Chapter 4
The Doctor shrugged off the Master's attempt to put his arm around his shoulders. "Monitor? He's gone." He turned to him and found the Black Guardian standing there instead.
"You do realise he's no chance of survival without our help?"
The Doctor jerked away in shock. The Black Guardian smiled. "A little jumpy, are we?"
"The Monitor wouldn't abandon us."
"He's trying to salvage the research team's work. He must have gone to the Central Register, yes?"
"Yes, maybe. It was the last addition to Logopolis. It might be the last one to survive. We need his knowledge. Come on."
"So what happens next?"
The Doctor thought for a moment. "I don't know. But I do know that things will be different."
The Black Guardian looked at him for a moment. "I'm sure." He vanished.
The Doctor entered the Central Register and looked around for a moment before seeing the Monitor working at the main computer console with his back toward him. The Doctor moved to him.
"Monitor?"
The Master stepped into the room. "Logopolitan maths on a computer?"
"Monitor, the stability of…"
"This is the programme we were developing to take the burden from our own shoulders. A series of data statements to keep the Charged Vacuum Emboitments open of their own accord."
"What, do you mean the advanced research project?"
"The computer holds a complete log of the research."
The Master went to the printer. "Then the answer's here." He switched it on.
"Take care. The research is far from complete."
"Monitor, were you on the right track? You must tell us about the project in every detail."
"There is nothing to tell. It's all there for you to read. Now, I must get on with my work. I've done what I can, with the Registry in ruins. We must now realign the aerial, beam the programme out to space. There's a CVE close by we might still be able to re-open."
The Black Guardian was standing near the Doctor. "Let's see… in the past twenty-four hours, you've managed to get one woman's aunt killed, reveal to another that her father is dead, and alienate your companion. I'd say you're doing quite nicely so far."
The Doctor didn't respond, his thoughts were still on the scene with the Monitor.
"Just one more thing to do… avoid falling off that gantry today."
The Doctor nodded to himself, he was ready for this to end.
In the radio telescope's control room, in the real Pharos Project on Earth, the duty scientist was conducting music he was listening to on his headphones. He left the room just before the Master's TARDIS materialized and the Doctor stepped out, followed by the Master.
"The Pharos computer room."
"Yes. I envy you your TARDIS, Master."
"Excellent, Doctor. Envy is the beginning of all true greatness."
"Shush." He looked through the door to see the technician getting himself a drink from a vending machine. They hid behind the TARDIS as he came back. Once the man had settled back in his chair, the Master pointed a device at him. The Doctor snatched it away. "No!"
"It's the lightspeed overdrive, Doctor. You'll need that to accelerate the signal from the transmitter."
"I'm so sorry. I thought you meant to shoot him."
"Oh, Doctor. You can explain."
"Yes." The Doctor walked behind the oblivious technician who was still enjoying his music. "Ahem. Good morning. Good evening." Then the Doctor noticed the Master had the real weapon in his hand and dragged the technician's chair aside. Tegan came out of the TARDIS.
"He's unconscious."
"Never mind. I feel we've been spared a very difficult conversation."
Tegan took the technician's pulse while the Doctor fit the circuit boards to the computer.
"What makes you think this programme of the Monitor's is going to work, Doctor?"
"Oh, I don't know. It's a sort of vague faith in the nature of things, I suppose."
"It's in the very nature of things for entropy to win."
"Yes, well, it's the age-old battle, isn't it? Entropy versus structure. Still, while there's life there's six of one and half a dozen of the other."
"Woolly thinking, Doctor."
"Yes, but very comforting when worn next to the skin."
Tegan looked out of a window then went back down the corridor to the control room. "The dawn's coming up. There are security guards outside."
"Any good?"
"It's still not running. The programme's useless. It's time to abandon this line of reasoning."
"Of course. The programme's not being fed into the core."
"Well?"
"We start again."
"It's running."
"If you call this alien gibberish a programme."
"Well, we'll just have to wait until the data reaches the CVE."
"First we must reach the transmitter and connect up the light speed overdrive."
"Yes."
"What about the guards?"
"I suggest we use your TARDIS."
"Impossible. The light speed overdrive's disconnected."
"We've still got to get across to the antenna control room."
"I agree."
"I agree too, for what it's worth."
"Good."
Adric and Nyssa, who had travelled to the Pharos Project in the Doctor's TARDIS, hid behind the hedge and watched the Doctor, Tegan and the Master who were behind a large tree stump. The Master aimed his weapon at the patrol. The Doctor took it off him and threw it away. This alerted a guard.
"Intruders! After them!"
The trio hid behind a shed as the guards met up with another patrol.
"Sentimental fool. Thanks to you, we're now weaponless."
"Nyssa and I have heard your message across the universe and have come to answer your call."
"Message? What? Now who are you?"
Tegan ran out.
"We are the alien beings who…"
"Listen. Here, you fellows, you've got this all topsy turvy."
The Doctor and the Master snuck away. As they ran back to the telescope, the Master found his weapon in the grass. The Doctor reached the telescope and went up to the control room. The Master returned to the Pharos Project computer room and took the technician's Walkman then went into his own TARDIS, laughing.
The Doctor entered the antenna control room and looked at the mess of wires and circuit boards. One piece had a flashing red light.
The Master laughed. "From here, Charged Vacuum Emboitment is in line with the constellation Cassiopeia."
"Three C four six one."
"I decided to use my TARDIS after all. Three C four six one. Three zero four four." The Master tapped in the coordinates, and the giant dish began to move. "You see, Doctor, I overlook nothing."
"You overlooked the light speed overdrive."
