And, of course, I’d like to thank Karen and Professor Buckley, because nothing happens without the support of your mate and your dog.
FROM THE AUTHOR
Thank you for reading The Sensory Deception.
Please don’t blame me for the acts, politics, or religions of my characters. If I had better control of them, none of this would have happened.
I built Farley Rutherford from a combination of people. In my mind, he looks like the great Canadian naturalist Farley Mowat: tall, unkempt, and packed with mirth and genius. My Farley got his leadership voice from Paul Grannis, the physicist who led the D0 experiment at Fermilab back in the 1990s when I was a collaborator. I got the visceral feel of Romeo (Chopper) Vittori from who I was at ten years old: a militant environmentalist, migraine sufferer, and loner who spent lots of time wandering the hills of Mount Diablo. Golie (Gloria) Baradaran is loosely based on my friend Dorinda. Gloria and Dorinda look the same—drop-dead gorgeous—are generous women of strong character, and are both Iranian Jews. Gloria’s politics, on the other hand, follows the idealistic, free market patriotism of some Silicon Valley business, types with whom I’ve worked. Reginald (Ringo) Hayes is based on a guy I went to college with whose name I forget; the skinny geek from a tough neighborhood who knew everything. Everything. He also ended up being my favorite character. By the way, here’s how he got his nickname: Prior to giving birth to Reginald (named after Reggie Jackson), Ringo’s mom had a miscarriage. His dad had a tacky sense of humor, and since he thought of his son as the replacement for the miscarried child, he called him Ringo after the Beatles’ replacement drummer, Ringo Starr. I know, hella bad taste.
Reading a novel is telepathy. Since you’ve spent hours in my head, please share your thoughts with me: [email protected]. There’s also a bunch of stuff at www.RansomStephens.com like a book club guide, my science articles, notes on the craft, and so on.
If it’s ever relevant (and I hope it will be): beer not wine, tea not coffee, rock not jazz. See you in the Black Hole!
With gratitude and affection,
Ransom
Petaluma, California, March 2013
FROM THE AUTHOR
Photo © 2012 by Mark Bennington
Ransom Stephens is a former physics professor and fifth-generation Californian. After earning his PhD from the University of California–Santa Barbara, he conducted cutting-edge particle physics research and taught at the University of Texas at Arlington. He then moved into the high-tech arena, leaving academia to work for a wireless web start-up. Drawing on his scientific work, Stephens penned the techno-thriller The God Patent. He lives in Petaluma, California.
The Sensory Deception Page 36
