Three Square Meals - Chapter 150 (Partial)

At this point, there is no chance of two full chapters this month. It will be the usual 20k chapter plus a stub just to get an advance for next month. Sigh! It looks like it is the new normal.

Puttanegra Ficondo

Finished! Got from chapter 1 thru 150.3 preview. I'm DONE! Oh, wait... he's not done writing -- thank goodness. At least now I can download the kindle books. Still running a laptop with Win 7. When I downloaded the kindle app, installed it, up popped a warning that a newer op/sys was required. I figured that it wasn't usable, so didn't try anymore. Finally got around to checking it out - lo and behold, it actually worked. The warning was about updates. RTFM, idiot! Got the sample, was able to read it, so now to download the books, and start all over again. :-)

WVNCRich

Yea, I read his bio. One of my other favorite authors is on a hiatus for health-related reasons as well.

vontzki

Vontzki: most if not all of FinalStand's work is humorous. In LaaNH he has a BIG picture, much as Tefler does. Unfortunately he has severe health problems and he loses his muse, with several series unfinished. I keep hoping, but so far...

WVNCRich

Thank you for mentioning "Life as a New Hire" :) I just started it and it's hilarious. I love it.

vontzki

If you buy the ebooks on Amazon, you’ll have even more content to read.

DemonHunterCole

Where arth thou gone Tefler?!

DemonHunterCole

James: when you open it, there is a page for newbies. You make a copy of your patron level page and post on discord, then wait for the moderators to approve your request. Takes a while, then I started getting emails from them. That is where I am. Need to poke around to find Tefler's section.

WVNCRich

How do I join Discord? Ive downloaded it, now what

Dads Gonna Kill Me

33 times! Wow. I'm a fast reader (~1k wpm) but I couldn't come close to that. This is 'officially' my fifth time through. Before I found it on SoL, I was so frustrated with the Lit format that I copied the pages into a WordPerfect document - for my use only - did all kinds of massaging, table of contents, with hyperlinks both in the document and to the Lit source. After 55 chapters, it became unwieldy, so started a second book. I am (or was - retired 3 years ago) a WordPerfect guru, so this was a really fun exercise. Export to PDF, then sit down and READ! :-)

WVNCRich

Rus on here and Discord has read TSM at least 33 times through.

Cignal

.312 Hi. Discussions on delivery have been going on about monthly since I joined a couple of years back. People are only offering suggestions that arise from the disappointment of Tefler's non delivery of promises he makes. I am contemplating only checking for a chapter at the start of each month! I am staying in for the great story. But I would prefer full chapters so we get a decent read each time...

jdg45

.311: Good luck with discord, I joined a couple years ago, but I have not returned to it in over a year. I did find some very interesting things there, but also found rude and crude people, and a whole lot of my time was wasted, I left and do not miss it. Wishing you better fortune... '-) TTFN

Michael56Smith

I did join, but haven't had a chance to sort out what is going on. Thanks

WVNCRich

Now all you have to do is join the TSM Discord and really have some fun!!!

Who Me

I started TSM, 5/8/20, just before Chapter 130 was released on Literotica. Read all the comments on each chapter, and picked up many tidbits of information. In them I found the link to Stories on Line, which is a much easier format for reading. Then kept seeing the comments about Patreon, so finally joined. Now that I had caught up with Tefler's releases, I had the problem many of you have- lack of new TSM. So last month I started from Ch. 1, and am now up to Ch. 133. After reading the Ch. 150 Part 1, decided to take a break, and went back to a favorite, FinalStand's "Life as a New Hire". One the commenters to that story said, "Read the first five chapters, and try to stop." Well, I read the first five chapters and finished Ch. 48 yesterday (roughly 700,000 words). So now back to TSM Ch. 133 - while waiting for more of Ch. 150.

WVNCRich

And since a lot of chapters include multiple story threads/arcs, Tef could change his mind on how to arrange them for effect. The most extreme example I know is The Stand by Stephen King. Tef might put a lot of time into a section and then decide that most of it is better off in a later chapter. The result is that days of writing could be wasted for that month's installment that must be made up. Tef always gives up hefty chapters and those bits he previously put off go into "heftier" chapters. And the story is complex with multiple characters doing multiple things simultaneously in the story timeline.

commatoes

.302: Spring! Today is the first day of spring! and I am hopeful, based on the previous months' releases, that Tef should likely release TSM #150, part two, ... but probably not a #150 complete, .... then at the eleventh hour produce another chapter or two's worth (20K words each) for our reading pleasure, a mega chapter 60K-80K in length, or more, ... remember chapter #100? anyway, the rest of the tale is nye, ... Tef is working on it, ... ;-) TTFN

Michael56Smith

Also, people tend to forget that he is a human as well... even if writing is something he loves, he needs to take a break at times, lest he wear himself out. I suppose he is working on a coherent big chapter 150 and will post it towards the end of the month in 2-3 large billed chunks so we have a good bit of reading to do when he does.

vontzki

Another thing that many of those commenting about the "posting schedule" being so hit and miss, is that not only is Tef writing the CURRENT chapter he is on, but probably also pre-writing/writing future chapters as well, also editing and re-writing older chapters for posting to free sites, AND getting everything together for e-book publication that he has to.

Khuri

Outpacing Martin isn't as big of a accomplishment as you are making it out to be though. Martin has only been working on the new SoIAF book for 11 years now.

Khuri

Creative Amoeba said something recently; that Tef's plot line drives his stories. While I agree with that completely, I think his ability goes much further. He has an incredible ability to create a re-plot line that simply retells a previous section of the story in new and fascinating ways. IE, Maria. It was fascinating to relive the story up to that point by the retelling of events to Maria. Here he literally creates a character, gives her these wonderful personality traits, then filters the story that we've read and loved through the filter of this new character. When I'm rereading the story and we get to the point where we're visiting Jericho, I get so excited because Maria is just so much fun. Her perceptiveness, her love for her daughter, her extension of that love to the wounded little birds, her fascination with personal expression and willingness to let others do the same without judgement. She's just a wonderful character and you get a fresh experience from the same story for introducing her to it. What a wonderful gift that is.

