Doctor Who_ The Doomsday Weapon - Malcolm Hulke [4]
'Hello?'
A man's voice asked for the Brigadier. Jo gave the 'phone to Lethbridge-Stewart, and he had a quickfire conversation with the caller. Then he cradled the 'phone, and turned back to the Doctor. He seemed very pleased.
'One of our agents thinks he's traced the Master,' said the Brigadier. 'I hope to be back here within the hour with good news. Excuse me.'
The Brigadier hurried out. The Doctor watched after him, shaking his head sadly.
'Can't you tell me anything that's going on?' asked Jo. 'Who is the Master, and what's a TARDIS?'
'Didn't the Brigadier explain it all to you?' said the Doctor.
'No,' said Jo. 'No one's explained anything.'
'Oh dear,' the Doctor said. 'Well, the Master is a fellow we've had quite a bit of trouble with. As for TARDIS, that means Time And Relative Dimensions in Space.' The Doctor ended there with a smile, as though he had explained everything.
'Time and Relative Dimensions...' said Jo. 'You mean that thing?' She pointed to the old police box.
'That thing ,' said the Doctor, obviously a little hurt, 'is probably the most advanced technological device you will ever encounter in your entire life.'
Jo went over and inspected the police box. 'It looks just like an old police box to me.'
'I see,' said the Doctor, clearly not very pleased with Jo's attitude. 'Since I'm about to go inside I'll let you see for yourself.' The Doctor picked up the electrical gadget he had been working on, crossed to the police box and produced a key. He unlocked the little narrow. door, and threw it open. 'After you.'
Jo looked inside, expecting to see a poky little space perhaps with a police telephone and a first-aid box. Inside she found herself looking into a huge, futuristic-looking control room.
She turned back to the Doctor , 'It's a trick. An optical illusion.'
'Why not step inside and see?' said the Doctor.
Cautiously, Jo entered the TARDIS. It was at least twenty times bigger inside than outside. She stood just inside, unable to speak. The Doctor, however, followed her in and immediately went to a central console in the middle of the vast, highly polished floor. Without a word he set about inserting his bit of electrical gadgetry into a cavity in the console.
At last Jo got her voice back. 'How can it be bigger inside than out?'
'The TARDIS is dimensionally transcendental,' said the Doctor, busy with his work. Whatever he was doing, he seemed satisfied with his own work. He straightened up. 'As of this moment,' he said, 'I think my exile on Earth may be over.'
'Your exile on Earth?' Jo was seriously worried about this strange man's sanity. 'If you don't mind,' she said, 'I think I'll be getting along.' She turned on her heel to leave, only to find that the huge metallic doors were just closing in front of her. She swung back to the Doctor. 'Kindly open these doors immediately, Doctor! The joke's over.'
Now the Doctor looked at the doors. A smile spread across his face. 'I don't think I'll be able to,' he said. 'We're taking off!'
Jo crossed to the big doors, now firmly closed. 'Open these doors, Doctor!'
The Doctor suddenly seemed to realise that Jo was really terrified and that he should do something. He went to the central console, pulled a small lever, then looked to the doors. 'I'm very sorry,' he said, 'but things seem to be out of my control. You'd better hold on to something tight'
Even before he had completed the sentence, the floor of the control room started to vibrate violently, then to heave from side to side like a ship at sea. At the same time, Jo's ears were pierced by a terrifying sound, something like, yet not quite like, the trumpeting of a thousand mad elephants. Jo reeled across the floor,