David McLeod

True. I was able to get the only copy among 300 libraries in Georgia through inter-library loan. Not popular, either...I'm pretty sure I was the first person to have read it.

Chapter 5: Tectonic Tests GX Off the Coast of North Carolina January 4, 2018 @ 1300 A quick word with Nicky had made sure that everything that came from &sciencetruthnolies would be brought to our attention. We were about to do something spectacular. If there were a mole on the GX, I hoped this would flush him out. We announced what we were calling a ‘calibration test’ of the seismometers. After launching the fixed wing aircraft, which took advantage of the relative wind across the de

Quokka, as always, thank you for reading and replying, and for helping with the Australian segments, to come.

Chapter 4: UFC & KGB & A Leak Global Explorer Off East Coast USA January 3, 2018 @ 0930 Eastern Time We watched as Dad and Jonathan met some very heavy-duty diplomats including my third cousin twice removed, the woman who was the American Secretary of State, and then walk with them into one of the oldest Swiss banks. “That’s the UN Secretary General,” one of the press crew whispered. “And the American Secretary of State. And the British Foreign Minister. And the Canadian. And th

Poor Nicky? He's the boyfriend of the mission commander and adopted son of an admiral and a (probably) CIA operative. He's in the cat-bird's seat!

And thank you for your suggestions and input! You'll see your name at the end of the book but please know that you were instrumental in the Australia segments.

Chapter 3: Sailing the Global Explorer Global Explorer, Norfolk, Virginia January 1, 2018 @ 0400 Hours “Mr. Samson? Please bring the reactors to full power and prepare for departure,” Dr. Purdom ordered. “I’ll be in my quarters trying to get a couple hours sleep before Commander Anconia arrives. He’ll probably want a staff meeting.” “You can do it, son,” he said softly to Tommy’s open-mouthed surprise. Tommy watched the man leave the deck and then gestured to Artie. “Take Reactor Control

Oh, yeah.New players: got to find all the boys boyfriends.

Chapter 2: Not So Secret, After All Anconia Virginia Compound December 20—25, 2017 Ensign Davey Jones’s Journal Jonathan asked me to be with him when he told his mother that he was going to claim the crown of Russia—and tell her about us. I had never been so frightened in my life. “Mom, you know that Dad was the only surviving patrilineal descendant of the Romanov dynasty. Now, I am. Mr. Anconia knows that, too, and he has convinced me that I should reclaim that throne and clean Russia o

Good time of day, DD, Chapter 2 will be posted mid-week. It will backtrack just a but to set several events in motion. Thank you for reading and for your enthusiasm. David

Chapter 1: Carrier Landing Global Explorer off the Coast of Virginia January 2, 2018 @ 0900 Nicky and I sat in jump seats and looked over the pilot’s shoulder. The deck of the Global Explorer grew from the size of a postage stamp to—to the size of a postage stamp. “We’re going to land on that?” Nicky whimpered. I grabbed his hand, not sure if I were trying to comfort him or draw comfort from him. We had watched flight operations—a year of flight operations—but neither of us had ever made

The kids of the Global Explorer and schools throughout the world show that they can make a difference. Armed with science leavened with a touch of magic*, they help bring the Enlightenment to the most closed societies of Earth. [*It’s magic only until you understand it.]

Vignette 2: A Red Heifer No one is starting new churches any more, not even in the many abandoned strip malls and storefronts that blight cities and towns across the country. The old mainline churches are disappearing: their younger members siphoned off by the Universal Fundamentalist Church; their older members dying. Their properties are being foreclosed, their clergy is aging, their seminaries are shuttered. The plight of the religious communities—ill and impoverished nuns, priests, and m

Good time of day, Again, thank you for taking the time to offer some serious and insightful thoughts. There's a lot of territory for me to cover in my reply. Easiest first: I have found that the characters often seem to take off, and define not only the story but their relationships. Yes, I expected Alan and Patrick to become much more than just friends, but apparently, that was not what they wanted. Patrick is a bit like Ivan, reared in a somewhat magical and isolated environment (although not so much as Alan). I'm pretty sure Alan was his first real "crush," and perhaps that's all it was. Your point about Ivan, himself, was well taken. He does have a bit of a larger role in "Durch Ferne Welten..." but he's still very much a child, who is still learning. (While his physical body and "technical" age may have been advanced by the Mage, his isolation--as I think you sussed--kept him from really "growing up") I will keep your thoughts in mind for the sequel of "Durch Ferne..." which will someday be developed. (Right now, I'm trying desperately to find the story arc in the sequel to "Global Explorer'") There is a plan for everyone to get together, someday. ("If not in this lifetime, in another.") Again, thank you for your thoughts.

