door in five seconds flat.
Chapter 12
THE PROFESSOR MARCHED solemnly over to a particular bookshelf, reached up and confidently plucked down a thin, hard-backed volume. Then he walked slowly back to where the Doctor waited with outstretched hand. The book was embossed, Romana saw, with the seal of Rassilon. Rassilon was the almost legendary founder of Time Lord society, the man who, untold millennia before, had endowed Gallifrey and its people with their awesome powers and great responsibilities.
The Doctor let out a sigh of profound relief and clutched the book to himself. ‘Thank you, Professor. Yes, we’ll take this back to Gallifrey for you.’
Romana’s hearts sank at these words. She dreaded the thought of leaving the Doctor’s side and returning to her old life. But she knew she must put any personal considerations aside. This wasn’t the time.
The Doctor opened the book at a random page and read in his loudest, most sonorous voice, ‘“And in the Great Days of Rassilon, five great principles were laid down.”’ He frowned as his eyes wandered ahead to the next line. ‘“Can you remember what they were, my children?”’
Romana laughed. She took the book from the Doctor and flicked through it, reminiscing. ‘It’s just a Gallifreyan nursery book. Our Planet Story . I had it when I was a Time Tot.’
‘So did I, and it’s very good,’ said the Doctor. He turned to the Professor, who was looking agitated. ‘Well, if that’s all it is, thanks for all the crackers but why make such a song and dance about it?’
The Professor tutted and crossed back to the bookshelf, scanning the myriad titles. ‘Oh, no no, that’s just another memento. Not the right book at all. Now where is it?’ He ran his fingers along the shelves. ‘Ah. Is this the one?’
He pulled it down and looked inside. ‘“I was sitting on a sofa, SW1, St James or so, very quietly, minding my own business –” No!’ He threw the book over his shoulder. ‘Ah, no, this looks like it.’ He grabbed another book and read, ‘“The rain stopped as the Inverness rode into Dunedin harbour –” No!’ He threw it over his other shoulder, narrowly missing the Doctor. ‘Oh dear, no. Where is it? I know it’s here somewhere.’
‘Professor,’ said the Doctor, looking worried again, ‘how many books did you bring from Gallifrey, for heaven’s sake?’
The Professor shrugged. ‘Oh, just the odd two or seven. There’s only one that’s in any way… mm-mm-mous.’ He mumbled the final word into his collar, turning away from them.
‘Dangerous?’ suggested the Doctor.
He turned to scan the shelves and picked out a book at random. Romana did the same. ‘This,’ whispered the Doctor to Romana, ‘is going to be like trying to find a book about needles in a room full of books about haystacks.’
Romana looked around at the bulging shelves desperately. ‘What does it look like, Professor? What’s it called?’
‘ The Worshipful and Ancient Law of Gallifrey ,’ the Professor said breezily.
Romana’s hearts skipped a beat. She and the Doctor dropped their books in horror.
The Doctor stormed over to the Professor. ‘Did you just say “ The Worshipful and Ancient Law of Gallifrey ”?’
‘Yes,’ said the Professor, in the manner of a man discovered standing over a dead body clutching a bloody knife who remarks to the appalled onlookers what dreadful weather we’ve just been having. ‘Little book, about five by seven.’
Romana had never seen the Doctor look so grave. He towered over the old man, and for once she saw the experience of centuries unclouded by his mask of bemused affability. She was reminded of the old Time Lords depicted in the pages of Our Planet Story , forbidding and unknowable. ‘Professor, how did that book get out of the Panopticon Archives?’
‘Well, what I did you see, is, er. Well, er, well, I just took it. Borrowed it, rather.’
The Doctor’s tone was level. ‘Borrowed
Chapter 12
THE PROFESSOR MARCHED solemnly over to a particular bookshelf, reached up and confidently plucked down a thin, hard-backed volume. Then he walked slowly back to where the Doctor waited with outstretched hand. The book was embossed, Romana saw, with the seal of Rassilon. Rassilon was the almost legendary founder of Time Lord society, the man who, untold millennia before, had endowed Gallifrey and its people with their awesome powers and great responsibilities.
The Doctor let out a sigh of profound relief and clutched the book to himself. ‘Thank you, Professor. Yes, we’ll take this back to Gallifrey for you.’
Romana’s hearts sank at these words. She dreaded the thought of leaving the Doctor’s side and returning to her old life. But she knew she must put any personal considerations aside. This wasn’t the time.
The Doctor opened the book at a random page and read in his loudest, most sonorous voice, ‘“And in the Great Days of Rassilon, five great principles were laid down.”’ He frowned as his eyes wandered ahead to the next line. ‘“Can you remember what they were, my children?”’
Romana laughed. She took the book from the Doctor and flicked through it, reminiscing. ‘It’s just a Gallifreyan nursery book. Our Planet Story . I had it when I was a Time Tot.’
‘So did I, and it’s very good,’ said the Doctor. He turned to the Professor, who was looking agitated. ‘Well, if that’s all it is, thanks for all the crackers but why make such a song and dance about it?’
The Professor tutted and crossed back to the bookshelf, scanning the myriad titles. ‘Oh, no no, that’s just another memento. Not the right book at all. Now where is it?’ He ran his fingers along the shelves. ‘Ah. Is this the one?’
He pulled it down and looked inside. ‘“I was sitting on a sofa, SW1, St James or so, very quietly, minding my own business –” No!’ He threw the book over his shoulder. ‘Ah, no, this looks like it.’ He grabbed another book and read, ‘“The rain stopped as the Inverness rode into Dunedin harbour –” No!’ He threw it over his other shoulder, narrowly missing the Doctor. ‘Oh dear, no. Where is it? I know it’s here somewhere.’
‘Professor,’ said the Doctor, looking worried again, ‘how many books did you bring from Gallifrey, for heaven’s sake?’
The Professor shrugged. ‘Oh, just the odd two or seven. There’s only one that’s in any way… mm-mm-mous.’ He mumbled the final word into his collar, turning away from them.
‘Dangerous?’ suggested the Doctor.
He turned to scan the shelves and picked out a book at random. Romana did the same. ‘This,’ whispered the Doctor to Romana, ‘is going to be like trying to find a book about needles in a room full of books about haystacks.’
Romana looked around at the bulging shelves desperately. ‘What does it look like, Professor? What’s it called?’
‘ The Worshipful and Ancient Law of Gallifrey ,’ the Professor said breezily.
Romana’s hearts skipped a beat. She and the Doctor dropped their books in horror.
The Doctor stormed over to the Professor. ‘Did you just say “ The Worshipful and Ancient Law of Gallifrey ”?’
‘Yes,’ said the Professor, in the manner of a man discovered standing over a dead body clutching a bloody knife who remarks to the appalled onlookers what dreadful weather we’ve just been having. ‘Little book, about five by seven.’
Romana had never seen the Doctor look so grave. He towered over the old man, and for once she saw the experience of centuries unclouded by his mask of bemused affability. She was reminded of the old Time Lords depicted in the pages of Our Planet Story , forbidding and unknowable. ‘Professor, how did that book get out of the Panopticon Archives?’
‘Well, what I did you see, is, er. Well, er, well, I just took it. Borrowed it, rather.’
The Doctor’s tone was level. ‘Borrowed
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