The Sands of Time – Further clarifications.
        
        
Horses:

Jacqueline said that SOME of the horses brought from Earth through the portal had probably been interbred with the indigenous species. Which is why I changed the text to accommodate this idea. (Personally I would have left everything as it was. After all, to most people a horse is a horse is a horse – or a rose by any other name – if you see what I mean). Most folk are intelligent enough to realise that if you are on a different planet or in a different time line, then many, many things are going to be different, and they don't require every “i” to be dotted or every “t” to be crossed to tell them this!

        As far as holding the horse's tail is concerned. I must admit I know little about horses – unless they are of the carousel variety at the fairground! But I do recall seeing several cowboy films in my youth where men or women caught by Indians and with their hands tied would hold the horses' tails when crossing rough ground to avoid being dragged along behind the horses. Which is where I got the idea from.

        As far as walking behind the horses is concerned. They are on a planet where they are trying to fit in with the indigenous peoples, and where Simes consider Gens as little more than dirt under their feet. This being the case, I doubt if the indigenous Simes would be bothered what crap the Gens got on them from walking behind the horses!

Therefore Jason and Laurie would probably be very aware that they would have to keep their eyes open as far as defecating mares are concerned, and do a quick sidestep out of the way! And remember they started to walk behind the horses ONLY because Arik was ignoring Laurie, and Jason dropped back to chat with him, and to tell him that Vidal said not to let young Arik's attitude get to him.

        Here again, I have checked the text and the only other time I mentioned that they were walking behind the horses was when they were going up into the mountains, along narrow paths when they really had no alternative, but to walk behind them.

GENS KNOCKING OUT GENS.

To be honest I feel that most fans are well aware that the Channels will be disturbed by Gens punching other Gens as their sensitivity is mentioned time and time again ad nauseam in all the stories I have written. The difference here is that Vidal and Jordan are well aware that the Gens have to fight to protect themselves and on most occasions expect it to happen and are quite prepared for it; and in this instance they are of course trying to escape.

However, in case there are some fans out there who are NOT yet aware that the Channels might be disturbed by a Gen hitting a Gen we can change the text by the insertion of 18 words as follows:

Chapter 20 – 4th paragraph – line 16.

        Jason placed the tray on the floor before he grinned a rueful apology towards the two Channels for disturbing the ambient. Then picking up a large slice of bread from one of the plates on the tray, he tore it in half and handed one piece to his fellow Gen.


BROADCASTING FEAR

As far as Jason broadcasting fear while on a runaway horse is concerned. I don't care if he is a combat trained companion – if someone is genuinely in fear of their life they wouldn't give a toss about upsetting the Channels or anyone else for that matter, and Jason certainly wouldn't, he's not made that way. In short he's quite simply TERRIFIED and reacts accordingly.

In fact if he were asked about it I'm sure he would say – “stuff the Channels...I put up with enough of their weaknesses and vulnerabilities – they can put up with some of mine for a change!” As I've said many times before, Jason is very, very far from being a saint!

However, Vidal understands his partner and he knows that while he may be combat trained, Jason will very often forget his Companion/donor training and will then treat Vidal as an ordinary guy, and not as a Channel (ergo – he won't walk on egg shells around him). On occasion he will even forget that he's a Sime let alone a Channel and again will act accordingly.

(NB: My own Son many years ago went rock climbing on the Isle of Aran in Scotland. He had never in his life before been worried about heights. On this occasion he got half way up a very easy climb and suddenly had his first attack of vertigo – he said he had never been so frightened in his life before. He quite simply couldn't move, and was literally frozen in position and had to wait there glued to the rock face for over two hours for the rangers to come and tie a rope between the three of them to get him down! He has never been climbing since, and now even the slightest height will make him shake with fear! Believe me when I say if there had been the Queen and the President plus a hundred Channels standing down below him at that moment in time, I really and truly believe that he wouldn't have given a stuff about any of them. Now that is real fear! And real fear CANNOT be turned on and off like a tap!!)

Finally there is one thing that I have obviously not got across in these stories, and I really WANTED to get this across, and it's this:

First and foremost I am writing about the future, and while Householding Gens might still hold to a few of the old ways. Those who do NOT live in a Householding and were not brought up in a Householding (of which Jason is one) usually go to school with, live with and work along side Simes in their every day lives, and treat them accordingly – (if somewhat warily at certain times of the month!)

In all my stories I have tried to make Jason as DIFFERENT from all the other Gens that I have ever read about in other Sime~Gen fan stories as it is possible to be.

Remember, Jason never wanted to be a Companion. Circumstances pushed him into it. Look how many times he ends up arguing with Vidal about various aspects of their life together; and when they are shouting at each other and on occasion almost coming to blows – does Jason remember that Vidal is a Channel and is therefore extra sensitive and lower his tone accordingly? Like hell he does!! He only remembers when Vidal REMINDS him of the fact, and Jason is usually immediately contrite, but minutes later he's forgotten all about it again! That's Jason!

In practically every Sime~Gen fan story that I have read, the Gens are written about as though they are saints – and to be honest with you, to me at least, in a lot of cases they don't come across as real men and women; because only people in religious orders act like that, and are so self-sacrificing. (Indeed one of the few fan stories where the Gen comes across as “a normal person” as far as I am concerned anyway is “Icy Nager.”)

Now my Jason certainly isn't self-sacrificing because he's NOT MADE that way; and he is most definitely NOT a saint …not by any stretch of the imagination. He's just an ordinary every day guy, trying to make the best of a situation he didn't really ask to be involved in.

As I said before, of course he wants to do the best he can for Vidal, but ON HIS TERMS...he's not an old fashioned Householding Gen, and neither does he want to be. He's a modern day Gen and time has moved on. It's also one of the reasons why, after all the years they've now been together, they still have trouble with their relationship. With Vidal still talking things over with his analyst and still asking Jordan for his advice! Even though deep down he knows that he will never be able to change Jason: question – would he really change Jason if he could?

Now if Jason could speak for himself he would tell you that he looks upon Vidal and Jordan as first and foremost MEN, second as SIME and third as CHANNELS – in that order. Which is why he gets so angry and frustrated when either Vidal or Jordan try to wrap him in cottonwool or are too protective of him. After all in his eyes they are all men together, so therefore they are all equal, they just have different abilities and different needs is all; and in some ways deep down both Vidal and Jordan appreciate that.

Indeed, Jordan probably appreciates it even more than Vidal, because he, too, is fed up with being treated like a piece of Dresden china by his people at Zeor, which is one of the main reasons he decided to join the TIB in the first place, and Jason, of course, never ever treats him that way – truth be told, he wouldn't know how to.

And by the way, Laurie, too, is very much his own man! But he is quite a bit different from Jason because he WAS brought up in Zeor. But even he has broken out of the mould, but not quite to the same extent as Jason…just give him time!