A Thousand & One Doors (short story)

A Thousand & One Doors was a short story published in Doctor Who Annual 1970. It featured the Second Doctor, Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Heriot. Notably, it featured an early example of travel between universes in a Doctor Who story.

Summary
As the Tardis materialises on a new planet, Dr. Who lectures his companions Jamie and Zoe on the notion of their universe being one of many in Infinite Space. Jamie complains that he doesn't understand, and encourages the group to go outside. The air is breathable, but Zoe notices there are two suns and suggests this may be one of the "other universes" that Dr. Who was speaking about. Dr. Who does not believe this to be the case, and notes that the laws of nature and physics could be different in such a place, when he notices his companions soaring into the air, and he inadvertently follows. Suddenly, a mesh net catches the trio. They are taken up into the air, above the Tardis, which confirms to the doctor that this must be a universe in another dimension with different laws, such as negligible gravity. He then loses consciousness.

Dr. Who regains his senses and finds himself in a metal lab full of machinery. He hears a voice surprised to find an oxygen-breather, a monster. He sees figures with a third eye on the back of their heads, two extra arms, clad in metallic suits with mysterious weapons. One, identified as Belunda, notes that their specimens will be unusual in their home dimension. The other, called Tabro, says they will not survive in the atmosphere. Dr. Who exclaims his disapproval, and the beings are surprised he can speak. They tell him he as a living being must prove his right to life by being of use to the Life Force. He refuses to talk more until he is reunited with his companions, but is only assured they are safe. Noticing the landscape outside is moving, Dr. Who glides closer to his captors and sees they are not actually "monsters", but are simply wearing spacesuits. Dr. Who introduces himself and asks where he is and how he can be of use to the Life Force, when the entire room shakes and the beings determine they must abandon it. They exit and gently land on the sand, where Jamie and Zoe are still unconscious. The Doctor notices he was actually taken inside a bipedal metal tower, of which there were others roaming.

Tabro fits Dr. Who with stabilisers so he can walk normally. Jamie and Zoe come to, and Belunda notes that he has found that they are from the Five Hundred and Third Universe, which has on occasion been breaking through and leaking poisonous oxygen. They ask which door the travellers arrived through, to which the Doctor responds that there was no door, he landed on their planet. He is corrected that this is not the home planet of the beings, but they are dimension explorers from the Eight Thousand and Ninety First Universe. They accidentally found themselves on this world full of abandoned, enormous handling robots, and were returning when the Tardis arrived. One being suggests to destroy the humans, since they will not survive in the chlorine and methane based atmosphere, but they decide to examine how oxygen-breathers could be intelligent. It is explained that the "doors" are figurative for points where universes tangentially touch each other. The dimension explorers had discovered a thousand of them, but this world marked the 1001st. Due to its connection with their home universe as well as the universe Dr. Who came from containing oxygen, it must be sealed off and destroyed.

Dr. Who notices the Tardis has been brought in with a net, and covertly throws a key to Jamie. One of the beings raises his weapon, and Dr. Who disarms him and breaks open the glass globular helmet, revealing an indescribable, revolting body that dissipates in exposure to the oxygen. Jamie grabs the ray gun, and Dr. Who and Zoe run back to the Tardis Jamie is in a standoff, but Dr. Who goes back and drags him into the Tardis too. He assures his companions that the ship is invulnerable, and while they have confirmation of the existence of other dimensions linked through tangential points, this Space Time Universe is not one they will visit again.

Characters

 * Second Doctor
 * Jamie McCrimmon
 * Zoe Heriot
 * Tabro
 * Belunda

Continuity
to be added