Sceptre

I wish there was a "dislike" icon, so I could dislike all the people trying to control tef

Myrnalin

Let this man take his time. He's still outpacing martin by a factor of 10.

Vizth Hal

I did not sign up for a schedule, I signed up for an epic tale. I am paying for a good story. If you want a story on a regular schedule, watch a TV series. I don't care how long it takes, as long as I get to enjoy his creation. Don't get caught in the world of instant gratification. Anticipate, then enjoy the journey he is taking us on.

The problem for that for a long arc writer is that if you write something, and as the complex plot moves forward; you may make a mistake and want to correct it. Doind that leaves loose ends that at times contradict. As for me, I prefer to wait for a coherent work. One of the most irritating things is to see a fictional world "rearranged". These days it happens a lot for political correctness, but bits of chapters raises the possibility of error. Fellows, delayed gratification (aka the cookie test) is one of the major keys to a happy life.

2ndAndrocentric

.285: From your typed words to Tef's ears, ... the Author of our beloved erotic space opera has been trying to make adjustments to his writing, publishing and billing of late, ... perhaps he could take your suggestions to heart, and up his game as well as please his audience, .,, perhaps. ;-) TTFN

Michael56Smith

I would love for Tefler to commit to posting every Friday, or Sunday, or whatever. But once a week. He should post whatever he's written the previous week. Even if it's just a page. He should charge for the first post in the month, and then again whenever he has posted ~20k words since he last charged. He could then also post the completed chapter, making the chapter have however many words that makes the most sense -- 20k words, 30K, 34,792, 60K, or whatever. Making the chapter break no longer driven strictly by the number of words. Those that want to wait for the completed chapter can wait for the completed chapter post. Those that want it now can read something every week. And that way, with weekly communication, no one can complain that he isn't communicating. Who knows, with the deadline of having to post every week, since Tefler says he works better under pressure, it might actualy help Tefler produce more? Since what and when we pay is controlled by Patreon, this change would be completely transparent to us.

Bp Hlpt

Earlier in the comments, Michael56Smith wondered how the Progenitor battleship air filtration system handled the smell of all of the dead crew. Brian Woods was surprised the ships don’t really smell like death. I said John and the girls are in their Paragon suits so they might not be able to smell something external to the suits. jdg45 quoted the following from Ch 121 --------------- Ailanthia suddenly screamed in agony and dropped to her knees, her face contorting in a mask of excruciating pain as Larn'kelnar sucked the life from her. With a wheezing whimper, she collapsed on the floor, her body nothing more than a dried-out husk. --------------- and wondered if dried out why a smell? Well, I'm not sure but... (from Ch 147, when Auralei and Kylantha entered the fusion reactor building) --------------- Both women immediately smelled the all-too-familiar stench of decaying bodies and they pulled back, covering their noses. “The cars outside...” Auralei gasped, trying not to gag. “The plant workers are still here.” Kylantha retched, but managed not to be sick. “I don’t want to go in there, Auralei!” ---------------- So...

Bp Hlpt

I have read MANY SF and fantasy books, as well as playing many CPG and RPG. I like many elements of the story of TSM and recognize some of those elements (or variations thereof) from other books and games. This leads me to speculate about how John may develop in the future... I am not at all surprised that John has an affinity for destruction. He needs it! If he is to kill all the progenitors, or even more, face the god of the astral rather than allowing it thousands of years to starve, then he will need to excel at destruction. I can easily imagine the destruction runes conferring to his magic blade the DnD ninth level spell Black Blade of Disaster - which typical scientific or psionic shields would not stand against. The way that Sakura uses her cold powers in perfect harmony with her blade reminds me of a certain sword singer from fantasy books. My guess is that John can't give the girls what he does not have, so he should be able to do what they can, at least to some degree. John already has TK powers. I could easily imagine him being like a Jedi in combat. He could also be a sword singer with ice (like Sakura) or incendiary clouds (like the drow/Maliri lady). I have practiced many martial arts. You can imprint your own personality to any particular style. I am not so sold on his need to develop his own style in a realistic sense, but it would be very cool if he learns how to fully integrate all his magical (psionic) abilities with his swordsmanship. We have seen him start to do this, but so far, Sakura may be ahead of John in this. My perception is that the author is clearly indicating untapped/developing potential in John, and he will become stronger and stronger. Hopefully, he won't be Superman until he faces other Kryptonians. :-)

Creative Amoeba

Has Tefler given an estimated release date for the rest of ch 150 that I missed?

I may get yelled at for this, but it is meant in a helpful way. I suspect I am not alone in skipping over the sex scenes in TSM. They were fun at first but really are rather repetitive and over long. The actual story is so much better. Why do I make this point? Because Tefler really needs to get his brilliant writing into the mainstream of SciFi where he would make really serious money and the excessive sex does rather get in the way. A rewrite of TSM with the sex played way down would, IMHO, sell much better on Amazon that the current version.

IanBio

I've been chuckling to myself whenever I read one of the women say that John is going to "straighten them out". The human female uterus does not lie at the end of the vagina, but inserts on the top wall at a variable angle of on average ~45 degrees. Normally the head of the penis will slip below that into the "cul de sac". However, John gets into the womb. Since John's penis is described as not at all flexible during arousal, that means he does, in fact, "straighten out" the angle during sex. This could happens as female anatomy is very flexible and in fact during certain procedures gets partially "straightened out". I am surprised Rachel has not done an MRI out of curiosity as has been done already during human coupling.

