Doctor Who: The Trial of a Time Lord : The Ultimate Foe by Pip Baker, Jane Baker Page A
Authors: Pip Baker, Jane Baker
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stammered, reluctant to be its harbinger.
‘I am listening, Keeper.’
‘My Lady, the High Council has been deposed.’ A gasp of incredulity from the benches.
A grunt of satisfaction from the Master. He alone had put the spark to the tinder. The damaging evidence exposing the treasonable double-dealings of the High Council to cover up the violation of the sacred Matrix by the Sleepers from Andromeda, had been recorded by the renegade and infiltrated into every VDU on Gallifrey.
In their homes, recreation centres, libraries, University, and even in the Meditative Sanctums of Astral Harmony, the Time Lords of Gallifrey had learnt of the unpardonable treachery engaged in by their elected rulers: a betrayal surreptitiously maintained for centuries.
The civil disorder brought about by his expose, exhilarated the Master. It was a hundred percent proof nectar; intoxicating him; transporting him to a state of ecstasy never before attained; made all the sweeter by the undeniable fact that the dissolution could not have been achieved but for the self-lacerating machinations of the Doctor and his alter ego, the Valeyard.
‘Insurrectionists are running amok on Gallifrey!’
continued the Keeper.
‘Splendid! Splendid!’ burbled the Master.
He imposed his image onto the Matrix screen.
‘Thank you, Keeper. That is the news I have been awaiting.’
His gloating visage filled the screen.
‘Listen carefully. I have an edict to deliver.’
Subdued by the impact of the Keeper’s tidings, nobody in the Courtroom demurred.
‘Somewhere the Valeyard and the Doctor are engaged in their squalid duel. With luck they will kill each other...’ He paused to consider the choice prospect.
‘But that is a mere coincidental occurrence. What I have to impart is of vital importance. To each and every one of you.’
A dramatic pause. That he was invulnerable, was beyond doubt. His superiority over all other beings was unimpeachable. No small voice of caution disturbed this certitude.
‘Now that Gallifrey is collapsing into chaos, none of you will be needed. Your office will be abolished. Only I can impose order. I have control of the Matrix!’
He flourished the cassette.
‘To disregard my commands will be to invite summary execution!’
With nonchalant hauteur, he strolled to the computer.
‘Now you’ve purged that little lot from your system, can we get on? Load the cassette.’ All this talk of abolition and executions gave Glitz the collywobbles: incredibly, he was beginning to wonder if the jewels were worth the candle!
‘You really are the archetypal Philistine! Moments such as this should be savoured...’ Ostentatiously, he loaded the cassette into the computer and switched on.
Instantly he began to shiver as if struck by palsy.
In abject horror, he shied from the computer... but it was as though his legs were wading through glue... his trembling movements were exaggeratedly sluggish...
‘What’s – wha – is – happ – en – ing –?’ Glitz, too, was affected... slow motion prolonged each vowel and consonant.
‘A – lim-bo- at – ro – ph – i – er...’ The Master sounded like a record player in need of winding.
‘A – limbo – at – r – o – ph – i – er – ?’
The drawn out question echoed hollowly around the Court. Colour was draining from the screen... movement lost impetus... then stopped... leaving Glitz and the Master suspended, motionless, in the dismal greyness of limbo...
Popplewick had substituted a Limbo Atrophier for the genuine tape.
The Valeyard had triumphed again.
22
The Keeper Vanishes
The Valeyard was anticipating more triumph.
‘You are elevating futility to a fine art,’ he drawled.
‘There is nothing you can do to prevent the catharsis of spurious morality.’
After removing the casing of the Particle Disseminator, the Doctor was tinkering with its complex innards.
So far success had eluded him. The pulsating energy discharging from anodes
‘I am listening, Keeper.’
‘My Lady, the High Council has been deposed.’ A gasp of incredulity from the benches.
A grunt of satisfaction from the Master. He alone had put the spark to the tinder. The damaging evidence exposing the treasonable double-dealings of the High Council to cover up the violation of the sacred Matrix by the Sleepers from Andromeda, had been recorded by the renegade and infiltrated into every VDU on Gallifrey.
In their homes, recreation centres, libraries, University, and even in the Meditative Sanctums of Astral Harmony, the Time Lords of Gallifrey had learnt of the unpardonable treachery engaged in by their elected rulers: a betrayal surreptitiously maintained for centuries.
The civil disorder brought about by his expose, exhilarated the Master. It was a hundred percent proof nectar; intoxicating him; transporting him to a state of ecstasy never before attained; made all the sweeter by the undeniable fact that the dissolution could not have been achieved but for the self-lacerating machinations of the Doctor and his alter ego, the Valeyard.
‘Insurrectionists are running amok on Gallifrey!’
continued the Keeper.
‘Splendid! Splendid!’ burbled the Master.
He imposed his image onto the Matrix screen.
‘Thank you, Keeper. That is the news I have been awaiting.’
His gloating visage filled the screen.
‘Listen carefully. I have an edict to deliver.’
Subdued by the impact of the Keeper’s tidings, nobody in the Courtroom demurred.
‘Somewhere the Valeyard and the Doctor are engaged in their squalid duel. With luck they will kill each other...’ He paused to consider the choice prospect.
‘But that is a mere coincidental occurrence. What I have to impart is of vital importance. To each and every one of you.’
A dramatic pause. That he was invulnerable, was beyond doubt. His superiority over all other beings was unimpeachable. No small voice of caution disturbed this certitude.
‘Now that Gallifrey is collapsing into chaos, none of you will be needed. Your office will be abolished. Only I can impose order. I have control of the Matrix!’
He flourished the cassette.
‘To disregard my commands will be to invite summary execution!’
With nonchalant hauteur, he strolled to the computer.
‘Now you’ve purged that little lot from your system, can we get on? Load the cassette.’ All this talk of abolition and executions gave Glitz the collywobbles: incredibly, he was beginning to wonder if the jewels were worth the candle!
‘You really are the archetypal Philistine! Moments such as this should be savoured...’ Ostentatiously, he loaded the cassette into the computer and switched on.
Instantly he began to shiver as if struck by palsy.
In abject horror, he shied from the computer... but it was as though his legs were wading through glue... his trembling movements were exaggeratedly sluggish...
‘What’s – wha – is – happ – en – ing –?’ Glitz, too, was affected... slow motion prolonged each vowel and consonant.
‘A – lim-bo- at – ro – ph – i – er...’ The Master sounded like a record player in need of winding.
‘A – limbo – at – r – o – ph – i – er – ?’
The drawn out question echoed hollowly around the Court. Colour was draining from the screen... movement lost impetus... then stopped... leaving Glitz and the Master suspended, motionless, in the dismal greyness of limbo...
Popplewick had substituted a Limbo Atrophier for the genuine tape.
The Valeyard had triumphed again.
22
The Keeper Vanishes
The Valeyard was anticipating more triumph.
‘You are elevating futility to a fine art,’ he drawled.
‘There is nothing you can do to prevent the catharsis of spurious morality.’
After removing the casing of the Particle Disseminator, the Doctor was tinkering with its complex innards.
So far success had eluded him. The pulsating energy discharging from anodes
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