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439 lines
16 KiB
439 lines
16 KiB
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<p>
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<strong>Written by John Vornholt</strong><br>
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Released: February 13, 1995<br>
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ISBN: 0-440-22057-2 (US)<br>
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ISBN: 0-7522-0644-3 (UK)<br>
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Setting: Early 2259, between
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<a href="/lurk/guide/023.html">"Points of Departure"</a>
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and
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<a href="/lurk/guide/030.html">"A Race Through Dark Places"</a>
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<br clear>
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<blockquote><cite>
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Talia is caught up in a deadly conspiracy to assassinate hundreds of
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top
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Psi Corps officers.
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</cite></blockquote>
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<p>
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Reader reviews, and online ordering, can be found at
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0440220572/thelurkersguidet">Amazon.com</a>.
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<p>
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<hr>
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<p>
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<h2><a name="BC">Back Cover</a></h2>
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<p>
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Telepaths to the left of them. Telepaths to the right of them. And
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danger is all around Commander Susan Ivanova and Security Chief
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Michael
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Garibaldi when a Psi Corps convention is held on Babylon 5. Someone
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will turn this meeting of mind readers into a real blast ... as a bomb
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makes Babylon 5 a death trap.
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<p>
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The prime suspect is resident telepath Talia Winters. With Talia's
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old
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foes, thought-cops Bester and Gray, calling for her head, Ivanova and
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Garibaldi can't openly help her. Now she's running for her life
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through
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a perilous universe, and her psychic talent is her only weapon when
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her
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path is blocked by staggering intergalactic horrors: psi cops closing
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in ... and a killer waiting.
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<h2><a name="SY">Synopsis</a></h2>
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<p>
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Harriman Gray (<a href="/lurk/guide/016.html">"Eyes"</a>)
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arrives on Mars for a meeting with Mr. Bester
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(<a href="/lurk/guide/006.html">"Mind War,"</a>
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<a href="/lurk/guide/016.html">Eyes,"</a>
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<a href="/lurk/guide/030.html">"A Race Through Dark Places"</a>)
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to help choose a location
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for a telepaths' conference. Bester suggests that he is strongly
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considering Gray as his new aide (recall Kelsey's ignominious end in
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<a href="/lurk/guide/006.html">"Mind War"</a>)
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and that this is a test of sorts for him, even though Gray is not a
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Psi Cop.
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<p>
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As Gray arrives on Mars and hands his identicard to the Earthforce
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personnel, he feels his mind being scanned and sees Bester step out of
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the
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shadows. Gray is staggered by the sudden scan, but he knows Bester
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has special latitude to conduct operations, including scanning people
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without
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their permission. (Also mentioned in
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<a href="/lurk/guide/030.html">"A Race Through Dark Places."</a>)
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<p>
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As the two ride a monorail to the hotel chosen for the conference,
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an explosion rips the building to shreds. Bester rescues the shuttle
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from the explosion's intense heat by activating a manual mode; he
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later
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tells Gray he felt 26 people die in the blast. Getting back to
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business,
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Gray suggests Babylon 5 as an alternate site for the
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conference -- mainly due to his desire to see Commander Susan Ivanova
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again. Bester agrees, saying he will make sure Sheridan can't refuse.
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<p>
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Senator Hidoshi convinces Sheridan to allow the conference to be
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held on Babylon 5; the Captain ignores the opinions of Garibaldi and
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Ivanova,
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who think the conference is bad news. He orders Ivanova to remain in
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her quarters except when on duty to prevent incidents.
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<p>
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Meanwhile, Kosh is up to his old game of hiring Talia Winters for
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bizarre
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assignments (cf.
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<a href="/lurk/guide/009.html">"Deathwalker."</a>)
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She clearly is frustrated by the assignments,
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but also has started to come to understand some of his terminology
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such as
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"Hour of Scampering." This time Kosh asks her to scan an empty chair
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next to him for "Invisible Isabel," as he calls her. To her surprise,
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Talia
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hears a voice there momentarily. Kosh also understands French,
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based on a brief exchange of pleasantries after the scan is concluded.
