Vernor Steffen Vinge is a retired San Diego State University Professor of Mathematics, computer scientist, and science fiction author. He is best known for his Hugo Award-winning novels A Fire Upon The Deep (1992), A Deepness in the Sky (1999) and Rainbows End (2006), his Hugo Award-winning novellas Fast Times at Fairmont High (2002) and The Cookie Monster (2004), as well as for his 1993 essay "The Coming Technological Singularity", in which he argues that exponential growth in technology will reach a point beyond which we cannot even speculate about the consequences.

Once in a great while a science fiction story is so visionary, yet so close to impending scientific developments that it becomes not only an accurate predictor, but itself the locus for new discoveries and development. True Names by Vernor Vinge, first published in 1981, is such a work. Here is a feast of articles by computer scientists and journalists on the cutting edge of the field, writing about innovations and developments of the Internet, including, among others: Danny Hillis: Founder of thinking machines and the first Disney Fellow. Timothy C. May: former chief scientist at Intel--a major insider in the field of computers and technology. Marvin Minsky: Cofounder of the MIT Artificial Intelligence Lab. Chip Morningstar and F. Randall Farmer: Codevelopers of habitat, the first real computer interactive environment. Mark Pesce: Cocreator of VRML and the author of the "Playful World: How Technology Transforms Our Imagination." Richard M. Stallman: Research affiliate with MIT; the founder of the Free Software Movement.