EIGHT

"For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put to death" – Exodus 31: 15, The Bible

"Now, come on, Marty, remember what we've said…" The Doctor was looking back down at his controls. "That was the voice of a god… not The God" He tapped a few more keys on his controls. "That is… if such a thing as The God exists", he added quietly.

"But it was God, Doctor" Martin surprised himself at his outburst. "You said so yourself! You said 'It is their God, Martin'. I remember you saying it!"

"Yeah, I did and it is!" The Doctor spun around and grabbed hold of Martin's shoulders looking him directly in the eyes. He let out a deep breath and then breathed in sharply. "Look, Marty… I said it's their God… The Israelites… To them he was their Creator… Their judge, jury and executioner… They were his 'chosen people'… He gave them rules of conduct… Commandments… And they were to obey him at all costs… And worship no other gods… If he told them to kill, they killed… And they did kill… And have been killing in his name ever since!"

The Doctor let go of Martin's shoulders and moved away from him. He thrust his hands back in his trusty pockets and began strolling around the console area with his head tilted back on an angle.

"Do you know, under his rule, if you worked on a Sunday… the 'Sabbath'… you'd be stoned to death? And I'm not talking fourteen hours on the sly mowing lawns for little old ladies or something… I'm talking about everyday stuff like collecting firewood. You know, doing something that your family needs just to survive. Nah, if you were caught… stoned to death. The wife and kids will have to get by on their own… in the cold!" He spun around to face Martin once more. "Can you imagine that? And If you were, say, a homosexual? Stoned to death… Committed adultery? Stoned to death… Disobedient kids? Stoned to death! Can you imagine living in such a society? The constant level of fear must have been paralysing." He paused to read information upon one of his screens. "And you know, some of these draconian rules are still enforced in your time! A lot of your society's beliefs and rules of order are based on the teachings that Yahweh gave his people. So, in that sense…" He broke off as if realising that the sentence he was about to say wasn't probably the most tactful in the universe. But he just couldn't help himself saying it anyway, "In that sense…he has been God to your world… But, you know" he added hurriedly, "He was one of many" He smiled at Martin. As if that would help.

Martin's eyes were streaming with tears. He just couldn't help it. This was destroying him inside. Literally tearing his soul in two. How could this be true of God? How could 'God' be so evil? How could he be just an 'alien'… a flesh and blood being that just wanted humans to worship him? Worship him for… what? For the sake of his own ego? This went against all that he had previously thought and felt he knew about what god was… About what God is. He had thought that God was love. Where did love come into all this? What about spirituality? Was this terrifying creature Jesus' Father?

Martin found himself heading for his seat again. He could feel his legs giving way and his heart was pounding so much he felt it might even leave his body.

The Doctor stood still for a moment and calmly looked on as Martin plonked himself down on the leather chair. He smiled at him and moved slowly back over to where Martin was now sitting.

"I think we need to get some perspective on this, Martin." He said smiling calmly at him. "Don't worry, it's going to be alright." He tilted his head to one side. "Look… Listen…" The concentration on his face worried Martin slightly.

"What?" Martin whispered, "What is it?"

"I can hear the kettle boiling," said The Doctor casually, "The tea will be ready in a jiffy." He grinned at Martin and his eyes sparkled with delight. "Do you like Hob Nobs? Chocolate ones?"

Martin let out a laugh. He shook his head in disbelief at The Doctor's Cheshire cat smile. "Doctor, you are amazing!"

"Cheers" The Doctor seemed really pleased. He turned away and started walking towards the door at the back of the domed room.

"No, I mean, how can you be so calm? Is this not mind-blowing for you?" Martin's head continued to shake as he watched The Doctor leave the room into the darkness of the doorway.

"Nah, I've seen it all before, Marty, I told you!" He shouted from the blackness. The sound of mugs clashing and the shuffle of cutlery rang out in the dark. "I'm really going to have to get this light fixed in here," The Doctor said quietly.

Suddenly he was back in the room brandishing two mugs of sweet, hot tea. He handed one to Martin. The mug had a large picture of Bart Simpson on the side, winking at Martin as if he was in on the whole, cosmic joke.

