From: jfy@cis.ksu.edu (Joseph F. Young)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.drwho
Subject: Reposting of "Stories of Nyssa" PART 8 of 8 by David E. Woon
Followup-To: rec.arts.drwho
Date: 17 Dec 1992 22:29:23 GMT
Organization: Kansas State University, Dept. of Computing and Information Scienc
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: crucis.cis.ksu.edu
Summary: Part 8 of Stories of Nyssa by David E. Woon
Keywords: Nyssa, Story, repost

This story was originally posted around February this year...


------------------------------------------------------------------------
  This is the EIGHTH episode in a series.  Please address comments or
     requests for further information or the previous episodes to:
            ng436@pnlg.pnl.gov   (or)   ng436@traken.pnl.gov
  --  David E. Woon  --  Molecular Science Research Center -- PNL --
            --  Alumnus of Michigan Tech University  --
------------------------------------------------------------------------


                        SUBSEQUENTIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL
                              by David E. Woon


BACKGROUND:

In this tale we shall return to our own region of reality, passing
through the universes of both Nyssa and Dave, and perhaps one of two
others of interest.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


SCENE 1:  the chamber of the High Council on Gallifrey

(The High Council are viewing the Matrix and are watching the end of
 Scene 9 from the last story.  The group consists of the Lord President
 [see "The Last Cyberman"] and a number of new characters, including the
 Guardian of the Matrix [Karlon], the Castellan (who runs the citadel)
 [Inthrisda], and three other council members [Memnot, Vristilon and
 Xandros].  The Lord President and Memnot are both women.)

P.  What is your point, Xandros?

X.  Are we going to allow this to continue?  This Time Lord Nyssa and
    her companion from Earth should not be allowed to roam freely!  When
    the Doctor brought her to Gallifrey to become a Time Lord, I warned
    all of you that she would be a great risk.

M.  She does not appear to be as much of a meddler as the Doctor.

X.  She has only begun her travels.  Considering what she has already
    done...

K.  Most of us do not see what concerns you so.  We have seen the same
    sequence of events, but they do not alarm us.

X.  She very nearly stopped her father's death.  She crossed the imagi-
    nary plane and brought back a person from a different reality into
    our own.  Then she, the Doctor and this person from an alternate
    Earth all went to the Earth in the other universe and interacted
    with a group of its people.  Now Nyssa and this David Ramsey have
    gone to an alien world in an alien universe and changed its entire
    history.  This doesn't alarm you in the least?

P.  You have chosen to forget that this Nyssa we're talking about is
    not simply the Nyssa whom the Doctor brought before us.  She is
    actually the combination of two Nyssa's from different time streams.

I.  It is not clear, Xandros, that we have any jurisdiction over her.

V.  We certainly cannot go where she has gone.

X.  She is still one of us, in one of our TARDIS's.  The recall circuit
    is functioning normally.

P.  I do not like your use of possessives, Xandros.  You must present
    us with compelling evidence, or I will not request the recall.

X.  Then I will give you the evidence which you desire.  It has come to
    my attention that several worlds have been experiencing anomalous
    physical behavior.

I.  What do you mean?

X.  The laws of physics are losing their stability in our universe.

M.  To what degree?

X.  Nothing very serious yet.  Most of it to date has fortunately been
    restricted to minor perturbations to Newton's Law of gravity.  On
    Earth they have been attributing it to a fictitious fifth funda-
    mental force.

I.  Are you certain that this has something to do with Nyssa?

X.  Her travels are weakening the boundaries between our universe and
    others, and it may conceivably destroy us.

P.  You must present us with documentation.

X.  Here.  Piles of it.

(He throws several large bound collections of research reports on the
 table.)

P.  Inthrisda, you will have Nyssa's TARDIS recalled.


          - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


SCENE 2:  Nyssa's TARDIS, the sitting room

(Dave and Nyssa have finished their stay on Kingdom and are travelling
 elsewhere.  At the moment, they are playing cribbage.)

N.  Do you think the people we trained will be able to pass on what we
    learned about the Gnasher?

D.  To some extent.  Some people won't listen or won't be able to
    understand.

N.  It's sort of sad that some of the people just turned around and
    went back into stasis, hoping for something better in the future.
    They weren't impressed with us.

D.  We couldn't remove the problem.  We just gave them a way to deal
    with it.  Some people won't accept partial solutions, and it is
    possible that a better solution will turn up.

N.  Short of altering the entire physical nature of the planet and its
    universe?

(Dave lays down his cards.)

D.  I only have fifteen-two, fifteen-four.

(Which he pegs.)

N.  I have fifteen-two, four, six, eight and double runs for twenty-
    four.

(She pegs it.)

D.  You learn quickly.

N.  Then another two points for a pair in the crib.

(She pegs off and wins the game.)

N.  I win.  Now I'm up five games over you.

D.  Maybe I should show you my solitaire version.  Then I won't lose so
    much.

N.  I think I've just been lucky.

(There is a knock at the door.  Dave and Nyssa both look at it,
 worried.  They weren't exactly expecting a caller.)

N.  Come in?

(The door swings open and Nyssa's Amalgam is standing in the doorway.)

A.  May I come in?

N.  Certainly.  David, this is my Amalgam.

D.  Aren't Amalgams not supposed to show themselves to anyone but their
    Time Lords?

N.  You've actually already met her.

D.  Back when Trefusis drew us down to the plane of the Amalgams, right.
    But I still don't understand why she should be here now.

A.  You are different.  It is the judgement of Rassilon's Amalgam that
    you and Nyssa be treated as one.  I am now the Amalgam of both of
    you.

(Nyssa is a tad embarrassed at this.)

N.  But we aren't married or anything.

A.  You will be.

N.  Now you're doing it, too.  Do you really know that Dave and I
    are going...

A.  You will be.

(Nyssa turns to Dave.)

N.  You haven't mentioned anything about this.  Have you seen us
    married?

(Now Dave is embarrassed.)

D.  Errr...  Well...  Yep.

N.  Why didn't you say anything?

D.  I've had the feeling of certainty in relationships before and was
    always wrong.  It looked like we were moving in that direction, but
    I didn't want to push it.

N.  It's not that I'm opposed to the idea, it's just that...

D.  People keep coming to conclusions for you.

N.  Precisely.

D.  Nyssa, as far as I'm concerned, I won't know if we'll get married
    until the proper moment comes.  We'll both be free to make whatever
    decision it is we happen to make.

N.  All right.

A.  You don't mind that I've made this appearance?

N.  Not if Rassilon's Amalgam says it's all right.

(Dave slaps his hands down on the table.  Nyssa jumps.)

D.  Oh, boy.  Sorry, Nyssa.

N.  What happened?  Another inspiration?

D.  A different kind of inspiration.  There are three of us now.  We
    can play a three-handed game I know.

N.  Three-handed cribbage?

D.  No, it's a game called Sheepshead.  Get me a piece of paper and I'll
    show you the rules.


          - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


SCENE 3:  later

(The three of them are seated around the table.)

