Click.
Whirr
*Clears throat*
'Hello. My name is Jeff Tracy. If you are listening to this then there is a strong possibility that I am long dead.
The planetoid I have been living on for I think about eight years is now breaking apart. There is not much time left, about five hours I would think.
The recordings I have sporadically made will go some way to explain why I am here and how I have survived, but I am taking this last recording as an opportunity to talk to my beloved family. I still have hope that they will find me, but five hours is not much time.
Mom, I pray that you are well, and that the boys have kept you safe. I know you will look after them as you have always done. I'm sorry I can't be there, Mom, to watch them grow into the amazing men and woman they are destined to be, but I know at least they will.
Kyrano. You have been my friend and confidant for many years. I only hope that the disaster that threw me here has not adversely affected you. You have never been responsible for him, and you never will be. I only hope that you can accept that. I have missed your calm nature and unique wisdom, my friend.
I want to address the one person I have viewed as an equal, yet I am as fond and as proud of as a son.
Brains, the marvellous material your suits are made from has kept me alive. It is still serviceable even now. I know that you will do everything possible to keep the boys and Tanusha safe, both at work and at play, and I am thankful for the day we met. Your enthusiasm for helping mankind has never dwindled, and I pray it never will. Thank you, my friend. Thank you.
Tanusha. The daughter I have always loved. I still remember the day we found you, curled around your father. You were such a brave but scared little scrapper. I've watched you grow with my boys and grow into yourself. You are not your uncle and you never will be – you are so much more. I am sorry I will not get to see you blossom into the beautiful woman you promise to be. But I want you to know how much I love and admire you for being yourself, for never letting him dictate who you are and who you will be.
Alan. My precious miracle baby. You are the last gift from my darling wife, and I regret missing so much of your life, both before and now. Alan, you have so much potential, so much waiting for you. The universe is literally yours for the taking. Three is yours now, once you have finished college, and I know you will be such an amazing astronaut. You are destined for things greater than even me, and I wish I could be there to bask in your glow. Never give up on your dreams, Alan, never give up.
Gordon. My miracle child. You have been through so much in your short life, and your courage has always fortified my own. From your rough birth, through your pranking youth, to your accident – you have been a ray of sunshine through all our darkest times. Never, ever grow up! You have such insight into the thoughts and feelings of your brothers, and they will always need their Squid. Never ever change, my sunshine child, never ever change.
Virgil. My beautiful artist. Your art and your music have been the beat of our lives for so long, I can still hear it when I close my eyes. My most even-tempered boy, you are a perfect combination of your mother and your grandfather, and I will always regret finding that difficult, regret not seeing you. I have hope that your talents will only go from strength to strength, and I pray that you gain the recognition you deserve. You have lived much of your life in your older brothers shadows, yet you have always had the ability to stand on your own. There is no-one more suited to Two than you are. May you always paint a blue sky and play the sunshine.
John. My star-boy. You stretched for the stars before you could walk, and you have reached them in so many ways. I am so very, very proud of you and how you forged your own path rather than walking in mine. Your love of the stars and space have carried you through many difficult times, and your discoveries of new bodies and ways of understanding have made you famous in your own right. May Five ever keep you safe, may you ever be listening and may you ever keep on discovering.
Scott. My firstborn. The foundation of the hopes and dreams your mother and I had for having a family. I can never thank you enough for just being you. Our family could not be more blessed to have such a caring and self-sacrificing leader than you are. I never got to tell you how much I loved you, how much I appreciated your selflessness when you stepped up when I could not. How much I envied your bravery. Your path has never been an easy one, and at times I have not helped you as I should have. It seems only yesterday that I was helping you take your first steps – yet you are now teaching me how to walk tall and live the hardball that life has thrown me. I take comfort in knowing you did not come after me, that you survived, that you will take your place as head of our family and carry your brothers, your sister and your grandmother through the years.
They could not be in better hands. I pray for you to have the strength and support that I know your brothers will give you – and that you will accept that help. I am so sorry that you had to witness my departure, and I will never blame you if you do not find me. I know that you will not have given up easily, but I hope that you and your brothers have not wasted your lives on mine.
I love you all, my amazing family. I miss you, I am so very, very sorry that I will not get to see any of you marry and have the joy of having children as I have had. Do not mourn for me, for I will be with you always.'
Whirr
Click.
