Yeah, I have to agree with sp180 that it was very disappointing (and unexpected) that Janelle arrived unannounced at Rasha's house and snatched away all of the micros before she had a chance to do anything with them. I was hoping she would cultivate them into her own sort of city like what Ginny (hopefully) is also seeming to do, and it looked like she was in the process of doing that, but Janelle came and ruined it. :( Oh well.

But aside from that, it is very interesting how the plot is now developing with the research Ostrov is conducting thanks to those videos Cameron sent. Which reminds me that there was something I had thought of since I left my last review from the previous chapter. You have said that there has been no communication between the rooms, but Parker had Justyna in her contacts (somehow). I realize it is just to move the plot in a certain way, but it is a plot hole if you really think about it. Because how did Parker have her as a contact in the first place? And if it has been there for awhile then it seems strange no contacting ever had happened previously. Anyway, its not a big deal but it was something I'd thought about.

As for Milya, her reappearance in this story (or some other of yours) was something I was wondering about for over 2 years now, and now I finally have the answer. I remember Milya who witnessed Ostrov's mysterious disappearance from that space station also wondered what happened to it. I guess she finally has her answer too. Although from her perspective its not been 2 years but actually 7 since that strange event transpired, right? But there's no way she would have stayed alive for 7 years, so I'm guessing there's some sort of time dilation or time traveling going on too, so that from her perspective its not been 7 years. If she has friends/family in Ostrov and is reunited with them (assuming they're not dead, which is a very big assumption indeed), then maybe she'll be shocked to see they've aged 7 years since she's last seen them, when it actually only seemed (to her) that like a few weeks or months had passed?

But just as we've found out about what happened to Milya, Viktor the scientist is now also teleported to... somewhere. I wonder if we'll ever see or hear about him ever again. But here's something that I was thinking...

What if Viktor got sent back to his home world. Maybe he arrived at where Ostrov was supposed to have been, but instead its just some flat barren area of the planet which is the empty void where Ostrov was supposed to be. What if that is what happened to him? And even though Ostrov is gone, all the other countries in that world are still there, and like Milya they are wondering what happened to Ostrov. Well, now there is someone who came back who can answer their questions. But what is even better, is Viktor is a scientist and he has knowledge about the research. With the help of some country (if Ostrov is the vague equivalent of Russia, then maybe on this world there is a friendly country equivalent to, say, Belarus or something) who can help him out by providing him with the lab stuff he needs and he can use his knowledge to try to bring Ostrov back from that end. Maybe having this work being done from both sides is part of the key towards stabilizing the connection or something? But of course things could end up going horribly wrong (and probably will). ;)

I am so happy Rasha is back!! At first I thought Kristen was going to use Rasha unaware in a roleplaying scenario but I guess Rasha is a lot smarter than Kristen thought after figuring it out for herself and that's partially what made Kristen come clean to her in the end. Really look forward to seeing what Rasha does with the tinies that she took home with her. 

Also great cliff hanger at the end. Really interested to see what dimension all the nano people come from.    

Wow, that was intense, like from zero to one hundred, and more than once!

I was happy to find out how Kristen trying to directly interact with just nanos would appear and that was amazing! I can imagine her appreciating their worship more if she can see them through their eyes with like them wearing a camera headset or something. I still wonder what it would be like for her to interact as intimately with one as she does with Elliot with his phone. 

Speaking of which, brutal and shocking. Kristen shows so many dimensions when her expectations are ruined--so cruel, demanding, and petty. The scene was vivid.

I, like probably everyone else, wonder how Rasha will interact with the micros, and further hope she'll soon interact with the nanos, too. She has a similar kind of questionable aspect as the other women who know about the tiny people.

That twisting hook at that end... Looking forward to the next chapter!

Wow what a great chapter! I wonder if Rasha is actually going to get rid of all the tinies given to her as Kristen instructed!

Author's Response:

Thank you!  Yeah, can't give anything away!  

Perfect, as always. Thanks for always delivering such quality. 

Author's Response:

Thank you!  I strive to keep it up.

What a twist at the end!

Author's Response:

The twist of twists??

Another great chapter! I personally don't mind these generally peaceful chapters where there isn't a whole lot of destruction. The less things get destroyed, the longer things can last and the more the story can be prolonged, which I am definitely all for. :)

So Nyla finally received her long overdue and well-deserved comeuppance? This wasn't the way I was expecting it to happen, but to be honest I didn't know what to expect. First Anton got his, and now Nyla. I think this probably wraps it up for all the original tiny "villains". The only exception I can think off offhand is that unnamed Assassin who tried to kill Justyna a long time back. The city he was in (and several others) got obliterated, but that doesn't mean he himself got killed. Necessarily. Though even if he is still somehow alive, what potential harm could he be? Still it would be very interesting to revisit him and his fate.

