The Coming of the Teraphiles

  hand. 'No, no, I'm not mocking you, Doctor. We are natural

  brothers. I am confrontational, as you know, by nature. You

  are not a man who turns away from conflict. So you followed

  the message. What else did it tell you?'

  'As I said, I couldn't see who was sending it. The Terraphile

  Re-Enactors were mentioned, Tom Mix, Dissolution... A few

  names. So the only thing to do was to go there and find out.'

  'And what have you found out so far?'

  'That the dark tides are certainly running. Leaking into

  our hemisphere. Wide and deep. A million currents all at

  different speeds. Different times. Faster than I realised.

  Dangerously fast. Way beyond any previously noted speeds.

  Which essentially means everything will vanish from the

  universe, maybe even the multiverse, long before their

  natural, expected time. A thousand years or less instead of

  billions...'

  'And you know what the dark tides are?'

  'As much as anyone. They give out no light though they

  absorb light. They attract, much as gravity attracts. A dark

  current creates storms in space when it meets with the

  elements defining the environment we both inhabit. With

  anything defying gravity. Beyond our sphere it pulls whole

  galaxies with it, presumably into the powerful black hole

  none of us has ever seen. Around that all matter revolves.

  In our own galaxy our black hole is the best-known gateway

  into the antimatter multiverse, which exists in opposition to

  our own. It is, I believe, one of a series orbiting that larger

  phenomenon. Opposition is what guarantees the survival

  of everything in Creation. Without it the multiverse would

  collapse into inchoate primal matter and antimatter which in

  turn would dissipate into nothingness - a multiverse without

  shape or meaning - or intelligence.'

  'Intelligence, Doctor. There's the key, eh? It would

  cease to be. Whatever you call that fundamental power of

  reason and creation is what allows the multiverse to exist.

  Without it we are condemned, essentially, to non-existence.

  Whatever our motives or ambitions, they are meaningless

  without an ordered multiverse where Law balances Chaos,

  matter balances antimatter, Life balances Death. One cannot

  exist without the other. And somehow, as you've observed,

  antimatter is infecting matter, Law and Chaos are confused

  and soon - what?'

  'Life and death will become indistinguishable. Matter

  and antimatter, law and chaos, good and evil, become

  indistinguishable. All the opposing qualities which at

  present are in balance, which give meaning to existence, will

  disappear.'

  'And this process is rapidly increasing, eh? Do you know

  why that is, Doctor?'

  'I'm here to find out.'

  'That's the spirit, Doctor.' His voice was grim now

  without a hint of sarcasm. 'So have you discovered why, in

  your efforts to return the cycle to its natural speed, Miggea

  is important?'

  'Because she is the nearest star system to the Hub. Because

  she has unusual properties.'

  'True. But that's all you know?'

  'She has an eccentric orbit and her orbit takes her closer

  to the multiversal Hub than any other body.' The Doctor

  studied the masked man's eyes.

  'Why are you playing these contests in Miggea?'

  'Why? That's obvious, captain. To win the Silver Arrow.'

  The Doctor was frowning, curious. He shifted in his chair. 'I

  suppose.'

  'To win an arrow which has been the prize in an archery

  tournament held every two hundred and fifty years for

  the last few thousand or so. Not legendary for that reason,

  surely? The arrow has qualities. Associations. And could be

  what - a million years old? Fifty thousand at least. That's

  how long scientists have noted the dark currents dragging

  our universe in.' Captain Cornelius shrugged to himself,

  reaching over to the table for the flask of Vortex Water. He

  offered to refresh their glasses but they refused. 'So - the

  dark tide has been running for at least fifty thousand years!

  Admittedly running faster and more ferociously than when

  we of this galaxy first noticed what was happening. From

  Earth in the post-enlightenment period, mm?'

  'That's right. On Earth they only had the means of

  identifying it by the year 2010. I've been trying to understand

  it ever since. Do you know why this is happening, captain? Is

  that why you're here?'

  'This is my native space-time sector. My scientists have

  had a chance to study the dark tides at some proximity. As

  the scientific community has observed, there is no doubt

  that the tide or tides have enormous powers of gravity. The

  dark tides could be a quality of gravity. Gravity is a quality

  of matter. Matter is a quality of time. Gravity makes the

  universe go round. Without it, everything would collapse,

  as you've said. Anti-gravity cannot, of course, exist without

  gravity. Everything is comprised of opposites. Destroy that

  opposition and you destroy - well, as you said, Doctor -

  everything, as we've discussed.' He reached for his pipe,

  changed his mind.

  'Now, what if the balance, on which we depend, were

  maintained by something more than a metaphysical idea but

  by a physical element? Let's call that element a "regulator"

  the same sort of thing they put on primitive beam engine

  to make them work at a desired speed and so on. Clocks

  too. This regulator maintains the multiverse theoretical

  through eternity. The universe of matter slowly become

  antimatter and the universe of antimatter turns into matter

  Out of death comes life and out of life comes death. Opposite

  sustain existence.'

