‘Then the TARDIS will just fly on and on until it crashes into something.’ Nyssa made the statement as a scientific fact, and if the idea aroused any emotion in her she didn’t show it. When your whole planet has been wiped out, as Nyssa’s Traken had been, personal danger must seem like light

relief.

“Tegan slammed her fist down on the console and uttered her favourite Antipodean oath. ‘Oh, rabbits!’ She knew in her heart that Nyssa was probably perfectly right, scientifically speaking, but if those were the facts she felt she had a right to protest against them. If the Laws of Nature were unfair they should be subject to appeal in some higher court.”

‘And how do we find the Index File?’ A silly thought came into Tegan’s head. ‘Of course, if we had the Index File we could look it up in the Index File under Index File.’ The tension was getting to her; she was thinking and talking nonsense.

But Nyssa took it in her stride. Without pausing at her work at the keyboard she said: ‘Well done. You’ve just discovered recursion.’ Tegan was surprised to be taken so seriously, but Nyssa went on to explain that recursion was a powerful method used to solve some kinds of mathematical problems. ‘It’s when procedures fold back on themselves.’

‘Oh, I don’t understand anything about maths,’ Tegan said. She remembered school exams, and how the wretched figures never seemed to stay still on the paper in front of her.

Nyssa laughed when Tegan told her. ‘It’s not complicated. Here’s an example. What’s the definition of an ancestor?’

Tegan thought for a minute. ‘Well, that’s simple. Your ancestor is anybody who is your father, your mother, your father’s father, your father’s mother, or your mother’s mother or...’ And as she spoke she seemed to see in her mind’s eye a long procession of Nyssa’s ancestors, a line now completely wiped out as a result of the Master’s last evil campaign.

Apparently the Doctor did want to communicate, because their departure was further delayed by the lid sliding open a little way, to reveal the Doctor’s face, which looked paler than ever in the sunshine.

He opened his eyes and attempted a smile.

Nyssa bent over him. ‘What is it, Doctor...?’

He blinked in the light. ‘I just wanted to say...’

‘Yes?’ Tegan drew closer too.

‘Er... Forgotten. Never mind, plenty of time.:. It’ll come to me.’

The sunlight seemed to be hurting his eyes, so Nyssa began to draw the lid shut. Then he blinked rapidly and said in a tremulous voice: ‘No, no... Remembered. Thank you. Wanted to say thank you.’

“Romana, this is Charley, one of my best ever friends. Charley, this is Romana, one of my best friends ever.”

I don’t really miss home or my family any more. But you – well, you I miss. Silly isn’t it? But there are times I just want someone to talk to who won’t start comparing me to some child in a book he’s read, or a young prince he rescued on a faraway planet. You and I could swap observations, do equations, examine theories just like normal people would. Maybe one day, we can again. If you ever get out of E-Space, try locking onto the TARDIS and finding me. That would be... nice.

Well, I’d better get this sent now. The Doctor suggested putting it in a bottle and throwing it in the general direction of a CVE, but I’ll work out a way to get this to you by proper carrier wave. Give my regards to Romana and I’ll write again soon.

Lots of love

Your friend, Adric

“One of these days, can we meet killer wallabies or something, so someone else can be out of their depth for a change?”

NYSSA: My father was murdered in the most terrible of ways. I saw the man responsible, time and time again, laughing from inside a body he now wore like a coat. Laughing with stolen eyes that once loved me… and i burned with revenge.

Whereas once i’d spent sleepless nights in hope, now i spent them lost in thought as to what i would do to him, to that murderer, if ever i had the chance... I would kill him.

JUDGE: The court will now consider your sentence: either deportation to Australia-

ADRIC: Oh, Tegan’s from there, I’m not sure I’d like that

JUDGE: -or death!

ADRIC: … Australia sounds nice

DOCTOR: It's nice to spend some time together, just the two us, don't you think?

ADRIC: I suppose so... Though, why you'd want to spend any time with me after what happened with the TSS unit, I don't know. You were so angry with me.

DOCTOR: Um, I'm sorry. I know I can be a little hard on you at times, Adric, but I see potential in you, that's all. I would hate for it to go to waste.

ADRIC: Why would it go to waste?

DOCTOR: Because sometimes you're impulsive, and you act before you've fully thought the consequences of things through.

ADRIC: I'm not stupid!

DOCTOR: No! No, you're not.

ADRIC: Then why do you treat me like a child?

DOCTOR: I... I'm afraid of losing you.

ADRIC: You're not going to lose me. I mean, where would I go? You're all I have; you, Tegan and Nyssa.

DOCTOR: I know.

ADRIC: I'm capable of so much more than you think I am. If you'd just give me a chance to prove myself.

DOCTOR: I know, you're extremely capable. One day, you're going to do something great, something very important

ADRIC: Doctor, are you sure you're feeling alright?

DOCTOR: No. No, not really.

TEGAN: You… helped me? You could’ve escaped!

ADRIC: You talk of family; we’re family