CHAPTER EIGHT - PAST IMPERFECT
In his last and most dangerous adventure, the Third Doctor had travelled to the planet Metebelis Three, in order to stop an invasion of Earth by the giant spiders who ruled there. The spiders had subdued the Human colonist's long ago and used them as slaves and a source of food. The Doctor organised an uprising, but ultimately it failed and he had to face the spider ruler, the Great One, an incredibly huge, mutated arachnid in her cave of crystals buried deep within one of the planet's blue mountains.
Standing before the Great One, the Doctor had to face his own fears. He knew that the high concentration of radiation emanating from the blue crystals would kill him, but he had to undertake a dangerous final quest. The Great one ordered him to locate and return to her the final missing blue crystal, which would be added to her web, enabling her thoughts to resonate throughout all time and space.
Already severely affected by the high radiation, the Doctor completed his task and returned to the Great One's cave. As soon as she added the final crystal to the web, it became all too aparant that she could not control the vast energies. The Great One's mind was torn apart and as she died in agony, so did all the other giant spiders.
By giving the ultimate sacrifice, the Doctor had saved both the Earth and Metebelis Three. Barely alive, he struggled into the TARDIS and set the controls for Earth. He had very little time left.
During the journey home the Doctor became lost in the time vortex, but the TARDIS eventually bought him back to his beloved laboratory in UNIT H.Q.
Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and the Doctor's most recent companion, Sarah Jane Smith just happened to be inside the laboratory, when the TARDIS materialised. The door opened, and the Doctor leant awkwardly against it. He saw the sad expressions on his friends faces. Their sorrow was terrible to bear.
The Doctor looked deathly, like a ghost of his former elegant self. He gave the TARDIS an affectionate pat, and fell forward on to the laboratory floor. Sarah kneeled beside him, cradling his head in her lap. She began to sob gently, and a tear splashed on to the end of the Doctor's nose. His eyes flickered open.
"Tears Sarah Jane? You musn't cry. Remember, where there's life there's...."
The Doctor's eyes closed again and his head fell back.
The Brigadier said quickly, "I'll get the M.O. May still be something..." he made for the phone.
"Too late, Brigadier. He's dead!"
"Oh no!" said a voice behind Sarah. "He is not dead my dear young lady"
Sarah turned and saw Cho-Je. She jumped to her feet, noticing with no feeling of surprise that he was sitting cross-legged in mid-air about three feet above the ground. The Brigadier looked at cho-Je severely.
"Won't you introduce me to your friend, Miss Smith?"
Sarah said helplessly, "Well, it's Cho-Je. That is, it looks like Cho-Je but it's really K'anpo Rinpoche!"
"Thank you!" said the Brigadier. "That makes everything quite clear"
Sarah glanced from the Doctor to Cho-Je. "Are you sure he's not dead?"
Cho-Je nodded. "All the cells of his body have been devastated by the Metebelis crystals. but remember, he is a Time lord. If I give the process a little push so to speak, the cells will regenerate. He will be a new man!"
"Literally?" asked the Brigadier, with a certain amount of foreboding.
Cho-Je smiled. "well of course he is bound to look different!"
The Brigadier sighed. "Not again!"
And there was more to come. Cho-Je said, "The change will shake up the brain cells a little. You may find him rather erratic at first. But he'll settle down!"
Sarah looked worriedly at the Doctor as he lay on the floor. "And when is all this going to happen?"
Cho-Je chuckled. "Well, there's no time like the present is there? Goodbye - look after him". And he faded away as silently as he had appeared.
"Now wait a moment!" the Brigadier said firmly, but he was adressing empty space.
"Brigadier, look!" said Sarah. "It's starting!"
"Well bless my soul" said the Brigadier. "Here we go again!"
As they watched, the Doctor's features began to blur and change. A golden glow appeared around his body and it completely vanished. Sarah and the Brigadier found themselves frozen like statues.
Through a looking glass darkly, the Master observed as another incarnation of his old rival was time-scooped into the Determinant.
"I'll have fun with this one!" he mused.
