Project Jackalope (15 page)

• There really is a flashlight-shaped weapon that induces vomiting. The LED Incapacitator, or “puke ray,” produces pulses of multicolored light at a frequency that makes its target barf.

• However, DARPA is not developing an army of killer jackalopes. Yet.

• For more information about DARPA, you can visit its website at
www.darpa.mil
(or you can just go to Wikipedia).

• Big thanks are in order to everyone who made Project Jackalope a reality.

• To my mom for pointing out the lameness of my original plot and forcing me to rethink it.

• To my Dad, my Mom, my sister Sarah, and my brother-in-law Robert for reading revisions until their eyes crossed.

• To my agent Steve Malk, my editor Julie Romeis, and everyone at Chronicle for working so hard to get Project Jackalope into shape.

• To SCBWI and my writing friends for being such a great support system (and so much fun!).

• To everyone at Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! for helping me discover some of the crazier DARPA stuff.

• And to DARPA for working on such cool things and for having a good sense of humor (fingers crossed).

• To my dog Binky for putting up with delayed walks and dinners and for causing only minor destruction.

• And special thanks to the sea lions at Lincoln Park Zoo for being a bunch of smug show-offs.