Ring Theory (short story)

 was the eighth short story in Down the Middle. It was narrated by the guest-starring Kady Williams, taking the form of a series of journal entries, and was also notable for pitting Chris Cwej against another Cwej, the Gentleman.

Journal Entry: Day 1
A woman with a Gestalt living in the back of her mind wakes up on the floor of a dusty a ship with an angry, gun-wielding Grigori standing over her, asking her to explain where they are. The Grigori, Kwol, is soon joined by another, Larles, and by the apparent leader of the party, Chris Cwej, who tells Kwol to put away the gun. Kady is not relieved, however, because her Gestalt inform her that Cwej is "a cloned slave of the Race of Temporal Supremacy, (…) highly dangerous", whom she "must stop (…) by any means necessary". Nevertheless, Kady manages to keep a pleasant demeanour as she introduces herself as Kady Williams and starts discussing what she knows about the ship with the three newcomers, mostly that it is a transdimensional maze with no apparent exit. They resolve to look for an exit together, though neither Kady nor Cwej's group share the real reason they came in the first place. Kady suggests that it could take "a few weeks" for them to find the exit, although the voices within her Gestalt think it will more likely be months.

Day 3
The group have been wandering the corridors for over two days, and bicker over whether to stop and rest, with Cwej insisting that his Superiors want him to complete his task as quickly as possible. The debate cuts off when Kwol spots a muddy child's footprint on the floor, the first evidence they've encountered that there is someone else aboard the crashed ship.

Day 4
Having noticed that she often talks to herself, Kwol has a heart-to-heart with Kady Williams during which she explains the nature of her Gestalt to Kwol. Kwol asks if she's ever disobeyed the Gestalt's directives. She says she hasn't, not ever, but this is a lie.

Day 10
As the group are making their way through a room "half-filled with musty water", Cwej expresses skepticism about the trustworthiness of Kady's Gestalt. Soon after, they exit into the next room, a large auditorium with four windows from which green light is streaming, arranged in a circle around a single, large, empty chair. The Gestalt immediately recognises the setup as a trap, especially as the room is full of the telltale rose-like smell of temporal energy. As she follows Chris and Kady in, Larles recognises this place as the classroom of Professor Vlarkes back on her home planet of Grigori. Suddenly, a six-armed Grigori, Vlarkes himself, appears and begins shouting at Larles despite her attempts to hang on to her knowledge that the real Vlarkes is dead. Kady tries to derail the scenario by walking up to Vlarkes and pointing out that she's not a Grigori student, but "Vlarkes" smoothly transitions to taunting Kady about her son Bill, unsettling her. As the Professor opens his mouth again to suddenly reveal jagged, beastly fangs and rushes at Kady, the floor suddenly opens up beneath her, Cwej and Larles. The two pass out, and, when they wake up, find that they are in another room — with no sign of Kwol.

Day 21
After many days spent fruitlessly looking for Kwol, the group's hopes are beginning to dwindle. Finally, Cwej asks about "Bill", with Kady merely answering that it's "very complicated". He then moves on to asking her about the Gestalt, asking if they physically force her decisions. She explains that their wills are merely intermingled, and the Kady half always ends up agreeing to the Gestalt's suggestions. Chris presses her, asking her if she has truly never disobeyed; despite one of the "pettier" voices within the Gestalt reminding her about the incident, she still does not discuss Bill, who is, secretly, not only her son but also somebody involved in the one time she did disobey the Gestalt. She does, however, admit that she's sometimes had doubts. Chris confesses that all of this sounds a lot like his relationship to the Superiors. Larles tries to get involved in the conversation, asking Kady if she's always travelled alone — which seems to put an end to the discussion.

Day 22
Cwej, Larles and Kady walk through a room resembling the top deck of a ship, resting for a few hours before getting to the other door, which leads to another deck.

Day 22
Cwej, Larles and Kady once again make their way through a room resembling the top deck of a ship, resting for a few hours before getting to the other door, which seemingly leads to another deck — though Kady briefly feels as though something is amiss.

Day 22
On this third go-around, Cwej, Larles and Kady finally realise they're in a time loop. Instead of walking out the door again, Kady suggests they jump over the railing of the current ship deck, which seems to work.

Day 23
Cwej, Larles and Kady end up in a replica of the control room of the Gestalt's timeship — although the portraits of Kady's past companions Miaki, Lyth and Elya on the walls now bear accusing captions in the names of the portraitees, accusing Kady of having failed them, and there is also a portrait of Bill, similarly accusatory. Kady is finally forced to tell Chris about Bill, explaining that he was her "ex-stepson", the son by a previous marriage of a man who divorced Kady shortly before she became the host of the Gestalt.

Characters

 * Chris Cwej
 * Larles
 * Kwol
 * Kady Williams
 * The Gestalt
 * The Gentleman

Story notes

 * The Gestalt and Cadence Williams previously appeared in the story Perfect Authentic Cadence, also by Charles Whitt, released in the unlicensed short anthology Sh*t Trips Volume 2.5. There, the Gestalt was established as a future of the Doctor arising after the "Last Battle of Garsennon" made them unable to regenerate normally. Vague hints about this remain in Ring Theory: the Gestalt's timeship, though not seen, is described in terms reminiscent of the Doctor's TARDIS, and one of the voices within the Gestalt has a Scottish accent and says the line "Come on, [Name], we've got work to do", quoting the Seventh Doctor's final line in Survival.

Continuity

 * Chris Cwej mentions that he "used to be a cop". (PROSE: Original Sin)
 * Kady and Chris have both met Donacho Munchausen. (PROSE: Infinity)