Doctor Who - [093] - The Invasion Of Time Page 3

  As the hall slowly filled two very old, very eminent Time Lords stood close to the dais.

  'Undue haste is bad enough,' said Lord Gomer pettishly. 'Vulgar bad manners is if anything possibly worse. Why, normally it takes years to discuss a Presidential Ordination let alone actually assemble one.' Gomer was the Surgeon-General, a man of rigidly old-fashioned views.

  Lord Savar nodded wisely. 'Unsettled times, eh, Gomer? Still, they say the time will throw up the man.'

  'They say time brings wisdom too,' snapped Gomer. He stared pointedly at his ancient colleague. 'Incidentally, aren't you overdue for another regeneration?'

  Savar ignored the remark. 'I believe I have wisdom to fit my years,' he said complacently.

  'Just so, my lord,' said Gomer dryly. 'Ever hear of cyclic burst?'

  'I beg your pardon?'

  'The answer to many scientific problems may lie in the cyclic burst ratio,' said Gomer solemnly.

  'The Black Star protect us! What is a cyclic burst ratio?'

  'Oh, it's just a little study of mine, a hobby. You do understand what a hobby is?'

  'I may have come across the term,' said Savar loftily. 'But I fail to understand any significant meaning.'

  'That does not surprise me.' said Gomer dryly. Savar was not Known for any unnecessary mental activity. Gomer persisted with his explanation, without much hope of being understood. 'I'm making a study of what I call wavelength broadcast power transduction.'

  Savar covered a yawn. 'Really?'

  'I've noticed lately, say over the last decade or so, an enormous fluctuation in relative wavelength transduction over a particularly narrow band..."

  To Savar's enormous relief, a fanfare of trumpets announced the arrival of the President-Elect.

  Impressive in his long white robes the Doctor came down the great staircase and took his place on the central dais. Behind him came the appropriately robed Gold Usher, and behind him Castellan Kelner, High Cardinal Borusa, and the other Cardinals and officials.

  The Doctor took his place on the centre of the raised circular dais and the others grouped themselves formally around him.

  Andred had found a place for Leela in the very front rank of the spectators. She was impressed in spite of herself, with the immense size of the hall, and the ornately robed crowd. These Time Lords must be a powerful tribe. The Doctor seemed a stranger in his long white ceremonial robes, his usually cheerful features cold and hard. His eyes flicked briefly, but without recognition, over Leela in her place in the front rank.

  Gold Usher came to the front of the dais and held up his hand. There was total silence in the enormous hall.

  He began to speak, declaiming his words in a sonorous rolling chant. 'Honoured members of the High Council, Cardinals, Time Lords... Madam..." He inclined his head briefly towards Leela, and for a moment there seemed a twinkle in his eye. Then the deep voice took up its impressive chant. 'We are here today to honour the will and the wisdom of Rassilon...'

  ('We are near victory,' hissed the Vardan War Chief, his eyes fixed on the screen.)

  Leela's eyes glazed and her head nodded as the ceremony went on and on. Other Time Lords came forward and played their part, there were solemn incantations and responses, and what seemed like a recital of the entire history of the Time Lords. Finally Gold Usher came forward once more. Leela sensed that the ceremony was nearing its end. Gold Usher's ceremonial staff crashed down, the sound echoing thunderously. 'Is there anyone here to contest the right of the candidate to the Great Key of Rassilon?'

  Again that total silence fell on the vast crowded hall.

  'By custom, I shall strike three times. Should no voice be heard by the third stroke, I shall in duty bound, invest the candidate as President of the High Council of the Time Lords of Gallifrey.' The staff crashed down. Once... twice... The pauses between the echoing reverberations seemed endless.

  ('Now we have them,' hissed the Vardan War Leader exultantly.)

  The staff crashed down for the third time, and the echoes rolled away around the edges of the great hall. Gold Usher turned to the Doctor. 'It is my duty and privilege, by consent of the Time Lords of Gallifrey, to invest you as President of the High Council. Accept therefore the sash of Rassilon...' Gold Usher took the heavy, ornate sash from a waiting guard and fastened it about the Doctor's shoulders.

