Palantir

ATTUNGA PART 5. Turaku disappeared with the shimmering pixilated effect most people used to end a holo communication rather than an abrupt switch to nothing, and the trio waited quietly for Warrigal or Gelar to say something. Warrigal gave Gelar a quick nod of acknowledgement then went ahead. "That should explain to you why there's been so much encouragement for your involvement after Puck and Flute made their choice of Calen. I know you understand by now that our dolphins are rather more spec

Thanks Anyta, that was a delight to read.

The more I read the more I wanted to keep reading. You've set up some intriguing characters. Poor Zen, you've made life tough for him with an even tougher outlook. Christopher? - not enough known about him yet. Yes, you definitely should continue.

Another aspect of the Carnarvon area - at the moment a wildfire is threatening farms and homesteads in the Carnarvon shire. The main North-West Highway was cut off and an area of approximately 400,000 acres has been burnt out. The town itself is okay.

Jehovah's Witnesses can't have blood from humans but they can from cows?? - curious. Wow! - it sure is a breakthrough though.

Attunga Part 4. Gelar took the trio to a new expanse of water. "This is a different reach." "Yes, it joins with Puck's birthing pool and it's her pod's main territory." "What are we supposed to do this time?" "Whatever feels right. Much as you did last time, except that with your face masks you'll feel much more involved." The masks had two functions, first to let them see clearly underwater and second to give them an air supply. In the water, Wirrin slipped his mask on, adjusted the mouth

Hmm. Thanks James. Very enjoyable. An interesting mix of Flinx and Heris Serrano - well they are the characters who sprang to mind with the combination of genetic enhancement and military intrigue. I'm looking forward to lots more.

Un-cliched stories??? Meaningless. All stories are cliched. I heard somewhere that all stories fit into about fifteen categories. To expect someone to be un-cliched when there have been fifty zillion stories written is unrealistic. It's the treatment of the cliche that counts. Twenty people can use the same cliche and one of them works. You know it when you read it. It stands out, pushes your buttons, makes you marvel. Being a cliche has nothing to do with it. Diversity of genre is no indication of better quality either. Once again it's not the content that makes it good. It's the way it's written. For goodness sake - the title of the site is 'Gay Authors'. You must expect a preponderence of stories with a gay theme and if that theme involves mainly a few types so what? The authors are telling the stories that are in their mind and heart to tell, not making a clinical decision to write something based on what's not written by other people. As to what consists a good story, that's moot. One man's meat is another man's poison. Is that a cliche? - well, it's still true. As I see it GA encourages authors to write as well as they are able, gives a means of recognition when they do, and encourages constructive criticism. What more can GA do? - insist we're all Shakespeares?

Hi Natasha. Don't throw away the whole barrel because of one rotten apple - especially since it's mostly a barrel of fun. A good lecturer will respond to your questions and tell you- what was wrong with your efforts - and what you can do to fix the things that were wrong. If you are not getting a helpful response then I would suggest going to someone higher up in the system - they will soon sense whether you are genuine. It can't be the quality of your writing that the person objects to. I read your story on GA and it's clear, expressive, and well written - so it may have something to do with your content. Here's a technique I used the year before last when I did a year of full time study. I'd give the lecturer my assignment and ask what still needed to be done to get the best mark possible, before submitting a final version. Then I'd add their suggestions (whether I agreed with them or not). Since they were their suggestions it makes it hard for them to mark the work down. Lol - most times I'd end up with a HD. It's a very valid way to work too - you're getting the feedback before you submit rather than after. The major drawback is that it means you have to have work ready much sooner. Do you know other students who are doing that course? - or even better, have already done that course? - talking to them is another good way to learn of the lecturer's quirks and ways to get round them. It may be possible to ask for your work to be assessed by someone else in the system - you could look into that if you're certain you've been treated unfairly.

Attunga Part 3. "Make yourself comfortable boys. It's great to see you again." Their mentor's name was Warrigal and he had his usual friendly and welcoming manner. They all liked and respected him, and as far as Wirrin was concerned he was the best person he knew. According to the open databanks he'd been a citizen of Attunga ever since it was built fifty-five years ago and taken on his mentor role the year before they'd been born. "You're bursting with curiosity so let's get down to business

Attunga Part 2. "It's immense!" "No it's not. It's only fifty km long." Wirrin, Thom, and Calen, their minds still whirling from their talk with Flute, were now at a viewing station staring at the image of Warrakan, the M-type asteroid being developed as the first space habitat with the ability to leave the solar system. "What are you talking about Thom? That's eight times as big as Attunga." "It's still not immense though. K74 is a 300 km asteroid." "That's different. K74 isn't a trave

Oh No! It hurts when milestones in your life pass on. In the last couple of months I reread about a dozen of my favorite A M novels and here I see a notice that she's died. She was one of those authors gifted both with imagination, and the ability to craft that imagination into stories which sing and stay in people's minds. Vale Anne McCaffrey.

