The character Ambassador Seldavia is not ego on my part--I'm not writing myself into the story (my name's not really Seldavia, if you haven't guessed). I just use her name on the Net.

I felt that most of the fourth-season episodes, as well as "Curses, Foiled Again" disturbed the plotline. Therefore, I have more or less ignored them in the writing of my story. I also omitted the Player, to place the story into more of a real-world setting than the inside of a computer.

Secondly, don't get discouraged if you start reading Book I and don't know what's going on. This is written in novel form, and I decided to set the scene before introducing most of the major characters. It is important to read Book I though, because there are important events in it that come up later.

The culture and history of Acme is described in Book II, but for the sake of comprehension I added a few major points that should offset any confusion in Book I.

The Acme Detective Agency first reached international status during what is referred to as the Gangbuster Generation, around the 1930's. In order to more easily work with the many members from various countries, Acme expanded its set of procedural terms--known as Donnekahshaie--into a separate language of its own. Donnekahshaie grew from a few specialized terms taken from Latin, English, French, and Chinese to a full language in the years that the Gangbusters left or retired, and continued to expand as the Agency changed hands to the Peacekeepers and then the Seniors. The Agency maintained a spotless record and the world nations interfered little, trusting its ability and ethics. As the Agency grew, it divided itself into Divisions: Passangue (Bloodless Crimes), Donnekahshaie Central, Ethnic Relations, Epidemical Crimes, Specialized Investigations, and Crimelab. Each Division's detectives were divided into rank: Chief, Ambassador, Full-Time Detective, Resident Detective, and Informant, with the Central Chief overseeing them all. Acme's standards are extremely high and those who disgraced the Agency are stripped of their rank and become Exiles.

Acme taught its detectives many skills that no one else could. In addition to being extremely resilient to pain and hunger, Agency members gained a great deal of control over their physical state and could endure long treks and airplane trips with very little sleep. Acme took the cases no one else could solve, and completed them successfully. Its Trainees studied under older partners before going out into the field. To combat stress and encourage unity, the Agency members made an art form of fast, strenuous dancing, the Kilamiraine.

However, in 1985, the Seniors were devastated by the Case of the Crystal Chandelier, which cost them many lives and much of their culture as well. The Juniors who succeeded them spoke in English rather than Donnekahshaie, and did not have the vigorous physical and mental training that their predecessors had. For over ten years the case was for the most part a mystery, for the remaining Seniors would neither speak of nor investigate the case. One detective alone held the answer to the mysterious circumstances surrounding the case, but as an Exile, her words would not be heard until she had lost nearly everything she had...

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