Doctor Who Forgotten Suns Chapter Thirty Three

When Faramandar alerted him that everyone was prepared aboard Null’s ship, Silandor was satisfied that his experts were equally ready, not to say eager...

It had taken a little bit of shuffling about and seat swapping, but now the speakers - those that each enclave had put forward - were waiting in the seats closest to the stage. This was so that Enteberol’s communications wand could be passed between them more easily, of course - but the Commander also hoped that this arrangement would nurture a little more… Discipline was, perhaps, too strong a word… Decorum would suffice. He had declined politely when, most unexpectedly, Valmik had offered to relinquish his own seat to him. The Archivist First had claimed that he wouldn’t mind standing!

Of course, Silandor had thanked the man, but refused nonetheless. (It would have been just too uncomfortable, for everyone involved, if he had tried to squeeze his bulk in amongst them. Also, even though the seating in the amphitheater rose in tiers, it seemed inevitable that he would block the view for someone! ) He had mentioned none of this, however, simply suggesting that he didn’t need a seat. This was true enough - he had proved it by sitting down in the aisle. Now the Commander rose to his feet once more, with a grace belying his bulk, and took great satisfaction in calling for everyone’s attention.

“I have just received the news we have been waiting for!’ Silandor declaimed as all activity ceased. He signaled to Tec-Op Imanol, who became very busy preparing his machine, then switched channels on his headset. “Hello, Thadokta, this is Clade Commander Silandor, can you hear me? I am talking to you from the enclave’s auditorium, over.”

On the Visi-Sphere, the image coalesced into a head and shoulders view of the remarkable little alien, who was nodding in apparent satisfaction. “Ah, yes, Commander, I hear you, I seem to have managed to get everything working! Can you still see me?”

“Perfectly well, Thadokta.”

“Oh, splendid! Jolly good… Ah, now please don’t think that I am casting aspersions, Commander, but obviously I can’t see you. I can only see Tec-Op Choltz - no offense, my dear! - Perhaps I could have a word with Archivist Valmik now?”

Silandor wordlessly turned to the Archivist with a nod. The scholar reached for the communicator, which Thraxle was holding towards him, speaking almost before he had it in his grasp. “Hello, Thadokta! Yes, everything is as the Commander says. We are all still in the amphitheater where you visited us. Everyone can see and hear you on the Visi-Sphere, and now it appears that we can talk to you as well! Er… Assuming that you are hearing this, of course.”

“Yes, Valmik, it looks like the Commander and his people have done a splendid job! Um… Tell me… are you still under armed guard?”

This appeared to throw the Archivist First for a moment. “Um… I really don’t know, Thadokta. I had completely forgotten about them.’ He craned his neck to examine the exits that he could see, then returned the communication wand to his face. “No, Thadokta. It’s funny - I didn’t notice them leave!”

“Thank you, Valmik! That is very good to hear! Clade Commander, I hope that you understand why I had to ask these questions?”

“Of course, Thadokta, simply a wise precaution on your part.’ Silandor sounded perfectly calm, as usual, but he was actually slightly taken aback at Dokta’s audacity. ‘I hope that your concerns have been put to rest. Perhaps now we can get on with it, do you think?”

“Of course! Of course!’ Thadokta replied, nodding rapidly. ‘But allow me to make a few explanations first please, everyone. You see, everything that I am about to tell you, I have derived from this ship’s records, but I have had to do a little… Reading between the lines, as it were. I therefore cannot offer any guarantees that I am one hundred percent correct. Also, I was only really able to confirm my suspicions when I studied you star charts. Excellent work by the way - thank you very much!

‘In fact, I think that this would be the best place to start, actually! Now then, Choltz, as we practiced, please.’ The view suddenly lifted up rapidly, giving the impression that Thadokta had dropped out of the bottom of the Visi-Sphere. ‘Oh my goodness!’ came his disembodied voice, only adding to the illusion. ‘I must say that your crew are exceedingly agile, Clade Commander!” They were now looking at the same flat display screen as before. Ixtlequay raised a hand instantly.

