David McLeod

The good news is that the US dollar seems to be weakening against other world currencies, meaning the cheap crap from China won't be as cheap. OTOH, the Chinese are not above playing around with the value of the yuan. Their reliance on slave labor, especially in factories controlled by their military, will likely continue unabated. At least we (mostly) eliminates slavery in this country by 1930.

Chapter 11: Navajo at Sea A week or so after Jonathan returned to the ship, I received an email from the triplets. The message was simply, “Thank you! We love you! You’re the best big brother, ever.” The attached photo was of the three boys astride three beautiful Abtenaurs, perhaps the world’s best working horse—my birthday present to them, courtesy of my father. Then, I did a double take. They weren’t at Dad’s Middleburg horse farm: they were on the Montana ranch. Sitting on the top rail

Chapter 10: Fathers’ Legacy It wasn’t long before reality set in. It didn’t seem to matter that we’d reached the North Pole: Dr. Brewster was anxious to get to the Atlantic to measure salinity. I ordered a course set for the northwest corner of Greenland and the strait between Canada and Greenland that led to Baffin Bay. We were still trailing the sensor package, so our speed was about 15 knots when Lt. Anik cornered me on the bridge. “Sir, I hope you don’t think this too froward, but I wou

Okay, there was a little hyperbole, there. But yes, it was one hell of a session. Change: I think it was Abe Lincoln who said, "We see as wisdom that which is only knowledge, and as progress that which is only change." You are correct, pushing the changes that need to be made will be difficult. There's a hint of that in Chapter 10, which is now out for beta read. David

Hi, DD, Once again, the characters ran away with this one. I think they managed to turn it into some 9,000 words. The next is out for beta read, and is only about 6,000 words. David

Chapter 9: Explorer Ninety North “Arctic sea ice was 98% melted last summer, very close to the predictions of the US Naval Postgraduate School. Given the subsequent rise in average global temperature, which has been greater in the Arctic than elsewhere, it’s likely that we will lose all the ice this summer,” Dr. Brewster began the meeting. Captain Izzard, Drs. Brewster and Gannon, Jonathan, and Sea Cadets from both our team and Dr. Brewster’s team filled my conference room. Dr. Brewster had

DD, It is a great word, and one that the language has needed for some time. David

Carlos, I enjoyed Clancy's first couple of books; after that, they seemed formulaic. And, truthfully, Alexander and the president's approach to geo-politics are their own. Alexander and Jonathan have taken over this story, and it's going where they lead. Hang on!David

Ricky, I'll do my best not to be depressing or ridiculous.David

Chapter 8: “Global Explorer 1, Russia 0” “Sonar reports an underwater contact,” Captain Izzard said. It was 3:00 AM. Jonathan and I had just reached the bridge, and were still zipping up our jump suits. The captain’s summons had been urgent. “We’re strictly in passive mode,” he said. “Signals from the sensor array suggest a submarine about 100 nautical miles west-by-west-north-west. I called you because it’s moving directly toward us.” Our detour to the Japanese whaling ship had taken us

Chapter 7: Neutrinos and PCBs “Three quarks for Muster Mark!” —James Joyce, Finnegan’s Wake Davey’s question—whether I preferred top or bottom—had triggered a thought. Top and bottom quarks are created only during high-energy collisions. They decay almost immediately to up and down quarks. Neutrons are composed of two down and one up quark; protons, which carry an electrical charge and could therefore interact with an electromagnetic field, are composed of two ups and a down. It was the be

Carlos, Thank you so much for reading and for "getting hooked" on Ch 1. I hope the hooks will continue. David

Chapter 6: Davey “Davey? Remember, I told you I thought I’d seen Jonathan somewhere? Would you come look at this?” Nicky was sitting at the computer terminal in the boys’ quarters. Davey draped his arm over his boyfriend’s shoulder. “What have you got?” Davey asked. Then he saw the image. “That’s Jonathan, isn’t it?” Davey said. “He’s cute. He looks like he’s about twelve years old. Where did you find it? Is that a military outfit he’s wearing? What’s on his cap? I mean, just about everyth

The best way to write Science Fiction (and I see this story as such) is to take current reality and extrapolate it. Yettie One has done that in a most reasonable and logical manner, and then wrapped it in humanity and relationships. Five stars!

