All Comments on 'Three Square Meals Ch. 117'

An unexpected surprise, but a good one! And, as usual, these evil cliffhangers!!

I would think it would be common sense that if John is more powerful, the negative portions of him are more powerful as well. In point of fact, I wouldn't be surprised if his recent jump in power is in part his guide going along with him instead of fighting him. For instance, where does all eldritch knowledge stem from in John's case? His guide likely had a hand in the design and function of his shiny new sword. Might want to recraft that thing when there's a chance.

Now this is the type of chapter I've been waiting for. The latest chapters have been a little too much housekeeping for my taste. Next on my wishlist is for the guide to go down, hard. With a side of Kirrix genocide. Third Progenitor's the charm.

If I followed the story right, the first Progenitor is probably John's father, on Arcadia, most likely defeated, but not killed, by Mael'nerak. He in turn either lost to John's Progenitor rival, or he and his own rival both died when he sacrificed himself to save his beloved Matriarch. Then John's rival came on scene.

I'm curious to see if four decades alone with John's mother, or possibly making more babies, on Arcadia will have had John's father having the same Damascene conversion as Mael'nerak when he fell in love with Valeda, though that seemed to happen over centuries, if not millennia.

It would be corny, but enjoyable to see John's reunion with daddy culminate with some sort of father helping son bonding action. Imagine if two Progenitors, a father and son, banded together, bucking their genetic instincts to fight to the death with another Progenitor, which seems like poor planning to me, for an engineered race.

If they did band together, without his father going along until he can use John to get back on his Progenitor feet, before turning on him, John and Dana could finally get all the secrets they need to build the Invictus Rex. TEFLER!!! I'm still hoping that's what you name John's white variant of a Progenitor flagship. One of the girls could suggest it, as an homage to the Invictus, that can be spread in the media to keep the name alive with their admirers, but also since rex means king. Invictus Rex just sounds cool.

Now, we need to give Jade a new form. She's right in that going dragon won't always be feasible, and sometimes tearing up the place around her will kill those she's trying to save. Plus, she is still a bit too vulnerable in that form.

I would love to see the rest of the girls transformed into Progenitors, like Alyssa. Some might argue that she could become a Progenitor because she is a Matriarch, but I wouldn't think that changing her DNA to that of a Progenitor required being a Matriarch first. A crew of female Progenitors would be a huge power base for John, and each other.

Lastly, I'm still holding out hope that the star forges of the Trankarans are really Mael'nerak's old soul forges. They are running into bigger and bigger opposing forces, and even as souped up as the Raptor is, it's getting to the point where it is vulnerable in protracted engagements, not to mention the Invictus itself losing those engines in the Battle of Terra. The Valkyrie wasn't singing a song either.

They can't build the Invictus Rex, and any new variants of the Raptor and Valkyrie, or even new, more capable, support craft, fast enough for me. I'm all for a believable level of personal danger for the heroes, but they're battling entire fleets, lately.

And, whatever 19 times shaped Crystal Alyssium is called, their armor needs that upgrade ASAP.

End Rant

Love the work, Tefler, please keep it up...forever.

Another great chapter keep it up

Another Great chapter. Always great to see the girls growing stronger and John getting stronger as well. Can't wait to see what happens with Buckingham's kids much less the smackdown coming to PJ. Thanks again Tefler for another AWESOME chapter. JT

once more our progenitor demonstrate his inability to plan or think causing harm to his team.

no he did not have to chase the queen, where would they have run off to? tash and iril had control of the space craft... wait for the rest of charge like the stupid man you are?

Thanks Tefler, for serving up another exciting chapter. Battle scenes are always thrilling, but even better this chapter updates some of the other story arcs, which have seemed a little neglected lately.

Thanks again, Tef!!

So on page 1. Lynnette contacts, via telepathy, Alyssa and is told that the Mallari are taking the fight to the Kirrix and winning. So she contacts Admiral Anthony Kester through the normal comms channel and informs him and redeploys him to the Brimorian border. Well, if there’s any spies in the the federation high command structure and they see this redeployment, they might ask why. In digging for the answer they may even get the video of the conversation through the normal comms channel. If they then don’t see anything about the Malari being in the system, let alone being forwarded to Lynnette, the question then becomes, “ how did she know that?” What happens next would be determined by whose spine is looking into this. If it’s a Brimorian spy, what would they do next? If it’s a spy for Larn... once he gets that intel he may deduce that Lynnette is John’s thrall. If it’s spy for another faction in the federation, it must scream that there’s something hidden from the normal operation of high command and may try to use it in a propaganda campaign to imply corruption to Lynnette or some other such thing to advance their agenda. So, what do you think?

JAFCritic

Why do i feel like archie is the other progenitor

I have already stated my irritation with the poor attempt at justification by John and the girls regarding their treatment of the kirrix but this chapter really rankled. Even more so after having admitted that the Maliri and humans would do the same thing he then tried to justify it on the argument that they wouldn't be as barbaric! If the end result is the same does that matter?!!?! If it did, we can't act as if humans aren't barbaric either - the holocaust anyone? Or any other heinous examples throughout history. And there are plenty. This chapter made it worse since we know they tried to do it peacebly, husbandry like after Maelnarak first popped up and then lost their collective shit after Ragnsomething arrived. Yet John cant summon a nit of sympathy? Ergh. Sanctimonious prick.

