Let the speculation fly about whose hand that might be. 
If you’d like a reminder of the scene Aria is talking about, it can be found towards the end of Chapter Eight.
I had a great time at Can-Con! It was a much smaller show than those I usually attend, but that meant I got to have a pleasant chat with nearly everybody. And everyone was really friendly! I’m beginning to think I ought to find more of these literary science fiction shows– the types that feature author guests as well as artists– to attend in the upcoming year, because Galaxion seems to be a particularly good fit with the kind of fans who go to these shows. I’d love to hear about any shows that any of my readers may know about, or have enjoyed in the past. Dragon Con is already on my wish list, though I gather it’s more like the enormous comic cons I’m used to, rather than the small chummy one I just attended this past weekend. It typically falls a mere week after another enormous show in Toronto, though, so that makes it a bit more of a challenge!
Glad Can-Con went well. What proportion of people had already heard of Galaxion? Did you make any sales?
There was a small group of people who had already heard of Galaxion. And I was very pleased with the weekend sales! I sold lots of buttons, too. I already paid for a table at next year’s show, when in addition to the other programming they’ll also be hosting the Aurora Awards.
Glad to “hear” that, Tara!
It was very good to meet you in person again after so long!
I am incredibly psyched to think that you might one day come to Dragon*Con.
Are you local to Atlanta, Ray? I’ve never been there, and would appreciate some helpful tips…
Maybe it’s Jeff Nelson’s hand? *thoughtful*
My speculations are aligned with Insectoid’s…
If you like the slightly smaller events, I’m not sure how well comic artists typically do there, but you might want to look into Arisia, which is January in Boston.
Will you be at NYCC again this year?
Arisia did look interesting! I’ll look into that, especially since the early months of the year are wide open right now. I won’t be at NYCC this year, but I may go again the future. Or perhaps another of the many NYC-area shows.
Yes Yes to Arisia! Great con! Completely fan-run, not overwhelmingly large, not too small – a diverse, friendly crowd. Phil and Kaja Foglio (Girl Genius) were the artist guests of honor this year.
This was our daughter’s first con – this year she made her own Fiona (of Adventure Time) costume and had a blast running around with her younger cousin. She reads Galaxion too, and I know she’d be wicked excited to meet you!
That’s a spooky hand. The fingers extend into that swirling plant. Like some kind of puppet-master, but only a hint without further proof. They should be wary of a trap and dread being used. I fon’t think either of them is completely aware at this point but they appear to be getting suspicious.
I second Arisia, very good with author types.
Sorry I couldn’t get to Can-Con and say hi! No sleep Saturday and running 12km Sunday morning meant I was done in for the rest of the day. Bleah. Hopefully next year!
I didn’t even notice that hand.
And so the unwitting Trojan Horses are allowed to escape….
…and that’s only one of the many ways that the plot could unfold from here…
Well, after discovering Galaxion in maybe 2009 when I found Book 1 at the library, and after reading all about Tara’s epic journey through re-writes and re-draws, and after glancing briefly at the website (which was around the beginning of chapter 5, I think?), somehow the story completely dropped out of my head. I loved Book 1, though, even though it was kind of confusing for a 3-years-younger me, and recently I picked it up again. And I decided, what the heck, I’m going to read through the whole thing, catch up, and keep an eye out for future updates. So that’s what I did, and honestly I’m kind of glad the webcomic floated so far back in my brain as to make me wait three years, because sitting through week after week of waiting for updates in the middle of all that awesome…I don’t know if I could have handled it.
Maybe if you come again next summer, I can place an advance order for Book 3 or pick your brain a little or even just say hi. In the meantime, I’ll be impatiently awaiting next Tuesday! 
Tara! You’re amazing. I love Galaxion, and I actually met you at the 2009(?) Kids Read Comics convention in Dearborn, but my dad was too much of a cheapskate to buy me a whole book.
Bonding over shared failure. It’s actually very sweet.