The Second Law of Thermodynamics... Thwarted?

"It's weird," said Betty in a hushed voice. "The last time I saw this place -- on TV, of course -- it was in the process of crumbling to bits in the sudden acceleration of entropy. And yet, in this universe, that's never going to happen..."

"Well," replied her red-headed 'sister,' "in this case, I can't exactly find it in myself to regret the alteration in Doctor Who continuity. Considering that that little incident destroyed a big chunk of the universe!"

"And the fourth Doctor," Betty reminded her.

"Yeah. Not that he's going to happen now, anyway." She smiled ruefully. "It all takes some getting used to, doesn't it?"

Their conversation was interrupted by the Monitor, announcing that they had arrived. "There it is," he said proudly, indicating the building and the massive transmitter ahead of them. "An exact replica of the Pharos Project antenna on Earth, created entirely through the pure mathematics of block transfer computation!"

"You mean this entire structure is a mathematical construct?" replied the Doctor with the same incredulity the Bettys remembered him displaying in the TV episode. "That's extraordinary!"

"I'm sure it is," Inquirer reminded him gently, "but maybe we should send the signal first and play tourist later?"

The Doctor patted her on the arm. "Quite right, my dear. Well, Monitor?"

The Monitor led them into the control room, where he and the Doctor spent several minutes entering the mathematical code into the instruments. At last, the Doctor pressed a single button with a dramatic flourish and beamed a blinding grin at them all. "Well! That's that accomplished, then!"

"What!" cried B'ellana. "You mean that's it? You've just stabilized the universe?"

"Yes, if that signal works as advertised."

"It does seem a bit... anticlimactic..." mused Sigin.

1. "So," said Gilmuriel. "What now?"

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