  'Accept therefore the Rod of Rassilon

  He placed a slender metal wand in the Doctor's hands.

  'Seek, therefore to find the Great Key of Rassilon...'

  He gestured towards an empty cushion, held by another guard. (The Key of Rassilon had been stolen by the Master, and he had escaped with it after the failure of his attempt to destroy Gallifrey.)

  The Doctor reached out his hand and touched the cushion in a ceremonial gesture.

  'Do you swear to uphold the laws of Gallifrey? Do you swear to follow in the wisdom of Rassilon?'

  'I swear.'

  Another pause. Gold Usher's staff rapped once more and a plinth bearing a golden Circlet rose from the dais. 'Then I invest you Lord President of the High Council. I wish you good fortune and strength.'

  Gold Usher lifted the Circlet and holding it high moved over to the Doctor. 'I give you... the Matrix,' he said solemnly, and placed the Circlet on the Doctor's head.

  The Doctor stood there for a moment, the focus of the entire enormous assembly.

  Then his face twisted and his body convulsed. His mouth opened in a kind of silent scream, as he tried frantically to claw the Circlet from his temples...

  The Fugitive

  For a moment no one moved, as the Doctor writhed in agony before them.

  Then Leela sprang onto the dais, and hurled herself at the Doctor, knocking him from his feet. The Doctor fell headlong, and the force of his fall dislodged the Circlet from his brow. His body arched in a final spasm, and he slumped back unconscious.

  'Doctor!' screamed Leela. A guard pulled her away.

  'The Matrix rejects the candidate,' shouted Borusa triumphantly. 'Guards, seize him!'

  Andred hesitated for a moment, then led his men forward. Gold Usher barred their way. 'Stop! None may lay hands on the president!'

  'The Matrix has rejected him!' repeated Borusa.

  'He is the Matrix now. It cannot reject him.' And with slight panic in his voice he cried, 'Surgeon General!'

  Gomer hurried forward and knelt to examine the Doctor.

  'Will he be all right?' asked Leela.

  The old man went on with his examination, and did not reply. Leela waited anxiously.

  Borusa and Gold Usher were still locked in argument.

  'Surely you can see that this changes everything,' insisted Borusa. 'For a candidate to be attacked by the Matrix... it's unheard of.'

  'There is no candidate, Chancellor-Elect Borusa. There is only the President. The Circlet is the Matrix Terminal. It can only be worn by the President, therefore this is the President.'

  Stiffly Gomer rose. 'Moreover, Borusa, if you continue to stand there arguing legal technicalities, we shall find ourselves going through this whole boring business again, in the very near future.' Gomer was no respecter of ceremonies, or of Chancellors either.

  Leela realised the significance of Gomer's words. 'You mean the Doctor is going to die?'

  'Very possibly. For the moment he has retreated.'

  'The Doctor does not retreat,' said Leela fiercely. 'He is no coward."

  'The retreat is purely a mental one, a simple defence reaction brought about by a sudden and unexpected attack on his conscious mind.'

  'You see?' said Borusa triumphantly. 'There was an attack.'

  'Oh have the kindness to be quiet, Borusa,' snapped Gomer. 'The President needs both rest and skilled medical attention. I shall supervise his case myself. We need a place of absolute security-and quiet.'

  'May I be permitted to suggest the Chancellery?'

  'The Chancellery will be perfect,' agreed Gomer. 'Take him away.'

  Guards lifted the Do
ctor and carried him reverently from the Panopticon. Gomer turned to the Cardinal. 'As for you, Borusa, I suggest you cut off all communication with the President, prohibit all visitors and keep your tedious bureaucratic problems to yourself.'

  He hobbled off after the Doctor.

  'Impertinence!' fumed Borusa. He was more used to delivering rebukes than to receiving them.

  Kelner said soothingly. 'The Surgeon-General may be a little impetuous, but I'm sure his hearts are in the right places!'

  (In their war room the Vardans were conferring agitatedly. 'We are close,' whispered one of the council. 'So very close!'

  The War Leader said, 'It is still too soon. He has little strength.'

  One of the council said, 'Should he die, it will take a long time to replace him.'

