To the five two of you who are reading this, I'm sorry for taking so long to update. I work really, really slowly, but I hope it's worth it!
PART THREE
Tracy shuffled toward Liz and the Doctor using only his hands as his guide. He edged closer to the console, hitting a lever that may have temporarily sucked all of the air out of the Tardis.
Or maybe that was just gas, Liz thought.
"No, no, no, no, no!" the Doctor yelped, running over to him in less than two leaps. He pulled the blindfold off of Tracy, who proceeded to scream. "Don't…don't do that."
"Are you trying to get yourself killed? If I get space madness, I may be tempted to eat your face off and or recite an entire Amos n' Andy script! Tell him, Liz!"
"Space what? Liz, do you know this person? What's he talking about?"
Liz sighed. "Space madness isn't real, Tracy. It was all a part of the plan to fool you into thinking you were going into space."
Tracey stiffened and frowned. "Thank you for reminding me what a traitor you are, Elizabeth. Seeing you dressed as the white witch almost made me forget."
She stepped back, offended. "You know damn well who I am dressed as!"
"Do I? You know I've never even seen Star Trek," he purposely feigned ignorance in order to press her.
"You bastard!" Liz screamed, hurtling herself at him. The Doctor pulled her away from him as she kicked and punched the air, and placed himself in between the two of them.
"Everybody cut it out!" he screamed, causing the other two to back down. After a brief moment of silence he continued, "Now there is something very strange going on out there and until I figure out what it is, we have to assume that we are all in danger. I can't have you," he looked at Liz, then at Tracy, "and whoever you are, standing here arguing about space madness and Star Trek."
"Star Wars," Liz grumbled. "And who do you think you are you telling me what to do? Usually I'm the one who's in charge of maintaining the peace. You have no idea what these people put me through on a daily basis!"
"Then stop it!" he demanded, then looked back over at Tracy. "Who are you then, anyway? Another actor?"
"I prefer to think of myself as movie star slash comedian slash vampire slayer. I have yet to slay a vampire, but that doesn't stop me from believing in myself."
The Doctor looked at Tracy, then looked quizzically over at Liz, who shrugged. "Okay then," he said, "I think I may have a way to fix whatever little spat you've gotten yourselves into. Tracy, you said you wanted to go to space?"
"More than anything in the whole world besides being able to eat ten burritos with no side effects."
The Doctor nodded slowly. This may have been the strangest man he'd ever encountered…and he'd encountered an Abzorbaloff. He headed over to the controls. "Well then," he began as the Tardis took off. Tracy and Liz looked around startled as the whooshing sound erupted from within. They stood off balance for a moment, and then it stopped. The Doctor looked at them and smiled. "Take a look outside."
Liz looked at the Doctor with uncertainty before slowly making her way over to the door. She looked back at Tracy, who'd followed closely behind. "You open it."
"Uh-uh. As an actor I cannot risk my face being mauled off by a lion or Mike Tyson or whatever's out there," he stated defiantly.
"I promise you, there's nothing out there than can hurt you," the Doctor said calmly.
"Ugh fine," Liz replied quietly.
The doors swung open. Liz and Tracy almost lost their balance from the shock of the vision before them, and the lack of a surface to step upon. There, like a quiet, quick exhalation of breath in the winter, lay interstellar space - a mass conglomeration of dust and debris. There were colors Liz was sure she'd never seen in her entire life. And it was very, very quiet – the type of quiet that you'd swear you could hear.
"Birth of the universe," the Doctor explained as he sauntered over to them, unable to hide his pride, as if he himself had created it. "Well, at least a few hundred thousand years after the fact. Still, very, very early. It's one of my favorite places to visit…and it's just around the time the universe became transparent." He winced and plugged his ears. "It's quite loud."
"You can hear it?" Liz asked.
The Doctor only stared straight ahead, gazing at the universe below.
"It's so beautiful," Tracy had tears in his eyes. "It reminds me of when I proposed to Angie amidst the glowing lights…" he swallowed, then continued, "of a black light strip club in the Bronx. It's almost as beautiful as that."
Liz wanted to pull her eyes away from the view to side-eye Tracy, but she couldn't. Amidst the swirls of dust, and the only light being given off by the Tardis, she thought for a moment that maybe she was dead. Maybe it was all just a silly fever dream. Maybe Sabor de Soledad had substituted the bull semen for hallucinogenic drugs. It was beautiful and terrifying at the same time. In a moment of pure anxiety, she leaned over the door's edge, stuck her head out of the Tardis, and threw up into the aimless void.