A warm breeze was blowing through the Doctor's hair. He opened his eyes and realised that he was sitting on a deckchair in the middle of a sandy beach, looking out to sea. Looking left and right, he thought it odd that the beach was so deserted. He was alone.
The azure sea sparkled in the sunlight as the Doctor got up and rubbed his brow. The crescent shaped beach stretched away towards an outcropping of rock, which formed a kind of bay. The Doctor looked inland, where very dense jungle began. He sniffed the air, as though he were savouring the bouquet of a fine wine.
"Well it's definitely Earth" he thought to himself. A sudden thought hit him like a hammer-blow. What was he doing here? How did he get here? Where was here? And where was the TARDIS?
The Doctor suddenly felt very giddy. he would have to answer every question one by one. Looking along the pleasant beach, he decided to take a little stroll to clear his head.
As he walked along the edge of the jungle, strange clicking and hooting sounds could be heard at regular intervals, coming from the interior. Warily, the Doctor continued on his way. A lizard the size of a large dog pushed it's way out of the dense green foliage and padded onto the beach in front of the Doctor. It left three-toed footprints in the soft, golden sand.
The Doctor froze and looked at the animal with interest. The big lizard looked right back at him, and it seemed completely at ease. It perched on it's hind legs, balancing itself with a long, powerful tail. It's tiny, clawed forearms twitched in the air. It had a small head, which was crowned with a vee-shaped crest. Small, needle-sharp teeth glinted in it's mouth.
The Doctor realised that he was not looking at any normal Earth lizard.
"Good grief!" he exclaimed. "It's a Dilophosaur!"
Something huge and powerful charged out of the jungle, and the shockwaves from it's mighty strides sent the Doctor reeling. It had taken the Tyrannosaur less than thirty seconds to bring down it's prey. The Dilophosaur had been bitten in half with a single shake of it's mighty jaws.
A huge crimson stain had soaked into the sand around the site of the kill. The Tyrannosaur raised it's head and bellowed in triumph. The Doctor pressed himself literally into the sand and covered his ears as the world's most lethal predator roared at the sky. It was a terrifying sound, a primal scream from the past.
The Tyrannosaur stopped it's roaring and paused to sniff the air. It had detected a new, stranger animal smell that it didn't recognise. It put it's head low to the ground and cautiously approached the Doctor, who lay absolutely still on his back. Each huge footfall sent tremors along the beach. The Tyrannosaur lowered it's blood-drenched snout towards the Doctor. The stench of the carnivore was overpowering at such close quaters. It sniffed the Doctor carefully, almost gently.
"Great balls of fire!" the Doctor thought to himself.
Amazingly, the Tyrannosaur pulled it's head back, and edged away a few paces. The Doctor risked a quick glance and noticed something on the back of the Tyrannosaur's neck. It was humanoid in shape, but it's skin was the mottled brown and green of most reptiles. It had a delicate bone structure and a fluted skull, and it sat proud and erect upon it's huge mount.
"Well,well!" the Doctor said, as he very cautiously got to his feet. "Homo-Reptilius!"
The Tyrannosaur rumbled ominously, but it's rider gave it a gentle carress, and it settled down. The Silurian's third eye glowed brightly, and the Doctor felt a light presence touch his mind, and then it was gone.
"You are no ordinary mammal!" it stated.
"Shall I take that as a complement?" the Doctor retorted. "I've encountered your species before, at their cave stronghold in Derbyshire!"
"We have many communities scattered all over the world, mammal" the Silurian said. "Here, we are the dominant species"
"I say dear chap, be a good fellow and stop referring to me as 'mammal', would you? My name is the Doctor"
The Silurian studied him for a moment. "We have Doctors and scientist's too. They are the reason that we now once again rule our world!"
The Silurian's words sunk in. "Rule the world?" the Doctor queried.
"They will explain things to you mammal, better than I can. You must be taken before them. You are very unusual, and they will find you of interest!"
Before the Doctor could remonstrate further, the Silurian's third eye glowed again. The Doctor fell like he'd been poleaxed and the Silurian hauled the unconscious Time Lord up onto the Tyrannosaur's back.
