Doctor Who_ Bunker Soldiers Part 30

'A mere trick with mirrors,' the Doctor said. 'You have listened to my many tales of strange beasts and stranger lands with great interest. It is time, at last, to see my magic at work. As a mark of thanks, for sparing our lives, I will show you the greatest trick you shall ever see.' He turned to Steven and Dodo, managing a half-smile. 'I will make my blue box disappear before your very eyes.'

Epilogus

Sic itur ad astra.

We stood in stunned silence inside the control room for many minutes. For once, I welcomed the oppressive hum, the distant noise of the engines. It meant we were away from Kiev, and safe.

My first instinct was to take a bath, but I knew the dirt I felt on my skin would not come away easily.

'There were times...' said Dodo, on the verge of tears, 'There were times when I thought I'd never see the TARDIS again...'

I shrugged. 'I never thought I'd say this, but it feels like home.'

The Doctor patted the controls lovingly. 'I cannot bear to be apart from her,' he said. 'This has been a most trying ordeal for all of us.'

There was a long pause, none of us quite sure what to say.

'It will be difficult,' continued the Doctor, as if ignorant of our churning emotions. 'But we must try to forget what we have seen.'

'Don't, Doctor,' said Dodo. 'Let's talk about this another day.'

The Doctor shook his head. 'My child,' he said. 'We must talk about this while the memories are still fresh. We must strive to deal with them now.' He rested a gentle hand on my shoulder.

'And we must remember that the sacking of Kiev is part of the fabric of history. The slaughter we witnessed would have happened, whether we observed it or not.'

'You make us sound like tourists!' I exclaimed.

'My boy, you are free to leave me at any time if you disagree with my principles.You know that full well.'

I nodded, remembering an earlier conversation, minutes before Dodo first arrived.

'You know, I have always wondered why the cathedral was left untouched,' the Doctor continued. 'And now we know, hmm?'

'There must have been better ways of finding out,' I snapped. I knew it was unfair to blame the Doctor for our ordeal, but all the emotions I had repressed were only now threatening to flood out.

'And the bodies that were catapulted over the walls...' said Dodo.

'We all saw what happened to poor Dmitri. You are not to blame, my child. In any event, my mention of the Black Death pure conjecture on my part. Please forgive me.'

'But what did we achieve, Doctor?' I asked.

'We prevented the Mongols accessing a technology that never belonged on Earth,' said the Doctor. 'That would be achievement enough. Perhaps that was our our preordained role in history, hmm?' preordained role in history, hmm?'

'I didn't think you believed in that nonsense,' I said.

The Doctor refused to answer me directly. 'In addition,' he said, 'we helped save two men of honour, and two young people, who might otherwise have died. I'd call that no little achievement.'

'Doctor,' I said, formulating a question that had been irritating me for some time. 'This "bunker soldier" was programmed to attack one genetic group...'

'That's right, my boy. Ethnic Russians, and no one else.'

'Isaac and Nahum were Jews,' I said. 'We're not Russian, and neither are the Mongols, obviously.'

'Obviously,' said the Doctor. He knew what was coming, for I could see the trace of a smile on his lips.

'What about Lesia?' I asked. 'She was Russian, wasn't she?'

'Well done, my boy! Well done! You have a fine brain, we simply need to work on that mind of yours!'

'I don't understand either,' said Dodo. 'Why didn't it attack her?' 'My dear, it's very simple. Yes. It's quite natural, one could say!' And then, infuriatingly, he busied himself at the controls.

'Doctor...' I said.

'Come, come, my boy, isn't it obvious? Lesia was already carrying Nahum's child!'

'She was pregnant?' Dodo exclaimed, delighted. It was the closest thing I had heard to a laugh from her in many, many weeks.

'Yes, my dear. . and the child kept her safe from harm! And who can tell the number of their descendants? Great scientists, perhaps, or freethinkers, or '

'Or dictators, or serial killers,' I added, and then instantly felt a fool for further lowering the atmosphere in the TARDIS.

'Oh, don't be so cynical,' said the Doctor. 'History has a habit of turning out for the best.'

I remembered an earlier conversation. 'But you said... Oh, never mind.'

The Doctor looked up from the controls, staring at the blank scanner as if he could see the worlds and stars that wheeled and turned beyond it. He gripped his lapels tightly, and his eyes burned with hope. 'You see, even in the midst of darkness and tragedy... Some good can emerge.'

