But it had all turned out okay, hadn’t it?

Here he was, alive and well. Because of the Mortality Doctrine, he had an understanding of a person’s intelligence—their consciousness—far beyond that of the average person. He was real, and that was that. No one could take that away from him.

With a big stretch, he sat up straighter. For weeks he’d been working his tail off. Late nights, bloodshot eyes at school, walking around like a Flare-infested Crank, falling asleep at the dinner table. He’d done that once and he still couldn’t believe it. His face had almost fallen right into a bowl of tomato soup. Helga had just shaken her head.

But it had all been worth it. So worth it. He had it now. He was almost one hundred percent positive. After scouring the Sleep from one end to the other, searching high and low, gathering data, and breaking into so many high-security places it was a wonder he hadn’t been thrown in jail.

Gathering, gathering.

Collecting.

Piece by piece, string of code by string of code, and now he had it all in one place. In a mixed-up, confusing, jumbled mess, sure, but it was all there.

Tomorrow was a Saturday, and he had one last, long day of work.

He almost twitched with excitement, eager to get on with it. But he’d wait. Make sure he was well rested and up to the task. Make sure he got a nice, filling breakfast from Helga before he came back to the tree house. Yes, he’d wait one more day.

Tomorrow, he’d start coding Sarah back together again.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

As we come to the conclusion of this trilogy, I’m so thankful for the people who made it happen. My agent, Michael Bourret. My editor, Krista Marino. My international agent, Lauren Abramo. All the awesome people at Random House, far too many to try naming without getting in trouble. My publishers abroad, who’ve taken my stories and given them to countless cultures and languages. The many bookstore workers, librarians, and teachers who’ve connected me with readers. The retail outlets, in all their shapes and forms, making the books so widely available (often on sale!).

Thank you, all of you.

And, as always, never changing, most importantly, I thank you, the one who decided to read this book. Thank you. With all that I have, thank you.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR