Part 20 (2/2)

'Keep your voice down, Polly!' Tim looked around furtively. One of the other pa.s.sengers was flicking a cold stare at them, clearly annoyed that they were disturbing her concentration but the look from Tim sent her speedily back to the pages of her new Carrie Fisher novel. 'What d'you know about time, Polly?'

'In what sense?'

'You travel in it, right? The Doctor and his dimensionally transcendental machine?'

'Dimensionally what? If you say so, I suppose so.'

'Time is relative, Polly, but in many ways it is preordained. I'm sure the Doctor has told you not to interfere with your own past. One little slip or event halted, and you could cease to exist, damaging the web of time irrevocably.'

Polly nodded. 'He calls it chrono-chaos theory.'

Tim laughed. 'Yes he would. What rot. Anyway, your future is similarly mapped out but of course you don't know it. To someone in 2094, today is history and your part in it is recorded somewhere.' He waved his arm around the carriage. 'Everybody now is someone's past. But what if you could see the future?'

'I wouldn't want to.' Polly folded her arms. 'That would be. . . pointless. Why live if you know what's coming?'

'Good philosophy. However, no one is immune to a little warning. You've used tarot cards before?'

'I had mine read years ago. My friend Claudia used to do readings. I don't think she was very good.'

'Few people are. But to me, these are a gateway to the future. To reading your destiny. Here, cut the pack.' Tim 159 produced a pack of tarot cards and placed them face down on the tabletop. 'Go on.'

Polly cut the pack twice and tried to pa.s.s them back, but Tim shook his head. 'Only you can hold them or the majik won't work.'

Polly turned the first card over. 'Oh, look. A p.u.s.s.y cat.'

Suddenly she stopped and stared at Tim. 'The Cat-People . .

'Quite deliberate, I a.s.sure you. You are woven into their future as much as they into yours. Keep going.'

Polly laid out four cards. The Sun. The Three of Cups, upside-down. Also upside-down was the High Priestess.

Finally, the Knight of Swords.

'I'm not going to comment on any of these,' Tim said.

'Merely interpret them for you. The two reversed cards are interesting. Carry on, three above.'

Polly turned another three. Another reversed card, the six of Swords. Then the Ace of Pentacles, followed by the seven of Swords.

'That one,' Polly pointed to the seven of Swords, 'reminds me of the cat in my dream. At the house in London where I saw you.'

Tim looked at the card, showing a female warrior carrying a sword. Six others were embedded in the ground and in her other hand rested a tabby cat. 'Needs the scar, though.' He motioned for her to continue.

Two cards above the three, the four of Pentacles and a reversed Knight of Wands.

'Now I want you to put one card, face up above them to create the pyramid. Then above that another solo card, but face down.' Tim pointed to the cards. 'OK?'

Polly nodded. 'When I had my tarot read by Claudia, I had the High Priestess, only it was the right way up.'

Tim smiled at her. 'Strange that - it's a common card for women but not so for men. Now, are you happy with that lot?'

'A few too many reversed ones for my liking but that's random choice for you.'

160.

'I Ching is another science altogether. Let's not get into that. OK, turn the top card over.'

Polly did so - another reversed card. The Lovers. She smiled.

'Before you say anything,' Tim said, 'it's a common misconception that the lovers means anything romantic. It's more of a suggestion of a partners.h.i.+p or friends.h.i.+p, often in business. The fact that it's reversed implies you've made a bad choice somewhere along the line.' He pointed at the Sun. 'A strong card because although it's not high up in the pyramid you've created, it was nevertheless the first card you turned over. It suggests joy, pleasure - often a.s.sociated with travel. Somewhere hot perhaps.'

'Travel? Well, we're on a train now.'

'True. The six of Swords directly above also means travel but as it's reversed, it suggests a delay. Which, as that nice ticket collector told us, we're experiencing whether we like it or not. Back to the cards, Miss Wright, if you please.'

'So, this upside-down three of Cups?'

Tim sipped his cooling tea. 'Hmmm. Fun and frivolity but again, as it's reversed, a hoped-for union might not take place. It's placed between a sun and relations.h.i.+p card - unfortunately indicating that whoever you've got designs on might not be the right person. You'll enjoy their company but it won't lead to anything permanent.'

'Well, travelling with the Doctor hardly gives me time for anything romantic.'

'Ben?'

'Ben?' Polly laughed. 'Oh, he's very sweet, but we're not really a couple. Just good friends, as they say. Besides, Uncle Charles would have a fit, giving me away to a working-cla.s.s sailor.' She swallowed some tea and pointed to the upside-down High Priestess. 'I don't like the look of that if it's meant to represent me.'

'Oh, don't worry. The High Priestess is normally cool and collected - it's a card of extremes in many ways. It embodies the female psyche. Reversed it just goes to another extreme; it suggests that you're someone who is 161 forever caring about people more than yourself - you put them ahead of your own happiness or safety. Take it as a warning - someone you're committed to caring about might turn out not to be worth it.'

'The Doctor?'

'Could be. Why him particularly? Why not Ben? Or me?'

Polly shrugged. 'Don't know. Just seems the most likely candidate.'

'Fair enough. The Doctor could well be represented here by either the Knight of Swords or the Knight of Wands. The Swordsman is frequently a.s.sociated with medical things though. He could well be linked to your reversed Lovers card but maybe not. You need to think quickly about him though, he has a tendency to rush in where others fear to tread.'

'Sounds like the Doctor all right.'

Now, this is interesting. Between your two Knights is the seven of Swords, featuring our dream cat. This card usually suggests a rip-off, a swindle. Could be referring to either Knight but as it's the Knight of Wands rather than our Doctor-card, the Knight of Swords, which is reversed, it probably applies to him. He's almost certainly someone working against you, a swindler and very insincere although you will have spent a lot of time building up your trust in him. Again, this links to the reversed High Priestess and your putting too much energy into someone over your own needs. The Knight of Wands is not only reversed but he's below the reversed Emperor card - a definite fall from grace. Possibly the most important card in the warning sense in the whole hand.'

Polly was nodding. 'And this upside-down Emperor?'

'He's a man of status but he's fallen from favour. Again, another liar or maybe you're just getting a distorted picture of him because other people put him on a pedestal. He's not so much unreliable as unable to deliver on his promises.'

'Charming.' Polly drained her tea. 'OK. Last two.' She jabbed at the two Pentacle cards.

162.

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