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<p>
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Gray contacts Ivanova as soon as possible upon landing; when
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Bester tries to scan Gray, Ivanova stands up to Bester. They talk
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more
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and at least agree to be on a first name basis -- in private. Nothing
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more
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comes of a personal relationship between them in this book; however,
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Ivanova's opinion of him is clearly softened.
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<p>
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Talia and Garibaldi make preparations for the conference and as the
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delegates arrive, things get interesting. Talia meets Arthur Malten,
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head of the Mix, the association of commercial telepaths. Malten's
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assistant Emily Crane is peculiar for her shyness. Talia convinces
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Garibaldi to give the three of them a tour of various parts of the
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station,
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including Down Below. Garibaldi has arranged with Na'Toth, aide
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to Ambassador G'Kar, to give the group a little scare which he hopes
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will
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help keep the other delegates to the conference out of Down Below.
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(Their
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telepathic attacks don't work on non-humans.)
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<p>
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Malten begins taking a serious interest in Talia, and eventually
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convinces her to attend the conference on behalf of the Mix. Crane
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seems jealous but provides a data crystal with information
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about budgets inside Psi Corps and the split of money between Psi
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Cops, the
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military telepaths and the Mix. She also later takes back the
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crystal,
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claiming she needs to put more information on it.
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<p>
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Meanwhile, Deuce,
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(cf.
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<a href="/lurk/guide/015.html">"Grail"</a>)
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arrives back on Babylon 5 with a special item in
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hand. During the first day of the conference, Talia and Malten are to
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attend
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the budget meeting, which includes Bester. Crane returns the data
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crystal
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to Talia after carrying it through a security search. Talia proceeds
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to the
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meeting and sits next to Bester.
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<p>
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During the meeting, Talia develops a headache and walks out. As she
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leaves,
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a bomb detonates in the conference room; it takes a serious chunk out
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of
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Bester, but doesn't kill him. Talia is immediately detained and
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awakens in
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her quarters with Ivanova alongside. After a short exchange, she
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decides she
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would rather be tried on Babylon 5 than on Earth, and asks Ivanova to
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be her
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lawyer. Ivanova agrees -- at least until someone better can be found.
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Talia
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is taken to the brig, and Garibaldi starts to search for clues and
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information to clear her name.
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<p>
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Ambassador Kosh pays Talia a visit in the brig, and they have a
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bizarre
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conversation which she thinks means he will break her out of the
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cell in about 20 minutes. Using the telekinetic powers she received
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in
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<a href="/lurk/guide/006.html">"Mind War,"</a>
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she opens the lock to the internal door and then
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finds Kosh has returned and knocked out the guards with a gas.
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<p>
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Talia dons a Minbari robe and proceeds with Kosh to the docking bays,
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where he tells her to enter a cargo container. When she tries to open
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the box
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after launch, she realizes that she is not alone in the container and
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that
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her traveling companion is Deuce, also escaping the station. Against
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his
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better judgment and with many threats to kill her, Deuce decides to
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help
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Talia. When they arrive on Earth, he helps her get a false
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identicard from a tribe of hi-tech would-be Indians who live in the
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desert.
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<p>
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Gray and Garibaldi are assigned to search for Talia and quickly
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board the first Earth-bound shuttle in search of Crane, whom they have
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come to believe has vital information on the bombing. (The Mix's
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headquarters is on Earth.) Bester has Talia declared a rogue
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telepath, and her image begins to be plastered on television sets
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around
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Earth. Gray and Garibaldi also learn that the
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Military telepaths expected something bad to happen to Bester.
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<p>
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Deuce's desert hideout becomes unsafe as shuttles begin
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to scour overhead looking for Talia. At his friends' strong request,
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he and Talia depart. The two play possum to get a Psi Cop shuttle to
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land,
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and capture the two Psi Cops. Talia convinces Deuce not to kill the
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Psi
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Cops, and they steal the craft.
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<p>
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Deuce agrees to give Talia a one-carat diamond and drop her off out of
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the
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way so he can proceed on his own way. They part ways in Phoenix.
