Anyone seeing parallels with the last time that Benjamin had a gun shot out of his hands is, of course, quite correct.

I'd like to thank the fine people at Philcon for getting back to us pretty much instantaneously about an invitation for Mark to also become a guest. They're aces in my book. So if you want to meet Mark or me, and are in or near Philadelphia, we will be at Philcon 2006 from November 17 - 19. And if you're interested in meeting a real science fiction author, as opposed to hacks like me, the guest of honor is Charles Stross.