"He closed his eyes and let his mind grow blank — and then caught himself, suddenly uneasy, without knowing why. He'd done something foolish, something insane, something he was going to regret, badly."
Prologue, p. 5

"The prospect of embarking on another such project wasn't exactly electrifying — but she had no real alternative. And once the recession was over and people started buying again, it would have been time well spent. First, though, she needed to cheer herself up. If she worked in the Autoverse, just for half an hour or so — until nine o'clock at the latest — then she'd be able to face the rest of the day . . ."
Chapter 1, p. 18
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"Thomas regarded him uneasily. Although he'd had all the ravages of surgery edited out of his final scan file, he'd kept a scar on his right forearm, a small memento of a youthful misadventure. He...