N.  Was that short suit to the picker, long suit to the partner or the
    other way around?

D.  That's right.  Short suit to the picker.

(The Amalgam, although she possesses a mind as sharp as any other com-
 puter, is having difficulty with the nuances.)

A.  I still don't understand why you keep saying, "Even a pig's got a
    heart."

D.  Stay confused.  As long as you aren't sure what's going on, you
    won't be able to count the cards.

A.  I was already doing that.  You've led the Queens of hearts and
    spades and the Ace of clubs.  You took another trick with the Ace of
    diamonds.  You have won thirty-two points.

D.  I think this was a mistake.

(A klaxon goes off.)

D.  What's that for?

A.  It's a warning that the TARDIS is about to be subjected to sudden 
    acceleration.  The Time Lords have activated the recall circuit.
    Find something solid to hold onto.

N.  Recall?  Why?

(There is no chance to answer the question, for the TARDIS lurches
 suddenly.  The cards go flying.  Dave and Nyssa, too.  The Amalgam
 vanishes.)

D.  I shouldn't have picked with four hearts anyway.

N.  Let's try to get to the control room.

(They work their way to the door and along the corridor.  They are
 moving up a steep potential gradient and being thrown back and forth.
 Eventually they make it to the main console array.)

N.  What can we do?

D.  Do we want to stop them from recalling us?  I know how to do it.

N.  I don't know.  We haven't done anything.

D.  Maybe we should just let them pull us in.

N.  No.  I want a chance to think.

D.  Brace yourself.

(Nyssa tries to get a good grip.  Dave presses a sequence of controls
 and grabs the edge of the console.  The acceleration is abruptly
 reversed.  Nyssa is thrown into the console and almost hits her head on
 one of the boards.  Dave was standing on the other side and is thrown
 to the ground, landing on his posterior and sliding to the wall.  The
 sense of motion then stops.)

N.  The rubberband effect.

D.  Ouch.  Are you OK?

N.  Yes.  What did you do?

D.  I swerved us into a universe that would close the connection between
    us and Gallifrey.  The physics of this universe doesn't allow the
    transmission of electrochronistic radiation.

(He is looking at a monitor.)

    Hey, but they do have magnetic monopoles.

    If we reactivate the imaginary circuits, the Time Lords will have us
    again.

N.  If electrochronistic radiation is inhibited, we won't be able to
    contact Gallifrey.  I would like to know what's going on.

D.  The only way we'll find out is to go to there.

N.  Maybe the Doctor knows something.

D.  You haven't said anything lately about your telepathic link.  Has it
    been working all along?

N.  It got fainter as we moved away from the Doctor along the imaginary
    axis, but it didn't lose much strength even then.  It was an odd
    feeling: I'd become used to the feeling of motion through time and
    space, but motion through imagination was hard to adjust to at
    first.

(She stops talking and closes her eyes.)

    The Doctor hasn't any idea what's happening.  He thinks that we
    should go to Gallifrey, but he's worried.  The last two times he was
    recalled by the Time Lords were not pleasant.  The first time they
    tried to kill him for the good of the universe, and in the other
    instance they had him on trial for his life.  But he thinks it would
    be better to face the problem than to try to run from it.  There's
    something else bothering him.  Something to do with the laws of
    physics.  He wonders if there's a connection.

D.  Here we go again.

(Dave reactivates the imagination rotor and they are seized again by the
 rushing torrent which speeds them on their way to Gallifrey.)


          - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


SCENE 4:  the Amalgam pub

N.  Their TARDIS is being recalled.

R.  The High Council is afraid, for much the same reasons as we our-
    selves were concerned recently.

N.  They think there is a danger to the continuum?

R.  They think it's already been damaged.  It isn't true, but someone on
    the council is determined to use this to further his own designs.


          - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


SCENE 5:  Gallifrey, a landing zone

(Nyssa's TARDIS materializes and the two occupants emerge looking a bit
 frazzled.)

D.  It's too bad they didn't think that you just might have come back
    willingly.

N.  Let's go to the council chamber.  There aren't any guards, which is
    a good sign.

(The door opens and a guard enters.)

D.  So much for good signs.

G.  Please come with me.


          - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


SCENE 6:  the chamber of the High Council

(A different guard enters.)

G.  Lord President, a guard has brought Nyssa and David Ramsey to the
    Council.

P.  Inthrisda, did you order this escort?

I.  Yes, my Lord President.

P.  Why?  We have not accused either of these people of any wrong-doing.
    They should not be treated as criminals.

X.  Do not place blame upon Inthrisda, Lord President.  He was acting on
    my recommendation.

P.  Indeed.  I should not be surprised, Xandros, to find you advising me
    as well.  Guard, you may bring them in now.

(Nyssa and Dave are brought in by the guard, who leaves.  They would be
 feeling less-apprehensive toward the Lord President had they heard the
 previous exchange.)

P.  We apologize for the guard.  It was not my wish that you be brought
    here against your will.

N.  But you did use the recall circuit.

P.  We are concerned and it seemed the cautious thing to do.

M.  Please remember, dear, that the more one sees as a Time Lord the
    more cautious one becomes.

V.  Nyssa, you must be familiar with the Paradox of Rassilon.

D.  That's the bit that says that the universe should have collapsed
    upon itself when Rassilon activated the first time displacement
    circuit: by all the supposed rhyme and reason inherent to the
    physics of cause and effect, the existence of any non-sequential
    displacement through time should have caused the universe to come
    apart at the seams like a cheaply made K-Mart garment.

V.  What is K-Mart?

D.  Sorry, that was an unnecessary embellishment.

X.  How does this Earthling know about the Paradox of Rassilon?

K.  Perhaps Nyssa told him...

N.  I'd better warn you about David.  Sometimes he says and knows things
    without foreknowledge.  It will be disconcerting.

P.  How interesting.  We saw this in the Matrix, but we do not under-
    stand.

N.  What has happened that has caused the Council to become concerned
    about us?

P.  Councillor Xandros believes that your excursions along the imaginary
    axis are causing serious repercussions in the stability of this
    universe.

N.  We have been very careful to treat the boundaries with great
    respect.

D.  We couldn't have caused any serious damage.

X.  How can you know?  You are using something which you cannot under-
    stand!

D.  I do understand it.

X.  You, an Earthing from the twentieth century of that planet?  How can
    you understand something which the Time Lords never even conceived
    of?

N.  The Time Lords are not the only source of good science!  My people
    on Traken developed a theory of energetics which had never occurred
    to the Time Lords.

P.  Xandros, I find your arrogance most distasteful.

X.  I am sorry, Lord President.

P.  The mouth speaks what the heart feels and the mind thinks.

(Xandros has a dark look on his face.)

X.  Nevertheless, is it not remarkable that this man claims to know all
    of the implications of travel along the axis of imagination?

