Doctor Who_ The Infinity Doctors - Lance Parkin [35]
Omega smiled, opened his arms, ready to embrace the singularity.
He could hear their voices again, infinitesimally faint, over the roar of the dying star.
They could see the effect the singularity was having on space and time. It was like a hammer smashing against thick glass, or a block of ice. Cracks developing, growing together into a network of lines. The universe was a block of stone before, now it was being chipped away to reveal the sculpture that had always lain within it. Spacetime is shattering, the laws of physics have been repealed.
Rassilon was panicking. Rassilon would not let it happen.
Omega could feel Rassilon’s mind once again. He lifted his head, strained to hear the voice far above him.
But the mind wasn’t speaking to him, it was speaking to the black hole, encompassing it, manipulating it. By sheer force of will, Rassilon passed a new law of physics. He struck up equilibrium, established beautifully elaborate equations. A surface appeared upon the darkness, a surface from which the escape velocity was exactly the speed of light. The naked singularity was covered, the hole in the universe was sealed over, and outside the storm was subsiding.
The universe was safe. Nothing can ever be allowed to escape from the darkness.
The crewmen of the surviving ships were the Lords of Time.
Omega stared up. He couldn’t see anything, but he heard the event horizon slamming shut far above him.
There was no force in the universe that could reach him now; no form of contact. There was only him, immortal in his stasis halo, protected from his infernal surroundings.
He fell, an impossible, anomalous streak of light against the darkness.
Omega fell forever.
Chapter Four
Sleep in My Mind
The door to the Doctor’s room recognised Larna and opened for her, even though she was a little early and she hadn’t brought a card.
She had spent a great deal of time with the Doctor over the last few years, but most of it had been in his office at college, and she had never been invited to his private rooms before. They were configured in a different way to her own chambers. She had only just moved in, and had yet to settle.
The Doctor had lived here for many, many years and every brick and floorboard was infused with his own personality.
Larna knew that the Doctor wasn’t here. This was a chance to look around.
There was a full-length mirror by the door, and Larna stopped to look at herself in it. She had got used to walking around in nothing but her nightshirt by now, but this was the first sight of herself as others would see her. She had recovered from the exertions of running down the stairs, and the nanoweave of the cotton had worked its magic on the sweat, also keeping the garment clean and crisp. The shift had a high collar and fitted cuffs, and swathed every inch of her skin apart from her head and her hands. Larna had worn day robes less decent than this nightshirt. Besides, the love of formality and decorum shared by all Time Lords might disapprove of her being in another’s chambers in one’s night wear but would also prevent anyone from finding her here, or from enquiring about it if they did. After this morning Larna had realised that there was only one Time Lord’s approval that she sought, and the rest could be damned. She ran her fingers through her hair, tightening the braids.
The main room was of an average size, and was full of books and artefacts from every planet in the universe. On the floor as she walked through the door was an intricately woven rug. Larna found herself stepping round, as it felt disrespectful to place her bare feet on it. She moved down into the main area, past a wooden globe of Sol Three. The most cursory examination of the room revealed that there were many objects