ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:
I’m sure there are a lot of errors in this book, and I know there are some willful deviations from expert advice, for which the experts should not be held in any way accountable. Cool? That said, I’d like to thank: Dr. Jill Shapiro of Columbia University for tips on human evolution; Graham Hancock for information about ancient civilizations; Evangeline Jennifer Hoyer McCarthy for information about being a female human being; Linda Nagata and Sean Stewart for pointing out errors of logic and narration; The History Channel and The Discovery Channel for inspiring a lot of this through years of excellent documentaries; America’s robust publishing industry, for filling my bookshelves with reams of obscure knowledge; and the Internet, for putting every other knowable thing just a few keystrokes away. This story was first conceived in 2004, so I’d also like to thank my 2004 self for writing such a detailed outline, and Toni Weisskopf for purchasing it almost thirteen years later, largely on faith. In a real sense, it took a whole planet full of people to write this book, so thanks to the whole planet, too. You guys rock.