2ndAndrocentric

.194: if John gifted Edraele with a teleport portal ability, and she used it to save/rescue the young matriarchs, might those pregnant babes then toss their cookies? (1st trimester nausea + portal nausea = cookies go bye-bye) ;-) TTFN

Michael56Smith

.188: I know, I know, we have already discussed exactly what enhancements' John has gifted to Luna and Edraele... And we have gotten one short scene, taking place at their discussion at the end of their first training session... We know Luna is faster, Psychic Alacrity, but what else might she have, she will be continuing to train with Edraele, so my guess is that both will have psychic shields to practice with and strengthen, but what else? Please don't let Luna get Dana's wished for, shooting fire balls out of her eyes, power... I do hope one of Edraele's enhancements is that short range teleport portal ability, for a cool and fast escape, in case her telepathy and TK are not enough. thoughts? ;-) TTFN

Michael56Smith

.187: And does anyone have any idea how effective the air filtration system is on a Progenitor battleship? Or how inefficient the Fire suppression system would be? But Tashana setting a number of husked thrall bodies on fire in a hallway, on a spacecraft, that might not be a good idea? Have John use his TK to move the bodies to a hanger first at least, and hand Jehanna a barf bag, ... ;-) TTFN

Michael56Smith

In due time.

Jedi Khan

I'm still waiting for Iri to find out about this dude in the brig that was framed, and then sort out the nut job who did it and the renegade matriarch and Brimorians who helped him, for good. When are they going to get what's coming to them?

Cassandra Wren

If you have every bought a book, you should realize that you are paying much less for significantly more content from Teff. The story line is great as well as the value. However, it does seem to me that the focus on word count has motivated Teff to include filler that just doesn't have the energy of the earlier stories.

The Professor

The wrongness of anyone John is associated with using those death ships needs to be sorted out. At best those ships only provide parity with another progenitor. They were always seen as a short term solution to an imminent attack but it increasingly seems like a different approach is needed even short term. Use an AI to run Larn’s fleets and develop armor and weapons with a true tech advantage for the Invictus and Maliri fleets.

AzureReader

The Maliri are going to be rather busy with collecting Larn's ghost fleet. I don't think anybody on John's side quite took into account the effort needed to, nor the highly likely hit to morale that would result from, cleaning up the interior of those ships. I can't imagine the Maliri can simply clean up those ships then forget it ever happened. There's going to be lingering issues with the Maliri crews once they get all the bodies removed. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if there's some crews who refuse to stay on those ships.

Jedi Khan

For comparison: The entire Harry Potter series – 1,084,170 words The entire Lord of the Rings series (including The Hobbit) – 576,459 words The entire A Song of Ice and Fire series (so far) – 1,770,000 words War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy – 561,304 words Total of the above - 3,991,933 words Total word count for TSM as of the end of Chapter 149 - 3,949,144 words

Bp Hlpt

"... you would think that after seeing Tefler's posting performance over the last four plus years at Patreon, that you would know to take Tefler's posting schedule predictions with a HUGE grain of salt. ... "

Bp Hlpt

Thanks. He's a writer you would think he could post a short update or revised timeline.

It's whenever he actually gets around to finishing it. The deadlines that he sets are completely arbitrary and he can change them as needed without notice. The only true deadline that exists is Patreon's end of the month billing.

Jedi Khan

Thanks for the in-depth response however, I only wanted to know if Tefler said he would finish in a week. How long is that really?

The average nonfiction book, if such a thing exists, runs about 50,000 words; longer books run about 75,000 words.

A question was asked, now deleted, does anyone know "for sure" how long a Tefler week is. The question might have been asked in jest, or in frustration because of being on pins and needles and chomping at the bit trying to "patiently" wait for Tefler's next installment to the TSM saga. Regardless, it got me wondering, so I did a bit of research. Do we know "for sure" how long a week is in Tefler time? If you mean in TSM universe, it definitely varies. The quickest pace was on the Fools Gold, because nothing much happened. You know - same old, same old, mainly eat (at least swallow) and sleep. LOL Overall, time has slowed down significantly as the story has gotten more complex. There have been several chapters over the years that only covered a time span of a few hours. The best measure is to look at the official list of chapter posts - [[ https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cHUdC-AkgJ_QQWiEu2UTKoZ_Z12KmUP8EbLWqVbcvU4/edit#gid=0 ]] - and the official timeline - [[ https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TTeQ8Oe1KjXVf-e5X2VKhoDo2pvlbr94/view ]] - and figure it out however you'd like. Here are a few points to give you some perspective looking at chapters 1-149 (this is my own math, so there could be errors): Chapter - TSM Day - published - paid posts/RL yr - TSM days/RL yr - words/RL yr 001 -- 001 -- 2015-12-20 066 -- 127 -- 2016-12-24 -- 09 -- 127 -- 1,165,338 096 -- 189 -- 2017-12-21 -- 32 -- 062 -- 988,346 114 -- 199 -- 2018-11-30 -- 21 -- 010 -- 666,074 128 -- 207 -- 2019-12-24 -- 16 -- 008 -- 512,795 136 -- 211 -- 2020-11-20 -- 09 -- 004 -- 280,481 146 -- 216 -- 2021-12-29 -- 12 -- 005 -- 274,586 149 -- 217 -- 2022-02-26 -- 03 -- 001 -- 61,524 (so far) Notes: -- published date is post date of FINAL ver of completed chapter on Patreon (or Lit for 1-57) -- day number is as of the end of the chapter per timeline -- number of days after Ch 133 are my own estimate/calculation -- word count is for the eBook versions covering Chapters 1-37, Literotica for chapters 38-57, and Patreon for Chapters 58-149. Counting the eBooks vs the Lit chapters for 1-37 yields over 30,000 extra words, ie an entire extra chapter. So, only considering chapters 1-149, it has taken, on average, ~2252 IRL days to cover ~217 TSM days, or about 10.38 IRL/TSM days. So a TSM week takes at least 10 1/2 weeks in real time. Lately, a WHOLE LOT more. It took the last 4+ years to cover less than a month in TSM, and the last two RL years have only covered a little over a week in TSM. Some complain that Tefler hasn't posted the 2 or more chapters per month that he "promised." Tefler has NEVER promised anything. That has alwyas been his GOAL, which he has unfortunately only met during his first two years of writing TSM. Saying that Tefler didn't make posts when he predicted that he would is a sort of valid complaint. But you would think that after seeing Tefler's posting performance over the last four plus years at Patreon, that you would know to take Tefler's posting schedule predictions with a HUGE grain of salt. LOL You might lose your patience, but that's your problem, not Tefler's. For those that like to complain that they're not getting their money's worth from Tefler, by my reckoning, Tefler has made 102 "paid for" posts on Patreon. That includes the extra posts for the get-rid-of-his-guide chapter and for the Character Glossary to get his house repairs paid. That covers 3,057,083 TSM words, or roughly 29,971 words per "paid for" post. That is even with 10 posts of less than 26,000 words, and the 2 posts of 0 words. And of course, that also doesn't count the 892,061 words Tefler posted for free at Literotica before joining Patreon. So I don't see how anyone can complain that they're getting ripped off. For those that are wondering, the total word count for TSM as of the end of Chapter 149 is 3,949,144.

