#1linewed [1/2] Our redoubtable young Champion found itself dangling by its foot above the water, and Ki’shto’ba had to haul it to safety. Is’a’pai’a felt like a complete fool – here it was, a hero bent on the noble goal of liberating its home fortress from an evil tyrant,

#SciFiSat [And so my future history still continues (probably two more installments after this). See Ch.14 of The Termite Queen, v.1]

#SciFiFri [1/3] Emmie outdid herself with the mission’s first official meal. The young tradition of serving pineapple at that meal was honored with edible centerpieces made out of fresh pineapples – boats filled with berries, citrus, and melon and adorned with mint leaves.

#1linewed “I am sorry, Or’the’tas,” said Bu’gan’zei. “I was weak & my mistake was fatal. I lost the chance to take you back to the World Above – the only chance I will ever have.” “Oh, Bu’gan’zei, I forgive you. At first I was bitterly disappointed, but I have accepted our fate.”

I just received an awesome review of my whole Ki'shto'ba series! Check it out here! audreydriscoll.com/2026/08/02/a... I'll probably post excerpts here as time goes by.

#SciFiSat [And so I continue my exposition of future history: The Mythmakers] [Termite Queen, ch.14]

#SciFiFri And then there was Fedaylia’s remark after she had slapped him – how she and her father would never be eaten up by guilt, because “we’re normal people, with normal, #healthy egos …” Clearly that implied she thought he wasn’t normal.

#1linewed The message read: Dear Robbie: All of us here at home are thinking about you and #anxiously awaiting your return. I hope your recovery is progressing – remember there are so many who understand what you’ve lost and who want to share your grief, so don’t despair.

Gilzara shook his head, a smile trembling across his mouth. “Those realms – those realms, I think, are even less attainable than the #summit of holy Zhinthá.” “Has any human ever climbed there, do you think?” “No. The Starbell has never been climbed.” #vss365

#1linewed Her #fatigue forgotten, Dr. Souray seized her baggage and headed for the rail terminal. After she had settled herself in her flat, she sat down at the port and researched Malakoff. There he was, a smiling and confident visage with blue eyes, lots of gray hair and a bushy moustache.

#1linewed “I’ll tell you something in confidence – I tried to proposition Lt. Tulu once and she told me in no #uncertain terms where to get off.” Wally whooped, then sobered hastily. “Oops, sorry, Captain, sir. It’s just that – no, I really doubt the two of you would make a good match.”

#SciFiFri [1/5] [Navigating the Closing Gate] The local lore was full of tales about the #passage of Ek’dai’daim’a, although when its voyage had taken place varied from two-antennae count of years earlier to as many as five.

#1linewed “Do you know you are an idiot?” Za’dut said cheerfully to A’zhu’lo, and we all began to gibe at one another, and the conversation flowed into a lighter channel. But I knew that in its gut the twin of Ki’shto’ba still #yearned to be other than it was.

I'm flummoxed! I just discovered I've sold 5 print books and will be getting about $17.00 in royalties! Seems someone already had v.1 of the Ki'shto'ba series and they were filling in the rest except they omitted v.6, which is pretty important. Anyway - yay!

#1linewed [2/2] and among all that ruin, not a single thing moved and nothing uttered a single word. To us eyed Alates it was devastating, but vision was not necessary to sense the magnitude of the slaughter.

[1/4] Ki’shto’ba bounced and swung amused antennae. “One day my beloved #Mother Lo’zoi’ma’na’ta labored mightily to bring forth only a single egg. It was a huge egg and it was of a strange shape, bulging on one side. [Stolen Mother] #vss365

#SciFiFri [So here’s what happens when aliens meet aliens!]

He managed to drift into a light sleep, full of uneasy images … glimpses of babies in the process of bloody birth … a silver #moonbeam skimming away from him into the depths of space (Why does the sight of that bother me? his half-conscious mind wondered) … #vss365

[Robbie’s mother is dying] In Robbie’s arms she was like a #moonbeam, evanescent, silvery, fading away from him across a vast expanse of space … #vss365

#SciFiFri [2/3] “Wei’tu! Twa’sei! Hang onto my legs! Za’dut!” “I can jump by myself,” said our intrepid Lizard, and did so. I fanned my wings to catch the air and I leaped. Behind us, A’zhu’lo was fending off Warriors and then it also #leaped.

#SciFiFri The knife stuck near the anus of the yak’nu’wiv’mi|, and the creature gave an enormous #leap and let loose a cascade of excrement that liberally coated Za’dut’s whole head. The words that issued from its antennae were some I had never encountered before!

“Our relationship with the #Water People has altered over the years. We had to yield to their incursions, for they were much more numerous and powerful than we were. But we have ways of surviving and adapting to such adversity… #vss365

#SciFiFri [1/3] The questioning turned to a statement Prf. Eiginsh had made during his own debriefing – that no test data had been falsified prior to the mission. Prf. Lara responded that she hadn’t seen the data, but she certainly believed that any #experiments…

It was written in exquisite calligraphy that reminded Robbie of examples of handwriting from those PDA centuries that end with -teenth. It even appeared that the Rabbi had used a pen that fed #ink rather than a laser stylus. It was like nothing ever experienced these days. #vss365

“chi’nol [winter] is coming soon,” said Krai’zei. “It does not snow much in this dry bowl, but it still gets cold and the wind blows all the time. Dry thunderstorms come – dangerous – and the #sand blows straight on – changes the shapes of everything. It is easy to get lost.” #vss365

#SciFiSat [Following on yesterday’s post, this is what happens when SkyPiercer emerges from the temporal quantum pod.]

#1linewed [1/5] “Something is at work here – something to do with the Seeing that Holy Nu’a’tha’tei lacked enough life to reveal. I think if you go to Hwai’ran’chet, a sequence of events will be set in motion. There is no need to #plan carefully.”

#SciFiSat [Perseus and Andromeda! The cover art below depicts the termite version.]

#SciFiFri [1/6] As Ruthanne moved off toward the head, looking back with a half-smile, half-frown, Ian waved his hand at her and #closed the door again. Reality was a slippery thing; already he had lost his grip on the perception that the god in the pod was a psychotic delusion.