by Indra Sinha
Acknowledgements
Grateful thanks to Peter Robinson at Curtis Brown, Martin Fletcher at Scribner and Wendy Wolf at Viking Penguin. To Urmilla Sinha, Claudia Gould, Sarah Palmer and Elizabeth Mortimer for reading early drafts and helpful suggestions.
To Roger Garfitt for allowing me to dislimb exquisite Animula, from his collection West of Elm. To Don McCullin for permission to quote from our conversations (good luck Don, with your new book India). To Rzgar Goran for Cry and Raf Atul Hussaini for Leaves & Birds. To the spirits of Thomas de Quincey, whose Confessions of an English Opium Eater inspired these confessions, of J.M. Synge, whose version of the Gaelic Beg-Innish is quoted by Eve on p.385, and of immortal Shailendra who wrote Mera joota hai Japani.
To Geno Paris, Stak Aivaliotis, Diane Allard, Karen Sherlock, James Adams, Neil Godfrey, Alastair McIntosh, Martyn Gregory, Edward Pilkington, John Salmon, Alexander Abian, Anita Roddick, Sarbast and Handren, John Hurt, Lord Jeffrey Archer, Nadhim, Brosk, Rzgar Goran, Zek and Misha Halu, Pustaq Keet, Ian Paisley Junior, Sadu Fisher, Aitan Arussi, Jim South, Madison, Palden Gyatso, Magnus Westerberg, Sathyu Sarangi, Ward Morehouse and Ned Sherrin for appearing as themselves. To Azad, Burhan and the boys in the KCC band, friends in Kurdistan and Bhopal. To Molly and Biffo (thanks to Biffo for translating Der Magier als Kyberpunk (a chaos-magic text from that notorious nest of hackers the Chaos Computer Club – cut from the book but on the website http://www.cybergypsies.com). To David Stoughton, Sander Kessels and Dirk van Dooren. To John and Penny Stuart and ‘Gliomach’. To the folk in NuKE, Trident and Immortal Riot. To the sysops of Fidonet and the free internet. To all at the WELL, the Chaos Computer Club and Greennet.
To the cybergypsies, past and present, whom I’ve had the pleasure to know: Geno Paris, Savage Beast, Omega, Rock Steady, Michael Paris, The Wizard, ARiSToTLE, Ürnst Kouch aka Dr George Smith (author of the excellent Virus Creation Labs), Newbomb Turk, Sara Gordon. To the memory of TäLoN.
To Branwell, Hypatia, Merlin, Jarly, Arifax, Icecold, Gawain, Luna, Lilith, Morgan, Calypso, Chorley, Graeme, Chesh, Bouncy, Country Girl, Cthulhu, Pooh, Neuromancer, Shadow, Bond007, Hazeii, Peri, Chant, Ambushbug, Scarlet, Heloise, Lordant, Mak, Fluffs, Badriya, Phaid, Jik, Savannah, Zeon, Nongrata, Mouze, Catz, Dirk, Claudia, Jemima, Mina, Jaggery, Lady Janavan, Josie, Chipendale, Innocente, Zara, Oliphaunt, Malwen, Lizandith, Maryanne, Alcuin, Ninjette, Nymphette, Map, Pagan, Felicia, Delphi, Merilyn, Tammy, Dark, Pallium, Shaman, Euphoria, Jerri, Lor, Shoooty, Rheingold, Marina, Panacea, Zero, Fineas, Winseer, Slime, Rodney, Ender, Lender, Qadile, Panda, Ray, Seamoon, Vivian, Paladin, Galadriel, Lagolas, Precious, Assassin, Edelweiss, Zandramas, Boidae, Die, Diptheria, Ophelia, Ennui, Bulldog, Nathalie, Grittar, Electric, Ford, Hellborn, Mehitabel, Guiseppe, Damocles, Eyegor, Hemingway, Orddu, Saul, Minotaur, Pynkfloid, Gristle, Sparkhawk, Mrsa, Notrag, Lovabull, Centurion, Mnementh, Thesaurus, Riggins, Louise, Zarabeth, Seb, Ravena, Kali, Devil, Mindy, Pegasus, Linda, XXXX, Tenon, Hector, Polgara, Wizzo, Creature, Xena, Mylana, Zarquon, Gemini, Ahalya, Archaro, Azmodan and many others. A special message to Henry Cornelius Agrippa: the Butterfly Effect is still up on the old number. To those I do not, or dare not, name, you know who you are. This is your story as much as mine, a celebration of that peculiar world of ours which has all but vanished.
Finally, to Vickie, who has heard all these stories before, and whose strength brought us through.
Indra Sinha was born in India and now lives in France. He is the author of two critically acclaimed novels: The Death of Mr Love and Animal’s People, which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2007.
First published in Great Britain by Scribner, 1999
This edition published by Pocket Books, 2008
An imprint of Simon & Schuster UK Ltd
A CBS COMPANY
Copyright © Indra Sinha, 1999
This book is copyright under the Berne Convention.
No reproduction without permission.
® and © 1997 Simon & Schuster Inc. All rights reserved.
Pocket Books & Design is a registered trademark of Simon & Schuster Inc.
The right of Indra Sinha to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
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