Bp Hlpt

.167: Never fear, whichever way the Young and New Matriarchs plan the Maliri Fleets methods of requisitioning Larn's marooned fleets of war ships... when by sheer coincidence and incredible timing, Tef will have them where they are needed to defend the Maliri Empire from Gahl'kalgor's forces, count on it, ... I do want to see, how many and how much, and when the White Knight and his blue babes will come to the Larathyrans aid, providing training with hundreds of engineers, medical personnel, and administrative guidance for Larathyra (and maybe more for other worlds?). And we can find out how ALL of the mature females, on the home world at least, ALL were drained of life and energy, now there is a huge difference between a million and a Billion.... Just how small of a population did that home world have, just a single major city? I can hardly wait for Tef to gloss over this problem, ... ;-) TTFN

Michael56Smith

The Invictus is rather recognizable, don't ya think? I highly doubt the extended family wants to stand out that much.

Jedi Khan

Ive always felt we need to give the Invictus over to the family members of Johns crew, he ride the upgrade and they are secure on the Invictus

Myrnalin

about seven months :)

MuddMaxx

Only an anime in Japan would touch this, unfortunately.

2ndAndrocentric

Hey John, we need a new Battleship. Here are the 100 blue babes for the orgy tonight….

Big Orca

.160: Well, vontzki, it is just over a week into the new month, about when Tef wrote that he would send the next installment, TSM #150, part two, ... soon, I really hope, ... so keep checking ... pressing my F5 key to refresh the screen, ,,, ;-) TTFN

Michael56Smith

Loved this short read. Was wondering if anyone else has already worked out the alternative method John/Dana will come up with to power the soul forge. I think the clues are already there in some of the previous chapters.

Adam Palmer

While I think TSM is the greatest SciFi adventure I've ever read , & that's going back 60 + years starting with HG Wells , 'Doc' Smith , Heinlein & our modern day writers , sadly no way his story will see the screen in any form we it's ardent fans would recognize. at least till our outlook on sex changes drastically . No producer would sink the millions it would take when a major part of the Movie going public , especially for this genre , the under aged would be barred from seeing it . Even if you glossed over the method John uses to 'reach' the connection he needs to make the changes . the very idea it's sexually based would be a game killer . That also doesn't included the 'Ultra-feminists' who would howl that the girls don't need some 'man' to reach their potential greatness & need to be submissive to him. I can just picture the picket lines around the theaters in my minds eye. Maybe one day a deep pockets fan will find a way to bring an Anime-type version to our computers , I can always hope . But if you think today's 'discussions' on Patroen & Discord get heated just wait until the try & cast it...lol

bigdawguw65

?

Xexsu

you could be bigger than Star Wars if this could get to the big screen

Yeah he meant about 6 months in TSM time... not a real life time span... i guess🤭 🤔 🤗

Robster

As a follow up, since I believe that TSM is probably at least another "six months" from being completed, I wonder what Tefler ended up including in TSM that he hadn't originally planned, which caused the additional 5+ years IRL and 75+ chapters? I hope he sees this post and gives us a wee bit of info from behind the curtain.

Bp Hlpt

I was just reading some OLD posts here on patreon and ran across this gem of Tefler's from 2017-03-28, just before Ch 74 was posted -- [[ https://www.patreon.com/posts/planning-sequel-8603730 ]] -- where Tefler estimates that he should be able to finish TSM and move on to the sequel in about 6 months. :) ROTFL :) May all of his future estimates for when TSM might end be just as far off, and TSM continue forever!

Bp Hlpt

Just remember that when Tefler says that he hopes to post two chapters in March, what that really means is that he hopes to post two "paid for" posts in March. In other words, he will need to post: 1) the balance of ~16K+ words he still owes us from Feb 2) an additional ~20K word post 3) an additional ~20K words, or at minimum a partial like he posted in Feb Bottom line, he will need to post a minimum total of ~40K+ words in March, or ideally ~56K+ if he wants to post two complete "chapters" in March, in order to accomplish his goals. Keep in mind that these "chapters" or posts in March might be called 150, 151, and 152, or possibly 150 pt1, 150 pt2, or 150 pt3. If the latter, ie a single "epic" sized ch 150, it will then have a total of ~60K+ words at that point, about two thirds the size of what ch 100 turned out to be, unless he continues to release more parts of ch 150 in April. We also know that RL can get in the way, and that goal of two paid for posts might end up as one paid for post, but we will wish him the best and hope he is able to meet, or exceed his goals for both his, and our, benefit. I am in no way complaining. I am perfectly happy with however many words Tefler is able to release in any given month, and I want him to be paid for every single word. I'm just trying to be sure that everyone's expectations are in line with Tefler's goals so that they are not disappointed and start unfairly critisizing him.

Bp Hlpt

.144: eww GROSS!: I am hoping for an epic sized chapter #150, space battles and all, ... then at least the start of #151 this month, ... but Tef is shooting for two chapters in March, so we'll see, ... so much could be happening in this and the next few chapters, which way will Tef wag the stary? ;-) TTFN

Michael56Smith

.143: Well vontzki, it is nearly is nearly a week into the new month, about when Tef wrote that he would send the next installment,... I hope, ... so keep checking,... pressing my F5 key to refresh the screen, ,,, ;-) TTFN

Michael56Smith

I am craving more... obsessively checking patreon is becoming my addiction.

vontzki

"Holy Saturday matinee Batman, I feel another cliffhanger coming on!"