  'Too long. We must gamble upon his survival. Signal all Commanders to increase speed. We shall implement plan three.')

  The murmuring was louder now, and the crowd around the dais thickened as Time Lords pressed forward to see what was going on. Borusa raised his voice. 'Time Lords! The President is unwell. We have taken him to the Chancellery. Remain calm. A bulletin will be issued shortly. Please leave the Panopticon quietly.'

  As agitated Time Lords began filing out, he turned to Andred. 'Bring the girl, Commander. We must investigate her attack on the Doctor.'

  'I didn't attack him,' protested Leela. 'I saved him.'

  'The enquiry will determine that. Bring her!'

  The Doctor lay stretched out on a couch in the Chancellor's office. Gomer was leaning over him, holding a tiny crystal phial to his neck. The colourless liquid flowed directly into the Doctor's blood stream. Gomer handed the empty phial to an assistant and straightened up.

  'Well, Lord Gomer?' demanded Borusa impatiently.

  'He has suffered a massive sub-mensan shock. I've given him a deranger dose but it will be hours perhaps days before he...'

  'Doctor!' said Leela delightedly. Everyone looked. The Doctor's eyes were open.

  'Incredible,' murmured Gomer.

  Leela hurried to the Doctor's side. 'Are you all right?'

  'Quietly now,' warned Borusa.

  The Doctor lifted his head. 'Ah Chancellor! What happened?"

  'You suffered some kind of an attack,' said Borusa cautiously. 'In addition to which, your alien friend here knocked you down.'

  'No, no, it was the Circlet,' insisted Leela. 'The Circlet was killing him!'

  The Doctor sat up. He stared indignantly at Leela. 'What are you doing on Gallifrey?'

  'You brought me.'

  'Nonsense. It's forbidden to bring alien savages into the Capitol. Get rid of her.'

  'Doctor, what's happened to you? It's me, Leela...'

  'Put her out, Commander,' ordered Borusa.

  Andred took hold of Leela's arm. 'Out where, sir?'

  'Outside the Capitol, of course.'

  'In the outer world?' said Andred, shocked. The Capitol was so large that it covered most of Gallifrey. Indeed to a Time Lord, the Capitol was Gallifrey. The country outside was still surprisingly wild and primitive.

  'That's right,' said the Doctor implacably. 'Expel her!'

  'No,' said Leela desperately. 'Something's happened to your mind, Doctor, I won't leave you.'

  'Take her!' ordered Borusa. The guards closed in on Leela-but not soon enough.

  She broke free of Andred's grip, dodged round him and made for the door. Two more guards moved to cut her off. She grabbed the nearest, threw him against his fellow, and flashed out of the door before the tangled guards could disentangle themselves.

  'After her!' shouted Borusa.

  The guards lumbered in pursuit. Leela was already disappearing down the corridor.

  The leading guard drew his staser. 'Halt, or I fire!'

  Leela went on running, weaving to and fro. The guard fired-and missed. Leela turned a corner and disappeared.

  Andred came running up. 'Which way did she go?'

  'She turned off down there, sir.'

  'Well, don't just stand there-get after her!'

  The guards ran off. Andred raised his wrist-communicator. 'This is Commander Andred. Sound the alarm, and turn out all available guards. An escaped alien prisoner is at large in the Capitol.'

  A clangorous alarm bell began ringing through the corridors.

  Leela sped through the long marble corridors, guards close behind her. She shot past two ancient Time Lords who were toddling along the corridor discussing the recent scandalous events in the Panopticon. The guards hurtled around the corner in pursuit. They raised their stasers. 'Stop, alien!' But the two old Time Lords blocked their view of Leela, and they couldn't get a clear shot.

  By the time they had herded the astonished old men out of the way and taken up the pursuit, Leela had disappeared.

  Andred came back into the Chancellor's office to find the Doctor sitting up. 'That's funny, there's a ringing in my head.'

  'I ordered the alarms to be sounded, sir. The girl got away.'

  Kelner bustled in. 'What is happening? Who ordered those alarm--' he broke off at the sight of the Doctor. 'Your Excellency is feeling better?'

  'Can't complain, Castellan,' said the Doctor cheerfully.

