ReaderPaul

I also think you should stick to the Armenti and the Charlie Boone version(s). I really enjoy that/those versions. I read the Heinlein stories as a kid in the 1950s and 1960s. I continued reading his books and short stories through the years, and he had some great ideas. Yes, a lot of the science is dated now, but the concepts live on in various forms. Have Space Suit -- Will Travel was a great book. The first time I read Citizen of the Galaxy I was to young and naïve to properly appreciate it. Farmer In the Sky was a great read, as well. The Heinlein book I have enjoyed most in recent years is the posthumous publication of The Pursuit of the Pankera: A Parallel Novel of Parallel Worlds. It is a parallel novel to The Number of the Beast: A Parallel Novel of Parallel Worlds (the revised title since Pankera came out). The protagonist of Tunnel in the Sky and the problem he and his high school class faced reminded me of Ronja going through the wrong elf-door at times. Also reminded me of the time Derry and Cally went through the door of the fur people instead of the door to Earth. These stories of yours are very good. I am going to have to eventually re-read one series of yours. Been a long time since I read the Road stories. Thanks for the great writing.

@Geron Kees, the last two days I have been re-reading "Tunnel in the Sky" by Robert Anson Heinlein. Some of his observations about the "gates" used in the book remind me of a more complicated version of the Doors. Heinlein talks about the fantastic amount of energy (from uranium) requited to operate the gates, and the mathematical precision required to get the alignment correct if one goes thru a gate to another world than earth. Obviously, the Armenti system is better. Did you ever read the Heinlein book? @drpaladin had some fascinating observations. However, I think there might be some limited circumstances where the clouds or part of a cloud could travers the door system, or the Armenti might not have put the restrictions in place. I am guessing you might address that in a future story, perhaps five or fifteen stories down the line. At the spaceport, some of the ships might be able to shed some light on things. And is there a shuttle so that the guys could go down to the planet the spaceport circles, and investigate further?

That's weird. As a site moderator, I would have thought you would have even less trouble than any of us. I know software can cause problems, and sometimes seemingly random....

I don't have any trouble on my Android phones, either.

I use Chrome as my primary browser, and I am not having trouble loading Stellar's profile at all. Or, for that matter, any profile. Haven't had any trouble on Edge, either.

Do you by chance have some filtering software on your devices that might be slowing that feature down? I know that is a long shot, but is a possibility. Also, my ISP [Internet Service Provider] has filters on some stuff, and I never know when they will show up and slow something down. Usually, they don't filter anything, but sometimes the craziest things seem to set it off, and the ISP will ask me if I want so see such-and-such.

Good chapter. Yes, there were a few word omissions and some sentences which were not purely polished. It happens. Glad to see this chapter appear. Thanks, @R. Eric.

An excellent story, Geron. I was only bullied two or three times, and once it was quite mild. But my school at that time was very tough on bullying, and quickly addressed the severe incident. I am told not all are so lucky with school administrations. Mike's considered thinking led to a good outcome. This had a more serious tone than some of your stories, but every story of yours has serious points in it. This one had more than many of your stories. Well done, Geron.

I would love to see you use the terms -- tourist from the United States, UK, Australia, fog, and friendly -- in a story sometime. I know that I am not an "official provider of prompts," but I predict you could build a fascinating story with that combination of terms, @Mawgrim.

Maybe they would calm down, maybe they wouldn't. I can imagine some of the religious fanatics and political leaders being really, really no good in such a situation.

@Mawgrim, this one you made me feel.

That would be fascinating indeed. @W_L, I have a few of the Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys Super Mysteries and two Hardy Boys/Tom Swift Ultra Thrillers. I would like to ask @Myr if you have any of the Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys or Hardy Boys/Tom Swift crossovers. My favorite of those was the one where Frank Hardy married Nancy Drew while Joe Hardy married one of Nancy's best friends, and the four of them went to Egypt for their honeymoon. However, the wedding and honeymoon were fake, because the four of them were working undercover for the State Department on a mystery. Lots of possibilities in what has been mentioned so far.

Okay, I missed Rani's name on that line of the story. My bad.

Too bad about Bernard. You wrapped up just about everyone except Rani. I am glad to have read this story, @Wombat Bill.

Doing some research, Alexander Elliot, who plays Joe Hardy, has to be at least fifteen, bur probably not more than twenty. He wrote his own bio on IMDB dot com. @Valkyrie said "Oh this does look interesting! I loved the Hardy Boys books growing up. Shaun Cassidy was my first true love." I agree -- this does look interesting.

The ORIGINAL Hardy Boys were fifteen and sixteen. When the books were rewritten in the very late 1950s and 1960s, their ages were changed to 17 and 18 to fit with some of the then-current ideas of what types of situations the guys would be getting into. I when I was six years old, my mother and older brother loved to go to auctions. If Grandma was not available to watch me, I had to go with them. At one auction, Mom bought a big box of books for a quarter that had 25 of the original Hardy Boys series, a few Nancy Drew, about 4 Bobbsey Twins books, about 35 Zane Grey westerns, some Louis L'Amour, and a few other assorted books. Dad and I had fun reading a bunch of the books, although I did not read any of the westerns except one Lone Ranger novel.

