Doctor Who_ Eternity Weeps Part 26

'You're hungry, are you? Oh dear. Such a shame. Have you listened to a word the Doctor said?'

'I know, I know! I've just been - 'What? Been for a little pleasure jaunt through time? Did you have fun? Did you even for one moment think what you might be doing? What the results of your actions might be?'

Jason bit his lip. 'Of course not, not at first, but afterwards. That's when I realized - 'Naturally!' My voice was an angry yell. 'You always realize how you've messed it up afterwards! What on Earth did you think you were doing?'

'Actually I was trying to save the Earth.'

'Oh great. Very clever. Save the Earth by inducing a paradox.' Peripherally I was aware that the Doctor and Chris were both staring open-mouthed at us. Well, Chris was staring at us, his head swivelling back and forth like a spectator at a tennis match. The Doctor was simply staring at Jason. Or rather his shoes. 'If you hadn't done anything, everything would be all right!'

Jason blinked in confusion. 'But you're the one who said I never do do anything,' he babbled. 'I only did what you said I didn't!'

'Jason, sometimes you can be such a drone.'

'I don't get it, Benny. I did it for you. I did it for all those people on Earth.

And you hate me for it.'

The Doctor pulled a magnifying gla.s.s from his pocket. He knelt beside my husband and began to examine his shoes. For some reason I found this irrelevant behaviour intensely annoying. 'You did it for yourself. You always do. And I don't hate you.'

By now Jason was annoyed too. His voice was cracked, tense, weary, but the anger in it was building towards bitterness. 'Of course you do. And I know why. I was stealing your thunder.'

'What?!' My voice was an incredulous squeak.

'Yeah. If you or the Doctor had done what I had done it would've been fine!'

I found my gaze drawn to the Doctor. He had now produced a pair of tweezers, had lifted one of Jason's feet as if he were shoeing a horse and was sc.r.a.ping the sole. 'You idiot! The reason the Doctor and I did nothing was because it was obvious there was nothing we could do! Time is linear, Jason. The Astronomer Royal is dead, his world destroyed, his species extinct. And Earth is in terrible danger. You can't just make that not have happened.'

Jason's voice was quiet. 'I know.'

'And yet you still went back. That's why all this happened! You went back to change it but all you did was make it all happen in the first place!'

'I didn't mean to.'

'Doesn't make any difference. It's still your fault.'

'That's totally unfair.'

I responded to the anger in his voice with more anger of my own. 'Life is unfair, Jason. It's unfair when your relations.h.i.+p breaks down. It's unfair when your husband is irresponsible. It's unfair when an alien terraforming installation decides to mess up your planet!'

'I can't handle this.' Jason turned away abruptly, leaving the Doctor clutching his magnifying gla.s.s and tweezers, and some bits of what looked like organic matter, which he dropped hastily into a test tube. 'I just can't handle this. I'm tired. I'm hungry. I've just seen a civilization die. I need - I just - I have to - oh I don't know what I want. But it isn't this!'

'Well you know what you can do then!'

Abruptly he turned back. 'Are you saying you want me to leave?'

'Are you saying you want to leave?' I snapped back. 'I don't know!'

'Well, I don't know either! Though I'm starting to get a b.l.o.o.d.y good idea.'

The Doctor stood up, held the test tube containing the organic matter up to the light and swished it around thoughtfully. 'You know . . .' He operated some controls and a section of wall irised open to reveal a bank of what looked like medical instruments, a computer, a shelf of very old books and a large bra.s.s and mahogany microscope. 'I'm starting to get an idea too.'

'What?' I asked him.

Before he could answer there came the sound of shouting from outside the TARDIS.

Chris said, 'Looks like they found Tammuz. I'd better go and help?'

I followed Chris to the door. Jason looked like he was about to follow me when the Doctor beckoned him quietly and he stayed.

I followed Chris out of the TARDIS - and into an eightway Mexican standoff.

The soldiers had Tammuz surrounded. The commotion was being caused by Dilaver's uncle. He had a gun. G.o.d knows where he got it. He was pointing the gun at Tammuz and screaming in Arabic. Dilaver's aunt was yelling too. Some of the soldiers had their guns pointing at Dilaver's uncle.

Some at Tammuz. Tammuz himself also had a gun - not only that but he had the gun pointing at the head of a soldier, who was on his knees in front of Tammuz. In total there were eight guns. I couldn't work out quite who had the drop on whom, but everyone was yelling for someone else to put their guns down while waving their own about madly. The villagers had cl.u.s.tered in a knot behind Dilaver's uncle. They brandished whatever they carried aggressively. Some held shovels or hammers. Where on Earth had they got all these tools from? Surely the Doctor hadn't let them on board armed to the teeth?

What the heck. I had no time to worry about that now. I moved closer while Chris circled around the crowd. When he saw me approach, Tammuz clicked back the hammer on his gun. The soldier he was holding by the throat remained absolutely motionless. 'Tell them to put down their guns.'

'Now you know I can't do that.'

'Do it or he dies!'

'If you shoot him, they'll shoot you.'

Dilaver's uncle screamed something in Arabic and pushed forward with his own gun. The soldiers nearest him moved to stop him. He waved the gun at them. Their own guns moved to cover him.

I sighed. Someone was going to die here. Unless I did something. Then a thought occurred to me. I walked towards Tammuz. 'Put down the gun.'

'No! Stay back!'

'Put it down!'

Tammuz moved his gun to point at me. Gritting my teeth, I kept on walking.

The gun came up. 'Put it down.'

'Don't come any closer!'

'Put it down.'

Tammuz backed away. I could see Chris behind him now. Tammuz had missed that move. Good. Together we might have a chance.

I took another step. 'Give me the gun.'

'No.'

'Give it to me.'

'No! Get back, I said!'

