2. The Interview.
The Tardis materialises in a bathroom. Chloe has no idea where they are. When on adventures, Chloe is used to arriving in tiny rooms. Sometimes she can see the pattern of the tiles through the Tardis floor! .
"Oh, look," Chloe exclaims, pointing at the Tardis Control room floor. "That's an elaborate design!" .
"We should be stealthy once we leave the bathroom," the Doctor says, hurriedly trying to head out before Chloe recognises the tiling pattern. .
They emerge into an empty corridor and tiptoe to a nearby door. The Doctor beckons Chloe to stand right by him as he prepares to open the door suddenly. .
The Doctor ushers a surprised Chloe into the room...
Wilbrahim is sitting at his desk when the Doctor and Chloe arrive. "Great to see you," he says, standing as protocol requires as his expected guests enter.
Chloe recognises with horror that they're on Gallifrey, a place where she is wanted for evading some security men some time previously (ref. 32). She feels herself go weak at the knees but pulls herself together quickly. If today's the day she faces questions, then so be it, but she would have preferred to be at her best and most prepared.
Wilbrahim's aware that he's on show today just as much as Chloe - the entire Gallifreyan Authorities are all likely to be watching intently for more than one reason. His guests are on time, so he's pleased.
For Wilbrahim, this interview will either fulfil prophecies from of old, confirming that Chloe is the Girl in the Time Continuum, or it will disprove it. There is far more riding on this interview than Chloe is aware of. She is only thinking to clear her name.
"Do find a seat," he says, smiling. There are many seats to choose from and Wilbrahim is pleased that Chloe chooses one of two seats he had placed together near his desk. The seats near the door might indicate some desire to leave quickly if things get tough! .
As they sit down Chloe hears a whirring sound but it's of short duration and she chooses to ignore it. She has far more to think about just now. The Doctor knows it's just cameras adjusting to gain the best view of them both. He's used to it.
Wilbrahim feels he must start off with offering some sustenance to his guests, but as they've only walked a short distance from where the Doctor parked his Tardis, his offer is politely declined.
"Chloe, you first came to Gallifrey to work in GTM, the Gallifrey Tardis Manufacturing facility, yet you aren't Gallifreyan by birth. Why did you do that?"
It feels like a bullet. It's a straight-forward question, but one that Chloe had been dreading. How can she tell them her real intention - to discover how to register her "Wristwatch Tardis"? She had built it from instructions in a copy of the Gallifreyan Library that her mother probably ought not to have had! .
The Doctor grabs the bull by the horns and immediately starts to answer a parallel question, avoiding the Why.
"She's as Gallifreyan as they come. She even passed the Gallifreyan medical."
"She did," Wilbrahim replies, permitting the parallel question to be answered, almost in a conspiracy with the Doctor. "How did she do that?"
"She did, though!" the Doctor insists, now trying to avoid revealing the non-Gallifreyan regeneration at the root of it. .
Chloe decides she must assert her best intentions. "I love Gallifrey and everyone who lives here. I love what Gallifrey stands for. I especially love that you developed time travel and use it wisely."
Chloe tries to avoid praising them for things she ought not to know about - their interest in recording everything they did in minute detail - how might she possibly have known about that if she hadn't read so much of their Library contents (ref. 29)?
"Yes, and that's admirable," Wilbrahim says, "and that actually goes a very long way in enabling the authorities here to forgive you for other minor indiscretions." He refers to her escaping Gallifreyan custody on one occasion (ref. 32).
"Why did you escape custody?" he asks.
Chloe is keen to answer in the heat of the moment. "It all became too much for me. I'm sorry, I was only young. I couldn't take it any more."
"Come, now, you were in your early twenties," Wilbrahim parries. "You've travelled with the Doctor. You've a wealth of experience. You've even faced up an angry Bicx captain, so I hear. Why go all scared with two Gallifreyan security officers?" (Ref. 33.)
Chloe finds herself struggling a bit. "I suppose they crowded me. It felt close. I felt I was losing my freedom, and I value that." The fact that the security officers had some power over her in that situation certainly had a large part to play, but she's so used to hiding massive secrets that occasionally become too much.
"Yes, I understand that," Wilbrahim says, "but you mustn't run off. Doing so damaged your reputation."
"I feared the questions they might have asked would be unfair," Chloe says. "Besides which, I didn't have a friend by my side."
Chloe glances at the Doctor who appears to be almost asleep. .
"Doctor!" she rebukes him gently.
He wakes up slightly. "Oh, erm, sorry. You seemed to be handling all the questions so well."
There are still many questions Chloe desperately wants to avoid having to face, but Wilbrahim changes the subject area, almost brushing aside her minor misdemeanour.
"What did you and your group do at Verger Nine?" he asks. "The very fabric of time was under threat."
