"Blast Off!" - Part 3
Commander Simon Ivanov is a tall, stern figure, resplendent in his uniform as he sits behind a broad, oak desk. He nods in greeting to the four prospective space adventurers.
"Welcome gentlemen, lady ... and robot." He gestures at a circle of chairs before his desk. "Please, take a seat."
The four accept the invitation, though Archie takes a moment to dust the cushion of his chair before settling himself upon it. Fury holds out a chair for S'Ondra, but she pointedly settles herself at the other end of the circle, not even deigning to look in his direction. Rather than being put off by this cold treatment, Fury settles into his own seat without any pretence of ignoring the Venusian. Instead, he plants his chin on his hand, gazing at her in a frankly admiring fashion.
"As I said, welcome." Ivanov gives Fury a testy look, which the apparently-smitten Captain completely ignores, "As you would have read in the message I sent, Mission: Q-Ship has been approved. Your ship - the XS-Pathfinder - has been made ready. All systems checks have been completed, and all requested supplies are loaded. Except for -" he pauses to flip through a sheaf of papers on his desk, "- your Phased Particle Analyser, Doctor. The Quartermaster informs me that this piece of machinery is simply too large to fit aboard a small vessel such as the Pathfinder."
"Ach, you should have told me!" The Doctor pulls out a scrap of paper and a pen and starts sketching, "I am sure I could miniaturise one. It would simply be a case of improving -"
"I'm sure you could, Doctor." Ivanov interrupts, "But perhaps it can wait until after the current mission. I believe that's the more urgent matter."
"Oh, yes. Ja. Of course."
"Excellent." Ivanov smiles unconvincingly, "Actually, Doctor, perhaps you would like to explain a bit more about the Q-Drive, as I believe you've dubbed your new invention?"
"Certainly, Commander." The Doctor sits forward eagerly on his chair, almost bouncing up and down at being invited to expound on his creation, "It all started one day when I was out, in ze city. I forget why this was so. Perhaps Archie had wanted me to accompany him on one of his errands. Archie is always leading me astray." He laughs heartily, but slowly stops when no-one else joins him. "That is, as I was saying, I was walking in the city when I realised that I was not where I had thought I was. I confess that I was in fact completely lost, in a place I had never been before."
The Doctor nods soberly,
"Now, for most people such an experience would have been most alarming, but for me it was ze inspiration for my most brilliant theory, and my greatest invention. Or ze greatest to date, at least. No doubt I shall better it in ze future. In any case ... where was I? Oh yes: my inspiration. You see, as I sat zere, waiting for Archie, I began to ponder ze concept of location, and how one could establish one's exact location in the universe. I had never given it any thought before, but now that I did, I realised that it was a challenge vorthy of my talents."
"How so?" Fury raises an eyebrow, "I've always found I know where I am, and where I want to be." His eyes slide to S'Ondra, but she appears completely engrossed in her stepfather's story, and oblivious to his attention.
"Ah!" the Doctor wags his finger, "But do you really know exactly where you are? I think not. You see, ze failing of most mapping and co-ordinate structures, is zat zey are relative: zey rely on ze establishment of an arbitrary zero point from which all other things are measured." He frowns, "Now, for most purposes, such primitive systems might be acceptable. But zey are hardly a worthwhile challenge for a man of my talents. So I set myself to developing a system whereby your absolute location could be determined. Zis is no mean feat, you see, in a universe which is not only eternally in motion, but also infinite, and eternally expanding."
"The key, I began to realise, was zat regular three-dimensional co-ordinates would not suffice. Absolute location required the use of four dimensions: ze three 'physical' planes, plus ze plane of time." The Doctor gestures with his hands, forming an imaginary cube in the air, "The only difficulty facing me was zus to determine the exact age of the universe: once that was done, I would be able to determine my exact position in reality."
"I've always felt it was wise to know exactly where the Doctor was." Archie observes, in a carefully neutral tone of voice.
"Now!" the Doctor actually does leap to his feet at this point, before remembering himself and returning to his seat, "Now, I made my most amazing discovery." He leans forward, as if sharing a great secret. "As I investigated further, I discovered an astonishing fact: all things in the universe know zeir own place. Coded, like ze punch card, right in ze heart of every molecule, were ze very co-ordinates I had theorised!"
The Doctor sits back, as if this explains everything. After a moment, the blank looks around the room assure him it doesn't, and he completes his explanation.
"Ze implications, you must see, were startling: having found this molecular code, it was child's play to determine how to 're-wire' it. And zat's what the Q-Drive does: it generates a field that reprograms the co-ordinates of the molecules around it, instantaneously changing zeir location." He shrugs, "All you must do is tell the Q-Drive where you would like to go, and instantly, zere you will be!"