Plus, how does John keep making the worst possible decision given the information he has at hand. Like its one thing making a bad decision when there is missing information but to consistently make bad decisions even when considering the information at hand takes either a lot of brazenly arrogant saviour complex or just plain idiocy. The children are alive. Could they not have waited to act until there was an indication that something was going to happen to them? So that he gave Alyssa and the rest of the girls time to get there. Or when he was finished with the brood queens with the twins having essentially established airspace superiority could he not waited before going after the elder queen? Or for a guy who knows he has issues with spirit walking he couldn't wait for Alyssa? What was the fucking rush? She wasn't going anywhere.

And now, we have Sakura injured, John weakened and a resurgent Progenitor John because idiot John can't think through a decision. Ergh. This happens all the time. Do they not learn??? You can blame Alyssa for being immature sometimes but John should know better!

Three chapters in one month! Wow! Hope you can keep them coming, thanks for the effort!

Thank you, as usual, another superb chapter. And now a comment from the peanut gallery. My bet is that at least one of those runes on the sword, which was Not the "sword John intended to make", is allowing Progenitor John to access psychic power. And, as usual, I look forward to be proven wrong in the next chapter. Once again thank you for the innumerable hours of enjoyment this story has given me

Surprised to find another chapter on the list today, very pleasantly surprised. Great story, please kept them coming.

I'm wondering - John *talks* to his matriarchs at length while he is sped up - how does that work?

"John strode up to a juggernaut and cut it down with an effortless one-handed strike, splitting the behemoth from head to abdomen in a gratuitous explosion of gore."

Yes... gratuitous explosions of gore... yesssss…

So this scene has me wondering, it’s toward the bottom of Lit page 4.

"What did you do?" Tashana asked, watching in fascination.

"The drone carriers are quite chatty," Irillith replied with a smirk, her eyes shining brightly with an inner violet light. "I convinced them that I'm their new Hive Queen and that their crew are all members of the opposing faction, so those ships are going to... deal with the problem."

I know Irillith can psychically place herself into any electronics so I first thought she was hacking into their computer system and the ships have AI’s. But the Kirrix are using an organic based technology, right? So does that mean that the ships themselves are either grown (unlikely) or once built, implanted with an organic computer like system that runs the ship and psychically connects with a Queen?

It could be used in one ship until it grows to big for it and then transplanted to a larger ship, kind of like a hermit crab that changes shells as it gets bigger. So what do you say Mr. Tefler. What can you tell us about how the Kirrix ships operate?

Love the story and wait avidly for each new release!

Wondering how the allysium suit fits giant John and presumably shrinks back when returning to ' normal' size?

Must be the runes ;)

From all the comments we have seen the Kirrix ships are basically organic computers with thought functions. Basically a very simple organic AI if you will. I wonder if this will have any impact on Faye in the future.

I completely took that one for granted. Read it...and moved on.

From earlier chapters, like when they went after the citizens the pirates had traded to the Kirrix, I seem to recall references about the construction of their ships. It was like they had industrialized techniques from the insect world, like if bees stopped making honeycombs, and started making a spaceship, if they had the right materials for it.

There was something about the individual panels, or the like, when Sparks was first studying the drop ship and drone armor, before she redesigned their first armor to need the equipping frames to put it on.

My feeling is that their ships are, in fact made in pieces, then assembled, using methods we would recognize from an Animal Planet or Discovery Channel show on insects. Space insects. lol

As for the ship having some sort of intelligence, I'm leaning more towards either a specific type of bug we haven't seen before, being the brains of the ship, or else they have one of the drones plugged in as the core. It's already capable of receiving telepathic orders from the queens, and is easily replaceable, so isn't a big sacrifice to permanently be merged with the ship.

Final verdict: I believe that the ship is a bio-construct, but not alive, although a living bug is acting as the brain of the ship, along the lines of Pilot in the show Farscape, just with an inanimate ship, not a sentient Leviathan ship.

Well, another fantastic chapter. I really love the way you develop and knit together all those story threads.

Now I loved this chapter very much. But it also worried me a bit. We have already seen Allyssa storming headlong into porgenitor darkness, with her increasing brutality and coldheartedness towards everyone not her friend. And now we see John follow her. Yes, the kirrix deserves everything they get. But the way John started to think like an ordinary progenitor during the last battle worries me. I fear our hero will eventually become an evil progenitor. Maybe that is how they all go. Starting out powerful but with good intentions. But as they grow more powerful they gradually becomes the monsters we know of. Absolute power corrupts absolutelly.

Anyway, the story is definitelly getting darker. I just hope Tefler doesn't intend to give us a dark ending where the final showdown have an evil John who only care if he wins the battle. Collateral damage be damned.

I think Tefler has demonstrated that John does in fact have a savior complex as a fatal flaw. It’s what started the whole story in rescuing each girl he’s acquired. He’s still growing up in his own way. I mean for a progenitor, he’s still a kid. Sometimes I wonder if Larn is really just trying to get John to grow up. He could have killed John anytime he wanted instead of staying in the shadows. Instead he seems to be introducing chaos in order to push John into developing his powers and starting his own empire. I’m thinking, to a progenitor, that’s what growing up probably means. But it’s just an opinion.

