"Vernor Vinge - A Deepness in the Sky" - читать интересную книгу автора (Vinge Vernor)

*denotes a Tor book




To Poul Anderson,



In learning to write science fiction, I have had many great models, but Poul AndersonтАЩs work has meant
more to me than any other. Beyond that, Poul has provided me and the world with an enormous treasure
of wonderful, entertaining storiesтАФand he continues to do so.

On a personal note, I will always be grateful to Poul and Karen Anderson for the hospitality that they
showed a certain young science-fiction writer back in the 1960s.



тАФV.V.


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am grateful for the advice and help of: Robert Cademy, John Carroll, Howard L. Davidson, Bob
Fleming, Leonard Foner, Michael Gannis, Jay R. Hill, Eric Hughes, Sharon Jarvis, Yoji Kondo, Cherie
Kushner, Tim May, Keith Mayers, Mary Q. Smith, and Joan D. Vinge.

I am very grateful to James Frenkel for the wonderful job of editing he has done with this book and for his
timely insight on problems with the earlier drafts.


AUTHORтАЩS NOTE

file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Ve...inge%20-%20A%20Deepness%20in%20the%20Sky.htm (2 of 529) [10/16/2004 3:16:12 PM]
 A DEEPNESS IN THE SKY

This novel takes place thousands of years from now. The connection with our languages and writing
systems is tenuous. But, for what itтАЩs worth, the initial sound in тАЬQeng HoтАЭ is the same as the initial sound
in the English word тАЬchecker.тАЭ (Trixia Bonsol would understand the problem!)


PROLOGUE
The manhunt extended across more than one hundred light-years and eight centuries. It had always been a
secret search, unacknowledged even among some of the participants. In the early years, it had simply
been encrypted queries hidden in radio broadcasts. Decades and centuries passed. There were clues,
interviews with The ManтАЩs fellow-travelers, pointers in a half-dozen contradictory directions: The Man
was alone now and heading still farther away; The Man had died before the search ever began; The Man
had a war fleet and was coming back upon them.

With time, there was some consistency to the most credible stories. The evidence was solid enough that
certain ships changed schedules and burned decades of time to look for more clues. Fortunes were lost