"Spill what?"
"Hawken may not want to know but I do. What were you up to on the night of Morbius"s execution?"
To her amazement, the Doctor gave her a totally frank answer.
"I was just making sure Solon was able to get away with stealing Morbius"s living brain before his body was vaporised."
"What? Why?"
"Because that"s what had already happened happened, Peri the first time I visited Karn in their future and my past. By visiting it this time I crossed my own time track a very dangerous thing to do."
"You did it to save my life."
"Maybe so. But I didn"t expect to get so involved involved in things. If Solon had failed, the time line would have been distorted, anything might have happened." in things. If Solon had failed, the time line would have been distorted, anything might have happened."
Peri sat down. "This is making my head spin."
"Paradoxes of time travel. Don"t worry about it."
"You"d visited Karn before in your past and Karn"s future.
But what happened then still hadn"t happened when we arrived?"
"That"s it."
"And you"d met Solon before?"
"Oh yes, we spent quite a lot of time together."
"So why didn"t he recognise you this time?"
"How could he? He hadn"t met me yet," said the Doctor blandly.
Peri drew a deep breath. "OK. There"s something else."
"What?"
"That girl who turned up in your quarters, just after we met again."
"What about her?"
"Who was she?"
"President Makir"s daughter and his personal emissary. She brought me a message that Makir was doing his best to raise extra troops for me, but that it was taking time." He gave her a reproachful look. "Peri, you didn"t think..."
"No, no," said Peri hurriedly. "Just clearing up a few minor details!" Anxious to change the subject she went on, "So what happened exactly on your first visit to Karn?"
The Doctor settled back in his chair. "It"s quite a story. Pour yourself some tea and I"ll tell you about it..."
Epilogue.
Everything changed on Karn after the end of the Morbius war.
The soldiers all went home, lamenting their vanished Supremo.
The Castle was completely evacuated and the Hospice of Karn was no more.
Lord Delmar retired to his estates on a tropical planet to write his memoirs.
Commander Hawken became a security consultant on many planets, always proud of having known the Supremo.
The Sisterhood retired to their Temple.
These days, even the Elixir of Life seemed to be drying up.
Old Maren became increasingly paranoid, convinced that one day the Time Lords would return to steal the little that remained.
At her urging, the Sisterhood used their powers to ensure that most visiting s.p.a.cecraft crashed.
Mehendri Solon lived on like a rat in the ruins of Castle Karn"s hydrogen plant, scavenging food and scientific equipment, dreaming always that one day, thanks to his efforts, Morbius would live again.
One dark and stormy night, two extraordinary figures hammered on Solon"s door a tall curly-haired man in a floppy hat and long scarf, and a slender girl.
But that"s another story...
About the Author.
Terrance d.i.c.ks joined Doctor Who Doctor Who as junior a.s.sistant trainee script editor in 1968, when they were making as junior a.s.sistant trainee script editor in 1968, when they were making The Web of Fear The Web of Fear and desperately trying to make a roaring Yeti sound less like a flushing lavatory. He worked on the show during the end of the Patrick Troughton years, and co-wrote and desperately trying to make a roaring Yeti sound less like a flushing lavatory. He worked on the show during the end of the Patrick Troughton years, and co-wrote The War Games The War Games, Troughton"s last show, with Malcolm Hulke. He stayed on as script editor for the whole of the Jon Pertwee period, and left to write Robot Robot, the first Tom Baker story (This was in accordance with an ancient Who Who tradition, which he"d just invented, that the departing script editor writes the first show of the next season.) In the years that followed he wrote a handful of tradition, which he"d just invented, that the departing script editor writes the first show of the next season.) In the years that followed he wrote a handful of Doctor Who Doctor Who scripts, finishing in 1983 with scripts, finishing in 1983 with The Five Doctors The Five Doctors, the programme"s twentieth anniversary special.
In the early 1970s he was in at the beginning of the Doctor Doctor Who Who novelisation programme and ended up, more by luck than judgement, writing most of them seventy-something in all. He has since written a number of novelisation programme and ended up, more by luck than judgement, writing most of them seventy-something in all. He has since written a number of Doctor Who Doctor Who "originals", including "originals", including Exodus Exodus, part of the opening Timewyrm Timewyrm sequence published by Virgin, and sequence published by Virgin, and The Eight Doctors The Eight Doctors, the first original novel published by BBC Worldwide.
He has written two Doctor Who Doctor Who stage plays, one a flop d"estime (great reviews, poor audiences), the other a bit of a pantomime but a modest touring success. He has also written about a hundred non- stage plays, one a flop d"estime (great reviews, poor audiences), the other a bit of a pantomime but a modest touring success. He has also written about a hundred non- Who Who books, fiction and non-fiction for young adults, but n.o.body ever asks about them. books, fiction and non-fiction for young adults, but n.o.body ever asks about them.
In over thirty years with the Doctor he has grown older, fatter, greyer and grumpier. But not noticeably wiser.