At a mental command, the Tyrannosaur strode away into the jungle, on it's journey to the Silurian stronghold.
The Doctor stirred as he tried to piece together what had happened only moments before. He thought that maybe it was some sort of after effect his own mind was having after being exposed to so much radioactive energy on Metebelis Three, or maybe it was just a dream.
Those thoughts were dismissed from his mind as he could hear a rhythmic noise which brought him to his senses, and the land of the living once more. For a moment he didn't exactly know what he was looking at, his field of vision was completely vlocked by something decidedly rough, and just a little smelly. Then he remembered that he was on the back of the enormous T-Rex along with the Silurian who'd greeted him not long before.
"I say, where are you taking me?" the Doctor asked who he deduced was his captor, however, he got no response, not even a sign of recognition from the Silurian. "You know, it's classed as bad manners to ignore someone who was only asking a simple question." the Doctor muttered turning his head to one side so he could glimpse the Silurian in question.
"Homo-Sapiens are not here to ask questions," the Silurian stated in a firm tone after a few moments of silence.
The Doctor caught a view of his surrounding area before allowing his eyes to briefly close. For all intents and purposes he was back on Earth, his home away from home. In the distance he could hear the crashing of waves over what he thought were sands of the purest yellows and golds. When he inhaled he could smell the powerful and beautiful fragrances that was produced by the plants and trees surrounding him. In actuality though what the Doctor couldn't imagine were Silurians co-habitating in trees as if they were their personal homes along side enormous, lolloping beasts that were millions of years older than mankind itself. Mankind itself, mankind. Hold up!
"Homo-Sapien!" the Doctor boomed as he realised what the Silurian said. "I am most certainly not human! Do you have any idea who I am?"
"You are the Doctor," the Silurian responded. "We know that you are a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey, however, we also know that you are yourself part human."
"How did you know that?" the Doctor asked with genuine surprise.
"That is not important," the Silurian responded. "You will be the pride of our collection."
With that last comment the Doctor turned his head quickly. Although he didn't know where or when, he knew that he heard that expression before, and worry was increasing in his mind.
The T-Rex trundled into a large clearing with the Silurian and the Doctor on it's back. After a few moments the dinosaur stopped before the entrance of what appeared to be a large compound and then instinctively lowered it's neck so the Silurian could dismount. The Silurian walked to a large wooden door where he banged on it three times before the door was opened up.
The Silurian was greeted by an Auton who was regaled in a uniform of bright reds and greens. "Go and find the keeper," he instructed the Auton. "and inform him we have a special guest addition."
In a brightly lit office based within the walls of the compound, two Silurians were in meeting with their High Protectorate of the Silurian's realm. Although the High Protectorate was well known for being present within the compound, it's identity had always been shrouded with the aide of a thick robe and hood made of the finest silks and adorned with the most precious of gems.
"What is our current station?" the High Protectorate asked the Silurians.
"High Protectorate," one of them responded, "We have parties searching the north grove where you instructed, but as of yet no news."
The High Protectorate rose graciously from it's seated position and walked to the center of the room where a large plinth stood which was home to a large crystal which resonated with all the colours of the spectrum.
From behind the Silurian's a solid oak door opened and an Auton approached one of them brandishing a piece of parchment. The Auton passed it to one of the Silurians before leaving.
"High Protectorate," the Silurian said reading the note. "The summoning crystal has worked, he is being moved to a temporary holding area as we speak."
"Excellent," the High Protectorate hissed with glee as it continued to look at the multitude of colours being produced by the crystal. "Excellent!"
After being dismounted from the dinosaur to two Silurians, one of them placed a sack cloth over the Doctor's head so he couldn't see a thing and then frog-marched into the compound.
"What am I doing here?" the Doctor demanded.
"Quiet homo-sapien," the Silurian answered curtly.
"What are you going to do to me?" the Doctor asked.
"When we say silence we mean silence!" the other Silurian roared clocking the Doctor in the back of his head to emphasise his point.