Anyway, as for Nyla, even though she certainly didn't deserve it, the "tour of Ostrov" Kristen had considered for her sounded like an interesting idea. Too bad it won't ever happen now though. Ah well. :)

Frankly, if you ask me I think Nyla got off WAY too easy. After threatening to murder Kristen's daughter? Yes, I know it was a LONG time ago, but just for that alone, I'm surprised Kristen didn't devise some special punishment that would be very slow and agonizing. Instead she just got squished in an instant. The same fate Kristen inflicts on countless people even by accident all the time.

One good thing though is Kristen was able to limit the destruction JUST to Nyla inside of her tower so no one else had to die. That's a big improvement over how she had been in some recent chapters. 

As for why she let Nyla's threat to kill Maddie slide all those years ago, its been a long time since I've read that part, but if I recall correctly, all the way back then she wasn't yet familiar with each leader of every city personally. She didn't know who Nyla was or who made that threat initially. I don't remember it ever being explicitly said that she found out it came from Nyla, though obviously in this chapter its clear she had worked it out it was her. But of course by then so much time had passed, so yeah... still, threatening your child is a big deal, so I dunno.

Your writing of Justyna's emotions and her dilemma is very good and feels very authentic. She is clearly a good woman and wants what is best for her people, but not everyone understands these tough choices she is forced to make, which is why she ends up facing assassination attempts, rebellions, and the like. These people want someone who would fight back against Kristen, but don't understand this would mean the death of Ostrov. Its definitely not ideal, but Justyna has managed to keep the country mostly alive. Its unlikely anyone else could have done as well of a job as she has, and most would probably have seen Ostrov ended up completely destroyed by now. Kristen is a brat and very tough to deal with. Justyna does as well at it as anyone possibly could. Doing so after the loss of Niko is especially tough. This takes a lot of strength.

As for the worshipers of Kristen's shoes, its completely understandable that she wants them gone. If I may make a suggestion, I hope they don't just simply get wiped out, but maybe Kristen could collect them and transplant them somewhere? Since they love Kristen's shoes so much, maybe they could found a new city inside her shoe closet? Or something like what Ginny did with her followers inside that Terrarium thing? Or place them into the Micro room and have them establish a new Nano city in there like I had suggested before at one point. Lots of potential things that could be done with them. I just hope they're not just wiped out summarily. Because good worshipers (ones that actually volunteer) like that are hard to come by. :)

As for those shoe-cleaners in Braithe, its good for them that Nyla's tyranny has ended, and now they can get proper equipment and medical care. Still though, with all those "criminals" that Kristen is having rounded up and imprisoned, maybe some of them could be punished by being forced to clean her shoes as hard labor? If she has a really grueling task and wants it done in a hurry and the volunteers alone aren't up for it, then these "bad people" can be put to work. And I have "bad people" in quotations because we all know that even with the best of intentions mistakes will happen, and that definition of "bad" will be stretched a lot. Kristen can be quite arbitrary sometimes, you know. :)

Oh yeah, and it was good to hear from Leslie again in this chapter. I wonder if she'll ever stop by again to check in on those "toy people"? That would definitely be fun, but maybe TOO fun. ;) Though I would love to see what she would have to say about her bootprints left a permanent impression in Ostrov, and how they're still there all these years later. And how one of the Micro cities has been renamed "Port Leslie" in honor of her. I wonder how she would feel about these things. Though she certainly was very dominant and VERY destructive, she didn't seem to get any special enjoyment out of it the way Kristen, Ginny, and now Janelle have. But she is good at being bossy and domineering nonetheless. Like she said herself, she could sort out those "toy people" by lunch. :)

Kristen could put that bold claim to the test by letting Leslie work her magic. But as with the first time, it would probably be hugely destructive. But just letting Leslie take home a few thousand "volunteers" would mean things wouldn't get too crazy, and then Leslie could prove what she is capable of by whipping those "volunteers" into shape like she said. That would be pretty fun in any case, and Leslie could just keep them as her own city like what Ginny is doing. She might not care about playing around with "toy people" like the other girls, but maybe they can be of use to her for her work related stuff somehow?

Anyway, those are my thoughts. :)

Was waiting for this

There was not so much action in this interlude chapter, but it was very good on the exposition, and it helps to move the plot along in the direction you want it to go, I'm sure.