TF4EVA

.136 Pointless trip if they do not have crews to requisition the fleets for Calara?

jdg45

.134: So dang much has been happening in the last few chapters, since they found Mael'nerak's throne world. And even though a lot has occurred, it has all been a buildup to the exploration of Laranthyran space, and further to prepare for the battle with Gahl'kalgor (the Asshat's name not known to our heroes as yet) ... and what of Auralei? and her people? And of the inexplicably total husking of all the mature females of the Empire, huh? how Tef? ... for every answer, we get more questions, thanks Tef, ... sigh, ... SMH, ... Oh yeah, I vote for the multiple installments of chapter #150 to epic size, just for fun! ;-) TTFN

Michael56Smith

Was Mael sent by Xaráziuth to take out a progenitor and stayed or did he escape here under his own will. If the former then he had an invasion force and left some at home (???) if the second did he bring all he had and that could not have happended overnight. Maybe that will come out in the next series or the one after.... From what we know so far it doesn't seem likely there are still blue babes waiting for Mael to come back????

TF4EVA

,130: There were seed races of thralls before Mael'nerak,... how much did he modify his azure beauties? a little, a very little, or a lot? Are there cousin blue thralls still in some other Progenitors' domain, and do some Progenitors have thralls of the same color, or are they all different/individual...If so, then did Mael bring all his enthralled populations with him, to make his Maliri Empire under the shroud? or only a few thousand ships worth to start his new Empire away from Xar'aziuth? John will be facing a large number of Progenitor, one at a time if possible, and all their various thrall species, we may learn a few things from Tef, ... maybe, ... ;-) TTFN

Michael56Smith

.129: Also (if and also if), ... if the Laranthyrans and Maliri really can stand each other now that Larn is ashes, then there is a chance for some helpers and trainers to get the Laranthyrans past their current troubles, ... and also if multiple worlds are denuded of mature leadership, then many ship loads of help must be sent through the Hyper Warp Gate, medical personnel, engineers, and administrators primarily by the hundreds, if not thousands, for every world, so they might need some Terran helpers too (Lynette?), ... ;-) TTFN

Michael56Smith

.128: I really hope that Tef will write (even though nothing has yet to be mentioned on this) that the Maliri fleets have thoughtfully brought extra (light or basic) crews on each ship in their fleets to help with the 'requisition' of those marooned vessels, ... And there is so much that begs for an explanation concerning the Laranthyran Empire, especially how Larn's Quad was ever able to enthrall more than 20 to 30 million thralls at any given time (max!), let alone the billions implied thus far, ... ;-) TTFN

Michael56Smith

There has yet to be a reason given that explains the discrepancy in the story…but enough anecdotal evidence exists to partially define the differences. The Maliri are a Thrall species, and so are uniquely attuned to a Progenitor’s spend. Nymphs, Trankarans, and probably the Ashanath are thought to be simple cosmetic modifications of the base Thrall DNA, and so share a similarly attuned nature. Terrans, however, were created as an experiment on the basic Thrall template, allowing for a dramatic difference in size and appearance for all members of the race. That basic DNA difference means it probably takes more material to effect any substantial changes and/or bonding completely to the man in question. Theoretically, that would also apply to the Kintark, the Vulkat, the Kirrix, the Brimorians and the Drakkar, though not the Enshunu if they are also a Thrall race.

Brian Woods

.125 It was John adding intelligence. Ch 58 "You missed out boosted intelligence, when you were listing the improved attributes from fitting the new template," Calara said helpfully. Rachel shook her head, as she said, "Progenitors don't really strike me as the kind of guys who appreciate intelligent women. They see them as disposable tools; that's what Edraele said, right John?" Edraele immediately responded, saying, *Yes, she's quite correct. Women under a Progenitor's thrall are merely tools to be used. Either as soldiers in their wars, or as breeding stock to replace losses.* Her telepathic voice was full of respect when she added, *This girl is really quite brilliant. You're very lucky to have found her.* John listened to Edraele, and after sending her a telepathic thank you, said, "Yes, she just confirmed it again. You're correct, Progenitors don't value intelligence in their Thralls."

jdg45

In chpt 100, Faye points out that an empathic psychic link with Nymphs, Maliri and Trankarans apppear after a single feeding, but it takes "Three Square Meals" to link up a Terran woman. Rachel said she would look into that. Does anyone remember if a reason was ever provided for that? Given it is the title to the story, it seems important. BTW, Irillith take 3 feedings (mid chpt 11) as does Tashana (74) BUT that is for the full linkup. The story does not seem to make it clear when the "empathic bond" starts for them. Honestly, I am somewhat confused on this. Also, I miss reading the descriptions of the metaphysical portraits of the girls in Alyssa's mind; and we never get any from Edraele.

2ndAndrocentric

But what if that wasn't in the info that they appropriated.

Ryan Smith

Not sure if you are addressing this in the final writing of 150 but 15 min looks to be an inconsistency, it currently states: "We’re fifteen minutes out from the location of the thrall fleet,” Alyssa informed him John’s eyes were immediately drawn to the scores of icons that were highlighted at the extreme edge of their sensor range. 15 min away seems to be inconsistent with other times from the edge of the sensors. in 134 for the when they were approaching the Comms beacon: "He waited patiently, staring at the holographic map, then frowned and glanced at Alyssa. “How long until we reach it?” “Thirty minutes,” she replied, trying not to laugh.

!raptor

.120: A few dozen comments back, I postulated that Dana might wish to develop an anti-Eldritch Inhibitor to protect the girls, primarily when facing a Progenitor. It was further brainstormed by other Fans that it should be incorporated into their paragon suits (the 2.0 version), so no sneaky surprises such as was pulled by the Kintark Emperor Baledranax at the Battle of Terra, ... those were great thoughts, ... And then, maybe with a way to nullify Mael'nerak's Eldritch Inhibitor below the Maliri Summer Palace (Saelihn Immanthe), the gang could then safely find more of Mael's secrets, ... ;-) TTFN

Michael56Smith

As Tefler would write, "I'm on tenterhooks" about that.

