The Long Game
The TARDIS appeared off to the side of a room, the Doctor and Professor stepping out and looking around with smiles on their faces. The Doctor moved his hand from holding hers to around her shoulders, "What do you think?" he asked.
"They'll love it," she nodded before knocking on the door, "Adam? Rose? You coming?"
A moment later the doors opened and Rose and Adam stepped out, looking around in awe, their mouths hanging open, eyes wide. Rose was beaming as she looked around, she knew the box could travel in space, had just learned it really could travel in time also and here they were, doing both.
"Oh my God," Adam breathed.
"Where are we?" Rose asked, nearly bouncing with excitement.
"Professor?" the Doctor looked at her.
"We're on a space station," she informed them, "Based on the architecture, it's the year 200,000, bit warm, but still in fairly good shape," she grinned and nodded to a small gateway at the end of the room, "Try that gate over there. Go on!"
Rose grabbed Adam's hand and pulled him towards it, opening the gate and stepping through with the Time Lords behind them to see they were in a small observation deck overlooking the Earth.
"Doctor?" the Professor nudged him.
"The Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire," he stated, moving the Professor before him to wrap his arms around her waist, the two of them just looking out at the magnificent planet below, "And there it is. Planet Earth at its height. Covered with mega-cities, five moons, population 96 billion. The hub of a galactic domain, stretching across a million planets, a million species, with mankind right in the middle."
A moment later there was a small sigh and a thump as Adam fainted, none of them turning around.
"He's your boyfriend," the Doctor remarked to Rose.
Rose sighed, "Not anymore."
The Professor frowned, "I thought Mickey was your boyfriend."
Rose's smile turned sad, "It's complicated…"
~8~
"Come on, Adam!" the Doctor called as he led the now conscious Adam through a corridor, his arm around Adam's shoulder as the Professor and Rose followed behind, "Open your mind. You're gonna like this fantastic period of history. The human race at its most intelligent, culture, art, politics. This era has got fine food, good manners…"
They stepped into a large room just as a man rudely shouted, "Out of the way!"
The whole floor sprang to life, food stalls opening and people bustling in, chattering away.
"One at a time..." a chef called as stall keepers took orders, the place becoming very busy very fast, "Oi! You, mate! Stop pushing. Get back. I SAID, back."
Rose squinted, looking at the fast food being presented and turned to the Doctor, "Fine cuisine?"
"My watch must be wrong…" he muttered.
The Professor picked up his hand and looked at it, "No, it's fine..." she shook her head, frowning at the people around them, "That's weird."
"That's what comes of showing off," Rose smirked at them, "Your history's not as good as you thought it was."
"My history's perfect," the Doctor defended.
"It better be," the Professor remarked, "I tutored you in it."
"They're all human," Adam observed, "What about the millions of planets? The millions of species? Where are they?"
"Good question…" the Doctor muttered.
"Actually, that IS a good question," the Professor turned to him.
The Doctor grinned and moved to put an arm around Adam's shoulder, "Adam, me old mate, you must be starving."
"No, I'm just a bit time sick," Adam shook his head.
"Nah, you just need a bit of grub," he turned to the chef, "Oi, mate, how much is a cronk burger?"
"Two credits twenty, sweetheart," the man replied, "Now, join the queue."
The Doctor nodded, "Money. We need money," he took the Professor's hand and led them over to a cash point, the sonic already out, "Have to use a cash point…" he held the sonic to it and a metal strip fell out.
The Professor took it and handed it to Adam, "There you go, pocket money. Don't spend it all on sweets like this one would," she nodded at the Doctor.
"Oi!" the Doctor nudged her with a smile, "You're just as bad as me and you know it."
She rolled her eyes and turned to walk off with him when Adam called back, "How does it work?"
The Doctor turned around, "Go and find out! Stop nagging us! The thing is, Adam, time travel's like visiting Paris. You can't just read the guide book, you've got to throw yourself in!"
"His method for doing everything," the Professor added jokingly.
"Eat the food," the Doctor continued, ignoring her, "Use the wrong verbs, get charged double, and end up kissing complete strangers…"
The Professor turned to him, an eyebrow raised, "When did that happen?"
He just gave her a quick kiss, "No more of that, believe me," he beamed at her in promise before looking back at Rose, laughing at them, and Adam, staring at them, "Stop asking questions, go on, do it!" he shooed them away and Adam turned to walk off, Rose after him, "Off you go then! Your first date."
Rose just turned to them, blushing, "Shut it!"
The Doctor grinned and squeezed the Professor's hand, "Our first date as well," he told her.
She laughed and shook her head, "Nearly 900 years and we finally get to that."
They turned and walked off, just wandering through the crowds of people, "You don't have to do this you know," she said after a moment.
"Do what?" he looked at her, curious, though with a slightly less than innocent look to him.
She rolled her eyes, he was rubbish at lying, "You don't have to stick to Earth."
"I'm not."
