“How many times had Paladin looked into this human face, its features animated by neurological impulse alone? He did not know. Even if he were to sort through his video memories and count them up one by one, he still didn't think he would have the right answer. But after today's mission, human faces would always look different to him. They would remind him of what it felt like to suffer, and to be relieved of suffering.”

American journalist, editor, and author

Annalee Newitz is an American journalist, editor, and author of fiction and nonfiction. They have worked across technology, culture, and media since the late 1990s, and are known for writing, editing, and shaping coverage at several major outlets. From 1999 to 2008, Newitz wrote the weekly syndicated column Techsploitation. They were culture editor of the San Francisco Bay Guardian from 2000 to 2004, later became a policy analyst at the Electronic Frontier Foundation in 2004, and co-founded Other magazine with Charlie Jane Anders. Newitz went on to lead io9 from 2008 to 2015, then its successor Gizmodo, and has also written for Popular Science, Film Quarterly, and Wired.