Kyleigh could hardly contain her excitement as the Doctor sent them off to their next destination. Adam still wasn't sure of what to make of everything. He stood quietly as he watched the excitement of the others.
Once the Doctor landed, Kyleigh was the first out the doors. "Looks like she's in a rush." The Doctor said. He and Rose followed her out.
Kyleigh was amazed at what she saw. The place was huge. It looked like they were on a spaceship.
"So, it's 200,000, it's a spaceship…no, wait a minute, space station, and go try that gate over there. Off you go."
"200,000?" Kyleigh said.
"That far enough into the future for you?"
Kyleigh smiled. "This is more like it."
Rose noticed Adam was not with them so she poked her head in the TARDIS. "Adam? Out you come."
Adam finally walked out of the TARDIS. "Oh, my God. Where are we?"
"Good question. Let's see…so, judging by the architecture, I'd say we're around the year 200,000."
Kyleigh raised an eyebrow at her.
"If you listen…engines. We're on some sort of space station. It's a bit warm in here. They could turn down the heating. Tell you what, let's try that gate."
Rose and Adam walked off.
"Is she trying to impress him?" Kyleigh asked.
"Seems to be working." The Doctor said.
"And you're jealous." Kyleigh said in a sing-song voice.
"I am not."
"Sure. You keep telling yourself that."
Kyleigh and the Doctor caught up to Rose and Adam. The four of them went into the room beyond the gate. It appeared to be an observation deck since there was a big window looking out to the universe. Kyleigh ran over to look out. Her eyes widened at what she saw.
"Oh wow. This is amazing. This is unbelievable. That's the Earth. That's actually the Earth. I'm on a space station looking at the Earth. From space. Ha."
The Doctor smiled at her excitement.
Adam was a little hesitant to come close to the window, but he did by holding onto the railings for support.
"The fourth great and bountiful human empire." The Doctor said "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 of it."
As Kyleigh was admiring the view she heard a thud. She glanced back to see that Adam had fainted. Kyleigh turned back to looking out the window.
"He's your boyfriend." The Doctor said.
"Not anymore." Rose replied.
"With a view like this he faints." Kyleigh said.
"Some people can take, and some people can't." The Doctor said.
Once Adam was conscious again, the four of them set off to explore the space station.
"You're gonna like this fantastic period of history." The Doctor said. "The human race at its most intelligent – culture, art, politics. This era has fine food, good manners…"
As if to contradict what the Doctor was explaining, a man pushed passed them. "Out of the way."
"That didn't seem like good manners." Kyleigh said.
The place around them suddenly came to life as food stalls are set up all around them and people bustled about to line up. Kyleigh glanced around at the sudden change.
Rose took a glance at the food behind one of the cases by a stall. "Fine cuisine?"
"My watch must be wrong." The Doctor looked at his watch. "No, it's fine. Weird."
"That's what comes with showing off. You're history's not as good as you thought it was."
"My history's perfect."
"Are you sure we aren't in the third great and bountiful human empire?" Kyleigh asked.
The Doctor gave her a look.
"They're all human." Adam said. "What about the millions of planets? The millions of species? Where are they?"
"Good question. Actually, that is a good question." The Doctor then put his arm around Adam. "Adam, me old mate, you must be starving."
"No, I'm just a bit time sick."
"Nah, you just need a bit of grub." He then turned to the chef in the stall. "Oi, mate, how much is a cronk burger?"
"Two credits twenty." The chef answered. "Now, join the queue."
"We need money." The Doctor walked over to a cash point, took out his sonic screwdriver and sonics the machine. A metal strip fell out.
"I want one." Kyleigh said.
"You can share the money."
Kyleigh rolled her eyes. "I was talking about your sonic screwdriver."
"Sorry, they don't come out of machines." The Doctor then handed the metal strip to Adam. "There you go, pocket money. Don't spend it all on sweets."
"How does it work?" Adam asked.
"Go and find out. Time travelling is like visiting Paris. You can't just read the guide book, you've got to throw yourself in. Eat the food, use the wrong verbs, get charged double and end up kissing complete strangers."
"Does that happen to you often?" Kyleigh asked.
