ReaderPaul

Very good chapter. I agree with Joel -- better to be prepared and not need it than need it and not be prepared.

I can see the same potential problems that Joel saw. I think Hank and some of the others should figure out how best to use Athena's sensors to watch for potential other spacecraft from Earth, but still watch for other, non-Earth, craft as well. I had a lot of things happen to keep me from reading this chapter in a timely manner. It is my hope to catch of quickly. @drsawzall has excellent observations on this chapter.

Yes, some questions are still unanswered. But that gives our own @Wombat Bill a hook to start the next story with (as if he needs one). In real life, many times things are not answered or resolved in a timely fashion -- and sometimes never.

A good ending to this story, @Wombat Bill.

@Bill W, you have written many great stories. But I read many of them an another web site, which is very difficult to comment on. Eventually, I have a long-term goal of reading all of your stories on GA and commenting. You are especially good at holiday themed stories, such as Thanksgiving and Christmas, much better than the average writer when holidays are involved. Sorry, but I have a tendency to lavish praise on authors I like.

Good story, @Bill W. More interesting than the majority of Halloween stories I have read. I enjoyed this story almost as much as my favorite story by you, Crash Landing. Both are excellent stories.

@VBlew, I'm not sure Thomas is fully on board with traveling yet. I think he will enjoy it when they go, but he has so many things on his mind now, it is distracting him from the potential. I'm not sure how long it usually takes to get a passport in Australia. This chapter is full of surprises. I didn't expect Yashuki to ride away. Dante suggested foreign travel; Thomas realized that a permanent solution to the lifeguard situation is needed; Lachlan is surprised to learn that Thomas things that he (Lachlan) isn't pulling his weight; Thomas is expressing his feelings more honestly. Our favorite wombat is keeping us guessing. Well done!

I'm not quite as optimistic yet, but I think Yashuki may be developing actual feelings for Thomas. For Dante -- I am not so sure. After all, he did use Dante to get a job at Crystalline. True, @VBlew. We DON'T know yet what Yashuki is thinking or feeling yet, but we can see that he has exhibited some caring for Thomas -- even if it is for the selfish reason of solidifying his job at Crystalline. But I think he is developing more feelings for Thomas than he ever had for Dante (other than physical desire and greed). At this point, I think Dante is feeling a taste of his own medicine. He is feeling a bit "let down" by Thomas inviting Yashuki into the relationship, but on the proverbial other hand, Thomas was let down by Dante and suspected it even before it was confirmed. But now, Dante will be aware that both Thomas and Yashuki will be watching him for signs of straying. Thomas will also watch Yashuki for indications of roving and roaming. Throuples, open relationships, polyamorous, and monogamous relationships all have challenges. I look forward to seeing what wonderful wanderings and warpings our @Wombat Bill will do to the plot to pleasure, prolong, and prod our prodigious imaginations intensely and inventively.

What, @Wombat Bill, no teaser this time? It should be an interesting discussion among the three of them. I am interested to see the thoughts of @chris191070 and @Summerabbacat and @VBlew, and anyone else who is willing to join in.

I'm glad Virginia and Cook have had some clearing of the air. But the teaser for the next chapter has me wondering -- whose and what divided loyalties? Interesting comments from Virginia about the types of glasses used for the champagne. I don't think Virginia understands the feelings of Desmond. She thinks she does, but it is only a partial understanding.

Dante is a confusing person. I think he is upset that Yashuki is now into his relationship with Thomas, but also showing some of the confusion Patricia has in relation to her sons. Yet he has been perfectly willing to cheat on Thomas. I still do not trust Yashuki. I have to stop commenting now. Too much physical pain has hit me this morning.

This story further develops the "Charlie Boone" universe but without the direct involvement of Charlie, Kippy, Adrian, and Ricky. However, it is so well written that one can read it and enjoy without knowing about the rest of the related stories. As Pacha'ka, Mike, Bobby, and Kontus travel together to explore clues about ancient civilizations and events, they discover something which seems impossible to exist. More events happen, and soon they are on an unexpected rescue mission A well-thought-out, rapidly-paced adventure, well worth reading.

Interesting characters, both Rodney Smith and the priest. They may deserve each other.

Fascinating, @Summerabbacat and @chris191070. Interesting speculations. I think Rosemary Cook was being partially sarcastic. I think Rodney Smith was the main killer, but the previous damage to Patrick's body greatly contributed to his death. Also, we may still not have all the suspects who contributed to the death. Some of that might indeed be that Patrick was thought to be Dante. I still think that, @Wombat Bill, TWO person need to be trained in lifeguarding and pool maintenance, and the CCTV power supply should be on a separate circuit from the rest of the pool equipment. On ONE thing I do trust Yashuki. I trust him to ultimately do what he feels best for the long term interests of Yashuki.