After what seemed like an eternity's walking the Doctor came to a stand still and he could hear the Silurian's milling around him. Then he heard what sounded like a large iron door being opened directly in front of him.
One of the Silurians entered the room that the Doctor was standing in front of and then returned a few seconds later with what looked like a metal collar, which was immediately clamped around the neck of the Doctor.
"I say, just what is going on!" the Doctor demanded.
The cloth sack was pulled from the Doctor's head and he was thrown inside the room. The Doctor spun round and saw one of the Silurians in the doorway, blocking any type of escape.
"Your identification number is DSP Thirty-One Seventy-Three," the Silurian stated. "Welcome to Homo-Sapien Park." with that the Silurian swung the door shut on the Doctor.
The room the Doctor had been man-handled into was for the most part fowl and disgusting. There were no windows to which he could look through and the only illumination came from a small lantern suspended from the ceiling. Besides that, there was nothing in particular in the room except for a small uncomfortable looking chair and a dilapidated looking table, both of which were enveloped in a thick sheen of dust.
"What do they expect me to do in this place?" the Doctor muttered to himself. "And what is a Homo-Sapien Park?" The Doctor moved slowly around the small space, his fingers investigating the strange collar that had been placed around his neck. "If I had my sonic screwdriver," the Doctor thougth out aloud.
"Don't take off the collar!" a voice boomed from nowhere making the Doctor jump with surprise.
"Who are you?" the Doctor asked looking around the room. "Where are you?"
"Over here," the voice replied from somewhere behind the Doctor. The Doctor moved over to the wall and examined it where he found a small circular hole about half an inch in diameter.
"Why can't I take the collar off?" the Doctor asked.
"Because," the voice replied, "if you do bad things will happen, though they always happen here."
"I don't understand," the Doctor said in bemusement.
"If you try and take your collar off your head will implode. Believe me, I've seen it happen many times before."
"How long have you been here?" the Doctor asked as he peered through the hole.
"I was born here," the voice replied, "or at least I think I was born here, or it was just something I told myself. I've been here for so long now that I can't really remember anything outside of here, except for bits and pieces."
"You're human!" the Doctor exclaimed as he saw the person who he was taking to. It was a young female about nineteen years of age with shabby looking clothing and scruffy looking long brown hair. "Are you from Earth?" the Doctor asked.
"That's it!" the woman blurted out suddenly. "That's the name of my home! I spent so long trying to remember. Are you from Earth? What is your name?"
"No I'm not really from Earth, but I do consider it my home in a way. And my name is the Doctor."
"You're a doctor?" the woman asked.
"No. That's what I am called. Doctor."
"Ooowww," the woman replied. "I've seen them, I have."
"Who?" the Doctor asked curiously.
"No one," she quickly replied. "We're not allowed to discuss that or they'll kill us."
"How would they know?"
"They have ears everywhere."
"I see," the Doctor simply replied, not wanting to push the subject further. "What's your name Miss?" the Doctor asked through the wall.
"My name?" the woman replied a little surprised that somebody has bothered to ask her. "It's Sophie."
"Well, don't you worry Sophie," the Doctor replied looking around his little cell for a room. "I'm sure I'll be able to figure a way out of here."
"How did you get here?" she asked.
"To be honest, I don't really remember." the Doctor said scratching his head, "It was very peculiar."
Suddenly the Doctor could hear a low hissing sound like escaping gas, and he knew the sound was coming from his room. The Doctor began looking about feverishly in a futile attempt to stop the gas from seeping into his area as he wasn't sure if it was meant to simply stun or kill him.
"Let me out of here," the Doctor yelled banging on the cell door as a light green gas slowly spread across the floor like a fine mist that smelt even less impressive than it looked.
"Don't" Sophie called from the other cell, "Just let it take you. Don't fight it."
The Doctor looked around again, but as the gas seeped in he grew more and more light-headed. The Doctor dropped to his knees clutching a handkerchief over his mouth in a last ditch attempt to prevent him breathing any more of the noxious gas into his lungs. But it was hopeless as the Doctor slumped to the floor unconscious.
