Doctor Who_ The Algebra of Ice - Lloyd Rose [90]
‘You look like hell,’ Ethan snarled. It was true. The wounds Ace had left on Brett’s ear and face were redly swollen. He was uncharacteristically dishev-elled, and needed a shave.
‘I don’t feel particularly well,’ Brett admitted. ‘I think my bites may be infected. You know, the saliva of the human mouth is much more dangerous than a dog’s.’
Ethan had no idea what to say to that. He was trying to work out where he was – a sparsely furnished sitting room in a house that, from the look of the ceiling beam and the irregular walls, dated from Elizabethan times. There were numerous modernisations – the large fireplace, for example, had at some point been furnished with an iron stove, behind whose grate a fire glowed. Ethan didn’t like the look of it.
‘Whose house is this?’
‘The fellow who owns the field. You know, the field. He’s spending the winter in Australia, I understand.’
‘But. . . ’ Ethan frowned, trying to pull his wits together. He was propped in a worn chintz armchair. His wrists were tied in front of him, with a few inches of rope between them. So I can use a keyboard, he thought. ‘Why are you here?’
‘I assure you, it’s under compulsion. I now have to visit the site daily.’ Brett was pacing, drawing near the stove as if he were cold, then abruptly striding away as if he were too hot. ‘The barrier here is thinning again. We have to stay in touch.’
‘You and Unwin?’
‘No.’
‘Where is he?’
‘Pat’s gone. Let’s not talk about him any more.’
Chapter Twenty-two
185
‘Then who’s “we”?’ Ethan had a feeling he was talking in circles, but he was too groggy to tell. The back of his neck hurt horribly. ‘What did you do to my neck?’
‘One question at a time,’ said Brett, but he didn’t answer either of them. ‘I’d like your help.’
Though he knew exactly what Brett meant, Ethan said, ‘What for? They can’t come through.’
Brett smiled bitterly, as if he were about to say something, but changed his mind. ‘They need more power. Do you remember that second set of equations?’
‘What second set?’
Brett turned his disagreeable eyes on him. ‘Now, now,’ he said softly, ‘I really don’t suggest being evasive again.’
No, Ethan thought. ‘What about them?’
‘I’d like them finished.’
‘You’re talking as if they’re a crossword puzzle. It could take months.’
‘It could, but it won’t.’
‘Whatever you do,’ said Ethan, with a steadiness that surprised him, ‘you can’t make my mind work any faster.’
Brett shrugged. ‘We’ll find out, won’t we?’
‘What do you need them for, anyway?’ Ethan kept his eyes away from the stove. ‘How are they supposed to help?’
‘Ah, yes. I skipped a step. They’re a way to access the power our friends need.’
He should have killed me after all, Ethan thought sickly. The Doctor should have killed me. Because sooner or later, I’ll give Brett what he wants. He’ll burn it out of me.
‘Why couldn’t they have done any of this themselves? The computations must be well within their capabilities.’
‘There’s a limited amount of energy available to them for any task.’
‘Then it’s true,’ said Ethan before he thought.
‘What’s true?’ Brett’s tone was casual, but his eyes glinted. ‘What’s true, young Amberglass?’
‘They’ve solved entropy. Or almost.’
‘Now, you never thought of that. That was the Doctor’s idea, wasn’t it? What an interesting little thing he is. I’d like so much to get to know him better.’
‘He’s hard to know,’ said Ethan. ‘He’s like those sets of mirrors that reflect each other forever. Like a whole hall of them.’
186
The Algebra of Ice
‘Infinite riches in a little room,’ said Brett softly. ‘Have you been in that time machine of his?’
Ethan hesitated, and Brett shook his head disapprovingly. ‘Yes,’ Ethan said.
‘Astonishing, I imagine.’
‘Actually, it’s fairly plain.’
‘Actually, it isn’t, I assure you. It’s unimaginably complex – at least to us.’
‘But not to them.’
‘Oh no. They’ll know exactly what to do with it.’
Ethan swallowed. ‘It’s the power source, then.’
‘Potentially.’
‘They don’t only want the Earth. They want all of time and space.’
‘And who can blame them?’
‘But it’s nonsense. If they