Being a dragon doesn't seem like it needs to change. The regional myths the dragon is based on could. To me she's a European/British dragon where if she needs to be less bulky then she can go Asian/Chineae/Japanese dragon which tend to be more snake like.

Wow, awesome chapter, although I was a little disappointed that you did not have John levitating into battle with glowing golden eyes and elederich lightning sans Magneto styles and singing an ancient battle hyme with a deep base voice like rolling thunder!!, such hyme that would subjugate all that heard it( oh well maybe next time), hey litreader9696, I can see it now, John, I am your father!!

And whitewhalerider in these times of hate and devision might it not be nice to ease up on the negative retoric for once, I was always told if I didn't have anything nice to say, not to say anything at all, besides if you think they story should flow, evolve, develop differently,maybe you might want to write you own story and see if you can get 100 chapters in, I wish you the best of luck!!

Anyway rant over, peace out!!

I can see how learning about the Shroud over the Kirrix does explain their actions, but it does not justify their actions. Yes, they were depredated by two different Progens (assuming Maelnerak, because of Maliri thralls, and then Ranagon). But the Kirrix not only have no remorse for their actions, they seemingly can’t even conceive that their actions are wrong or that any other specie has any worth other than as living incubators. They don’t even offer humane treatment to those they slaughter. Redemption doesn’t come without remorse and change of behavior. So far the only change is that some Kirrix have released captives out of fear for Alyssa to save their own lives. That is not remorse, they haven’t changed their paradigm of their own superiority, and they certainly aren’t trying to make amends. Dude, save your mercy until it is deserved.

If John and Alyssa wanted to terrify the Kirrix even more, they should tell the Kirrix about Larnkelnar. That might prompt the Kirrix to decamp post haste.

Tefler, thanks for creating a story so compelling that readers are driven to debate the morals and ethics of how to treat one of the evil bad guy species! Speaking of bad guys, what are sinister Larn and asshole Athgiloi up to? Is it still the plan for the Brimorians to attack the lizards first? Of the characters we know I would guess that Mason is the traitor communicating with Athgiloi, but how does one contact the Brimorian leader from a T-Fed battleship without anyone knowing?

My memory is not perfect. Where the new rifles 10mm or 30mm?

If John is 3 times bigger then the rounds should also be 3 times wider.

So, now 30mm or 90mm in diameter.

This makes them 9 times more massive, volume goes up with cube of radius.

Great to see a new chapter so soon. And its a great one.

I'm pretty sure the scene was in the last few chapters, or so, and had Athgiloi ordering ships to a new target, presumably a T-Fed target, due to mention of the traitor. That was after the mobilization to Kintark space. That might have backfired too, if the Kintark managed to refit the ships John suggested Lynette trade back to the Kintark, after she assumed command. Devereaux sending the Kintark upgraded Dreadnaught to Adm. Morgan is screaming to me, as my old D&D DM used to call my guessing, for a sense plot line check with a D20. Something big is coming, and I don't mean a pun about the Dreadnaught.

As for said traitor, and your wondering how he contacted them undetected...his father was fleet admiral, and a shady bastard. I'm betting that he set up multiple ways to communicate undetected, and shared them with his kids, saying it was for emergencies. There could still be back doors in the comms network that the Federation techs have no idea even exist.

Tefler-

I hope against hope, but figure that it will be another 5-10 chapters before we see any sort of resolution with the recently unhinged and two-timing Buckingham children. I would love to see either Irillith or maybe Jehanni uncover the traitor. The daughter, I just don't have enough to go on to make a good guess.

Someone suggested it was Larn messing in the background, especially with the whole shacked up for days clue. I could see it, but we would have to see if she transformed to verify it.

For myself, I already waxed on about my wishes above. Just waiting on Dana to figure out the next version of Alyssium, the white variant of progenitor hull material. Then it's on to the Trankaran forges, (that was so cool, pouring entire ships in one go, not assembling bits and pieces. need to go reread that chapter.) and next stop, Invictus Rex!!!

I have no excuse.

My brain seems to have frozen up.

It was my understanding that the drone carriers and hive ships were much like the Ashnath in that they communicated with the hive mother via their own astral plane subnet. Each drone carrier and hive ship has a unique name suggesting to me that it is a living intelligence. If it is an AI construct, this is something that Faye is not capable of doing currently. i.e. Visiting the astral plane and telekinesis.

When John formed the sword and dropped out of the ship, I could hear Sabbath playing in the background!

Loved just about all of it. Just hope your foray into teen soap opera is relevant and shorter than it has been. The two girls just need a dose from the quad and should be fixed.

One thing is for sure, when I can read 10 pages of your work and it feels like it only took minutes to read, means you are getting so much better at your writing. This whole chapter flowed and just zoomed by. It was awesome.

Cheers

PS: Thanks for the surprise 2nd chapter in the same month! .

You heard Black Sabbath? Ok, but I was hearing AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck”

I can not wait for the next chapter.

