Pratchett's final wish fulfilled: Unpublished works destroyed

[WMGroomAK]

Thought I would post this news article about Terry Pratchett's final wish concerning his unpublished works being destroyed... To perform the destruction, they ran over the hard drive with a 6.5 tonne steam roller known as the Lord Jericho and then put what remained into a concrete crusher.

 

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-dorset-41093066

Quote

It is thought up to 10 incomplete novels were flattened at the Great Dorset Steam Fair.

The six-and-a-half tonne Lord Jericho was used to roll over the hard drive several times before a concrete crusher finished off the remains.

Pratchett died aged 66 in March 2015.

The creator of the Discworld series had been battling Alzheimer's disease.

Before vanquishing the hard drive, Rob Wilkins, the writer's long-serving assistant, tweeted that he was "about to fulfil my obligation to Terry".

 

Richard Henry, curator of Salisbury Museum, said: "The steamroller totally annihilated the stone blocks underneath but the hard drive survived better than expected so we put it in a stone crusher afterwards which I think probably finally did it in".

He said Pratchett did not want his unpublished works to be completed by someone else and released.

He added: "It's something you've got to follow, and it's really nice that they have followed his requests so specifically.

"It's surprisingly difficult to find somebody to run over a hard drive with a steamroller.

"I think a few people thought we were kidding when I first started putting out feelers to see if it was possible or not."

The pieces of the hard drive will go on display in the Terry Pratchett: His World Exhibition at the museum on 16 September.

It's sad to remember that there will be no more Terry Pratchett books or to think of the potential stories that are now lost, however, I'm kind of glad that they followed through with his final wishes. 

[MadModder]

Sounds like an awful lot of effort to destroy a hdd. Could have just put it in a metal smelting furnace. I guess that wouldn't have been as dramatic or as fun though.

[Nuluvius]

Of course there was a backup made before the drama...

[Ithanul]

That sad news to hear that author is no longer around.  I wonder if one of the unpublished works was a rough for a sequel to Good Omens.  I just finish that book.  It sure was a hoot to read.