Doctor Who_ The Algebra of Ice - Lloyd Rose [62]
‘No?’
‘No. The potential entry has vanished.’
‘How?’
128
The Algebra of Ice
‘It could only have had a limited duration anyway. Its time was up.’
‘So everything’s all right?’
‘Well, I still need to make sure nothing similar can happen again. And sort out Brett and Unwin, but essentially,’ the Doctor grinned, ‘the answer is yes.’
Ethan exhaled with relief. The Doctor sat down with his own pancakes and soaked them in syrup. ‘These things are remarkably absorbent,’ he said when he caught Ethan looking at him oddly. ‘I’ve often wondered if they could be put to some sort of technical use. I must look into that some day.’
For a while, they just concentrated on the pancakes. Ethan poured himself a cup of coffee and discovered a jug of fresh cream behind the pot.
‘I am curious about that other set of equations,’ said the Doctor.
‘Unwin thought they were meant to break some mathematical code, but he didn’t know what.’
‘No, I can’t think why they’d need that. You say this program was also constructed of primes?’
‘All of it that I’ve seen.’
‘Mm.’ The Doctor ate in silence for a while. Then he said in a different tone,
‘I’m sorry about what happened to you.’
‘You don’t need me any more, do you? I’m serious: I am not cut out for this.’
‘You’ve done very well.’
‘I’ve been surprised at my stamina,’ Ethan said dryly. ‘But I don’t expect it to last.’
‘No mental episodes, though?’
‘No.’
‘And yet you’ve missed several doses of your medication.’ Though the pancakes seemed to have absorbed little if any syrup, the Doctor drowned them again. ‘I thought from the beginning it wasn’t really good for you. How about your headaches?’ His eyes flicked up inquiringly. Ethan thought he also looked worried.
‘Nothing so far. But they don’t follow a pattern.’
‘Mm.’ The Doctor chewed for a moment. ‘I know you want to get back to your own place, but it would be safer if you stayed here for a while.’
‘Where the hell are they?’
‘I’ll find them,’ said the Doctor, a cool edge to his voice.
‘Then what?’
‘Then I’ll stop them.’
‘By yourself?’
‘More or less. Not to worry, you won’t be needed.’
Chapter Fifteen
129
‘What about Ace?’
‘Ace would murder me if I left her out. I suggest you don’t become protective of her – it would insult her, and it wouldn’t change anything. This is the life she’s chosen. And I always shield her from the worst of it.’
‘And she’d murder you if she knew that.’
‘Please don’t mention it. More pancakes?’
Ethan said yes. The Doctor’s now pancake-free plate held a pool of leftover syrup. Ethan was half afraid he’d eat it with a spoon.
‘Morning,’ Ace yawned. ‘Yes to pancakes.’ She sat down and smiled at Ethan
– a little shyly. For no reason either could quite explain, they were both unwilling to parade their relationship in front of the Doctor. In loco parentis, Ethan thought, a bit embarrassed by his embarrassment.
‘There was one of those time shift thingys last night,’ Ace said to the Doctor.
‘Yes, Ethan told me. However –’
‘But it was well weird, Professor. You know how before we watched things change but we didn’t change with them. Only last night, that happened to him too.’
The Doctor turned from the stove, eyes bright. ‘That’s interesting.’
‘I think it’s because we were touching.’
The Doctor raised an eyebrow and resumed flipping a pancake. Ace reddened a little. Was he her father, Ethan wondered, or her uncle, or her older brother
– or, in some undefined way, Ethan’s rival?
‘Well, there won’t be any more of those shifts. The potential entry portal is gone.’
Ace didn’t seem nearly as amazed and excited as Ethan thought the situation warranted. She only nodded in satisfaction, smiling. ‘Knew you’d do it. Told you he always does,’ she said to Ethan.
‘It wasn’t me this time, Ace, it just happened naturally.’
‘Gross.’ She’d spotted the syrupy plate. ‘Why don’t you just shoot it up?’
‘Death by maple syrup injection. That would be a new one, even in my experience.’
‘What are