When I first read this it was only 80 chapters long, I figured it would be interesting to see if tefler had added anymore to his series and I was seriously happy and surprised to finally find an awesome writer who not only has added to his story but has not gone inactive leaving it only half finished... So well done and many thanks to tefler for not only making my day but for continuing his story and many thanks for still adding to it

The fact I am hooked on this series and delighted to see its now on its 117 chapter is brilliant, am looking forward to many more to come, just gotta find something else to binge tread whilst I wait for next few chapter to be published and uploaded

You're a very bright girl, so I do hope you'll be able to think this through clearly.

When you review (as I'm sure you all will) John's latest spat with his PG, do take careful note of the PG's preferred method of attack. I mean the black tentacles, that suck out the opponent/victim's life force. This does seem to be a Progenitor's preferred weapon - every time there's been a conflict with the PG he has used it, and Alyssa also saw Mael'nerak use it in those echoes on the Legacy.

Remember Sakura asking you if you could use your healing powers for offence? You were horrified at the thought, but I suspect that if you did, the result would not be to dissimilar to the black tentacles. I do think you need to get over your squeamishness about this: until John unlocks more of his powers, you may be the only one able to use this favoured Progenitor weapon against others - particularly another Progenitor, such as might be awaiting you all on Arcadia. Think about it - you seem quite OK with mowing down enemies with tachyon lasers, so what's the difference? Except that you'd get a bonus of some extra life force to share with the other girls.

At the least, you should learn to do it so that John and the other girls, even Helene and the nymphs, can practice defensive screening against it. How would you feel if one of them got sucked to a husk just because you were to fastidious to develop this ability?

I'm sure you'll work out the Right Thing to do: you've been given awesome powers, that took John a lot of effort to grant. I'll look forward to see how they develop over the coming chapters.

AL

Thanks Tefler for continuing your amazing story. Best read on Lit by far. Keep um coming. Can't wait for next chapter!

tony

Ok: Let me get this straight...

First: You are bashing John for not having a guilty conscience and being barbaric in the manner he is killing the Kirrix then give the Kirrix a pass on the mutilation of innocent children, raping everything else in sight, and mass murder on a species wide scale...not once...but multitudes of times? Might I suggest you reevaluate what are obviously personal issues for you?

Second: Your rant about John should have waited to go save the colonists and kids so that Alyssa and the girls could help...but you completely ignore that Jade got to the kids in the nick of time? Even having to sacrifice her hand to save one of the little girls? I am curious how that position can be justified?

Third: You assume John had all the information as to what was going on with the children and adult colonists, but he didn't. All he knew was they were still alive when others were not and that they were being taken underground in a Kirrix controlled world. And when it was later revealed that the colonists were being herded into the egg laying chambers you just conveniently ignore that? Again, by the story, John's actions were justified...your opinions about how he should have acted are not. Following your suggestions the colonists would have all been raped and the children all cut up alive for food by the time John and the girls acted....Ok....that makes lots of sense....(not really).

Fourth: Yes, humans are violent. Our whole ecosystem on this planet is based upon violence: The Hawk catching and eating a live mouse or fish, plants living off of the remains of other dead and decayed plant and animal matter, all the carnivorous animals and plants on our world...and you think your agenda is going to change the nature of all life on this planet? Good luck with that one....LOL

And Finally: If you are so turned off, QUIT READING THE SERIES!!!!!! Why are you torturing yourself like this over a piece of FANTASY LITERATURE! Go grab your Greenpeace magazine and grab a beer (fermented plant matter that was killed for your refreshment) and relax.....save us the rantings of your misdirected agenda.

PussylickersRus, Rus, PLRus

But does anyone have an update on 118?

Thanks!

"Stop reading if you have complaints" is honestly such a terrible attitude to take. Criticism is usually reserved for things you like but also feel could be better. No work of art is perfect and there's nothing wrong with criticism.

Please read whitewhalehunter's comment or rant in my opinion because I agree with PLR. There is a huge difference in constructive criticism and just being abusive and nasty. The comment comes across as some kind of personal attack rather than trying to make the story better. mikecfl.

another great chapter to this saga, Tefler..... John dealing with his dark side showed just how deep the Progenitor goes to some extend. John realizes now he has to really dig deep to beat his guide. To beat someone you have to know how they think, not just at life but reality as well. I think this is a good thing for John to go into this battle with his guide with all eyes open and understand there is no sympathy that can be given when entering that fight. It is a fight to the end and win or lose you have to be able to win at all costs or risk losing those you love and turning into something you dont want to be.

The girls testing their boundaries is also a great idea so they can build their strength and test their limits and expand. the only way to get better is to challenge yourself and test your abilities....

I like that John is sharing all the technologies with everyone, this will help to even the fight with the progenitor. He is not like the progenitors or the past and it shows... i think that gives him a leg up as he will have more support and others he can lean on instead of one mind controlling everything, you have the lioness's to help control their own area of expertise and others that he has improved.... All working as a team and unit instead of controlled sheep doing his bidding.... great story cant wait for chapter 118....

I know this is a really dark thought, but maybe the star forge only becomes a soul forge when it's being feed power by a progienator/matriarch or the souls of their thrall races and this is part of what makes them so diabolical

Also if anyone is looking for an alternative read try ione online, will love it if you enjoy r.p.g!

