Fabula
Object
Object

The Sutekh Gateway Cartouche (including its time-space vortex functionality)

The Sutekh Gateway Cartouche appears as a sarcophagus bearing a carved cartouche on its surface. When activated, it opens a multicolored time-space vortex—pulsing with violet and cerulean energies—that would have freed Sutekh’s prison through a spiraling tunnel of distorted air and temporal forces. Initially mistaken for a lodestone by the Doctor, Laurence correctly identifies it as a sarcophagus. The Doctor barely escapes annihilation by disrupting the sucking pull with a handkerchief, causing the vortex and cartouche to collapse afterward. The object serves as a controlled gateway for either sealing or opening Sutekh’s temporal prison depending on activation, with the visible time-space vortex representing its active state.
5 appearances

Purpose

To serve as a controlled gateway that can either seal or open a temporal prison for Sutekh depending on activation.

Significance

The object transforms the narrative from a historical inquiry into an existential crisis. Its misinterpretation as a simple relic delays understanding of Sutekh’s imminent escape, and its activation brings cosmic peril directly into the study. The Doctor’s reckless activation and desperate gambit reveal both the gateway’s lethal power and his willingness to risk everything to prevent catastrophe.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

5 moments
S13E5 · Planet of Evil Part 1
Doctor and Sarah arrive out of time on Zeta Minor

The Doctor furtively consults his Time-Space Vortex Chronometer during Sarah’s interrogation, tapping its face twice before concealing it when she notices. The device’s malfunctioning readings suggest their navigational error may be deeper than mere overshoot, confirming Sarah’s suspicion before he can invent an excuse.

Before: Functionally suspect after the turbulent vortex transit, showing distorted time readings due to temporal misalignment.
After: Temporarily hidden from Sarah to obscure its inability to reconcile their catastrophic placement in time.
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S13E5 · Planet of Evil Part 1
Sarah detects lethal distress signal from Zeta Minor

The Doctor’s chronometer glows sickly violet as time fractures around them, its radial lines jerking erratically in sync with the vortex’s distortion. He checks it obsessively against Sarah’s watch, aware the device’s failure reflects their navigational disaster.

Before: Functioning but showing signs of temporal stress, its readings unreliable.
After: Pulsing with erratic energy, its malfunction serving as a physical manifestation of their miscalculation.
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S13E10 · Pyramids of Mars Part 2
Doctor reveals Sutekhs escape timeline

The cartouche, initially dismissed as a mere sarcophagus lid, becomes a threshold device when activated. The Doctor identifies it as an entrance to a time-space tunnel and uses it to forcefully demonstrate Sutekh’s imprisonment and imminent release. The artifact’s swirling multicolored vortex destabilizes the study’s calm, making Sutekh’s threat tangible.

Before: Resting under glass as a seemingly ordinary artifact in Scarman’s study
After: Activated, producing a time-space vortex that nearly consumes the Doctor before collapsing from his handkerchief disruption
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S13E10 · Pyramids of Mars Part 2
Sarcophagus gateway to Sutekh opens

The sarcophagus case initially misidentified by the Doctor as a lodestone is revealed through Laurence’s expertise as a repository of Sutekh’s power. Its carved cartouche serves as a control mechanism which the Doctor activates despite Sarah’s warning, unleashing a multicolored time-space vortex from within as the primary stage for Sutekh’s attempted escape.

Before: Resting atop a glass display case among Scarman’s cluttered occult artifacts, sealed and inert. Its wooden frame bears hieroglyph carvings while its practical function remains completely unknown to the characters present.
After: Activated to open a temporal gateway, causing its contents to unleash a coruscating, spiralling vortex of distorted air and temporal forces. The case itself remains intact physically but serves as a conduit for cosmic peril, its true nature now undeniable.
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S13E10 · Pyramids of Mars Part 2
Doctor hurls object into vortex to survive

The cartouche on the sarcophagus is activated by the Doctor in a final attempt to open the time-space tunnel and confront Sutekh directly. Its carved surface spills multicolored energy, bending space into a vortex that latches onto reality and begins tearing it open.

Before: Sealed and inert sarcophagus lying beneath the study’s clutter—an artifact Laurence dismisses as simple ruins.
After: Activated gateway with residual temporal distortion and a collapsed vortex; the cartouche’s mechanism remains visibly charged, hinting at further use.
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