For some reason, I thought they'd bury Phobos on the planet. Guess they plan to keep him in cold storage on the ship. But are they going anywhere?

Assuming there isn't a backup plan they are probably going to study the echerspace drive and go through Phobos stuff until then can work it out themselves.

Allas who knows? Maybe next week we will see Providence receive a visit from a second westward type vessel with a second martian (plausible now that we know where Phobos came from) that will find the derelict of the original westward vessel on orbit...

I thought they would too James, and then a techno-phobos-skeleton would show up later and run around scaring the balls off everyone before solving all their problems.

Great strip today. It has a wonderful, mournful atmosphere that seems to clearly signal some sort of turning point.

I've been reading the strip for a long time but never felt compelled to comment before.

I'm enjoying the story and your growth as an artist and story-teller. I can't wait to see what comes next.

Thank you, Landon! It's always edifying to hear from readers for the first time. You're absolutely right about this being a tipping point.

I suspect your "heartbroken Lamont" was comment bait, as you have not portrayed him as interested in Whit beyond enjoying her attention... and welcoming her interest and participation in his exploration of himself. He'll miss her, but it's my sense that any mirror could replace her for Lamont's purposes.

Similarly, Rosemary has not just now betrayed Carter's trust. That happened long ago, and Carter's actions indicate he knew some of it before her "confession". More recently, she's been quite obviously working up to something resembling honesty with Carter.

Finally, when the voiceover announcer or tabloid headline breathlessly asks something like "Is Phobos Really Dead!?", we recognize the subtextual answer is nearly always "NO". But I suspect E has a twist coming there too. Maybe a new little Santanobos (or maybe Photana) to grow up as a playmate with Rosemary's baby. And all that THAT portends.

I suspect your "heartbroken Lamont" was comment bait, as you have not portrayed him as interested in Whit beyond enjoying her attention...

Comment bait it wasn't, but you make a decent observation. The extent of Lamont's real affection for Whit is certainly questionable. Let me throw this out there: Lamont has been relying on his past trauma as a behavioral crutch for five years; now he's being faced with the daunting prospect of accepting responsibility for his actions.