Sweetclover had been expecting an explosion, flame and fire and smoke. But there was none of that. In fact there was only silence once the sonic shockwave of the missile's descent had passed over them. He sat up warily, looking down into the valley.
Where his house had stood for so many centuries there was now only a crater, deep and round, with glass-smooth edges.
'Come on,' said Quil, and she began to walk down to the site of the impact.
It only took ten minutes to reach the crater. As they stood on the lip, Sweetclover heard a cracking sound from within it and peered into its depths.
The smooth glass surface at the very bottom of the crater cracked and fell away into an even greater depth. And out of the hole crawled something that had once been a man. Then another, then another. Within a minute, the creatures of Quil's new army were streaming up from the depths, climbing the walls of the crater in their black outfits, weapons strapped across their backs. Without a word being spoken they began to fall into ranks, forming up square, at attention, facing Quil, , who stood before them, arms behind her back, the very embodiment of military authority.
'It worked, my love,' said Sweetclover. 'All your enemies have been vanquished, all obstacles overcome. All your plans have led to this. You have regained your free will.'
Quil turned to him and smiled. She reached out, grabbed his chin and pulled him forward into a passionate kiss.
When they broke, she turned to the army, the members of which continued to pour from the ground like a horde of hungry golems.
She took a deep breath and gave the order she had waited decades to give.
'Kill everytbingV
Acknowledgements
This was a toughie, and it wouldn't be in your hands if my editor, Anne Perry, hadn't gone way above and beyond in her efforts to help me beat it into shape. My agent, Oli Munson, also helped enormously by ensuring I didn't have to worry about any of that complicated business stuff.
There have been many people whose support has been invaluable, including but not exclusively, Sophia MacDougall, Justin Rowles and Jason Arnopp, as well as all my colleagues at the 9-5 job I had while this book was being written - Graham, Hannah, Andrzej, Lizzy and Michael.
Last but not least I owe endless thanks to my wife, without whom I'd be a shambling, half-dressed, muttering mess with feral children.
And now, back to the flowcharts to wrap this saga up!
Second Lives Page 28