First and foremost, I must thank Melinda M. Snodgrass, for penning the TNG episode “Up the Long Ladder,” without which this story would have been a lot shorter.

I also owe a debt of gratitude to Rosalyn Landor and Jon de Vries, for bringing to life the characters of Brenna Odell and the Ministers Granger, respectively. And while Danilo Odell may be gone, I can’t forget to credit Barrie Ingham for his portrayal of the archetypal Bringloidi. A special acknowledgment as well to the episode’s “atmosphere” actors who, despite being given neither dialogue, names, nor on-screen credit for their work, provided much inspiration for this story’s original characters.

Thanks to fellow Strange New Worlds graduates Lynda Foley, Kevin Killiany, and Dayton Ward, for their advice and encouragement during the gestation of this project.

The S.C.E. Guide at David Henderson’s Psi Phi website (www.psiphi.org) served as an invaluable reference to the series’ history. (It seems like just the other day John J. Ordover first announced this new original eBook-only series, and now it’s got a history.)

And of course, thanks to S.C.E. co-developer and editor Keith R.A. DeCandido who, in addition to letting me play in this sandbox and just generally being a cool guy, also taught me valuable lessons about the importance of patience in the writing business.