P.  You have been watching the Matrix.  He is undergoing a process which
    is called unchaining.  It is reasonable to expect that he could thus
    understand things which would be beyond the grasp of their science.

X.  But we have only his word for it.

N.  And numerous examples where he has known things he should not be
    able to know.  He knew how to use the controls for the imaginary
    circuits without being told, and I couldn't have told him in any
    event because I didn't know how to use them.  No other Time Lord
    could have told him either, because the technology is from a dif-
    ferent universe.

X.  We shall see.

P.  What do you mean, Xandros?

X.  At this moment I have a team of technicians working on disassembling
    the circuits and learning how they work.

D.  Don't do that!  They must be stopped immediately!

(Unfortunately, the Time Lords haven't yet started to take this man from
 Earth seriously.)

N.  You have no right!

X.  It is a TARDIS, and although you are its custodian, Nyssa, it
    belongs to Gallifrey and to the Time Lords as a body.

P.  We have already discussed this.  It is not clear that this TARDIS
    belongs to any particular universe anymore.

X.  It came when called, which is sufficient for me.

P.  I will not have you usurping my role in this matter, Xandros.  You
    will order your technicians to cease immediately.  That is, unless
    you have plans to depose me.

(There is a moment of tension: it would not be the first time someone on
 the Council decided to act in such a manner.)

X.  No, Lord President, I have no such plans.  I will obey you.

(He leaves the chamber.)

P.  Inthrisda, I recommend that you and several guards accompany Xan-
    dros.  I would like to trust him, but he has already acted with
    disregard for the normal procedures of this council.

I.  Yes, Lord President.

(Inthrisda leaves as well.)

D.  I hope no one has been hurt.

P.  Is there some danger?

D.  The imaginary circuits should not be handled when the TARDIS is
    materialised in normal space.  Some of the elements are not very
    stable.  If they have deactivated any of the protective fields,
    lives may be lost.

P.  Did you know of this danger?  Shouldn't you have warned someone?

N.  We didn't come here expected to have our TARDIS cannibalized for the
    sake of Time Lord science.

D.  I didn't even know about the danger anyhow until the moment that
    Xandros mentioned that the circuits were being disassembled.

V.  This is more of your fascinating sense of intuition, is it?

D.  Yes.  I'm beginning to get pictures of the technology involved.
    It's no wonder it was never created in this universe: most of the
    elements can't exist here without protective fields which inhibit
    your local physics.  Of course, it's also impossible in my uni-
    verse.  But then, time travel is inherently impossible in my
    universe.

N.  But we travelled back in time to meet the actor who played the fifth
    doctor.

D.  We weren't in my universe then: we were in between, travelling along
    the interface.

M.  I hope you won't mind if some of us older people, whose minds don't
    skip along like they used to, ask a couple of simple questions.  We
    appear to have a real problem that is being caused by your new type
    of TARDIS.  Is it right for me to say that you claim that you are
    not in the least at fault?

D.  Not as far as I know.  I am reasonably certain that we have caused
    no damage.  The interfaces are fluid: when you pass through, the
    openings can reseal.  There are two exceptions.  Excessive travel
    through one part of the interface may lead to a local, temporary
    breakdown of the barrier.  I stress the word temporary.  The immed-
    iate effects may be disasterous, but the physics will be restored.
    The other source of danger is due to what I will call dirty tran-
    sitions.  Impurities may be introduced into the fabric of the
    interface.  This is much more serious.  It does not heal very well.

M.  How can it be harmful?

D.  Draw a parallel to chemical interfaces.  Water beads up on glass,
    but add a little alcohol and it wets the surface much more.  The
    impurity changes the surface tension.  If that happened between two
    universes, they could collapse into one another.  The combined
    single universe would eventually reach a new equilibrium, with a
    different set of physics than found in either of the previous
    universes.

M.  What about life?

D.  It wouldn't survive.  Life is too sensitive to its environment.

P.  Do you know that you haven't caused either of these problems?

D.  Yes.  Our circuitry is clean, and we have not made many transitions.

M.  Then what is causing the problems?

D.  I don't know.

(The captain of the guards of the Citadel enters.  He had accompanied
 Inthrisda and is seriously wounded.)

P.  What has happened?

C.  Lord President, it is terrible!

P.  Has there been a problem with Nyssa's TARDIS?

C.  No, it is far worse.  Xandros and his people have taken control of
    the Citadel.  They have begun a general recall of all TARDIS's.
    Inthrisda was injured too badly to regenerate. He is dead, killed by
    one of his own men who went over to the side of the Paranoids.

(The chamber guards come and help their wounded captain.)

P.  How can this be happening?  Xandros has been a very conservative
    member of the Council, but a Paranoid?

M.  We have been fools not to see it.  We have also been blind to the
    climate of opinion among the people.  Such an uprising cannot happen
    suddenly.

P.  We do not have time now to analyze our short-sightedness.  Xandros
    will surely arrive soon to claim the presidency and the key to the
    Matrix.  We are trapped and without hope.

(The group now consists of Nyssa and Dave and the Lord President, Kar-
 lon, Vristilon, Memnot and a pair of guards.  The guards exit to protect
 the chamber.  The wounded man has died.)

P.  If history repeats itself as it has before, then we shall soon
    join the captain of the guards and Inthrisda.

(The scene ends with a shot of the dead man.)


          - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


SCENE 7:  the landing zone

(Numerous TARDIS's have already appeared.  The range of models and eras
 is rather astounding.  There are various pieces of equipment set up
 among them and attended by technicians.  TARDIS's will continue to
 appear throughout this scene.)

(Here we will be introduced to Bramic, Xandros's aide.)

B.  We will have great difficulty prying the Time Lords loose from their
    TARDIS's, Xandros.

X.  It does not matter.  Let them stay within; they cannot go anywhere.
    The recall circuitry will hold them here.  If they do not choose to
    surrender, they are free to waste away through their remaining
    regenerations as prisoners of their own time ships.

(A technician approaches Bramic and shows him something from a clip-
 board.)

X.  Is there a problem?

B.  One TARDIS is resisting the recall.  It does not have complete
    freedom, but neither do we have full control.

X.  I thought that this was impossible.

B.  Everything is impossible until someone finds a way to do it.

X.  You must find a way to stop it.  We must have every TARDIS.

B.  They are working on it.  You might as well carry on with your other
    business.

X.  Then I must go to the Council now and remove the President.


          - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


SCENE 8:  the Council chamber

(We return in time to see that guards must be trying to break the door
 down from outside.)

P.  We do not have much time left.  We shall not be able to resist them,
    and reason will be to no avail.

K.  They are Paranoids.

V.  Yes, Paranoids.

(The door is cracking and mere moments remain.  Fortunately for the
 longevity of this story, a certain blue police call box materialises in
 the middle of the room.  The door opens and the Doctor pokes his head
 out [please pardon my use of W for the Doctor's lines].)