"That's not…that's not usually the reaction I get when I show somebody the infancy of the universe," the Doctor said with concern, unsure of how to care for a sick person. Feeling around for something for her to wipe up with, he pulled Tracy's space madness blindfold out of his pocket and handed it to her.
After a few quick wipes and a moment to regain herself, Liz finally spoke. "You know, I've lived in New York for a long time. I'm used to big and elaborate and, more often than not, bearing witness to really weird things. But not…" she glanced out once more. "Not this. Nothing like this."
The Doctor nodded sympathetically. "It's a lot to take in. We can go now, if you want."
"I want to see the birth of myself! Yankee Stadium, baby," Tracy said. He paused, and his smile faded only the slightest bit as his eyes twinkled and focused on what lay beyond the Tardis. "Maybe then I could figure out how old I am."
Liz smiled at Tracy and then took in the view outside the Tardis doors once more. She could see her vomit floating through space, intermingling with the first hydrogen and helium atoms to ever exist - a little piece of Liz Lemon drifting through the beginning of time. She turned back toward the Doctor. "Yeah, let's go. Let's do things."
The Doctor closed the doors. "Oh, things will be done."
[]
The Tardis materialized aboard Kenneth's massive ship, hidden away from view. The three of them slowly exited: the Doctor, followed by Liz, and then Tracy. Each took in the space around them. They were in what looked like a giant television control room. On several monitors there were different clips of what appeared to be poorly produced television sitcoms playing on a loop. Without any sound, the trio was not affected, merely curious.
"That chick is fine!" Tracy muttered, gazing at a clip of The String Theory.
"So what's the big deal? It's a giant master control room. What are a bunch of aliens going to do with a control room, kill us with commercials?"
The Doctor looked at her seriously, "Oh, you think that can't be done?" He went up to one of the monitors and pointed his sonic screwdriver at it. "There has to be a satellite somewhere. Whoever's responsible for this ship has a plan and that plan involves television."
Liz followed him over to the monitor, carrying a wounded expression. "Why would anybody use television for evil?"
He studied the monitor with a raised eyebrow. "Because they want a way to reach a mass audience. I've seen this before. The only difference is that now we have the internet which is a much more effective tool. So the question is why? Why television?"
Tracy joined them. "All these breasts and thighs are making me think about food. I'm getting hungry. Usually I have Kenneth to anticipate my wants and needs, but without him I am nothing. Nothing!"
"I haven't seen Jack or Kenneth all day. You don't think they got kidnapped like Frank, do you?" Liz asked, remembering the empty office.
"It's possible. Who are they, exactly?" The Doctor asked.
"Jack's my boss. He's the vice president of GE slash my work husband. And Kenneth…Kenneth's just a page. He's harmless."
"And you see them everyday?"
"Yeah. Earlier I went into Jack's office and…" she thought back to the eerie ghost-world that the entire floor had been transformed into. She began to panic, putting two and two together. "Oh my god. They took Jack."
"And Kenneth!" Tracy cried.
"But I don't understand! What would they want with Jack? He's harmless…unless you really enjoy wearing sandals over socks on occasion." Liz was growing apprehensive.
"Because if he's the boss, then he's in the way. And trust me, there are plenty of life forms you do not want to get in the way of." He glanced over at one of the monitors again, and Hank the auto-mechanic was breaking the fourth wall as he presented his beer belly and licked his lips. The Doctor gazed at the monitor, appalled. "Whoever's responsible for this…is sick."
"But why Kenneth? He is an innocent and only occasionally necessary human being!" Tracy half-shouted.
Liz was too worried about Jack to be preoccupied with Kenneth. "I wouldn't worry about Kenneth. He's probably on the top of Rockefeller Center trying to contact these space hams." She began imitating him. "Take me, Jesus! I'm ready for judgment day! I hope they have re-runs of The Waltons in heaven!"
The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "What?"
She sighed. "Kenneth's kind of…honestly, he's really a very sweet kid but he kind of creeps me out."
The Doctor grew interested. "Why?"
Liz shrugged. "I dunno. His middle name's Ellen. Sometimes he sleeps at the studio. Actually I'm not sure if he sleeps at all. Uh, he won't eat most foods. He talks about these things called the hill people a lot. Oh, and he has an unhealthy obsession with television, which, normally I'd understand but one time I saw him sucking on the antenna of an old analog TV. I'm not entirely sure what that means."