In his last and most dangerous adventure, the Third Doctor had travelled to the planet Metebelis Three, in order to stop an invasion of Earth by the giant spiders who ruled there. The spiders had subdued the Human colonist's long ago and used them as slaves and a source of food. The Doctor organised an uprising, but ultimately it failed and he had to face the spider ruler, the Great One, an incredibly huge, mutated arachnid in her cave of crystals buried deep within one of the planet's blue mountains.
Standing before the Great One, the Doctor had to face his own fears. He knew that the high concentration of radiation emanating from the blue crystals would kill him, but he had to undertake a dangerous final quest. The Great one ordered him to locate and return to her the final missing blue crystal, which would be added to her web, enabling her thoughts to resonate throughout all time and space.
Already severely affected by the high radiation, the Doctor completed his task and returned to the Great One's cave. As soon as she added the final crystal to the web, it became all too aparant that she could not control the vast energies. The Great One's mind was torn apart and as she died in agony, so did all the other giant spiders.
By giving the ultimate sacrifice, the Doctor had saved both the Earth and Metebelis Three. Barely alive, he struggled into the TARDIS and set the controls for Earth. He had very little time left.
During the journey home the Doctor became lost in the time vortex, but the TARDIS eventually bought him back to his beloved laboratory in UNIT H.Q.
Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and the Doctor's most recent companion, Sarah Jane Smith just happened to be inside the laboratory, when the TARDIS materialised. The door opened, and the Doctor leant awkwardly against it. He saw the sad expressions on his friends faces. Their sorrow was terrible to bear.
The Doctor looked deathly, like a ghost of his former elegant self. He gave the TARDIS an affectionate pat, and fell forward on to the laboratory floor. Sarah kneeled beside him, cradling his head in her lap. She began to sob gently, and a tear splashed on to the end of the Doctor's nose. His eyes flickered open.
"Tears Sarah Jane? You musn't cry. Remember, where there's life there's...."
The Doctor's eyes closed again and his head fell back.
The Brigadier said quickly, "I'll get the M.O. May still be something..." he made for the phone.
"Too late, Brigadier. He's dead!"
"Oh no!" said a voice behind Sarah. "He is not dead my dear young lady"
Sarah turned and saw Cho-Je. She jumped to her feet, noticing with no feeling of surprise that he was sitting cross-legged in mid-air about three feet above the ground. The Brigadier looked at cho-Je severely.
"Won't you introduce me to your friend, Miss Smith?"
Sarah said helplessly, "Well, it's Cho-Je. That is, it looks like Cho-Je but it's really K'anpo Rinpoche!"
"Thank you!" said the Brigadier. "That makes everything quite clear"
Sarah glanced from the Doctor to Cho-Je. "Are you sure he's not dead?"
Cho-Je nodded. "All the cells of his body have been devastated by the Metebelis crystals. but remember, he is a Time lord. If I give the process a little push so to speak, the cells will regenerate. He will be a new man!"
"Literally?" asked the Brigadier, with a certain amount of foreboding.
Cho-Je smiled. "well of course he is bound to look different!"
The Brigadier sighed. "Not again!"
And there was more to come. Cho-Je said, "The change will shake up the brain cells a little. You may find him rather erratic at first. But he'll settle down!"
Sarah looked worriedly at the Doctor as he lay on the floor. "And when is all this going to happen?"
Cho-Je chuckled. "Well, there's no time like the present is there? Goodbye - look after him". And he faded away as silently as he had appeared.
"Now wait a moment!" the Brigadier said firmly, but he was adressing empty space.
"Brigadier, look!" said Sarah. "It's starting!"
"Well bless my soul" said the Brigadier. "Here we go again!"
As they watched, the Doctor's features began to blur and change. A golden glow appeared around his body and it completely vanished. Sarah and the Brigadier found themselves frozen like statues.
Through a looking glass darkly, the Master observed as another incarnation of his old rival was time-scooped into the Determinant.
"I'll have fun with this one!" he mused.
