Family is a wonderful, magical thing. I ought to know. I just became a grandmother for the first time. Rebecca Elizabeth Seemann is my newest family member and I dedicate the re-issue of these novels to her. And one day I want her to read this foreword.

There is the family we are born to--and nothing can replace that. But in addition, many of us are lucky enough to acquire family that we choose, and are chosen by.

And that's what Star Trek fandom became for me. I wrote a whole book, titled Star Trek Lives!, showcasing that incredible sense of fellowship with like-minded people--people you may have never seen in person, or whom you see only rarely.

That fan experience provided much of the core material in the Lifewave novels. The people who have gathered together through Star Trek and Sime~Gen (www.simegen.com/writers/simegen/) have formed a kind of chosen-family, becoming involved in each others' pursuits and supporting each other with their talents and skills.

For example, I met Jean Lorrah when she first wrote a review of House of Zeor, the first Sime~Gen novel. She was at that time author of the Star Trek fanzine stories, Night of the Twin Moons. At first she wrote a few Sime~Gen fan stories. Then we sold her Sime~Gen novel. Now she is half-owner of Sime~Gen Inc. And she's written several best selling Star Trek novels. She helped raise my children. Few sisters are as close.

Since Molt Brotherand City of a Million Legends, collectively known as the Lifewave Universe novels, ( www.simegen.com/jl/kren/ ) were first written, many people primarily interested in my other Universes and in Jean's work, have contributed to my efforts as if they were my family. Well, they are family, chosen family.

Ronnie Bob Whitaker, and Karen MacLeod have been particularly helpful.

Ronnie Bob Whitaker is a supreme wizard of the scanning/OCR/proofing process. It turned out to be much easier for him to scan the printed Lifewave novels than to update the electronic text from my very first Word Processor (WordStar) on which I had written City of a Million Legends.

And of course Molt Brother was my last done on an IBM correcting selectric. So Ronnie Bob made the text available in a form a modern computer could cope with. Had it not been for Ronnie Bob, who has also scanned in the Sime~Gen novels for their current reprint, I doubt you would be reading this now.

Karen MacLeod, who has established herself in the eBook field as an editor, has prepared these manuscripts for re-publication by updating the punctuation and hunting for typos Ronnie Bob might have missed. (There weren't many and they were hard to find.) Any mistakes left are entirely mine.

Patric Michael, a professional artist who is head of our Art Department at simegen.com, has contributed a great deal of spirit and understanding to the Lifewave Universe. Just talking to him creates images in my mind--and then he draws them better than I could ever imagine.

Cherylann Costa ( www.cherylcosta.com ) is one of the newest to join the group. Cherylann and I met while doing a panel at the Darkover Grand Council Meeting one recent Thanksgiving. She provided the impetus to make these novels available now. She is a successful playwright who has optioned the Lifewave Universe to create a tight story-arc of original one-act plays based on the Lifewave Universe, but using original characters. Scripts will be available on the web for performance by companies around the world.

In August, 2002 a number of things happened simultaneously. Meisha Merlin Publishing Inc. began gearing up to start production of the new Sime~Gen novels, by Jean Lorrah and me, talking cover artists, and details of the editions.

Kevin Anderson Yancy contacted me asking for short stories to be recorded by professional actors and backed by mood music and sound effects. I pointed him to three of my vampire stories which he liked, and introduced him to Cherylann. Watch www.simegen.com/jl/ for links to recordings.

I also introduced Kevin to Erin Gould who is working on a script that may become a Star Trek docudrama. So as you see, Star Trek is the tie that binds this chosen-family together. You'll find the story of The Star Trek Connection told in my review column at simegen.com and see how this one interest has become a chosen-family coat-of-arms.

