Cold Fusion - Lance Parkin [46]
‘Convenient,’ Medford noted
‘Not always. The process is not without its dangers, and is never easy. Special mental preparation is usually required, the regeneration itself should ideally take place within an area subject to a low-grade telepathic field. If possible, another one of my race should be there to assist in the case of difficulty, to coax and guide the regenerative process. After regenerating, total tranquillity is required for a short time, while the mind and body readjust.
The medical officer didn’t acknowledge the last remark.
‘When we discovered the Patient, she was in extreme old age – it’s impossible to say how old, but it was many, many centuries. She must have been on the verge of death for a long time, but hadn’t “regenerated”. Was it your presence that triggered the change?’
The possibility hadn’t occurred to the Doctor. He took a moment to think about it. ‘Yes,’ he concluded, ‘I think you must be right. I didn’t know that she was from Gallifrey until just before she regenerated. She’d initiated telepathic contact. The Doctor remembered that now. He couldn’t recall the details, but she had tried to communicate with him. What had she said? He tried to piece it together.
‘But you are sure that she is a Time Lord now?’ Provost-General Medford prompted.
‘Only we can regenerate,’ the Doctor assured him.
‘And members of your race all have the same biochemistry, genetic make-up and physiological structure?’ the medical officer asked.
‘Well yes,’ the Doctor replied, a little confused by the question and where it was leading.
‘Provost-General,’ the medical officer announced, ‘the two subjects are from different species.’ He touched the screen, and a diagram of the Patient’s body appeared alongside the Doctor’s.
‘As you can see, she only has one heart. A number of other organs are a different size, configuration or shape.
‘Is it a gender difference?’ Medford asked, but both the medical officer and the Doctor were shaking their heads.
‘Their blood has a completely different composition, as do the hormones and pheromones. Her DNA is closer to the Doctor’s than to a human’s, but it is in no way identical – they are about as different as human DNA is from that of a chimpanzee.’
‘They are from the same planet?’
‘It is a strong possibility that they have a common ancestor, Provost-General, but I cannot confirm or deny that at this stage. As an interesting aside, the Doctor’s own DNA has been subject to genetic manipulation at some point in his past, many generations ago.’.’
‘My people sought to improve on their physical form, long ago. Advances in medical science helped to prolong our lifespans, to make us more resistant to disease.’
‘And all... Time Lords were altered in this way?
Medford asked.
‘Well, yes,’ the Doctor said. ‘Any other way would have been terribly unfair.’
‘The female subject shows no evidence of such genetic engineering,’ the medical officer announced triumphantly.
‘The only conclusion is that she is not of your race.’
‘Oh,’ the Doctor said softly. He gazed at the diagram of the Patient again, trying to find a clue in the gentle musculature of her stomach, the swirling patterns of her arteries, the delicate network of capillaries or the flowing curve of her clavicle. ‘I have to see her. Ask her myself.’
‘That is out of the question,’ Medford stated.
‘I demand the right, on medical grounds if nothing else.
I am a doctor, after all.’
‘You don’t have any rights,’ Medford told him softly.
The Doctor stopped. ‘What?’
‘You’re an alien and a spy,’ Medford explained. ‘Under Imperial Law, espionage is a capital offence. Alien spies don’t have any rights, you don’t have any rights.
Remember that. Remember that I can have both you and your friend here executed here and now. Now that your medical examination is complete, we shall continue this interrogation elsewhere.’
Despite his brash exterior, Tegan was finding Bruce Jovanka good company. The champagne was also rather fine, He was still sitting opposite, studying her. Whenever she was speaking,