"IT'S BIGGER ON THE..."
by P. Ingerson
----------------
"Doctor!" It was Romana's voice.
He looked up from repairing K9 to see her entering the console
room, followed by a strange group people.
"Romana, who are your new friends?" He didn't wait for an answer
but turned to the pale-skinned man beside her. "You must be
Romana's new friends? How d'you do? I'm the Doctor. Have a
jelly baby."
When the Doctor finally paused for breath, Romana said, "I found
them in the maze of twisty little passages behind the TARDIS's
boiler room. They must have been there for years."
"Really?" The Doctor turned back to the pale man, who had
started eating an orange jelly baby. "This isn't Langham's
Hotel, you know? At least I don't think it is... Not yet,
anyway... So, who are you and what have you been doing in my
TARDIS all this time?"
The man hesitated, unsure of how to answer that question. "My
name is Redton, and we are the Nosregni."
"Yes, but what are you doing in my... Wait a minute, did you say
'Nosreni'?" A gleam began to twinkle in the Doctor's eye. He
ran to the console and began searching the TARDIS index file.
"Yes, that's the name our tribe," said a woman in the crowd.
"Do you know something about them?" asked Romana. The Doctor
could feel her, peering over his shoulder.
"Yes. In 2743 the space station Nos Regnum was destroyed by a
supernova. The details are all in there." He waved his hand
towards the computer screen. "Well, most of the details anyway.
It doesn't mention how I evacuated the station crew and their
families in the TARDIS."
He smiled, remembering how he had persuaded the captain to allow
it, by tootling his recorder over the station's Tannoy system
until the noise had everyone had driven mad.
"Very impressive, Doctor."
"Oh, it was. Jamie and Victoria helped organise the whole thing,
very efficiently done. Women and children first; Victoria
insisted. You should have seen it."
"But why are they still here?"
"Well..." He found a very interesting speck of invisible dust on
his scarf and decided to inspect it.
"Yes, Doctor?"
"You know how chaotic these things are. No time to count
everyone. A few of them must have got lost in the TARDIS
corridors."
"And they've been wandering around ever since?" Once again the
Doctor noticed how she had a knack of asking exactly the right
question to make him uncomfortable.
"Well, yes. Or their descendants anyway. That _was_ over two
hundred years ago in my timeline. Isn't that right, Redton?"
"Our history does say that our ancestors came to this place many
generations ago, yes. We have lived in the corridors ever
since."
"No wonder you're all so pale-looking. Living your entire lives
under artificial light, only eating those bars from the food
machine. Here, have another jelly baby. In fact take the whole
bag, share them among yourselves, while I find a planet for you."
* * *
The silence of the downs slowly gave way to a creaking, whooshing
noise, as the TARDIS materialised. The Doctor and Romana emerged
into the twilight air, followed by the nervous tribe members.
The two Time Lords watched as the Nosregni stared around in wide-
eyed wonder. A lifetime spent with a ceiling over their heads
and roundelled walls on either side had left them unprepared for
the sight of the night's first stars in the sky or the view
across the valley to the far side.
Hesitantly at first, then with growing speed and curiosity, they
stepped forward, spreading out to explore the wide, dizzying,
open space of this new world. Then one of them approached the
Doctor. It was Redton, his face showing the same look of wonder
and joy as the rest of his people.
"I don't believe it," he said. "It's bigger on the outside than
the inside..."
----------------
Disclaimer: Doctor Who and associated characters and trademarks
are the property of the BBC. Any original material is copyright
(c) 2001 P. Ingerson.
by P. Ingerson
----------------
"Doctor!" It was Romana's voice.
He looked up from repairing K9 to see her entering the console
room, followed by a strange group people.
"Romana, who are your new friends?" He didn't wait for an answer
but turned to the pale-skinned man beside her. "You must be
Romana's new friends? How d'you do? I'm the Doctor. Have a
jelly baby."
When the Doctor finally paused for breath, Romana said, "I found
them in the maze of twisty little passages behind the TARDIS's
boiler room. They must have been there for years."
"Really?" The Doctor turned back to the pale man, who had
started eating an orange jelly baby. "This isn't Langham's
Hotel, you know? At least I don't think it is... Not yet,
anyway... So, who are you and what have you been doing in my
TARDIS all this time?"
The man hesitated, unsure of how to answer that question. "My
name is Redton, and we are the Nosregni."
"Yes, but what are you doing in my... Wait a minute, did you say
'Nosreni'?" A gleam began to twinkle in the Doctor's eye. He
ran to the console and began searching the TARDIS index file.
"Yes, that's the name our tribe," said a woman in the crowd.
"Do you know something about them?" asked Romana. The Doctor
could feel her, peering over his shoulder.
"Yes. In 2743 the space station Nos Regnum was destroyed by a
supernova. The details are all in there." He waved his hand
towards the computer screen. "Well, most of the details anyway.
It doesn't mention how I evacuated the station crew and their
families in the TARDIS."
He smiled, remembering how he had persuaded the captain to allow
it, by tootling his recorder over the station's Tannoy system
until the noise had everyone had driven mad.
"Very impressive, Doctor."
"Oh, it was. Jamie and Victoria helped organise the whole thing,
very efficiently done. Women and children first; Victoria
insisted. You should have seen it."
"But why are they still here?"
"Well..." He found a very interesting speck of invisible dust on
his scarf and decided to inspect it.
"Yes, Doctor?"
"You know how chaotic these things are. No time to count
everyone. A few of them must have got lost in the TARDIS
corridors."
"And they've been wandering around ever since?" Once again the
Doctor noticed how she had a knack of asking exactly the right
question to make him uncomfortable.
"Well, yes. Or their descendants anyway. That _was_ over two
hundred years ago in my timeline. Isn't that right, Redton?"
"Our history does say that our ancestors came to this place many
generations ago, yes. We have lived in the corridors ever
since."
"No wonder you're all so pale-looking. Living your entire lives
under artificial light, only eating those bars from the food
machine. Here, have another jelly baby. In fact take the whole
bag, share them among yourselves, while I find a planet for you."
* * *
The silence of the downs slowly gave way to a creaking, whooshing
noise, as the TARDIS materialised. The Doctor and Romana emerged
into the twilight air, followed by the nervous tribe members.
The two Time Lords watched as the Nosregni stared around in wide-
eyed wonder. A lifetime spent with a ceiling over their heads
and roundelled walls on either side had left them unprepared for
the sight of the night's first stars in the sky or the view
across the valley to the far side.
Hesitantly at first, then with growing speed and curiosity, they
stepped forward, spreading out to explore the wide, dizzying,
open space of this new world. Then one of them approached the
Doctor. It was Redton, his face showing the same look of wonder
and joy as the rest of his people.
"I don't believe it," he said. "It's bigger on the outside than
the inside..."
----------------
Disclaimer: Doctor Who and associated characters and trademarks
are the property of the BBC. Any original material is copyright
(c) 2001 P. Ingerson.