1916 was the first year that the story told us about and now in the conclusion the year is 2071, the human race has evolved a great deal in so many ways now. Threats started to appear at the end of The Long Utopia when the alien race was discovered and no there is a message i.e “Join us”. Race known as the “Next” is fully evolved now and it thinks that the message is for them and not the humans.
The message means that the time of building the machine is upon them, the machine that they want to build is not an ordinary one as it requires the space of a continent for its housing. For something of such huge size resources and funds are needed so the “Next” set their eyes on the resourceful world of the Long Earth. Only Joshua now remains and the rest of the characters that played significant role in The Long Earth are now gone. Joshua too was on the verge of death but he was then saved by the trolls.
In these last years of his life he spends time with the trolls and learns unique things about them. The old trolls to him are like libraries that possess the old memories.
Special voice is given to these old trolls by Michael Fenton-Stevens and the listener would easily recognize when an old one is talking. Finally in the end the truth is revealed to all about life and the Cosmos. Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter ends on high note and the story remains a little undecided, it is up to us to conclude after the last line.