Chloe dives in somewhere near the middle of the event (ref. 38). Before that point she had purely been an observer, but it all comes out in a jumble.
"We discovered we could no longer return," she says. "We would all die. The Doctor made a space vehicle to overcome the Time Distortion problem."
Wilbrahim has fully changed the subject. He's seen something that Chloe hadn't noticed; the Doctor hadn't either.
"You were there, and you contributed. So, you chose to save Tardis time travel?"
This was only one of the many things that might have been saved. The Universe had been saved, too, but why is Wilbrahim focussing on this much lesser achievement, Chloe wonders?
"I was present. I helped."
Wilbrahim is ecstatic. "Tardis time travel could have been capped there and then. So, it's true what the Gallifreyan Annals say - you have had the power to cap or limit Tardis time travel."
Chloe recalls this was written in prophecy about the Girl in the Time Continuum in the Gallifreyan Library records, but she hadn't connected it to this event. She chooses to instead draw attention to a truly heroic action by another team member.
"Crystelle One gave her life to complete the mission."
"So humble!" Wilbrahim says, "she draws attention to the deeds of others before her own. By all accounts you then rescued all those present. This is terrific! This is superlative! You've fulfilled every prophecy about you."
Chloe pauses. She knows that what was written in prophecy about the Girl in the Time Continuum is only exactly what has happened to her, possibly translated into the past by others and written down. Being able to transmit information back in time has some advantages.
But anything further that she does from now-on will surely also be transmitted to the past and will become just another part of the prophecy.
Normally, prophecy doesn't have this aspect and risks not being fulfilled. When prophecy occurs on Earth normally, and it is fulfilled, then that really is miraculous!
It was only while writing this I realised that the prophecy I'd referred to previously (ref. 29) had been fulfilled accidentally (ref. 38)! A spine-chilling moment! .
Wilbrahim sees her pause. "Do you know, I've been so looking forward to this interview and to being able to pronounce full forgiveness to you. The Doctor, here, has insisted we forgive you fully and completely for every minor misdemeanour you've done, whether known about or not." he glances at his communication device. "My managers have received word from the Gallifreyan Authorities, who have been actively watching this interview, that I have full permission not only to forgive you, but to endorse your title as The Girl in the Time Continuum. I can't tell you how much of a pleasure it is for me to declare you fully free."
The Doctor is amazed at Wilbrahim's enthusiasm for the moment. He turns to Chloe and says, "I can't wait to see what you'll do next!" .
Wilbrahim's expression drops somewhat. "Here's where the problem starts," he says more seriously. "Chloe, you have a brilliant past, and we're still unsure how you achieved it, but we've read the timelines," he pauses. "It seems you bring an additional enemy to the mix. We still don't know who it is, but there's definitely an additional enemy, or someone who stirs up old enemies. I'm very glad to say that it's not you!"
The Doctor looks at Chloe in surprise. "That's news! I hadn't spotted that in the timelines," he says uncertainly. "Who might be an additional enemy that only you bring? I'm puzzled."
"I'm totally surprised and I've no idea either," Chloe says. Then she turns to Wilbrahim. "This is very odd. But be assured, I'll keep you posted with any and all information on the subject."
"I've been thinking about this," Wilbrahim says. "I've consulted many people about it and so have the Gallifreyan Authorities. The current advice, or maybe prophecy, is... Beware the Enemy from Within. But interestingly not within you, yourself, it seems."
The Doctor suddenly receives a message on his device. "Oh, I have an RFH; must go!"
Chloe rises with him. A Request For Help sounds like the perfect excuse to leave before any further questions are asked. "I'm coming, too, if that's alright."
"Of course it's alright!" The Doctor is very pleased to have her with him.
Chloe turns to Wilbrahim. "Thank you for all of your understanding, without which I would still hesitate to visit. And thank you for your relayed pardon for everything I've done wrong."
We all do a lot of wrong things every day and we need the forgiveness of others just to continue.
We also need the support of others to do almost anything that's worth doing.
Let's aim to do better at everything and others will support us as and when they can, just as we support them.
As they walk along the corridor towards where the Doctor's Tardis is parked the Doctor can't help asking Chloe about the final revelation in the meeting.
"We must tie down just who that might be," he says. "Are you alright with that?"
"It sounds like a must!" Chloe says. "I'm as puzzled as anyone as to who it is."
"Thank you, Chloe," the Doctor says. "You're a rock for me!"
"You're my rock, too, Doctor!" Chloe says.
A heartfelt exchange.
Who might it be?
"Doctor, did you set that meeting up? I thought we were going on another adventure!"
"And so we are," the Doctor reassures her as they enter the Tardis, "just a little later than we would have. You should sleep easier now, I hope!"