Palantir

Heart, inspiration, and drive - I love it.Character, ideas and action. Yirgella seems to be becoming a stronger character in the story than I intended - but I like that.

Thanks, Sam. I didn't quite know how to respond as it's a complicated comparison.Mparntwe is different - it has to be to be a story in its own right, but because it's part of a series it also needs elements of similarity to make it a companion to Attunga. I'm delighted that you put them both in the 'good' basket.

Mparntwe Chapter 15. *** Jarra's curiosity levels were way high. Yesterday at home he'd had a talk with Yirgella about his time at Birringurra and Monkey Mia but that had been through the InterWeb because after travelling to Carnarvon and then to Mparntwe an extra trip to Alkere was too much. Now he was with Baradin, Burnu and Mirri in the transport plane which, instead of landing at Alkere, was proceeding at Yirgella's instruction, on a survey flight to check out all the progress at the new

Wow! What a powerful chapter. You really do interpersonal relationships well. First off for me was your talk about the school uniforms - In my teens at boarding school I had wear one all day. Then the movies. Lol - we saw one a fortnight in the school hall on a weekend. Then the cars at school - a driving licence wasn't available till 18 yrs old so the only cars at school belonged to teachers.Such a big difference to your situation. Drama and action. Very exciting.The plot stakes are rising.

Beautiful.

Neat! I loved that.

Beautiful picture. Beautiful words. - with a haunting sense of sadness I must say.

This chapter started by bringing a lump to my throat and ended with a smile. For me the scene between father and son was one of the most powerful I've seen in your writing - so much meaning portrayed without overstatement. Hmm. I think there might be some significant drama brewing in the school situation. Digital radio? Were they around then? Great chapter - keep them coming.

It was a bigger chapter than usual but I wanted to finish off the trip away in one post.Ancient is an extraordinarily appropriate word to use when talking about the First Australian culture. Estimates vary but the shortest talks of 40,000 years of continuous tradition and community and some evidence suggests the probability of more than 100,000 years. The Chinese and Egyptian civilizations become pipsqueaks in comparison. That is an interesting thought about the Neanderthals - I think the way a society treats the 'other' is a yardstick of its progress. Yes, Yirgella is becoming a force to be reckoned with.

Your kind comments continue to put a smile on my face.I managed to post chapter 14 in just over a week but I have a busy time ahead in the near future as well as a trip away so ch 15 might be two or even three weeks - sorry!

Mparntwe Chapter 14. *** After a five kilometer walk from their campsite the group was back at the Cultural Center for their last day and, after a lot of talk with the rest of family about events on the Walkabout, Jarra and Mirri set off with the little twins who, according to Jarli, had been pestering every day about when they could see Mirri again. Jarra took his personal carrier of course because this was the last explore they'd have at Birringurra and with it they'd be able to visit all t

WISH YOU WELL, A.J.! After more than two years of service as an Admin to the GA community A.J. has finished his time with us. I would like to publicly acknowledge the hours of background work, his friendly, direct manner, and his quick response to those tricky site questions. Thank you, A.J. You will be missed by many, many people.

Pink spoonbills? Wow, and here I was thinking spoonbills were uniquely Australian. I'm glad you enjoyed the walkabout section. I kept it brief because I'd already done a Walkabout description (another link) in Attunga.Lol - I've eaten Tiger snake (tasty) but never a skink or blue-tongue.

Thanks, Sam. Lol - can you beat a vicarious experience?I just realised while answering this that Birringurra was Jarra's first ever major holiday.

Great question and my response is that I'm at fault for not making a better explanation. In my mind, and quite arbitrarily, I set the ritual age at eighteen years which made Mirri eligible and Karmai way overdue. It will happen for Jarra in two years time. (The real age for this ritual is, I think, about thirteen or fourteen.)Yes, through the insistence of Baradin, Jarra is fully accepted into the family and thus the whole First Australian culture. (I have family friends who have been accepted in this way.) Mirri is ok. He lives very much in the moment. You do remember Akama. He becomes the figurehead for the whole Witness Council of Attunga and the most recognised human of all the Open Habitats. Akama IS the link between the two stories. (And ALSO the link to the sequel to Attunga -if I get that far.)

Again, thanks, Dathi. I originally planned to post on a 3 weekly basis but lately I've been managing a little more frequently. - I hope I can keep it at that rate.

Lol - I hope the time went quickly because of enjoyment.I'm delighted that you are enjoying this.

Very perceptive. Yes, that's how I hope to portray Jarra and Mirri - as wonderful complements to each other.

MPARNTWE Chapter 13. *** At the end of eight months Jarra and Yirgella ended NanoFactory work as their major focus. It was a far reaching project and in reality Jarra understood that it would continue indefinitely and while their original goals had been well and truly reached, every plateau of research and development brought new refinements and capabilities to consider. The prototype which became functional in the seventh month made a huge difference to their progress because many things

Lots of smiling occurred as I read this chapter. I liked the change of point of view at the start and the flashback worked really well. Hmm. Would a teenager of those times talk about such personal stuff over the telephone? You are portraying quite an amazing relationship there.

lol - you wrote to an author to ask whether he liked swedes (I had to look rutabaga up as they're never called that here in Aus)? Did he answer by asking whether you clip your toe-nails on Sunday evenings?

Thanks Dathi,It's always great to hear that the story is giving enjoyment. I was a little bit worried how this chapter would be received because Mirri isn't really in it. -A nuts and bolts kind of chapter with a bit of drama at the end.

The agony of teenage angst. Lol - a punch in the stomach? - that's a novel way of dealing with jealousy. I'm not sure a teenager would easily overcome such a powerful emotion though and I suspect it might surface again at a later time. Some of those memories and stories of childhood have the feeling of being someone's reality rather than an author's imagination? That was a nice finishing touch (pardon the pun) with the pegasus at the end of the chapter.

Interesting thought about the space habitats - Yirgella, with his 'impractical' comment is obviously not ready for them.Hmm. I don't think we'll find out exactly who was responsible for disrupting Yirgella's power supply. As with the spy flies they were very careful about covering their tracks. Lol - roughly two or three weeks between posts is what I seem to be managing.

Jarra is starting to show his capabilities. It's great to know the story is holding your attention.