A trilogy is an epic task, especially one that ranges as far as Omega City. I’m indebted as always, to my family, particularly my husband, who walked me through at least three or four versions of an ending to this tale. I’m so grateful to have made this journey with my editor, Kristin Rens, and the team at Balzer + Bray, as well as my extraordinary cover artist, Vivienne To, who really outdid herself this time around. Thank you so much to my writer friends for support: Carrie Ryan, Mari Mancusi, K. A. Linde, Erica Ridley, Heidi Tretheway, and most of all to Lavinia Kent, who actually let me hide out in her basement and fed me tacos for days while I revised this book again and again.
I’m also indebted to those who provided me with research materials, particularly the Space track at DragonCon, which is always an eye-opening experience (and where I first heard the term “hypothermic torpor”), and pretty much everything ever put online by NASA. Guys, your dedication to filming so much of your space exploration, from liftoff to landing, makes it so easy to describe what happens in microgravity. I also recommend Mary Roach’s excellent book, Packing for Mars, which was a gateway drug to so many dry NASA reports and so many delicious astronaut memoirs, and the podcast 99% Invisible’s episode “Home on Lagrange,” which introduced me to mad genius Gerard O’Neill and his book The High Frontier. If you want to read more about what a possible Infinity Base might look like, check that out.
I want to thank Eleanor for turning me on to the joy of hexaflexagons through Vi Hart’s YouTube tutorials. I never realized the real Savannah Fairchild was hiding out right under my nose. You gave me the perfect puzzle to finish out my series.
And for all the readers who have come so far with me, thank you from the bottom of Omega City to Infinity . . . and beyond.