Geron Kees

Oh...oh. No, I couldn't do that to Mike. I don't think!

Well, Christmas is just around the corner. And through elf dimension C-2, round that big, strange, dark thing in the corner of limbo, and straight ahead. Piece of cake!

Thank you! It's always my pleasure.

Haha! Actually, a very large semi-truck that has a slot to plug in an artificial mind has been used before, to great effect, in John DeChancie's trilogy starting with Starrigger, and followed by Red Limit Freeway, and Paradox Alley. The premise of these tales is pretty cool. Betcha you could find them online, cheap, maybe Ebay. They are not Hugo-winners, but they are fun, pretty much. Consider this a recommendation. And...I'm sure authors everywhere would be pleased to hear your thanks!

Thank you very much! Sometimes you don't know which kind of smile you are facing, until you either get bitten, or not!

Thank you. Always happy to share being happy with others!

I agree, It's about time that Mike got a love interest. So...who is available? Hmm. Guess we'll have to create somebody for him!

Hmmm. Interesting idea. You're hired, too!

Skwish is not what makes an elf powerful. Skwish is a sense of things, and perhaps the basis for which elves know so much about what is going on around them, and what they need to do WITH their power. In a human, it can go almost any way. For Kippy, it goes HIS way! Of course, this is all semi-fiction, you understand?

Aw...you're just sayin' that! But...thanks!

Max is an understanding guy. But as a mature elf, he understands that Happy Time is for the bedroom, not just about everywhere else. Obviously, his teens years are slightly behind him.

Kippy steals a lot of the best lines. It's his nature!

Gee, I love that kind of talk! You're hired!

Ugh. I don't think Ja zuster, nee zuster is the finest in Nederlander TV. But, Rusthuis Klivia did spawn a number of crazy, well-remembered characters, and I I guess I was not terribly surprised it made it into a cinematic version. And, I always had a liking for the nutty guy that lived in the basement and made up all sorts of crazy inventions. The show's tendency to burst into song would seem odd to Americans. It was an older show even when I was a kid, having originally been broadcast sometime around the time I was born. But it's been available there in one from or another just about ever since. Anyone for a round of De kat van ome Willem (Uncle William's Cat)?

"I don't know what to make of it," Max was saying, when Charlie opened his eyes again. Kippy was still against him, and stirring now, too. Charlie smiled, gave him a brief and affectionate kiss, and sat up. "Don't know what to make of what?" Max turned to look at him. "Well, hi, sleepy head." Kippy sat up too. "Is it morning?" "It's about seven hours later, by your reckoning," Max said. "But I think it's still light outside this cave right now." He held up a finger and pointed it

Haha. Well, turkey and cheese is good, and it's a little healthier than some other combinations. There will be more of this tale, eventually. Thanks!

Thanks. I don't know about 'quick', but at least it's in 'parts' that are easier to digest.

Some things are suggested but not used until later stories. Hope you will not be disappointed! You got the spelling right!

Ahhhh. I can see now that I am talking to a sci-fi reader, a Jedi, and a Who-fan. There are much worse things to be! I agree, obviously, that Billy seized upon the moment to become a beloved character from an old movie. I was thinking what I would do in that situation, and so it was natural. When I came to the US in 1976, I had seen very little in the way of science fiction in film. TV in the Nederlands is, well - not like here. The 70's were big time cable TV years in the US, and there was just so much stuff to watch that I was hard-pressed to keep up. My dad is a lifelong sci-fi fan, and I absorbed that from him from an early age. When we got here, he introduced me to giant ants, grasshoppers, scorpions, and rampaging dinosaurs; the monster from the ID, the Krell, and Robby the Robot; Ray Harryhausen, in all his glorious manifestations; invaders of every sort, from the Martian to shape-changing to the invisible; and to a rather interesting and humane visitor named Klaatu, and his robot companion, Gort. I guess it stuck!

"You think leaving your ship here will be okay?" Charlie asked Mike, as their group reached the spaceport. "Oh, sure. Nobody will mess with it here on Engris. It would mean 'em getting kicked right out." They had come back to Sefton's garage, said goodbye to the man, and promised to look him up when they returned, for another trip to the dead city. That the fellow was burning to ask how Gort had come to join them in the supposedly deserted dome seemed obvious; but his professionalism kep

Thank you. Love your commenting style!

Always glad to see you, too. I like intelligent machines that are companionable. Fun. Too much has been made of scary AI in science fiction. Giving them human personalities and leaving just a little 'machine' in there with it makes them very fun characters. For that matter, I grew up reading adventure science fiction. I can get along with the Hugo and Nebula stuff, too. Some of it is extremely thought provoking. But I don't always want my thoughts provoked - sometimes I just want to go off on a romp and have fun. I tried to write a really serious, thought-provoking science fiction story once, and fell asleep after the third paragraph. If my friendly and companionable AI buddy, Nyf, had not awakened me, I would have missed dinner!

Not number 2, anyway!

I'll take that as a compliment! I have been reading your Fragments stuff, and I have not noticed that you have slowed down one bit!

Suggestions?