The Doctor was already sipping at his own tea cautiously. His black mug had bright yellow writing on that said simply: 'I'm with stupid'. The Doctor winked at Martin and Martin frowned back at him.

"I hope you're not trying to tell me something, Doctor?" He said nodding towards the mug.

"What?" The Doctor turned the mug towards himself and let out a laugh. "Ha, pure coincidence, my friend" he said with a smile. "It was dark in there… I couldn't see a thing. I'll have Bart, if you want?" He held the cup out to Martin.

"No, you alright, Doctor" Martin laughed, "I'm happy with Bart!"

"Good" The Doctor beamed and nodded back at Martin. "And I'm happy with 'Stupid'!"

Both men laughed and took a deeper gulp of the sweet tea.

The liquid felt so good against the back of Martin's throat. There was something so wonderfully 'normal' about a cup of tea.

The floor of the TARDIS gave a tiny jolt and the deep throb of the machine's engines slowed down as Martin realised that they had landed.

"Ah, there we go" The Doctor turned to face his controls once more. "We're here."

"Where?" Martin gasped.

"Oh, somewhere safe. Don't let it worry you." He grabbed two deck chairs that were lent up against the side rail. "You take these, Marty" He handed them over to Martin who quickly grabbed them in his left hand "And I'll just grab my photo album." He marched off into the side room once more.

Martin took another mouthful of tea as The Doctor bounded back in the room carrying a huge thick book. He blew dust of the top and wiped it affectionately with his sleeve. He turned it round so it faced Martin.

On the cover of the brown, leather-bound book was some sort of, what Martin presumed to be, 'alien' writing. Circles intersected with other cycles and lines going off at tangents creating chaotic yet strangely ordered patterns. Underneath the strange patterns a biro had been used to write in plain English: 'The History of the Earth (Sol 3) In Pictures by Doctor John Smith. Vol: 1'

"Now, let's take our tea outside, let's sit down calmly and I'll tell you all about the real history of your tiny little world that will put Yahweh and his Angels into context" The Doctor was smiling intently at Martin and had a hand on the top of his book. "I'll even show you pictures." He grinned even wider as he tapped the photo album.

He moved past Martin and towards the doors that would lead outside. He opened them and light streamed in creating shadows across the TARDIS floor. The Doctor breathed in the air appreciatively and looked back at Martin.

"Are you coming?" He asked quietly.

"Do I have a choice?" Martin responded dejectedly.

"Oh Martin, you always have a choice. Always" The Doctor mouth shone with a gentle smile.

"Can you take me home?" Martin's voice was a whisper.

"Yes… Yes, I can do that… if you want" The Doctor's smiled faded slightly.

"Can you make me forget?" Martin's eyes pleaded with The Doctor. "Can you make me forget what I've seen and remove the fear that you've… that 'he' put in me?"

The Doctor's smile had completely vanished. "No… No, I can't" He said gently "Well, not permanently anyway… But I can give you hope. I can make you see that life isn't about fear…. Fear paralyses… And I'm here to set you free"

Both men looked at each other intently. Martin stared into The Doctor's big brown eyes and, after a moment, he could almost feel himself falling into them. It had happened before outside the church and now it was happening again. A connection. It was like he was almost seeing The Doctor's soul….

"Not yet, Martin" The Doctor's voice was calm as he turned and looked away into the blue sky outside the ship. "I've just got to open your mind a little bit more before we can explore your soul" He turned back to Martin and smiled, "So… Are you ready for that now? Shall I tell you the deeper mysteries of mankind's creation? Shall I show you the time when I saw the pyramids being built? How I witnessed 'The Great Flood'? And shall we have a look and see when the universe itself really, truly began?" He held the TARDIS door open wide as Martin moved towards it. "And, most importantly, are we going to finish these cups of tea before they get cold or what?"

Both men grinned at each other as they stepped out of the TARDIS doors and into the sunlight.

"Truth does not change although your perception of it may vary or alter drastically" – John & Lyn St. Clair Thomas, 'Eyes of the Beholder'