Post by John Darnacan on Mar 5, 2007 13:41:38 GMT
Part 16 – The Vrenyzz Continuum
The Doctor and Lethbridge-Stewart watched as a hundreds of bizarre-looking creatures, each with four tentacles, approached the chamber. Cephalopods would have been the closest Earth classification.
The Doctor wondered about the environment beyond their chamber. With the approaching creatures, it didn’t seem like the vacuum of space was likely. There was no surface as far as their eyes could see. If they were underwater, light would be coming from above. Instead the light seemed to come from many directions.
“Doctor, I’m not the traveler you are. Have you ever encountered any environment like this one before?” Alistair asked.
“Never.”
“Did we die and go to a new ring in Dante’s Inferno?”
“I think we’re very much alive, but in another universe.”
“The one that sent the device,” Alistair surmised.
“Probably.” Suddenly, the Doctor put his hands to his head and winced in pain. “Stop, you don’t have to shout!” he called out, yet there was no sound. The Doctor recovered momentarily.
“What’s happening?” asked a concerned Brigadier.
“They are trying to communicate telepathically, but they’re having trouble modulating their thoughts.”
“I take it these are the creatures responsible for the creating and sending the device?”
The Doctor jerked suddenly as if he heard some invisible voice
“They understood you. And they say yes.”
One of the creatures moved closer to the chamber. He apparently was the one communicating with the Doctor. The Doctor closed his eyes to concentrate. Occasionally, he would mumble some words.
“Yes….Vleeb, a lovely name..…reverse?...…that makes sense but……no planets?...…no stars?...…electromagnetic, weak, strong……no gravity at all?.......temporal symmetry…..uniastic rift….”
Alistair had the distinct impression the Doctor was finding this conversation quite stimulating. The creature finally withdrew.
“Temporal symmetry. Fascinating.”
“Doctor, would you care to share?”
“I’m afraid this is still our own universe.”
“How is that possible? Have they altered our universe to suit their needs?”
“Not exactly. We are currently located in the time period before the big bang.”
“I thought there was nothing before the Big Bang.”
“And neither did anyone else, not even the Time Lords. Apparently, time runs in two directions from the Big Bang, forward into ours, backward into theirs. Although they see it in quite the opposite way. Either way, it’s a sort of temporal symmetry, except that this universe, which they call the Vrenyzz Continuum, is not exactly like ours, as you can see. For one thing, there’s no gravity in this universe, which is why there are no stars or planets. It also explains why the device had no weight outside of the ice attached to it.”
“The device? What was it for? It’s purpose in all this?”
“Ah, well apparently temporal symmetry is not a completely naturally-occurring phenomenon. It required the device as a catalyst. Congratulations, you and I are responsible for creating this universe, well half-universe. A bit of a paradox, I admit.”
“Paradox?” Alistair asked. “I thought they were bad.”
“Well, negating paradoxes, such as the Grandfather Paradox, are. But this is a reinforcing paradox. The Vrenyzz created the device to insure their own creation.”
“And for helping create their half of the universe, they’ve imprisoned us.”
“Not at all. To them, we are honoured heroes.”
“Then why are the keeping us in here?”
“It’s a life-support chamber. Unfortunately, we can’t survive in the natural environment of this half of the universe.”
“So we’re like zoo specimens,” growled Lethbridge-Stewart, as he looked at all the Vrenyzz watching them.
“Well for only so long,” lamented the Doctor. “Unfortunately, the Vrenyzz had very little understanding of our basic biology.”
“Meaning?”
“The Vrenyzz absorb energy directly from their environment. So the concept of food and water is completely alien to them.”
“Can they return us to our part of the universe?”
“I asked them that, but they say they don’t know how.”
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To Be Continued...
The Doctor and Lethbridge-Stewart watched as a hundreds of bizarre-looking creatures, each with four tentacles, approached the chamber. Cephalopods would have been the closest Earth classification.
The Doctor wondered about the environment beyond their chamber. With the approaching creatures, it didn’t seem like the vacuum of space was likely. There was no surface as far as their eyes could see. If they were underwater, light would be coming from above. Instead the light seemed to come from many directions.
“Doctor, I’m not the traveler you are. Have you ever encountered any environment like this one before?” Alistair asked.
“Never.”
“Did we die and go to a new ring in Dante’s Inferno?”
“I think we’re very much alive, but in another universe.”
“The one that sent the device,” Alistair surmised.
“Probably.” Suddenly, the Doctor put his hands to his head and winced in pain. “Stop, you don’t have to shout!” he called out, yet there was no sound. The Doctor recovered momentarily.
“What’s happening?” asked a concerned Brigadier.
“They are trying to communicate telepathically, but they’re having trouble modulating their thoughts.”
“I take it these are the creatures responsible for the creating and sending the device?”
The Doctor jerked suddenly as if he heard some invisible voice
“They understood you. And they say yes.”
One of the creatures moved closer to the chamber. He apparently was the one communicating with the Doctor. The Doctor closed his eyes to concentrate. Occasionally, he would mumble some words.
“Yes….Vleeb, a lovely name..…reverse?...…that makes sense but……no planets?...…no stars?...…electromagnetic, weak, strong……no gravity at all?.......temporal symmetry…..uniastic rift….”
Alistair had the distinct impression the Doctor was finding this conversation quite stimulating. The creature finally withdrew.
“Temporal symmetry. Fascinating.”
“Doctor, would you care to share?”
“I’m afraid this is still our own universe.”
“How is that possible? Have they altered our universe to suit their needs?”
“Not exactly. We are currently located in the time period before the big bang.”
“I thought there was nothing before the Big Bang.”
“And neither did anyone else, not even the Time Lords. Apparently, time runs in two directions from the Big Bang, forward into ours, backward into theirs. Although they see it in quite the opposite way. Either way, it’s a sort of temporal symmetry, except that this universe, which they call the Vrenyzz Continuum, is not exactly like ours, as you can see. For one thing, there’s no gravity in this universe, which is why there are no stars or planets. It also explains why the device had no weight outside of the ice attached to it.”
“The device? What was it for? It’s purpose in all this?”
“Ah, well apparently temporal symmetry is not a completely naturally-occurring phenomenon. It required the device as a catalyst. Congratulations, you and I are responsible for creating this universe, well half-universe. A bit of a paradox, I admit.”
“Paradox?” Alistair asked. “I thought they were bad.”
“Well, negating paradoxes, such as the Grandfather Paradox, are. But this is a reinforcing paradox. The Vrenyzz created the device to insure their own creation.”
“And for helping create their half of the universe, they’ve imprisoned us.”
“Not at all. To them, we are honoured heroes.”
“Then why are the keeping us in here?”
“It’s a life-support chamber. Unfortunately, we can’t survive in the natural environment of this half of the universe.”
“So we’re like zoo specimens,” growled Lethbridge-Stewart, as he looked at all the Vrenyzz watching them.
“Well for only so long,” lamented the Doctor. “Unfortunately, the Vrenyzz had very little understanding of our basic biology.”
“Meaning?”
“The Vrenyzz absorb energy directly from their environment. So the concept of food and water is completely alien to them.”
“Can they return us to our part of the universe?”
“I asked them that, but they say they don’t know how.”
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To Be Continued...