Justyna's thought that Niko may have survived within the wrinkles of Kristen's feet was a thought that also did occur to me after reading the previous chapter. Sending search and rescue teams to scour Kristen's feet would be the way to go, but as she and Justyna are not on speaking terms, it would be difficult to pull that off. Though, organizing such an operation without Kristen's consent might work, though there are extremely vast distances involved (for them) to even reach her. But its not like Kristen would detect them. It would be a very hazardous operation and likely to fail, but Kristen would never even know so she wouldn't get angered about it. Since Kristen moves around and might be hard to catch up with, the best option might be for the teams to find her shoes that she is going to wear in the near future, and set up camp there, and let her come to them. That's an idea anyway.

Being so small they have an edge over the micros in being much more difficult to squish. I remember doing the calculations before, and I figured them out to be about the size of a bacterium in comparison. So Kristen's skin ridges would be like an immense valley to them, and many of them could have survived there, including Niko. This is a thought I've had ever since that one chapter way back where Ginny squished the cities with her nylon-clad toes to eliminate the criminals that tried to assassinate Justyna. Many people may have survived in Ginny nylons or her own toe ridges. Maybe they still live there even now. :) Its a very fun idea if you ask me. Ironically, the criminals that tried to kill Justyna could be among the survivors. Who knows? And let's not forget poor Luka and the others who got trapped inside of her ass. ;)

The glass dome thing at the end to keep Ginny's followers in was a good idea! I know Ginny is Korean and not Japanese, but them becoming a decoration on her desk kinda reminds me of Bonsai trees. In fact, in the dome is big enough, she could have one in there with them. It would be a cool place to live, and it would also give Ginny something to look into and contemplate, just like a terrarium or something. I dunno.

The same could also be done with Nano cities from Ostrov. I hope sooner or later Ginny gets her own Nano city of followers (whether consensually or not) to rule over as a goddess. Perhaps Janelle too and maybe others. :) I mean, before it all ends up being destroyed by Kristen and her pettiness like she did with Kudileyka and so on. At least being within a glass dome would give them some measure of protection, right? It also makes a convenient way to pass them along as gifts. ;)

Speaking of gifts, I'm glad to see that Parker is taking well to her new position of ruling the realm of Crest she had been gifted. The videos on Anton's computer are extremely interesting. It is also kinda amazing how this place is paradoxically both so scientifically advanced in comparison to the other micro cities, yet at the same time also feels medieval and backwards in many other respects. But that stuff about the scientists researching into the storm that brought them there is very interesting. I had always imagined in my head since I first started reading this story that the various cities (and Ostrov) would make this sort of research a top priority, but I had no idea how successful any of them would be at it. From what the videos imply, it seems Crest was getting close to a break through, but Anton being Anton didn't want to go back. Maybe his selfishness, insanity, or fetishism ended up dooming everyone to slavery and death? Who knows if the science can ever recover from the set back caused by him suppressing it and killing those scientists. But it is very interesting...

Alternately, if the science could be properly understood and harnessed, maybe Kristen and co. could use it to bring in MORE Cities/countries. That would be one way to solve the dilemma of this ever dwindling resource. Especially if they're not being allowed to reproduce. I think Kristen enjoys her power and would love to bring in more "recruits" if she could. There's also the thing where everyone's gotten used to her and been broken by her. If some new "additions" were to arrive, these would have a sort of defiance which her old subjects now lack (because she killed off all the defiant ones). But I understand if that's not a direction you want to go.

One final thing I want to say about Anton while I'm on this topic... when I first read this story I kinda had a feeling that he was behind this somehow, because he seemed to be the only tiny (or the only anyone at first) to be happy about this change. So that made me think he had done it or was in on it somehow. I now see that is not the case. Nonetheless, even if he didn't cause this to happen, he sure did not want it to be undone.

And btw, it was also good to read that flashback with Samantha and Werth to that war against Crest back in the early days and it happened. That shed some valuable insight from the perspective of the tinies, which the story originally didn't have in those chapters. So kudos on that. I know you said you don't like to write from the perspective of the tinies but I think this added a lot.

Werth's rationale made sense. Anton's desire to be enslaved and worship Kristen as a Goddess was a dangerous idea, and maybe all the Micros would be better off had he succeeded in nipping that in the bud before the cult had grown and expanded like it has, and also before it had gotten to Kristen's head and inflated her ego to megalomania, again like it has.

Anton may be dead and gone, but his legacy and this cult he created still very much continues. It started out with one man, and now there are millions.

So happy to see update of this fantastic story 

Author's Response:

Thank you!