"I thought I had silenced them all. Curse the quick thinking of the Arch Authority, snatching the child away before his doom was sealed. Had the lad been with the rest, surely my suffering would have ceased years ago. At last I have found him, but in a world of isolation and innocence. He has no idea of the twists and turns his life has taken thus far, nor the path I have planned for his very short future. Just let him try to discover the truth, and learn the secrets of Strata’s five nested worlds. Watching him struggle will be an amusement. Facing him will be horribly wonderful."