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pinkandyellow“Check it again.”
“I've checked it twice.”
“Check it again.”
“I've checked-”
“Do as she says, Mickey.” Pete spoke up, arms crossed tightly over his chest. This was the first time he'd spoken since Mickey started his presentation. He didn't snap, didn't indicate he didn't believe the man, just that he needed to know for certain, beyond the shadow of a doubt that the information was correct.
Mickey kept his gaze a minute, then nodded, swirling around in the swivel chair. There was nothing but the sound of clicking keys for a long moment, and then a pause. He pointed to the screen. “There, boss. This line. It should be a fact. It's a wall, walls don't just... wobble. They don't get bigger or smaller, 'cos they're walls. This one... it's like in some sort of state of flux. One minute it's there, the next, it's gone. I've checked all the machines, had your boys in blue recalibrate it, load it up themselves. All the same. All the time.”
“So... what you're sayin' is...” Rose leaned over his shoulder, her heart hammering in her chest. “That it's... disappearing? The wall between this universe and... back home?”
“That's not it at all,” Mickey said, shaking his head. “The way Doctor Radford explained it to me... he said it's like... there are all sorts of walls, it's not like we're on one side and they're on the other. It's like... every universe is a room in a building, right? There's more than just two of 'em. You can knock down the left wall, but you've got three other walls that lead to different rooms.
Except, there aren't just four walls, there are hundreds, thousands, I dunno, we haven't figured out how many yet, some of 'em are touching, some aren't, some are the same, some are different. The only reason back home and this world kept crossing over is because it happened the first time. Put holes in the walls. Probably like the shoddiest door ever. A locked door, but it was still a door. Now it's like... like someone's taking a wrecking ball and just smashing the walls down.”
Rose's eyes widened, and she leaned back. “Is this 'cos... is it because of the ghost thing? Is it Torchwood's fault?”
Mickey shook his head. “I dunno. I don't think so. The boys in the lab thought about that, too, but that'd just effect ours and theirs. It'd tear down the wall, but the rest of the universe is structurally sound enough to support the rest of the building. This is all of 'em. Whatever it is... it's big. Way bigger than Cybermen or Daleks. This thing.. it's multiversal.”
Pete reclined against the desk, fingers curling around the lip, staring contemplatively at the polished floor for a long moment. “We're gonna need the Doctor.”
“Oh, without a doubt.” Began a voice from the door. Three heads whipped up to stare, awestruck, at the pinstriped figure leaning casually against the frame. He pushed off, strolling casually into the room, looking frustratingly comfortable and at ease, as the other occupants struggled to keep their jaws off of the floor. “But the question is... Which one?”
“I've checked it twice.”
“Check it again.”
“I've checked-”
“Do as she says, Mickey.” Pete spoke up, arms crossed tightly over his chest. This was the first time he'd spoken since Mickey started his presentation. He didn't snap, didn't indicate he didn't believe the man, just that he needed to know for certain, beyond the shadow of a doubt that the information was correct.
Mickey kept his gaze a minute, then nodded, swirling around in the swivel chair. There was nothing but the sound of clicking keys for a long moment, and then a pause. He pointed to the screen. “There, boss. This line. It should be a fact. It's a wall, walls don't just... wobble. They don't get bigger or smaller, 'cos they're walls. This one... it's like in some sort of state of flux. One minute it's there, the next, it's gone. I've checked all the machines, had your boys in blue recalibrate it, load it up themselves. All the same. All the time.”
“So... what you're sayin' is...” Rose leaned over his shoulder, her heart hammering in her chest. “That it's... disappearing? The wall between this universe and... back home?”
“That's not it at all,” Mickey said, shaking his head. “The way Doctor Radford explained it to me... he said it's like... there are all sorts of walls, it's not like we're on one side and they're on the other. It's like... every universe is a room in a building, right? There's more than just two of 'em. You can knock down the left wall, but you've got three other walls that lead to different rooms.
Except, there aren't just four walls, there are hundreds, thousands, I dunno, we haven't figured out how many yet, some of 'em are touching, some aren't, some are the same, some are different. The only reason back home and this world kept crossing over is because it happened the first time. Put holes in the walls. Probably like the shoddiest door ever. A locked door, but it was still a door. Now it's like... like someone's taking a wrecking ball and just smashing the walls down.”
Rose's eyes widened, and she leaned back. “Is this 'cos... is it because of the ghost thing? Is it Torchwood's fault?”
Mickey shook his head. “I dunno. I don't think so. The boys in the lab thought about that, too, but that'd just effect ours and theirs. It'd tear down the wall, but the rest of the universe is structurally sound enough to support the rest of the building. This is all of 'em. Whatever it is... it's big. Way bigger than Cybermen or Daleks. This thing.. it's multiversal.”
Pete reclined against the desk, fingers curling around the lip, staring contemplatively at the polished floor for a long moment. “We're gonna need the Doctor.”
“Oh, without a doubt.” Began a voice from the door. Three heads whipped up to stare, awestruck, at the pinstriped figure leaning casually against the frame. He pushed off, strolling casually into the room, looking frustratingly comfortable and at ease, as the other occupants struggled to keep their jaws off of the floor. “But the question is... Which one?”
