The Coldest Flame
-Doctor Who Short Story-
The Doctor landed his
time machine in what he promised it was The Frozen Moon of Psalmanazar. Clara
had wanted to go there from the moment the Doctor described it to her for the
first time: it was an enormous planet all frozen in an eternal winter. The woods
were covered with crystal trees naturally built with ice. The lakes, rivers and
oceans were like if they have been created out of the finest of the glasses and
the hue of the landscape was even whiter than the arctic itself.
But
when the doors of the Tardis were opened by the Doctor they found a scene quite
different from what they expected: they were in a volcanic place, much hotter
than the frozen marvel described by the Doctor. If the landscape of Psalmanazar
could be described as the coldest in the whole universe, the one they were
beholding should be the hottest among all.
-Doctor,
-said Clara in a disappointed tone. –I thought you said ice…
-Yes,
yes! You know… If the Tardis decides to go to another place, we go to another
place: that’s a universal truth, I’m afraid… Someone must be in need of our
help…
-But,
Doctor, there is zero conditions for life to develop out there! Who is going to
live here?
From
the shades and the ashes which remained when the smoke had partially vanished,
a creature emerged. It was slimmer than the slimmest of the human beings,
taller than the tallest of the giraffes and its face was eclipsed behind the
darkest eyes the Doctor had ever seen. The fearful symmetry of its face
provoked in Clara an intense fear.
-Doctor,
what do we do? –Asked Clara very afraid.
-First
condition: If you threaten us, I will defeat you! –Shout the Doctor to the
creature. –Second condition: If I were you, I would tell my intentions as soon
as possible! And third condition..!
-If I
had wanted to hurt you, I would not have let you see me come… -interrupted the
creature. - I need your help… a big disaster had occurred…
What you have just read is an activity designed for my students of 1º Bachillerato in order to introduce them to the conditionals, comparatives and superlatives. The activity has been extracted from a didactic unit I fully designed for the Máster en Formación de Profesorado de Secundaria of the University of Alicante.