2ndAndrocentric

Only so much space on a mech. On the other hand, a stealth heavy fighter maybe.

2ndAndrocentric

I have a feeling that John is about to break some basic rule of the Progenitors by claiming more than one Thrall Species at a time, thus setting off the big War of the Progenitors.

Why not a stealth Valkyrie

Writer Mick

High dead god. I forgot about those.... They must be growing exponentially faster now be outside the suppression field...

HiddenShadow

They are desperate for bigger weapons but haven’t done anything with those truck sized eternity crystals John grew back in chapter 142. I know the projects have been stacking up but a massively upgraded nova or tachyon lance is likely to have a tech advantage they are looking for. Shouldn’t that be a drop everything priority?

AzureReader

Only problem I see is no shields for protection. One hit from a Quantum Disintegrator and it’s all over. That weapon is apparently mobile enough to carve the Invictus in half, and there might be several mounted on a dreadnaught. Overlapping arcs of fire could conceivably eliminate half the hidden fighters, plus the flagship is suppose to have top level armor. Enough that Dana and Calara both mention Mael knew the gun emplacements wouldn’t last long against a Progenitor’s assault which was why he tuned their power to the max. That suggests the enemy would have enough time to sweep nearby space for threats. Having said that, positioning some cloaked vessels far enough out on a flank to bombard with artillery after deploying visible fleet assets is an intriguing thought.

Brian Woods

I have an idea for a superb new kind of ship: a stealth super-heavy fighter. It was almost discussed when Dana and John were talking about the new "Raptor" dropship. Take a fighter, single or at most 2 people in it, no living quarters, no FTL drive ect. It would would have to be taken by a carrier to the field. Put in a powercore(s) sufficient to drive one or at most 2 of the heavy gun emplacements around Kyth'shara. Add an inertial dampener, lots of maneuverability and a cloak. Launch these from a carrier and have them come within range of the Progenitor dreadnought cloaked. Them WHAM, everyone fires until barrels overheat. Recloak, move, repeat until the progenitor ship is done. Given the lack of bulk, that movement would be extremely fast despite the big guns. Decapitate the head without fighting through the surrounding. It would make use of the otherwise obsolete carriers, no new guns to build by "requisitioning" and since they would rely on stealth and speed primarily; no need for heavy armament or heavy shielding. The progenitors would never expect this and might not recognize it before they're dead, thus not informing Ms Xar'aziuth. Minimal personel exposed to risk also. No need for "point defense" as the progenitors do not use fighters and this ship is NOT designed to go "toe to toe" with anything. Like a guerilla warfare hit and run.

2ndAndrocentric

Just post all the 20k versions at the same time....along with a complete version for free.

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

I would suggest doing the whole battle but in 20k chunks so your pay per 20k remains the same. It isn't fair to you to put out a huge chapter and then get paid only once for it.

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

Making some pretty epic reinforcements I imagine. And I am surprised that she hasn't contacted the crew yet about it.

Khuri

To celebrate this milestone, I vote for an epic chapter similar to 100, and charge appropriately for the respective parts

Would you just dispose of the bodies of millions of people by flushing them into space?

Myrnalin

Super sized chapters are the way to go because shorter releases just tease us to much

It’ll be horrible for the Maliri fleet to deal with that gruesome situation on every ship. Irillith needs to come up with a program to open all air locks and doors and flush all the remains out before recovery of each ship.

Big Orca

What an incredible start to Chapter 150! Looking forward to where you are going as you still continue to surprise me!!!

Arrowglass

I'm still pretty curious on what the glowing Queen is doing with the soulforge.

Nathaniel Wolf

John can probably take over that thrall specie

Tony

Damn....

Khuri

So…a lot of info to unpack this small chapter segment. First, interesting application of space-age tech ageism with the old refinery vs the sleek battle fleet. Using baroque style designs and contrasting them to the sleek and stylish golden Maliri was a nice touch, perhaps to show how much more Mael ‘cared’ for his thralls versus others of his kind. Second, as has been stated before…where are the 9 destroyers and 5 cruisers? How many personnel survived the husking, a few thousand or tens of thousands, and how crazed are they if they had to crawl over their superiors to get out of those charnel houses, and as an addendum can they be reasoned with since they are clearly low hanging fruit in the army and unused to command positions? Finally, while I would love a larger than average chapter aka like 100k words or so, and would even go so far as to enjoy splitting it into 4 25k chunks, such an endeavor will be much better served as a basis for the Gahl’kalgor fight in 5 or so chapters, given the relative ‘filler’ from the last 10. But then again, if you plan for the reveal I THINK you plan to show off, my only ask is that you don’t leave 150 on a cliffhanger. John should be mostly prepared for what’s coming, but to end such a scene with a question mark would be…quite cruel. Looking forward to the future!

Brian Woods

.68: Well IanBio, I think that there just might have been some junior crew personnel, not yet enthralled, on some of those battleships and cruisers, ... If so, will John have to fight them? or can he save them? And have them escort the Invictus to Larathyra? ;-) TTFN

Michael56Smith

I don't think I have ever seen Teflers plot twists coming, but here goes again! I think that while the thralls are all dead, the deadly progenitor IT programs will not be and they will attack John and his girls. Which will make Irrilith's new found powers really rather important

IanBio

.61: with only days left in a short month (February), in which to allow the author a payday, this was not a bad effort at all, ... looking forward to chapter #150's completion in March, along with another chapter, #151 as well, ... and a couple of battles (both in space?) ... ;-) TTFN

Michael56Smith

Tiny small chapter!

Who Me

Big epic chapter

Samuel witten

.58: I have really enjoyed the big, epic chapters like #100, ... so a huge #150 with several parts would be fine by me. However, I like your plan to knock out a couple chapters in March, ... and get a bigger end of month payday, a win-win for us all. I also liked the beginnings to #150, and I have been looking forward to the crews' boarding of one of Larn' marooned battleships for more than twenty chapters, good job so far, ... There is just so much that might be revealed in this chapter, I am holding my breath awaiting the next part, so please let me breathe again soon, ... thanks! ;-) TTFN

Michael56Smith

I wait till the chapter is complete to read.

