David McLeod

Global Explorer Tommy Samson’s Quarters March 11, 0300 hours Artie was reluctant to accept Tommy’s invitation for a sleepover after their watch. “Tommy, the other boys . . . they’ll figure out that we’re . . . you know, doing sex things.” “Artie? I don’t like that expression—sex things I mean. I want what we’re doing to be boyfriend things. That’s a lot more than sex, you know.” Artie froze. Then, he blushed and looked at Tommy. “Do you, really? Are we really boyfriends?” “That is what I w

Chapter 19: Orphans and Enemies Viktoria Romanov’s Diary March 9, 2018 The Chudov Monastery had been destroyed by the communists in 1929, and then rebuilt by the KGB in the early 21st century as part of their drive to woo the Russian Orthodox Church. Work had been completed just before the execution of the premier. In the confusion that followed, only a caretaker staff had moved in. They were, for the most part, elderly monks, although several nuns from Orthodox communities in Poland, Germ

Chapter 18: Magnetic Poles and Manic Pundits Global Explorer South Magnetic Pole March 4, 2018 Our magnetic compasses hadn’t been of much use for some time. In the Supercargo mess hall, Bobby Bell had mounted a compass vertically to show the “dip” in the magnetic field as it entered the earth, and a computer display that showed the ship’s location with respect to the South Magnetic Pole. He also had a continuous slide show that showed how the magnetic field had flipped over the aeons, and

Oops! Thanks for the correction. I knew that, but somehow, those particular neurons were "off duty" that day.

Chapter 17: Political Pushback Global Explorer Circumnavigating Antarctica February 26, 2018 @ 0900 Joe’s announcement of the Navajo power plant was carried in its entirety by one of the financial news networks whose talking heads then dissected the implications. Already, stock in coal companies had taken a hit, and the stock of The Western Company had tanked. At least three global stock exchanges had halted trading in energy stocks. &sciencetruthnolies: western company owns nothin

Chapter 16: More H-Power Tsar Jonathan’s Office The Winter Palace Davey Jones’s Journal February 23, 2018 Jonathan had announced that he was taking command of the Russian Armed Forces, and declared a cease-fire between them and all the people who weren’t loyal to him, including remnants of the KGB. There were likely others, but we didn’t think of that, then. Jonathan had talked with Mr. A, and they had agreed to a timetable for the announcement. I understood why, later. There had been s

I own Strunk and White, too. The possessive of names ending in s is 's except for "important" names, such as Moses and Jesus. As I have pointed out, before, Nemesis, Zeus, Mars, and others of their ilk and pantheon deserve, IMHO, the same treatment. As I have often pointed out, these stories take place in other realities than ours and while there may be similarities and analogues, they are not the same and the straw men I raise are not the same as those in our reality. And, as I have said, before as well, I write in part to impart my opinions on everything from religion to politics and to challenge others to think through their own prejudices. There are many other authors and stories on this site. I am sure you can find something that suits you. Thank you for offering your thoughts.

Chapter 15: Finding Boyfriends East Wing, the White House February 21 @ 7:30 AM “Folks, I apologize for getting you up so early in the morning,” President Hawkins said. “On the other hand, I suspect that with an eight hour time difference between here and St. Petersburg, we’re all going to have to get accustomed to it.” He shook his head in a mock gesture, and said, “I think I can see a spike in coffee futures.” It got a chuckle. Which was pretty good given the time of day. “You have

Chapter 14: The Taking of Russia 1 2 3 Jonathan’s Journal Anconia Compound, Montana February 17, 2018 “When this unfolds, it will unfold quickly,” Mr. A had said. I knew what he meant. He and I were briefed at least once a day, sometimes more often, on the progress of our mercenary forces in Russia. They were working quickly toward multiple goals, and were getting close. I had said goodbye to Mother and flown with Mr. A, Davey, and a handful of the Romanov people—including Davey’s new fr

