Azorf

An excellent story, thank you. Of course, AI is designed to learn and to learn from its mistakes where possible. It's the underlying programming which makes the difference, whether it's HAL and the conflicts inside it's programme causing it to go rogue, the terminator after it's chip was switched from read only to write or the android in Asimov's Bicentennial Man. I wait for the epilogue with interest

Thought he might be having a cameo in your story! Who knows where that may lead

Writer on Iomfats.org

Michael Arram? Are we looking at a crossover? 😬

Hmm, nice chapter. #trekkie 😁

This was a good story until the ending, not just because of the sudden change in direction but I feel if the author has suddenly realised he is having a deadline to meet and rushed things at the end, leaving many loose ends.

I remember this piece from the old story. Devon acts like a jerk and becomes GOM (grumpy old man!)

I am waiting for the tsunami to sweep in! We have had earth (quake), air (cyclone) and fire, just left for water to come!

More Rothenia, hooray!!!!

A 1/2" pipe from an artesian well? I think the fire will have burnt out before the plane is filled! 😃

This story is familiar. is this a rewrite of one of yours which disappeared a few years ago?

By accident? Or design??

I get thefeeling this will not end well......

22 acres? I think a bit small for a resort. Perhaps a private island.

Golf course, army base, airport, this wildlife sanctuary is starting to become crowded! With the earthquakes I would be worried the whole island will disappear under the ocean like Atlantis! I wonder what is the helicopter they are using to lift all the containers as most will not lift the weight?

I am wondering if Rory wanted that relationship if he cut all contacts? I also am wondering if Grant is ready as he sounds like a very cold person who does not seem to have developed friends in the six years he is living in Scotland. I hope he finds a relationship as his life is looking lonely at the present.

Like wow! Maybe there's a chance for them both. Can't wait for the next one.

As others have said the Anton character seems to have some serious issues which I would be concerned if I was relying on him as an employer or skipper. I have noticed with this and others of Quokkas main characters in other stories that they react to something going against them by running away and hiding. I am surprised how quickly Anton seems to change personality and I would think that in the time scale of this story somebody would have mentioned it to him and suggest he seeks professional help. Or are they all scared of him? A very confusing person.

A fairy story with real fairies! Well I had to get that in! All rainbows and fluffy bunnies in the end with lots of helpings of 'lurve' spread throughout. A nice one to finish off a tiring week. More please!

I love sailing stories and this is quite a good one despite the occasional slip, like the yacht suddenly growing from 96 to 135ft! I am surprised at only having a small number to sail it, alarm bells ring in my head in several places in the story and I think how many thing could go wrong, BUT it is a story after all. Anton is strange, despite all his responsibilities he seems to 'run away' when things get tough and is lucky to have good crew to back him up. I would also have liked to see more insight into his character so we can better see the story from his point of view.

I was interested that this turned out to be a straight guy story as jaysalmn says, despite the start, and the sudden change from firefighting to joining the army was unexpected. Despite the young age of the main character he seems to be too mature, in fact I feel he would be more of a recluse, taking life too seriously: I pity his stepson and children as he does not appear to be able to be a fun dad. Although there are some slips in the story from 1st to 3rd person I can see past those, but my main moan is the shallowness of the character, it could do with more insights into his thinking or feelings to flesh it out and make it more 3D, more human.

I am surprised. A 4 hour train journey? I could walk the length of Liechtenstein in that time! And there is no airport in Liechtenstein so surely if they are going to Australia they would fly from Geneva or Zurich??? :-S

+1 for Terry P. Really really love his stories. Reading Buzz Aldrin's 'Encounter with Tiber' It jumps around a bit between viewpoints but the storyline to quote Amazon "oscillates between the careers of two human astronauts, Chris Terence and his son, Jason, on the moon and Mars, and the efforts of the Tiberians (from a planet of Alpha Centauri) to colonize Earth during prehistoric times. Chris meets his destiny while trying to retrieve a Tiberian relic from the moon. Meanwhile, the Tiberians' desperate efforts to colonize a habitable planet before their own is destroyed runs up against a host of well-depicted obstacles. Folly, prejudice, petty rivalries and bureaucratic befuddlement are shown to be common to both races, which are depicted with wit and empathy." Sounds like my place of work!

All mine happened in tents! His name was Mark and he often came to stay with his grandparents across the road. I was 11 and my dad had bought a new tent that summer so I was spending a few nights camping in our yard. We were friends and I asked if he'd like to sleep over. As it was still light when we went to bed we got talking before moving on to more interesting things and he gave me my first kiss. I learned a lot that night! The first girl was Carolyn. She and her two sisters were camping across the river from where me and 3 friends were camped during a canoe trip and they swam over to see us. I was 14 and mainly remember her damp bikini soaking my tshirt while we sat round the fire.

Hope I've done this right.... Karl Jenkins, I love 'The Armed Man' and this track is probably one of the best on that. However he is very much alive, so as I am heavily into electronic music I will add Isao Tomita and one of his many adaptations of classics.