CHAPTER 5

DIFFERING OPINIONS

"That was too close," the Doctor sighed, almost dropping into his chair in relief.

Jason gave him a long searching look, wondering if he were in any actual trouble. "I didn't go out of my way for that," he said firmly, shaking his now tingling hand.

"No. But you might've warned me that your mother accompanied Aaron on his tours," came the disapproving reply.

"I didn't know that she did," his companion protested. "Doctor, I didn't even know she'd had five miscarriages until just now."

The Doctor nodded. "How's the hand?"

"It feels like pins and needles. What happened? That was no stray discharge of energy. I'd've felt that."

"The Blinovich Limitation Effect," came the succinct reply.

"Oh yes, of course. I should've known it in one," the young man said sarcastically.

"You've gone back in your own timeline," the Time Lord said patiently, "and in essence have met yourself. Fortunately for you you didn't actually touch. Otherwise you'd've shorted out the time differential, and that's a great deal more powerful than a static shock."

"It feels like I shorted out something."

"You're lucky the energy discharge was minimal. It could've done you both considerable—" The Doctor broke off as an extraordinary idea popped into his head.

"Considerable what?" the Alterran wanted to know.

"I was about to say damage, but it's entirely possible this is the reason you have such unusual abilities."

Jason blinked, and then shook his head. "I don't even want to think about that one, Doctor."

The Doctor nodded sagely. "Then perhaps you might like to think about something else."

"Like what?"

The Time Lord flashed a broad smile and then told him about his discovery in the area under construction. Just as he was finishing his story, a staff member appeared and cleared away the empty plates. The Doctor watched him very closely, remarking to his companion about his mechanical movements the moment he was gone.

"Yes, I noticed that, too," the Alterran said softly. "Very odd, isn't it?"

"Yes. You'd think someone going to all the trouble to create something that lifelike would want to put a little more life into it," the Doctor said thoughtfully.

His companion gave him a quizzical look. "What're you talking about?"

"The staff. Surely you've guessed that they're androids."

Jason frowned. "No, they're not. They're as real as you or I. Flesh and blood, not metal and plastic," he said mildly.

"What? Are you sure?"

The Alterran gave him a dark look that clearly stated, "You must be joking?"

"Yes, of course. Stupid question," the Doctor said quickly. "Human?"

Jason shook his head. "No. That much I can tell you. I've never encountered the race be fore. That blue pigmentation is the real thing, too, but that's about all I know."

"Very odd, indeed. I wonder what the reason is behind the behavior. I suppose it could be normal for them. I have seen it before, but that was in robot dependent societies."

"Who knows why one race chooses to act one way or another? Evolution? Natural Selection? War? Fad?"

"Technological intervention," the Doctor added firmly.

His companion closed his eyes and moaned. "Oh no, I knew this was going to happen." He leaned back in his chair, his fork dropping noisily to his plate.

The Doctor picked up the edge to Jason's voice and found himself irritated by it. "You knew what was going to happen?" he asked icily.

"I go to one lecture and you uncovered a plot to subjugate an entire race. I can't even take a day off! Just once I'd like to go somewhere and not have it turn into an all out crusade just to satisfy your curiosity. Why can't you just leave well enough alone?" As soon as he had said it, Jason regretted his condescending tone, but the damage was already done.

Not in the mood for a public scene, the Doctor gave him an angry scowl, rising to his feet. "Enjoy your lectures," he said tersely. "And stay clear of Aaron and LiaDonna." So saying, he strode from the room, his repentant companion watching him go.


After several minutes of soul searching, Jason realized he had no other recourse but to find the Doctor and apologize. He would be miserable until he did so. Consulting a map to find the areas under construction, he headed in that direction, believing this to be where his friend had gone.

"You had to open your mouth, didn't you," Jason grumbled to himself. "Talk about not leaving well enough alone. Now the Doctor's probably going to try and solve this by himself and you won't be there to get shot along side him."

Jason came to an abrupt halt when he came to the end of the section he was in. The corridor beyond was cordoned off with UNDER CONSTRUCTION signs hanging everywhere. Ducking under the cord, he continued on, still muttering to himself. "You know he found something. He always does. And then he came to you for help—"

"Help, help, help…"

The voice was so faint that Jason was sure it was an echo. He stopped dead in his tracks and listened. "Hello?" he called, listening closely.

The hall was silent.

In a normal voice, he repeated, "He came to you for help."

"Help, help, help…" the ghost voice drifted up again.

Jason headed in the direction he thought the sound had come from. From time to time he would stop and listen, calling out to the disembodied voice, hoping for a reply. "Hello? Is some one there? Do you need help?"

"Help, help, help…"

"A one track mind," he grunted. By this time he was moving very quickly, eventually coming to be a dead end. He stopped in front of a door that, according to the map, was an airlock leading to the depths of the ocean. Placing a hand on the door Jason scanned it. "You're no air lock," he said to the door, looking it up and down. An airlock would have been pressure sealed; yet this door was not. No doubt it was simply a barrier to prevent unauthorized entry to the other part of the building.

Calling out again he received no reply and started to wonder if he had imagined it. No matter. The door itself cried out for further investigation. But since the only way he could open it would be to tear it off its hinges (and that wouldn't do at all,) Jason decided to continue in his search for the Doctor.


Contrary to his companion's beliefs, the Doctor had returned to the TARDIS to get a reading on the planet and find out exactly where they were. The computer yielded a wealth of information, most of which was absolutely useless.

"Looks like it's back to basic investigation," the Time Lord muttered as he strode from the console room.