Chapter 13: Betrayal and Friendship Old Ebbett’s Grill Washington, DC February 13, 2018 “This is entirely too public,” the Bishop groused. “Politicians? Press? Should we be seen here?” “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone,” Elder #1 said. “Would you please make sense?” the Bishop said. “The other patrons are either politicians or their handler-lobbyists. None of them is guiltless,” the Elder said. “Further, all of them were brainwashed in the Christian tradition as children

Chapter 12: Dark Net and Dark Plans Davey Jones’s Journal Anconia Compound, Virginia January 30, 2018 The members of the Romanov family who had moved to Virginia—including children—had been scanned and cleared by Jonathan, Fabiop, and me. We were about to bring Jaf into the inner-circle of the inner circle. So, I introduced him to Langen. Of course, there were still circles within circles to which Jaf wasn’t yet privy. To keep Jaf from wondering about that, I took him on a tour of the com

Chapter 11: Russian Roll-Up Rump KGB Ulyanovsk, Russia January 28, 2018 @ 9:00 PM “Two more kiddie porn sites have been shut down, and their operators have disappeared—along with a lot of money. More than 300 of our operatives have been imprisoned in Lubyanka. We know that at least 50 others have been executed. All the guards have been replaced with so-called mercenaries—men we know to be American special forces and seals, plus similar men from several other countries. Our attempts to vis

Chapter 10: More than One Kind of Pride Rump KGB Ulyanovsk, Russia January 26, 2018 “What have we heard from our man in the Romanov Organization?” “He has won the confidence of Francisco Anconia,” one of the members answered. “He has learned—” “If he believes that, he is a fool,” the leader interrupted. “Something that Francisco Anconia is not. Whatever this self-proclaimed count says, whatever we hear from him, filter it through that. Consider everything he has been told to be a lie un

Thank you, and (again) thanks to Beta Readers Brendan and Ricky. Continuity, flow, and consistency are a challenge at any time, and especially in a 100,000 word ms.

Hmm. Sounds as if you've been watching too much cable news. But, you are right.

Chapter 9: H-Power on the Arctic Circle Global Explorer Ensign Azisa N’Kosi Laboratory Notes January 20, 2018 The retrofit crew had created twenty quarters with handicapped access; only seven of them were in use. It wasn’t hard for me to assign one of the extras to myself, and even easier for me to convert the extra-large bathroom into a laboratory. I was a member of the United Nations Science Corps, and an Ensign. I stood watch on the bridge, but my only science-related duty was conning

I hope not, but it wouldn't be the first time a character took on a life of his or her own, to my surprise.

Chapter 8: Dryads and Dead Zones When we realize the magnitude of the effort that will be required to avert disaster, we all too often discover a vested interest in pessimism. After all, if the situation is hopeless, why act? —Al Jazeera (paraphrased) on attitudes toward climate change, January 5, 2014 Earth Analogue III Anconia Compound, Virginia, USA Jonathan Romanov’s Journal January 11, 2018 I thought I’d overslept, and that Davey was shaking my shoulder to wake me up. Whe

They're learning. Wonder if there's anything I've overlooked WRT telepathy. Any thoughts?

Thank you. Hope you continue to enjoy it. Please let me know if I fall down, anywhere.

Chapter 7: Telepathy and Carteles Rump KGB Novgorod, Russia January 9, 2018 @ 11:30 PM “He is assembling allies,” the senior man, a Colonel, said, interrupting the aide who was reading from an email message. “Or the Anconias are drawing him and others in,” a second man said. “Which is more likely?” “Think, fool!” the Colonel said. “The boy knew the codes for the vault. He has managed to co-opt the support of that pathetic Romanov organization. What is more likely: that he is really what

Because you are perceptive, would be my guess.

You caught it! Hoorah for you. And thank you.

Chapter 6: School Days Global Explorer January 8, 2018 @ 1000 hours Monday. The first day of the week. On the Explorer, it’s hard to understand that, sometimes. We change time zones to match our position, and we stand watches 24/7. The days of the week merge, one into the other. Today, the high school kids on board were—for the most part—in class, although class on the Global Explorer had a different meaning than in traditional schools. Some of the students were in the sensor control room

Thank you for your review and your questions. I'm going to answer in a message (I see yours in my inbox, and am headed there, next).