The Doctor stared at Liz for a moment, bemused. But the expression on his face quickly changed and he shot up, heading over to the controls. His sonic screwdriver buzzed furiously as he worked. Liz and Tracy stared, dumbfounded.
"What are you doing, space dude?" Tracy asked.
He was entranced with his mission and didn't turn around as he spoke. "Well, if I'm right, and I usually am, then…"
The images on the monitors changed. The poorly written sitcoms transformed into images within the ship, strange rooms that looked like versions of studios and offices and more control rooms. And in them, in every single one of them, there he was. There were hundreds of him, thousands.
The Doctor turned around and looked at Liz and Tracy. "Does this person look familiar?"
Tracy and Liz stared at the monitors, their mouths agape. Liz was the first to reply.
"Ohh norts."
[]
The earth below the ship had changed drastically in just a few short hours. An eerie silence spread from New York to every city, every country. Streets were abandoned and, to an outside observer, the world appeared to be a post-apocalyptic wasteland. But on those streets in those cities, a blue light radiated from homes and apartments, and even libraries and schools – any place that had one commonality: access to a television.
In Rockefeller Center, the remaining writers and staff were still gathered around their own TV. They all appeared more polished and put together, as if the wardrobe department from a 1950's movie set had blazed in and out in a flash. As their eyes dried unblinking, only one set of voices sounded from every television in the world.
"Mom, I just want you to know that I love you and that I really, truly appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule to be my new manager."
Kris Kardashian's voice responded over the phone that Kourtney held. "Aw, you're a peach, my dear, eldest daughter. I hope you understand that I am busy with Kim right now. I'll get there as soon as I can."
"You take your time, mom. I know you're busy doing the best that you can to promote our careers, and it is no fault of yours that Kim is raking in the most money for the family name, nor is it your fault that I passed up the chance to make a [rainbow] tape." Kenneth's sunny voice had been dubbed over the "no-no" word "sex," replacing it with "rainbow."
Lutz gazed at the TV screen with his mouth absentmindedly hanging open like a child with a stuffed nose. "The utter lack of conflict and sexuality in this episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians is thoroughly entertaining," he muttered with genuine enthusiasm.
Suddenly he was shocked with what seemed to be an invisible shock collar. He winced in pain without removing his eyes from the screen.
Without taking his eyes off the screen, Toofer reprimanded Lutz, "'Sexuality' is a no-no word." He was consequently shocked.
Throughout the day the shows on the TV's changed, but the general theme remained the same; everything had become squeaky clean, and everybody was genuinely enjoying it. Unfortunately, for reasons unknown, The Big Bang Theory remained untouched and everyone still found it to be thoroughly enjoyable.
[]
"I don't understand. Kenneth always seemed so harmless. I just assumed that any odd behavior was the result of your average, run-of-the-mill, southern upbringing." Liz was baffled.
The Doctor continued to study the images on the screens. "Southern, yes, but not American southern. Not even earth southern."
"Are you saying that Kenneth…is Norwegian?" Tracy asked. "I always knew those people were weird, with their broken penis shaped country and their fjords."
The Doctor looked at him questioningly. "What's wrong with fjords? I love fjords."
"You would, space dude!"
The Doctor opened his mouth to rebut, but Liz interjected. "Hold up. Okay, Doctor, if you're such a genius, and you seem to have some idea about what's going on, what do we do? Have you ever seen anything like this before?"
He pulled his gaze from Tracy to look at Liz. "Oh, no, I didn't say I knew what was going on. In fact, I've never been more stumped. Do you know that I've come into contact with hundreds of different species in my lifetime and not once have I ever even heard of…" he looked once more at the images of the Kenneths. So, so many Kenneths. Giggling Kenneths, Kenneths doing the bidding of other Kenneths, Kenneths watching television, Kenneths making television, Kenneths…oh god, Kenneths bathing. Why was that on camera? "…anything like this."
"Ugh, so what good is having you around, then?" Liz sighed. "Come on, Tracy. Maybe if we talk to Kenneth we can bang some sense into him."
Tracy held back. "Which one, Liz Lemon? Which one is the real Kenneth? I feel so betrayed," he whined.
The Doctor waited a moment to add in his two cents. "Actually, I don't think there is a real Kenneth. It's like they're all one massive…mind. All of them together…like a network."