A warm breeze was blowing through the Doctor's hair. He opened his eyes and realised that he was sitting on a deckchair in the middle of a sandy beach, looking out to sea. Looking left and right, he thought it odd that the beach was so deserted. He was alone.
The azure sea sparkled in the sunlight as the Doctor got up and rubbed his brow. The crescent shaped beach stretched away towards an outcropping of rock, which formed a kind of bay. The Doctor looked inland, where very dense jungle began. He sniffed the air, as though he were savouring the bouquet of a fine wine.
"Well it's definitely Earth" he thought to himself. A sudden thought hit him like a hammer-blow. What was he doing here? How did he get here? Where was here? And where was the TARDIS?
The Doctor suddenly felt very giddy. he would have to answer every question one by one. Looking along the pleasant beach, he decided to take a little stroll to clear his head.
As he walked along the edge of the jungle, strange clicking and hooting sounds could be heard at regular intervals, coming from the interior. Warily, the Doctor continued on his way. A lizard the size of a large dog pushed it's way out of the dense green foliage and padded onto the beach in front of the Doctor. It left three-toed footprints in the soft, golden sand.
The Doctor froze and looked at the animal with interest. The big lizard looked right back at him, and it seemed completely at ease. It perched on it's hind legs, balancing itself with a long, powerful tail. It's tiny, clawed forearms twitched in the air. It had a small head, which was crowned with a vee-shaped crest. Small, needle-sharp teeth glinted in it's mouth.
The Doctor realised that he was not looking at any normal Earth lizard.
"Good grief!" he exclaimed. "It's a Dilophosaur!"
Something huge and powerful charged out of the jungle, and the shockwaves from it's mighty strides sent the Doctor reeling. It had taken the Tyrannosaur less than thirty seconds to bring down it's prey. The Dilophosaur had been bitten in half with a single shake of it's mighty jaws.
A huge crimson stain had soaked into the sand around the site of the kill. The Tyrannosaur raised it's head and bellowed in triumph. The Doctor pressed himself literally into the sand and covered his ears as the world's most lethal predator roared at the sky. It was a terrifying sound, a primal scream from the past.
The Tyrannosaur stopped it's roaring and paused to sniff the air. It had detected a new, stranger animal smell that it didn't recognise. It put it's head low to the ground and cautiously approached the Doctor, who lay absolutely still on his back. Each huge footfall sent tremors along the beach. The Tyrannosaur lowered it's blood-drenched snout towards the Doctor. The stench of the carnivore was overpowering at such close quaters. It sniffed the Doctor carefully, almost gently.
"Great balls of fire!" the Doctor thought to himself.
Amazingly, the Tyrannosaur pulled it's head back, and edged away a few paces. The Doctor risked a quick glance and noticed something on the back of the Tyrannosaur's neck. It was humanoid in shape, but it's skin was the mottled brown and green of most reptiles. It had a delicate bone structure and a fluted skull, and it sat proud and erect upon it's huge mount.
"Well,well!" the Doctor said, as he very cautiously got to his feet. "Homo-Reptilius!"
The Tyrannosaur rumbled ominously, but it's rider gave it a gentle carress, and it settled down. The Silurian's third eye glowed brightly, and the Doctor felt a light presence touch his mind, and then it was gone.
"You are no ordinary mammal!" it stated.
"Shall I take that as a complement?" the Doctor retorted. "I've encountered your species before, at their cave stronghold in Derbyshire!"
"We have many communities scattered all over the world, mammal" the Silurian said. "Here, we are the dominant species"
"I say dear chap, be a good fellow and stop referring to me as 'mammal', would you? My name is the Doctor"
The Silurian studied him for a moment. "We have Doctors and scientist's too. They are the reason that we now once again rule our world!"
The Silurian's words sunk in. "Rule the world?" the Doctor queried.
"They will explain things to you mammal, better than I can. You must be taken before them. You are very unusual, and they will find you of interest!"
Before the Doctor could remonstrate further, the Silurian's third eye glowed again. The Doctor fell like he'd been poleaxed and the Silurian hauled the unconscious Time Lord up onto the Tyrannosaur's back.