  'That's not a profound notion, captain. We're agreed on

  that. You asked what if this "regulator" were something

  physical?'

  'Or something, at any rate, which could assume physical

  shape.'

  'Fine, yes, all right. But does it change itself? Or is its shape

  determined by the will of a sentient creature, or a number

  of sentient creatures? Do you have a theory about what tha

  shape could be?'

  'I think you know what I think. The story I like best is tha

  to protect itself your so called Roogalator can shift shape

  the way a cuttlefish, for instance, can disguise itself in both

  colour and shape when it recognises potential danger.' Th
  captain leaned forward. 'But perhaps it takes time to change

  We know that some of us can come and go across the world

  of matter and antimatter. What if one such person found tha

  regulator and, not really knowing its function, stole it? What

  would happen then?'

  'I don't know...' mused the Doctor. 'I'd guess it would

  return automatically to its place at the centre of existence.'

  'Perhaps. But it might need a similar means of returning

  A carrier to take its physical manifestation back to its natural

  environment. An intelligent agent - something or someo
ne

  who could replace it and put the multiverse back on course

  again?'

  The Doctor's face showed that he understood, though

  Amy was struggling to keep up.

  'You're no doubt suggesting this prize arrow you're

  seeking is also the missing regulator?' The Doctor fingered

  his chin. 'But that doesn't make sense. They've only been

  running these matches for a few thousand years or so, and the

  irregularities were first observed in the twenty-first century.

  Even if you understand that time flows at different speeds

  and space has moments of intense malleability, it still doesn't

  explain what's going on. Oh!' He brightened. 'Unless there

  are two arrows, or one—'

  has assumed the identity of the other,' Cornelius

  finished. 'Perhaps to disguise itself from the original thief,

  who is looking for it still.' He leaned his strange, masked

  head on his hand.

  'Frank/Freddie Force again!' exclaimed the Doctor.

  The captain nodded. 'Apparently it has changed hands

  severed times. It wound up in the shop of an antiquities dealer

  on Venice and then seems to have disappeared. We were on

  Venice not so long ago. I hoped to find it Well, Force and his

  men followed us into deep space and requested a conference.

  I saw nothing to lose. He told me what he sought and I was

  curious, though I didn't have it And wouldn't have traded it

  to him if I had. He's one of the few beings we know with the

  arrogance to think he can return order to the cosmos. That's

  my theory.'

  'He's been looking for it effectively for ever - dodging

  in and out of Chaos space and antimatter space, searching

  for that regulator.' The Doctor was enjoying this exchange.

  'He's discovered a little information here, a little there, even-

  time he makes a foray into our universe. Maybe he was the

  original thief? Unlike most of us, he can travel between the

  hemispheres of matter and antimatter and remain alive. The

  Arrow, if that's what it is, has the power to change its shape

  if it is threatened. We know that much, at least, from legend.

  Not exactly a thinking object but capable of hiding itself from

  those who would use it for their own ends? Cup, sword,

  animal, even human form when useful. Does it think as we

  think? I don't know.'

  'What if Force was the one who stole it?' suggested

  Cornelius. 'And then he lost it and has been hunting for

  it across time and space, making expeditions into our

  hemisphere whenever he dares or has a clue. If so, then he

  still believes possession of it will allow him the power to

  control it.'

  'That's impossible. Insane!' The Doctor's face cleared. 'Ah!

  Frank/Freddie's never been sane. And the very act of stealing

  the regulator would have increased his delusion. But why

  would he believe we carried it with us?'

  'He told me he'd smelled it. Not literally, I'm sure. But

  through some sixth sense - an affinity he achieved through

  the very act of trying to make it his own. He sensed it was

  with you. I don't know, because he is moving in and out of

  time and is most likely the unwitting cause of some of these

  storms? The regulator—let's say it is t h a t - h a s changed shape

  more than once in its efforts to elude him.

  'So there could be two arrows?' The Doctor nodded

  slowly. 'One is this mysterious shape-changing regulator

  and the other is the one we're playing for? Or—' The Doctor

  was becoming excited. He broke into a delighted laugh. 'Or

  the regulator somehow was passed over to Mrs Banning-

  Cannon. We all saw it go in the vault.' The Doctor shook his

  head. 'He must have looked for it there first. But the vault is

  outside time and space. That could mean the arrow in the

  vault that I'm going to play for isn't the one he's after. It's

  no more than what we always thought it was. In which case

  none of us has the faintest idea where the Roogalator is. It's

  not an arrow. It could have taken any form. A nano-dot or a

  planet.'