  'Excellent-and now, Chancellor, if I may enquire...'

  'The President ordered his female companion to be expelled from the Capitol. She got away."

  'I'll take charge of the operation myself, Your Excellency,' said Kelner.

  'That's very brave of you. I warn you, Leela can be dangerous!'

  'Have no fear Your Excellency, I shall see that she is driven out. Come, Commander.'

  As Kelner departed the Doctor said plaintively. 'I wish someone would switch off that awful ringing in my head.'

  Andred snapped an order and the sound died away.

  'Ah, that's better,' said the Doctor.

  Andred bowed, and followed Kelner leaving the Doctor and Borusa alone.

  The old man looked down at his former pupil. 'What exactly are you playing at, Doctor?'

  The Doctor grinned impudently up at him. 'A little more respect, if you don't mind. After all, I am President!'

  'I thought respect was a quality you didn't admire, Doctor.'

  'Ah, but that was before. I'd have thought you, of all people, would know me better, Chancellor.'

  'You could never succeed in deceiving me when you were a student at the Academy. You haven't changed in that respect-and neither have I. But this is rather more than a student prank-isn't it?'

  'Believe me, Lord Borusa, I've never been more serious in my life-in any of my lives. While Leela remains free in the Capitol, we're all in danger.'

  'Isn't that a little melodramatic-even for you?'

  The Doctor yawned ostentatiously. 'Forgive me, my ordeal at the induction seems to have made me rather tired.'

  Borusa bowed ironically. 'Then you must rest, My Lord President.'

  'Thank you, my dear Chancellor-Elect.'

  Borusa went to the door. 'We can continue our discussion when you have had time to rest-and when your alien friend has been captured and expelled. Meanwhile, I shall make sure that you are not disturbed.'

  Borusa went out, and the Doctor heard his voice giving orders in the corridor outside. He waited for a moment, got up, and then tip-toed cautiously to the door, opening it a crack. He peered out into the corridor. Two guards were posted outside the room.

  To keep others out, or to keep him in, wondered the Doctor. He could order them to go away-but would they obey him? Better not risk direct confrontation. His new and exalted position was far from secure.

  The Doctor began pacing about the room. There was a tapestry on the wall behind Borusa's desk. The Doctor lifted it gently. It concealed a door.

  'Can't fool me, Borusa, I knew you'd have a bolt-hole. Well done, Doctor!' He tried to open the door. It was locked. The Doctor felt in his pockets for his sonic screwdriver, and realised that he hadn't got any pockets-he was still in his induction robe.

>   He looked round the room, and saw his own clothes in the corner, arranged on a stand. He hurried over to them... The guards outside the Chancellor's office crashed to attention, as Andred came along the corridor. He tried to enter the room, but the guards Presented their stasers, barring his way. Andred glared at them. 'Out of my way. I want to see the president.'

  'Sorry, sir. No one to enter. Chancellor Borusa's orders. No exceptions.'

  Andred decided to save face as best he could. 'You know how to obey orders, I see. Good men!' He went on his way.

  The Doctor completed dressing, winding his scarf around his neck and jamming his hat on the back of his head. He produced his sonic screwdriver and attacked the lock. Nothing happened. He tried again. Still nothing. He searched Borusa's desk, finding not a key but a map, which he promptly pocketed. 'Even the sonic screwdriver won't get me out of this one,' thought the Doctor and looked thoughtfully at the Chancellor's empty chair, addressing it as though Borusa still sat there. 'Now listen, I've got a problem. There's absolutely no point in having another door to your room if you haven't got a key. Well, is there? QED Quod Erat Demonstrandum. That's Latin. Latin and logic. But an actual key can be lost or stolen, therefore you're the key, Borusa. Palm print? No, that's too simple. Retina pattern?' He glared hard at the empty chair. 'No... But you've got to admit, that you're very fond of the sound of your own voice.' He turned to I the door. 'Open Sesame! I command you to open!' Nothing happened.

  'Retina print, palm print, voice print...' He looked; accusingly at the chair. 'But you don't like voice prints, do you? You always used to say there's nothing more useless than a lock with a voice print!'