“Thadokta, Astronomer First Ixtlequay, would like a word.” Silandor announced, indicating to Thraxle that he should take the wand to her.

“Ah! Astronomer Ishtleekey, I take that it is the hard work of yourself, and your enclave, that I am indebted to! Please, do go ahead.”

“I know what you are going to show us, young… Excuse me, I mean, Thadokta!’ The old lady looked a little flustered at her slip, but carried on regardless. ‘But I fail to understand why we must look at a three-dimensional representation of a two -dimensional screen. We have all the relevant records, and a far superior display system.”

“Indeed you do, Madam!’ (How had he deduced that? Silandor wondered.) ‘I have seen the Visi-Sphere for myself, as you must know - a remarkable device indeed! Please come down from there, Choltz, I would like to explain this.’ Thadokta popped back into view just as rapidly as he had disappeared, looking rather wide-eyed. After he recovered himself, he continued. ‘Well, Astronomer First… everybody… whilst I’m sure your star maps look very impressive on that big globe of yours, unfortunately I can’t see them from here. And before you suggest that I simply tell you what images to display, I’m afraid that I had to derive my own nomenclature for various files, just to keep everything straight in my head.

‘That being the case, I have had to make a few, um, modifications to these systems - so I don’t have to keep running back to my own ship all the time! Basically, you could say that I now have a… an automatic pilot to navigate the files for me, although it would probably be more accurate to just say that it responds to my voice. Um… Was that clear enough for everyone?”

“Thank you, Thadokta.’ Ixtlequay replied, ‘I do have more questions, but they can wait. You may proceed.”

“Too kind, too kind!’ Thadokta replied, sounding genuinely pleased, ‘Then let us, as you say, Astronomer First… Proceed!”

“I am well aware that you will be familiar with these initial images,’ came Thadokta’s voice from the speakers, ‘but please bear with me.’ He was occasionally issuing a voice instruction, to advance to a particular file, but mainly he just narrated. ‘I wanted to start at the beginning, as it were. Anyway, everything I have just displayed was completely unfamiliar to me, there was nothing that I recognised! I managed to follow the clues back, to the star system that this Ship came from… (Display Dok file one five.) … And narrow it down to two possible candidates. That rather depends on other data - which I will get to later.”

The display now showed a large area of space, containing several anonymous solar systems, as viewed from a great distance. Suddenly an artificial graphic element, a blinking cursor, appeared from off-screen. The view followed the cursor, and some of the systems being approached were highlighted. The motion was quite rapid, evidently accelerated by some computer trickery, and soon only two systems remained. Each was highlighted alternately, but the cursor remained steadily blinking in the center of the screen. Thadokta had been adding a few comments as this played out, but this was what he had really wanted to discuss.

“Now, as you can see, the trail ends quite some considerable distance from either of our candidates! But… By matching up the systems we have just passed, to those shown in your own records… (Overlay Dok file one six, final frame.) …We get - this!’ He paused only briefly, allowing a token moment of consideration, before saying, ‘So… Since all of this is based on the sterling work of your own experts - would anyone care to tell me what it is? ”

The image was one that everyone knew well. In stunning hues of aquamarine and magenta, shading through with crimson filaments, a colossal hand hung in the void. That was simply a conceit, of course, but Silandor was well familiar with the talons that seemed to be reaching out towards him. “We call it the Razorclaw Nebula, Thadokta. Thraxle, please return the wand to Astronomer First Ixtlequay.”

“Yes, Thadokta, he is correct. The Razorclaw Nebula is the most distant object that our most far-seeing instruments have, to date, been able to detect - with any meaningful degree of scientific accuracy, that is to say… Thadokta, this cannot possibly be the origin of that ship!’ Ixtlequay sounded quite irritated, as if she was under the impression that she was dealing with a fool, but was too polite to mention it. ‘We have, in conjunction with the Mathematician’s enclave, conclusively proved that the light from this nebula - it has taken over five billion years to reach us!”

