Challenge 1034

Come Back, No Joke

In Anthony F. Castriota’s The Broad Divide:
1. Lilian appears to be artistically talented and yet lead a primitive life rooted in forests and jungles. What later era in human history might Xavier Gilles represent?
2. Now that Danny Aurturo has discovered Gilles’ fate, what might he do next? If this is the first chapter in a longer work, how might the story continue?
In Craig Donegan’s The Day Baron von Sickle Disappeared:
1. Why might the town have such a distinctly personal name? Does it represent anyone in particular? N.B. “Sickle” is an English — not German — spelling.
2. How do the animals feel about the gradual disappearance of humans from the town? Why might they feel as they do?
In Charles C. Parsons, The Charred Body:
1. What part of the husband’s testimony would not be allowed in court?
2. How much does Chance stand to collect in legal fees from the judgment?
3. Why wasn’t the fire detector battery-powered rather than fitted with an electrical connection?
4. The judge is depicted as a caricature of bias, but is he wrong? Is the judgment likely to survive appeal?
In Javier Pérez Rizo’s The Truest of Dinosaurs: Why does Robi change his mind and reunite with Aydan? What seems to be the crucial factor?
In Charles C. Cole’s They Come in Dreams:
1. If the expression “Be right back” is, as is usually the case, a contraction, what is the subject, the verb and the tense of the verb?
2. If the expression is not a contraction but a complete sentence, what is the implied subject? What is the mood of the verb: indicative, imperative or subjunctive?

Responses welcome!