I would like to clear up the mystery for those who were enjoying The Peace War right up to the end—where suddenly they got blindsided:

Allison Parker is a decent, intelligent person. On the other hand she was a US Air Force officer up to a few subjective weeks before the end of the story. The time she has spent in the future was in hiding, out of contact with the societies she is commenting on. I think her analysis of the ungoverned is what you might expect from such a person: a 20th century liberal assessment. In fact, this was what I was aiming for; to many in the 20th century, anarcho-capitalism seems as intrinsically unstable as democracy would seem to a thirteenth century Norman. I wanted to spell out the arguments…and then step on them. Unfortunately, I didn't understand that while such a teaser might work between chapters, it is not a good idea between books, and I apologize for the disappointment this caused. As small recompense: I did write a story about how the collision Allison envisions really turns out ("The Ungoverned" in Far Frontiers III, Baen Books). It's a short piece, and maybe too polemical, but I had fun with it.

Thanks for the explanation and I, at least, forgive you. -- The editor