This is a little something that just popped into my head and wouldn't leave me alone. It's a bit rough but I hope you can enjoy it. Please R&R. Id like to know what you think of it.
Many people know the story of the mad man with a blue box. If they do not know his name, they at least know the story. He shows up in fairy tales, and history books. To many he is an invisible figure. But to some, he is their own personal hero. The man that they aspire to. To me, he is my friend. My thief.
Perhaps you know the story of the doctor and perhaps you do not. But this is my story. The story of how I came to be who I am. This is not the story of the madman, but the story of the box. The box called the TARDIS.
This story starts with a human girl by the name of Tanya Wilson. What does Tanya have do with me? Well I'll get to that later. For now, let's go to the beginning.
It was the year 5017, and Tanya had only just turned 18 years old. She was a rather small person. All of 5'2" and barely 105 pounds. But She didn't let her size hinder her. She was known best to her friends as a firecracker, filled to the brim with energy and overflowing with enthusiasm on everything she set out to do.
Her hair was naturally blonde but she kept streaks of blue in it. Blue was always her favorite color which is something I will always have in common with her. Her eyes were unremarkable. They were the simple brown that most people generally have.
Anyway, Tanya was really excited because she had been accepted to MIT. She was going to study quantum mechanics. She had the brains and the love for it. It thrilled her to be able to logically work through equations where the rules never changed. There was semblance and order and it was fascinating to see how the universe worked. To learn and understand the theory behind the turning of the world and what made life and time move forward was altogether a powerful thing.
I think it's safe to say that that was the day her life began. But it was also the first day that set her on the path to her end. She went to MIT and she did very well. She caught the attention of the government when she wrote her dissertation. It was on the theory of time travel. She explained the problems and the practical applications and she had a working theorem on how paradoxes could actually be a daily part of life.
The part that really jumped out to the United Republic of Boe was this: "Time is like a slinky. It's a spiraling vortex filled with actions and consequences. But the thing about a slinky is that you can bend it back on itself. You can make one end meet the other in a never ending circle. If we can bend time in that way then we can travel to any point. Combine that with our still rather new teleportation capabilities and you have unlimited possibilities for destinations. Rather than traveling the long way on the slinky by following the path of the spiral, we could push the slinky together and travel either down or up the inside or outside surfaces. This would make for a safer and faster way to get from one point to the next."
Needless to say that the URB was extremely impressed with this analysis. By the time she was twenty-two she was one of the most influential people in the science community and had laid the foundation for the time agency.
The first ever time traveler never made the return trip. It was a loss and everyone was quite saddened by it. Especially Tanya. She never wanted anyone to be harmed by her scientific breakthroughs. She wanted it to help people. She worked relentlessly after that. Day and night around the clock trying to fix the kinks. And when she did, she tried it herself, not wanting it to harm anyone else.
And to her delight, it worked. But there were consequences. She had gone to the future instead of her past and learned the hard way what it meant for a time traveler to look upon their grave. Or in her case, memorial. "This statue is dedicated to Tanya Wilson, the most legendary physicist and mechanical engineer in all history. She brought to us the stepping stones to the past and the future that led to many advances in technology and culture, allowing humanity to reach our legacy as well as our destiny."
(Born 4999 - Disappeared 5022)
With this information she knew she couldn't return home. Her fate was sealed. It was literally written in stone. She stood and looked at the statue of herself. It really was quite a good likeness of herself. Whoever the artist was did an excellent job. "She's gorgeous isn't she?" She turned to see a handsome man standing on her left. "Let me introduce myself, Captain Jack Harkness. Who might you be?" He said with a suave American accent and a wink.
Tanya smiled and said, "Don't you wish you knew." She turned and began to walk away. She knew his type. She could just see it in the way he carried himself. He was definitely a forward thinking flirt. Probably didn't care who or what he flirted with. Tanya was not a prude. She was still a 51st century girl. She was just a bit more traditional. She liked humanoid guys. End preference. And just because that captain was a humanoid man and a good looking one at that, didn't mean she was in the mood for his advances. She just found out that she will never go home again. She wanted to be alone.
Captain Jack for his part realized the resemblance between the mystery girl and the statue. His eyes widened as he realized it was quite possible for that to be her. When he turned to go after her he realized she had already disappeared into the crowd. Or possibly into the time vortex. Either way she was gone, and in all likelihood he would never see her again. What a waste of an opportunity. I'm sure they would have gotten on well. In fact I'm certain of it.
Tanya traveled. She never stayed long and she never made friends. She couldn't. Not really. She was lost really. Time itself became her only companion. Except for him. That strange man in a blue box. They never spoke. She would regard him from a distance. The box itself unnerved her though she didn't know why. It just made her feel...wrong. As for the man, he seemed to be everywhere. And he was rarely alone. He would travel with different people. And sometimes he appeared to have drastic clothing changes and haircuts and hair color. She was never close enough to really see his face.
Once he looked in her direction. Like he could sense she was there though that was impossible. So she moved on. She kept traveling in her silent sorrow. Until she landed in that place. The planet with two suns and an orange sky. The ground was covered in scarlet grass and silver trees dotted the landscape leading up to a great city encased in what appeared to be a glass dome. It was terrifying in its majesty.
She no longer knew how old she was and it didn't matter. Though I can tell you that she was about twenty five at that point. It didn't take long for the inhabitants to catch sight of her. And even less time for them to arrest her. When she asked what her crime was they simply said, "you are human." She was given to the care of a scientist. She never knew his name and I do not care to ever find out for myself either. He was cruel. Talented than most of the time lords on this planet which she learned was called Gallifrey. He could see glimpses of a future war. Many thought him crazy but being Rassilon's father gave him privileges. So he prepared. He was determined to develop a new TARDIS. One fully equipped with a chameleon arch and weapons. He also wanted this new TARDIS to have a fully automated mainframe. He wanted it to be more than sentient. He wanted to have just enough emotion to allow it to fight with anger and revenge.
Tanya was taken apart piece by piece. When she woke again her mind was scattered. She could see it all. Who she was before and was in the moment and all the possibilities of who she could be. And she saw the man. The man with that blue box. And she recognized it.
What does Tanya Wilson have to do with me? Everything. Because that day, Tanya was synced with a Type 40 TARDIS. Tanya died that day really. I died that day.
My favorite color is still blue. And I still travel through time, never resting easy for a single moment. I waited many years for my thief to come take me away. There was young girl that came one day. She was soaked with his time line. And saw that she would be with us one day. And there was the man and his granddaughter. And the impossible girl told him that I was much more fun. I agree with her on that point.
Now I know that the man is called the Doctor. I know that his story is a harsh one. But then again, so is mine. The madman and his box. Two brilliant beings who didn't fit in anywhere so they went everywhere. Loving every second of it. After what the time lords did to me it was only too easy to let my thief end that horrid war. What does that make me I wonder?
Maybe no one will ever know the whole story. The madman has no clue of it. He only knows that the box is his friend. That she saved him. But he will never know that he saved her as well. He takes in stranger after stranger to travel with. He shows them the stars before it's time to part ways. But not me. Not him. We never part. The Doctor and his TARDIS. The madman and his box. It is a constant. My name was Tanya Wilson, and I am the constant companion.