Laurel Hodghead

I would just like you to be able to release all of both 150 and 151 in March. Make a split at the spot that allows a complete catch up.

Str8NotNarrow

Personally - I would prefer LOTS of small ones - more wonderful feelings even a little at a time!

Who Me

Giant chapter please, I always wait for the completed version, so lots of small ones would just be teasing

Dave Crack

I believe one is Coming Up... The "Missing" Cruisers etc., Some how not all the Thralls were Killed... Just a geuss

Dads Gonna Kill Me

Thanks Tef. If you want to get through a couple more chapters keep that momentum going right now. Doesn’t seem like final hour motivation has served you very well. Motivation of any kind is a fickle thing. Just sit and write 5 words - not even a complete sentence. Something so effortless it does not require motivational powers. Often the existential ‘I am now writing’ is enough to start the flow when I’m bereft of motivation.

AzureReader

Tef doesn’t mention refueling, provisioning (e.g. food), or re-arming (e.g. shells) hardly ever. Those things are constantly on the mind of anyone running a ship, especially when away from home port The drama surrounding resupply in an important part of many a ship-based story. However, TSM has no lack of galactic scale drama. The mundane finding of provisions probably doesn’t seem worth mentioning very often.

AzureReader

" I like the indication from this sentence that there may be a growing attraction/symbiosis of John and this artifact. "... Wondering if it will "talk" to him at some point, literally almost "Alive" in his Hands///

Dads Gonna Kill Me

“The glyphs started to glow when he picked up the weapon, then flared brighter when he stared at them.” In the early chapters I thought that John would be handicapping himself with a sword as a main weapon. I have played enough RPG and CPG to know that the range of rifles (or even bows in some games) provide advantages in many situations. Then I discovered in later chapters that John had ranged attacks (TK) with the sword. Not only is it ranged but seems almost like area-of-effect with sweeps of the blade taking out multiple foes. That and his ability to fly (either by suit or aerial-TK) makes the sword the best weapon for him. So far, the biggest limitation that we have seen is his ability to use it effectively against shields. I like the indication from this sentence that there may be a growing attraction/symbiosis of John and this artifact. What is in store for us in the future?! Magic swords are always cool to me! That being said, Incendiary Clouds, Blizzards, and whatever you want to call Alyssa’s psionic blasts, are clear indications that psionics alone can be devastating area-of-effect weapons. I also like that John is making some good strategic decisions in the early chapter 150. Even his leadership ability has improved from the early chapters, as has Alyssa’s. John’s gig has always been protecting his girls, and strategically, the most important part of war can be protecting your ability to make war (i.e. keeping your unit alive and functional). So, John’s gig is a good thing in that regard, but I used to hate it in the early chapters where he was rather weak until one of the ladies was endangered. I am happy that it looks like John’s ‘thralls’ might actually get some ships that could place them on an equal footing to other progenitors. Then again, this seems to be a rather small fleet, and the Maliri aren’t actually there yet. I have a feeling that the missing ships will show up soon. Da-da-duhm! I like it that Tefler is creative enough to always present a challenge to the hero’s crew even as they are all becoming more powerful. I like big chapters. I guess that I have become accustomed to that from reading BurntRedstone’s stories. As a business, I can understand you wanting to be paid a certain amount for a certain number of pages, and I’m fine with that. Note that I am sharing my likes and preferences because I think that authors often like to know what their audience prefers and because Tefler specifically asked about big chapters.

Creative Amoeba

My only preference is that Tef makes sure he gets paid the same amount for the same words. I would hate for him to get less than we have been prepared to pay, especially given his building costs.

Stephen Paynter

Ah yes I can see it now, a 150,000 word epic that finishes on a cliffhanger ...

ringill

I keep hearing some of you have to go and search for the start point of mid releases. A tip from my part is to use Moon Reader. It keeps your file name in a index with the position of last location read. When you download the file with same name, it will resume your reading from were you left of, aka starting from new section release. Hope that helps!

.43 Warp-gate After 26 hours travel to the Larathyran fleet there should be two Malirian fleets in Larathyran space now? Assuming 12 hour recharges. And we do not know how many ships can pass in one charge...

jdg45

.42 Fuel We know Kirrix use fuel as the lines were broken during battles. And now we learn the Trankarran engines use fuel too. Plus the progenitor fleets! No mention of fuel or refuelling for the Inviticus. I had assumed the power cores supplied whatever is needed?

jdg45

.41 Syntax? he could see that the fleet was located near to a large blue gas giant. he could see that the fleet was located near a large blue gas giant.

jdg45

Split it, Mega chapter

ch 150 pt1 typos They walked down the ramp into the Combat Bridge They walked down the ramp onto the Combat Bridge But these spaceship are terrifying! But these spaceships are terrifying! He faced Helen, his expression solemn. He faced Helene, his expression solemn.

Bp Hlpt

Double or triple length chapters do not effect Tefler's bank balance at all. For the larger chapters he simply posts them in pieces, charging for each ~20K words, then combines them in a free post. It's exactly the same way he has been handling the regular chapters lately -- multiple posts then combined. So the only real difference in one large chapter vs two or three smaller ones is the labeling, nothing more.

Bp Hlpt

Giant chapter please, its a tradition since chapter 100 Tefler, also last time we had a large space battle i like the symmetry

Myrnalin

Thanks for the chapter. 150 has a place-holdery feel about it but you’ll make amends quickly enough. 149 was fantastic and it continues to amaze me how much of the development each character enjoys is is planned beforehand. You have great talent combined with many years of training, you’ve earned to be making a comfortable and sustainable living out of it.

RobMob

If a span of content feels like it belongs into one big chapter then by all means go for it. Milestones do not need to coincide with chapter boundaries. You could place the chapter boundaries where they feel right and charge after a certain amount of content/words. The readers will enjoy a good time reading - the charging interval should not influence the story. It is good to see you well again.