Look, would the ideal solution be to to work with the kirrix to lift the shroud? Yes. But John and Alyssa are able to experience the psychic that are left behind. Memories that are so drenched in emotion (pain and suffering in this case), that they are feeling what it would be like to be in those positions. Raped, and watching their children be butchered. Countless times.

Yes Alyssa had a sympathy problem to begin with. John doesn't though. John can't feel sympathy because he has experienced all of that. He is simply too close to the situation.

Perhaps psychic echoes could be why Progenitors are cold and aloof. They some manage to experience all the terror of the universe's largest massacres. I hope that John comes to his senses, because this seems like a slippery for him, and I am already worried about Alyssa's slope. If he decides to go down that dark path, she will not hesitate, and will probably never step off of it. Even if John does.

I think you’ve hit the nail on the head, Ojanzi. It’s a horrifying thought that I don’t even want in my head. If true, thank goodness for Dana. Sparks has got to come through again in the clutch!

John has made tremendous strides in realizing his powers. But his guide seems more powerful too. Perhaps another commentor is correct, maybe PJ has found a way to access power within his prison, through runes or some other way. Since John’s body can’t fight itself, I assume their battle royal will take place on the astral plain. John will try to keep his girls away from the fight and out of danger but because John has gifted some of his powers to the lionesses, I don’t think he can win on his own. I think the underlying theme of the whole story is that John’s only hope of victory over his insane guide and Larn’kelnar is John’s sense of right and wrong, and the strength of his team, whose total powers are synergistically greater than the sum of the parts.

I had been reading as chapters were posted and about ch 110 I decided to binge read from the beginning! So in love with this story and all the characters! Never fails to inspire, excite, and even have a good cry moment! The last few chapters I savored and rationed out, both excited for new story and sad to be caught up! Keep up the tremendous work!

If it is true that the Soul Forge is simply the Star Forge but with thralls harvested for energy, then it would stand to reason that directing enough psychic energy into the device would serve as a way to overcome the need to kill thralls in order to create the progenitor ultra-alloy.

So if John and the girls all put their energy together, they should be able to create some of the ultra-alloy. Given as long as Dana can figure out the composition of the substance used as a base.

My guess is that considering the progenitors are using thralls as disposable batteries, this would taint the energy directed into the forge with negative emotion. Thus the black color. It would stand to reason that if John and the girls work together it would imbue the energy with positive emotion(or at least neutral). Thus making white progenitor ultra-alloy.

Always great.... Never fail to surprise.... best story in literotica. Waiting with full of excitement for Ch.118

First of all, this is a fantastic story. Do you guys have any story recommendations for the wait in between chapters?

So I have been thinking, that the only way that John is going to make any great leaps is by defeating PJ , and I think the answer to this is Rachel, PJ is using disease (black tendrils) as a weapon, her healing mist would circumnavigate that and potentially weaken him, it is also a pity that Helena is not strong enough to enter the physic realm as her ability to manipulate emotions could seriously bolster the group's powers just as John has been affected by the impending feeling of doom in the past.John may also find that PJ on seeing his ultimate demise decides he might want to be more proactive in helping John, then again maybe not.

Benefit though is that if the soul forge does work as suspected then the symbiotic relationship John has with the girls compared to other progienators is like the difference between a durecell battery and a lithium car battery, however I do feel it may be prudent going forward to set up group's amoungst the more physicly endowed races like the Ashanth, possibly Bolons and maybe even resurrecting the Vaccult(sorry if I got the spelling wrong)

I am surprised that the ancient Kirrex queen associated humans with a progenitor likeness, and wonder if Mael every had any thoughts about enacting the third genetic strand with mankind or if it devolved over time

I also understand now why he created the shroud, it seems the Kirrix and just one of those races you can't seem to reason with..

Anyway enough of my musings for now,

Stumbled across this story when there were 108 chapters out already, and I've read it 4 times now from start to finish. Keep up the good work, I am looking forward to seeing where the story goes for John.

John survived another assignation attempt on this day (unlike Julius Caesar). Tefler seems to like that day. New and ingenious thinking by his guide almost did the job. Great "Ideas" either unlocked or invented; by John and his family may just win this war. As the story plot thickens and side characters are falling into place i see a conclusion within 8 - 10 chapters. Excited anticipation. Given the hectic pace of Tefler's writing, could be done by July? Must PAY close attention to this spot.

What we know so far about progenitor behaviour is that they turn up, wipe out one or more existing civilisations, and then use what's left over to create a thrall race..

We also know that you can drain the life energy out of someone and use that as additional psychic energy... perhaps that's what progenitors do with that initial batch of genocide. .. find some poor unsuspecting sophonts , drain their life energy, and use it to make their soul forge.. which if we're being literal, would be a device to make new souls.. which they then deposit in nice newly cloned thrall bodies.

.What we don't know is if it's needed for the creation of black super material, but given that PJ seems to think that My-first-thrall-race, my-first-flagship, and the first matriarch all come as a package deal, immediately after ascending to progenitor-adulthood, they're probably related.

Tefler missed a golden opportunity with 4/1/19. Could have left a post saying due to unforeseen circumstances, he would no longer be posting TSM chapters here. The panic that ensued would have been pretty epic. I really enjoy this series and I would like to thank Tefler for his continued postings. One of my favorite stories that I am glad to see has not stopped to be left unfinished. Keep up the excellent work, and I avidly await the next chapter.

