Doctor Who_ The Also People - Ben Aaronovitch [10]
That's roughly six hundred million times the surface area of Earth.'
'That's a lot of lebensraum.'
'And you don't have to invade Poland to get it.'
'Just how technologically advanced are they?'
The Doctor scratched the back of his neck. 'Benny, as an archaeologist you more than anyone else should know that technology is not simply a matter of linear progression. There are twists and turns, branches and cul de sacs, pools and rivers –'
'Your metaphor is wandering.'
'That's what happens when you try to describe the indescribable.'
'Or try to avoid a question.'
'Let me put it this way,' said the Doctor. 'They have a non-aggression pact with the Time Lords.'
Bernice picked up her glass and swallowed the last of the wine. Quickly she poured herself another glass and swallowed that with a single gulp. Poured another glass but left it on the table.
There wasn't any point; there wasn't enough alcohol in existence to cope with that.
'Do they have time travel?'
'Strangely enough they don't,' said the Doctor. 'They just can't seem to get the hang of the technology. They get close but for some reason it never seems to work properly.'
'Really?' said Bernice. 'That is peculiar, isn't it?'
'It is, isn't it?' said the Doctor. 'I can't imagine why they have so much difficulty with it, since they have the theoretical capability.' He grinned. 'I suppose either you have what it takes, or you don't.'
'And if you have it, you make damn sure no one else gets it.'
The Doctor frowned, as if remembering a bereavement, then he brightened again. Bernice felt he was making an effort.
'These two trillion people,' she asked, 'are they human?'
'Ah,' said the Doctor, 'that rather depends on your definition of human.' He gestured vaguely off to the left. 'There's a small town called iSanti Jeni an hour's walk up the coast. You could stroll up and ask the people there what they think.'
'Would they recognize me as human?'
'That depends,' said the Doctor, 'on whether they talk to you before or after you've had your morning cup of coffee.'
The Doctor knew the storm was coming long before the first clouds became visible through the atmospheric haze. He said it was going to be a gigantic one and insisted that they all gather to watch it in the living room. He said nothing beat a good storm for entertainment.
There was no horizon inside the sphere, nor was the curve perceptible; with a radius of one hundred and fifty million kilometres it was far too gradual for that. Sea and sky appeared to go on for ever until they both merged into the atmospheric haze. Despite this, Bernice found that her mind insisted on creating a sort of virtual horizon where none existed, an invisible line of demarcation mid point between the water and the heavens. Bernice supposed it gave the view the formal unity of a Renaissance painting, and allowed her to cope with the scale of it all.
Leonardo would have been proud of her.
It started as a dark smudge on her virtual horizon, then a line of black and then the leading edge of the storm was crashing down on them. Through the balcony window Bernice saw the first sharp actinic flashes of lightning in the distance. She shivered in the sudden chill, amazed at how fast the clouds were moving. It was darkening quickly; through the murky light Bernice could see brush strokes of white spray whipped off the ocean. She was glad she was safe inside.
Lightning flashed, much closer this time. Bernice counted seconds, waiting for the thunder.
There was a muffled thud behind her and the sound of a curse. Bernice turned to find Roz blearily getting up off the floor.
'Hey,' she said, 'has it got cold or is it me?'
'There's a storm coming.'
'That's what it was,' said Roz, stretching her arms and back. 'I thought I was dreaming.'
Thunder.
The first splatters of rain fell on the balcony, those drops that hit the invisible barrier in the picture window frame