These are the episode notes and errata for Pratchat episode 78, “One Step Beyond”, discussing Terry Pratchett’s final collaboration with Stephen Baxter, 2016’s The Long Cosmos, with returning guests Joel Martin and Deanne Sheldon-Collins.
Notes and Errata
- The episode title is from the song “One Step Beyond”, originally by Jamaican artist Prince Buster, who released it as a B-side on his single “Al Capone” in 1964. Coincidentally the version of the original we could find on YouTube features footage of exactly the kind of exoticised “Egyptian” dancing we imagined Fred and Nobby doing in our episode about Jingo. (We don’t necessarily recommend listening to all Prince Buster’s back catalogue; the music is great, but some of the lyrics are misogynist at best.) In the UK and Australia, ”One Step Beyond” is much better known via the cover by Madness, a ska band from Camden who also took their name and other early covers from Prince Buster. The song was the title track on Madness’ first studio album, One Step Beyond (1979), and their second hit single.
- We’ve previously discussed the The Long Earth:
- The Long Earth in #Pratchat31, “It’s Just a Step to the West” (May 2020)
- The Long War in #Pratchat46, “The Helen Green Preservation Society” (August 2021)
- “The High Meggas” in #Pratchat57West5, “Daniel Superbaboon” (July 2022)
- The Long Mars in #Pratchat57, “Get Your Dad to Mars!” (August 2022)
- A recap of the first three books in #PratchatPreviously, “The Long Footnote” (July 2023)
- The Long Utopia in #Pratchat69, “Long Fall Sally” (July 2023)
- A recap of the first four books in #PratchatPreviously2, “The Longer Footnote” (July 2024)
- The Long Earth timeline only gets a bit longer in this book; here’s an updated (and simplified) list of major events to help you keep it all straight:
- 1848-1895 – the adventures of Joshua’s ancestor, natural stepper Luis Valienté, culminating in “the Fund”, an organisation that bribes steppers to interbreed. (The Long Utopia)
- 2001 – Freddie Burdon is given Maria Valienté’s details by The Fund. (The Long Utopia)
- 2002 – Maria, now 15, gives birth to Joshua, leaving him briefly alone on a stepwise Earth. (The Long Earth)
- 2015 – “Step Day” – humanity at large learns of the Long Earth. (The Long Earth)
- 2026 – The Green family and others establish Reboot on Earth West 101,754. (The Long Earth)
- 2029 – Monica Jansson investigates Bettany Diamond, the “Damaged Woman” who sees into stepwise Earths. (The Long Cosmos)
- 2030 – Lobsang and Joshua go on “The Journey” and meet Sally Linsay; they also find the Cueball Earth. Lobsang’s “ambulant unit” is left behind with First Person Singular on the far side of The Gap. Joshua (M28) meets Helen (F17). Rod Green delivers the suitcase nuke to Datum Madison. (The Long Earth)
- 2031 – Joshua and Helen get married. (before The Long War)
- 2036 – Cassie Poulson is the first human to encounter the “silver beetles” in New Springfield on Earth West 1,217,756. (The Long Utopia)
- 2038 – After three years of distributing copies of the Complete Works to Long Earth communities, Johnny Shakespeare’s matter printer makes a mutant copy of itself on Earth West 31,415 which multiplies until the world has to be evacuated. (The Long Utopia)
- 2040 – Maggie’s mission captaining The Benjamin Franklin. Roberta’s trip with the Chinese East Twenty Million mission. War is avoided between the United States and Valhalla. Joshua loses his hand after being captured by the Beagles. The Yellowstone supervolcano erupts. Monica Jansson dies. (The Long War) Stan Berg is born. (The Long Utopia)
- 2045 – Maggie’s mission as captain of the Neil Armstrong II, and Sally’s trip to Mars with her father Willis and Frank Wood. Frank dies on Mars. Joshua and Sally help the Next escape from military prison, and Joshua successfully talks Maggie out of blowing them up; they leave to establish the Grange, and Lobsang destroys Happy Landings with a meteorite. (The Long Mars) Lobsang “dies” in late fall; his funeral is in December. (The Long Utopia)
- 2052 – Nikos is the first confirmed human to step “North” when he finds the Gallery and the silver beetles on New Springfield. (The Long Utopia)
- 2054 – “George”, Agnes and their adopted son Ben settle in New Springfield. (The Long Utopia)
- 2056 – Agnes realises something is wrong with the world and discovers the beetles. Stan is approached by Roberta Golding to join the Next in the Grange and declines. (The Long Utopia)
- 2058 – Lobsang and Joshua investigate Earth West 1,217,756 and uncover the beetles’ plans. Six months later in Fall, Joshua finds Sally and they retrieve the old Lobsang from Earth West 174,827,918, the home of the Traversers. (The Long Utopia)
- 2059 – Early in the year, Stan, “George” and Sally “cauterise” Earth West 1,217,756 just before it is destroyed by the beetles.
- 2067 – Helen Green dies and is buried in Datum Madison. (The Long Cosmos)
- 2070 – The Invitation is heard by humans, the Next, the trolls and many others. Joshua goes on his ill-fated sabbatical, is rescued by Sancho, and the pair rescue Rod from the Yggdrasil world. Meanwhile Nelson meets his son and grandson, who is lost when Second Person Singular steps away. The Next start the project to build the Thinker. (The Long Cosmos)
- 2071 – The Thinker nears completion and Maggie, Joshua, the new Lobsang, Sancho and friends take three big steps North. (The Long Cosmos)
- Stella Welch is not a new character; she appears briefly in The Long Utopia, held up as one of the brightest “pre-Emergence” Next in the Grange. She is also one of the Next who answers Lobsang’s call for help about New Springfield, and reveals the plan to recruit Stan to seal off that Earth.
- Ben refers to “Martin” from the Humble; this is due to a typo in his notes. The character is actually Marvin Lovelace, who (as Liz rightly remembered in a bit cut for time) is one of the Next who appeared in The Long Utopia. In that book he’s a gambler, an undercover agent for the Next who found Stan Berg, and later answers Lobsang’s call for help alongside Stella. He seems briefly conflicted about Stan’s fate.
- More notes coming soon.
Thanks for reading our notes! If we missed anything, or you have questions, please let us know.