I'd like to thank the people that made this all possible, and who added so much to the fun of the past few weeks.

First and foremost, thanks to Louis Wu. Not only did he set aside server space and sweep up after the IP trail, he also took my klutzy HTML and turned it into a model of elegance and style. He also did some much appreciated copy editing. Thanks so much... it wouldn't have been the same otherwise.

I'd also like to thank Miguel Chavez for his quick save after the Wideload interview, even though he wasn't privy to the deal. I think I owe him a beer, and not the "canoe sex" variety either, should we ever meet. Tangentially, if Alex Seropian or any of the Wideload crew are reading this, sorry! I had no idea of what you had in the works... I'd have held off a while had I known. If you got a whole bunch of weird email over the past few weeks because of this, I don't know what to say other than, "whoops".

A big round of applause to Hamish Sinclair and his incredible Marathon Story Page. I literally couldn't have done this without it.

A quick thank-you to Greg Costikyan and his article on the difference between games and stories. I'm an admirer of his work, but I beg to differ with that article... stories can be games (and games, stories) with the right medium, content, and audience. Thanks for waving the cape that made this particular Bull of Heaven charge.

I'm told that good writers borrow and great writers steal. Among the many authours whose works I pillaged were:

• Alfred Bester (especially "The Pi Man")
• Lois McMaster Bujold (especially Mirror Dance)
• Arthur C. Clarke
• Harlan Ellison
• Robert Heinlein
• James P. Hogan (especially The Two Faces of Tomorrow)
• Larry Niven (not just Known Space, think World of Ptavvs too)
• Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's Inferno
• Frederik Pohl (epsecially The Heechee Saga)
• Tony Rothman's (unjustly obscure) The World is Round

Specific sources on the epics referenced in the Enkidu Terminals were Andrew George's translation of The Epic of Gilgamesh and Dorothy Sayers' translation of Inferno, both printed by Penguin. The string theory references were mercilessly cribbed from Brian Greene's excellent PBS documentary, "The Elegant Universe". (The documentary is available for viewing online. I hope this link doesn't overload their server.) The musical and cinematic references will have to stand for themselves.

Of course, as inspiration goes the biggest was Bungie Studios itself. Thanks for rekindling a fire I'd thought had guttered out long ago. (Oh, and thanks for not unleashing the flaming ninjas with dual-wielded "cease and desist" orders, too.) I hope you enjoyed the show. A special shout-out to the Erics, Nylund and Trautmann; your novels were my main research sources for Halo story continuity, and I didn't factor in you guys getting framed for this with the "E" thing. I hope that it wasn't too much of a bother for you.

Last, but far from least, comes you the audience. You made it a genuine pleasure to write these, catching most of the hints and references I threw at you. (And a few I didn't. You guys found story related stuff I didn't know was in there. Good eyes, you!)

There may or may not be rampancy in the Halo storyline, but there is rampancy in Halo; it's us, the fans. Look at what we did, given access to a planetary network and an incentive for exponential growth. You found sources I never new existed, tied the story in with so many other legends, and came up with some absolutely fantastic story ideas of your own in the process. You worked together to create something greater than any one of us could alone.

We are the 7rue rampancy.

Thank you all, for everything.

-- Enkidu