Doctor Who: Festival of Death: 50th Anniversary Edition (9 page)

‘And then?’ asked Romana.

‘By then I should have thought of something. Come on!’

‘This bit of the ship’s abandoned,’ explained Evadne. ‘No one’s come down here for years.’

She led the way, the Doctor trudging behind. Romana was next, with K-9 bringing up the rear.

It was yet another gloomy, derelict corridor, lined with closed doors and strewn with rubble. The wooden panelling and carpet had both rotted, and the air had the odour of an ancient cellar.

‘Tell me about this place. I’m fascinated,’ said the Doctor. ‘The history, and so on.’

Evadne sighed. ‘Grief. You really want me to?’

‘Is it a problem?’

‘It’s just my job. Was my job. Regurgitating the same old guff. Answering the same imbecile tourist questions.’

‘Well, one more time?’ said the Doctor.

‘All right,’ shrugged Evadne. ‘You’re now standing on board the remains of the interplantary luxury cruiser
Cerberus
. Almost two hundred years ago, it was making a voyage between Teredekethon and Murgatroyd, care of this hyperspace tunnel.’ She broke off. ‘You know about hyperspace tunnels, I take it, drinking straws and sheets of paper?

‘Anyway, it was one of the main interstellar routes. Loads of traffic, right? And it was a typical journey, that is, up until the point when the
Cerberus
was supposed to leave the tunnel.

‘As the ship moved into the exit, the hyperspace tunnel closed off. The
Cerberus
got stuck, completely blocking the tunnel. The result was disastrous. All the traffic behind got caught in the most terrible intergalactic traffic jam in history.

‘To prevent further ships from entering the tunnel, the authorities closed off the entrance. Which meant, basically, that all the ships within the tunnel were trapped together. And then, after two months, the hyperspace tunnel was finally reopened, and the emergency rescue teams went in.

‘The
Cerberus
had been carrying almost one thousand passengers, plus a full ship’s complement. There were also fifty other craft trapped within the traffic jam, with hundreds of people on board. But when the emergency crews cut their way through the airlocks and entered the ships, they found them deserted. Not a soul in sight, alive or dead. No one has ever found out why. And, well, that’s the “Mystery of the
Cerberus
”, innit.’ Evadne looked embarrassed.

‘Ah,’ exhaled the Doctor ominously.

A chill rose up Romana’s spine. It wasn’t entirely due to the cold. Listening to Evadne’s story had certainly unsettled her, but it wasn’t that either. It was the corridor they were walking along, there was something familiar about it. Of course all the corridors looked the
same
, but this one had an eerie quality. Like the sensation she had felt on arriving; a temporal detachment, or, as the Doctor would have it, pre-jà
vu
.

Evadne resumed the story. ‘Anyway, later, the traffic jam became a haven for dropouts from galactic society, those seeking a life away from laws and regulations, and people started to move in and live on the abandoned wrecks. The jam attracted a large and galaxy-famous community of hippies, bohemians and political refugees. It gradually transformed into a space station, and became known as the G-Lock. From gridlock, you see, basic.’ Evadne finished. ‘And that’s about it. There’s some other stuff about how it got bought out and Executive Metcalf was put in charge, but that’s too boring for words.’

Together they all turned the corner, to find a corridor unlike any other.

Romana shuddered and backed against the wall. After another thirty metres, the corridor ended in total blackness. A curtain of pure, liquid nothingness. A plaque on the wall read:
Corridor 79
.

The Doctor took one look at Romana. ‘This is the place you saw?’

She nodded.

‘“All that we ever see or seem”,’ said the Doctor. ‘A warning. I wonder. I wonder…’

‘Doctor,’ said Romana. ‘What is going on?’

‘I wish I knew. Mmm.’ The Doctor pulled a face. ‘K-9. This is your chance. Prognosis?’

K-9 trundled forward. ‘The zone ahead is where the hyperspace–real-space interface bisects the craft.’

‘You mean, this is the point at which the
Cerberus
got stuck?’ said the Doctor. ‘That beyond that…’ He waved towards the darkness, ‘… the corridor continues, but in real space instead of hyperspace.’

‘Affirmative.’

‘Ah.’ The Doctor strode up to the interface, licked a finger and reached towards the gloom.

‘Warning, master,’ said K-9. ‘The interface is highly unstable and will disintegrate unprotected matter to its component subatomic particles.’

The Doctor withdrew his hand.

Romana joined the Doctor, followed by Evadne. ‘You can’t pass through.’