Liz looked at him. Maybe he knew what he was talking about after all. She rolled her eyes anyway, still frustrated. "Okay, so what do you usually do when you have no idea what you're dealing with?"
The Doctor smiled. "Ah. What do you do, Miss Liz Lemon? Miss improviser?"
"Agreement. Establish the scene. Find the game?"
His smile widened and he went on, "Great. We'll do that, then. I love games."
Without another word, he turned on his heel and left the room and, after exchanging glances, Liz and Tracy followed.
Their heads successively peered around the door to see if the coast was clear. They slowly entered the chamber, surrounded by glowing lights of all different colors.
Liz winced. "My cousin Randy described to me a place like this once."
The Doctor noticed a set of initials attached to the wall. They were large and impending, and were surrounded by what appeared to be an anagram of the NBC peacock logo. The colors remained the same, but they were rearranged and the shape was different. It was like looking at a colorful, super fabulous, biohazard sign.
"S.P.," Liz read. "What does that mean?"
He touched them, as if doing so would give him an answer. "I don't know. Whatever it is, I don't like it. It doesn't feel right."
"This place gives me the creeps…and I once took a math exam in the bathroom of a condemned gas station," Tracy mused.
"Well, that's what I do. I always follow the danger," the Doctor replied.
"Do you mind if I don't follow the danger? I can't die yet. I still don't own my own island." Tracy couldn't grasp the fact that his Kenneth was no longer his Kenneth. Maybe if he just talked to him he'd realize how much he missed anticipating Tracy's arbitrary needs.
The Doctor shrugged. "Suit yourself. Liz?"
Before she could reply, a voice yelled in the distance. It was all but inaudible, but she'd recognize it anywhere.
"Oh my God, it's Jack!"
Liz headed toward the voice and the Doctor ran after her, leaving a stubborn Tracy behind to head in the other direction.
She sprinted down the winding corridor as the cries continued. At last they reached a giant, octagonal doorway. It was far less welcoming than anything they had encountered thus far. The Doctor watched her as she paused for a moment to look up at it. Her face went still, a mixture of indignation and genuine fear. Looking down, all smiles, at the two of them was Kenneth's giant face - a billboard/door that dared them to enter. And above him, at the very stop of the door, appeared the initials "S.P."
Balling her fists, Liz walked toward it. "Giant apple-faced goon," she muttered as her eyes focused on a button she presumed was meant to open the door. She pressed it. When nothing happened, she turned to look at the Doctor who had his sonic screwdriver ready. But before he could make another move, a hologram of Jack appeared before them.
"Lemon! I don't have much time so I'm going to make this quick."
"Jack! You're okay! Where are you?"
"I'm in a cell near the main control room - "
"But where –
"Yes, we still need a show by the end of the week. No, they do not have a deli on the ship. I knew you would ask one of those three questions, so I took the liberty of answering them all for you on this pre-recorded, holographic message."
"Ugh!" Liz grunted.
"I'll refrain from commenting on what you're most likely wearing…"
The Doctor piped in, amused. "How does he do that?"
"…to warn you. They know you're here, Liz. They said that you were with a tall, lanky British man with impeccable hair."
The Doctor grinned, bashful and flattered.
"Stay with him, Liz. He must know what he's doing. But you have to get out of here. They're coming. They're - " Suddenly Jack turned around, startled. "No, please, no! Stop throwing bologna at Frank's naked body! Don't you...don't you come near me! No!" He dropped to the ground. Only the hands of another person were visible as they tickled Jack, which sent him into a laughing fit that resulted in vomit. He only had a quick moment to take a breath and sputter, "Help me, Lemon. You're my only hope!" He turned to continue giggling, and the message went blank.
Liz turned to the Doctor, but before she had a second to say anything, she heard a familiar voice hum the NBC signature jingle.
The Doctor's eyes widened as they landed on a Kenneth. "Liz, run!"
After following his gaze, she proceeded down the opposite end of the corridor. The Doctor stayed slightly behind and aimed his sonic screwdriver at a light fixture just above the Kenneth's head, knocking him to the ground. He made his way after Liz, who was now yards ahead of him. Another Kenneth had made his way after her as she reached a dead end. Panicking, she pointed in the opposite direction. "Look, NBC's favorite news anchor, Brian Williams!"
As the Kenneth turned his head, Liz pushed her way through an ominous looking door to her right, yelling "Gah!" at her unfortunate, single option.
