Beyond the Sunset (short story)

 was the third short story in the Lethbridge-Stewart series anthology Attack of the Quarks.

Plot
Lucy and Hobo are investigating DomCon after the expo incident but UNIT appear to have shut the company down. On Thursday, they head to Porthcawl to look for the Quark they encountered before but learn from Tony that it's been removed by his uncle's firm. The Quark is found in pieces in the skip: the workers had been keeping it 'on guard duty' until it started making noise and forced them to dismantle it. Lucy and Hobo realise it had started making noise when she was trapped inside a Quark's memories at the expo.

Lucy and Hobo put the Quark back together and it comes to life. They pursue it on a long walk to Ogmore-by-Sea and Lucy thinks the Quark seems forlorn. When they talk to it, it says it's the only Quark on Earth and makes a noise like it's crying. The further they walk, the slower and sicker the machine seems to be. Finally, at the estuary, the Quark says it will wait for the sunset and then die.

Lucy decides to stay with the Quark so it won't die alone. She discusses its confused memories and feelings, and learns it thinks it has a name: Lucy Wilson. Eventually, it asks what lies "beyond the sunset" and clarifies it is asking what happens after death. Lucy tells it that the world goes on but people feel your loss and remember you, and promises she'll remember the Quark. Finally, it dies and is blown apart by its automatic failsafe.

On their way home, Hobo theorises that the Quark believed it was called Lucy Wilson because the VR headset caused her to exchange data with it. Because of that, it was able to have freedom. Lucy says that caused the Quark to want to kill itself for being different, but Hobo argues that this was still the Quark's choice to make: it had control over its fate for once, just as they do when they put up with abuse for being different and choose to carry on anyway.

Characters

 * Lucy Wilson
 * Hobo Kostinen

Continuity

 * The Expo of Terror took place last Saturday.
 * The Magic Mirror arcade has been completely refurbished following The Arcade of Doom.