"I gave you this to demonstrate my trust."
"Thank you."
The Master threw the unit out of the door.
"What?"
"But I don't take foolish risks. The real light speed overdrive is here."
"What? And powered up, I see."
"We have only to connect this cable from the computer room and the job is done. The aerial's now aligned to the CVE. As you devised the plan, I think the honour should be yours, Doctor."
The Master retreated to another door as the Doctor took the two computer connectors and joined them together.
The Master went out onto a walkway underneath the antenna, which was now pointing directly upwards, and spoke into the tape recorder. "Peoples of the universe, please attend carefully. The message that follows is vital to the future of you all."
Back in the antenna control room…
"Well?"
"The data's reached the CVE. It's stabilizing."
"So it works. Congratulations, Doctor. I always knew you'd do it."
"You did most of this."
"Oh, no. I was little more than a humble assistant, but I have learned a great deal. And now I think it's time for you to go and explain the presence of your friends. There's quite a hubbub outside."
Dogs were barking below.
"You're quite right. One mistake now could ruin everything."
"I know that, Doctor, and it could happen so easily."
"What do you mean?"
"The universe is hanging on a thread. A single recursive pulse down that cable and the CVE would close forever. Even a humble assistant could do it."
"You're mad!"
The Master produced his weapon, then switched on the tape recorder to broadcast his message to the universe. "Peoples of the universe, please attend carefully. The message that follows is vital to the future of you all. The choice for you all is simple. A continued existence under my guidance, or total annihilation. At the time of speaking, the…"
"Blackmail."
"No, Doctor, I'm merely reporting the state of affairs. I have it in my power now to save them or destroy them."
"You're utterly mad."
"Back, Doctor. The proceedings must not be interrupted. It's mine. The CVE. It's all mine."
"Only while that cable holds."
The Doctor left the control room. The Master noticed and followed, only to trip over the scarf which has been tied across it. He dropped his weapon. There was a struggle and it fell to the ground. Nyssa, Adric and Tegan watched in horror at events above them. The Master ran back into the control room and changed the coordinates of the antenna. The Doctor quickly followed him and retrieved his scarf. The walkway began to tilt as the antenna moved back from vertical to horizontal. The Master watched from the doorway as the Doctor tied himself to the other end of the gantry with his scarf. Meanwhile, guards climbed the ladder to the control room. The Doctor used a spanner to try and stop the mechanism. He pulled out the cable and would have fallen, if he hadn't been tied to the gantry by his scarf.
He remembered that at this point in the original timeline he was dangling from the end of the cable and seeing his enemies flash before his eyes. This time he was not going to fall to the ground.
The Master went into his TARDIS, laughing, and it dematerialized just before the guards entered the control room.
One of them straightened up the antenna and the other went out to assist the Doctor to untie himself and return to the control room, where they were met with Adric, Nyssa and Tegan.
The guards escorted the Doctor and his companions back downstairs, intending to charge them with trespassing, but they managed to slip into the TARDIS and get away into the vortex.
"Well, I'm knackered after all that. Does this place have somewhere I can have a lie down?"
"Yes, I'm rather exhausted as well."
"Adric, would you find a spare bedroom for the girls to rest in please? I need to run some checks here."
The three left the control room.
"Congratulations, Doctor. You did it."
The Doctor didn't respond to the Black Guardian.
Suddenly he heard Michelle's voice behind him. "Are you all right?"
The Doctor turned around. Michelle was standing next to him at the console. The Doctor was wearing a long maroon scarf along with the rest of his maroon ensemble, and brown buccaneer boots. He was holding his sonic screwdriver.
Michelle repeated her question. "Are you all right, Doctor?"
"Michelle…"
The Doctor was confused by the transition and he took a moment to get his bearings. Michelle finally took the sonic out of his hand and looked at the readings.
"This is not for me. You should show this to Carolyn."
Michelle gave the sonic to the Doctor and turned back to the console. The Doctor looked down at his outfit in surprise. "What's happened…?"
"Is something wrong?"
"I'm not sure… Michelle, what do I look like?"
Michelle looked at her with a puzzled expression. "You have brown curly hair, with large eyes and teeth and are tall and slim."
The Doctor put a hand to his head as if he were dizzy.
"Are you feeling all right?"
The Doctor didn't answer.
"Perhaps I should escort you to Sickbay."
"No. I think I can find my way. Thank you, Michelle."
The Doctor left the control room.
The Doctor entered Sickbay. Someone was sitting in the chair in the office, which was turned away from the doorway.
"Carolyn, something's happened to me. I'm not sure…"
He stopped as the Black Guardian turned around in the chair, wearing a white lab coat and a reflective mirror on his head. "Vhat seems to be de trouble, Doctor?"
"Black, what have you done?"
"I've done exactly what I promised, Doctor. I've returned you to the present."
"This is not the present I remember. You said nothing would change."
"And nothing has changed, except for you. But then, that's what you wanted, wasn't it? To change the man you were in your youth? Well, you did it, and this is the man you are today. You should be happy, you have nine regenerations still up your sleeve and you've become very adept at playing it safe…you never explored the caves on Androzani Minor, so you never became ill from stepping on raw spectrox and thus didn't need to regenerate. You wore a helmet while riding your exercise bike and so never injured your head on the console when the TARDIS crash-landed on Lkaertya after being attacked by the Rani, and thus didn't need to regenerate that time either. So you are still in your fourth body. Oh, and don't bother going looking for Nita. Because you were determined to play it safe, you never allowed yourself to get romantically involved with her, and she went home long ago."
The Black Guardian vanished. The Doctor was stunned.