Doctor Who_ Empire of Death - BBC Worldwide [55]
Clark shook his head. 'Not for some time. And the men are getting very tired. I don't know how much longer they can keep the pump working'
`Right. Unless we get a signal in the next few minutes, I'm giving the order to begin pulling the lieutenant back up. He can always go down for another look later.' Vollmer stared down into the water, trying to see some flicker of light in the darkness.
Extract from Observations and Analysis, A Journal: The Doctor ran around the central console, throwing switches and adjusting dials at great speed. He pushed past me roughly, apologising as he went. I offered to help but he was too busy trying to reset the TARDIS controls to explain.
Finally, he paused for breath.
Ìf the weakness in the continuum grows too large, it will begin leaking outwards'
`What will that cause?'
`Localised temporal distortions, to begin with - time speeding up and slowing down, even moving backwards instead of forwards. Disorientation for anyone within the vicinity of the weakness, probably taking the form of visions or hallucinations.'
Ànd the longer-term effects?'
The Doctor turned on the scanner. 'Soon the distortion will begin to spread further from the source, rewriting the physical laws of this planet, then infecting the worlds around it. Earth would suffer the most catastrophic fallout, but if the weakness went unchecked...' He dived under the console unit and pulled aside a panel to reveal a mess of wiring and circuits.
His hands dug into these components, hastily rearranging their configurations.
Ìt could envelope the solar system,' I realised, 'even this sector of space...’
Èxactly. Such an imbalance could not be sustained for long. The nature of this universe demands equilibrium. When its balance is upset, the universe will find a way of correcting that' He paused from his rewiring. 'What can you see on the scanner?'
I looked up and gasped. Superimposed over an image of Britain was a dark-red stain. I pushed a button on the nearest control panel, increasing magnification. The crimson discolouration grew larger as the scanner image closed in on the source.
`That's the lowlands of Scotland,' the Doctor said,
`Lanarkshire and the Borders. Corra Linn is located in the middle of that' The red stain was centred on Corra Linn, its edges stretching outwards like capillaries.
`Someone must be passing through the rift right now,' I realised. 'They can't have received the telegram warning them away from it. Can we stop them from here?'
Ì'm not sure,' the Doctor admitted, 'but we have to try. The longer they stay in contact with the rift, the greater the damage it causes. Nyssa, I need your help, but this could be very dangerous'
I nodded quickly. 'Just tell me what to do'
Vollmer decided they had waited long enough. 'That's it, pull him up,' he said. There was a groan of dismay from the exhausted soldiers resting on the riverbank. The sergeant glared at his men. 'I'm sorry, are you feeling a wee bit tired, is that it? Well, I couldn't give a tinker's damn for that. Now move!' he bellowed.
The soldiers sprang to their feet and ran on to the pontoon, taking up positions on either side of the guide rope that snaked into the water. The two men turning the flywheels stopped to let the others past, getting an earful from Vollmer for their courtesy. 'Who told you two to stop? The lieutenant's still got to breathe down there!' The pair quickly returned to their task, getting the pump back up to speed.
Vollmer nodded to Clark, who took command of the men at the guide rope.
Àll right, you horrible lot, let's see you put your backs into it. Pull!' Clark screamed. The soldiers strained and tugged on the rope but failed to bring an inch of it above the surface of the water. Clark's crimson cheeks turned redder than ever. 'I said pull! I've seen more effort from my two daughters fighting over a china doll!'
The soldiers redoubled their efforts but still made no progress.