"Liar," she nudged him, making him laugh and shrug, "We've either been on Earth or somewhere you can see it on EVERY trip. Never ignore a coincidence," she added.
His smile softened as he looked at her, "I'm just trying to help," he told her, "You're not very comfortable around other aliens," he shrugged, "So it makes sense to stick to Earth for a bit."
"But I know you love your adventures," she argued lightly, "And learning about other species, interacting with them…"
"I do," he nodded before he gave her hand a kiss, "But I'd do anything for you," he leaned in and gave her a kiss as well, "My Bonded."
She smiled, blushing, as he pulled away, resting her forehead to his a moment, "I like the way that sounds."
"Me too," he laughed, "My Bonded, finally."
"Thank you then," she looked up at him. The year 200,000, in Earth terms, meant plenty of humans and a few other aliens, all mingling and coexisting, not too overwhelming for her and he knew it. He was slowly trying to get her more comfortable around other aliens by sticking to a human setting but slowly incorporating them in. He was so considerate like that.
"Now," the Doctor straightened up a bit, "Let's find out what's going on here shall we?" he offered her his arm.
"We shall," she laughed, taking it.
He nodded and they walked over to two women, a short-haired brunette and a lovely black woman, chatting a few feet away, "Er...this is gonna sound daft, but can you tell us where we are?"
"Floor 139..." the black woman pointed to a large number on the wall, "Could they write it any bigger?"
"Floor 139 of what?"
"Must've been a hell of a party..."
"Oh, you're on Satellite Five," the young woman beside her told him.
"What's Satellite Five?" he asked.
"Come on, how could you get on board without knowing where you are?" the black woman asked, exasperated.
"Look at him," the Professor laughed, "He's stupid."
"Oi!" he turned to her, mock glaring.
"You just told your Bonded you'd kissed random strangers on your travels," she reminded him, "That wasn't exactly clever was it?"
His eyes widened just a bit at being caught out and his cheeks tinted pink. But he was beaming as well. He was actually happy at being stuck and not having a witty retort. He was so used to one-upping the stupid humans, but now that she was there…he had someone who could actually argue with him and win, someone to bounce ideas off of, someone who could understand him when he spoke. It was actually nice to be outdone.
"Hang on, wait a minute," the young woman looked at them, startled, "Are you a test? Some sort of management test kind of thing?"
"You've got us," the Doctor pulled out the psychic paper, "Well done. You're too clever for us."
"We were warned about this in basic training. All workers have to be versed in company promotion."
"Right," the black woman nodded, "Fire away, ask your questions. If it gets me to Floor 500 I'll do anything."
"Why, what happens on Floor 500?" the Professor asked.
"The walls are made of gold," she said, as though it should be obvious, "And you should know...Mr. and Mrs. Management. So...this is what we do," she led them over to a series of screens displaying news channels, "Latest news...sandstorms on the new Venus archipelago. Two hundred dead. Glasgow water riots into their third day...spacelane 37 closed by sunspot activity. And over on the Bad Wolf channel, the Face of Boe has just announced he's pregnant."
"I get it," the Doctor nodded, "You broadcast the news."
"We ARE the news. We're the journalists. We write it, package it, and sell it. 600 channels all coming out of Satellite Five, broadcasting everywhere. Nothing happens in the whole human empire without it going though us."
"All staff are reminded that the canteen area now has self cleaning tables!" an announcement came over the loudspeaker, "Thank you!"
An alarm sounded and everyone started to filter out of the canteen area. The Doctor looked over, making out Adam and Rose sitting at a table, "Oi!" he shouted to them, "Mutt and Jeff! Over here!"
Rose beamed and ran over, Adam hesitating a moment before following.
~8~
The four of them stood in a large white room with an octagonal platform in the middle of it with a pad before each of the several people sitting cross-legged around it, hand-like crevices in them. There was a large chair on the platform where the black woman was standing, her friend sitting among the others.
"Now," the black woman stated, "Everybody behave. We have a management inspection," she glanced at the Doctor and Professor, "How do you want it? By the book?"
"Oh, right from scratch, thanks," the Doctor grinned.
She nodded and addressed the crew, "Ok, so, ladies, gentlemen, multisex, undecided, or robot, my name is Cathica Santini Kadainy. That's Cathica with a 'C,' in case you want to write to Floor 500 praising me, and please...do..." she looked at them again before returning to her crew "Now, please feel free to ask any questions. The process of news gathering must be open, honest, and be non-biased. That's company policy."
She turned to smile at them when her friend called, "Actually...it's the law."
"Yes, thank you, Suki," Cathica glared at her, "Okay, keep it calm…don't show off for the guests...here we go," she turned and laid down in the chair, "And...engage safety…"
The staff held their hands out over their hand pads, each of the eight walls lighting up as they did so. The Doctor, Professor, Rose, and Adam looked on, watching as Cathica clicked her fingers and a door opened in her forehead, revealing her brain. The Professor frowned, leaning over a small railing to look at it, that technology…
The Doctor seemed to have an issue with it as well, looking quite disgusted, while Rose looked alarmed, Adam leaning over too.
