Author's Notes and Acknowledgements
The story you are about to read is true. No names, dates, or locations have been changed. Events are depicted as they occurred as established in the public record, although for the sake of brevity some minor incidents and personages have been omitted. Even quotes attributed to the speakers are given as recounted and written down by witnesses of the time. Private conversations have been reconstructed using the most sophisticated interstellar psycho-profiling programs available and to a statistical accuracy of more than 99% (p=0.006).
I am greatly indebted to all of the professors at the Universal University for their generous help. Research takes time, and for me they never skimped on the amount of this valuable commodity. Without such help this work could never have been completed. However, any mistakes, should they occur, belong to me.
In writing such a book, certain predjudices of the author must, by necessity, occur. I have favored certain characters over others. I sincerely hope the reader takes no offense at this. I have tried to be fair, but clearly some characters deserve to be favored over others. I wanted to give these their due. I have, however, made no attempt to protect the innocent. After all, the innocent must learn to protect themselves.