Make shorter chapters more often so you can make a bit more money and so you can increase fan interaction a bit. Chapters are a giant effort, what with the intricateness of all the storylines flying left, front and centre. And while double length chapters are great for us, they’re no festive occasion for your own bank balance.

RobMob

I thought he said there were some space battles planned for 149?

TranceR

Yo, that's just, like, your opinion and stuff... Mostly, I dislike the halfway chapters because I value my time, and having to come back to check if the full chapter has released or not is annoying, and having to scroll down to find the split point once it has, is doubly so. It takes away time from other books to read (listen). So I wait until full release. Luckily for Tefler, this isn't youtube, where your success depends on an algorithm based on watchtime, clickthrough rate etc... As far as billing goes, as I understand from other comments, there has been at least one instance of double-billing. Being behind on the promised delivery date was an almost constant thing even before the roof troubles. I don't mind the bucks, I do mind unkept promises. That said, I'm still here. You're not wrong. But other people aren't wrong either.

Jostikas

2 and a half chapters in the span of 2 weeks? feels like christmastime. can't wait for the rest of 150.

David Shmilowitz

Damn good teaser. Can’t wait for the finished chapter.

Rocketman

Misspelling of character name on page 6: "Helen" instead of "Helene". <>

MeCherAmigos

Thanks Tefler! As to how "150" is released, why should it matter? I'm sorry, but I just haven't understood the arguments about full vs partial chapter releases. I mean they're all part of the wonderful world of TSM. To me, saying you don't want to read the chapter until it's "complete" is like saying you don't want to read any of the chapters until the entire book is complete. What's the difference whether a set of releases is called 150, 151, and 152 vs 150 pt1, 150 pt2, and 150 pt3? I tend to think of each release as a complete release each time, no matter what it's called, and no matter how many words it has. You then just happen to charge every once in a while whenever the amount released since the time you last charged reaches a certain amount. In the past it was ~30k words, and now it's ~20k words. Yes, you usually make some small corrections and very occasionally some very small additions to the previously released parts, but it is extremely, extraordinarily rare for those updates to change anything substantial or noticeable plot-wise, and if you do, you usually make note of it in your release notes. So, what's the problem? There's not a risk of spoilers any more than there is when you read the "complete" chapter, and if you don't want to miss a single additional word you might add or change, like I don't, then is reading it more than once a problem? No it's a joy! There is also not a situation of only wanting to download the chapter once it is complete to avoid extra payments, since as members here we pay on the 1st of the month for however many "paid releases" YOU POST the previous month, no matter how many times we download them. It doesn't matter if we download each release 1000 times, or not at all. So define your releases the way they make the most sense to you. It makes absolutely no difference to me. I just want you to release as many words per month as you are possibly able to produce, no matter how they are divided. Keep up the great work!

Bp Hlpt

It is not compulsory to read them

Antoine Scrivener

Tefler, please go for Chapter 150 by posting 150a, 150b, 150c, etc. and charging appropriately, then post the *free* finished Chapter 150 in all of its glorious length. That way, you’ll be able to do it all. Get paid for the work, keep the appetites for story fed and release the chapter that *you* want to release, while allowing those who want to read only the finished version that option, too.

Evan

Thanks.

Idaho Spud56

I prefer a steady flow of content. I'm really hoping you can find time to fill in some things that have been left hanging like the trader in the Calopean shoals... What is going on with the Brimoreans... what is happening in the unclaimed wastes...... Please just keep adding content, even if it is only part of a chapter at a time.

Tbh just lay it out however is more convenient for you. An epic chapter would need neat but only if you get paid reasonably for it and it's not lots of extra work.

DefinitelyMaybeNotHuman

These teasers are mean.

Amathew2

Damnit that was a bullshit place to stop, I NEED moar please, also, I'm for whatever the Majority wants, I just love this story.

Kensyi

Great start and darn if I'm not hanging out for the next parts of this chapter he says as he doffs his hat.

TF4EVA

Short, Often

clauskj3r

Just read it - talk about great expectations. Wow! Great start to 150, Tef!!

BrianM

Epic chapter is my vote... If there's a poll

DevilDoc82

Very cool. Hope you're fully recovered

Muledrvr

Great start but why make it end ? I needed more please

Jim lynch

Yep, one epic chapter... We can have 150.1, 150.2 and so on....

bob lakhanpal

oh how i hate your cliff hangers and with short chapters that is inevitable - however the anticipation for the next bit and the next bit.... Also probably means some stuff can be left for the ebook edition. However I'm grateful for anything we can get and appreciate your work. Stay well and take care

TF4EVA

Epic chapter please!

Kyle Oathout

Thanks , no real preference ...

bigdawguw65

Yes, this. That's my preference as well -- I don't have any particular opinions about how the words are posted, but this thing where Tefler keeps writing long chapters that are as long as two "reasonable" chapters but then only gets paid for one chapter, that bothers me.

Brooks Moses

Thanks very much Mr. T. I'm looking forward to some serious action (eg.: Ch. 100!!!) and I'd really like a super chapter to get all the action in one big dose but only if there is some way that you can charge commensurately for the extra length. Otherwise I would prefer several 'standard' length chapters but released at reasonably frequent intervals. Either way I am not comfortable with the release pattern unless your are receiving the appropriate remuneration for your considerable and extremely talented efforts.

BrianM

Monster chapter!

Hugo

You got one vote for the epic mega-chapter in slices (like you did for 100)

Puttanegra Ficondo

I like the idea of having an epic chapter in multiple releases

!raptor

Split the big chapter and get paid for your efforts!

More STORY! Muhaha, muhahaha, MUAHAHAHAHAHA! 🌩

Youkai-sama

When I add more scenes to the chapter, I'll note the start with a # symbol like last time. That should make it easier to keep track of the new sections.

Tefler

Thanks, Tef! No preference on the length. :-)

CJ Mora

Thanks Tefler

Cignal