The Eyeless by Lance Parkin

Author:Lance Parkin [Parkin, Lance]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, General, Science Fiction, Doctor Who (Fictitious Character)
ISBN: 9781846075629
Google: Q6m5qKQNZgoC
Amazon: 1846075629
Publisher: BBC BOOKS
Published: 2008-01-02T08:00:00+00:00

know all about the Time Lords.’

‘No. They haven’t heard of you,’ Alsa told him.

That burst the Doctor’s balloon. ‘Oh… really?’

‘They just asked something stupid. They – all right, all

right, I’ll ask – Doctor, they want to know if your

TARDIS is a time machine.’

The Doctor felt his grin twitching. ‘Er… no. Ridiculous

idea.’

‘The Eyeless would very much like a time machine,’

Alsa said.

‘I bet they would,’ the Doctor murmured through

gritted teeth.

‘And you say you’re a Time Lord and told Dela that

TARDIS stood for Time And—’

‘Oh. Right. Yes, I see why there’s all this confusion.

Simple mistake. It’s “Thyme”, with an H-Y. The herb. I’m

a Thyme Lord. In the Middle Ages, you’d put some thyme

under your pillow to ward off nightmares. Not that I’ve

been to the Middle Ages, of course. Heaven forfend.

You’d need a time machine for that. As a, er, Thyme Lord,

I know that it’s good with roast chicken. And in biscuits.

You wouldn’t think so, but try it. Couple of tablespoons. I

could go on for ages about Thyme.’

‘Please don’t.’ The Doctor wasn’t sure if that was Alsa,

or the Eyeless speaking through her. Either way, he sighed

with relief. ‘The Eyeless fail to understand why this

means your brain needs such an elaborate firewall.’

‘Isn’t it obvious?’ the Doctor said, then hesitated for a

long while, before adding, ‘It’s because we don’t want

anyone stealing our recipes.’

He smiled, a little uncertainly.

‘They believe you,’ Alsa said, not bothering to conceal

her dissenting opinion. ‘They want your recipes. They

don’t just take stuff. They take experiences. Thoughts and

emotions and fantasies. That’s what the things suspended

in their bodies are for – souvenirs. Badges.’

‘Proof of individual achievement in a hivemind,’ the

Doctor muttered.

‘The rules… they’re dead complicated. If an Eyeless is

the first one ever to feel or do something or go

somewhere, it can wear a memento of it.’

The Doctor looked between the three aliens, tried to

guess what each of the artefacts symbolised. Another

Eyeless stepped out of the gloom, turned its head so it was

facing the Doctor for the first time. The Doctor looked up

at it. He took a deep breath.

‘You’re like me,’ Alsa said, this time to the Eyeless,

proudly pointing to a ribbon on her jacket. ‘I earned that

when I beat Hlann in a fight. Broke his nose. It’s still

wonky. You get what you want. That’s like me, too.’

‘This particular Eyeless does have eyes,’ the Doctor

told her.

Alsa had kept her distance, but now she was straining

to see.

‘Don’t,’ the Doctor warned softly. Then, twirling

around to look back at that Eyeless, taking another step

over, he said, ‘Mr Eyeless… those ships of yours are very

advanced. I mean, just one glance at them and it’s obvious

they have galactic range and they’re powered by an

artificial sun. Very few civilisations get so advanced. The

people of Arcopolis are children by comparison. Well,

Alsa is only 13, I suppose, so she’s got an excuse.’

‘Hey!’ Alsa snarled, instinctively moving closer to the

nearest Eyeless.

‘You seem very pally with them, Alsa.’

‘I can hear their thoughts. They can hear mine.’

‘And you’re birds of a feather?’

‘I’ve no idea what that means.’ Strange colourful,

flappy thoughts appeared in Alsa’s mind, placed there by

the Eyeless.

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