Wayne Gray

What a great companion you were to your baby. They know love when they receive it. They know. 💚 Sorry for your loss. It's never easy.

I'm not sure how to reply to that, other than... thanks for reading, Chris. LOL

Everybody likes feeling needed. Naren keeps assigning importance to Vacumine, and it is important. But he has seemed to skip over his and Aster's collective skill with the Extractor Arm. We can watch him just sort of skip over it when cataloguing what he brings to the table. Even when he does think about it, he assigns it purely to Aster. That's telling. Standon is something new to Naren. He doesn't know why he keeps circling back to the man, but funny enough, Aster and Wendell are both beginning to realize something that has evaded Naren so far. I like that. I think it's fun. Because you're right; Naren is beginning to build a life with someone. It has barely started, but he's taking those first little steps, and doesn't even know he has taken them. Aster and Naren are a great partnership. They bicker a bit, but most friends who know one another well do. And the longer we watch them, the clearer that gets. They're friends. Best friends. Though neither would call it that, the evidence seems to support it. Thanks for reading and for the comment. I appreciate it.

I want a blueberry farmer... but that's just me. Thanks for reading and commenting.

I am easily amused, and loved my title. LOL Naren does seem to value what he has found and carved out for himself among both Rockhopper's crew, and Standon both. He didn't necessarily like Aster pointing things out, then grew confused by that. Ah, denial is funny. But yes. "Waning wanderlust" is a great way to put it. Naren must really like blueberries, eh? Thanks for reading and commenting, Dave. See you next time.

I'm glad you like the social dynamics wrapped up in the AIs and the crew. And yes - Naren is staying on. You know, for... reasons. I like watching him try and justify his actions after the decision has already been made. It's both funny and illuminating. We'll have to see if Naren continues making it a point to see Standon. Aster seems to have opinions on the topic, that's for sure. Thanks for reading and for the comment. More to come next week.

You're so right. He is aware of his new behavior. He may have been able to ignore it for a while longer, but nope. Not with Aster around. But awareness doesn't mean a full embrace of what this behavior might mean. That's a different kettle of fish entirely. Thanks for the read and the great comment. More to come.

Chapter 4: Miner Delay "Hey, sailor." That same shit-eating grin and those same cocked hips greeted me as I walked down the corridor from Rockhopper's pressure door. This time, the rest of the crew was nearby, and the comment got a few smirks and raised eyebrows as they met their own people. I didn't care what they thought, really. Standon is a tall, handsome guy. It just raises my stock, far as I'm concerned. I watched Ren and the man meeting him both give Standon the once-over and no

I liked this the first time I read it, and I like it now too. It feels like a person moving on in life. About... not necessarily having control over everything, and coming to a place where they're at peace with that. That's what I got from it. Thanks, tim. Nice story.

You hit upon it. Naren hasn't really had a reason to test his kinesthetic skills until now. Now that he has, watch how he thinks about himself. His internal monologue and sense of self-worth may not be what we expect it to after something as revealing as the mining scene. Thanks for the great comment. More to come on Sunday.

Yeah, Aster was a bit snarky (in his dry way) there. LOL I'm glad you appreciated the sequence with Miri, Naren, and the Extractor Arm. I had wondered if it was too technical, but I couldn't cut it without showing off what Naren and Aster are capable of doing together. And you'll notice - Miri caught not only that Naren learned the Extractor Arm with Aster's help. But that he could likely learn just about anything requiring a human sitting at the controls. That is, if you give Aster information and enough time to incorporate it. Aster and Naren make a good team. We'll get to see more of that, too. Thanks for the comment and for reading. More to come next week.

Hehe. Glad you enjoyed the chapter. And yes. This does bring up some privacy questions. There's almost no hiding anything from your AI. There's a tiny edge case where it is possible, and we'll get to that, but it's not a common situation. Thanks for reading. I hope you find something fun in the rest of the story as well.

I don't know how I missed your comment, Tony! Let me correct that now. Yes, AI is currently a bit of a mess, and a messy topic in and of itself. I'm trying to imagine a world where we leverage possibilities to better the human condition, not enable powerful corporations to grab even more intellectual property and make it "theirs". I hope you can see what I'm trying to do with it in my tale. It really could be helpful. But we have to demand that, and not allow it to continue heading the way it is now. Thanks, Tony.

They are quirky - both of them are. You're right. And I think that makes them weird and fun. So I'm glad you are enjoying them. And quarts of blueberries are not bad things to have in the freezer. Lucky you. Yes. Standon has dirt, and he can (and is) making more of it. He started with a bit of dirt from Earth blueberry fields. So he has all of what they might need already. He just has to allow time for the Earth dirt to "infect" the Cerean material with life, and turn raw ammonia and other nitrogen compounds into stuff that's bioavailable to those plants. And his worms... And it's working! Thanks for commenting. There will be more to come next week.

Miri is inferring something from what she has observed. She knew Naren had never used an Extractor Arm before. So, her comment about kinesthetic tasks is based on observational evidence. In other words, she believes Naren can probably learn just about anything requiring coordination through a set of controls. And that's thanks to his deep connection to Aster. She has Nina, her own AI. And they work great together, too. But in this particular case, she recognizes that Naren/Aster have a weird feedback mechanism going for them that she doesn't. It's not magic. But... it's different. Thanks for reading and for the comment. More is coming next week.