The Infinity Link (74 page)

(N'rrril?)

A whisper. A laugh. (Yes?)

(Is it always this way when you leave a world you love? When you want to travel on, to—)

(Yes.)

(Happy and sad?)

(Always.)

This time it was she who laughed, sadly and happily. She had of course known the answer before asking; but she had wanted someone to say it for her, to confirm both the fear and the hope. (Farewell, Earth,) she said, speaking it to N'rrril, but thinking it to her place of birth.

(It is not truly farewell,) N'rrril reminded her.

(No. But just now it feels that way,) she answered, and then she fell silent, touching only N'rrril, and she listened long and hard to the sighing and the whispering of the stars.

In the nearly six years that have passed since I began writing this book, I have received emotional, critical, and material support from a multitude of sources. Following are some of the people who have helped me, in ways large and small, perhaps more than they themselves know:

Robert and Carol Carver, for encouragement and assistance far beyond the call of duty, without whose help I would still be hammering this manuscript on stone tablets; Charles and Nora Carver; Nancy Lorey; all of the Sherricks; Allysen Palmer; Crystal Nash; Jane Sleamaker; Helen Haggerty; Ken Winans; Gene and Kate Soccolich; Pam Fink; Janet Moore; Kathy Vaillancourt; Cynthia Haring; Claudia Metz; Leslie Smith; David and Betty Holloway; Robert and Cindy Clancy; Marty Clark Rich; Diane Duane; Jane Yolen; Joan D. Vinge; and the furry fellow who was always there—Sam.

I would like to give special thanks to all of the members of the Writing Group, including Jane Jewell, Mary Aldridge, Craig Gardner, Richard Bowker, and Victoria Bolles, who listened to the entire manuscript read aloud over a period of some four years—whose many excellent suggestions and perceptive criticisms helped me to improve virtually every section of the book.

Technical advice regarding tachyons was provided to me by Drs. Gerald Feinberg and Robert Forward. I took their ideas and modified them to my own specifications, and these gentlemen are not to be blamed for any misinterpretations. Likewise, thanks to Vernor Vinge, for thoughts pertaining to computer intelligence.

Finally, I would like to thank my agent, Richard Curtis, for never losing hope; and most especially, I would like to credit Jim Frenkel, the book's editor twice over, and now publisher, who put faith in this story on the basis of an eighteen-page outline, and without whose boundless enthusiasm and brainstorming energy the finished book might never have come to pass.

Thank you, all.

Jeffrey A. Carver

Cambridge, Mass., April 1984

In preparing
The Infinity Link
for its first ebook edition, I have resisted the temptation to do much tinkering. However, I have tweaked the wording here and there to remove anachronisms, mostly having to do computer technology and political boundaries. The book is still set in the future, and the future is different from what it was in 1984. There are no longer any Soviets, and some computer terms from the 1980s now sound as if they're from the dark ages. No need, I felt, for you to trip over word choices that are peripheral to the story. I also fixed some punctuation and spelling. Beyond that, I have let the story stand as I originally wrote it.

And you know what? I was delighted by how well the story stood up, and by how much I enjoyed rereading it myself. This is a book I have always been particularly proud of, and I hope you enjoy reading it, too!

Jeff Carver, 2009

Jeffrey A. Carver
was a Nebula Award finalist for his novel
Eternity's End
; he also authored
Battlestar Galactica,
a novelization of the critically acclaimed television miniseries. His novels combine thought-provoking characters with engaging storytelling and range from the adventures of the Star Rigger universe (
Star Rigger's Way, Dragons in the Stars
) to the character-driven hard SF of
The Chaos Chronicles.
Sunborn,
published in 2008, is the fourth novel in the Chaos series, which began with
Neptune Crossing
and continued with
Strange Attractors
and
The Infinite Sea.

A native of Huron, Ohio, Carver lives with his family in the Boston area. He has taught writing in a variety of settings, from educational television to conferences for young writers. He has created a free web site for aspiring authors of all ages at http://www.writesf.com
.
Learn more about the author and his work at http://www.starrigger.net
.