DUEL with the DEVIL
Viewing comments for Chapter 38 "DUEL with the DEVIL - Chapter 38"The problem of creating a non-addictive painkiller
19 total reviews
Comment from Neonewman
Wow! I feel like you, Jim, could produce this drug. Like all before it, this chapter deserves a six-star rating, and you, my friend, have my last one. Julia is a brilliant mind herself. I love that she never batted an eye in supporting her husband as well as helping create the drug. What a unique way of creating the name Dipraxa. Also, I laughed my ass off over the horny little elf running around all day with a hard-on.
When I had all my teeth removed, I felt the entire procedure. I have a high tolerance for pain meds and, luckily, for pain as well. Novacaine or Lidocaine would numb me for more than a few seconds. My body rejected them. I went through nine and a half hours for the tops and five hours for the bottoms. Excruciating!
God bless,
Steve
reply by the author on 23-Oct-2024
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Wow! I feel like you, Jim, could produce this drug. Like all before it, this chapter deserves a six-star rating, and you, my friend, have my last one. Julia is a brilliant mind herself. I love that she never batted an eye in supporting her husband as well as helping create the drug. What a unique way of creating the name Dipraxa. Also, I laughed my ass off over the horny little elf running around all day with a hard-on.
When I had all my teeth removed, I felt the entire procedure. I have a high tolerance for pain meds and, luckily, for pain as well. Novacaine or Lidocaine would numb me for more than a few seconds. My body rejected them. I went through nine and a half hours for the tops and five hours for the bottoms. Excruciating!
God bless,
Steve
Comment Written 23-Oct-2024
reply by the author on 23-Oct-2024
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Thanks so much, Steve. We'll have to wait and see if Julia's great faith in Brian is warranted.
Sorry to hear about your difficulties with the oral surgery. So, Novocaine or Lidocaine didn't work for you, huh? That's a shame. I can't imagine going through what you did without it.
Thanks for those 6 stars too.
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It's always a pleasure, my friend. I'm happy to hear from you, Jim. The recent Hurricanes that struck the east coast had me worried for you and your family. I hope to catch up on more of your work soon. I'm not off again until Monday.
God bless,
Steve
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We got very lucky with the hurricanes. We live in the Winston-Salem area which is quite a ways inland from the ocean, but also far enough east of the mountains where the hurricane did major damage. We got just 3" of rain, so we were very lucky where we are.
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What a blessing, Jim. This was an active year. I'm happy to hear you were spared, my friend.
Comment from tfawcus
I thought your idea of italicising some of the scientific detail was a useful device and probably more effective than footnoting it or putting it in an appendix. I'm wondering if he might succumb to the temptation of trying it on himself before all the safety checks have been completed.
reply by the author on 16-Oct-2024
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I thought your idea of italicising some of the scientific detail was a useful device and probably more effective than footnoting it or putting it in an appendix. I'm wondering if he might succumb to the temptation of trying it on himself before all the safety checks have been completed.
Comment Written 15-Oct-2024
reply by the author on 16-Oct-2024
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The idea behind the italicizing, which I sprinkled in several places throughout the story, was to have Brian speaking directly to the reader from the present. Granted, he's also narrating the story to us, which largely takes place in the past up until the time when we get to the events in the prologue, but I used the italics to differentiate from that when he was talking to us from the present, if that makes any sense.
I guess it's sort of like in The Dreamer, when the author, the Dreamer, and the muse were talking among themselves and to us readers, as opposed to the actual narration of the story of Marcus, et. al.
Comment from Rachelle Allen
This went well, I thought, moving the story along steadily, ĺt seems that our heroes are doing nicely and moving full speed ahead despite the confines of the pandemic. Nice work.
reply by the author on 24-Sep-2024
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This went well, I thought, moving the story along steadily, ĺt seems that our heroes are doing nicely and moving full speed ahead despite the confines of the pandemic. Nice work.
Comment Written 24-Sep-2024
reply by the author on 24-Sep-2024
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Thanks, Rachelle. I take it the science wasn't overwhelming. There will be some more of it later on, but no more complex than this was.
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No, I got through it as if I were on dipraxis. - painlessly! HAAA! Like what I did there, Jim?
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Yes. Good job!
Comment from Carol Hillebrenner
This is interesting and understandable even to a non-chemist. Good job. I can understand why he would want Julia there instead of traveling away from him for months. I seem to have missed chapters 36 and 37, but I have been away for a vacation in the area of Banff, Canada, and found I had 42 stories to review when I returned home.
reply by the author on 21-Sep-2024
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This is interesting and understandable even to a non-chemist. Good job. I can understand why he would want Julia there instead of traveling away from him for months. I seem to have missed chapters 36 and 37, but I have been away for a vacation in the area of Banff, Canada, and found I had 42 stories to review when I returned home.
Comment Written 20-Sep-2024
reply by the author on 21-Sep-2024
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Yikes! Hope you had a good time on your vacation, Carol. You could probably just read the chapter recaps if you want to speed things up.
Glad you found the science easy to understand and not overwhelming. There will be a little more before the end, but it should be similar to what you've read so far.
Comment from Pearl Edwards
Just as well Jules had earned the big dollars pre covid with all those expensive outlays. I found the dialogue finding a name for Brian's new drug interesting, Jim. You've done well with all the science in this write.
