If there was one part of his exile which annoyed the Doctor more than any other it had to be the constant (or so it seemed) checking of the same components within the console. There were only so many parts of the TARDIS that could have been tampered with by the Time Lords to ensure that the Doctor remained on Earth. Yet, no matter how often he checked and rechecked he could see no problem. Which came back to the avenue he always found himself exploring - finding a means to bypass the restrictions imposed by the Time Lords. At least the recent incident had added a fresh reason to checking those components. The nuclear power surges at Project Inferno were unlikely to have caused significant damage but the fact remained that somehow they had enabled the TARDIS to slip sideways in time rather than into the past or the future.
As he bent his head to look under the console, the Doctor steadied himself with one hand - only to find some sticky substance where he placed his hand. For a second he had the horrifying feeling that perhaps some of the substance, that had bubbled up from the Earth's crust during Project Inferno, had found its way onto the console. When there was no sensation other than the unpleasant stickiness, the Doctor stood up and looked. Using a curse that would have had a Venusian hiding all of its arms behind its back, the Doctor realised that the substance was jam. After the console had been retrieved from the tip and placed on the back of a UNIT lorry, the Doctor had dusted it down. While it was possible that there might have been jam among the rubbish at the tip, the Doctor was more inclined to believe that one of the Brigadier's men had been the culprit. It was something he would have to mention the next next time he spoke to the Brigadier - there was no telling what danger a stray crumb or a drop of jam might cause if left on any of the equipment in the Doctor's laboratory. Come to think of it, perhaps that was why he had bad luck with his attempts to restore the TARDIS? All it would take was some curious soldier, with grubby hands, to wander into the laboratory, see the dematerialisation circuit sitting in its test cradle on the bench, lift it for a quick examination and therefore leave a speck of dust on it which made the difference between a circuit that restored the Doctor's freedom or a fizzling lump of equipment that kept him stranded on Earth!
As he searched for a cloth and an appropriate cleaning chemical, the Doctor noticed a shadow pause in front of the frosted glass panel of his laboratory door. Before he could warn whoever it was not to come in, the door opened to admit Liz Shaw. Seeing her reminded him of the small differences that could cause divergences: just as a speck of dust could alter the outcome of an experiment, so a decision could create a parallel universe. What decision had created the world from which he had escaped, the Doctor could not begin to guess. That such a world had had its own Liz Shaw, but one so different to the woman who was his assistant, was hard to believe.
'You're not going to try and get back to that other Earth again!' although she had been aware of the Doctor's desire to repair the TARDIS, it struck Liz that his attempts to repair the time ship had become more intense of late.
'No,' the Doctor did not feel like elaborating and his tone caused Liz to recall how he had spoken of the death of that other world, of how her other self had helped him to escape as fire consumed that Earth. Was anything left, she wondered? Had anything survived, even if it had been those strange creatures that had resulted from human contact with the mysterious fluid that had bubbled up out of the Earth's core during the drilling process? Even if the planet had survived the forces that had been unleashed would that other Earth be habitable to any life form she was familiar with.
'How many other parallel universes are there out there?' Liz had heard some scientists discussing the notion during her days at Cambridge. Her own researches had taken her in other directions but it was something she was aware of although she was not, or had not been inclined to give it any further consideration. Now was her chance to discuss such matters with the Doctor.
'Between zero and infinity, Liz,' the Doctor rubbed away the stain on the console, 'that's the problem with parallel universes. Some exist for a mere atosecond, others might even outlast this one. The Time Lords,' here he hesitated, recalling the long gone days when he had been one of the myriad Time Lords assigned the task of watching the universes. Watching was one thing, exploring was another - but there were dangers involved in exploring other universes.
'Even if that other world has survived I could not go back. Stahlman's project was an intersection point, when two universes shared a common destiny. The fact that I prevented Inferno from reaching completion here created a divergence which would preclude any chance of going back. With each passing second, the divergence increases - its a wonder I managed to come back at all. Thankfully, both universes maintained a similar momentum long enough to enable my return.'
'So its possible to travel to a parallel universe, but you risk not being able to return to your original universe?'
'Exactly!' It was not strictly true, apart from the fact that the Time Lords would notice - although it was clear from recent events that they would not render any assistance if he did get trapped in another universe, there was also the fact that the the TARDIS had been using a different power source during his lateral time trip. There had been particular atomic resonances involved in the nuclear process that had assisted in the convergence of the two universes. Without that power source on both sides the TARDIS would not be able to transfer between them. Liz might be able to understand but the Doctor did not feel inclined to discussions on temporal mechanics, especially since he was no longer certain of the equations or the theory. That was another avenue that the Time Lords had blocked off and until he could see those equations in his mind the path was likely to be treacherous. No, his research into reactivating the TARDIS systems lay firmly in a fixed temporal line - D and E had to form part of the equation, there was no point in complicating it further by comparing F, G and...
