This book is the first part of the Across Realtime compendium, which also includes The Ungoverned, and Marooned in Realtime, both also by Vernor Vinge.

This book uses italics for emphasis.  Downloading a format that includes italicizing will make it easier to understand.

If you find errors in this document, please do one of two actions:
A-if the error is small and singular, tell me about it and I'll fix it.
B-if the error is large or multiple, fix it yourself and send me a copy of the finished document.