Doctor Who_ The Infinity Doctors - Lance Parkin [93]
‘And you won’t be?’
‘No…’
‘They have detector beams, cross them and they launch a retroac attack – hit you before they detect you. It’s impossible to get do there.’
‘No. No.’ The Doctor paced the room, tapping his lip. ‘No.’
‘If I might make an observation: saying that doesn’t make it true.’
‘This close to the end, the parallel universes are beginning converge, aren’t they?’
‘Those that survived this long.’
‘Right. Now… in our time, the parallel universes keep a nice s distance from each other. We can use a TARDIS to travel sideways time, but it’s hazardous.’ The Doctor had begun to make complicated gestures in the air to explain his theory. ‘What if I were to transmat myself around the defences, via an alternate universe, one where t defences don’t exist? The beauty is that I could convert myself into state of quantum uncertainty, and then I’d have to arrive, because the only way the events could be resolved would be for someone down there to observe me.’
‘Or if you tripped the defence grid.’
‘I’d be down there already. They’d have to change the past to eras me, but by doing that they’d set up a paradox, one part of which would involve me down there. So I’d get through in some form.’ The Magistrate was shaking his head.
‘Well, have you got a better idea?’ the Doctor asked. ‘That’s hardly an idea at all. It’s ludicrous.’
‘It’s quantum mechanics: of course it’s ludicrous. I’ll get a transmat bracelet. Next thing you know, I’ll be down there.’
There was a mechanical thunk all around them, and the lights flickered, before returning to their previous brilliance. ‘My crew have harnessed a local black hole,’ the Magistrate informed him.
‘Good. Good.’ The Doctor looked around, unsure what to do. ‘I need to get across there. Down to the Needle.’
‘Lord Norval was killed trying to land,’ the Magistrate reminded.
‘Yes…’ the Doctor said, his voice trailing away.
‘And you won’t be?’
‘No…’
‘They have detector beams, cross them and they launch a retroactive attack – hit you before they detect you. It’s impossible to get down there.’
‘No. No.’ The Doctor paced the room, tapping his lip. ‘No.’
‘If I might make an observation: saying that doesn’t make it true.’
‘This close to the end, the parallel universes are beginning to converge, aren’t they?’
‘Those that survived this long.’
‘Right. Now… in our time, the parallel universes keep a nice safe distance from each other. We can use a TARDIS to travel sideways in time, but it’s hazardous.’ The Doctor had begun to make complicated gestures in the air to explain his theory. ‘What if I were to transmat myself around the defences, via an alternate universe, one where the defences don’t exist? The beauty is that I could convert myself into a state of quantum uncertainty, and then I’d have to arrive, because the only way the events could be resolved would be for someone down there to observe me.’
‘Or if you tripped the defence grid.’
‘I’d be down there already. They’d have to change the past to erase me, but by doing that they’d set up a paradox, one part of which would involve me down there. So I’d get through in some form.’
The Magistrate was shaking his head.
‘Well, have you got a better idea?’ the Doctor asked.
‘That’s hardly an idea at all. It’s ludicrous.’
‘It’s quantum mechanics: of course it’s ludicrous. I’ll get a transmat bracelet. Next thing you know, I’ll be down there.’
A lion face stared at the Doctor, its head cocked. It had a thick red mane, its face was lighter. Its eyes were coal-black, but there was a glimmer of intelligence there. There was a moment of contact, of mutual respect.
The creature was on top of the Doctor, pinning him down.
It had bowled him over the moment he had arrived, even before he had found his footing on the broken, uneven ground. The Doctor was on his back now, able to look right into the eyes of the creature. He felt hot breath on his neck and melting snow creeping into his coat. He forced his head around… and then whatever it was on top