W.  Going up, anyone?

(There is a hasty scramble as the group of people enter the Doctor's
 TARDIS.  The door closes as the guards burst in, and the TARDIS de-
 materialises as Xandros climbs over the splinters.)

X.  It would be the Doctor who is resisting the recall.  Meddler.


          - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


SCENE 9:  the Doctor's TARDIS, in the control room

P.  Thank you, Doctor.  How did you avoid being recalled?

W.  I didn't exactly avoid it.  I set up a signal to partially jam the
    recall signal.

K.  That's a neat trick.  We've always thought it was impossible to
    override the recall circuit.

W.  I haven't really overridden it.  I am not able to stray very far
    from the circumscribed course of the recall.

N.  What are we going to do now?

W.  Not much in this TARDIS, I'm afraid.  They will soon determine the
    frequency of my jamming signal and cancel its effect.

P.  We will be drawn to the landing zone with all of the other TARDIS's.

M.  At least we will be safe.

N.  We'll be trapped forever unless we surrender.  Doctor, isn't there
    anything else we can do?

W.  I have one idea, but I shall need to confer with David.  (To David.)
    Come, we must be quick.  Nyssa, watch this monitor.  If the gauge
    drops below 0.2, call for me.  We will need to act quickly.

(David and the Doctor exit into the interior of the TARDIS.)

P.  I had hoped, as do all Presidents, to serve without an outbreak of
    Paranoia.

N.  Lord President, the Doctor has told me a little bit about this, but
    he didn't say much.

P.  Perhaps you should not be addressing me as Lord President any
    longer.  Even if can we ever leave this TARDIS...

N.  Please, to us you are still Lord President.

P.  Thank you, Nyssa.  This has crushed me.  We should have been able to
    see what was happening.

V.  We are not the first to be blind.

P.  There is not much consolation in that.  Nyssa, since the days of
    Rassilon there have always been people who feared the possible
    implications of time travel.  I think that all of us fear, to some
    extent, that the Paradox of Rassilon is true; we have not yet
    destroyed the universe, but somewhere, sometime, a fatal mistake
    might be made.  Most of us allow ourselves to be consoled by the
    statistics which have been amassed in the vast number of nonsequen-
    tial time displacements which have been safe.  A few, however, have
    always been unable to accept this reassurance.

    Sometimes it is a gradual change.  A Time Lord might consider how
    easily history can be altered, oftentimes for the worse, and per-
    suade him- or herself that TARDIS travel is inherently evil.  Xan-
    dros must have been afflicted in this way, perhaps by what he er-
    roneously concluded about your own TARDIS.  No one can become a
    Councillor unless there is no trace of Paranoia in his psyche-
    profile.

M.  Perhaps that is why we were unable to see the problem.  We cannot
    sympathize with those who are close to Paranoia.

P.  You may well be right.

N.  How bad are these periods of Paranoia?  Have all the TARDIS's ever
    been recalled before?

P.  Only once, and that started a dark age which lasted 300 years.

N.  Doctor!  The strength of your jamming signal is down to 0.2!

(The Doctor and David Ramsey reenter the control room.)

N.  Do you have a plan?

W.  Yes, but it will be risky.

P.  What are you going to attempt?

W.  I don't think you want to know.


          - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


SCENE 10:   the landing zone

B.  We have solved the problem with the jamming signal from Doctor's
    TARDIS.  He should be materialising within the next 10 seconds.

X.  Then we shall have all but half a dozen TARDIS which are out of
    recall range.

(The blue police call box wheezes into sight, but does not become
 fully solid.  It disappears again.)

X.  What happened?

B.  It appears that he had a second trick up his sleeve.


          - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


SCENE 11:  back in the Doctor's TARDIS

W.  It worked.  By turning our acceleration to add to the velocity of
    the recall stream rather than to oppose it, we were able to
    overshoot the landing zone.  We have about 90 seconds before it
    pulls us back far enough to hold us at the landing zone.

V.  Then we are still trapped?

D.  (To the Doctor.) We'll have to try your idea.

W.  Will you be able to do your part?

D.  I'm afraid I won't know until we get there.

W.  That will have to do.  Nyssa, take over the spatial displacement
    stability controls.  You will need to hold us in a very precise
    balance.

N.  I don't know what we're doing.

W.  You will.

D.  We're starting the down-swing, Doctor.

W.  Let's do it.

(He activates the materialisation circuit and we see his TARDIS begin
 to appear within Nyssa's.  A lone technician is startled and runs out
 to get assistance.)

W.  You must hold us here long enough for Dave to get out and activate
    your TARDIS.

N.  All right.

(We see her in deep concentration.  It would help if there were some
 gauge or monitor which showed how sensitive the stability is for the
 one TARDIS to appear within another.)

N.  This is the best I can do.

(The Doctor turns the switch which opens the door.  David runs out.)

W.  I hope this works.

(Dave goes to the console for the imaginary circuits, looks at it
 briefly and begins throwing switches and adjusting dials.)

D.  I hope this doesn't destroy the universe.

(He flips a final toggle.)


          - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


SCENE 12:  the landing zone

B.  They used their own acceleration to overshoot us, but they will
    swing back and forth in damped oscillations that will soon stop.

(Again the TARDIS begins to materialise and then fades away again.  It
 happens once more, fairly soon.)

B.  That should be the last oscillation.

(But the Doctor's TARDIS does not reappear again.  Instead, Nyssa's
 TARDIS also vanishes.)

X.  Bramic.  The impossible has happened again.  You must try to trace
    them.

B.  Yes, Xandros.


          - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


SCENE 13:  Nyssa's TARDIS

(The Doctor sticks his head out of his TARDIS.)

W.  I haven't done this for a while.  I didn't realize it would be
    so much more difficult when both TARDIS's were locked in recall.

D.  We can't rest yet, Doctor.

W.  Why not?

D.  Nyssa's TARDIS can't carry yours very far along the imaginary axis.
    We're leaving incredible ripples of turbulence in the interface.  We
    need to separate or our neighboring universes will collapse into one
    another.

(An animated graphic of the turbulence would be a nice touch.)

(Nyssa emerges past the Doctor, followed by the others.)

P.  How did we break free?

D.  I activated the imaginary circuits and popped across into my own
    universe where the recall signal wouldn't reach.  That's another
    universe where the physics precludes electrochronistic radiation.

N.  I heard what you said about the Doctor's TARDIS.  What should we do?

D.  We have to leave it somewhere.

(The faithful blue police call box looks sort of lost.)

W.  You're not suggesting that I abandon...

D.  Not at all, Doctor.  I'm going to drop you off in the Third
    Universe.

W.  What Third Universe?

D.  The one from which the other Nyssa and her TARDIS originated.  I
    think you'll enjoy it.

(The Doctor has a smile of anticipation, in spite of the fact that some
 of the initiative has passed to a different individual.)


          - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


SCENE 14: the Amalgam pub

(The Amalgams of Rassilon, Nyssa and the Doctor are in attendance.)

R.  The situation has become very interesting.  Two parties have escaped
    from Gallifrey in TARDIS's.

D.  The Doctor and several members of the High Council are now in the
    Third Universe, as they call it.

N.  And Nyssa, Dave and the Lord President are in Dave's universe.

R.  Through your contacts with these people, we shall perhaps gain new
    perspective on the conundrums which have been bothering us.

D.  David Ramsey already explained how the different sort of TARDIS
    came about.

R.  Yes, by implication.  The Third Universe probably has a physics
    which allowed its development and construction.

N.  But why didn't Nyssa know how to use it?  I have been unable to
    remember sufficient events from that part of her past.  It appears
    that the Amalgams in that universe are of a lower order of develop-
    ment.  They are little more than computers with rudimentary self-
    awareness.

R.  When you merged with the other TARDIS, most of what emerged was you.

N.  Except for the imaginary circuits.

D.  I wonder what the Doctor will find in the Third Universe.  He is
    heading for its Gallifrey.

N.  What will happen to our Gallifrey?

R.  The Paranoia will have to run its course.  It looks like this will
    be a bad spell of it, too.

N.  Is there nothing that can be done?

R.  We will have to see what the two parties come up with.


          - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


SCENE 15:  aboard Nyssa's TARDIS

N.  So what shall we do?  Are we going to try to produce a means to
    free Gallifrey of its Paranoia, or should we leave it behind us?

D.  I am not a Time Lord.  But, if there is something we could do, I
    think we should try.

P.  I agree, although I am not very optimistic.  History indicates that
    Paranoia, once established, has been recalcitant about being up-
    rooted.

N.  Hopefully we can prevent it from becoming well established.

D.  Do we have any ideas at all on how to accomplish this?  How has
    Paranoia been replaced with normalcy in the past?

P.  You must understand that it has only been as bad as this once
    before.  Ordinarily, there isn't any bloodshed.  Paranoia is usually
    limited to politics: a party will go over the edge and begin to
    manipulate policy toward the ultraconservative.  They do not come
    out and demand that all TARDIS's be recalled.  Instead, they attempt
    to create regulations that would limit the range or impact of TARDIS
    travel.  Some good does come of this.

N.  I can see that.  I hardly dare to imagine what the universe would be
    like if every Time Lord shared the Doctor's attitudes.

P.  A balance in ideology is good and strengthens the Time Lords.

D.  But Paranoia can destroy the balance.

P.  Paranoia tends to be intolerant.

D.  What is the best way to deal with intolerance?  On my world, we
    don't have a solution for that.  Just the advice of an old adage:
    Fight fire with fire.

N.  We cannot fight on their terms.  We simply haven't the resources.

D.  But we have one thing they cannot ever develop: this TARDIS.


          - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


SCENE 16:  aboard the Doctor's TARDIS

(The Doctor has never had such august personages for companions: Kar-
 lon, Guardian of the Matrix, and Councillors Memnot and Vristilon.
 Of course, he doesn't give it a thought.)

W.  The sensors indicate that it is a different universe out there.  I
    have set the coordinates on a course for Gallifrey.

V.  Another Gallifrey.  I wonder what we shall find there.

M.  Are we certain there even is a Gallifrey in this universe?

W.  A second Nyssa came from here.

K.  But did she start here?  Her TARDIS had the imaginary circuits
    already.

W.  But she did not know how to use them.  It is most likely that she
    originated here.  There should be a Gallifrey as a consequence.  If
    there isn't, I will be quite disappointed: I'm looking forward to
    meeting myself.

K.  Wouldn't that be dangerous?

W.  Would it?  I supposed if we took a disliking to one another...

M.  I think Karlon was refering to something a bit more disastrous than
    that.

W.  What could be more disastrous than disliking one's self?  I would
    be hating me!

K.  What if this universe were made of antimatter?

W.  Then we will go poof when we materialise on any planet.  In any
    event, the sensors do not indicate any antimatter.  Actually, I've
    already encountered an alter ego in David Ramsey's other universe.
    He wasn't the real thing, of course, but he was the proper parallel
    to myself.  There wasn't any problem then.

K.  Let's hope you're right, Doctor.


          - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


SCENE 17:  back to Nyssa's TARDIS, in the sitting room

(The three of them have relocated to the sitting room and are discussing
 options and possibilities.  The Lord President has taken off her outer
 robes and head dress.)

N.  Could we just go back and kidknap Xandros?

P.  I don't know if that would stop the Paranoia.  He is a capable
    leader, but something else is fueling this as well.

D.  We can't do it, anyway.  The only way we escaped was to cross
    directly into my universe -- I can't go back that way.  As things
    stand, if we go back, we'll just be caught in the recall again.

N.  But we could still escape the same way.

D.  Right.

P.  It wouldn't get us to Xandros.

N.  Unless he were present at the landing zone.

D.  We need to explore different options.  At least we can go back and
    forth freely.

P.  Could they possibly develop the technology to inhibit demateriali-
    sation into imaginary space?  If they could, then they might be
    able to capture even this TARDIS.

D.  That could only happen if they had help from outside of your uni-
    verse, which appears unlikely.

P.  The real problem is not access to Gallifrey, but how do we stop the
    Paranoia?

N.  I agree.  You don't think that removing the leadership will be
    sufficient, Lord President?

P.  No.  By the way, in this informal setting, you both may as well use
    my name.

D.  We don't even know what it is.  You went from Inquisitor to Lord
    President without its ever being mentioned.

P.  It's Alena.

N.  Alena, we need your experience in politics to know what to do.

P.  I am not really a politician.  I came up through the law and juris-
    prudence.  Also, I've already demonstrated that I don't understand
    Paranoia very well.

D.  I can understand a party of Time Lords becoming ultraconservative,
    but I can't see how the normal Gallifreyans become Paranoid.  On
    Earth, fringe groups draw people, but not usually in large numbers.

P.  You need to understand how are society is structured and how it
    evolved.  There are parallels to your own Earth culture, particu-
    larly to that of Great Britain.  When the Time Lords emerged from
    the science of Rassilon, the people were awed, or at least intimi-
    dated, by the power.  They were easily subjugated.  As time passed,
    however, they became aware of their own importance -- without them,
    the Time Lords have no economic and social base from which to
    operate.  Some of the Time Lords, although by no means a majority,
    were eager to share their wealth with the common man.  We went
    through a lengthly period of adjustment: conflict, concessions,
    adaptations, bloodshed, and finally produced the structure which has
    now been in place for many millenia.