Cheers
Valda
reply by the author on 19-Sep-2024
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Just as well Jules had earned the big dollars pre covid with all those expensive outlays. I found the dialogue finding a name for Brian's new drug interesting, Jim. You've done well with all the science in this write.
Cheers
Valda
Comment Written 19-Sep-2024
reply by the author on 19-Sep-2024
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Thanks very much, Valda. I appreciate your remark about the science. That's the part I really struggled with to make it understandable and keep it interesting at the same time without overwhelming the reader with too much of it.
Comment from jmdg1954
Wow. Jules is one smart woman in that she's been able to play an integral part in the drugs development.
They amassed a hefty nest-egg in the few short years of working. Good thing as Brian's lab came with hefty $$$ needed.
Covid impacted everyone differently. I didn't miss anytime from work, thankfully.
Looking towards the next chapter which I believe is in my inbox...
Cheers,
John
reply by the author on 18-Sep-2024
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Wow. Jules is one smart woman in that she's been able to play an integral part in the drugs development.
They amassed a hefty nest-egg in the few short years of working. Good thing as Brian's lab came with hefty $$$ needed.
Covid impacted everyone differently. I didn't miss anytime from work, thankfully.
Looking towards the next chapter which I believe is in my inbox...
Cheers,
John
Comment Written 18-Sep-2024
reply by the author on 18-Sep-2024
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Thanks, John. The fact that Julia has been so involved in the project becomes an important consideration later as we will see.
Comment from lyenochka
Hooray! The drug is finally under creation and it seems that Brian is confident enough to file a patent. I think it's great that the pandemic actually had a good effect in keeping Brian and Julia together. That she has a hand in creating the product - assisting when she can, strengthens their bond for the time when it is tested.
I liked how you simply explained the techy part.
reply by the author on 16-Sep-2024
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Hooray! The drug is finally under creation and it seems that Brian is confident enough to file a patent. I think it's great that the pandemic actually had a good effect in keeping Brian and Julia together. That she has a hand in creating the product - assisting when she can, strengthens their bond for the time when it is tested.
I liked how you simply explained the techy part.
Comment Written 16-Sep-2024
reply by the author on 16-Sep-2024
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Thanks very much, Helen. You touched on all the important points in your review, especially Julia's help in creating the drug. The fact that she played a part in this will go a long way when "their bond is tested" as you say. I'm glad the techy part was simple enough to understand.
Thank you for those 6 stars too. Much appreciated.
Comment from Dolly'sPoems
I think one of the main obstacles in blocking pain is that it goes against nature. We have to feel pain to know that something is wrong and often pain comes with healing. We all have a different pain threshold and I think some pain is necessary, after all, it reminds us that we are alive! Completely blocking pain is probably not such a good idea, unless you are dying! I enjoyed your inventive story and we will see what happens next Jim, love Dolly x x x
reply by the author on 16-Sep-2024
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I think one of the main obstacles in blocking pain is that it goes against nature. We have to feel pain to know that something is wrong and often pain comes with healing. We all have a different pain threshold and I think some pain is necessary, after all, it reminds us that we are alive! Completely blocking pain is probably not such a good idea, unless you are dying! I enjoyed your inventive story and we will see what happens next Jim, love Dolly x x x
Comment Written 15-Sep-2024
reply by the author on 16-Sep-2024
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Yes, it does go against nature, as pain is the body's way of telling you something needs attention. We have a friend who was paralyzed from the waist down in an auto accident years ago, and she has no feeling in her feet and legs. She has to constantly look them over for anything amiss because she can't feel it. It can be dangerous and life threatening, for something could become infected, or she could develop a deep-vein thrombosis or some such, and she just wouldn't know it. That's why Brian's drug must allow for some pain signals to go through.
Comment from lancellot
Hmm, interesting, it is very good to have a supportive spouse, and a hefty nest egg to lean on. The writing is good, and the tone in this chapter is the same as the others. A very positive and inspiring one. The reader hopes Brian makes a breakthrough.
reply by the author on 16-Sep-2024
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Hmm, interesting, it is very good to have a supportive spouse, and a hefty nest egg to lean on. The writing is good, and the tone in this chapter is the same as the others. A very positive and inspiring one. The reader hopes Brian makes a breakthrough.
Comment Written 15-Sep-2024
reply by the author on 16-Sep-2024
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Thanks, Lance. Brian will certainly need all the support Julia gives him in the following chapters, and her participation in the creation of the drug will go a long way to convincing her that it is a worthwhile, plausible endeavor and not just pie-in-the-sky stuff.
Comment from royowen
I can remember Covid being responsible for my entertainment shutdown, and never really recovered, but my writing became a godsend, my wife taught her student by the internet, 16 at a time by a very clever chat room, great story Jim, well done, blessings Roy
reply by the author on 16-Sep-2024
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I can remember Covid being responsible for my entertainment shutdown, and never really recovered, but my writing became a godsend, my wife taught her student by the internet, 16 at a time by a very clever chat room, great story Jim, well done, blessings Roy
Comment Written 15-Sep-2024
reply by the author on 16-Sep-2024
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I would agree with that. Writing, for me, during that time was also a godsend and made the isolation much more bearable. One good thing about it was that they never shut down golf courses, so I was still able to play.