was asked to help in a volunteer organization. He refused. He said "I worked 30 years at GM, retired with a decent pension, and all I want to do is sit and watch tv from now on." He died 3 months later of a heart attack while watching television.

Some excellent writers in these selections.

I have a theory or two. The original colonists were genetically altered so they could eat some of the native species. In evolution, further adaptation tends to take place over time. Perhaps eating the native meat and vegetation, combined with the planet's atmosphere, is causing gradual favorable mutations for some of the colonists. Jem may be further along the adaption process than some of the others on the ship. Since the blobs can exercise control over the orx, they may be more sensitive to Jem than to the other humans which have touched the tank. Or, Jem might be a mutant. Or both possibilities at once have happened. I would suggest Jem proceed with caution, and that Nita get with Nico to watch Jem for other unusual capabilities. From the chapter: --- The disc blasted past them again, this time just below the surface on the port side - the side where the drones were bringing up the capture bag. It appeared briefly as a huge orange blob in the passive sonar display, and then the signal broke up. Vespris rocked again, and when Jem leaned out from behind the display to look beyond the rail, he could just make out a massive shape beneath the waves as it rocketed away from them, looking like some insanely fast orx on the move. It was both amazing and frightening to see, and Jem felt an unusual, intense, tingling sensation crawl down his spine. Jem should ask if any of the others on deck felt similar sensations.

Good chapter. And just because no eyes have been detected on the green entities does not mean they cannot see. It might be some biomechanism we have not yet observed. And just because ironwood is transparent in one direction for human eyes does not mean that some other mechanism couldn't detect what is inside the hull. The possibility of their hearing what is inside is also reasonable. Back in the 1950s and 1960s, my father and older brother acquired a series of books on various subjects, from science to home repairs. At one time, besides AM (Amplitude Modulation) and FM (Frequency Modulation) radios, another method, called PM (Phase Modulation) was experimented with. It was dropped quickly, since it took much more bandwidth than AM or FM. We cannot rule out some electronic mechanism yet -- perhaps the green creatures modulate gravity waves. That would be something the ship would not likely be able to detect. It is too soon for those of us who are not Geron Kees to rule out very much in terms of the communication possibilities for the green (blobs, aliens, constructs, or other potential names).

I have been watching for the new Hardy Boys series on DVD, but so far no luck.

The descriptions of the green blobs reminded me of Robert A. Heinlein's book -- "The Puppet Masters." The blobs seem to combine elements of the book and the movie. If memory serves, the movie was rated R. If it had been made as in the book, it probably would have been rated X (or perhaps MA, in some of today's terms, for the full frontal male nudity in the book as described in "Schedule Sunshine" from the book). I think Jem and Nico have several adventures ahead. Can Nita also get her department to check for green blobs on land creatures, as well?

Looking forward to more chapters, and more questions. I think we still have much to find out. In a chapter 2, Nita said she could "poke a stick" into the department which ignored Jem's father and his reports. Will we soon learn of her political and/or business connections which give her such certainty?

Well, since Auggie can travel in time and take people with him, why not? I was thinking, however, that in the very unlikely event you linked this to another of your stories, "The Case of the Short, Short Prince" universe could be a possibility. But it probably would not be in the same time period of Jamie, Garvin, Snave, Geert, and Dorf and the others. Very probably the colonists from Earth and other planets would go through more than one type of star travel before coming up with the machine translocation rings in "Short." The ship's Master is wise to consider even trainee input regarding the safety of the ship.

FINALLY got to finish the first chapter. Good start, with plenty of elements to provide possible and/or branching plot lines. Starting with a female in the mix of a normally all male ship provides plenty of plot possibilities in itself. Looking forward to reading future chapters. Geron, do you know yet how many chapters there will be? One source said "at least 16 chapters."

Hey, @Geron Kees, I just noticed something which seems slightly inconsistent.. When Charlie looked out, Bob Travers and the parents of the guys were standing on the porch in the light. The knocker rapped again, gently, hardly insistent. Charlie swallowed hard in anticipation, and stepped forward to flick open the peephole. He bent and looked out onto the illuminated front porch-- Bob Travers stood there, bathed in the light from the overhead fixture. But he was not alone. Charlie gasped. Behind Bob were Rick's parents, and Kip's parents, and Adrian's mom, and...and Charlie's parents, too! But after the guys discussed it we see -- "They know about this," Bob Travers said then. He waved a hand at the room, and the people in it. "All of this, Charlie. And they're okay with it, believe me." "They know?" Charlie repeated then. "Already? Everything?" "Everything," Nicholaas agreed, smiling.... So Bob Travers was on the porch, and in the room as well? Has he suddenly also developed second presence, as Charlie has, and the ability for it to physically materialize? (See comment somewhat up the page.) Or is it just what Isaac Asimov called an "Emerson" -- the ability to overlook minor inconsistencies not really important in the writing of a story or book? My curious mind would like to know....

Many good authors are on this listing.

I have also heard, "When one door closes, and another one opens, it's time to check the security of the second door." But seriously, this was a good place for this part of the saga to cease before another part starts, then darts out and captures our hearts.