Doctor Who: A Man Out of Time

by WhoCrafter

This is an adaptation of HP Lovecraft's Shadow Out of Time. The Tenth Doctor and his new companion, Celia, encounter the Yith, an ancient alien race that inhabited the earth over 50 million years ago. They call themselves the Great Race, and the Doctor must find a way to stop their plans to take over the earth again.

1. Prologue

Arkham, Massachusetts. May 14, 1908

Nathaniel Wingate Peaslee, economics professor at Miskatonic University was in his office, preparing for the day's lecture in his Political Economy VI course. It was spring and the birds outside the window were singing. The curtains fluttered in the light breeze, and sunlight flickering through them made patterns on the wall that shifted with the breeze. Professor Peaslee was a leading economist and one of the smartest men of his age. He could have also been a professor of physics or math and his brilliant papers on those topics were often discussed at conferences around the world.

Today, he planned to lecture to his students about present tendencies of economics, a topic he could teach in his sleep. As he gathered up his notes and papers to put into his briefcase, he looked up to see a shimmer of light that did not seem to be following the same patterns as those from the curtains. He wondered if someone were outside his window with a mirror shining it into his room. He stepped to look out the window and the light vanished. He could see several students as they rushed across campus to class or to the library. Crows had gathered in the trees along the path and their raucous calling belied the otherwise peaceful scene. No one was nearby.

He shook his head and turned away from the open window and back to the task. At that moment, a ball of light came at him from behind and hit him in the head. He felt it like a smack, and his hand went reflexively to the back of his head. He paused in alarm, wondering what he had felt. He turned back to the window to see what had hit him. Nothing unusual there. He shook his head in confusion. He had a sudden pounding headache and the feeling that he was losing control of his thoughts and actions. It was as though some other mind were taking over the movements of his body. He had to will himself forward. Then, for a moment at least, the feeling passed.

He looked at his watch, saw that he was running late, and hurried from the room to the lecture hall. The auditorium was packed. His lectures on any topic were always well attended. He stumbled as he took the stage, and some of the students murmured in surprise.

"I begin today with a lecture on the history and present tendencies of economics. It is blsibum snorkeman." The professor paused, aware that his mouth was not working properly. His panicked mind wondered if he were having a stroke.

He tried to get his thoughts together, but they would not make sense. He struggled to stay focused on the topic, but his brain would not cooperate. He gathered himself up and tried again, "Economics," he began slowly and with great effort to form the word, "is the study," he continued even more slowly, "trinsilate misrump."

His students became increasingly alarmed at his actions. He could see this in their faces, even as the room swam around him. At times, it seemed he was in another room with strange beings all around him. At other times, he could see the students clearly in front of him.

He looked down at his hands and shrieked in horror at the sight of them. They did not seem to be hands at all, but horrible lobster-like pincers protruding from the end of scaly green limbs! His head felt strange, his eyes seemed to see in more than one direction at once. He wanted to cry out for help, but could not control his mouth! And then, with a frantic look at the faces staring at him in the audience, he collapsed into unconsciousness. Several students rushed the stage to help him. Someone called for a doctor.