'Give me the - 'Benny, what the h.e.l.l do you think you're doing?' Jason. I whirled. The idiot was running full tilt towards me. 'Everyone stop it right now! The Doctor thinks he's found a way to - Something roared behind me. Jason bent double, spun, fell to the ground.

Tammuz. Tammuz had - I turned. The soldiers were firing. Tammuz was going down. He squeezed the trigger. The automatic fired. About a hundred rounds sprayed the nearest soldiers and members of the crowd. They fell, slow motion. I felt something punch me repeatedly in the chest and arms. Bullets. I'd been, shot. I went numb. I couldn't breathe. I fell.

I rolled. I skidded to a halt, groaned, fought for breath. I struggled to my feet. Staggered up to where Tammuz was being held down by a number of villagers. More villagers and some soldiers were holding back Dilaver's uncle. I stood over Tammuz and caught my breath.

'You should know better than to try to shoot someone protected by a force field,' I gasped. I picked up his fallen automatic and pressed it slowly against his stomach. My own force field extended to cover the gun, meshed with Tammuz's field and, in the same way that Jason had been able to steal my ring, I poked Tammuz hard in the gut with his own gun. 'I'm making a point,' I said. 'Are we learning anything here today?'

Tammuz scowled. He stopped struggling.

I handed the gun to a soldier and turned to help Jason back to his feet. I started to say something, then just gave it up. I was too tired and I hurt too much. Dilaver's uncle caught my eye. I turned to him. I held out my hand for his gun. He gave it up without a word and turned away to be comforted by his wife and the rest of the villagers.

I sat down against the side of the TARDIS. Something inside was telling me to just sit there until whatever infection Jason had given me by touching me took effect and I melted into a steaming puddle. I tried to ignore the voice.

But it would be so easy just to sit there and do nothing. Think nothing. I was tired, bruised, my chest and arm were killing me. I was in bad shape all round.

Jason mooched over and sat down beside me. 'Great. Just what I need.'

'Hi, yourself?'

'What?'

'Nothing.'

'Fine.'

'I just thought ... you know ... that I'd tell you about the antivirus the Doctor has just made.'

I sat up. 'Antivirus?

'Yeah, parrot. Antivirus.' By now Jason's grin was irritating. Did the man know no humility? 'The antivirus he made from Cthalctose biomatter bonded to the force field around my shoe.'

'He made an antivirus from something he sc.r.a.ped off your shoe?'

'Yep. Great, huh?'

I sighed. 'Jason, I'm this close to a total breakdown. I've been shot at, knocked out, depressurized, and otherwise nearly lost my life on any number of occasions. I do not - read my lips - do not need cheering up.'

Jason didn't have time to look hurt before the Doctor poked his head around the side of the TARDIS and said, 'It's mopping up Agent Yellow in the TARDIS like a sponge. I think we're ready to try it out on the Earth now.

Do you want to help?'

Jason bounced to his feet. 'You bet!' He helped me to my feet. I was so knackered I let him. The Doctor handed Jason a huge plastic bucket shaped like a castle turret with the words BRIGHTON BEACH embossed on the side. Instead of sand the bucket was filled to the brim with a reddish-brown dust. 'Think you can find the transmission chamber?'

Jason grinned. 'If Benny can find it, I can.' It was a stupid joke. I didn't smile.

The Doctor said, 'Just put the bucket in the chamber, get out and seal the door. I'll do the rest from here.'

Jason took the bucket and walked away. The Doctor now beckoned to Chris and handed him a medical kit?

'Inoculations?'

The Doctor nodded. 'Administer this to everyone. Including yourself, Jason and Bernice?'

Chris nodded. I took my injection in the only limb that was currently pain free, then followed as the Doctor led me towards the operations centre.

I said, rubbing my arm, 'Tell me about this antivirus, Doctor.'

He grinned. 'Couldn't be simpler. As soon as I realized there was biological matter bonded to Jason's force field I realized I might be able to synthesize an agent which would inhibit the function of Agent Yellow. Perhaps even kill it altogether.'

'And you think you've found that?'

'Oh yes. No question of it. I've tested Agent Scarlet inside the TARDIS and so far it has performed admirably.'

'A veritable Domestos of alien viruses?'

'Indeed.'

'In laboratory conditions..'

'Well. Ye-es, but I'm sure it will work in the field.'

I remembered Chris offering me the injection. 'So sure you've had Chris inoculate everyone here.'

'You have to start somewhere?'

'And how do you hope to deliver this Captain scarlet to the sites of infection?'

The Doctor winked. 'We'll use the same delivery system that put Agent Yellow there.'

'Oh. Fine. Well, in that case do you mind if I have a little sit down? I'm feeling a bit tired.'

The Doctor looked disappointed, for all the world like a little boy who has offered to show you his beetle collection and then been told the sight of insects makes you sick. 'Don't you want to watch?'

'I suppose so.'

'Excellent!' The pleasure in the Doctor's voice was doubled when he saw that Jason had returned from the transmission chamber. Chris and the villagers crowded round, some rubbing their arms. A dog barked. Chickens strutted. The sheep made that unnerving sheep noise.

We reached the hexagonal console that reminded me so much of the one in the TARDIS. Well, now I knew why. Jason; the force-field emitters he'd given the Astronomer Royal on Cthalctose, over six billion years ago.

The Doctor wandered around the console. He seemed deep in thought. He paced and muttered. He frowned. He counted on his fingers, carried a few numbers on to his elbows, got confused, then sighed and started again.

Finally, he operated some controls, looked up at the machine hovering overhead and grinned.

A familiar voice said, 'Attention. This is the personality matrix of the Astronomer Royal. You are now about to see something really clever.'

The Doctor mouthed the words in time with the sonorous voice.

I had to chuckle.