Wow-- THAT was a surprise at the end. What will be included in the epilogue? No -- don't tell me! I will be guessing in my mind until the epilogue appears. @Wombat Bill, will we -- either soon or eventually -- see a fourth section of Catering With Benefits? If you write it, I will read it. I cannot speak for anyone other than myself.

I notice, @Wombat Bill, that through chapter 57 Catering With Benefits 3 has 157,116 words so far. Well done. There are very few, if any wasted words. This story reminds me of a well-designed and well-sewn garment. It looks and feels (reads) great, but considerable effort and care have been taken with the construction of this story. Yes, some parts are difficult to read. Well, guess what! Life is sometimes challenging and demanding! So that makes it fairly true to life. This story has my attention as few others do.

Wow, @Wombat Bill what a good chapter. I hope the end-of-chapter teaser does not mean you will stop writing the story. I hope you mean only that you might pause the story for a time, and then continue, perhaps as a Part 4. Very realistic. Here in the United States, we often see flooding of large wildfire areas causing even more damage. This is one of the few stories which I will be reading for quite a while. I have other favorite authors. but even of them I don't always complete a very long story (say, two hundred thousand words or more). Again, well done.

Well done, @Wombat Bill. You made the happenings to Desmond and Virginia seem real. It will be interesting to see how Virginia continues to grow and expand her caring for people. Virginia is learning care for people faster than Jonathan, it would seem.

@Summerabbacat, I am glad you did not suffer in a major way with the bushfires. I am glad you and your felines made it through, and I am glad your relatives made it through, as well. @NimirRaj, you and @starboardtack hit the proverbial nail on the proverbial head on the contrast between the city and the much more rural area. @Wombat Bill, I am glad you and your partner and property were mostly safe, though under the continued stress of evacuation and worrying about the animals.

It sounds like Brett and Richard both got a lot of what they wanted. It is virtually certain that the scenario described by Rani has happened somewhere, sometime. Also the scenario described by Jeremy has almost certainly happened, as well. Edward, Justin, and the others had innovative ways to raise the money. The descriptions of the wildfires range from thrilling, at a distance, to chilling, up close. The Mallacoota voices on the pier ring very true, as well. Looking forward to the next chapter, @Wombat Bill I also look forward to analysis of the chapter by @Summerabbacat, @NimirRaj, @chris191070, and others. I have to admit, I had trouble choosing an emoji for this chapter. More than one emoji seemed to fit. I am hopeful that Virginia and Desmond survive, especially considering the way Virginia is growing in compassion and understanding that many do not have the advantages she has had in her life.

Virginia and Desmond are in major trouble. At least they are near the water. One Eata and Ed Weiner are a dynamic duo. The teaser for the next chapter is nice and vague. It could mean almost anything. Way to go, @Wombat Bill. By the way, were you or @Summerabbacat in any personal danger from the wildfires when they were going on? I am hoping the two of you and your loved ones were safe.

I am glad Virginia is paying for the needed treatment of Thomas. Her caring is likely to make the difference on his recovery. I am also pleased with Virginia's coping with the confinement due to the fires. In the area of the United States where I live, most of the firefighters are volunteers. The town I live closest to has 16 full-time paid firefighters, and the city is trying to come up with the money to hire more. The Fire District I live in has four paid staff and relies on volunteers or mutual aid for the rest. They also have a couple of stations where two volunteers get to live for free, except for their food and personal use items. When the closest town got a paid firefighting staff the insurance rates went way down for residents of the town. In the town with the paid fire fighting staff, the volunteers who assist get $25 per fire stipend for helping. The ambulance people are paid by the county, thanks to a sales tax passes many years ago. This has helped greatly on ambulance response time and lifesaving. Justin was being extremely obtuse on the follow-up care that Thomas needs, and especially on guarding his speech so as not to upset Thomas further. However, I have found that attitude all too common in other people's dealings dealing with my own close female relative. Some people cannot understand that because THEY think they would act a certain way, others will not feel the same. Also -- some persons have the wrong idea that the person suffering mentally is faking it. With very few exceptions, they are NOT faking it, and need time, care, and sometimes medication for improvement, and hopefully, recovery. Though, it must be admitted, sometimes recovery is not as complete as those around the person might wish. @Wombat Bill, I must compliment you on how sensitive you are being in writing this story. It is somewhat cathartic to me to read a sensitive story like this as opposed to some stories I have read. You are doing well regarding the bushfires and the fallout from them. Your descriptions ring true with the reality of what I have read in news and personal reports on the fires.

@Summerabbacat -- I have dealt with more than one type of deluded person. One was very close to me, and at first, that close relative could not respond to anything which was against her delusion. Eventually, she had a rational moment long enough to realize she needed help. Also fortunately, I had two personal friends who were medical doctors that she trusted, and among the three of us, she eventually agreed to get the help she needed. Bluntness from me was not tolerated. Around the edges bluntness was tolerated from the two doctor friends. With some of the others it was a kind of religious and political delusion combination, where they thought they were some kind of "special knowledge and/or abilities person" of importance. Those have to be handled almost as carefully -- but usually are not an immediate physical danger to themselves or others. @Wombat Bill is writing with tremendous compassionate care in the story. The handling of the story fits "usual respectful and sensitive manner," as you said.