"Maybe more often than I'll admit. Now, off you go. Go and enjoy your date." The Doctor said the last bit to Rose. He then turned and started walking while Rose and Adam went off in the opposite direction.
While Rose went off with Adam, and the Doctor went off to do whatever, Kyleigh decided to go explore on her own. First thing was first.
Kyleigh walked up to a group of people who appeared to be not much older than herself. "Excuse me, what is this place?"
The group looked at her like she had grown an extra head. "Are you serious?"
"Yes."
"How can you be somewhere and not know where you are?"
Kyleigh shrugged. "It happens."
"This is Satellite Five. It broadcasts the news." One of them answered as if they were talking to a small child.
"How many floors are there?"
"500 of course."
"Right, of course."
"I wish I could see floor 500." One of them said.
"That would be amazing." Another said.
"Why? What's on floor 500?" Kyleigh asked.
Again, they looked at her like she was from a different time…which, of course, she was, but that was beside the point.
"The walls are made of gold."
"That's it?"
"What do you mean, 'that's it'? Do you know how many people would give anything to see that?"
"But what do you do up there? There must be something more than the walls just being made of gold."
Before anyone could answer her, alarms went off and everyone immediately cleared out of the area. Kyleigh started running to where she had last seen Rose and the Doctor. She soon spotted the Doctor, Rose, and Adam.
"Where's Kyleigh?" The Doctor asked.
"Right here." Kyleigh skidded to a stop next to them.
"Where've you been?" Rose asked.
"Exploring."
The Doctor introduced them to the two women he had been talking to, Cathica and Suki.
The four of them followed the two women into a room. In the middle there was a chair raised on an octagonal platform. The staff sat around the platform cross-legged. In front of them were pads on which they placed their hands. The Doctor, Rose, Kyleigh, and Adam stood at the side of the room.
Cathica stood in the middle of the platform. "Everyone behave. We have a management inspection." She looked over at the Doctor. "How do you want it? By the book?"
"Oh, right from scratch, thanks."
Cathica turned back to her staff. "Ok, 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. Now, please feel free to ask questions. The process of news gathering must be open, honest, and non-biased. That's company policy." Cathica lied down in the chair. "And engage safety."
The staff held their hands out over their hand pads. Cathica clicked her fingers and a door on her forehead opened up, revealing her brain. Adam leaned in for a better look while the Doctor and Kyleigh looked disgusted, Rose alarmed.
Kyleigh rubbed her forehead, wondering why anyone would want something like that.
"And 3…2…and spike." Cathica said.
The contraption over the chair let out a blue light that flowed into her brain.
"Compressed information, streaming into her." The Doctor said. "Reports from every city, every country, every planet, and they all get packaged inside her head. She becomes the software. Her brain is the computer."
"If it all goes through her she must be a genius." Rose said.
"I would think her head would explode with all that information." Kyleigh said.
"It would. She won't remember any." The Doctor walked around the room. "The brain's the processor. As soon as it closes, she forgets."
"So, what about all these people?" Rose asked.
"They've all got tiny chips in their head, connecting them to her and they transmit 600 channels. Every single fact in the empire beams out of this place. Now that's what I call power."
Rose was asking Adam how he was doing, but Kyleigh wasn't paying attention. Why would people do this to themselves? She knew that technology was growing and new advancements were made every day, but why would someone ever want this?
"This technology is wrong." The Doctor said, snapping Kyleigh out of her thoughts.
"Trouble?" Rose asked.
"Oh yeah."
There was a shuddering sound as Suki twitched. She gasped as she lifted her hand off the pad as though she had been shocked. The other staff members were forced to lift their hands as well. The compressed information stopped streaming into Cathica and the door in her head closed. Suki rubbed her hand, breathing heavily.
"Come off it, Suki. I wasn't even halfway through. What was that for?" Cathica asked.
"Sorry, must have been a glitch." Suki answered.
"Promotion." A voice over the loudspeaker said as a screen appeared.
"This is it. Come on, say my name." Cathica said.
"Promotion for Suki Macrae Cantrell."
The words flashed on the projection as Suki's mouth dropped open. Kyleigh glanced at Cathica and saw she did not look happy.
"Please proceed to floor 500."
Suki stood up, staring at the projection. "I don't believe it."