    Whereas the lords and royalty of Earthian England steadily lost
    power, wealth, and initiative, the Time Lords have continued to
    climb upwards.  The common man of Britain moved into the roles of
    their former leaders.  Our people have helped us, willingly, because
    of what they share.  The Time Lords regenerate and live long lives;
    the common Gallifreyan has one live but it is greatly prolonged.
    You may think that they act as servants, but it is much more; they
    are the substance of Gallifrey and know it.  The Time Lords are its
    nervous system and know they could not survive without the others.

    A consequence of this is that the people follow politics very
    closely and are very involved.  They do not derive their views from
    those which reflect the ideology of the current Council; they think
    for themselves, and the Time Lords listen to them because of the
    structure of our society.  We are probably closer to true repre-
    sentative government by accident than any world or nation which set
    out deliberately to form such a government.

N.  So you think that this actually started with the people, and Xandros
    picked up on it and used it for his own purposes?

P.  Very likely, although when it started with the people, it was proba-
    bly quite a distance from Paranoia.  They are not as concerned with
    the implications of TARDIS travel as the Time Lords.

N.  If we knew the roots of their discontent and how Xandros manipulated
    that into Paranoia...

P.  Then we could, perhaps, find a way to persuade them to change their
    minds.


          - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


SCENE 18:  back to the Doctor's TARDIS

(The view screen shows Gallifrey, but not from space.  It is a view of
 the planet as seen from the perspective of spatial and chronistic de-
 materialisation; there is more of math to the view than anything else.)

W.  There it is.  We will land momentarily.

V.  What do the sensors show?

W.  Would you check them?

(Vristilon moves to a different console and does this and that.)

V.  Mostly background radiation...  Not a good sign.  It looks like this
    Gallifrey was never civilised.

W.  That's inconsistent with the readings I'm getting.  I have indica-
    tions of structures.

V.  Then they are cold and lifeless.

M.  You're saying that this Gallifrey had a civilisation...

W.  But it has collapsed.

V.  There are traces of humanoid life, but only enough to indicate a
    very few scattered individuals.

(Karlon goes to a third console.)

K.  The automatic log has found a carrier signal and has been broadcast-
    ing.  Whatever else is down there, the Matrix is still operational.
    They were Time Lords like us.

M.  They probably were us, literally.

W.  But most of them appear to be dead.


          - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


SCENE 19:  Nyssa, Dave and the President

D.  With considerable help from Nyssa, I've come up with an auxiliary
    circuit that should negate the recall when used in conjunction with
    the imaginary circuits.  There is a retardation between the recall
    signal and the response of the TARDIS.  If we set up a high fre-
    quency modulation in the dematerialisation into and out of imaginary
    space, then we can move through that universe without being drawn to
    Gallifrey against our will.

P.  It will be very inefficient.

N.  There will be considerable hysteresis loss.  Where will that energy
    go?

D.  A lot of it will go into heat, of course, but some of it will be
    dissipated into the interfacial regions surrounding the various
    universes.

N.  In what form?

D.  The frequency with be similar to that of high band radio, although
    the medium is quite different.

P.  Will there be any danger of damaging the barriers between universes?
    It would be ironic if we destroyed my universe in an effort to rid
    Gallifrey of those who wanted to protect it from that sort of de-
    struction.

D.  I don't think that will be a problem.

P.  You don't speak with your customary certainty.

D.  This time I don't feel certain.  This time I really don't know.


          - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


SCENE 20:  the Gallifrey of the Third Universe

(The Doctor's TARDIS materialises in a room similar to the landing zone
 seen previously, but a dark, dirty and cluttered version.)

(The Time Lords appear through the door.)

W.  I wonder what happened to these people.

V.  Maybe they were afflicted with Paranoia as well.

W.  Not likely.  This is the only TARDIS in sight.

V.  You're right, Doctor.

K.  Let's go to the Council chamber and view the Matrix.  That will tell
    us what transpired.

(Outside of the Council chamber.  Vristilon is trying to open the door.)

V.  This door is locked.

M.  Does anyone have their key?

(No one appears to.)

W.  What a minute!  I still have the key that was given to me when I
    became Lord President.  (He starts digging in his pockets, and pulls
    out The Bag.)  Jelly Baby, anyone?  (They each take one or two; Time
    Lords as a group are fanatical about their Jelly Babies.  The Doctor
    then looks at the bag and inverts it.)  Oh, my.  No more Jelly
    Babies.  Oh, well, this packet did last rather a long time.

V.  Doctor, the key?

W.  Right.

(He extracts it from his pocket and unlocks the door.  The group enters
 the Council chamber.)

K.  How odd.  This room is immaculate.

W.  It means that there's at least one survivor who hasn't let his
    surroundings get him down.

(Karlon goes to the Matrix controls and uses the Key to release them to
 his use.)

K.  Now we will see what happened.

(A laugh is heard from the corridor, originated in the near vicinity.)

W.  I know that laugh.  I have a good idea what happened to this Galli-
    frey.


	  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


SCENE 21:  Nyssa and Dave

(They are seen to be sweating a bit, and they keep drinking from iced
 beverages.  Each is watching a different monitor.  The President is
 probably off in a slightly cooler room; then again, she may only be off
 in the kitchen making something for them to eat.)

N.  I think we have enough evidence now.

D.  It's pretty clear who the culprit is, whoever he might be.

N.  Perhaps the Doctor will have some idea who he is.  It's about time
    we looked him up again.

D.  I'll set a course for the Third Universe...

N.  He's on their Gallifrey, and he is alarmed about something.

D.  Is he in danger?

N.  Not yet.

D.  It will be good to stop travelling in this mode anyhow.  I feel like
    I've sweated away 15 pounds.  (He adjust controls on the panel.)
    Something's wrong.

N.  What?

D.  The oscillation has been slowly shifting so that we have been
    travelling mostly out of imaginary space and in the Doctor's uni-
    verse.  I can't seem to get enough control to shift us onto the
    imaginary plane.

N.  Why weren't we subject to recall then?

D.  It has all the earmarks of a very sophisticated, automatic trap,
    intended to snare a TARDIS of this sort.  It has been taking con-
    trol very cautiously.  If we hadn't decided to leave yet, we would
    soon have been caught in a recall we would have been unable to
    fight.

N.  It means that this person we've been watching, the one who fomented
    this entire spasm of Paranoia, is from a different universe.

D.  Not a pleasant thought.

N.  Are we really trapped?

D.  If we'd waited much longer.  I think there is still something that
    should work.  I'll program the oscillation circuit to begin a gentle
    increase of frequency (all of this is accompanied by manipulation of
    various controls), then cross wire the locator into the main imagi-
    nary circuits, aiming for the Third Universe, and finally transfer
    95% of the energy flux into the imaginary dematerialisation
    element...

N.  Isn't that dangerous?

D.  It will work for Tjulus in the campaign at Quimilan.

N.  I see you're still unchained.

D.  You betcha.

(He hits the final switch and the room lights dim and the collection of
 rotors begins to give off lots of multicolor and increasingly bright
 light [pretend I didn't just see "Deja Q" last night].  This fades
 suddenly and Nyssa and Dave are hit with a good TARDIS lurch.  They
 are thrown together and into a wall or something.]

