It turns out that sci-fi or anything close to that genre is a bit of a challenge to write. For example, your editor will hardly ever accept "because I say so" as an explanation for why things are the way they are in your fictional world. As a matter of fact, she will never ever accept that explanation. No, no, she's determined to have reasons and logical explanations and even rationality. It kind of sucks.
Of course, it does have the added bonus of vastly improving your story. And getting to know your characters a lot better; I now have a side plot that I can't wait to explore in the next Himiko book. Did I mention that it's a lot of fun, too? I'm really looking forward to sharing Matt and Pietr with you - only a few days left now!