Good time of day,It's always a pleasure when someone discovers a story and even more so when he or she takes the time and effort to post a review. Thank you, for both. When this series of stories was first written, I was asked why I didn't write more intimate scenes. My reply was that I suspected most readers' imaginations were much better than my writing. I have made some progress, I hope, in the intervening years. Still, I prefer to set the stage and let the readers' imaginations take it from there. More than one Guildmaster of the Thieves Guild has noted the difficulty in explaining their philosophy. They are definitely not Evil (upper or lower case). That's an outgrowth of an old D&D scenario I ran for a bunch of youngsters; I did not want to glorify evil. I hope you will continue reading. The "Timeline" might help you decide were to go, next. "Global Explorer" is my latest project. It takes place in a world that is closer to ours than any other. Thank you, again, for reading and reviewing. David

Thanks for reading, and for offering some really good feedback. This was one of my earliest stories, and I was unsure about how to show relationships. I've gotten some outstanding help from readers and other authors on this site, and may have improved. My most recent story, Global Explorer, explores not only the science of climate change, but also relationships among four like-aged boys with widely different backgrounds. I'd like to hear your thoughts comparing these two stories, if you please.

Been there, too. Maybe that's why I'm so attracted to the notion. I expect we'll see a few more of them in GX II, which is becoming harder and harder to write as readers continue to raise the bar and set expectations I feel obligated to meet. Hope the wunderkind will help at least a little.

He's tough, and already finding himself in trouble--even before the 2018 mission starts. It's going to take a while before posting starts, please have patience.

Carlos, Thank you so much! "GX I" was fun to write, and owes much to readers including yourself. "GX II" has an outline of about 18,000 words, but I cannot say how soon it will be posted. Please keep "a weather eye" out for it.David

Chapter 14: Tsar He would have been a Pericles in Athens; He would have been a Brutus in Rome; But in Russia he was only a hussar officer. —Alexander Pushkin, on Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich Romanov On the second of January, 2018 the Global Explorer set sail from Norfolk. On that same day, from the Montana airfield, Francisco Anconia, Jonathan Romanov, Davey Jones, and a security team took the Becker B757 direct to Zurich. Uncle Luce accompanied them. I had not been invited; I u

Chapter 13: Inequality for All Dr. Purdom had invited me to attend Tommy’s formal initiation as a member of the black gang. At first, I was afraid that the initiation might involve blackface and create an un-politically-correct situation, even though Dr. Purdom himself was black. So, I asked Dr. Purdom. “What will it involve?” “Do you remember the party the Navy men threw when we crossed the equator?” he asked. I blushed when I remembered having to kiss the belly of one of the retired Chie

Aunt E is an amalgam of two of my aunts and a "first cousin once removed" whom we always called "aunt." They're all dead, now, but their memory lives on in Aunt E. Good catch!

Carlos, I'd completely forgotten about the "Lost City" of hydrothermal vents after reading about it almost 15 years ago. (In fact, I've forgotten what I had for breakfast, yesterday. Sigh.) I'm afraid we'll not get to the Lost City. The final chapters have been written and are back from beta read/line edit. And, the next voyage will take the Explorer in another direction. As to "calm before the storm," well. You'll have to judge that over the course of the next two weeks.

Chapter 12: Россия Pravda: “News” Isvestia: “Truth” Russian aphorism: There is no pravda in Isvestia, and no isvestia in Pravda. “Alex? I know you and your dad want me to—somehow—claim the throne of Russia. I’ve learned enough about you and your dad to know that he could make that happen.” Jonathan paused, to think or to give me a chance to say something. I wasn’t sure what to say, but I had to say something. “You’re frightened; I can tell. Are you afraid of my father?” “Oh, no!” J

When you said "complicated systems" you hit the nail on the head (to coin a click). Climate is incredibly complex, and like the dancing bear, the climate models are amazing. Not that they work (dance) so well, but that they work (dance) at all. Someone important once said, "All models are wrong, but some are useful." That's my take, as a scientist and engineer, on the climate models used by the IPCC: they're probably not spot on, but they're useful in predicting what is likely to happen. Perhaps not exactly as or when, but pretty damn close. And yes, there are multiple causes and effects, multiple multipliers. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. David