N.  Apparently it worked.

D.  Apparently.  As long as we're like this...

(He kisses her and vice versa.)

N.  We have to save the universe.

D.  Is it in danger again?

(The Lord President enters and Dave and Nyssa separate casually.)

P.  What happened?  I'm afraid that lunch did not survive the lurch.

D.  We were being drawn into a trap and it took quite a bit to break
    free.

(He switches out the power and the lights return to normal.)

N.  We found out that one man is behind the Paranoia.  He also happens
    to be from another universe.

D.  He must be a bright fellow.

P.  What are we going to do now?

N.  We're going to rejoin the Doctor on the off-chance he knows who this
    individual might be.

P.  May I see?

N.  Certainly.

(Nyssa brings up an image of Xandros talking to someone whose back is to
 the camera.  He shifts and we finally see his face.)

P.  It's the Valeyard!


          - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


SCENE 22:  the Council chamber in the Third Universe

(The Valeyard has entered and is covering the four Time Lords with an
 energy weapon.)

(He aims it at Vristilon and fires.  Vristilon dies in agony.  The
 others are appalled but unable to interfere.)

V.  Now that he's dead, I can speak.

W.  What could he possibly have done that would justify this murder,
    Valeyard?

V.  He was a descendant of Rassilon, and I despise anything that has to
    do with Rassilon.

D.  You murdered him out of whim?

V.  Certainly, Doctor.  You know that we both have a tendency to act on
    impulse.

(Memnot and Karlon look at the Doctor.)

M.  You know who this is?

W.  This is my alter ego... from the Third Universe?

V.  Correct, Doctor.

W.  It was possible, but not necessary, since you must have a TARDIS
    that can operate along the imaginary axis.

V.  An innovation which has given me hours of pleasure.  I used it to
    destroy my own civilisation.

W.  And you're using it now to destroy mine.

V.  With pleasure.

W.  Actually I'm rather consoled to learn that you're from this uni-
    verse.

V.  I'm sure you are.  That dundering fool, the Master, knew that I
    was an incarnation of the being he knows as the Doctor, but he
    jumped to the conclusion that I was you gone bad.

W.  I'm glad to learn that he was mistaken.

V.  I've always been the dark horse around here.

W.  Darker than the Master?

V.  Here I destroyed him before we were out of kindergarten.  He was
    always getting in my way.  I don't know why you've put up with your
    version so long.

W.  He's not all bad.  He doesn't hold a candle to you.

V.  Quite right, Doctor.  Neither do you.

W.  But I am you.

V.  Only in a few very significant physical respects.  If you reach your
    last regeneration, you will look like me, but your mind will be like
    pease porridge by comparison.  You have little self-discipline,
    whereas I overflow with it.

W.  It's not the only thing you overflow with.

V.  You will see, Doctor, that my arrogance is not ill-founded.

W.  And what are you going to do with us?  Kill us as coldly as you
    killed Vristilon?

V.  Him?  Yes.  (He shoots and kills Karlon.)  Her?  As well.  (He aims
    at Memnot.  The Doctor throws himself at the Valeyard, but Memnot
    has already fallen lifeless when they collide.  The Valeyard hits
    the Doctor lightly on the shoulder, and the Doctor goes down quick-
    ly.  He is not unconscious, but cannot move.)

    You've forgotten your Venusian karate, haven't you?  Sloppy, Doc-
    tor, very sloppy.

    These two were of no use to me, but I have plans for you.  You get
    to live... for a while.

(The Doctor loses consciousness.)


          - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


SCENE 23:  the Amalgam pub (the Amalgams of Rassilon and the Doctor)

D.  The Doctor is in a fine kettle.

R.  At least Nyssa and Dave will be able to avoid the trap which is laid
    for them.

D.  Had you guessed that the Valeyard was a Doctor from a different uni-
    verse?

R.  No.  But it makes me wonder.  What was Rassilon like in the Third
    Universe?


          - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


SCENE 24:  Gallifrey I (the one with the good Doctor)

(Xandros is working at a desk alone.  Nyssa's TARDIS materialises and
 the three passengers emerge.)

P.  Good evening, Xandros.

X.  Well, Alena, the former Lord President.

P.  We would like you to come with us so we may show you something.

X.  Are you kidknapping me?

P.  No, come of your own will or stay here.  If you have any real con-
    cern for Gallifrey and the Time Lords, you will come.

X.  Are you prepared to present me with evidence to refute my analysis?

N.  We're prepared to demonstrate that you've been duped.

X.  Do you think I'll walk into that TARDIS on the strength of your
    word?  Especialy when you know that I believe it to be dangerous?

P.  I know you, Xandros, well enough to know that you are a true
    scientist.  If you are given facts which demonstrate that your
    first conclusions were erroneous, you will change you mind.

X.  You give me more credit than I would give you.

P.  We are in need of your help.  For the sake of Gallifrey, please come
    with us.

X.  Will you allow me to inform my aide of my absence?

P.  Yes.

X.  Even though I may use the opportunity to have you arrested?

(She nods.  Xandros presses a button and Bramic enters.)

X.  Bramic, I will be leaving for a while.

B.  But Xandros...

X.  Don't be concerned.  It is something I must do.  Don't tell anyone.

B.  Yes, Xandros.

(Xandros and the others board Nyssa's TARDIS, which dematerialises.
 The scene changes to the interior.)

X.  In spite of my distrust of your new circuits and their possible
    hazard, I am curious about travelling to other realities.  What
    have you to show me?

P.  The man with whom you were dealing -- the one who gave you the
    data on which you based your conclusions -- is someone whom I've
    encountered before, and he is not to be trusted.

X.  Show me your tapes.


          - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


SCENE 25:  Gallifrey II, a laboratory

(The Valeyard has placed the Doctor in chains.  The Doctor comes to.)

D.  Chains.  A lab in a dungeon.  I love the ambiance.

V.  I believe the proper response is, "Enjoy it while you can, Doctor."

D.  What do you have in mind for me?  Brain transplant?  Genetic muta-
    tion?  The psychology of pain?

V.  Oh, Doctor, don't be melodramatic.  I may act on whim from time to
    time, but most of what I do is in strict accordance with a plan.
    Part of my plan includes living past this current regeneration,
    which won't last forever.  It's rather an odd feeling, knowing that
    you're down to your last life.

    However, Doctor, I've discovered a unique benefit of transuniversal
    travel.  My life and your life are completely compatible.  I can
    use your remaining four regenerations to extend my own life.

D.  This assumes that I won't be using them.

V.  I'm afraid not.  Besides, I can't have you pestering me forever.

D.  There must be other universes with good Doctors.

V.  And some with bad ones, like me.  If either good or bad come here to
    meddle, I'll gladly accept any regenerations they might care to
    offer.  If they don't come here, I'll have to go looking for them.

