It appears the Drool is still AWOL. Has he responded to your inquiries, Aku?
I am playing another MP game currently, and someone in that game is AWOL, too (which is not very much fun for the rest of us).
If it becomes clear that someone has dropped out, do we have the power to turn his/her empire over to the computer's control? (This would be a drastic remedy, but in some cases it might need to be done.)
Perhaps, we could set up a standard. For example: if a player misses his/her turn for 10 turns in a row and has failed to communicate an explanation to the other players, then the other players shall have the discretion (perhaps, after a vote) to turn the missing player's nation over to the computer's control until the player returns.
I think things would be different if the player had a reason to leave the game temorarily and requested that the other players indulge him by pausing the game, etc. (For example, I know I will be traveling to Italy in late September.
)