Before her lay an open platform outside the ship which bore an uncanny resemblance to the Top of the Rock observation deck. The only difference was that it was thousands of feet higher in the sky. With nowhere else to go, Liz made her way to the other side as the Kenneth made his way through the door.
"Miss Lemon, wait! I just want to talk!" The Kenneth casually walked toward her, but he appeared completely unnatural.
"You stay back, you toe with legs!" She inched backward until she bumped into a coin-operated telescope. With no sort of weapon, she began to internally panic as she struggled to plot her next move.
Kenneth giggled, then proceeded to sigh. "Well, I guess you've figured out that I'm not really human. It was only a matter of time, what with you catching me that time a couple of weeks ago."
Liz tried her best to remain composed. "I did think it was strange that you forgot to breath for ten minutes while watching an episode of Family Ties." Her eyes landed on the telescope, and the nobs that held it together. She stood in front of it.
"Family! How does it work?!" he asked with eagerness.
A brief bit of silence followed as Liz felt for screws or hooks on the telescope with her arms behind her back. She tried to make conversation and move her hands at the same time. "Look, Kenneth…or…whoever you are…I understand that you're…different. You've probably never experienced childhood, which, I think, is pivotal for a functioning adult because…who…can navigate through life…without ever having…lost their bikini top during a high school trip to Penn Lake."
Out of the corner of her eye, Liz noticed the Doctor making his way through the door. Where the hell has he been? He caught her eye as Tracy followed behind him, which answered her question. He motioned for her to stay quiet and held up his sonic screwdriver, suggesting that he was about to throw it.
"I hope you don't think that I want to hurt you, Miss Lemon. I think you're a very charming and intelligent young lady," the Kenneth said.
"Yeesh, if I had any doubts that you weren't human before, you just confirmed it for me," she muttered under her breath briefly before she caught the sonic screwdriver that the Doctor had thrown. The Kenneth turned around as soon as he realized that they weren't alone and in that instant, Liz unhinged the telescope, struggled to lift it with both hands, and lunged it at the Kenneth who fell to the ground.
"Kenneth!" Tracy cried, running over to the scrawny man who lay in pain on the ground.
The Doctor ran over to Liz. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm doing just great, you wang!" Liz shouted as she pushed the Doctor with less force than she had intended.
"I'm sorry! I ran into Tracy and he was still intent on finding Kenneth. He won't listen to me, Liz! He's the most ridiculous person I've ever met in my entire life! He even insisted on making me a part of his entourage when we get back!"
"Great, maybe now you understand what I have to deal with day in and day out! The only reason that he's more sympathetic to Kenneth than anyone else is because Kenneth is the only one that will ever agree to trim his - "
"Liz! Space dude!" Tracy called in distress. A band of Kenneths had surrounded him, while even more made their way toward Liz and the Doctor.
The Doctor grabbed Liz's hand and pulled her in the other direction. "But we have to help him!" she yelled.
"There's no time! We have to find another way out of here!"
Liz forced herself to take her eyes off of Tracy as she looked around the deck. It was an exact replica of the original which, in that case, meant there was a trap door right…here. She kicked open a latch and jumped down while the Doctor followed. Above them she could hear Tracy's voice.
"Avenge me, Liz Lemon! And make sure to tell Angie…that she can have sex…with all the men she wants. But not Martin Scorcese…I hate that guy…he knows what he did!"
[]
Liz could feel her eyes welling up with tears as they closed the latch. "So help me, if they kill that dumb goon…"
The Doctor looked her in the eyes. "Liz, I don't think you have to worry. The Kenneths don't seem bent on blood, they seem bent on power. I don't think they'll hurt him…at least, not mortally."
"But it's my job to look out for these idiots and I failed!"
The Doctor began to sprint through the passageway with the assumption that Liz would follow him, but she remained where she was. He turned around.
"What are you doing?"
"Do you always do this? You just run off and leave people?" Liz leaned against the wall, arms folded.
His face grew grim and he glared at her for a brief moment. "I'm always running." He walked nearer to her. "I never have a chance to stop. I am always running but I never – I never – leave anyone behind. Not if they have a fighting chan - "
He stopped when he realized that he was essentially admitting that Tracy was all but done for. Liz glared back at him and scowled. "You know what I find funny? Everything was just fine before you showed up. Out of nowhere, some British-faced, lanky, alien jag appears and we're in an episode of X-files. And I will tell you something, my friend," she walked up to him and got in his face. "You are no David Duchovny."
