The Facility, page 28
Though now, of course, he wants more. He does not deserve it perhaps but she does. The boy does. The man they should never have lost: he as much as anyone. So he wants more and he will get it because rumours, a theory – they forgot to list the thing they gave him. They forgot time. They forgot too, or possibly never understood, that there might always be something they overlooked. A name, for instance. Just a name and hardly, therefore, worth considering. Unless the name were of a man who knows what Graves knew; who was at Graves’s side from the start and was there, unlike Graves, until the end. Unless the name were of a man Graves insisted was worth saving were the story to break. And if that is what Graves thought then surely this is a man worth finding. Surely this is a man who, struggling perhaps to reconcile himself with the truth, might in turn be willing to be found. And, when he is found, to come forward. To pass on the burden he carries.
Through the mist that has settled on the year, he watches. She stands and she holds out a hand and the boy reaches to take it with his own. She steps and the boy follows and, though he is not yet by their side, he is with them as they fade into the black.
It is a tale that bears telling,
so that it will never happen again,
to any people, anywhere.
Randy Shilts,
And the Band Played On
(1988)
Acknowledgements
I would not have written this book – nor any book – if my wife, Sarah, were not there to read it. Likewise, my extended – and extending – family: your love and support means more than you could know. I owe thanks (and more) to my friends, in particular to Sandra Higgison and Courtney Fingar, as well as to all at Macmillan, Penguin, the Zoë Pagnamenta Agency, Andrew Nurnberg Associates and Felicity Bryan Associates. A special mention for Kathryn Court, Zoë Pagnamenta, Maria Rejt and Caroline Wood: agents and editors extraordinaire.
Also by Simon Lelic
RUPTURE
First published 2011 by Mantle
This electronic edition published 2011 by Mantle
an imprint of Pan Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
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Copyright © Simon Lelic 2011
The right of Simon Lelic to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
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Simon Lelic, The Facility
