The tortoise exists both in past and present versions. In the past, he belongs to Septimus and is named Plautus. In the present, he belongs to Valentine and is named Lightning. The tortoise represents the easily permeable boundaries between the present and the past. He also ends up being the proof for Hannah’s theory that Septimus and the hermit are the same. A historical document notes that the hermit had a tortoise named Plautus, and in the play’s last moment, Gus brings Hannah a portrait Thomasina drew of Septimus and Plautus together.