The Doctor crouched and collected a lump of rubble. After weighing it, he tossed it into the blackness. The rock disappeared with a gulp and sent ripples skidding across the surface. The blackness had swallowed it up.

‘K-9 was right,’ said the Doctor. ‘This hyperspace tunnel is on the brink of collapse, you can see the geostatic stress points.’ He indicated the flickering blue outline where the hyperspace merged into the corridor.

‘I’m astounded it’s lasted this long,’ Romana commented. ‘It should have lost dimensional viability centuries ago.’

‘Sorry I ever doubted you, K-9,’ said the Doctor.

‘Apology accepted and archived for future reference.’

‘The girl,’ said Romana. ‘She must have been warning us about this place.’

‘Hang on, you’re saying that the G-Lock is going to be crushed?’ said Evadne. ‘That the conduit is going to…’

‘Be reduced to a singularity, yes. Starting here.’ The Doctor pointed at the blackness. ‘Romana, we’ve got to get everybody out of here.’

‘But how? We’ve got guards looking for us, Metcalf’s made them believe we’re saboteurs –’

‘Master, mistress. Danger,’ said K-9. ‘I detect life forms approaching.’

‘What?’ said the Doctor.

‘Life forms approaching,’ repeated K-9. ‘On a bearing of zero degrees.’

The Doctor whirled around. ‘But that’s…’ He faced the darkness. ‘That means they’re coming from in there.’

‘Affirmative master. Beings now at a range of ten metres and closing.’

‘They can’t possibly pass through,’ said Romana, but her voice lacked conviction. ‘It’s impossible.’

‘Five metres and closing.’

The Doctor drew back from the darkness, and joined Evadne and Romana beside K-9. ‘Five metres?’

‘Four metres. Three. One. The life forms are now at a range of zero metres.’

‘Zero metres?’ The Doctor exchanged a worried gape with Romana. ‘But that means…’

The darkness was over five metres away. Whatever K-9 had detected was now right on top of them.

But there was nothing there.

C
HAPTER
F
OUR

‘ZERO METRES? BUT
that means –’

‘Hang on,’ protested Evadne. ‘I’m probably being a bit stupid, but what life forms?’

‘Yes.’ The Doctor frowned. ‘Er, K-9, are you sure your readings are correct?’

K-9’s ears wiggled. ‘Affirmative.’

The Doctor stroked his chin. ‘Is there one here, K-9?’ He waved his hands through the air.

‘Affirmative, master. Doctor master’s arms and life form currently occupying identical spatial coordinates.’

‘Sorry.’ The Doctor snatched his hand back sheepishly. ‘I wouldn’t want to upset anybody.’

‘As if you could,’ commented Romana. ‘Did you feel anything?’

‘No.’ The Doctor peered into the darkness. ‘This is intensely fascinating. Well, about as fascinating as nothing gets, anyway.’

‘Three life forms on a bearing of zero degrees,’ announced K-9. ‘Range two metres. Five metres. Ten metres.’

‘They’re going,’ said Romana. ‘Back into hyperspace.’

‘Oh, and we were getting on so well,’ said the Doctor.

‘Warning additional,’ piped K-9. ‘Two life forms approaching on a bearing of 180 degrees. Sensors indicate they are Earth humans Dunkal and Rige.’

‘Quick. In here.’ The Doctor swiped his sonic screwdriver across the nearest cabin door. The door hummed open and he bustled Romana, Evadne and K-9 into the unlit room.

There was the scuffling of boots. The Doctor flattened his back against the door. As it slid shut the two Investigators appeared. Rige
led
the way with the tracking device; both men had rifles raised.

‘Ah, Dunkal. Rige. I assume you’ve come to capture me again?’

‘Not quite, Doctor,’ growled Dunkal. ‘How does “killed resisting arrest” sound to you, Rige?’

‘Very tidy,’ sneered Rige. ‘No inconvenient questions.’

The Doctor surreptitiously checked the door was secure, and moved directly between it and Rige’s tracker. Hopefully his signal would swamp any trace of the others. ‘But it’s important to ask inconvenient questions. For instance, have you ever wondered what it’s like to be reduced to a singularity?’

‘No.’

‘I only say that because in about two hours’ time that’s what this whole place will be.’ The Doctor grinned.

‘Is that the best you can do?’ Dunkal said. ‘You’re about to be executed and you’re doing the same scare story again.’

‘It’s not a story’, said the Doctor. ‘But you’re right, you should be scared.’ He indicated the fuzzy outline of the darkness. ‘You see the build-up of geostatic pressure there? That’s the hyperspace interface about to collapse.’

