Cold Fusion - Lance Parkin [123]
‘It’s what he drew outside when he summoned the Ferutu leader,’ Adric explained.
‘A binding rune,’ the Doctor added. ‘Any circle drawn around this symbol acts as a barrier that the Ferutu can’t cross, either physically or with their magic.’
‘Laser guns can’t harm the Ferutu and they can walk through walls, but draw that on a piece of paper and we are safe?’ Whitfield snorted.
‘Yes,’ the Doctor said simply. ‘In their universe, even the CyberHost recognize the logic in wearing such designs on their armour.’
‘So we just carry one of these each and we’re safe?’ Adric asked.
‘It isn’t that easy, as you probably suspected: there would be nothing to stop the Ferutu from resorting to physical attacks: using their magic indirectly to, say, drop a boulder on our heads or they could just pick up one of the many guns lying around the place and shoot us with it.’
‘It’s a useful weapon, though,’ Roz conceded. ‘How do we use it?’
‘We have three weapons at our disposal,’ the seventh Doctor announced. ‘A time machine capable of delivering a vast fusion payload to almost any point in space or time, this rune, and my – our – legendary powers of persuasion.’
He absent-mindedly tore the piece of paper with the rune on it off the drawing pad.
‘Balancing that, we have three problems,’ the fifth Doctor responded. ‘We can’t leave this room without Medford shooting us or communicate with the outside world by radio. The Machine will explode wherever it materializes, and regardless of where that is, the consequences will be catastrophic. Then there are the Ferutu, a race of sorcerers willing and able to alter the flow of time to survive.’
‘Could we materialize the TARDIS in the Vortex?’
Adric suggested.
‘Not without severely damaging the structure of space-time, no,’ the Doctor replied.
‘We could send a warning back to Gallifrey,’ Roz suggested. ‘Either now or in the past: wouldn’t they be able to timeloop it?’
‘That’s just the sort of interference that we are trying to prevent,’ the fifth Doctor lectured sternly.
‘Yeah, but it isn’t the sort of interference that amputates one of the galaxy’s spiral arms,’ she pointed out. Don’t talk to me like I’m three years old.
‘Two wrongs don’t make a right,’ the young Doctor informed her.
The seventh Doctor rubbed his forehead wearily. ‘The entire universe is at stake and I’m locked in here with another incarnation of myself, and not even one of the good ones. Your plan has its merits, Roz, but I’m afraid the fusion explosion would be enough to rupture any timeloop, even if one could be established quickly enough.’
‘I don’t hear any suggestions from you,’ the fifth Doctor said, clearly more than a little annoyed by the Doctor’s dismissal of him.
‘It’s a shame we can’t buy a little more time,’ Adric muttered.
The Doctors looked at each other.
‘Do you think their leader will agree?’ the fifth Doctor asked.
‘We won’t give it a choice,’ the seventh said grimly.
‘Quickly now, everyone. Adric: we need a white circle drawing, about four metres in diameter. Just there, in the middle of the room.’ He tossed the boy a piece of chalk.
‘Chief Scientist: help my former self with the Time Control apparatus, I’ll join you in a minute. Roz a word in your ear.’
She came over and bent close to him. ‘What’s up?’
‘My former self: he’s prone to suicidal acts of selfless heroism.’
‘Aren’t we all? So?’
Forrester glanced down. The Doctor was holding a piece of paper in his hand, and was folding it in half without looking at it. ‘It might be necessary to render him unconscious.’
‘OK. I don’t trust him anyway.’
‘Whyever not?’
She tried to rationalize her feelings. ‘He’s just so damn...
trustworthy, it’s suspicious. How will I know when you want him clonked?’
‘I’ll give you a signal. I’ll tap the side of my nose. Give him a swift blow to the back of the head. And please try not to kill him, that would complicate matters even more and might take some explaining.’ His instructions finished, the Doctor stepped over to the apparatus that sat at one end of the room.
The fifth Doctor and Whitfield