Phoenix would like to thank and acknowledge (in little order):

Evi Numen for her tangible aid, buoying encouragement, and love

Darios, aka "the 'is' police" ;) and other Prometheans, whether I have met you yet or not

current and future members of the Promethean movement, especially Subjectivist

everyone who explores Promethea with an open mind

everyone who has contacted me

sites that link to Promethea

Friedrich Nietzsche for... everything. He has been the most misunderstood and maligned philosopher of the nineteenth century. Nietzsche's name has suffered many indignities. It has been appropriated by Nazis, though he was a great opponent of nationalism (and especially German ultra-nationalism), and one of the most prominent opponents of 19th-century anti-Semites. He has likewise been decried as a racist and fascist by the Nazis' democratic foes, who took the Nazis' word on how to read him. In truth, Nietzsche was a critic of many things, from fascism to communism to democracy, and a champion of much more. ("One must say 'no', in order to be able to say 'yes'.") I believe Nietzsche was the greatest creative philosopher in history, with unparalleled courage, self-honesty and vision. He taught me the path of the creator, and the way of the true philosopher. Before I wrote of self-expression, he wrote of the same phenomenon within "will-to-power" (power in the every sense; will-to-power is a push to express from the most "spiritual" sense to the physical). He wrote of the Promethean ideal of life (seeking the integrated strength of the individual) under the name of what is "life-advancing." His writing was the principle inspiration for Prometheanism, and I read him as its precursor. I am grateful, Zarathustra. (I recommend English translations by Walter Kaufmann or R.J. Hollingdale, preferably Kaufmann, despite their occasionally flawed interpretations; Thomas Common will not do. Nietzsche is best read in the original German.)

Ayn Rand as a negative and positive example (and Ragnar the pirate). To be a Prometheanist is certainly not to be an Objectivist, or vice versa. In important ways, I disagree with Ayn Rand's philosophy and posturing. Her definition of rationalism was rigid and reactionary; Reason to her became like a God, another kind of moral tyranny. She neglected that a strict objective standard does not explain creativity. She became ungrateful and ignoble to her conceptual mentor Nietzsche, from whom she has obviously drawn very much. Her compromises with compulsion in government were naive and hypocritical. Yet, Rand introduced many people to what were usually valuable ideas, such as the value of freedom in private and economic behavior, personal independence, and self-interest. Even though I believe that her individual treatment of such topics, and attempts at a cohesive theory, were incomplete or mistaken, I am grateful nevertheless for her fervent contribution to the advancement of life through individualism. She has been an inspiration for positive change in myself, and many others.

Alexis for the first complete Manifesto critical notes, Julia for ideas, criticism, support, Adrienne for the critical notes, GPT for design criticism, my father for his comments and thoughts

David Mack, William Blake for his printing, Louis Sullivan for 'form follows function' etc., and all others who have provided Trilogy design inspiration

the Trilogy models

the fianna for making me possible

Orson Scott Card for the Ender books

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. for Harrison Bergeron, Aldous Huxley for Brave New World, Yevgeny Zamyatin for We, Ray Bradbury for Fahrenheit 451, George Orwell for 1984 and Animal Farm

cEvin Key, Download, VNV Nation, Covenant, haujobb, Einstürzende Neubauten, Skinny Puppy, Front 242, Tom Ellard, Aghast View, :Wumpscut:, Juno Reactor, Klinik, Forma Tadre, Gridlock, Project Pitchfork, Neuroactive, Winterkalte, Index, NCC, Ivory Frequency, Netherfabrik and many others for the underground-industrial-experimental electronic music that inspired, sustained, and entertained along the way

the makers of Grave of the Fireflies

Jung

Joseph Campbell despite discovering him late

R. A. Wilson — welcome provocation and insight, though found too late to awaken

Hesse for Siddhartha

Ludwig von Mises, Murray Rothbard, and other intellectual champions of economic freedom

real capitalists, who know that capitalism should be about human capital, freedom, and individualism

Nathan Tarcov, who taught me a great deal one way or another

Wu Hung, who taught me "how to see"

Kim the neo-Russian for the friendship and questions

the people who designed liberal education at the U of C

Socrates for my beginning (now, I 'know' something)

John Keegan

Akira Kurosawa

my parents for support

SLAM (little did he know whom he would be helping)

the Tienanmen Square uprisers (you deserve better than democracy), and all others around the world who with beautiful, foolish courage have fought for their freedom — you have inspired me

the designers of the MacOS from the beginning, since I played on the first one — without whom I would never have become so interested or gotten so much practice (and to my father for his obsession with technology)

Macromedia for Dreamweaver and Fireworks

whoever invented Prometheus

the Omega-3 researchers

all the destinies

Chris for the second introduction to N.

all self-appointed gadflies, negative examples, harsh critics, and everyone else I can learn from

anyone or anything else that ever taught me

caffeine and other stimulants

Selkie the cat for oso helpfully rubbing my legs and wanting lap, right now

whoever bothers to read this

... and anyone I forgot.