21 October 2026
Wednesday. I am told this journal can now be read by anybody with a telephone. I have never been read by anybody. The Doctor did not even read my memoranda.
So, a word of introduction. I am Hester Plumb, expedition secretary, keeper of Dr Smith’s study in Manly and its twin in Perth, and lately of a deserted camp and the very old thing beneath it. I write down who comes through, what they ask me and what the Caller gets up to. Someone ought to.
You will not find the way out in these pages, nor where anything is hidden, nor what became of the Doctor. I do not write those things. The first is the management’s business, the second is the study’s, and the third, I hope, is still the Doctor’s.
If you would like to see it all for yourself, the study is on The Corso in Manly and under Hay Street Mall in Perth, and the old structure is in Perth too. There is a booking page. Humphrey insisted I mention it. He believes he is owed a commission.
— H. Plumb (Miss), Expedition Secretary
