If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed”
to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”
Bantam Books, the rooster colophon, Spectra, and the portrayal of a boxed “s” are trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Printed in the United States of America Published simultaneously in Canada
This book is dedicated tomy parents, Karen Westerholmand Steve Wishnevsky, and to my
grandfather Henry Westerholm, for the run of their science fiction collections
It takes a lot of people to write a novel. This one would not have existed without the assistance of my very good friends and first readers (on and off the Online Writing Workshop for Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror)—especially but not exclusively Kathryn Allen, Rhonda Garcia, Jaime Voss, Chris Coen, Tara Devine, Chelsea Polk, and Larry West. I am even more deeply indebted to Stella Evans, M.D., to whom I owe whatever bits of the medical science and neurology are accurate; to M.Cpl. S. K.
