Maria's right. The parts she quoted sound really bad. But - and let's be honest - it might simply be that Daros doesn't trust the other team completely, and he may have good reason for that mistrust. Rae Et has someone on the inside, but are we seeing that mole or is this a red herring to lead us off the scent?

I'm glad Lois is getting some positive results in her efforts in Kinwara. The death of the baby is truly a tragedy, but sometimes it takes a tragedy to get people up off their - er, posteriors - to do what they know they should do in the first place! Stalin was wrong when he said that the death of a single person was a tragedy but the deaths of a million are merely a statistic. That child has put a face on the suffering of Kinwara, and there may finally be a light at the end of the tunnel for the innocents involved in this tragedy.

It appears that Lois's test of character will be passed with flying colors. Clark's test, however, isn't over yet. And how large a part will Zara's little brother play in the drama yet to come?

This is still a gripping tale. It's long, it's involved, it's complex, it's followed a long road which isn't finished yet, and I can't wait to see how it turns out. Keep up the good work, Rac! I'm rooting for you all the way!


Life isn't a support system for writing. It's the other way around.

- Stephen King, from On Writing