D.  That's rather ingenious.  You could live virtually forever.

V.  Admiration?  You surprise me, Doctor.  Next you'll be offering
    your lives to me willingly.

D.  Don't get carried away.


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SCENE 26:  aboard Nyssa's TARDIS

X.  I've been an idiot.  I should have looked much more closely at his
    figures.  And to think, he didn't even come from our own universe.
    I'll have to go back to Gallifrey and set things to right.

P.  Yes, you will.

X.  And you will return to being Lord President.

N.  Before that we need to rescue the Doctor.  We don't have much
    time.

D.  We have a problem, though.  The Valeyard knows too much about imagi-
    nary travel.  Considering the ingenuity of the last trap he set for
    us, this TARDIS is no longer an asset.  It's not a liability, but it
    isn't the highest trump.

N.  You're our highest trump, David.

D.  How so?  My unchainedness?

N.  Somehow we should be able to use that to our advantage.

P.  Are you able to control it yet?  You've mentioned that you've tried.

D.  We've been too busy the last several days.  I was making some
    progress, even beginning to feel that I almost had the key to being
    able to do some truly impressive...

N.  What is it, Dave?

D.  I should have known.  All I had to do was to bring the question to
    my intuition.  I'm going to need some time to think, but we can set
    a course for the other Gallifrey.

N.  Head right into the trap?

D.  We don't want to avoid it.  Besides, it might buy the Doctor some
    time.

N.  Is there anything I can do to help?

D.  Come with me and help me think.  We need to use association, and
    two are much better than one for that.


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SCENE 27:  Nyssa's TARDIS

(They are on the approach to the second Gallifrey.  The screen shows
 a graphic similar to one shown in the Doctor's TARDIS before.)

D.  Nyssa, shall we pretend that this is going to be difficult, or
    shall we tell the truth?

P.  It will be simple to free the Doctor and capture the Valeyard?

D.  Most things are simple when you see the solution.  The biggest
    exceptions to that rule which I'm aware of are in the quantum
    mechanics of many-electron systems.

X.  Correlation effects?

D.  Yep, perturbation theory.

N.  David, sometimes you're as hard to keep on track as the Doctor.

P.  What will we do?

D.  It's up to me.  I need to step out of the TARDIS before it
    materialises...

X.  You can't do that.  You'd be killed.

D.  No one has done it because you have to hit the phase right.  I'll
    know the correct moment.

P.  Even so, you'll still be inside the TARDIS fields.

D.  That's what I want.  I'll carry some residual energy of spatial
    dematerialisation.

N.  In essence, he'll be a ghost.

D.  Though only for about twenty seconds.  It should be enough time.

N.  This is it, Dave.

D.  Open the door far enough for me to get through into the airlock.

(He does so.)

(Nyysa's TARDIS materialises next to the Doctor's.  The Valeyard is
 standing by with his gun hidden behind his back.)

(The shadowy figure of Dave steps through the door and moves beside
 the Valeyard.  The door then opens and Xandros steps out, followed
 by Nyssa and the President.)

V.  Xandros!  What are you doing here?

X.  I'm here to help stop you from destroying my world.

V.  If you're here, you're here to die.

(He levels the gun at Xandros's head.)

V.  You're a fool, anyway.

(Dave solidifies and the Valeyard is taken aback at the sudden appear-
 ance.  Dave touches his neck and shoulder in three places and the
 Valeyard stiffens in paralysis.)

D.  How about a bit of Venusian karate, Valeyard?


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SCENE 28:  the Doctor's TARDIS

(The well-trussed Valeyard is leaning against a wall, still mostly para-
 lysed.  He is also gagged [it was the only way to keep him talking
 about himself].)

P.  What should we do with him?

W.  Nyssa had a good idea.  After they drop us off so we can begin to
    return Gallifrey to normal, they will find a quiet, uninhabited
    world in a universe which won't allow either time travel or the
    development of the imaginary circuits.

X.  Couldn't he build the field generators and define his own physics?

D.  We're going to look for a very simple universe, something which
    precludes relativity, classical electricity and magnetism and
    quantum mechanics.

N.  He couldn't possibly build the proper generators with nothing but
    levers, pulleys or inclined planes.

W.  He will not be able to carry out his grand machinations with nothing
    but simple machines.

N.  Dave, will you explain a couple of things?

D.  Presumably, you want to know why I didn't recognize the Valeyard at
    first, even though I've seen him on television.  He seemed familiar,
    but I didn't make the connection until Alena identified him.

W.  What about the Venusian karate?

D.  That was intuition.

P.  It will be good to put the Valeyard out of reach of our civili-
    sation.

W.  Unfortunately, there are probably a few more of him lurking out
    there in the realm of possible realities.

N.  But, Doctor, there must also be a few more like you.

P.  That's a consolation which fills me with mixed feelings.

(The Doctor looks hurt.)


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POSTSCRIPT:  the "real" Earth, February 12, 1990

(Nyssa's TARDIS materialises in the corner where it had previously ap-
 peared in two different realities.  Dave and Nyssa emerge.  A different
 Dave (2), dressed differently, is sitting at the desk.)

D1. What are you doing here?

D2. What are you doing here?

N.  Why are there two of you?

D1. Perhaps the merging wasn't really a merging, but a passing through.

D2. For us, yes.  But the two Nyssa's really did merge.  The excess
    energy was absorbed by her TARDIS, which also stayed together as a
    joint entity.

(The first Dave notices a manuscript on the desk.)

D1. I see you've continued to write about Dave and Nyssa.

D2. And you two have lived what I've only written.

N.  You never really left?

D2. I've never actually met you, not until this moment.  Don't try to
    understand that.  There were two Dave's and two Nyssa's running
    around as separate pairs, and I wasn't part of either.

N.  You're a third Dave?

D2. No, I'm just Dave.

N.  I'm confused.

D2. I told you not to try to understand it.  It's enough that you two
    will leave and continue your adventures, while I move away from
    Michigan.

D1. You're leaving?

D2. I got a job in Texas.

D1. You got a job while I was off with Nyssa?

D2. Yep.  Part of me would rather switch places with you, but here, in
    this universe, I have to stick with reality.

D1. Well, I wish you luck.  I'll have to look you up from time to time.

D2. And I probably look in on your further adventures.  I suspect that
    sometime soon the two of you will be getting married.

N.  Not again!

D2. Don't worry, Nyssa.  I agree with what he said in Scene 2: as far as
    I'm concerned, the decision is up to the two of you.  I'm not that
    David Ramsey.  This person standing next to me who looks and acts
    something like me still isn't me.  He's fictional to me.

D1. We'd better be leaving.  We still have to figure out where the
    second Nyssa came from.

D2. I won't say good bye.  I'll just say

                               THE END.


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-- 
Joseph Young, Systems Programmer
KSU Department of Computing and Information Sciences
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