The Legacy

have been allowed to function.’
    Hillary nodded slowly. ‘Then we need to plan,’ she said, only her shaking hands betraying her emotion. ‘We must maintain order. We must organise.’ She studied Pip carefully. ‘How long do we have?’ she asked eventually.
    ‘Weeks. Months at most,’ Pip said. ‘We need to protect those who will survive. That is paramount.’
    ‘Of course.’ Hillary nodded. ‘And we need to cope with the bodies . . . logistically, I mean. We have no graves. No –’
    Derek moved forward. ‘We’ve already drawn up plans for civil management too. We don’t want riots. We don’t want mass hysteria. But things are going to get messy. There will be a shortage of key workers, a shortage of police, of farmers, of gravediggers. There might be terrorist attacks from abroad, war even if people get really desperate.’
    Hillary was nodding, as though on autopilot. ‘You’re talking as if the world is coming to an end,’ she managed to say.
    ‘Not an end, a new beginning,’ Pip said gently. ‘A beginning without Longevity. A beginning that has life because it also has death. Hillary, people have been sick for a long time now, not from disease but from their half-lives – not enough food, not enough energy, not enough things to fill the day. It’s time for Longevity to end. It’s time to end the sickness.’
    Hillary nodded vaguely. ‘The children – they must be taught. They have to understand so much if they are to . . .’ She trailed off, frowning, as though her brain was trying to process too much information at once. ‘The young must be taught. And quickly,’ she said. Then she fell back against a chair, clutching it, her white knuckles shaking.
    ‘Hillary,’ Pip said, moving towards her and putting a hand on her shoulder. ‘They understand more than you know. How to lead, how to provide for themselves, how to fight for what’s right, for what they believe in.’
    He looked over at Jude, at Peter, at Anna and Sheila. ‘I could not be prouder of you,’ he said, his voice catching. ‘Of all of you. Jude, Sheila, Anna – you are all the parents of the new world. A new chance to get things right. Or at least to do things better. We have made so many mistakes, ruined so much. You are our hope.’
    ‘We? You’re talking like you won’t be around to help,’ Jude said awkwardly.
    Albert smiled, his blue eyes twinkling. ‘Exactly right, Jude, as always,’ he said. ‘You know, I’ve waited for this moment for a very long time,’ he said. ‘As soon as I knew the end was near, I stopped taking my Longevity. It was a release. You mustn’t try to hold on to things that are past their sell-by date. None of us should, including me. Now I just need to say goodbye to you, to make sure you have all you need for the brave new world ahead of you. I have days, perhaps, but no more.’
    ‘But . . . but we need you. The Underground needs you,’ Jude said, fighting back his tears.
    ‘No.’ Pip shook his head. ‘The Underground is over. There is no need for it any more. It has served its purpose. There is a new world to build, Jude, and I know that you are capable of building it.’ He smiled gently. ‘The truth is, I’m looking forward to a very long sleep. The longest.’
    ‘But . . .’ Peter said, shaking his head. ‘You can’t go. You can’t.’
    ‘We all go eventually,’ Pip said softly. ‘And others come in our wake. I am just a leaf, Peter. Just a leaf falling from the tree so that a new bud may grow. Look after the buds, won’t you? And each other. I shall miss you.’
    ‘And we’ll miss you,’ Jude said, his voice full of emotion. ‘But you can depend on us. We’ll be the future, Pip. We’ll do it together.’ He reached out to Sheila and took her hand.
    ‘Together.’ She nodded tentatively.
    ‘Together,’ Peter agreed, holding out his arm to Anna.
    ‘Together,’ she said.
    ‘’Gether,’ Ben said, looking up at her uncertainly. ‘Home now? Go home?’
    ‘This is your home, young man,’ Pip said, his eyes twinkling again. ‘The whole world is.’

.
    Epilogue
     
    14 MARCH, AF 15
    Molly lay back in her chair, letting the sun warm her face for just a few minutes more. It was early afternoon and she knew she shouldn’t be wasting good daylight, but it was too delicious, too blissful just lying there, suspended in time.
    ‘Molly?’ She glanced up to see Albert, her younger brother, looking at her curiously.
    ‘Yeah, I’m coming.