Strip 265 -- First Seen: 2009-09-18
Escape From Terra is updated with new pages every Monday through Friday.

QV on a short break

QUANTUM VIVE is taking a break for a few weeks, as we prepare for Part 2 of the Novo Palermo story, and also for a Kickstarter campaign for Part 1, which will start in September.

In the meantime, Not-Safe.Space will continue, as a murder mystery begins and the relationship between Eithne and Diana develops in unexpected directions.

Not-Safe.Space is a NSFW strip but more than half the pages are SFW so I've set those to *not* require a Patreon membership. Readers should be able to follow the story without seeing the NSFW pages. If I've done this right.

Kickstarter successful and closed

The Kickstarter campaign for Not-Safe.Space Chapter 3 concluded successfully on April 21, and Scott extended the time allowed for late pledges until May 19.

Books have been ordered from the printer and Scott will be spending the next week or so setting up and sending the PDF files to those who asked for them.

(There are still six of you who have not responded to the survey asking for e-mail and snail-mail addresses, he'll do the best he can.)

Thanks to all for supporting this Kickstarter!

The Transcript For This Page

Panel 1
Re-establish the scene with Reggie standing and the students seated around him. He is addressing Manjula again. She has a wistful, far-away look.

Reggie: Please tell me about how you discovered Sv Rogers.

Manjula: At the South Pole array, we have decaday solo shifts.

Panel 2
Medium shot of Manjula, still looking wistful.

Manjula: The person for the next shift drives the transport to the station and unloads supplies.

Manjula: The person whose shift is ending, packs up trash and data files and drives out of the crater that holds the station, back to the main research complex.

Panel 3
Flashback panel. The transport, a ground vehicle a bit larger than a Chevy Silverado with large front tires and tank-like treads at the rear, arrives at the Array Station's vehicular airlock.

The Array Station is about the size of a 2-bedroom home, of a futuristic design with rounded corners, but not fancy. No antennae or other external appurtenances. the background is a radio-antenna array somewhat like the famous one in New Mexico. In the distance, we see an inside crater wall.
Caption (Manjula): 'When I arrived, Rogers was not there to meet me. This was odd, but not unheard of.
Caption (Manjula): 'Sometimes people are indisposed or finishing something up.'


Panel 4
Manjula entering the station control room. We see her in a background doorway. In the foreground, on a desk, is the same logbook currently on Reggie's chair, laying open.. Nearby is a control console with various monitor screens, buttons, etc. No holograms.

Caption (Manjula): 'When I got to the control room, I saw the open logbook with something written in large letters.

Caption (Manjula): 'You have the book next to you on the table.'

Panel 5
Medium shot of Reggie, holding up the log-book turned to the entry page, where the students can see it.

Reggie: Is this the entry you saw?

Panel 6
Close-up on the book with its entry, so we can read it:

Entry: Hi Mom! The music started again. My Martian friends are playing strange musical instruments. They say it's hot out there and I should take my clothes off and join them.
See you later,
Bobby