## Chapter 12

1 There apparently is no paper in the Star Wars universe, so the term paper pusher is again one of those that needs a little tweaking.

—TZ

2 One of my all-time favorite movie examples of How To Do Technology Right is from A New Hope. During the escape from the Death Star, Han and Luke head up and down to the quad lasers. However, by the time they arrive at the gun wells, gravity has turned ninety degrees, which is what allows them to comfortably sit in the gunner seats facing up and down for firing.

This is exactly the way people do things in the real world: if you have gravity plates (or whatever), you adjust and position them to get things arranged the way you want them to be. People do that with pretty much any technology.

It’s completely and properly underplayed in the movie, of course. After all, Luke and Han are used to things working this way, so they wouldn’t comment on it.

But having appreciated that little touch of cleverness back when the movie came out, I wanted to remind the readers about it here.

—TZ

3 One of the great and satisfying aspects of Star Wars is that no one is deadweight. All of the characters have their chance to shine, to come up with the clever way to think or fight their way out of whatever predicament they happen to be in at the moment.

Maintaining that balance was yet another of the challenges—and fun parts-of writing Heir.

—TZ

4 Another Tuckerism: the Stonehill Science Fiction Club of Tampa, which puts on the Necronomicon convention every October.

—TZ

5 Before he became a full-time novelist, Tim was a grad student shooting for a PhD in physics. Here is just one place where he brings his science background into play. Checking for breathable air is always a good idea before jumping out of your ship on a strange planet.

—BM

6 Bestselling writers often use the literary device of the cliffhanger to grip readers. How many times have you stayed up far too late at night because something enthralling happens at the end of a chapter and you simply have to find out what happens next? Tim brings the use of the cliffhanger to a high art in Heir. I defy anyone to put this book down after a closing line like Leia’s.

—BM