"Oh, I'm no David Duchovny? I'm no David Duchovny? Can David Duchovny travel through space and time on a whim?" It was his turn to get up in her face.
Liz gritted her teeth. "Season six, episode three, Mulder travels to the Bermuda Triangle in 1939. So screw you!"
"That was a TV show!" he yelled.
She feigned a heart attack of sorts as she clutched her chest and fell back against the wall. Slowly, she tilted her head to meet his gaze. "You bastard," she whispered dramatically.
Once she was completely seated, she spoke again. "I don't know who you are, Doctor…but whatever it is…you're like some sort of monster."
There was suddenly a calm, morose expression on his face. He looked at the ground, accepting defeat of this particular battle. Quietly he said, "You're right. I am a monster. I let myself into innocent people's lives and I destroy them until they're never the same again. But I keep on doing it because I'm selfish. I do it because I don't want to be alone. Someone with any semblance of humanity would know better."
Liz looked up at him, feeling a tinge of guilt. She wanted to hate him, she really did. She shook her head, then said, "Who were these people, anyway? Were they your little crew of space freaks?"
He forced a smile. "Nah. They were regular, ordinary people just like you."
"Well they had to have been real weirdoes if they were anything like me."
He sauntered over and sat down beside her. "Nothing wrong with being a little bit weird, eh?"
Liz shrugged. "It pays well, I guess."
He paused for a moment. "You remind me of…of a friend I had."
She looked at him. "Who was she, anyway?"
"Just that. A friend. My best friend. But then…"
Liz squirmed a little bit, not sure what to say. She just stared at her own feet in front of her. "I'm sorry."
The Doctor broke out of his reverie and pretended to be fine. "Hey, don't be sorry! I'm…I'm fine. Really, I am. I'm fine. You see, because I'm used to it."
"There were others?"
"Oh, tons of them. I've known so many brave, smart, wonderful people. Well, they weren't always people, per se, but always…" he smiled at her. "Always wonderful, always clever."
Liz forced a smile herself. It was never very easy for her to console people. She gently patted him on the shoulder with an awkwardly stiff palm. "There, there. It be…fine. Things will well."
The Doctor nodded. Somehow, he knew exactly what she was trying to say.
[]
As Liz and the Doctor made their way down the thin, dark corridor, the ship began to lurch. Upstairs, unbeknownst to them, the holograms that made up Hank the auto-mechanic and the Kayleys had managed to make their way to the control room, where they tried to get the Kenneths to gyrate up against the main platform with them.
They managed to balance themselves as they continued to walk down the passageway. "Where does this lead to, anyway?" The Doctor asked.
"I've only been in the real one once, and half the time Tom Brokaw just kept lecturing me on the evolution of journalism."
It lurched again, harder this time, throwing them at the foot of a nondescript door.
Liz looked up at it in contemplation. "Well," she began, "this could be one of two things – a bathroom complete with potpourri and old news anchor smell, or…"
She pushed the door open. There, in all its glory, was the Rainbow Room itself. Liz and the Doctor looked at each other, nodded, and pushed themselves up before making their way inside.
"A chandelier!" the Doctor exclaimed. "I hate chandeliers."
"Blech," Liz agreed. "Gaudy."
"Gaudy, yes, and also capable of mass murder," he replied nonchalantly. Liz looked at him, but didn't dare ask.
"I always hated it up here. Sure it's…colorful. But it was always so stuffy and full of CEO's and their boring wives."
"Oh, you are beautiful, you are!" The Doctor exclaimed out of nowhere.
"Oh, now you want to play that game?" Liz scoffed, until she noticed that the Doctor was focused on something else entirely.
There were motionless holograms everywhere. "Jeez, Kenneth really likes holograms. Who knew?" Liz piped in. But they weren't just any holograms. Lighting up one by one, the ghosts of the higher ups at NBC appeared around the room. Not one of them moved, as if they were frozen in time.
The Doctor was entranced with intrigue now, running his sonic screw driver over the various, motionless individuals. "Liz, I don't think these are holograms. They're people. They're actual people – perfectly preserved. Really! They're still alive. I've never seen anything like it! Except…except I have, but…but never as expertly as this."
Liz sprinted over toward him, following the glow of the sonic as she examined the man in front of her, then quickly observed the faces of the others. "God, you're right. This is everyone. This is NBC."
"He's trying to control the entire building. But why?" The Doctor asked aloud.
Liz frowned with disgust. "That goon isn't just trying to control people. He's trying to take over the entire network."