ReaderPaul

Wow! Just -- Wow! You have me wondering what comes next, @Wombat Bill.

Interesting speculations in the story, @R. Eric. I am gradually catching up on the chapters. Indeed, while persons may be technically one thing or another, what they consider themselves is often something else. @Sandbear, you are technically right, but feelings sometimes overrule, for practical purposes, technicalities. I look forward to the future chapters.

@R. Eric, I love that you had the Nesmith kids learning to swim at an early age. I feel all kids should be taught the basics of swimming, floating, and some basic water safety rules.

Well, interesting. I was going to point out that a word probably had been left out of the passage @Summerabbacat quoted, but thankfully he beat me too it. It would seem Cook, Thomas, and now even Dante seem protective of Carol. I look forward to Patrick meeting Justin. Good work as usual,, @Wombat Bill.

In three of my jobs before I retired, I met several VIPs. About two out of three were nice, and many of the rest could indeed be APITA. Worse were the ones who THOUGHT they were VIPs, but were not. The worst VIPS I met were a televangelist and his family, and the best VIPS were another televangelist and his wife who were just the opposite, and several wonderful musical performers were excellent VIPs The second televangelist my spouse and I ran into at a shopping mall, and he and his wife came across as a low-key, down-to-earth couple who wanted no special treatment or attention. The really successful musicians also knew they were a success, and were very secure in that, so again demanded nothing special in treatment, no discounts, no attention. @quokka has a way of working pleasant surprises into many of his stories. I am glad they had mostly good weather on the voyage from NZ to Australia, and look forward to seeing the new passengers.

With Carol and her appetite, it seems like "It's Raining Men" by The Weathergirls (available on YouTube) might end up being appropriate. Are Carol and Patrick using condoms? Thanks for the welcome back, @Summerabbacat.

So-- the question occurs to me: Was Carol a sexual virgin when she and Dante had a fling? I don't remember it that was ever stated or not. @Wombat Bill, you keep weaving more and more threads into the plot. I see lots of possibilities opening up. I also look forward to seeing comments from @chris191070 and @Summerabbacat, and anyone else reading this.

I agree, @chris191070. @Summerabbacat, good things you pointed out in the chapter. I am also wondering about the teaser. @Wombat Bill, do you know if we will be seeing Andy and Dean, even briefly, in this? Or even Virginia and Desmond briefly? Even if we don't see any of those, it's gonna be a great story (paraphrasing a character in a story by an author I'm currently not remembering).

I must agree with @Summerabbacat. The dialogue was very well done indeed. I have also read stories where one could not tell for sure who was speaking. You avoided that pitfall, and made the story interesting, as well, @Wombat Bill.

Glad to see this start. I wanted to wait to start until I could have a chance to read every chapter in a timely fashion. Looking forward to seeing what Mrs. Cook, usually just called "Cook", and the rest of the crew, have happen this time! Thanks, @Wombat Bill.

Unexpected passengers! I hope they don't get seasick.

Jordan having the new ship tethered near Zac is probably a very wise move. This is a good story, @quokka. You are getting practiced at using dialogue and description in good balance in your stories. I look forward to seeing them sail from NZ to Australia.

So true, @AlexLittel. Mustard, ketchup, dill pickles, sweet pickles, lime pickles, lettuce, tomato, onion, relish -- but not mayo! Of course, my allergies influence that decision a bit. Yes it does, @Geron Kees. And writers are a very valuable part of the world!

One of the things I really like about GA and two other sites are the forums associated with the sites. While the forum here is really easy to read and use and find things, the other two sites I like with forums are a bit more challenging. I enjoy reading about how authors came up with story ideas, and how authors interact with the readers. My favorite authors here interact with the readers in a happy manner (or at least it so seems) and I tend to shy away from authors who are gruff and brusque with their fans. @Myr and @Cia and the other site admins and moderators do a great job of keeping things going. Sure, from time to time there are glitches, but overall it is quite well done. Do I wish some things were arranged in a slightly different manner? Sometimes, but overall this is a great place to read. I do miss, however, the ability to go directly to a new chapter when I am caught up with the chapters in a particular story. But it is not a deal-breaker. GA staff and authors, thank you!

When in college, a friend who was a vehicle mechanic was looking at a magazine rack in a store, and pointed to a picture of a very "chesty" female supposedly replacing something on a vehicle, and said, "I'd like to see her be able to change out that [whatever it was] with a crescent wrench! She would need at least a [tool whose name I can't remember]!"

Especially Aldi -- in the part of the US where I live, Aldi's in-stock on merchandise is atrocious!