"And 3..." Cathica continued as the staff put their hands on their pads, "2...and spike…"
A large contraption above the chair shot a spike of light at her brain, flowing into her, making the Professor swallow hard at a familiar, similar experience of her own.
~/~\~
She groaned in pain, squinting her eyes, as close to closed as she could get them with the contraption on her head forcing them open. She fought hard, the mental conditioner running on a higher level than those around her, she was fighting more than they were. The device, a large chair with a metal cap on her head, a portion of glass in front of her right eye displaying the information meant to be implanted in her mind flashing before it, was torture. It wasn't meant to literally condition her, to make her react in a certain way via certain commands or phrases, but it was supposed to download information into her mind, battle tactics, strategies, probabilities, information she didn't want.
The information would be permanent, she would never be rid of it. She didn't want that in her mind forever. To know battle strategies and calculations, plans and commands, she didn't want it! She didn't want to be this soldier the High Council was trying to force her to become. So she fought, as hard as she could. She was an Academic, her mental barriers were stronger than most others on their planet, it would take more doing to break through and implant the information. And she WASN'T going to let that happen. When every one of the Academics had finished their training, then they'd be sent out into the war, to fight on the front lines, leading the armies. None of them wanted that and so they all fought harder even if it meant prolonging the training, not wanting it to end in that way, hoping the war would be over before their training was completed, they didn't want to fight, they didn't want to be responsible for the casualties, for the destruction they knew themselves capable of inflicting.
But it was SO hard...they'd been given minimal food, even less sleep, all to make them weaker, to make them less able to fight back against this portion of their training. Even now she could see her fellow Academics giving in, losing the will and strength to fight the programs running. They were the last ones left to go through it, the ones who had fought the hardest not to let the information set in their minds. The programs were running at a near dangerously high level, trying to break through their mental barriers and walls, wearing away at their resistance.
She let out a breath as the program ended its current cycle, powering down, giving her a moment free from the strain and the fight. She closed her eyes tightly, one single image in her mind's eye, her Theta, smiling at her, her strength against the training, the thing that kept her going. She barely had time to form the image before she groaned as the program started up once more and the battle began again.
She knew she had to hold on longer, she needed to.
~/~\~
"Compressed information," the Professor assessed, "Streaming into her."
The Doctor nodded, "Reports from every city, every country, every planet."
"And they all get packaged inside her head."
"She becomes part of the software."
The Professor scoffed a bit, "Her brain IS the computer."
Adam looked between the two of them, "Do you do that a lot?"
"All the time," the Professor answered, still looking at the stream.
"If it all goes through her, she must be a genius," Rose remarked.
"Nah," the Doctor waved her off, "She wouldn't remember any of it. There's too much, her head would blow up," he started to walk around the room, circling the platform.
"The brain's the processor," the Professor explained, "As soon as it closes, she forgets."
"So, what about all these people round the edge?" Rose asked.
"They've all got tiny little chips in their head, connecting them to her," he called, "And they transmit 600 channels."
The Professor nodded, "Every single fact in the empire beams out of this place," she looked up.
The Doctor came to stand beside her, having finished his circuit around the room, "Now, that's what I call power."
"You alright?" Rose asked, seeing Adam staring, gaping.
"I can see her brain," he breathed.
"Do you want to get out?"
"No...no. This is technology, it's...it's amazing."
"This technology's wrong," the Professor frowned.
"Trouble?" Rose looked at her and the Doctor.
"Oh yeah," the Doctor agreed, reaching out to put an arm around the Professor, the two of them watching as there was a slight shuddering sound. Suki twitched a moment before she gasped and pulled her hands away, having been shocked. The other staff members lifted their hands as well, the lights turning off as the compressed information stopped streaming into Cathica, the door in her head closing.
"Come off it, Suki," Cathica glared at her, "I wasn't even halfway, what was that for?"
"Sorry, must've been a glitch..." Suki mumbled as she rubbed her hand.
Cathica stood up, about to lay into her again, when a trumpet blared and a projection sprang to life on the wall, "Promotion!"
Cathica gasped and began to pray, "This is it. Come on. God, make it me. Come on, say my name," the Doctor looked at the woman a bit concerned at her desperation while the Professor frowned, watching, "Say my name, say my name..."
"Promotion for...Suki Macrae Cantrell."
The Professor's frown deepened at that.
Suki's eyes widened as her mouth dropped open, Cathica looked gutted.
"Please proceed to Floor 500."
Suki stood up, staring, "I don't believe it...Floor 500..."
"How the hell did you manage that?" Cathica snapped, "I'm above you!"
"I don't know, I just applied on the off-chance...and they've said yes!"
"That's so not fair, I've been applying to Floor 500 for three years!"