Afterword.

[in English, thank goodness]

The Mongol army, under Batu and Mongke, attacked Kiev in the autumn of 1240. There really was a governor named Dmitri, who stayed to defend his city after Prince Michael had fled to Hungary, and the Church of the Virgin did indeed collapse under the weight of the terrified citizens (though the initial battle was almost certainly more protracted than I have described it). The Cathedral of St Sophia survived the terrible attack, and now an example of Ukrainian baroque architecture exists to this day. (I am less sure about the catacombs beneath!) A later Mongol campaign did did involve the catapulting of plague-ridden bodies over city walls, and the great pestilence that followed is, of course, a matter of awful historical fact. involve the catapulting of plague-ridden bodies over city walls, and the great pestilence that followed is, of course, a matter of awful historical fact.

The rest, it goes without saying, is fiction. A bibliography would be out of place here, but it is true to say that Robert Marshall's Storm from the East Storm from the East was my first port of call for all things relating to the Mongols. Any historical or other errors are, of course, my own bearing in mind the slippery excuse that the world of was my first port of call for all things relating to the Mongols. Any historical or other errors are, of course, my own bearing in mind the slippery excuse that the world of Doctor Who Doctor Who is not quite our own. is not quite our own.

Respect due: Ian Abrahams, Bernie Atkinson (delayed thanks for help with Shut It! Shut It! ), Colin Brake, Paul 'Brax' Castle, Diane Culverhouse, George Gallaccio, Jill James, Fred Lawless, Gavin MacLean, John McLaughlin, Chris Orton, Linda Poole, Eric Pringle, Lesley Rhodes, Bar Roden, Keith Topping, Peter Ware, Julia Weston, John Williams and all the unusual suspects (namely Pete and Lynn Atkins, Stephen Baker, Dave Bishop, Richard Boulter, Bernard and Hannah and all at the Critchley zoo, Mari Day, Colin Gibbs, Ben Lilford, Paul and Sarah Matthews, Catherine Minns Lowe, Ella Nichols, Nigel Rees, Paola Simoneschi, Maz Taylor, and Ray Tostevin). They either helped with this book, or with my life, or paid me money. ), Colin Brake, Paul 'Brax' Castle, Diane Culverhouse, George Gallaccio, Jill James, Fred Lawless, Gavin MacLean, John McLaughlin, Chris Orton, Linda Poole, Eric Pringle, Lesley Rhodes, Bar Roden, Keith Topping, Peter Ware, Julia Weston, John Williams and all the unusual suspects (namely Pete and Lynn Atkins, Stephen Baker, Dave Bishop, Richard Boulter, Bernard and Hannah and all at the Critchley zoo, Mari Day, Colin Gibbs, Ben Lilford, Paul and Sarah Matthews, Catherine Minns Lowe, Ella Nichols, Nigel Rees, Paola Simoneschi, Maz Taylor, and Ray Tostevin). They either helped with this book, or with my life, or paid me money.

Blessed be.

This is the last song I shal ever sing...

Good night, and thank you.

MCWD.

About the Author.

Martin Day resides in the town of his birth in darkest Somerset, though for many years he lived in London, Leicesters.h.i.+re, Gibraltar and Dorset, but not at the same time. For a while he was Correspondence Editor of the Guinness Book of Records Guinness Book of Records ('No, we don't have a record for sitting in a bath full of baked beans any more...'), pitching an idea for a TV reference book to the Guinness editors at every given opportunity (including, memorably, in the Gents urinals). ('No, we don't have a record for sitting in a bath full of baked beans any more...'), pitching an idea for a TV reference book to the Guinness editors at every given opportunity (including, memorably, in the Gents urinals).

He has now written or co-written 13 books, but, frankly, not enough fiction. In order to remedy this shortfall, he has recently concentrated on scriptwriting, and is now a regular contributor to Channel Five's soap Family Affairs Family Affairs. He has singularly failed to get a Who Who in-joke into any of his scripts. in-joke into any of his scripts.

He is married to Helen, and they have two children, Emily and Charlotte, named not after the Brontes, but songs by Syd Barrett and Julian Cope. Martin's hobbies include fishkeeping, football, and fencing, and lots of other things beginning with 'f'

that would make him sound so much more exciting, if only he could remember what they are.