But by 1884, to all intents and purposes, we had depleted our stock of original ideas.’ There was muttering among the collected Jurisfiction agents. ‘Flatland,’ said Bradshaw after pausing for a moment’s reflection. ‘It was the last original idea, wasn’t it?’ ‘Pretty much. The few leftover pieces were mopped up by the SF movement until the 1950s, but as far as pure ideas are concerned, 1884 was the end. We were expecting the worst – a meltdown of the whole BookWorld and a wholesale departure of readers. But that didn’t happen. Against all expectations, recycled ideas were working.’
