The Interminables (35 page)

Edmund raised an eyebrow.

Istvan shrugged. “I never wore so much grey when I'd the option.”

“Wouldn't hurt to ask.”

“I shouldn't think so.”

A sigh. “You realize what you're doing to me, right?”

Istvan glanced at him. There was a smile there, torn and scratched and tired but wry, and genuine. The Man in Just Black. He chuckled. “Oh, you've a choice, you know.”

“I do,” said Edmund. He hesitated, then straightened his hat. “I suppose I do.”

They ambled into the library.

T
here were
a number of people especially instrumental to
The Interminables
as it developed, some more directly than others. The original project grew out of a desire to preserve some of the characters developed by myself and friends in the MMORPG
City of Heroes
, which shut down in 2012 – the end product is very different, but credit goes where credit is due.

To my brother Hagen: thank you for donating what became the Susurration, Lord Kasimir, the entire country of Triskelion, and probably a full quarter of the plot to the cause. I have no idea how many hours we spent throwing ideas around, but they were well-spent.

To
HairlessRN,
whom I have never met in person: thank you for all the medical fact-checking advice, the insightful commentary, and the inspiration for this book's talking tiger/bear/blizzard.

To
PropBob
, whom I have never met in person: let's just say that Grace Wu wouldn't have been who she is without you.

To
Warpshaper
and
Kusim
, whom I have never met in person: thank you for all your help in early plot development and brainstorming. Tornado Alley still looms on the horizon.

To
Flashtoo
, whom I never met until two years ago and now we're together and you're watching me write this: you know what you've done.

Lastly, I would like to thank all involved parental and grand-parental units, other brothers (biological and bonus), the population of Targhee dorm (2013-14), the
Virtue
server, and, of course, the inestimable Mrs Zapatka, for their inspiration and support.

P
aige Orwin was born
in Utah, to her great surprise. At the age of nine she arranged to rectify the situation. She now lives in Washington state, next to a public ferry terminal and a great deal of road construction, and has never regretted the decision. She is the proud owner of a BA in English and Spanish from the University of Idaho, which thus far has not proven terrifically useful for job prospects but she knew the risks of a humanities degree going in. She also survived the 8.8 Chilean earthquake in 2010, which occurred two days after her arrival in the country (being stubborn, she stayed an entire year anyway). She began writing
The Interminables
when her favorite video game,
City of Heroes
, was shut down in late 2012. Her partner-in-crime wants a cat. This, thus far, has not happened.

A
NGRY ROBOT

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n Angry Robot
paperback original 2016

Copyright © Paige Orwin 2016

P
aige Orwin asserts
the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A
catalogue record
for this book is available from the British Library.

U
K ISBN 978
0 85766 590 4

US ISBN 978 0 85766 591 1

EBook ISBN 978 0 85766 592 8

S
et by Epub Services
.

Printed and bound in the UK by 4edge Limited.

A
ll rights reserved
. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

T
his book is sold
subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

T
his novel is entirely
a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

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ngry Robot
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