"You must also fully recognize that this could get me in a hell of a lot of trouble," Linden says, but he's already starting to write, seeming ultimately untroubled by the possibility. "Well, as I've always liked to say... I guess it's future-Linden's problem, isn't it?"

He accepts the glass of brandy from the Avox, raising it in a humorless toast before tipping back a generous swallow.