Good time of day, and thank you for your thought about the dead zones. I did some research, and will incorporate a "South Pacific Gyre Trash" zone in a future chapter. I'm aware of the dead zone created by the fertilizer and other crap (scientific term for "poison") that flows from the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico. If you have specific references to other dead zones, I'd like to learn more. Please send info/links. Thank you. David

Chapter 5: Nicky A whistle from the voice tube interrupted the unpacking and my conversation with Nicky. Rather than answer the voice tube, I picked up the phone, and pressed the digits that would put me through to the bridge. “Commander Anconia? This is First Officer Thackery. We have reached deep water, and are ready to deploy the towed array. Dr. Brewster asks if you will join the party on the fantail.” “Yes, Mr. Thackery; thank you.” I knew that party meant people and not celebration; sti

Honestly, telepathy is a crutch to support a weak story line (and author). It's just so much easier than having characters fumbling around, and it's a heck of a lot more accurate than gaydar. David

Good time of day, DD, if I may be so bold, What a great idea! There's still time for them to encounter such and at least raise the issue. Thank you for the idea. David

Chapter 4: Sailing the Global Explorer The submersibles had reached the dock safely and then been loaded onto the ship. Now, they rested in their cradles below decks. Fuel for the planes and helos had been piped aboard from a tender. The larder was stocked; the crew had been hired; the science team was on board. There was only one obstacle remaining. My management team—that is to say the uncles, aunts, and cousins who were the Board of Directors of Hyper Ski—was individually and collectivel

Thank you. With the addition of Brendan and Ricky as beta readers, there's now enough talent behind it that this story may, actually, come together.

Chapter 3: Mission Preparation—and Triplets I picked up Dad at the Great Falls International Airport and drove him to Wire Mill Hill. “Wire mill” was by now very much a misnomer: it had tripled in size and was a bustling—and very clean—industrial complex. Even with the window sticker, we were challenged to show identification. The guards knew me by sight; some of them probably recognized Dad. It didn’t matter. Everyone was challenged. Our discoveries and manufacturing processes needed more p

This started as two different stories, neither of which was long enough to publish. It was a bit tricky to merge them, and some of the seams may be a little rough. Glad you were able to piece them together.

Thank you for reading and for sharing your very kind words about this story. I find myself linked to these boys, as well: each brings something important to the synergy. The "treasure" will appear, again.

Thank you for defending Australia. I do not want to offend my friends in Australia, and have a great respect for that country and its people. [For example, see the thread that runs through “0300 Book 3.” The Australians, and in particular an Australian Cadet are portrayed heroically, I think.] It has been my experience, and the results of my research show, that the Australia of this reality has a cultural norm that strongly opposes child labour and child trafficking for sexual purposes, and, in fact, instances of both are rare. That is well documented, I think, in a legal research guide from the New South Wales State Library: Australia: http://www.unicef.org.au/Media/Media-Releases/August-2012/Child-Labour--not-ok-in-Australia,-not-ok-anywhere.aspx A more current article, without specifics, from the University of Adelaide addresses only the lack of a regulatory framework: http://www.adelaide.edu.au/news/news61881.html [if Australia has signed that convention, I’d very much like to hear of it.] For a historical perspective of a sad chapter in history, read and follow references in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Children I largely ignore articles which include fundraising appeals as it has been my experience that they exaggerate even more than I do. Thank you for bringing your concerns to my attention and allowing me an opportunity to reply.

Please take a look at my reply to Ricky. I understand what you've said. The issue is far more complex.