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Futures Past by Gary Merchant [Reviews - 5]  | |
FUTURES PAST
Dodo stared up at the huge piece of machinery. The Doctor had told her about it before, but this was her first chance to see it in action. “So, it’s a… what did you call it, Doctor?”
“It’s a Time Space Visualiser, my dear,” he told her. “It’s a rather cumbersome device, so I don’t often use the thing, but I find it useful for checking on various historical facts relating to Earth. But apart from that, it gets very little use.”
“And you really can observe anything you want to?”
“Of course, nothing simpler.” The Doctor switched the machine on, keying in a few numbers. “Now, what would you like to see?”
Dodo thought for a moment. “How about the Great Fire of London?”
“Hmm, a very good choice,” the Doctor noted. “I’d always intended to visit that period of history.” He keyed in the appropriate setting, and they watched as the central screen flickered into life.
The fire was still in its infancy, but taking hold with a vengeance. A man could be seen rushing out from the already burning Bakery in Pudding Lane, grabbing a passing stranger. “Fetch a squirter!” he ordered. Then four other people could be seen hurriedly leaving the bakery, none of whom were dressed in clothes of the period. The tallest of the four was dressed in an Edwardian cricketing outfit, shepherding the other three into a London Police Box of the 1960’s.
“Doctor,” Dodo stared in amazement. “That looks just like the TARDIS.”
The Doctor had abruptly turned away. “Turn it off, Dodo.”
“But…”
“I said turn it off!” She did so without another word, and saw he was trembling. Even his voice, normally so commanding, held a tremor of fear. “That was a part of my life. Something I should never have seen.”
Dodo went to him. “But who was that strange man? The one in the cricket outfit.” The Doctor said nothing. “Was it you, Doctor, when you were younger?”
He seemed to relax at this, and smiled. “Well, I haven’t always been an old duffer, I’ll have you know.” The Doctor patted her hand. “So sorry for shouting at you like that, Dodo. I must confess, it did take me rather by surprise. Dear, dear. It was quite a shock.”
But Dodo wasn’t convinced by his bluff exterior. She was worried about him. If the Visualiser affected the Doctor this much, it was no wonder he rarely used it. “Look, there’s no need for you to stay here, Doctor. You’ve shown me how this Visualiser works. I can sit here quite happily on my own and watch a few more blasts from the past.”
“Blasts from the past? What an awful turn of phrase.” Still, he seemed to appreciate Dodo’s suggestion. “I daresay I can find one or two things to do in the control room.”
“That’s settled, then,” Dodo smiled. “I’ll catch up with you later.”
She watched the Doctor head off back to the control room, her face full of concern. Something on the screen had clearly shaken the old man. Perhaps something in his past he would rather forget. Well, Dodo knew better than to pry. Instead, she turned her attention back to the Visualiser. It would be fascinating to actually see historical events being played out, rather than read about them in books.
She reset the controls, inputting new dates and places. For the next half hour, Dodo was transfixed at seeing the Gunpowder Plot, Sir Francis Drake against the Spanish Armada, and the life of Henry the Eighth. It was so enthralling, she almost lost track of time. “Dodo! Are you going to be in there all day?”
“Sorry, Doctor,” she called out. “I’ll be alone shortly.” She turned back to the Visualiser, about to turn it off, when a new image appeared before her. She was vaguely aware of having touched a couple of switches when replying back to the Doctor’s call, so she decided to wait and see what this new image contained.
The picture took a few seconds to clear. When it did, Dodo stared at the screen in some surprise. There he was, large as life. The hair was longer, and the clothes were markedly different, but it was definitely him, no mistake.
But what was he up to? From the surroundings, he seemed to be in some sort of open studio, talking to an older man with a shock of white hair, who was sitting in a hover car. The two of them were talking about the design of the vehicle and its capabilities, before the conversation moved on to a tv medical programme the older man was apparently working on. What puzzled Dodo was that the older man, whose name was John, was addressing the man she recognised as Peter. Was this some code name he was operating under? She had never heard him mention it before.
Abruptly the screen faded to black, the presentation over. What had it all meant? Dodo was desperate to learn more, and tried to remember what switches she had pressed. “Are you turning into a hermit, child?”
She jumped at the sound of the Doctor’s voice. He was peering around the edge of the doorway, his earlier shortness of temper now forgotten. “My, you have been busy, Dodo,” he said admiringly. “I don’t think the Visualiser has ever been used quite so much. Did you learn anything interesting?”
Dodo wasn’t quite sure what to say. Should she tell the Doctor about what she had been watching just a moment ago, or should she leave well enough alone? Had she eavesdropped onto a top secret meeting between this ‘John’ and the friend she and the Doctor had once known as Steven Taylor? If she said anything, might she endanger whatever mission he was engaged in? “Well, spit it out, my dear.”
Dodo could feel the Doctor’s eyes upon her, as if he were searching for the answer she was unwilling to give. “Oh, nothing to tell, really,” she said finally. “It just struck me how the past can sometimes catch up with you.”
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