“I quite understand your skepticism, Ishtleekey, but I hope to be able to explain myself as we go along. That nebula is… was… er, never mind. Let’s just say that we are looking at the afterimage of an ancient - if you will forgive the term - catastrophe. Before I go any further, may I ask how long it takes Oortelia to complete one orbit around your home star?”

“What? Well, a year, of course!”

“Mmm… Naturally. The question isn’t as foolish as it sounds, I promise! I am trying to establish how your people actually measure time. I may be wrong, but it seems to me that you use decimalised time, not as an intellectual exercise, but as a function of perceived reality. Am I correct?”

“I’m sure I haven’t got the faintest idea what you are talking about, Thadokta! Let me pass you over to Mathematician First Thariferon.”

“Ah, hello, Thadokta… pleasure and all that. One question - what does decimalised mean, I am unfamiliar with the term?”

“Subdividing measurements into units of ten, Mathematician First.”

“Really! You have a name for that? But that is just how time works - always has done, as far as I know!” The mathematician sounded amused.

“Ah, I see… I think. Are you telling me that on your home world, all arbitrary markers for breaking time down into manageable units - sunrise, sunset, seasonal change, etc. All of that can be subdivided or multiplied by ten?”

“But, of course, Thadokta! How else is one to measure time? Or anything else, for that matter?”

“Forgive me, Thariferon. I just find it difficult to equate the… the chaotic nature of the universe, with the apparent mathematical precision of your own solar system. I don’t suppose that you have ever given any thought to the matter?”

Thariferon considered the question for a few moments, and then sighed. “I’m sorry, Thadokta, it is what it is, as far as I’m concerned. Only the Theologians have ever bothered to consider such matters and, although I am not personally a believer, I imagine that their answer should suffice.

'If God does, or ever did exist - then he, she or it… is a mathematician!”

“Ah…” said Thadokta.

Becoming increasingly annoyed by this apparently irrelevant digression, Silandor raised a hand to forestall Thariferon, before saying, “Are you going anywhere with this, Thadokta?”

“Evidently not, Commander,’ came the somewhat dejected response. ‘Come down again, Choltz.’ As Thadokta rose into view, (much more smoothly this time, as if the Tec was being lowered on a platform,) he continued speaking. ‘Tell me, Commander, do all of your colony worlds use exactly the same time intervals as the home world?”

“Well… Yes, of course - but obviously we have to adapt them. A day, for example, will consist of more, or less Tendecad’s than on Oortelia itself. It all depends on the planet’s location in relation to the star it orbits - surely there is nothing unusual about that?”

Thadokta raised a finger to deliver his point. “But what if you had found any intelligent life-forms on a planet - do you think that they would use your system? I very much doubt it! I’m sure that like, for example, myself and my companions - their measurements of time would be influenced differently. This may not matter too much when we are only talking of days - but the discrepancies will expand exponentially. When, as we must here, one factors in the speed of light - and not just one lightyear, but five thousand million - well…’ He paused for a moment, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, then sighed. ‘Forgive me, everyone, I was being selfish. I had hoped to get some idea of… of how long ago all of this happened, relative to my own terms of reference. Obviously that won’t be possible.”

The Clade Commander flicked an irritated glare at someone waving frantically for his attention. Then he recalled the man’s name, but chose to ignore him for the moment. “Well then, Thadokta, I don’t wish to belittle your concerns, but may I take it that we can move on now?”

“Indeed, Commander.” The little alien responded glumly.

“In that case, I believe that Theoretical Possibilities First Revelar would like to speak to you.”