‘He’s lying,’ said Rige, but he didn’t sound convinced.

‘I never lie. Besides, what would I hope to gain? You’re going to kill me anyway. My card is marked, my number’s up, my goose is cooked. I’ve cashed in my chips and have ceased to be. I am an ex-Doctor.’ The Doctor leaned forward conspiratorially. ‘I won’t be here in two hours. But you will,’ he whispered, letting his last three words percolate into Dunkal and Rige’s brains.

‘He does have a point.’ Dunkal took Rige aside. ‘What’s in it for him?’

Rige’s eyes narrowed. ‘Is he playing for time?’

‘Time, gentlemen, is the one thing we don’t have,’ the Doctor said. He raised his voice to a boom. ‘Why not just take me to see Executive Metcalf? If I can prove that I’m telling the truth, he can order an evacuation and you can go home. If I can’t, well, then I’ll confess to everything, and you’ll have your conviction regardless.’

Dunkal regarded him curiously. ‘Why are you shouting?’

‘No reason,’ breezed the Doctor. Hopefully Romana would have heard. ‘Well?’

‘A confession would cut down on paperwork. All right. We’ll pay our friend Metcalf another visit.’

‘You don’t mean you actually believe him –’ started Rige.

‘A good Investigator never believes anyone,’ said Dunkal.

‘I don’t believe you.’

‘Don’t be clever, Rige.’ Dunkal jabbed the Doctor in the back with his gun. ‘Now move.’

Romana waited until the footsteps had disappeared, then eased the door open. Followed by Evadne and K-9, she emerged into the corridor. Evadne had been terrified at being locked in with K-9, and Romana had been forced to clamp her hands over her mouth to keep her quiet.

‘They’ve got the Doctor.’ Romana dusted herself down. ‘I don’t know what he’s playing at, but we’ve got to find some way of proving that he didn’t sabotage the G-Lock. It’s the only way they’ll believe us.’

A smile crossed Evadne’s face. ‘Oh, I think I know a bloke who can help.’

Metcalf helped himself to a digestive biscuit. With the Doctor and his cohorts out of the way, a line could be drawn under this ghastly business and he could begin restructuring his career. He imagined the grand reopening of the G-Lock. If marketed appropriately, the recent disaster could even work in their favour; never mind ‘The Mystery of the
Cerberus
’, people would flock to see where the tourists had been transformed into zombies. Obviously the victims’ relatives would need to be compensated. Complimentary tickets, perhaps, during the slack season.

It would be a most agreeable outcome to events, he decided.

The two idiot Investigators entered, pushing the Doctor before them, the beatnik tripping comically over his own scarf.

‘The Doctor for you,’ announced Dunkal.

‘Hello there,’ said the Doctor cheerily.

Metcalf blustered. ‘Well, what are you waiting for? I am the Executive here, and I say execute him.’

‘First things first,’ said Dunkal. ‘We decide who we execute, and when. Not you. You have no authority over us.’

Rige noticed the biscuits, and popped one in his mouth. ‘No authority.’

‘I agree, if anyone’s interested,’ the Doctor added.

‘What?’ said Metcalf. ‘You have my testimony. I say the man is guilty, and if you do not kill him immediately I shall be not inconsiderably displeased. And you wouldn’t like me when I’m not inconsiderably displeased, Investigator. I order you –’

‘Shut it, Metcalf. I’ve already had more than enough of you,’ said Dunkal, slamming a fist on the desk. ‘I just want you to hear what the Doctor has to say. And then I’ll decide whether we kill him or not.’

The Doctor strode forward and loomed over Metcalf’s desk. ‘Thank you, Investigators. Metcalf, I haven’t got time for your flummery, so listen. This whole place is going to implode in under two hours’ time and if you don’t order an evacuation immediately, you will be responsible for the death of every person here.’

‘I cannot believe I am hearing this,’ said Metcalf. ‘You may have duped these two Investigators with your irresponsible scaremongering, Doctor, but you don’t frighten me. This hyperspatial conduit has remained stable for two centuries, and will continue –’

The office began to shake. Paintings toppled from the walls. Dunkal and Rige were knocked to the floor, and in the confusion the Doctor grabbed one of the artworks.

The shaking stopped. The Doctor weighed up the sculpture – a recumbent nude in imitation porcelain. ‘That was just the beginning. Now, order an evacuation or I shall be forced to drop this.’

Metcalf gulped. His most treasured artwork. ‘Put the statue down, Doctor. That is a Potts original.’

Dunkal got to his feet and levelled his rifle at the Doctor. Rige followed suit. ‘Do as he says.’