"What's Floor 500?" Rose looked at the aliens.
"The walls are made of gold," the Doctor replied.
The Professor shook her head, "There's something wrong with the promotion."
The Doctor turned to her, having been the only one to hear her mumblings "Why's that?"
She nodded as Suki, still rubbing her hand, "Suki glitches and then she's being invited somewhere?" she shook her head, "That doesn't sit right with me."
The Doctor nodded, that made sense.
~8~
The Doctor, Professor, and Cathica stood before the lift, saying goodbye to Suki while Rose spoke with Adam a few feet away, "Cathica, I'm gonna miss you!" Suki gushed, "Floor 500..." she turned to the Doctor and Professor, "Thank you!"
"We didn't do anything," the Professor smiled at her.
"Well, you're my lucky charms!"
"Alright!" the Doctor laughed, "I'll hug anyone!" he moved to hug her as the Professor laughed at him, Cathica looking stubbornly away.
"Oh, my God," Suki gasped, pulling away, "I've got to go, I can't keep them waiting…" she grabbed her bag and rushed to the lift, "I'm sorry!" the lift pinged and she stepped in, "Say goodbye to Steve for me," she waved as the doors closed, "Bye!"
"Good riddance," Cathica muttered as the lift began to rise.
"You're talking like you'll never see her again," the Doctor looked at her, "She's only going upstairs."
"We won't. Once you go to Floor 500 you never come back."
The Doctor looked at the lift doors, his brows furrowed, when Cathica stormed off.
"Have you ever been up there?" the Professor called, following her, the others behind her.
"No," she sighed, "You need a key for the lift and you only get a key with promotion. No one gets to 500 except for the chosen few," she entered the projection room, followed by the Doctor, Professor, and Rose, Adam having gone off on his own, everything being slightly too much to take, "Look, they only give us twenty minutes maintenance, can't you give it a rest?" Cathica remarked.
"But you've never been to another floor?" the Professor frowned, moving to stand behind the Doctor, draping her arms around his neck, coming to rest on his chest as he sat down on the chair on the platform, "Not even one floor down?"
"I went to Floor 16 when I first arrived, that's medical, that's when I got my head done, and then I came straight here. Satellite Five, you work, eat, and sleep on the same floor. That's it, that's all," she eyed them, "You're not management, are you."
"At last!" the Doctor smiled up at the Professor, lifting a hand to pat her arm, resting it there as he lightly stroked it, "She's clever!"
Cathica glared, "Yeah, well, whatever it is, don't involve me. I don't know anything."
"Don't you even ask?" the Professor turned to her.
"Well, why WOULD I?"
"You're a journalist!" the Doctor said, as though it should be obvious, "Why's all the crew human?"
"What's that got to do with anything?"
"There's no aliens on board. Why?"
"I don't know, no real reason, they're not banned or anything."
The Doctor looked around the room theatrically, "Then where are they?"
"I…suppose immigration's tightened up. It's had to, what, with all the threats."
"What threats?" the Professor shook her head.
"I don't know...all of them. Usual stuff. And the price of space warp doubled so that kept the visitors away..." she frowned, seeing them eyeing her, Rose leaning against the back railing, watching her as well, "Oh, and the government on Traffic Five's collapsed, so that lot stopped coming, you see...just...lots of little reasons, that's all."
"Adding up to one great big fact, and you didn't even notice," the Doctor sighed.
"Doctor, I think if there was any kind of conspiracy, Satellite Five would have seen it. We see everything."
"I can see better and the Professor's got perfect vision," he smiled at her a moment.
"This society's the wrong shape," the Professor nodded, "Even the technology."
"It's cutting edge!" Cathica argued.
"It's backward!" the Doctor looked at her, "There's a great big door in your head! You should've chucked this out years ago."
"So, what do you think is going on?" Rose asked, walking over to them.
"It's not just this space station," the Professor looked over at her, "It's the whole attitude. It's the way people think. The Great and Bountiful Human Empire's stunted. Something's holding it back."
"And how would you know?" Cathica glared.
The Doctor glared right back, not at all fond of how Cathica was speaking to his Bonded, "Trust us. Humanity's been set back about 90 years, when did Satellite Five start broadcasting?"
Cathica blinked, "91 years ago..."
He nodded and Cathica looked away thoughtfully.
~8~
"We're SO gonna get in trouble," Cathica muttered, watching as the Doctor scanned the side of a panel by the lift with the sonic, the Professor keeping a lookout beside him while Rose watched him, "You're not allowed to touch the mainframe, you're gonna get told off."
"Rose, tell her to button it," he ordered her lightly.
"You can't just vandalize the place, someone's gonna notice!" Cathica hissed as he wrenched the door-like panel open, messing around with the wires as the Professor turned to help him, "This is nothing to do with me, I'm going back to work."
"Go on then!" he called as she walked off, "See ya!"
"I can't just leave you, can I?" Cathica stopped and turned around.