“No!’ Thadokta nearly shouted, turning in the Visi-Sphere so that he - almost - seemed to be looking right at the theorist. ‘I’m sorry, Revelar, but I don’t have time for this discussion right now. I know what you’re thinking, and yes, what we talked about earlier will have some… considerable bearing on the matter. However, not quite in the way that you may be thinking. I will get to you in due course, I promise, but I want to talk about something else for now.’ Suddenly Thadokta clapped his hands, rubbing them together briskly, as he turned face-on again to the visi-com Choltz wore. ‘Thank you all for your patience! I expect that there will be much to discuss afterwards, but allow me to run through my conclusions…

‘Firstly, I believe that your Razorclaw Nebula is, indeed, the remaining evidence of the two star systems that we originally found. A catastrophic event caused one of those stars to go supernova, while the other collapsed into a singularity - a black hole. Furthermore, I very much doubt that this was a natural occurrence! You see, those two systems were engaged in an interstellar war!

‘I don’t need to show you anything on the screen for this, although there are reams of data that may become available for later study. I will simply summarise what I gathered from skimming through. Again, I must remind you that I have done a little reading between the lines, as the records here only tell one side of the story. If anyone has any questions…

'Please save them for later, if you would be so kind!

‘Actually, there is no way of telling why, or even when, this war started - although I think we can safely assume that it ended five billion of your years ago. All I know is that it must have lasted for a very long time, because the side that built this ship had the time to create… Well, larger versions of themselves, basically.”

A ripple of surprise washed across the amphitheater at this, and murmured comments and reactions began, but any nascent conversations were abruptly curtailed. (Silandor was impressed, and quietly encouraged, at how calmly the audience were taking all this.) Thadokta was still speaking, and nobody wanted to miss what he had to say.

“I’m talking about genetic modification and manipulation, obviously - but their baseline form, I think, would have been…’ He gazed thoughtfully out of the Visi-Sphere, as if looking over everyone’s shoulders. ‘At a rough guess, about one and a half times as tall as Clade Commander Silandor. Over the course of the war, their modified creations grew increasingly larger. Now… I was unable to find any mention as to why, or indeed, how this was achieved. Why did these people need larger and larger ships to fight their war, and why did they crew them with larger and larger people? I honestly don’t know! I’m sure that these records will provide many years of study and speculation. Should you get access to them…

‘But I want to move on to the mission that this ship was on. It will, I’m sure, be of great interest to you all. To all intents and purpose, it is a life raft. A time capsule… by which I mean something to be stored, until reopened at a later date. I want to show you something.

'Choltz, the screen, if you please? I have seen the images that you captured of this ship, so I know how it looks now. (Display Dok file three.)

‘This is what it looked like when it set out!”

On the screen, the vessel was transformed. Although the lower half was clearly recognisable, the fact that there even was an upper half came as quite a shock to most. It was another ship, obviously permanently attached. Although not much smaller than the ‘original’ ship, it was of a much sleeker design - as if a fast hunting beast had been forced to carry burden. (Silandor shuddered at the thought, but only on the inside.)

“As you can clearly see, not all of the craft survived to arrive here. Commander Silandor, how many crew do you have on the Indigo Flame ?”

“The normal compliment is two thousand, Thadokta, but we have representatives from many enclaves aboard for this mission, of course. Why do you ask?”

“Well, it may - or perhaps it mayn’t - surprise you all to know, that this combined craft had a crew of six!

‘I don’t mean six thousand - I mean six!

‘I’m sure everyone is bursting with questions by now. I shall accommodate you soon, but please bear with me just a tad longer. I just want to tell you one more thing - this will interest you, I expect, Revelar! You see, the crew entered a form of deep-sleep, or stasis, that they knew as ‘temporal isolation’. If, somehow, the part of the ship we have here was… um… ‘Shunted’ outside of time and space by, say, some kind of temporal explosion…

‘Perhaps it is possible that shrapnel from that explosion could have, er… re-entered our reality at random times and locations.

'Comments, Revelar?”