Hi Nephylim,Thanks for comments. The welcoming ceremony for the baby dolphin is based on what really happens when a baby dolphin is born into the dolphin community in Shark Bay near Monkey Mia in northen Western Australia.

ATTUNGA. "5-0-9! ...Get real! We're not vac-suckers." Only slightly embarrassed, Wirrin rapidly recalculated with sensible parameters. Having a zero for one of your sector coordinates meant you'd located yourself in space. That was not his kind of mistake and Thom and Calen were loving it. "1-1-3! Happy now?" There was no answer. Thom and Calen were fiercely puzzling their options for reaching 1-1-3, as indeed was Wirrin. First to respond was Calen with a thumbs up sign and a confident nod,

Wirrin shares his life with two friends on one of the great space habitats.This story is part of -Tales of the Terran Diaspora.

You've got to be kidding! This is a long time FRIEND, you've seen NO evidence to support it yourself , the source is DUBIOUS - and you're going to run off and initiate some kind of official investigation? Not likely. Yes, you would see your friend with different eyes from then on and monitor their behaviour more closely. (A sad situation if your friend was innocent and still sad if they weren't) Depending on the strength of the friendship and the nature of your friend you might approach them about this DUBIOUS information. - a very difficult decision. Unless you've got RELIABLE evidence, I agree strongly with James that passing judgement is encouraging a climate of fear and distrust. With RELIABLE evidence it's a different story.

A number of points. First - according to the article the students WERE banned from using student facilities. 'Dionne and Kurt have been banned from using the numerous student restrooms located throughout the rest of the school like the rest of their classmates, and have been instructed to use only the few staff facilities.' Second - I wasn't in any way referring to the school's view of the students. My mistaken assumption was that in this forum those rights would be so taken for granted as to give no rise for controversy. Third - It's not accurate to state that the rules were made to keep the students safe. It's a reasonable assumption, but nevertheless there is no mention of safety in connection with the rules in either the article or the related video.

Oops! I made the mistake of presuming the right of transgendered people to be recognised as such. If people don't see that as a reasonable right then there WILL be loud and opinionated discussion.

Well, I can't see any reason why the plight of transgendered students shouldn't be treated openly. It would surprise me if this topic resulted in loud and opinionated discussion.

I didn't fill in the poll because there are two quite distinct variations of what 'backpacking' means, being used in this thread. The first one, which seems to be what Freddyness means, is the travel variation, where it's almost a lifestyle and a way of visiting places or countries outside your home community. The second is what I'm used to thinking of as the hiking variation, where you head for wild or beautiful places and your pack carries all your living necessities. As I see it, both variations require a sense of adventure and initiative, but their purposes are very different. I love the hiking variation as it's the only way to see some of the wonderful wilderness places of our world. I'm blessed in this regard as I live in Australia with it's unique and varied landscapes.(a bit of bias showing here)

A poem for the times.

Purely as a matter of interest, there actually appear to be two bridges (??) crossing the river quite close to where Kookaburra is hidden. I discovered this by zooming in to the max on Murchison House (roughly 3 miles east of Kookaburra) using the Google map link above.

My 3/4 acre block of land, set by the mountains to the east of Melbourne, is constantly under attack from vicious Aussie wildlife. Those menacing monotreme mammals, the echidnas, visit regularly, eliciting gasps of amazement at those earthmoving claws and fearsome spines. The red-back spiders lurk outside in hidden nooks and crannies, beneath planks of wood and under the toilet seats. The tiger snake, coming fourth in rank of the most poisonous snakes in the world (behind three other Aussie species), rests, basking in the sun in a deadly coil, in the veggie patch. Huntsman spiders abound, scuttling across the walls and ceilings in the dark, freezing motionlesss like a statue of horror personified the moment the lights are turned on. On one occasion a huntsman lost his footing and fell on my face when I was lying in my bed. (I prefer not to think it was a planned attack.) Beware the female when she is guarding her egg sacs or young. The white tailed spiders vie with the red-backs for living space, though they do prefer the warmer conditions inside the house. The domestic chickens regularly have a head dismembered and steaming entrails removed by the goshawk stooping like a bolt of lightning from the sky. The platypus I saw swimming in a run-off drain in the main street was, according to the people at the sanctuary in the town where they actually breed these iconoclasms of nature, most likely a young male on the prowl. - Yes, the one with the venomous spur, -right in the busy population center. While having a family barbecue in the local tourist park my young niece ran screaming that there was a MONSTER in the bush by the picnic table. A 6 foot lace goanna meandered close and, it's poweful claws glistening with menace, proceded to crush chop bones as if they were fragile eggshells, Each morning I wake to the hysterical laughter of kamikaze kookaburras and later in the day I watch behind the safety of my kitchen window as they dive for prey then devour the live, wriggling flesh. And 50,000 of the deadliest creature in Australia. the European Honey Bee which kills on avereage 10 people per year in this country alone, live with implacable intensity of purpose just 8 metres from my kitchen door. Why, oh why, have I lived in this beautiful deadly place for the last 24 years?

Yo Paya!!! Hope it's been a great day for you.

A beautiful story beautifully told.