Lost in a Good Book (Thursday Next 2)

'If Landen ever comes back, tell him I love him.'

Twenty seconds.

'If who ever comes back?'

'Landen. You'll know him when you see him. Tall, one leg, writes daft books and had a wife named Thursday who loved him beyond comprehension.'

Ten seconds.

'So long, Wilbur.'

I closed my eyes and placed the gun to my temple.

33

The dawn of life as we know it

* * *

'Three billion years ago the atmosphere on earth had stabilised to what scientists referred to as A-II. The relentless hammering of the atmosphere had created the ozone layer, which in turn now stopped new oxygen from being produced. A new and totally different mechanism was needed to kick-start the young planet into the living green ball that we know and enjoy today.'

DR LUCIANO SPAGBOG – How I Think Life Began on Earth

'No need for that,' said my father, gently taking the gun from my hand and laying it on the table. I don't know whether he purposely arrived late to increase the drama, but there he was. He hadn't frozen time – I think he was done with that. Whenever he had appeared in the past he had always been smiles and cheeriness, but today he was different. And he looked, for the first time ever, old. Perhaps eighty – maybe more.

He thrust his hand inside the nanodevice container as the final generator failed. The small blob of nanotechnology fell on his hand and the emergency lights flickered on, bathing us all in a dim green glow.

'It's cold,' he said. 'How long have I got?'

'It has to warm up first,' replied Wilbur glumly. 'Three minutes?'

'I'm sorry to disappoint you, Sweetpea, but self-sacrifice is not the answer.'

'It was all I had left, Dad. Me alone or me and three billion souls.'

'You don't get to make that decision, Thursday, but I do. You've got a lot of good work to do, and your son, too. Me, I'm just glad that it all ends before I become so enfeebled as to be useless.'

'Dad!'

I felt the tears start to roll down my cheeks.

'It all seems so clear to me now!' he said, smiling as he cupped his hand so none of the all-consuming Dream Topping would fall to the ground. 'After several million years of existence I finally realised my purpose. Will you tell your mother there was absolutely nothing between me and Emma Hamilton?'

'Oh, Dad! Don't, please!'

'And tell Joffy I forgive him for breaking the windows of the greenhouse.'

I hugged him tightly.

'I'll miss you. And your mother, of course, and Escher, Louis Armstrong, the Nolan Sisters – which reminds me, did you get any tickets?'

'Third row, but … but … I don't suppose you'll need them now.'

'You never know,' he murmured. 'Leave my ticket at the box office, will you?'

'Dad, there must be something we can do for you, surely?'

'No, my darling, I'm going to be out of here pretty soon. The Great Leap Forward. The thing is, I wonder where to? Was there anything in the Dream Topping that shouldn't have been there?'