The Frozen Wastes ( short story ) The Frozen Wastes was one of four short stories weaved into the main narrative of the anthology " The Story of Martha " . Summary . Six - year - old Pierre Bruyère begins to see nothing but white while sleeping . His father takes him to a doctor , who tells him that dreams are unimportant and who is unsure as to whether the dreams will remain . Pierre says that he doesn ' t want the dreams to go as he likes them . While visiting an exhibition of Arctic exploration in Paris , Pierre soon realises that this is what his dreams are about and resolves to be an Arctic explorer . Growing older , he becomes more worried that others will reach the North Pole , and feels guilty that , whenever another expedition failed , he feels delight , despite the deaths involved . At a meeting attended by the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones , he announces he will reach the North Pole by balloon . He explains the positive aspects of using balloons . Meanwhile the Doctor is listing negative aspects . Pierre says that his life and that of his two crew members will be the only lives in danger . The Doctor tells Martha that the " big problem " in the situation is that Pierre disappeared in April 1890 , and it is currently June 1890 . The Doctor and Martha accompany Pierre on his expedition . The Doctor observes a stall selling clockwork penguins , commenting that " They don ' t even have penguins in the Arctic . " The balloon lifts into the sky , and the Doctor is still talking about penguins . Pierre spends the next three hours writing in his journal , explaining that the journal is the most important part of the expedition , being a record which will survive even if they die . A sleep rota is set up . Martha will sleep first . Martha is having her childhood dream that she will one day be a doctor . She realises that she is a doctor , but in her dream , becoming one is a seemingly impossible goal . Suddenly , she is at her medical exams , with the teacher asking her to tell her about the bones of the human body , and about Martha ' s hopes and dreams . As she begins , the teacher starts to purr . The teacher states that it is cold , and she must feast to keep warm . Martha can now see that the teachers eyes are shards of ice , which makes her think of the ice beneath the balloon . Remembering the balloon , she wakes . The Doctor says that there is a problem , and dashes around the balloon , tossing things over the side . Pierre shouts that they are still losing height . The balloon is plummeting , and the Doctor begins to throw over the food . The balloon has slowed down , and the Doctor states that " it " wants them to get rid of the food . Pierre replies that the only force there is gravity , and the Doctor argues that they should have crashed on the ice already - something is keeping them aloft . When they throw over the remaining three food hampers , the balloon begins to rise , and the Doctor states that the mysterious force wants them at its mercy . One day , Pierre announces that they have reached the North Pole . The Doctor begins to gather everything which they can throw overboard , in case this is necessary . Martha is feeling less and less hungry , and after more than a week she suddenly realises that she should be starving , but isn ' t . She falls asleep . More often than not , her dreams are interrupted by the examiner , who says , " Tell me about the bones , Martha . It ' s so very cold , I must feast . Tell me about the bones , and why you love them so much . " One day , Pierre announces that they have reached the North Pole . Martha asks how he knows , and he explains that for the past months , they have been travelling at a steady speed . Martha asks him how long they have been travelling for . He says that they have been travelling for four or five months . Martha states that it was a fortnight . Pierre asks the Doctor , who says that they have spent so many years in the balloon that he lost count , and that he tried to shield them from the worst of it . Taking out his sonic screwdriver , he creates a light reaching the ground , which reveals the jettisoned food . The Doctor explains that the mysterious force has run the same seconds over and over . Pierre passes his journal to the Doctor , who discovers that Pierre has written the same entry in it endlessly . The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to burst the balloon , which remains floating . Hundreds of balloons are revealed , all of which are identical . The only difference is that the copy of Pierre in each is standing between different people . The Doctor explains that " it " has caught Pierre in a loop , making him repeat the expedition over and over again with different companions , and that the expedition is always doomed to failure . Martha asks why a creature would do that . The Doctor answers that the only thing it can do is eat , and that it feeds on human ambition . Pierre is horrified by this revelation , wondering if his desire to add to human knowledge was actually his . The nearest copy of Pierre appears to consider this , and begins to climb over the edge of his balloon . The time distortion is corrected and in a rewritten timeline , he becomes a baker at his parents ' bakery . On some occasions , he had flashbacks of the ' pure whiteness ' . Continuity . " to be added "