@Geron Kees, there is a logical inconsistency in this chapter Here is the passage: Ricky took a step towards the blue cylinder, and every gun in the room came up to point at him. But one of the newcomers immediately raised a hand and yelled, "Neniu pafado! Via municio nur resaltas de ĉi tiu. Vi eble difektos la aparaton!" Ricky swore under his breath. He'd taken out his translator back in the mountain and put it in his pocket. And now he couldn't even touch the pocket! But it seemed clear the man was warning the others not to shoot. Still, Ricky decided to stand still until he better knew what was happening. "Charlie?" If Keerby's change of Rick's state included his clothes, then he could reach into his pocket. If not, they would have shot his clothes off earlier, when he was being shot at but the ammo was bouncing off of him -- but not necessarily his clothes. If there is a logical way of explaining this as written, I would love to see it. If not, I'm just going to say "Emerson" -- as Isaac Asimov used to say when there was a small inconsistency in his writing that would take WAY too much rewriting to fix, and would probably wreck the point he was trying to make. Then I will ignore it.

Chandler wrote forty to sixty books, and some short stories. He lived from 1912 - 1984. Many of his books are available again on Kindle. I hope someday your stories are available on Kindle or in book form.

This is one of your best stories yet, and that is saying a lot, since I have liked every story you have written (at least, the ones you have posted). Now we need to see, in a future Pacha'ka adventure, Ricky popping in and helping Kontus, Mike, and Bobby figure out some of their skwish. Or possibly Erma could do that as well. And if Erma and Ricky worked together, Bobby and company might be able to do almost anything! If not this year, perhaps Uncle Bob and Horace could participate in a Halloween adventure that takes place partially on Engris. After all, Ragal has already participated in Halloween on Earth once. The time loop of the Hartonin reminded me of one of the stories by science fiction author A. Bertram Chandler. In one story, Captain John Grimes gets in a time loop where he is having a sexual orgasm with his current girlfriend over and over. As he finally realizes he is in a loop, he manages to deviate slightly and after one orgasm manages to pull out long enough to vary the loop and escape. This was a sacrifice for him, as he was really enjoying each and every orgasm. While I've read other stories where a time loop was involved, this story and Chandler's have been the most enjoyable reads. Bobby is really learning much in traveling with Pacha and company, meeting Max, Jac, Rufe, Zerfa, and other elves; the elves of Twombly, meeting Auggie; meeting Billy and Will, meeting Casper and Ragal, and who knows which other active, passive, and dormant power users and fascinating others of the galaxy he has met by now. Of your serial stories, on a scale of Zero to One Thousand, I assign the story series which began with "The Odd, Onward Door" a 998 rating, and this series at about a 992 rating out of 1,000. However, I have found ALL of your posted stories well worth reading, even though not all are posted on every website you have used, with the possible exception of one site. Very well done, @Geron Kees.

You mean that you, @drpaladin, and also @drsawzall are the only doctors reading this story?

I have also heard it as -- "a pair of doctors" -- "a pair of docks" -- and "a pair of docs" meaning two documents.

Okay, does SMITH have a twin brother? Interesting, that Yashuki seems now to be with Dante and Thomas, or is that another magic trick?

Yes. They have to go, or else Max and Pacha and the other three will not know to come back and warn them. So they must find out what caused the other structures -- the release mechanism and the support mechanisms -- to disappear, and figure out how to get the right ones back there -- or Max and Pacha must figure out an alternative way to release them. Hopefully, they will warn other Hartonin before they start their looped journey. Or, it is very possible that Geron is going to set us up for the next Pacha'ka adventure.

To quote Lewis Carroll, "Curiouser and curiouser." But at least Dante and Carol are out, or about to be out. I look forward to seeing what my fellow commenters have to say -- @chris191070 and @Summerabbacat and @VBlew. To quote an old saying in my part of the USA, "This is a fine kettle of fish," meaning things are not going right for one or more persons, and implying that getting things straighten out may take some time -- possibly a considerable amount of time. Hopefully Cook will apologize profusely to Mia.

Very interesting. I wonder who -- and when -- the captive ship entered the loop. Wouldn't it be something it it were a group of Ragal's people! Had I been writing the story, I would have had Illia query Murcha and Onglet to see if they had any info about this region of space, since Murcha used to belong to T'ath, who is a Moth who collects information. But Geron didn't need that, since he already knows the answer.

The official explanation from the US government went something like this -- liberally paraphrasing: "Not all of the phenomena we have investigated involve objects. Sometimes it has been unexplainable atmospheric conditions, including unusual sudden pressure changes, visual appearances of things not actually considered objects, and other questionable happenings. Therefore, we feel that Unidentified Arial Phenomena is a broader range of description than Unidentified Flying Object." I pieced that together from several sources. Probably the gobbledegook government version is considerably wordier.

Wow! So much in this chapter I hardly know where to begin. And the teaser for the next chapter -- Virginia to the rescue? I can see her trying to rescue Carol, or Thomas, or maybe Cook, or even Jonathan, but not sure who else (Desmond, of course, but I really don't think he could possibly be involved with this). It is quite possible that @VBlew or @chris191070 or @Summerabbacat may see this much more clearly than I do. @Wombat Bill, I look forward to the next several chapters.