I was so focused on the possibility that the Star Forge was actually the Soul Forge when I first put forward the theory, I overlooked entirely, the word Soul in the name. Now, I doubt Progenitors are all that poetic, seeing as pretty much everything else they do or make are more labeled, than named.

Now that ojanzi1 has put this entirely too plausible theory out there, I admit that it ticks all the Progenitor plot line boxes. The Progenitors seem to be lazy, in my opinion, as well as snobs. The path of least resistance will do, since they are so powerful, things humans can't do are everyday for them. They probably looked around, saw they had an abundance of thralls, and figured it was easy to breed replacements. And, if it's anything like other stories I've read, like the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series, death releases an insane amount of power, for the right user, which in her case is a necromancer. (sorry for the small spoiler, but she starts the series thinking she is just a stronger than average animator, someone who can raise the dead as a zombie.)

It probably never occurred to the Progenitors to link with their women like John has, which we know, girl for girl, is MUCH more powerful than just regular thralls, even if he does sacrifice some of his own ability/power to do it. The returns seem worth it. (He still seems to be able to do many of the things his girls can, hex shields, fire, cold, speed, telekinesis. I truly believe that once he defeats PJ, with or without his girls helping, though it would be fitting if they worked together, like they do in most situations, maybe then he will gain the confidence to truly embrace himself as a progenitor, on his own terms, and actually wield ALL of his Progenitor powers, at full strength, despite sharing with the girls.)

One thing though. If the Soul Forge truly needs a Progenitor channelling the life force of drained thralls, or whoever, to power it, wouldn't the Trankarans, who venerated Mael'nerak as their creator, have remembered such a dark fact about it? Is ten thousand years enough time to cover that up when it came to, for all intents and purposes, their god?

I'm hoping that when Tefler finally gets Dana to lock eyes on the Star Forge, she will realize, in one of her Progenitor epiphanies, that the secret to the Progenitor super material is actually her ability, originally John's Progenitor ability, but used more as transmutation, than relatively small tweaks that she has done so far. If they channeled all of the power of the crew, as well as the Maliri network, in conjunction with the Forge itself, that they could create their own supply, and being John and co., it will be white, not black. They can name it for Dana/Sparks, this time. Maximus Danas? Never Mind. Except for my recurring suggestion that Tefler name the white Progenitor flagship the Invictus Rex, I'll leave the rest of the naming to Tefler.

I submitted chapter 118 for moderation. Hopefully it should be up before the weekend!

Tefler

TSM is my first foray into space opera, if you will, and I love every chapter, but natural law, and life itself, means Tefler can only write so much, so fast, and face it, the faster he writes, the sooner the story reaches the end he promised was coming. There is still the promised spin-off, second series, or whatever, but that's another story, literally.

For those, like me, that want to read something as a pallet cleanser while waiting for the next chapter of TSM to drop, here are a few that I read.

One of the long time posters on TSM's comment sections is SwirlingJedi. Tefler talked to Jedi, and encouraged him to write his own stories, so he did...four of them at once!!! He switches off between them as he writes, but I focused on Project - Prometheus, then Gaia's Champion. I haven't gotten to the other two yet. I probably should, out of pure self preservation. I got hooked on Prometheus, which was the first series he wrote, then he started bouncing back and forth as he created the other series. So far, I have nothing but love for his stories, and will keep reading.

One of my personal favorite authors on Lit is BurntRedstone. One Who Understands, and the Shepherd of Ashburn Court were my gateway drugs for this author. OWU was meant as a standalone, I mean, it's 32 Lit pages long, and the two sequels, The Most Valuable Gift, and To Walk A Mile, are just as long. Both the multiple Shepherd series, one still ongoing, and OWU, are harem series, and well written. I also read Satyr Play, a supernatural series in modern Manhattan, ongoing as well, which keeps me coming back for more. There are a few other gems in there, Shifting Priorities and Shifting Gears, a two part series, so far, and the Jack series, a goofy at times nonhuman/aliens series.

A guilty pleasure of mine is an author named Pars001. I've read most of the series by Pars001, and enjoy the premise. The only drawback, and this is meant as a warning for critics, his writing is ATROCIOUS. If I could write to save my life, I would fanfic them all over, and there are nine series, none less than ten chapters, though only a page or two in most cases, but a couple are in the sixty+ chapter range. The horrendous grammar and more than occasional jumps in the story that seem like a few paragraphs, at least, are missing, could drive the Dali Lama to alcoholism, but the premise and overall plots keep me going back, like they're a platter of browny edibles. Just one more...

Enjoy.

Since when could he (PJ) spirit walk independent of John. Is this a one-off or has he been doing it a long time, engineering the trap.

Super urgent need for John to examine and reinforce PJ's "prison". a.s.a.p. Things really went sideways here and could get worse.

Thanks Tefler. Great writing. Can't wait for the next episode of this series (soon to be on HBO perhaps?). Don't have to its up. Later all, I am very busy right now. DO NOT DISTURB. :-)

Here is a great project for Dana to work her mind on! John wants her to think about a physical solution to a thrall vessel, so imagine a weapon, basically a smart space cruise missile, with a hull that is built with sensor evading stealth technology extending even over the Trankaran engine which uses variable vector thrust technology, such as is used on advanced fighter jets today. This would let the missile get anywhere in a battle scenario very fast, and then go stealthy.