At a mental command, the Tyrannosaur strode away into the jungle, on it's journey to the Silurian stronghold.
The Doctor stirred as he tried to piece together what had happened only moments before. He thought that maybe it was some sort of after effect his own mind was having after being exposed to so much radioactive energy on Metebelis Three, or maybe it was just a dream.
Those thoughts were dismissed from his mind as he could hear a rhythmic noise which brought him to his senses, and the land of the living once more. For a moment he didn't exactly know what he was looking at, his field of vision was completely vlocked by something decidedly rough, and just a little smelly. Then he remembered that he was on the back of the enormous T-Rex along with the Silurian who'd greeted him not long before.
"I say, where are you taking me?" the Doctor asked who he deduced was his captor, however, he got no response, not even a sign of recognition from the Silurian. "You know, it's classed as bad manners to ignore someone who was only asking a simple question." the Doctor muttered turning his head to one side so he could glimpse the Silurian in question.
"Homo-Sapiens are not here to ask questions," the Silurian stated in a firm tone after a few moments of silence.
The Doctor caught a view of his surrounding area before allowing his eyes to briefly close. For all intents and purposes he was back on Earth, his home away from home. In the distance he could hear the crashing of waves over what he thought were sands of the purest yellows and golds. When he inhaled he could smell the powerful and beautiful fragrances that was produced by the plants and trees surrounding him. In actuality though what the Doctor couldn't imagine were Silurians co-habitating in trees as if they were their personal homes along side enormous, lolloping beasts that were millions of years older than mankind itself. Mankind itself, mankind. Hold up!
"Homo-Sapien!" the Doctor boomed as he realised what the Silurian said. "I am most certainly not human! Do you have any idea who I am?"
"You are the Doctor," the Silurian responded. "We know that you are a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey, however, we also know that you are yourself part human."
"How did you know that?" the Doctor asked with genuine surprise.
"That is not important," the Silurian responded. "You will be the pride of our collection."
With that last comment the Doctor turned his head quickly. Although he didn't know where or when, he knew that he heard that expression before, and worry was increasing in his mind.
The T-Rex trundled into a large clearing with the Silurian and the Doctor on it's back. After a few moments the dinosaur stopped before the entrance of what appeared to be a large compound and then instinctively lowered it's neck so the Silurian could dismount. The Silurian walked to a large wooden door where he banged on it three times before the door was opened up.
The Silurian was greeted by an Auton who was regaled in a uniform of bright reds and greens. "Go and find the keeper," he instructed the Auton. "and inform him we have a special guest addition."
In a brightly lit office based within the walls of the compound, two Silurians were in meeting with their High Protectorate of the Silurian's realm. Although the High Protectorate was well known for being present within the compound, it's identity had always been shrouded with the aide of a thick robe and hood made of the finest silks and adorned with the most precious of gems.
"What is our current station?" the High Protectorate asked the Silurians.
"High Protectorate," one of them responded, "We have parties searching the north grove where you instructed, but as of yet no news."
The High Protectorate rose graciously from it's seated position and walked to the center of the room where a large plinth stood which was home to a large crystal which resonated with all the colours of the spectrum.
From behind the Silurian's a solid oak door opened and an Auton approached one of them brandishing a piece of parchment. The Auton passed it to one of the Silurians before leaving.
"High Protectorate," the Silurian said reading the note. "The summoning crystal has worked, he is being moved to a temporary holding area as we speak."
"Excellent," the High Protectorate hissed with glee as it continued to look at the multitude of colours being produced by the crystal. "Excellent!"
After being dismounted from the dinosaur to two Silurians, one of them placed a sack cloth over the Doctor's head so he couldn't see a thing and then frog-marched into the compound.
"What am I doing here?" the Doctor demanded.
"Quiet homo-sapien," the Silurian answered curtly.
"What are you going to do to me?" the Doctor asked.
"When we say silence we mean silence!" the other Silurian roared clocking the Doctor in the back of his head to emphasise his point.
