4. The Working Environment.
At last, they are to be shown where the Tardises are made, in small groups. They will be allowed to ask questions and Chloe has many, but most of these can wait until she is working there.
Chloe has planned to stay until she knows enough to make her Wristwatch Tardis (ref. 29) more capable without being detectable.
The Doctor has requested that she makes her Wristwatch Tardis detectable so that he can tell where she's gone to and help pick up any pieces if it goes wrong. She hasn't been able to find out how to make such changes yet but isn't keen to do so either.
As they enter the working environment, Chloe is impressed. Although there are no more ornate ceilings as she had noticed on some of the early videos of Gallifreyan development (ref. 29), the area is clean, neat and possibly usually sterile, although this group hasn't been asked to go through a clean dressing area. The working environment is also called the manufacturing floor by those who work there.
Other new starters ask their questions while Chloe reserves her questions - maybe she will just ask one today.
Unfortunately, the person answering the questions has a rather irritating shrill voice and little sense of humour.
"How long can a Tardis last?"
"It can easily last for aeons."
A gasp is heard from some of the new starters.
"How many teams work on a Tardis?"
"As many as are needed at a time. This varies throughout the duration of the production. Teams are formed and re-formed according to the needs at the time. Each of you will work on many different teams with widely differing tasks during the time you will work here."
"How long does it take to make a Tardis?"
"How many Tardises are in production at any one time?"
"Sorry, those answers are classified."
"How long is it since you last had a new model of Tardis?"
"Several centuries ago, we think. Not many records survived the destruction of Gallifrey"
"How often do they complete a Tardis?"
"Over a decade each since the re-building of Gallifrey."
Chloe decides she will ask one of her questions. "What is a Tardis made out of?"
"Knowledge is given out on a need-to-know basis. You will be told only what you need to know to do your immediate task as a member of the team you are in. But I can tell you this answer. Its visible external surface is an energy field. It doesn't glow, it just is. You know that it is configurable, and the Tardis can appear to be almost anything externally. This also applies internally. It can change or redesign itself totally. When you are inside a Tardis, you are inside its energy field. What you see and touch is what it supplies as its topography. You will find topographical or chamelion circuit boards below deck. All aspects of how the Tardis works are governed by circuit boards and can be tweaked on the circuit board or reprogrammed from the main console which is itself a part of the Tardis' topography."
Others ask further questions.
"What happens if you drop a circuit board?"
A giggle is heard as some of the new starters already know the answer to this question.
"One of your early experiences here will include dropping a dud circuit board. Never drop a good circuit board as it will shatter to dust. This is a safety feature after earlier models shattered to shards and were more dangerous to the crew. Always sweep up after a shatter as the dust is valuably recycled. Are there any other questions?"
She looks around the group kindly enough and concludes the session.
"You will each be assigned a mentor who can field any other questions. These are more experienced professionals who can informally help you."
The End of the First Day.
Chloe steps out of the entrance door into the afternoon sunlight.
It feels like it has been a long day, today, yet she is looking forwards to the next day.
She walks the short distance to the village she is staying in. Her accommodation door opens to her touch and a welcoming cup of something like tea is standing there ready for her to sit and drink it.
The flat for young professionals has so many gadgets that she likes. Other flats she had viewed remotely had many more gadgets, yet she had preferred the relative simplicity of this one.
After a quick simple meal from her reconstitutor, she falls asleep on her voice-adjustable bed with a voice pre-activated alarm ready to awaken her in time for breakfast before walking to work the next day.
A long but rich day of experiences for Chloe.
Tomorrow is always another day, bringing fresh experiences with it.
Meeting her mentor for the first time may bring challenges. Let's hope that Chloe gets on alright with her mentor.