The Spear of Destiny Read Online Free PDF Page A

be
     gods!’
    ‘We’ve arrived at a most
     interesting time. Some scholars, and myself, I might add, have a
     theory about certain myths and legends.’
    ‘A theory, Doctor? Like your one
     about the TARDIS being invisible …?’
    ‘Yes, thank you. I think that one
     might need a bit more consideration. No, this theory is that
     many stories that scholars of your time believe to be myths,
     legends and mere tales were, in fact, originally based on real
     events, and the characters in them based on real people. Even
     those we now consider to be gods were just great men of the
     past. Jo, this is so fascinating! We are witnessing the origin
     of Norse myth!’
    ‘You’re not serious.’
    ‘I’m absolutely serious, my dear.
     Odin is the king of all Sweden. His people are called the
     Aesir.’
    ‘Njord spoke about them. He said
     they’re going to fight them.’
    ‘Quite so. What we witnessed by
     the river today was just an early skirmish. Odin had to kill one
     of his own men to stop the fight from escalating. According to
     the great Norse sagas, there were two races of gods: the Aesir,
     ruled by Odin, with his sons Thor and Balder, and the Vanir,
     ruled by Njord, with the assistance of Frey.’
    ‘Thank you, Doctor, I’m much
     warmer now.’
    ‘What? Oh good. I’ll turn the
     central heating down.’
    ‘Thanks,’ said Jo. ‘Go on with
     your story.’
    ‘Yes, the Aesir and the Vanir.
     They had been squabbling for some time, and then they all
     gathered at a great meeting, an assembly of some kind. Odin grew
     angry and threw Gungnir over the heads of the Vanir. And so the
     great war between them began.’
    ‘You think that’s about to
     happen?’
    ‘I think it is, yes. Be that as it
     may, we have to get Gungnir and get away from here.’
    ‘Gungnir? Why? You still haven’t
     told me why it’s
so
important.’
    ‘I am now absolutely convinced
     that Gungnir is a Physical Temporal Nexus. A PTN. In the Norse
     legends it was said that Gungnir was magical, that it would hit
     whoever the thrower wished it to hit, without fail. We saw that
     for ourselves today. That throw was impossible – far too far.
     But once thrown, Gungnir cannot miss its target.’
    ‘Well, that’s pretty neat for a
     Viking weapon, but still not much of a match for a machine gun.
     Or a nuclear bomb.’
    ‘Jo, let me finish. Always hitting
     its target is nothing to a PTN. That’s just a party trick. But
     the
way
it does it is the
     point. In order to perform such a feat a PTN forms a link with
     the mind of whoever is holding it. At a quantum level the PTN
     joins with the brain patterns of its owner and then it does a
     remarkable thing. You are, of course, aware that there are an
     infinite number of possible universes?’
    ‘Of course,’ said Jo.
    ‘I thought so,’ said the Doctor.
     ‘So what the PTN does is shuffle through all possible states of
     the universe in a fraction of a second, and it selects the one
     that its owner desires the most. That is why it is so powerful.
     So dangerous.’
    ‘Because whoever owns it can
     literally make their wishes come true.’
    ‘Exactly! The High Council of the
     Time Lords has spent a great deal of time tracking them all
     down. One was found on Usurius, two more on Kirith. There are
     perhaps no more than six in all, and even the Time Lords don’t
     know who made them or where they came from. And, trust me, the
     Time Lords know a great deal about the universe. A very great
     deal.
    ‘So now it seems we have another
     in our reach. I doubt very much that Odin knows what he has in
     his hands – Gungnir’s true power. To him it’s just a spear with
     which he seems to hunt rather well ...’
    ‘I can see why they think it’s
     magic, though.’
    ‘Not only that. Another thought
     occurs to me.’
    ‘Which is?’
    ‘Gungnir is not the only famous
     spear in history. There is another, even more famous. Or perhaps
     I mean infamous. As Jesus hung on