With a Progenitor power core there would be plenty of power to run the engine, a guidance control system that Faye interfaces with as well as being able to operate completely autonomously for a variety of different types of missions. A variable frequency hetrodyning shield with hard matrix would allow the missile to approach any shielded ship, match shield phase with it and then slip through it’s shield undetected!

The “warhead” would be a customized Tachyon field generator similar to the type used in the mass driver, and capable of focusing the field, setting up random hyper warp conditions in various areas of the enemy vessel. Imagine what would happen if different parts of the ship just tried to “take off into hyper warp”, such as different bridge stations, or a power core, etc.

Because it doesn’t have any actual explosive warhead the cruise missile would not be destroyed when performing a mission and would be recoverable after it’s mission, or able to go on to another target.

You're current story is fantastic as usual. Keep up the good work

Ed Parachini

Finally. Got caught up.

Loved every chapter.

Love the sci-fi.

Please keep this story going.

It ain't over till it's over.

Thanks.

Yes it was a rant. I was frustrated. And as I have repeatedly said that, that is a GOOD thing. It means I am invested. The writing is that good. And I have even more issues with parts of 118 regarding character decisions and the issue with morality but again that highlights how good this story. Here we are arguing about the morality of exterminating a race or doing nothing to save it and what justice really is. That is fantastic. Me critiquing the direction of the story or the characters is not an attack on Tefler at all. If anything its high praise. Thats why I keep coming back. No need for the personal attacks PLR, I know this is the internet but still keep it civil

My apologies: I was reacting to the odd ethical conundrum you created by siding with a genocidal race over a group who is trying to save children's lives. ;-)

I am still having difficulty seeing any critique in that diatribe you posted. Perhaps we have divergent concepts of the differences between a rant and a critique?

To me, the distinction is that critique is never personalized nor ad hominem, but is instead the analyses of the structure of the thought in the content of the item critiqued.

This analysis then offers by way of the critique method either a rebuttal or a suggestion of further expansion upon the problems presented by the topic of that specific written or oral argumentation. Or to put it another way: a critique is something that points (in this case) the author towards improving their technique, closing their plot holes, grammar, etc. with a polite offer of an alternative...something most professional critics no longer do.

That would necessarily put your discourse (as you rightly agreed) into the rant category and not an actual critique of the issue. My response to you, however, was a well formed critique of your rant. Specifically I pointed out the ethical conundrum you were espousing and suggested a logical reason for it and offered the proposition that what Tefler had written was the more ethical choice. I do agree it was aggressive, but the tone was intentional as it matched your own in your 'rant'. Sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander? If you want civil discourse, perhaps you should engage in it yourself rather than 'ranting'?

Tefler

Lucy "You need a bandaid... that'll make it all better."

Absolutely Priceless

👍👏👍

🐝Wolrab🐝

Don’t know why but this really resonated with me!

How, precisely, did John grow himself to three times his usual size... without snapping through and out of all of his armor? Are we supposed to believe his armor grew and shrunk along with him?

With all of the vast universe Tefler's created, this may be the first example I've encountered, where I just couldn't suspend disbelief. If I missed some prior discussion on this point, please share.

So John reversing time makes sense? Or summoning fire, lightning, ice, wind, and such but enlarging his armour by three times is far fetched?

And yes, Lucy was a cutie! ",.. a band-aid will make it all better!" Priceless! ;-) TTFN

So am I the only one who doesn't really care about these side characters stories?

Alright, John can grow himself. Seems like he should be able to shrink himself too. If so, he should be able to load up an Ashanath. Can you imagine him upgrading an already powerful psychic and then giving her the same curves as the rest of the girls? That might be the trick to opening up that psychic group mind thing. Being able to draw on a whole species psychic power, and he should be able to just sploof other Progenitors out of existence with just his mind, not to mention those Astral fecks.

(Sploof is now a word, I have spoken.)

@Razzakel : RE - Side stories

- The whole point of these 'side stories' is to give the reader an idea of what is going on elsewhere while our hero is valiantly beating back the beasts. They all eventually get brought back into the main story at some point, so just think of them as a prologue for a future chapter/adventure.

@resonant_vibe : RE - Psychic size manipulation

- He's previously extended psychic speed to others, Alyssa in this very chapter extended her spirit walking to Sakura and Cytokinesis, Pyrokinesis and Electrokinesis have been applied to weapons and beyond. It's firmly established that 'powers' aren't only restricted to an individuals body so why is the fact that his gear changed shape with him? Did you miss the part that described his 15ft long sword or his rifle's 'new' 30mm barrel bore? He grew, then his armour, sword and rifle grew along with him.

We see Big Bad John wreaking havoc while stomping the Bugs, and with the jolly green dragon, Jade, they do paint the planet green with Kirrix blood... and the incredibly cute Lucy, "You need a bandaid... that'll make it all better." Oh my God, I Love Lucy! The Kirrix are getting the gang to stretch their psychic abilities, before they have to face Progenitors... This was a lovely and quite green chapter, thank you! ;-) TTFN

John seemed pretty tough in this chapter, but again the protagonist, Alyssa, had to rescue him. And of course, he had to wallow in regrets and guilt, sniveling "I'm so sorry... please tell her that." I'd think that even a dumbass who is continually beaten upon when he enters the Astral Plane would learn to be cautius by now... Doing right is better than apologizing.