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Talia sells the diamond, using the money to get to
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Boston and eventually to Mars.
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<p>
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Meanwhile, Gray and Garibaldi have been busy in Boston, paying a visit
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to
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Crane at Mix Headquarters. Although she is extremely unhelpful
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during the meeting, Garibaldi notices a confidential Senate memo on a
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self-destructing transparency on her desk. Through an old friend of
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Gray's they track down the contents of the memo. They discover that
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Psi
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Corps blackmails and bribes government officials, making lots of
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enemies.
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The bill would completely privatize the corps, taking it out of the
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military,
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which no longer controls it anyway. The Mix would take over control
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of
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Psi Corps.
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<p>
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Garibaldi tries to make another attempt to talk to Crane and ends up
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captured. Gray and Bester come to the rescue but are forced to kill
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Crane and some telepathic accomplices on the street. Bester tries to
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wind
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the whole thing up
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but refuses to acknowledge Talia's innocence. Gray finally finds a
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voice
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and stands up to him, resulting in Bester agreeing to leave them in
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Miami.
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Bester also warns them off Mars, where he believes Malten is located
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presently.
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<p>
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All paths begin to converge here as Garibaldi, Gray and Talia end up
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on
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the same shuttle to Mars by coincidence. Garibaldi recognizes her
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from
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her buttocks, causing Gray to vow that he will pay more
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attention to women's posteriors in the future. They decide to wait
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until
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after landing to make contact.
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<p>
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After landing, Talia's Uncle Ted contacts her through a telepath (it
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may have
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been Ted himself) and assures her that all is safe as an explosion
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rips the
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terminal building (actually it is just a smoke bomb to cause a
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distraction.) Garibaldi and Uncle Ted eventually recognize each
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other and he and Gray agree to follow Talia and Uncle Ted. The two of
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them convince Talia and Uncle Ted that discrediting Malten is of prime
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importance to clear Talia's name and discredit the false Mars
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terrorist group Malten has created.
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<p>
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Bester arrives after Gray contacts him. He meets Garibaldi and Gray
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with
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a shuttle, and explains that his true fear is that people will think
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Psi Corps can't protect itself from attacks from within. He still
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refuses to budge on the issue of Talia Winters.
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<p>
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Garibaldi offers to visit the bunker where they have located
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Malten; after receiving assurances from Bester that he won't be
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abandoned, he goes down to investigate. Bester enters as well once
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they
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position with the hatch. Inside, Malten is strapped to a chair
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wired with bombs and a note saying, "Compliments of the real
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revolutionaries." They have to abandon him after receiving a message
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that they have only 30 seconds to get out.
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<p>
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After the explosion and a narrow escape, Bester informs Garibaldi that
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he
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is still going after Talia and Uncle Ted. Garibaldi pulls a file that
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Ambassador Mollari made of Psi Cops gambling with him. When Bester
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tries to scan Garibaldi, Gray inserts himself and promises to protect
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Garibaldi from the scan. Bester relents and radios in a report
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clearing
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Talia Winters and restoring her to her position within the Corps.
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<p>
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Gray asks Garibaldi to tell Susan that he did
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something brave and worthwhile, and the two go their separate ways.
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The story ends with Talia visiting her family
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for a while before returning "home" to Babylon 5.
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<H2><A NAME="UQ">Unanswered Questions</A></H2>
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<ul>
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<li> How powerful is Bester? He was the only Psi Cop representative
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to
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survive the budget meeting, and was feared by both the military and
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commercial telepaths. Clearly he calls a lot of shots in the movement
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of Psi
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Corps, but is there anyone behind him/against him?
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<li> How does Kosh know so much about Talia's powers?
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<li> Did Kosh leave Talia in Deuce's care for money, or was Deuce's
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appearance coincidental?
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<li> Where does Talia stand after all this? Especially in light of
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the events of <a href="/lurk/guide/030.html">"A Race Through Dark
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Places"</a>?
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In all of these incidents she
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has narrowly avoided Bester's wrath, but for how long can she avoid
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it,
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especially if she makes any moves against the Corps?
