We had a bottleneck. A pile of unsigned documents was growing in front of Pinkie. She made no move to pick up her pen.
I was conscious of a faint murmuring around the Hall. Lt Ellis signed the last of the Time Police copies, stacked it neatly with the others, and waited for ours to be passed over.
He never got them.
Madam President said, ‘Is there some problem, Director?’ and everyone looked at Pinkie. Personally, it would have intimidated the hell out of me but she was made of tough stuff. To dignify today’s occasion, she’d put up her sandy hair, which only made her look more stubborn and more pugnacious than usual. She stared belligerently around the Hall, daring anyone to disagree.
She spoke. ‘I know, Madam President, that many sacrifices have been made to get us to the table today. I know that many at St Mary’s have worked long and hard to achieve this. Perhaps I should have spoken before, but if I had done so, events might have turned out differently and we would not be negotiating from today’s position of strength.
‘And we are, Madam President. Today we are in a position of great strength but we should not let that lead us in what I think might be the wrong direction. The Time Police were formed to counter a terrible danger. We cannot close our eyes to that fact. Knowledge about time-travel is out there, and I’m certain a time will come when they will be needed again. It will happen. And on that occasion it may be too late for them to be reformed. I’m sorry, Madam President, Directors, members of St Mary’s, but I am not at all convinced that by signing them out of existence today, we are taking the right step.’
There was a rather nasty silence. I suspected both sides were thinking of those who weren’t here today and wondering, in that case, what the bloody hell it had all been about. A very valid point. But, today, we had the chance of a new beginning. Not something that could have happened if Colonel Albay had still been in command.
The silence lengthened until a rather shaken-looking Madam President said, ‘Does anyone else here agree? Or is Madam Director alone in her thinking?’
‘No,’ I said, getting up. ‘She is not.’
I didn’t dare look at anyone. God knows what St Mary’s would do to me now. ‘The Director is perfectly correct. One day we will wake up to find it’s all happening again and if we’ve disestablished the Time Police then we’ll be in no position to deal with any future threats. I think we should take the time to remember the catastrophes that can occur when others use time-travel so indiscriminately. Neither must we forget the purposes for which it could be used by the unscrupulous. I believe we need the Time Police. Surely, there must be some way in which we can all work together? A system of checks and balances that allows each of us to operate successfully?’
Silence.
I tried to keep my voice steady, but it wasn’t easy. Not when I looked around the Hall for faces that weren’t there. Would never be there again.
I persevered. ‘We have fought each other to a standstill. People have died. I think we should all take a step back and reconsider why we are here today.’
Absolute silence. No applause. On the other hand, no heckling.
Somewhat sheepishly, I sat down. I looked for Mrs Partridge but she’d gone. Perhaps to fetch her flaming sword. Again, I wished I was a million miles away.
Eventually, the old/young woman broke the silence. Almost as if she was thinking aloud, she said, ‘The integrity of the timeline must always be maintained.’
Dr Bairstow looked at Team St Mary’s ranged on either side of him and then said, ‘We agree.’
‘Perhaps a Code of Conduct …?’
‘That could certainly be addressed.’
Silence.
A Director I didn’t know cleared his throat and said, ‘St Mary’s would require the freedom to pursue our research without let or hindrance.’
She said, ‘We agree.’
‘No permission need be sought?’
She said, carefully, ‘There should be an understanding perhaps, that permission could be withheld, but probably will never need to be.’
More silence as most of St Mary’s worked that out on their fingers.
Dr Bairstow nodded. ‘We agree.’
‘The Time Police reserve the right to advise, consult, and warn.’
‘We agree. St Mary’s reserves the right to implement its own plans and strategies.’
‘Subject to the Code of Conduct, yes.’
‘Such Code to be the subject of mutual agreement.’
She nodded. ‘We agree.’
He grew stern. ‘The purpose of the Time Police will be clearly defined. You will protect and defend the timeline. That is all. You cannot be the judicial system as well. You are not our masters. We will regulate ourselves. I can, however, envisage occasions when we would be glad of your assistance or advice. I hope you will make it easy for us to ask for it.’
‘We agree.’
Silence fell again. Everyone looked at everyone else.