  Captain Cornelius smiled. 'Oh, we really should see more

  of one another, Doctor! There are few with our knowledge

  of the multiverse's quirks!' He got to his feet and, watched

  vigilantly by Captain Snarri, began to pace the cabin, the

  flickering firelight creating expressive reflections and

  shadows on his mask. 'Well, well. So General Force is playing

  a deeper game than we know, eh? Or he thinks he's playing

  a deeper game. Hmmm.' A small, slightly sinister laugh. 'He

  plays a subtle game, at the very least. But why should he take

  such a risk to board your ship if the arrow wasn't on it?'

  'I'm not sure he is that subtle. Perhaps he honestly believed

  we were carrying the arrow.' The Doctor hesitated. 'He

  attacked our ship clearly believing that what he sought was

  hidden in the hat one of our passengers had had stolen but

  which was recovered before we left Peer™.'

  'A hat? He was after a hat?'

  'Exactly,' said the Doctor. 'And who knows how long he

  has been pursuing the hat or whatever part of the hat had the

  arrow in it?'

  'The arrow was a decoration, perhaps?'

  'But if so it must have been well hidden in the rest of the

  decoration because no one remarked on its being missing. In

  fact Mrs B-C, the owner of the hat, was clear that, as far as

  she could tell, nothing was missing. There was evidence that

  someone looked for an object hidden in the hat and didn't

  find it. It wasn't there or she would have said something.'

  'She's not a lady to keep any disappointment to herself,'

  added Amy, fingering her necklace.

  'And why would the prize for the contest well be playing

  when we reach Miggea be hidden amongst us?' asked the

  Doctor. 'It doesn't make any kind of sense.'

  The captain nodded slowly. 'So we have a mystery. How,

  I wonder, are we going to solve it?'

  Amy felt suddenly tired. She wanted to curl up in the big

  Stickley chair and drift off to sleep. She was finding it hard to

  be terrified by the most feared pirate in the galaxy. She was

  growing used to this, though; if she had learned one thing in

  her relatively short career it was to do with powerful men.

  Their actions might be dreadful, both ruthless and cruel, but

  they were sometimes surprisingly charming in person. And

  Captain Cornelius, there was no doubt, was very charming

  indeed.

  Captain Snarri stood up to replenish their drinks.

  It was evident he was unhappy about the trend of the

  conversation.

  'You're certain that Arrow isn't aboard your ship, Doctor?'

  Captain Cornelius accepted the VW.

  'As certain as I can be, captain.' The Doctor took a sip of

  Vortex Water. 'As certain as I am that your old-fashioned

  sense of chivalry ensures us our freedom. We have nothing

  you want.'

  Captain Cornelius sat down again, crossed his legs

  and stared thoughtfully into his fire. 'You're wrong there,

  Doctor.'


  'Do you know where Frank/Freddie Force and their men

  are now?' asked the Doctor.

  'We tracked them as far as Cygnus and then lost them. We

  thought they might be going home.'

  'No clear idea of the system he was headed for?'

  'I'm afraid not.' The captain reached to knock out his long-

  stemmed pipe in the grate. 'He was showing - you know -

  matter-chill they call it. Why he was so far out I didn't ask.

  I assumed his mission was of some importance. Maybe he'd

  brought his ship in via Cygnus. They can do that, I'm told.

  He had tracked us out from Venice. He followed the usual

  etiquette so we allowed him to board, though some of mv

  men were against it They had a notion the skins of Force's

  men would burst and send us all to our reward. Which, as

  you can imagine, is not likely to be a comfortable one for

  us. Are you a praying man, Doctor? You, captain? you Mile

  Pond? Are any of you in the habit of ascribing a maker to all

  that?' And he waved his pipe to indicate eternity.

  The Doctor did not answer. 'Did he come because you had

  something he wanted?' he asked instead.

  'He offered me a huge reward if I could help him find it. I

  fear I sent him on his way. But I don't deny I was intrigued. If

  he has a method of sensing the thing he seeks, he must have

  known I did not have it.'

  'He returned towards the Hub, you say.'

  'Yes. I assume so. Our instruments lost him.'

  The Doctor took another sip of Vortex Water.

  'We are all seeking the same thing, yet not one of us has a

  clear idea what it is. Or, indeed, who has it. I only know we

  have a chance of winning it, fair and square, if we can get

  good enough replacements for those we lost in the storm.'

  Captain Cornelius laughed spontaneously. 'You plan to

  win it?'

  'Fair and square. How else can we get hold of it?'

  'And if another team wins?'

  'We explain that we need it?'

  'For what?'

  'If it is the stolen regulator or contains the elements of

  whatever mysterious stuff constitutes the regulator, we need

  to get it into the heart of the black hole where its components

  will presumably do their job and restore a proper sequence

  to the multiverse.'

  'You think they'll agree?'

  'I can only hope we will be able to demonstrate our need.'

  The Doctor sat back in his chair. He grinned. He shrugged.

  'Hope for the best.'

  Captain Cornelius drew on his pipe. It was impossible to