'Are you still coming to the party on Friday?' Liz had become concerned with the Doctor's introspection, which was part of the reason why things had reached the stage they had.
'Party?' it was obvious that it meant nothing to the Doctor and Liz felt slightly hurt.
'My leaving party! I've told you about it twice!'
'Your leaving party?'
'I even circled it on the calendar for you!' Liz walked over to the calendar next to the door. Of course, it probably meant little to the Doctor but she was surprised that he had forgotten. Especially since they had argued the matter prior to joining the Brigadier at Project Inferno! She stared at the Doctor and realised that this was another reason why she was leaving. There was such a thing as being too absent-minded, but this was too much. The Doctor's tendency to forget human matters and his over-riding self interest in as much as his wish to break free of his exile on Earth had convinced Liz that she would end up simply making tea while he pondered over "higher" matters. There were other positions out there that would make use of and challenger her scientific knowledge. It had been a hard decision but Liz had decided to leave as soon as possible. Given that he had drafted her, practically, Liz had expected the Brigadier to argue but he had sat there while she explained her feelings. Instead he had nodded and had reminded her that she was bound by the Official Secrets Act! Not that she could tell anyone about most of the events that had happened since her arrival at UNIT.
'Try not to forget, Doctor - Friday night. I'm leaving UNIT and will be assuming a new position in another government establishment outside of Cambridge. You never know, we might get the chance to work together in the near future.' Provided he hadn't found a way to escape his shackles. Somehow Liz had the feeling she would not see the Doctor again.
'I'm sorry, Liz, yes I will be there on Friday...' The Doctor expressed a number of platitudes with as much sincerity as he could muster. His main concern was the importance of what Liz had said. To others he may indeed seem remote and focussed on other details but the Doctor was able to note peripheral events. Any discussion about Liz leaving would have sunk in but he had no recall of that. Most importantly, he was aware of the calendar by the door. It was one of those tiny details which he acknowledged such as knowing about the water cooler in one corner of the laboratory, the chipped mug that Benton liked to drink from when he was able to take a break - which he would spend by watching the Doctor and Liz at work. Now he was looking at the calendar, more specifically at the year. The photograph of a row of daisies was the same, the pad indicated that it was June, the same two days prior to their departure for project Inferno had been struck off, only one thing was different. One tiny little detail, but it told the Doctor that more than one universe had converged during Project Inferno.
Just as the calendar he recalled did not have a particular Friday circled, the Doctor was aware now that the calendar was for 1975 rather than 1980. While he had returned to a universe where Project Inferno was nearing completion, a universe with a Liz Shaw, the Brigadier and UNIT, and most especially a Time Lord in exile known only as the Doctor, it was a universe with five years difference between its calendars!
As with the Prologue feature, Epilogue seeks to add to existing stories. In this case I have chosen to bridge the gap between the season 7 finale, Inferno and the season 8 opener, Terror of the Autons. The main reason I chose this particular "gap" is because there was no proper exit for the character of Liz Shaw departure (the first time an on-screen character in Doctor Who did not have a swansong). The other reason is that I wanted to address an issue which has caused quite a lot of bother among fans, namely date continuity. A lot of fuss has been created over Mawdryn Undead contradicting Pyramids of Mars but a lot of people forget that this latter story contradicts Web of Fear and The Invasion
. Of course, these two stories are not widely available but for the benefit of those who don't know what I mean: The Web of Fear is set in 1975 (there is a calendar on the wall of the fortress and Colonel Lethbridge Stewart mentions the year during his brief). The next time we meet Lethbridge Stewart, now a Brigadier, is in The Invasion. In that story he mentions that has been 4 years since the Yeti incident which sets that story in 1979! It is also clear that Spearhead from Space is set after these two stories which means that it is set in 1979 at the earliest.To my mind though, this only solves the issue of Sarah Jane Smith declaring that she is from 1980 in Pyramids of Mars. Eric Saward's faux pas in Mawdryn Undead is another matter entirely. See my, alternate version of season 20 in With Hindsight.
This particular epilogue, story content © D.S.Carlin 2006
Background © Patrick Herron 1998