Oh my, John really won the "dump as fuck" medal. And of cause, growing size from gun and gear include powercores and tuned ammo has been recognized as an error. The different powerdistribution of the girls compared to previous chapters, too. At the beginning of the story John had no qualms about ripping the Mortimer miner about the deal/price to make an fortune and asking an helpless orphan for sucking him off a view times per day - playacting the dump shy John doesen't work for me in this storyline.

After each chapter I am more convinced that John is an asshole.

Yes, the teal Mermaid, Helene, is just getting acclimatized to her new Empathic psychic abilities, ... but later on, and like Sakara with her multiple powers, Helene might rate an additional psychic talent. I vote for SOUND, as sound waves travel really good through water, ... could be both an offense and defensive ability, maybe psychic shields too, ... just think how impressed the Abandoned will be when the LOUD Helene shows up to negotiate!! ;-) TTFN

John does seem to be increasingly out of character. Though I think this is intentional as there has been a lot of foreshadowing. Initially John was the barely retired marine turned trader. Complete with excellent personal admin, exacting requirements and a no-nonsense can do attitude.

The first obvious sign of his changing was when he didn't maintain his equipment immediately after conflict, which he raised himself as something he wouldn't have thought of before. Slowly he has been drifting away from his marine roots and seems to have lost sight of the training and what that training means.

A marine who leaves his squad behind and does whatever the hell he wants? Yeah not likely. John is now a vastly different character and I would not have thought he had ever served in the military given how he acts now. Possibly a mercenary for hire or something, but not a soldier and certainly not a marine. This can't be written off here, that oh he knows the capability of his team, he clearly lost track of them, lost sight of the objective as as pointed out by Alyssa, this is a habit.

At present, John is a danger to himself, his crew and everyone around him and he desperately needs to learn some control. What confounds me is that Alyssa seems to be unable to see these drastic changes, having seen initially how he was changing (so there's no Progenitor bias there).

Definitely looking forward to reading more.

The girls will a forgive John because he conditioned them to worship him. And after they forgive him he will start whining that he is an ass and all his conditioned girls will comfort him……

It is an (emotionally) abusive relationship. John is the sun, Alyssa the moon and all the other girls are there to worship them both.

We have to wait until the birth of John's first child. Edraele bonding with Tsarra could be times two. 🤔

As for our hero ..... growth goes both ways. His guide is also ..... adapting

To all the Anon's moaning and complaining. First - why are you still reading this after over 100 chapters, second - try to write an epic like that yourself.

"But I'd hope that Terrans would refuse to resort to industrial-scale rape and slaughter of sentient creatures."

While John obviously doesn't realize what he's saying (unsurprising given his status as the dumbest person in the galaxy), it's hard to read this as anything other than Tefler's endorsement of veganism.

Nightmare situation with Mace, Tom and Beth but what about Anna. So John's guide is getting stronger - how and why?

-- John gets stronger, his guide (PJ) gets stronger, they are connected, ... and poor Tom Walker, Beth loves him, ... and damn, but that Sakura is versatile, ... and while it is definitely NOT the time for John to confront his 'evil' guide, but he really needs to do it soon, ... ;-) TTFN

Has any one kept track of how many times John has fuckup and dismissed it with a Sorry ? The girls are put in impossible situations by John and if the equipment is messed up, they get a stern talking to. John tells the girls to be careful while he is the most careless ass in the galaxy.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

*War is in our blood...*

if John's armour can adjust to his new size when he goes "giant mode" he should be able to gift that ability to Jade fuck imagine a dragon all covered in white armour and her shoulder plates depicting her green lioness image blazing out for all to see

-- As strong as John is getting, I think Alyssa and the girls are getting a clue as to the strength of a regular Asshat Progenitor, ... John really needs his full might, and also to add a few thousand more Maliri wards into his eldritch network, ... that useless non-Guide must go, and soon, .... I wonder if his 'hungry' Sword could help him, or would that weaken him too, as they are connected, ... ask Rachel, her guesses are really good, ... ;-) ttfn

somebody really needs to give john a hot pimp slap across his face, to wake him up from his selfish bullshit.. I really hope allysa or athena can find the courage.. because at this point, those sorries of his are acts of manipulation more than promises of atonement.. a real irratating character who refuses to grow..

"A Band-Aid will make it all better."

Well, Tom Walkers problems are really getting worse, the love of his life is cheating on him, ... that'll ruin your whole year, .... it feels like someone is out to get him, ... but who? And will Tom figure it out, in time? ,,,, ;-) ttfn

Oh yeah, that little Lucy, "...dwagons are real" ,,, and ... "a band-aid will make it all better" .... she's a fabulous guest star in the story, ... I could hope to meet her again, say in another decade TSM time, and it's possible, as this story is running forever, ... and then there's the possible sequel, ... so then we'd have little Lucy, all grown up, as an 18-year-old? oh boy! fun! She'd love meet Jade again, ... ;-) ttfn