Doctor Who_ The Infinity Doctors - Lance Parkin [84]
‘Oh yes,’ said the Doctor, announcing his presence, ‘but as they say on Arrakis, “If you think that’s big, you should see the sparrows”.’
The assembled Time Lords began to turn his way.
‘So the Doctor has finally decided to grace us with his presence.’ Castellan Voran declared.
‘Ah yes, and the Lady Larna has also shown her face,’
Pendrel added. ‘Synchronicity, I believe it is called.’
Savar fancied he could feel Lama’s blushes. The President himself was stepping out from the group, the Doctor beside him, walking towards them. The Castellan was two paces behind them.
‘Lord Savar,’ the President declared, his voice weak with age. Savar bowed his head, as etiquette demanded.
‘Lord President,’ the Doctor told them. ‘Gallifrey faces its greatest threat.’
‘Yes, but also a great opportunity.’ It was the Magistrate, standing at the President’s side. He had thought that the Magistrate was in the far future.
His expression must have betrayed his confusion. ‘That is a projection,’ Larna prompted him, ‘the real Magistrate is on the Station.’
Savar turned to this simulacrum Magistrate. ‘Do you know what you have found?’
‘Not yet,’ the Magistrate conceded. ‘It appears to be of Gallifreyan origin.’
‘Indeed,’ Savar whispered.
‘Be very careful,’ the Doctor said, addressing the Magistrate. ‘That object is all that remains of a TARDIS that was damaged as it tried to break free of the black hole. It has torn holes in the spacetime continuum. Those holes have formed the Effect. There must also be collision of time energy from the TARDIS and anti-time from the collapsing universe, which means…’ his voice trailed away. ‘Well, I’m not sure about that bit.’
The President was beginning to piece it together. ‘Your TARDIS?, he asked.
Savar nodded.
A number of the Councillors were muttering. Above all, Time Lords were sworn to protect the timelines, and this defied all those laws.
‘This thing is an abomination,’ one of the monks intoned.
‘How has your TARDIS managed to break free now?’ the Magistrate asked.
‘That’s simple enough,’ Larna explained. ‘Under the uncertainty principle, some of the particles from within the black hole will occasionally appear outside the event horizon.
Over time every black hole evaporates. The black hole on that image is the same one that Savar flew his TARDIS into, but in the intervening aeons, it has shrunk a little. Less mass equals less gravitational pull. When Savar tried to get out originally he almost made it – in the far future, the black hole is easier to escape from.’
The Castellan was puzzled, ‘What was your TARDIS doing in a black hole in the first place?’
‘Savar was performing scientific observations into gravitation,’ the Doctor said quickly. Savar felt the President’s discomfort.
‘But why couldn’t these observations be made from Gallifrey?’
There were notes of concern from the gallery, and members of the Council.
‘Because, Castellan,’ Savar said levelly, ‘sometimes to solve that which is unknown about the universe one has to look beyond the roof of the Capitol Dome.’
There were giggles from the gallery fodder.
‘Not so, Lord, ah, Savar,’ an elderly voice said. The Keeper of the Matrix stepped forwards. ‘The Matrix is the repository of all knowledge. It contains all the mathematical axioms and scientific principles that govern the universe, and can apply them a great deal more efficiently than anyone Gallifreyan. There are no mysteries to the Matrix.’
‘There are limits to its knowledge,’ Savar asserted.
‘Perhaps your ambitions do not stretch beyond acquiring academic qualifications and meaningless ceremonial titles.
Mine did.’
‘And precisely what was your ambition?’ the Castellan asked.
Savar smiled.
The Doctor grasped his arm. ‘Savar, don’t…’ he warned.
Savar shook him away, raised his head, showed his face to the gallery for the first time. ‘I was planning to rescue Omega himself!’
For a moment, those lining the galleries were unsure how to react.
Neither was the Castellan. ‘Omega?’ was all that he managed