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<li> Why weren't the two Psi Cops that Deuce and Talia attacked able
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to
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use their powers to take out Talia and/or Deuce?
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<li> Does Bester control the new head of the commercial telepaths?
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<li> Did Uncle Ted or his group kill Malten?
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<li> Where does Gray's career stand? It seems unlikely
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that Bester would take him as an aide now; on the other hand, Bester
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can be
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almost as hard as Kosh to figure out.
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<li> Have Talia's feelings about Garibaldi changed at all?
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<li> Where do the military telepaths stand after this incident? They
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clearly
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are not fans of Bester, but they seem less willing to oppose him. In
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light
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of Malten's demise, will they make a move for power?
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</ul>
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<H2><A NAME="AN">Analysis</A></H2>
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<ul>
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<li> Talia's gift (cf.
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<a href="/lurk/guide/006.html">"Mind War"</a>)
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is clearly much more than it seemed at the
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end of that episode. Her telekinetic prowess is high, and she
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is no longer transparently readable by Bester and other
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telepaths. This is supported further by
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<a href="/lurk/guide/030.html">"A Race Through Dark Places."</a>
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<li> Kosh is much more aware of the events taking place both on
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Babylon 5 and elsewhere based on this episode and others. It almost
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seems
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as if some of his assignments for Talia are attempts to improve her
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telepathic and telekinetic prowess.
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<li> Bester's power among Psi Corps and Psi Cops is nearly absolute
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and
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certainly has been consolidated by the deaths and removals of some of
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the
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more powerful enemies. The blackmail and bribery of government
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officials
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means Bester may be running a sort of shadow government.
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<li> Talia clearly trusts Ivanova very strongly, based on her
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decision to have her as a lawyer in this novel and their
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conversation at the end of
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<a href="/lurk/guide/030.html">"A Race Through Dark Places."</a>
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<li> In light of the events in this novel as well as
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<a href="/lurk/guide/030.html">"A Race Through Dark Places,"</a>
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why wasn't Talia included with the senior B5 officers in the
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secret meeting that ended
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<a href="/lurk/guide/033.html">"All Alone in the Night."</a>
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Does this suggest that Sheridan's feels Talia is not trustworthy
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enough yet?
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Or was he specifically told not to include her?
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</ul>
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<H2><A NAME="NO">Notes</A></H2>
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<ul>
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<li> Since the novel features Garibaldi on the job, it takes place after
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<a href="../guide/025.html">"The Geometry of Shadows."</a> The front
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cover blurb is therefore wrong, since the story takes place in 2259,
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not 2258.
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</ul>
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<H2><A NAME="JS">The Author Speaks</A></H2>
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<ul>
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<li> Chris, I did mention that I apparently substituted Kelvin temperature
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for Celsius. It could get a bit hot on Mars during the day, but that
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would be from thin atmosphere. It'd be damn cold there at night.
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This isn't something has any bearing on the story.
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<p>
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<li> Tony, the way this works is -- I work for Dell Books. They have a deal
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with whoever to have the license to publish B5 novels. Dell Books hired
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me, and Lois Tilton, who wrote the next novel. JMS is doing approvals
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for the time being, although I'm sure there's somebody at Warner Bros.
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who could do it if he didn't want to.
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<p>
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I had lots of free rein with VOICES but no information about the big
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arc.
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<p>
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<li> Thanks for bringing up the fact that I wrote this book last July. I am
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extremely happy that it fits into the second season as well as it does.
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This is the first book, our editor quit halfway through it, and we had
|
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some other bumps -- but I think we did all right.
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<p>
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<li> You can't write books set in other people's universes (that are so well
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known) unless you have a thick skin. I don't mind being called on the
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carpet for a factual mistake, but I worked pretty hard to get the
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characters right. Nevertheless, they are my interpretation of the
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characters, not someone else's. We had some bumps in the road on this
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first one, but I think things will get smoother as we go.
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</ul>
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<hr>
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Written by Erik Oliver <oliver@dolphin.upenn.edu>.
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Edited by Julie Prince (jprince@peak.org) and Steven Grimm
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(koreth@midwinter.com)
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