NSA National Security Agency (US equivalent ofGCHQ)[US]
Number Ten 10 Downing Street, London: the historic office and home of the British Prime Minister [UK]
ONI Office of Naval Intelligence [US]
OSS Office of Strategic Services (US equivalent of SOE), disbanded in 1945, remodeled as CIA [US]
Politburo Political Bureau: the executive organization for the Communist Party [USSR]
Q Division Division within The Laundry associated with R&D [UK]
QinetiQ See DERA [UK]
SAS Special Air Service: British Army Special Forces [UK]
SBS SIS SOE Superblack Territorial SAS TLA Two-One SAS Special Boat Service: Royal Marines Special Forces [UK]
See MI6 [UK]
Special Operations Executive (UK equivalent of OSS), officially disbanded in 1945; see also The Laundry [UK]
(Pertaining to a black organization or black project) Secret and off the record to all, including governmental intelligence oversight bodies [All]
Territorial Army, British equivalent of the US National Guard. Territorial SAS, the part-time weekend soldier arm of the SAS, mostly staffed by veterans [UK]
Three Letter Acronym [All]
21 Special Air Service Regiment; also known as Artists' Rifles [UK]
Charles Stross is a full-time writer who was born in Leeds, England in 1964. He studied in London and Bradford, gaining degrees in pharmacy and computer science, and has worked in a variety of jobs, including pharmacist, technical author, software engineer and freelance journalist. Find out more about Charles Stross at: www.antipope.org/charlie/index.html You can read more about Charles and other Orbit authors by registering for the free monthly newsletter at: www.orbitbooks.net