Credit where credit is due:

First to my friends: Thanks to Will and Alryssa for reading this fic in the development stages and offering me their support. Special thanks goes to Rachel, who didn't mind my pestering her about the story and my talking about it constantly – and who gave me some valuable suggestions when I was stuck.

Next, to other CrossGen fans who helped me: I haven't read the other Sigilverse CrossGen titles, but the people on the official CrossGen forums were a big help in providing me with a guide to the "uber-backstory" of the Sigilverse. Particular thanks go to Oxhine, a rabid CrossGen fan of the first order, who responded to my request for info by writing a comprehensive Sigilverse primer. If not for the help and encouragement of these Sigilverse fans, I would not have been able to construct Emma's backstory in a way that was consistent with the canon.

To authors who have come before, and provided me with inspiration for this story: Thanks to Wilkie Collins, the author of The Moonstone, which was the first true detective novel ever written and is widely regarded as one of the best (if not the best) in the genre. Thanks also to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for creating Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, whose adventures I should have picked up and read a long time ago. Finally, I must thank Jane Austen: Pride & Prejudice isn't a mystery novel, but for some reason Simon and Emma remind me of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet.

Finally, thanks to Mark Waid, Scott Beatty, Butch Guice, Mike Perkins, Laura Depuy-Martin, and Dave Lanphear for making Ruse such a great comic. Good show, gents!