I wonder whether Pavlova is spoiling the Dedes too much. They don’t seem to be in a hurry to come home. There’s no way their strategy meeting can take two weeks. I think that’s how long it has been since they’ve moved to the burrow. It seems ages.  I hope they’ll know when they have outstayed their welcome and come back before they come to blows.

Pavlova certainly tries to make a good impression, but at some stage looking after 40 Dedes and going to the lab everyday might just become a tad too demanding. She might end up having a nervous break-down. I pray one of them will recognise the tell-tale signs and shepherd them back home in time.

I was hoping Devil and Mouse would be back today as the competition has finished. I even went up to the burrow to ask them to come back, but Devil had no inclination to do so. Ah well, on second thought, they wouldn’t be much help anyway. I really can imagine them sitting in the burrow bickering over whether the competition was a success or a failure. Mouse will defend its success and Devil will pooh pooh it. This can go on forever without reaching a decisive conclusion as neither want to give in. I know my Dedes!

In my mind Alien is definitely the winner. Without the competition he would have never known that he is not alone. There are other aliens at the Ohio Falls. However, they seem to be from a different planet. They are certainly more outgoing and inquisitive than the Dede Alien.  The Dedes are painfully introverted and mainly concerned with their own little world. But it was very clear in all the stories that nobody considered Alien a threat or even remotely vicious. He (or she) was welcomed everywhere. Everybody just assumed, or maybe hoped, he/she came  in peace. What else would you expect from somebody with such a big smile?

We had 4 entries in our little competition and originally I said  the prizes would be one book and 2 sets of postcards. This makes – if my math is right – 3 prizes :). What can I do?

I will add another book. So everyone who has gone to the trouble of writing will receive a Thankyou from the Dedes. ArtistatExit0 and Leopoldine will receive the book “Hermit’s Web” and Arindam and Armin will receive 10 Dede postcards each. How did I come to the decision of who gets what? Simply because I know that Arindam and Armin have the book already :). So I hope you find this a fair solution!
I will be in touch via email!

And thanks again for your invaluable support of the Dedes!