Doctor Who_ The Infinity Doctors - Lance Parkin [97]
‘Amen,’ said Gordel.
The Doctor had seen this sort of thing on a number of worlds, places that suffered some terrible catastrophe: meteor strikes, atomic war… anything that could make a civilisation collapse, leave a tiny population eking out a living in the ruins, unable to comprehend their surroundings or their ancestors.
‘All praise to the Lord,’ Wilfhuff said.
Helios gestured around. ‘The legends tell us that God is here, behind one of these doors. Of course we don’t know which one.’
‘I imagine that if God lived anywhere, then it would probably be somewhere like this,’ the Doctor conceded thoughtfully, munching a mushroom. This sort of society often incorporated the remnants of their technology and ‘race memories’ of their past into elaborate religions and legends.
‘Yes, the graveyards on the southern side of the building,’
Pallant whispered. ‘I remember going to them once. There are dues on the tombstones.’
‘We mustn’t forget the time you found my grave,’ Helios said matter-of‐factly.
‘How is that possible?’ the Doctor asked.
‘Who is to say? Every morning we wake and find ourselves here, we remember where to find the mushrooms, which room we are in, where the Maltraffi lie in wait for us.
What other way is there?’
‘You have an admirable philosophy. Discover each day anew.’
Pallant looked at the Doctor, smiling. ‘We are Gallifreyan/Human hybrids, the Children of Kasterborous.
Before the Curse, we pursued interventionist policies designed to promote harmony in the known galaxies, and ushered a new age of universal peace. We failed in our mission: this is our punishment.’
The Doctor’s eyes widened.
‘That is Willhuff’s theory,’ Helios added. ‘I think I like it best, even though it probably isn’t true. It relies on apocryphal sources and a great deal of speculation on his part. Gordel’s theory is equally outlandish. I incline to the view that we are from the Accidentally Left Behind When Everyone Else Transcended This Reality Interest Group. It would certainly explain our obsession with finding God.’
‘I think that Helios is Merlin,’ said Willhuff.
Gordel looked wearily at the others. ‘We are dearly the super-evolved survivors of the Thal race, fleeing the penultimate destruction of Skaro, that sparked off the Final Dalek War.’
‘You don’t have the slightest idea who you are or where you came from, do you?’ the Doctor asked, exasperated.
‘Where is my diary?’ said Pallant suddenly.
‘Your diary will turn up shortly,’ Gordel said, looking pointedly at Doctor.
Willhuff and Gordel had begun to write in notebooks, ones almost identical to the one the Doctor had found.
The Doctor shrugged, feigning ignorance. ‘Would anyone mind if I stretched my legs? I just want to look around this room. Who knows, Pallant’s diary might be over there.
Anyone else coming?’ None of them answered. ‘You’ve probably seen it already,’ the Doctor concluded, getting up.
The four men sat around their fire, Helios and Pallant finishing off the mushrooms, the other two writing their diaries. The Doctor stepped away, carefully over the broken ground, and found a spot between two shelves, just under one of the electric lamps.
When he was sure no one was able to see him, the Doctor tugged Pallant’s diary from his pocket. He flicked through, starting about three quarters of the way in. It was mainly maps, a rather appealing symbol of a Maltraffi’s face presumably marking out the territories of the various prides.
They did read the books, or at least Pallant did. The pages were dotted with quotes, and some even had glued-in pages ripped from various volumes. There was one page taken from a dictionary