I first got the job of SF/F Reviewer for The Monthly Aspectarian in 1993 because the editor, Guy Spiro, was a fan of the Lifewave novels. He wanted to bring the books back into print, but couldn't quite get the project going. Nevertheless his efforts kept me going. You will find those plans discussed in my review column, Rereadable Books posted at www.sime-gen.com/reviews/rereadablebooks/

And lastly, the most heartwarming source of inspiration are the many fans who've expressed admiration for these novels. Most notably I remember a fan letter from a woman who, as a high school student, chose her major as archeology because of the inspiration in these novels--and grew up to be happy and satisfied with that choice. Now, isn't that what family does--inspire?

To keep up with the Lifewave Universe news, you might want to subscribe to the monthly e-newsletter Lifeforce-L where Jean Lorrah and I provide updates on all our publications and appearances. www.simegen.com/archives/ will take you to the subscription page.

You should be able to reach me through

welcommittee@simegen.com

Jacqueline Lichtenberg

Arizona, 2002

Inscription Found Outside the Ancient Ruins of the Maze

TO ALL WHO COME AFTER--BEWARE: DANGER: WARNING. SEE WHAT WE HAVE HAD TO DO TO THE GLORY THAT WAS OURS. WE HAVE DESTROYED IT.--OBLITERATED UTTERLY. THE CAUSE WAS--. HEED THIS TALE.

IN THE HEIGHT OF OUR--THERE CAME ONE WHO--ALL THE--POWER. HE CALLED HIMSELF OSSMINID AND WALKED THE MAZE RIGHT HERE AHEAD OF WHERE YOU STAND NOW. HE EMERGED SUCCESSFUL, ACQUIRING THE POWER TO PERSUADE ANY LIVING CREATURE TO HIS WILL.

BUT THIS WAS NOT ENOUGH FOR HIM. HE--THE CROWNS AS WELL. USING HIS POWER, HE BENT THE CROWN COUNCIL TO HIS WILL AND WAS GIVEN THE CROWN--AS WELL. HE IT WAS WHO SET OUT TO PROVE THERE WAS NO REAL NEED TO--CROWN AND MAZEMASTER.

FOR A TIME, THE GLORY OF OUR--INCREASED. OSSMINID RULED AS MAZEMASTER AND LEFT THE CROWNS TO THE CROWN COUNCIL. BUT AS HE RULED, HE CHANGED.

--HE SOUGHT TO CHOOSE CANDIDATES TO WALK THE MAZE. FEW OF HIS CHOICES SUCCEEDED. FEWER AND FEWER PERSUADERS EMERGED TO DO THE WORK OF OUR--.

ONE DAY HE WRAPPED HIMSELF AS MAZEMASTER AND WALKED INTO THE EMPEROR'S CROWN, AS WAS HIS RIGHT. HE HAD NO PERSUADER TO SEND TO THE WARRING PLANET, AND SO HE SENT HIS OWN THOUGHTS THROUGH THE EMPEROR'S CROWN.

THIS WAS NOT JUST A MESSAGE FROM THE EMPEROR OF CROWNS. THIS WAS A FORCE FELT OVER THE WHOLE PLANET. NONE COULD RESIST. THE POPULATION WAS--

WE SOUGHT TO REPLACE OSSMINID. HE WOULD NOT LOOSE THE--HE HAD GATHERED. THERE WAS KILLIN. HE WOULD NOT YIELD. ON THE DAY HE ENTERED THE CROWN FOR A SECOND TIME, HE--TO DESTROY US.

TO STOP HIM, WE DESTROYED OURSELVES, KNOWING THAT WITHOUT CROWN AND MAZE, OUR--WOULD DISINTEGRATE.

WARNING. WARNING. WARNING.

THE MAZEHEART THAT--US THE POWER TO PERSUADE COULD NOT BE DESTROYED. WE HAVE REMOVED IT AND CONCEALED IT.

WARNING. WARNING. WARNING.

THE--OF HOW THE MAZEHEART--DIES WITH US. KNOW ONLY THAT WE DARED NOT--INTO A--FROM WHICH NOTHING EMERGES. ALL OUR--WOULD NOT LET US PREDICT WHAT WOULD HAPPEN.

IF THE MAZEHEART IS FOUND--DESTROY ITSELF.

THE LAST PERSUADER