"If you wanna be useful, get 'em to turn the heating down," Rose told her, watching the Time Lords work, "It's boiling. What's wrong with this place, can't they do something about it?"
"I don't know, we keep asking, something to do with the turbine."
"'Something to do with the turbine,'" the Professor mocked under her breath, she was starting to see a bit why the Doctor was so exasperated with humans, at times they could be very trying and slow. She'd asked him about it once, why this version of him seemed to have such little tolerance and patience with them. He'd only said that it was the war. Being back on their planet, around their people again, people just as clever as he was, seeing the great (and terrible) things they were accomplishing during the war...to leave that behind and come to Earth, where these little tiny beings didn't even know about the aliens that were out there, the true wonders of the Universe, were barely scraping by on what would be crude technology by other species...he liked them well enough but he just found them to be a bit stupid was all. Compared to their people, they were. Not that she agreed...completely that is...she firmly believed they were an extraordinary species, capable of being brilliant, but...the experiences and adventures she'd had with them recently...she could see his point coming across a bit more...
"Well, I don't know!"
"Exactly!" the Doctor looked over his shoulder at the woman, "I give up on you, Cathica."
"Rose asked the right kind of question," the Professor added, "Why IS it so hot?"
"One minute you're worried about the Empire and the next it's the central heating!" Cathica muttered.
"Well, never underestimate plumbing," the Doctor shrugged, "Plumbing's very important…" and then he snapped a bunch of wires out, making Cathica look away, exasperated.
"Oh move over," the Professor sighed, nudging him a bit, snatching the sonic off him, "You're rubbish at hacking."
He grinned, watching her work, flashing a few wires, crossing others, before flicking a switch, bringing up floor plans on a small monitor.
"Got it!" she cheered, smiling back at him.
"Here we go," he stepped beside her, "Satellite Five. Pipes and plumbing. Look at the layout…"
They stepped back, allowing Cathica to see the screen, "This is ridiculous. You've got access to the computer's core. You can look at the archive, the news, the stock exchange...and you're looking at pipes?"
"Because there's something wrong," the Professor told her.
She frowned, eyeing the screen, "I suppose..."
"Why, what is it?" Rose asked.
"The ventilation system. Cooling ducts, ice filters, all working flat out...channeling massive amounts of heat DOWN," she looked up.
"All the way from the top," the Doctor nodded, "Floor 500."
"Something up there is generating tons and tons of heat," the Professor added.
"Well, I don't know about you, but I feel like I'm missing out on a party," Rose smiled, "It's all going on upstairs. Fancy a trip?"
"You can't, you need a key," Cathica turned to them.
"Keys are just codes, and we've got the codes right here," the Doctor grinned, tapping the screen, "Here we go, override 215.9."
"How come it's giving you the code?"
The Doctor glanced at a security camera nearby, "Someone up there likes us."
The lift doors suddenly opened beside them. The Time Lords exchanged a glance before heading over and getting in with Rose.
"Come on, come with us!" Rose called, seeing Cathica hesitate.
"No way!" she shook her head.
The Doctor just waved, "Bye!"
"Well, don't mention my name. When you get in trouble, just don't involve me!" she stalked off.
"That's her gone," the Doctor looked at the Professor, "Adam's given up," he took her hand, "Looks like it's just you and me."
"Oi!" Rose shouted, "What about me!"
"And the human," he added, making Rose roll her eyes.
"Just like old times," the Professor smiled at him, squeezing his hand.
He grinned, turning to slot a card with the code into the controls, the doors shutting. They stood in silence, waiting till the lift reached Floor 500, the doors opening to reveal a snowy room beyond.
"The walls are not made of gold," the Doctor remarked.
"You should go back downstairs," the Professor glanced at Rose.
"Tough," Rose walked past them, far too excited and curious about what was going on to be scared.
They wandered through the icy room till they reached a sort of control room where a man with white hair was standing, watching a series of screens, a line of people sitting rigidly along the control panels, their hands on pads.
The Professor took a small step to the side, putting a hand on one of the workers before looking at the Doctor, 'Dead,' she told him.
He nodded and the white haired man turned to them, noticing them, "I started without you," he called, "This is fascinating. Satellite Five contains every piece of information within the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. Birth certificates, shopping habits, bank statements, but YOU three...you don't exist!" the Doctor frowned, eyeing the man as he laughed, "Not a trace! No birth, no job, not the slightest kiss. How can you walk through the world and not leave a single footprint?"
Rose gasped, spotting Suki sitting at one of the screens and rushed over to her, "Suki! Suki!" she knelt down but Suki didn't respond, "Hello? Can you hear me? Suki?" she turned to the man, "What've you done to her?"
"She's dead Rose," the Professor called.
"She's working..."
"They've all got chips in their head, and the chips keep going."
"Like puppets," the Doctor glared at the man.
