Earth, United States, 1939...
Out of Order
Professor Pinero relaxed in his overstuffed chair and sipped on his drink. Whatever trouble he had with his controversial instrument that looked much like a normal x-ray machine seemed to have been fixed now, although in truth all he had done was check to make sure all the wires were connected solidly.
"I have no idea what happened yesterday with that Woody Smith fellow; I've never seen a reading before that looked like his" he said to himself. "But everything seems to be working fine again. I've tested it on four different volunteers and I get perfectly normal results. Good news for me; bad news for those life insurance leeches."
His mind drifted off, drinking his drink and thinking about the commotion he was causing in the insurance industry when his thoughts were disturbed by some sort of whoshing and grinding sounds coming from outside, that cycled loud and soft several times before stopping. He was about to get up out of his chair when he heard voices of a man and woman grow near his front door, followed by a knock. He set down his glass, got up and crossed the room before opening the door.
On his front step stood a slender man dressed rather conservatively in buttoned shirt, brown coat and a bow tie. Beside him stood a young lady dressed in the manner of a trollop with red hair, fair skin and a skirt that would be scandalous in any type of wind.
"Professor Hugo Pinero?" the man asked.
"I am" Pinero answered. "Won't you please come in?"
They both entered and he shut the door before offering them seats. He returned to his chair and found that he had to avoid looking at the lady; her legs were entirely too exposed for his comfort. "What can I help you with?" he asked, turning his attention to the man.
"Ah, yes. I was wondering if I could speak with you at length about your invention if you have the time. I'm the Doctor, by the way."
"Doctor? A doctor who no doubt wants to ridicule my research and have a good laugh in the process. Get in line sir, you have enough company in the so-called Academy of Science." Pinero wondered how many of that body of scholars had a British accent.
"No, I'm not the sort at all; I have no connection with that body. I've heard about your studies and would like to ask some questions if you don't mind. A lot of questions. We don't have anything like this back home" the Doctor said, indicating Pinero's machine.
"I'm sure you don't" Pinero bragged. "Brand new theory, and the prototype for what should be a very interesting line of study; even the insurance industry's attempt to shut it down with a court injunction failed. I call it a chronovitameter, but I'm afraid I don't have the time to adequately describe what it is and how it works, even with the information I'm willing to share with others. I have some clients with appointments for the remainder of the day and tomorrow. Could you come back in, say, two days?"
"That won't work out for you" said the woman in a Scottish accent that was tinged with sadness.
"Pardon me?" Pinero asked.
"What my associate Ms. Pond means" the Doctor said as he motioned her to be quiet "is that we'll be leaving the city before then. Pity, I would have liked to discuss some related theories I have. I have an intense interest in time, you might say."
"You have some familiarity with my theories? That's more than most of these thick-skulled morons have. Indeed; perhaps another time then, no pun intended. However, I could do a quick reading for you both before you leave today as a gesture of good will."
"No, thank you, I don't think that's…"
"…yes please!" said Amy. "Oh, come on Doctor. I think it would be fun" as she jumped up.
"That's the spirit!" said Pinero. "No harm in it, and it'll only take about 5 minutes. Just sit in that chair over there while I operate the controls." Amy did as he requested and he worked some dials. He let out a sigh and a few exasperated sounds before rising. "I'm sorry Ms. Pond, but I can't seem to get a good reading on you. How about you, doctor?"
"I don't need…"
"…he'd love to" said Amy as she grabbed the Doctor's arm and pulled him up and over to the chair. Pinero resumed his place behind his controls and fiddled. He groaned and stood up again.
"I'm frightfully sorry, but my apparatus seems to be out of calibration. Perhaps next time we can get a proper reading, but today is out of the question. I wish you a good day." He saw them to the door and hurried them out before closing it again.
He slumped back into his comfortable chair, sitting with an entire lack of comfort. What extraordinary readings! A normal person's was like a single pink line and was straight from birth to death, varied only by having a small cross-section at birth and being its thickest in late middle age. He'd done hundreds of readings with only one error ever. But the young woman's life-line was in two different segments, with her birth occurring after her death and a gap in between the two. The segments were out of order.
As odd as that reading was, the results of the man's test was truly astonishing. His line started out pink, but changed colors so often Pinero couldn't keep track how many times it changed hue. And the loops! It resembled a plate of spaghetti more than a reading, the way all the lines crossed and jumbled. Even the thickness of the line seemed to change somewhat when the color did. He was going to have to tear down the machine and start over if it gave even one more reading like that.
Deep in his thoughts he didn't even hear the argument outside as the Doctor tried to explain to Ms. Pond why she shouldn't see her life reading, or the whoshing noise after the voices ceased. In fact, he wasn't even aware of much else until a knock on the door brought his attention to the real world again. He glanced at the clock and saw it was time for his next appointment, and rose to greet them fully prepared to tell them the instrument was out of order if it acted up again.
The End
A/N: This is a crossover between Doctor Who and the first story Robert Heinlein ever published, "Life-Line". Those who have read the story can guess why the Doctor couldn't come back in two days. I've read most of his stories and books, and wouldn't be surprised if I work another story somehow into his Future History universe.