I saw this and had to check it out. I think it will be a very interesting series. Do you yet have an idea of how often you might post? As far as the Carolinas and Florida being destroyed, I think much of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas would also be destroyed by sea-level rise and stronger hurricanes. Probably Cancun and much of the Mexican and Central American coastline also would be ravaged. One book I am reading postulates that the sea level rise could be 80 to 100 feet (24.4 to 30.48 meters) or more, if all of the polar ice, Greenland, and so on, melted completely. I am not sure about that, but lack to tools the accurately estimate if that author is right. However, such a rise would greatly reduce available land living area, and create much extreme weather. High elevation Montana, Idaho, Appalachian, and Rocky Mountain real estate would become very valuable. Even a forty foot (12.2 meter) rise in sea level would flood much of New York City. Very good start, @R. Eric.

@Geron Kees, you could write a Charlie Boone story about Grandparent's Day (the second Sunday in September) and make it interesting! For now, it might be a way to introduce the guys' grandparents, and help us find out what the grands think of the guys and their same-sex relationships. Also, Third Planet Investigations, also known sometimes as TPI now has another potential research customer in Espero Group. How about they hire TPI to do some genuine research for them? Perhaps pull together two reports on what is known or guessed on psychic phenomena -- one for general consumption saying more is not known than is known, and one private report much more detailed, with examples of elves, humans, aliens, and other (if it applies to the way the research is structured and the storyline). I like the way this story ended. Also, I would like to see Max meet Max2. I think it would be good for Amy to propose to Horace. I think it would be good from Uncle Bob Travers to travel with the guys to Engris and Lyrgris, and meet Durapar. (Bob has already met Ragal and Casper in the second Twombly Christmas story.) I'd like to see Ricky expand his magic mechanic role to team with Casper and work together to expand the Probability Index Machine to be able to go to more alternate universes, as originally postulated to do. As always, Geron, if you want to use these ideas in any way, you are welcome to do so.

If there is no Nicholaas in this reality, I wonder who an alternate Max would be working for?

Actually, @weinerdog and @drpaladin, boojums do exist in Charlie and Keerby's reality. Pyewacket is one, and there are others, as mentioned by Pip and Keerby in "There's a Devil in the Dark, Charlie Boone!" However, Pyewacket was made very wary of sending persons to alternate earths by Nicholaas. Plus, Lewis Carroll mentioned them.

Something caught my eye that I partly missed in the first two reading of this chapter. I think, before the next adventure, Keerby and Rick should team up and try to discover that Durapar's dormant talent or talents are, and how to activate them.

Late to the comment party, due to computer trouble, phone trouble, and password trouble, all at the same time. @raven1, @drsawzall, @drpaladin, @Ivor Slipper, @weinerdog, @chris191070, and @ColumbusGuy have all made great points and said just about all I would like to say about this chapter. But, @Geron Kees, once again we see the talents of Ragal and Casper teaming up with great illusory effectiveness in finding out what is wanted to know. Once again, we see Horace and Keerby teaming up with sensitivity to energy creatures. I think it is a sign that Horace and his powers are gaining in strength. Perhaps in two or three more Boone stories Horace may manifest additional powers yet, perhaps similar to the elfin glow powers Keri and Kiley demonstrated in the first adventure at Twombly. I don't know that it was every discussed whether or not Ragal had been raised on a higher gravity world than Earth. If so, that would explain why he has such one-armed strength. And just because earthy authors such as Doc Smith, Steven Golden and Hal Clement (pen name of Harry Clement Stubbs) have predicted that the square-cube law would apply to denizens of heavy gravity planets, that would not necessarily be always true. Great chapter, Geron.

Near the beginning of this chapter, this exchange takes place between Reudi and Robin: Ruedi drew the bus to a halt at the head of the drive, well before the parking lot in front of the manor. "You vant me to vait for you?" Robin frowned, but then immediately nodded. "If you can." "Sure. I got all ze time in ze world." Robin smiled at that, but didn't say more. I predict Reudi has a long wait, with the guys planning to go to an alternate Earth -- or did Robin message his phone to tell him to go on home?

Between getting only 3 hours of sleep Sunday night, and a very tiring day today, and my dyslexia, and two of my meds being off schedule -- I read your reply, @Geron Kees, to @chris191070 as -- "Kind of like driving in one's underwear on the front porch *blur* *blur* *blur*." I thought to myself, "That doesn't sound reasonable," and forced myself to look closer. Then the comparison made more sense....

However, since they grew up on the other side of the portal, they have not had time to fully engulf themselves in our history, legends and culture. Also, connecting the Robin they meet now with the Robin of legend is a stretch, as the previous Charlie Boone tale explains. Only Pacha telling them that Robin is about 800 or more helped them to come of with the idea that he was the basis of the Robin Hood legends. Really good observations, though.