He just laughed, "Oh! You two are full of information! But it's only fair we get information back, because apparently, you're no one. It's so rare not to know something. Who are you?"
"It doesn't matter, 'cos we're off. Nice to meet you," the Doctor took the Professor's hand, calling to Rose, "Come on."
Suddenly they were grabbed by four of the workers, Rose trying to get up to help them when Suki grabbed her arm.
"Tell me who you are!" the man shouted as the workers held them back.
"Since that information's keeping us alive, we're hardly gonna say, are we?"
He smiled, "Well, perhaps my Editor-in-Chief can convince you otherwise."
"And who's that?"
"It may interest you to know that this is NOT the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. In fact, it's not actually human at all. It's merely a place where humans happen to live…" something roared above him, "Yeah, sorry. It's a place where humans are allowed to live by kind permission of my client," he snapped his fingers and pointed up.
They looked up to see a large, slobbering, lump of alien with a mouth full of sharp, snapping teeth sticking out of the ceiling.
"What is that?" Rose asked nervously.
"That's a Jagrafess!" the Professor gasped, her eyes wide.
The Doctor struggled against the workers, "You mean, that thing's in charge of Satellite Five?"
"That 'thing,' as you put it, is in charge of the human race," the man informed them, making them look at him, alarmed, "For almost a hundred years, mankind has been shaped and guided, his knowledge and ambition strictly controlled by its broadcast news. Edited by my superior, your master, and humanity's guiding light, the mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe!" it roared, "I call him Max."
The Doctor just smiled sarcastically.
~8~
Rose, the Professor, and the Doctor had been restrained, manacles on their wrists attached to a harness-like device behind them as the man, the Editor, smiled at them, "If we create a climate of fear...then it's easy to keep the borders closed. It's just a matter of emphasis. The right word in the right broadcast repeated often enough can destabilize an economy...invent an enemy...change a vote…"
"So, all the people on Earth are like…slaves?" Rose asked.
"Well, now. There's an interesting point. Is a slave a slave if he doesn't know he's enslaved?"
"Yes," the Doctor and Professor said.
"Oh. I was hoping for a philosophical debate. Is that all I'm going to get? 'Yes?'"
"Yes."
The Editor laughed, "You two are no fun."
"Let me out of these manacles, you'll find out how much fun I am," the Doctor threatened, "Or better yet, let her out," he nodded at the Professor, who was glaring at the man.
"Oh, he's tough, isn't he? But, come on. Isn't it a great system? You've got to admire it, just a little bit."
"You can't hide something on this scale," Rose shook her head, "Somebody must've noticed."
"Of course they did," the Professor glanced at her, "And there they are," she nodded at the row of dead workers.
"Other times the computer system allows me to see inside their brain..." the Editor nodded, "I can see the smallest doubt, and crush it," he grinned, "And then they just carry on, living their life. Strutting about downstairs and all over the surface of the Earth like they're SO individual!"
The Doctor looked over and spotted Cathica out of the corner of his eye, just on the other end of the room, behind the Editor, looking around, but hidden.
"When of course, they're not," the Editor continued, oblivious, "They're just cattle. In that respect, the Jagrafess hasn't changed a thing."
"What about you?" Rose eyed him, "You're not a Jagra...uh...a…"
"Jagrafess," the Time Lords repeated.
"Jagrafess. You're not a Jagrafess. You're human."
"Yeah, well simply being human doesn't pay very well," the Editor replied.
"But you couldn't have done this all on your own."
"No! I represent a consortium of banks. Money prefers a long-term investment. Also, the Jagrafess needed a little hand to um...install himself."
"No wonder, a creature that size," the Doctor looked up, "What's his lifespan?"
"Three thousand years," the Professor explained, before glancing at him, "Honestly, did you pay no attention at all in school?" she shook her head and continued, "Fairly extreme metabolism, which generates all the heat," she glanced at the Editor, "It's why Satellite Five's so hot. You pump it out of the creature, channel it downstairs, if the Jagrafess stays cool it stays alive."
The Doctor scoffed, "Satellite Five's one great big life support system."
"But THAT'S why you're so dangerous," the Editor pointed, "Knowledge is power, but you remain unknown," he gave a small laugh and clicked his fingers, the manacles sending an electric shock through them, "Who are you?"
"Leave her alone!" the Doctor ground out, more concerned for the Professor than Rose, the human could handle it, but the Professor had been tortured in a similar fashion, it could cause a relapse, "I'm the Doctor, she's the Professor, and that's Rose Tyler, we're nothing, we're just wandering."
"Tell me who you are!"
"I just said!"
"Yeah, but who do you work for? Who sent you? Who knows about us? Who exactly…" he stopped short before smiling, the electricity halting, "Time Lords."
"What?"
"Oh, yes! The last of the Time Lords in their travelling machine. Oh, with a little human girl from long ago..." he touched Rose's face but she jerked away.
"You don't know what you're talking about," the Professor replied, breathing a bit heavy, trying not to let what had just happened affect her.
