Here’s where we switch back to Kestrel’s and Ahni’s stories. Ahni rides a camel, blind-folded in front of Lyris, who is getting paid to take Ahni through the Party Dome. This a short chapter … let me know if the switchover from Ahni’s POV to Kes’s POV makes sense and is not too disruptive?

Lodestar 61, Scrim

About five years ago, I reworked what would’ve been the next couple of chapters to submit to Worldbuilding Magazine, for an installment they were running on relationships, V3I3: Gender & Relationships

Since I was extracting the story from an ongoing Lodestar Saga and wanted eventually to be able to come back to it—as I am doing now—I changed Srese’s name and backstory. But, although she is called Kate in this chapter and has a whole different history, she is still Srese. As you will see.

Scrim’s parts in the whole deal have not changed, and that part of his life–as it is described here–fits in well with what’s coming for him.

Enjoy!

61. Scrim & Kate (aka Srese)Download

Lego, Set #60439

On the weekend last I had my grandkids, aged 7 and 4, over for a few hours. While we played hide and seek, the box was inadvertantly discovered in Oma’s not-so-secret Christmas present hiding place.

And of course we opened it and set to with great gusto. And I’m happy we did, because though the set is recommended for age 6+ the 7 year old found it difficult.

He soon narrowed his focus to the wheelchair guy in Bag 1 and his buggy, while the four year old helped the 76+ yr old Oma by finding shapes amongst the contents of Bag Three.

Which was a lucky guess for it held a girl minifig, helmet, airpack, a bed/couch, microwave, mug, coffee machine and a bank of windows. In other words, a collection of playable elements.

The rest of the set was completed after the kids had gone home. and I was tickled pink to find another iteration of the frog element …

I laughed discovering how the slippery slidy minifigs are made to stay on their beds … “Oooh, is that what those bricks are for?”

The hinge joint pieces I first stumbled over in a mystery pack from http://www.brickresales.com and had no idea what to do with. Just in case you’re thinking … Well, duh! What else could they be? That’s right. Once you know, it’s obvious.

The number of different elements in this set was probably nothing out of the ordinary … count them if you like.

The ‘round’ hatch opening-and-closing mechanism is a joy to operate, as is the sliding up-and-down hatch. I think both these will get their real work-outs when the kids come again.