These were my first published short stories. I had one other story, "Man-Made Self," published when I was a teenager; but alas, the manuscript pages were scrambled at the printer’s, and the published story was rendered unintelligible. I had to disown it. That made "Swarm" my official story premiere. "Swarm" was also my first magazine sale (to THE MAGAZINE OF FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION, in April 1982). "Swarm" is still the story of mine most often reprinted. I’m still fond of it: I can write a better prose now, but with that story, I finally gnawed my way through the insulation and got my teeth set into the buzzing copper wire.