"Time travel."
"Someone's been telling you lies," the Doctor glared.
"Young master Adam Mitchell?" he snapped his fingers and a projection of Adam, writhing in pain and screaming, compressed information flowing into him through a door in his head, appeared before them.
"Oh, my God, his head!" Rose gasped.
"What the hell's he done?" the Doctor's eyes widened, "What the hell's he gone and done?"
"They're reading his mind," the Professor struggled in her manacles, "He's telling them everything!"
"And through him, I know everything about you," the Editor beamed, "Every piece of information in his head is now mine. And you have infinite knowledge, Doctor, Professor. The human empire is tiny compared to what you two've seen in your T-A-R-D-I-S, TARDIS."
"You'll never get your hands on it," he threatened, "I'll die first."
"Die all you like. I don't need you. I've got the key," he gestured to the projection where the key to the box began to float from Adam's pocket, it was one they'd given to Rose right when they started travelling, in case she ever needed to get into the TARDIS for safety.
"You and your boyfriends!" the Doctor shouted at her.
"Today, WE are the headlines. We can rewrite history. We could prevent mankind from ever developing."
"And no one's gonna stop you," he glared at the man, though his gaze flickered to Cathica, he was getting very worried, the Professor wasn't speaking much, that couldn't be good, "Because you've bred a human race that doesn't bother to ask questions. Stupid little slaves, believing every lie. They'll just trot right into the slaughter house if they're told it's made of gold."
Cathica swallowed hard and rushed off.
"Like good little puppets," the Editor nodded, laughing…until an alarm went off moments later, "What's happening?" he looked over to see the information releasing Adam, the key falling to the floor, "Someone's disengaged the safety," he clicked his fingers and the projection shifted to Cathica, streaming the information in a darkened, disused room, "Who's that?"
"It's Cathica!" Rose gasped.
"And she's thinking," the Professor gave a little smile.
"She's using what she knows!" the Doctor cheered.
"Terminate her access!" the Editor ordered Suki.
"Everything we told her about Satellite Five, the pipes, the filters, she's reversing it! Look at that..." he grinned as the icicles around them began to melt, "It's getting hot!"
"I said, terminate!" he frantically put his hands over Suki's, "Burn her mind."
"Oh no you don't!" Cathica pointed at the projection, "You should've promoted me YEARS back."
Suddenly all the screens exploded with sparks, the workers falling lifeless to the floor, the entire station shuddering as alarms went off. Rose's manacles came undone along with the Professor's right hand, her left and the Doctor still trapped.
"She's venting the heat up here," the Professor muttered, turning to pull the sonic out of the Doctor's coat, "The Jagrafess needs to stay cool and now it's sitting on top of a volcano…"
The Doctor laughed as the Jagrafess roared violently, making the Editor wince, "Yes! Uh...I'm trying, sir but…I don't know how she did it, it's impossible. A member of staff with an idea…"
The Professor flipped the switch and undid her manacle and his, the Jagrafess roaring and snapping above them.
"Oi, mate!" the Doctor called to the Editor as he took the Professor's hand and pulled her towards the back door where Cathica had been standing, "Wanna bank on a certainty? Massive heat in a massive body. Massive bang!" he looked up as bits of flesh started to drop off the alien, "See you in the headlines!" he turned to run for it as the Jagrafess began to pulsate.
"Hold on!" the Professor called. She ran back and deftly chopped the Editor in the junction of his neck and shoulder, knocking him out, she was not about to let the man escape. She ran back to the Doctor, taking his hand as he pulled her on, leading Rose out.
They ran down a corridor, avoiding lumps of snow falling from the ceiling, till they reached a streaming room where Cathica was lying on the chair, her eyes closed. The Doctor snapped his fingers and the information stopped, her head closing as she looked up at them.
A moment later there was a screech as something exploded in the control room.
~8~
The Doctor and Professor were sitting at a table with Cathica in the canteen, the Doctor facing her, the Professor with her back to the table, arms crossed, watching Adam as he stood by the TARDIS they'd moved there after Adam's stint. Rose glanced between them and Adam, leaning against a bar.
"We're just gonna go," the Doctor told Cathica, "I hate tidying up. Too many questions. You'll manage."
"You'll have to stay and explain it," Cathica shook her head, "No one's gonna believe me."
"Oh, they might start believing a lot of things now."
"The human race should accelerate," the Professor added, "All back to normal."
"What about your friend?" Cathica asked, eyeing Adam.
The Doctor's expression hardened, "He's not our friend," he stood up menacingly and marched in Adam's direction.
"Now, don't…" Rose tried to stop him.
"Rose don't," the Professor warned, "If he doesn't, I will."
"I'm alright now," Adam said, backing up as the Doctor advanced, "Much better. I've got the key," he held it up, "Well, it's...I know..." he laughed nervously, "It all worked out for the best, didn't it?" the Doctor just took the key and grabbed him, unlocking the door, "You know, it's not actually my fault, because YOU were in charge…" and shoved him in.
