SCARS
ELEVEN
"It is a good thing the TARDIS wasn't that far away," The Doctor was gasping for breath as he closed and locked the doors.
Then he turned around and that same breath caught in his throat.
It took him a few seconds to properly digest what he was seeing; it was that improbable. Norman-the-hologram was standing by his ship's console. Jack had evidently and valiantly moved himself in between their unwelcome visitor and Spike as the latter sat curiously watching the scene unfold before him from his usual spot underneath the coat tree.
"Time And Relative Dimensions In Space," proclaimed Norman to no one in particular. "Indeterminable age. Indeterminable size. Threat level a never-before-encountered negative value. Wait please."
Jack and The Doctor looked at each other from across the control room and shrugged in unison.
"Time And Relative Dimensions In Space," Norman again repeated after a short time, "a protector." His image shimmered, faded out and in, and then turned to face The Doctor, "Time Lord of Gallifrey. Revised threat level also sub-zero. Also a protector." And then the hologram shimmered once more as it turned to address Jack. "Time Lord's companion. Wait please."
Jack looked like he was about to vehemently object, if not explode. The Doctor raised a cautionary index finger to his lips.
At that moment Spike stood up, stretched, and began slowly padding toward the source of all food – the Time Lord. Jack locked worried eyes with The Doctor.
"Quadruped mammal. Insentient. Harmless unless provoked," Norman announced and Jack mimed a sigh of relief as The Doctor smiled wanly.
"Reevaluation complete," Norman declared a few seconds later. "Tactics and strategies have been revised accordingly. How may I assist you?"
Jack rolled his eyes in relief while The Doctor walked to the top of the ramp and picked up Spike. The cat, however, had other ideas, and after imparting an annoyed-sounding vocal utterance jumped back down onto the floor and walked over to the Captain, who then scooped him up into his arms and gave him a kiss on the top of his head.
"In what ways are you capable of assisting us?" The Doctor asked, quite reasonably he thought.
"I am not programmed to respond in that area."
"Worth trying," Jack muttered.
Having recently heard the word, The Doctor thought he might try a different tactic himself. He plunged his hands into his coat and shuffled his feet back and forth. "Where did all the people go?" he asked.
"I am not programmed…"
"Of course, but aren't you lonely?"
"Lonely? I do not…"
"Yes, lonely! Where are the amazing people who built all this? Where are the amazing people who created you? Are you here, all by yourself, protecting – as you claim – everything? Where is everybody, Norman? What happened to them?"
For a second or two Norman looked perplexed. "They… are… gone," he responded haltingly.
"Gone? Where?"
"They have departed. Left me to protect what they… abandoned."
"They left, Norman? Of their own free will they just picked up and left all of this, leaving you alone?"
"They have departed," Norman repeated.
"Where did they go?"
"I am not… that information is not available."
"What do you mean not available? Are you saying you cannot respond? Or you will not respond? I am a Time Lord of Gallifrey, Norman. A protector just like you. Tell me where your creators went."
"I… do not know. They departed. They left me to preserve, to protect, and to watch."
"Okay, Norman. And I can tell that you are doing a splendid job preserving and protecting! Very good work, Norman. Excellent. Your creators would be proud, if they were around to see it. Now, can you tell me their name? What was the name of your creators? What where they called, Norman?"
"They were called by many names, and by no name."
Jack, who'd been keeping very quiet, groaned inwardly. He'd heard that before…
The Doctor nodded pensively. "Do you mind if I go to talk to my, um, companion, Norman? Just for a minute or so. We may be in need your help, but we must discuss the situation first. Would that be okay? Can I speak with Jack, please? I am going to go over there and talk briefly with Jack, Norman."
"I am the protector, here to offer assistance," Norman replied.
"Right. Thank you. Thank you very much." The Time Lord walked over to his friend the Captain while keeping a constant wary eye on the hologram. "Jack, I'd like to know more about these beings, but it may take awhile," he said in a half-whisper. "Are you interested? I'm quite sure we could leave now if we wanted to, although if it were up to me I'd rather stay. But we're a team and this is a joint effort and a democracy. You get a say, too."
"I'm interested as well, Doctor. I find it hard to believe an entire civilization built and then abandoned this amazing place. Still, I'm here to tell you that I don't like what Norman said just now about the name business." Jack shivered involuntarily, "It reminds me too much…"
"I know, Jack," The Doctor frowned, interrupting him. "It reminds you too much of the Terraformers. But I don't think that this is them, or anything like them." He shook his head. "No, I believe this is something else entirely. Something very intriguing, to be sure, and more than a little strange. But my sense is that what is happening here is not a danger to us. Not at this moment, at least."
"Okay, so what's next?"
"What's next?" The Doctor repeated.
Jack smiled to himself. As if he doesn't already know exactly what he wants to do next. "Yeah, what's next, Doctor?"
"Well, let us presume that good old Norman-the-holographic-protector is telling us the truth. Now that he knows we're not a threat I believe there's no reason he should lie to us, even if he was programmed in that area. No, I think he really doesn't have any idea what happened to the Dyson sphere builders, or where they might be. But I'm willing to bet if we start poking around out there in the habitat areas we might be able to solve this mystery on our own." The Doctor smiled the particularly wicked grin that Jack loved so much. "What do you think?"
"I think it sounds like a plan, Doctor."
The Time Lord looked over at the hologram. "Norman, did your creators leave behind any, oh, I don't know, libraries or archives or repositories for you to protect? You know, maybe halls of knowledge or perhaps information centers?"
"There are numerous data depositories."
"Ah! Data depositories!" The Lord of Time winked at Jack Harkness and then shrugged, "Well, I was close."
Clearing his throat conspicuously, The Doctor continued, "My companion and I would like to visit one, maybe several, of these data depositories. Would you assist us?"
"The Time Lord…"
"Please, Norman, call me The Doctor. That's my name."
"The Doctor may visit the depositories. His companion, the one called Captain Jack Harkness, may not."
"Hey!" Jack argued. "He and I – we go everywhere together!"
"The Doctor may visit the depositories. His companion, Captain Jack Harkness, may not."
The Doctor held up a conciliatory hand. "Why, Norman? Why can't Jack visit the depositories?"
"The companion, Captain Jack Harkness, must remain here with Time And Relative Dimensions In Space."
"But why, Norman?"
"I am not programmed to respond in that area."
The Doctor closed his eyes and allowed his head to loll backward while he shook it back and forth. Then he rubbed his face with his hands and looked at Jack helplessly. "I guess you're supposed to stay here, Captain."
"I don't like it, Doctor."
"I expected you wouldn't. Still, I don't think there's much we can do about it. Although my previous offer still stands, Jack. We can, of course, leave."
"I know that look of yours, Doctor; that look on your face and the glint in your eyes. You have your hearts set on this, don't you? I'm the last person in the universe to tell you no when you're on a mission. Although, gods help me…" Jack chuckled warmly, "maybe I should tell you no. Could be it would save us a whole lot of grief later."
"Oh, Jack. Don't be such a worrywart. Everything is going to be fine."
"Famous last words," Jack muttered, meaning it more than he could possibly say.
