Doctor Who_ The Infinity Doctors - Lance Parkin [12]
‘That is right, my Lord.’
‘You are a Time Lord, now, my Lady. You may call me Hedin.’
She acknowledged him by bowing her head.
He pointed out a space on the floor. ‘As a recent graduate of Prydon and a full citizen of the Capitol, you should stand there.’
Had she seen the Lord Ghene and the Lady Thlau earlier, she would have been able to work out for herself that she should stand close to them.
‘You’ll be within earshot of the High Council themselves,’
Hedin said.
The prospect pleased Larna, although the tone of Hedin’s voice suggested that this was a mixed blessing. ‘You recognise the Councillors?’
‘Of course,’ she said. She knew the names of everyone standing around the President: the Magistrate and the other Ministers, the Castellan, the Co-ordinator of the Matrix, half a dozen Cardinals and a couple of cowled representatives from the religious orders. Larna found it difficult to believe that now she was a cog in the same intricate clockwork as these people, that she was beginning to acquire titles and duties of her own.
Hedin pointed out a neatly bearded Councillor in jade green robes. ‘Who’s that?’
‘Councillor Norval, the Chief Scientific Adviser.’
Hedin nodded. ‘Have you noticed that he’s not used to his robes yet, either?’
He did look a little overwhelmed.
‘But the Lord Norval has been a Time Lord for four thousand years,’ she said.
Hedin smiled. ‘Look around, my dear. See how virtually everyone here is in the same predicament as yourself. What was that word you used? Overwhelmed. All your fellow Time Lords, even very senior ones, are still overwhelmed by the folds and flows of the material or the weight of the collarpiece.’
Larna brightened. ‘Thank you… Hedin.’
Hedin smiled.
‘The alien fleets are in position,’ a Technician proclaimed.
‘It’s not long since you did that job, is it?’ Hedin asked her.
‘Last time you were here you would have been wearing that monochrome tabard.’
It was impossible to become a Time Lord without at least a short stint as a Technician, although Larna had never been on duty on such a momentous occasion. ‘The last time I served as a Technician was for the conjunction of the planets Tarva and Alambil.’
‘I missed that,’ Hedin said sadly.
‘Full records were archived within the Matrix, my Lord. You could replay them whenever you wanted.’
Hedin nodded. ‘Yes, but it’s not the same as being there, is it?’
‘Archiving causes no degradation of pattern –’ she paused, her mind catching up with her mouth. ‘You are right.
There is a qualitative difference between watching the data being collected and watching a recording.’
He was smiling. ‘Do you know the Duty Technician today?’
She looked across. ‘He was in one of my study groups.
His name is Waym of Olyesti.’ She found herself envious of Waym, but also glad that she wasn’t at the controls. Few of the Time Lords had noticed the Technician as they had shuffled into the chamber. Not that many had noticed him now, even after he had spoken, but a single mistake on his part might mean shame, disgrace, even an end to his academic career. There had been a hint of nervousness in Waym’s voice, and he seemed dwarfed by his surroundings.
‘Olyesti is one of the Three Minute Cities in the East.’
‘That is right.’
‘Despite his family connections you graduated before him.’
‘Probably because his tutor seemed more interested in kaons than students,’ she said, before she could stop herself.
Hedin chuckled. ‘Wratfac?’
‘That’s right, my Lord.’ She looked around, worried he might have overheard, but couldn’t see him anywhere.
‘A fool. Worse than that, an old fool.’ The ushers began calling for silence. ‘I had better get into place. It has been good to talk to you, my Lady Larna.’
She bowed her head and took her place.
Larna didn’t have to strain too hard to pick up on the topic of conversation. The assembled Time Lords might not have noticed Waym’s presence, but they had noticed an important absence. Beneath the normal conversations, Time Lords were beginning to mutter about the gap in the ranks