~8~
The Doctor shoved Adam out of the TARDIS door just after the Professor had set it down in Adam's sitting room, "It's my house!" Adam gasped as Rose and the Professor stepped out after them, "I'm home! Oh, my God, I'm home!" the Doctor glared at him as he swallowed nervously, "Blimey. I thought you were going to chuck me out of an airlock…"
"I would have," the Professor told him, eyeing him, hard.
"Is there something else you want to tell us?" the Doctor asked him.
"No?" Adam shifted, his gaze flickering to the phone a moment, "Um...what do you mean?"
The Doctor just walked over to the telephone and picked it up, "The archive of Satellite Five. One second of that message could've changed the world…" he soniced it and made it explode, "That's it, then. See ya," he walked back to the TARDIS. Adam had used his first pass when he'd led Rose and the Professor into the Dalek's cage in Van Statten's museum, and he'd just used his last chance.
"How do you mean, 'see ya?'" Adam frowned.
"As in 'goodbye.'"
"But...what about me? You can't just go, I've got my head…I've got a chip type two, my head opens."
"What, like this?" he snapped his fingers and Adam's head opened.
"Don't," Adam glared, clicking his fingers to close it.
"Don't do what?" he clicked his fingers again.
"Stop it!" Adam closed it but then the Professor clicked her fingers, opening it, "Stop!" he closed it.
"The whole of history could've changed because of you," the woman glared at him.
"I just wanted to help."
"You were helping yourself," the Doctor nearly spat, disgusted.
"And I'm sorry. I've said I'm sorry, and I am, I really am…but you can't just leave me like this…"
"Yes we can. 'Cos if you show your head to anyone, they'll dissect you in seconds. You'll have to live a very quiet life. Keep out of trouble. Be average. Unseen. Good luck," he opened the TARDIS door.
"But I wanna come with you!"
"We don't always get what we want," the Professor told him, stepping into the TARDIS as they heard the front door open.
"Oh my God," Adam breathed, hearing his mother.
"Who's that? Jeff? Is that you?"
"It's me mum, don't come in, wait there a minute…"
"Oh, my Lord! You never told me you were coming home!"
The Doctor stepped into the TARDIS, followed quickly by Rose, the box disappearing, leaving Adam to face his mother.
~8~
"You alright?" the Doctor asked, plopping down beside the Professor as she sat in the doorway of the TARDIS, watching the stars.
She nodded, "I think I'll be ok."
"You sure?" he eyed her, looking for any hint of something being wrong, it couldn't have been easy to face the Jagrafess while also being slightly tortured.
She leaned over and gave him a kiss, "I'm sure," she smiled, "I was just...thinking about the Dalek, from Van Statten's museum actually."
"Why?" he frowned, he'd have thought that would be the last thing she'd want to think about.
"Its whole race was gone," she murmured.
The Doctor felt a clenching in his hearts as he heard a sorrow in her voice, knowing she was also thinking of their people. He still couldn't believe that she had forgiven him for what he'd done...
"It was all alone," she continued, looking out at the stars, pulling him from his thoughts, "We're not," he looked at her when she gave a little laugh, confused, "You'd think I'd feel..." she trailed, trying to find the words to express what she was feeling, "Empty...with our people gone, without feeling them in my mind...the hum of our race," he nodded slowly, looking back at the stars, understanding the feeling, it was like a lingering tingle in the back of their mind, a slight mental connection between their people, "But I don't."
He looked at her sharply at that.
She smiled a bit and looked at him, seeing him eyeing her, stunned, "My planet may be gone," she reached out and put her hand to his cheek, "But my world is still here," she looked at him pointedly.
He started smiling, reaching up to press her hand to his cheek a moment before pulling it away to hold. He understood that completely, she was...everything to him. She was his home. She was his world. As long as she was there...he'd never be alone. She really was amazing, reminding him of that.
"And..." she added, letting out a breath, "When you think about it…Daleks are the worst of the worst in terms of aliens…and I faced one," she nodded to herself, "If I can face that…then I can face all the others."
He smiled, scooting closer to put an arm around her, letting her lean on him, there was his Kata, logical and thoughtful, fighting on.
A/N: Idk why, but for some reason this wasn't my favorite episode of Series 1, so I don't have much to say about it. But...I can say this, next chapter is Father's Day...and I am VERY excited about it :) As for the Doctor not being fond of humans, I just sort of got the impression from the show that he got a bit irritated with them not understanding him or following him at times and magnified it a bit. Especially now that he's got a Time Lady with him who can keep up with him, it sort of makes the humans seem even more slow and dull than I thought he felt they (slightly) were in the show.
In other news (not my surprise news), I've got three stories for Recollections written out, and two more outlined. If there are any off-screen adventures or referenced adventures that you'd like to see written out more just drop a review and let me know :)