After what seemed like an eternity's walking the Doctor came to a stand still and he could hear the Silurian's milling around him. Then he heard what sounded like a large iron door being opened directly in front of him.
One of the Silurians entered the room that the Doctor was standing in front of and then returned a few seconds later with what looked like a metal collar, which was immediately clamped around the neck of the Doctor.
"I say, just what is going on!" the Doctor demanded.
The cloth sack was pulled from the Doctor's head and he was thrown inside the room. The Doctor spun round and saw one of the Silurians in the doorway, blocking any type of escape.
"Your identification number is DSP Thirty-One Seventy-Three," the Silurian stated. "Welcome to Homo-Sapien Park." with that the Silurian swung the door shut on the Doctor.
The room the Doctor had been man-handled into was for the most part fowl and disgusting. There were no windows to which he could look through and the only illumination came from a small lantern suspended from the ceiling. Besides that, there was nothing in particular in the room except for a small uncomfortable looking chair and a dilapidated looking table, both of which were enveloped in a thick sheen of dust.
"What do they expect me to do in this place?" the Doctor muttered to himself. "And what is a Homo-Sapien Park?" The Doctor moved slowly around the small space, his fingers investigating the strange collar that had been placed around his neck. "If I had my sonic screwdriver," the Doctor thougth out aloud.
"Don't take off the collar!" a voice boomed from nowhere making the Doctor jump with surprise.
"Who are you?" the Doctor asked looking around the room. "Where are you?"
"Over here," the voice replied from somewhere behind the Doctor. The Doctor moved over to the wall and examined it where he found a small circular hole about half an inch in diameter.
"Why can't I take the collar off?" the Doctor asked.
"Because," the voice replied, "if you do bad things will happen, though they always happen here."
"I don't understand," the Doctor said in bemusement.
"If you try and take your collar off your head will implode. Believe me, I've seen it happen many times before."
"How long have you been here?" the Doctor asked as he peered through the hole.
"I was born here," the voice replied, "or at least I think I was born here, or it was just something I told myself. I've been here for so long now that I can't really remember anything outside of here, except for bits and pieces."
"You're human!" the Doctor exclaimed as he saw the person who he was taking to. It was a young female about nineteen years of age with shabby looking clothing and scruffy looking long brown hair. "Are you from Earth?" the Doctor asked.
"That's it!" the woman blurted out suddenly. "That's the name of my home! I spent so long trying to remember. Are you from Earth? What is your name?"
"No I'm not really from Earth, but I do consider it my home in a way. And my name is the Doctor."
"You're a doctor?" the woman asked.
"No. That's what I am called. Doctor."
"Ooowww," the woman replied. "I've seen them, I have."
"Who?" the Doctor asked curiously.
"No one," she quickly replied. "We're not allowed to discuss that or they'll kill us."
"How would they know?"
"They have ears everywhere."
"I see," the Doctor simply replied, not wanting to push the subject further. "What's your name Miss?" the Doctor asked through the wall.
"My name?" the woman replied a little surprised that somebody has bothered to ask her. "It's Sophie."
"Well, don't you worry Sophie," the Doctor replied looking around his little cell for a room. "I'm sure I'll be able to figure a way out of here."
"How did you get here?" she asked.
"To be honest, I don't really remember." the Doctor said scratching his head, "It was very peculiar."
Suddenly the Doctor could hear a low hissing sound like escaping gas, and he knew the sound was coming from his room. The Doctor began looking about feverishly in a futile attempt to stop the gas from seeping into his area as he wasn't sure if it was meant to simply stun or kill him.
"Let me out of here," the Doctor yelled banging on the cell door as a light green gas slowly spread across the floor like a fine mist that smelt even less impressive than it looked.
"Don't" Sophie called from the other cell, "Just let it take you. Don't fight it."
The Doctor looked around again, but as the gas seeped in he grew more and more light-headed. The Doctor dropped to his knees clutching a handkerchief over his mouth in a last ditch attempt to prevent him breathing any more of the noxious gas into his lungs. But it was hopeless as the Doctor slumped to the floor unconscious.