Doctor Who_ The Hollow Men - Keith Topping [102]
„Aye, Your Honour,‟ said the man, his lip curling with disdain. „A travelling man, not o‟ these parts.‟
„Master prisoner,‟ said Jeffreys. „Dost thou know the charges thou facest?‟
The Doctor shrugged. „Insurrection? Treason? Libel and slander? That kind of thing?‟
„And more,‟ said Jeffreys. „How dost thou plead? Guilty?‟ He paused, licking his fat lips. „Or not guilty?‟
„I‟m sorry,‟ said the Doctor. „I don‟t understand the question. Don‟t I get a third option?‟
„Silence!‟ screamed Jeffreys, as a murmur spread through the courtroom.
„Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack jump over the candlestick,‟ said the Doctor, glancing towards Baber, who was shaking his head. „May I address the court?‟
„Contempt!‟ said Jeffreys, hammering his gavel against the ornate desk.
„I have contempt for no one in this court,‟ said the Doctor, catching the blazing alien eyes of the judge. „Except for Jack.‟
„Who be this Jack?‟ said Jeffreys slowly. „What right dost thou have to make charges against him?‟
‘J’accuse,’ said the Doctor simply, and plucked the Bible from Baber‟s hand. „I swear by Almighty God that the evidence I give shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Can you handle the truth, Jack?‟
„Master prisoner, thou speakest words that have no meaning,‟ noted Jeffreys, amused. „Art thou a simpleton?‟
„I have been accused of that often enough,‟ said the Doctor.
„However, I do not recognise the authority of this court to pass judgement on one man. I put it to you that it is not me that is on trial here, but all of us.‟
A gasp came from the assembled crowd.
Baber crossed the floor towards the judge. „My Lord, I humbly apologise for the conduct of my client.‟
Jeffreys nodded. „He wastes the court‟s time with his dribbling nonsense.‟
„Time is relative and abstract,‟ noted the Doctor, stepping down from the dock. Neither Jowett, nor any of the other men, moved to stop him. „This charade is an insult to my intelligence, Jack,‟ continued the Doctor. „I want to see you, and I want to see you now!’
„Thou art as mad as the moon, prisoner,‟ said Jeffreys.
„And thou art a coward,‟ added the Doctor. „Show yourself, Jack.‟
Jeffreys said nothing.
The Doctor turned to the jury, twelve men dressed in peasants‟ rags. „Gentlemen,‟ he said, „you have all, in your time, committed crimes. Terrible crimes. Who among you will cast the first stone?‟
„I shall,‟ said the foreman, the huge figure of Long John.
„You?‟ asked the Doctor. „A child molester and rapist... I‟ve read the old chronicles of your deeds, John Ballam. Your, heart is black and evil. But it‟s Jack that makes you as bad as you are. All of you.‟ He stopped and addressed the crowd.
„All of your lives, throughout the centuries, you have lived like rats in a hole, blinking, terrified at the outside world.
Hexen Bridge is your prison, and Jack i‟ the Green your jailer. He won‟t even show himself to you because he knows the moment that he does, he will lose you. Somewhere within each of you there is a remnant of humanity struggling to get out. Help it fly free. Help me.’
„Be there blackness in my heart, also?‟ The Doctor was surprised to hear the question coming from the judge.
„Yes,‟ he replied sadly. „You more than anyone should know that.‟
„Jack plans to free the world,‟ said Long John, a confused look on his face.
„He plans to enslave the world,‟ shouted the Doctor angrily.
„And you‟re all party to that.‟
„But we did not know,‟ said Baber sadly.
„Well, you do now. So do something about it!‟ The noise in the courtroom rose to a crescendo as the Doctor ran back to the dock and stood on the dais addressing them all. „The greatest evil in the universe isn‟t the monster from outer space,‟ he said. „It is the dark space within us all. Shine a light on that.’
„We shall hear more,‟ noted the judge.
Ace shook her head groggily, momentarily aware of the loamy aroma of the soil beneath her. She pushed herself up on to her elbows, then managed to roll her protesting body away just