© Michael Dashow 1997, used with permission

Michael Dashow says: "This image was created as a postmodern version of Michelangelo's famous image of two angels. I redid the scene using my girlfriend and her best friend loosely as models, and added some urban architecture to finish it off. Pretty much the only hint of the desired cyberpunk mystique is the data-pad featuring hi-tech graphics. I have to admit that this image was done entirely independently of Swanwick's collection, which is uncommon for me. I always insist on reading a book and doing a cover to match ... but for reasons of time and money (as best I can recall) editor Jacob Weisman convinced me to sell him the use of something already completed from my portfolio. He had his eyes on another piece, but once we talked about the collection, this seemed to be a terrific fit.

"I have actually done two versions of this image: One in a landscape orientation for myself, and another (the one you see here) in a portrait format to show how it would work as a book cover. As it turns out, it's a good thing I did!"

More about Michael Dashow and his work at http://www.michaeldashow.com/