"How the hell did you manage that? I'm above you." Cathica said.
"I don't know. I just applied on the off chance."
"That's not fair. I've been applying to floor 500 for three years."
"What's floor 500?" Rose asked.
"The walls are made of gold." Both the Doctor and Kyleigh said.
The Doctor glanced over at Kyleigh. "How did you know that?"
"I did some investigating."
Suki made her way to the lift as the Doctor, Rose, Kyleigh, and Cathica stand outside of it.
"Cathica, I'm going to miss you." Suki said. She then turned to the Doctor. "Thank you."
"I didn't do anything." The Doctor said.
"You're my good luck charm." She opened her arms out for a hug.
"All right. I'll hug anyone." The Doctor gave her a hug.
"Oh my, I have to go. I can't keep them waiting." She picked up her bag and stepped into the lift. "Say bye to Steve for me. Bye." She waved as the doors slid closed.
"Good riddance." Cathica said.
"You say that like you're never gonna see you again." The Doctor said.
"We won't. Once you go to floor 500 you never come back."
"Have you ever been up there?" Kyleigh asked.
"No. You need a key for the lift, and you only get a key with a promotion."
"Where's lover boy?" Kyleigh asked Rose when she didn't see Adam around.
"I think all of this was too much for him. I gave him the TARDIS key in case he just wanted to get away."
"You have a key to the TARDIS? Can I get a key to the TARDIS?" Kyleigh looked over at the Doctor.
"Can we stay focused, please?" The Doctor said. He turned his attention to Cathica. "Have you ever been to a different floor?"
Cathica started walking back to the spike room and the others followed. Once in the room the Doctor had settled himself in the chair.
"I went to floor 16 when I first arrived, that's medical. That's when I got my head done. Then I came straight here. Satellite Five, you work, eat, and sleep on the same floor. That's it." She eyed the three of them. "You're not management, are you?"
"At last she's clever!" The Doctor said.
"Yeah, well, whatever it is don't involve me. I don't know anything."
"Don't you ask?" Kyleigh asked.
"Why would I?"
"You're a journalist." The Doctor said. "Why are all the crew human?"
"What's that got to do with anything?"
"There's no aliens aboard. Why?"
"No real reason. They're not banned or anything."
As they talked, Kyleigh thought it very strange that Cathica never asked questions. She mentioned threats, immigration had tightened up, and something about the government on Traffic Five had collapsed. How could no one notice? And if they did, why didn't they ask questions?
"This society is the wrong shape. The technology is wrong." The Doctor said.
"It's cutting edge!" Cathica defended.
"It's backwards. There's a great big door in your head. You should have chucked that out ages ago. Something is holding it back. Humanity has been set back 90 years. When did Satellite Five start broadcasting?"
"91 years ago."
The Doctor left the room as the others followed him. He went to the mainframe and started scanning with his sonic screwdriver. Cathica was not happy with what he was doing. She wanted to leave, but said she couldn't leave the three of them alone messing with things.
"If you want to be useful then get them to turn the heat down." Rose said. "Can't they do something about it?"
"I don't know." Cathica said.
The Doctor was finally able to hack into the mainframe. "Here we go, Satellite Five. Pipes and plumbing. Look at the layout."
Of course, Cathica didn't really look at it. She was still going on about how they shouldn't be doing this.
"There's something wrong." The Doctor said.
Cathica looked at the screen. "I suppose."
"What is it?" Kyleigh asked.
"The ventilation system. Cooling ducts, ice filters, all working flat out…channeling massive amounts of heat down."
"All the way from the top." The Doctor said.
"Floor 500." Kyleigh and Rose said.
"Well, I feel like I'm missing out on a party. Fancy a trip upstairs?" Rose said.
"Count me in!" Kyleigh said.
"You can't. You need a key." Cathica said.
"Keys are just codes and I've got the codes right here." He gestured towards the screen, and then tapped a few keys. "There we go. Override 215.9."
"How come it's giving you the code?"
The Doctor looked up into the security camera. "Someone up there likes me."
They all headed for the lift and stepped inside except for Cathica who stayed outside.
"Are you coming?" Kyleigh asked.
"No way. And don't you dare mention my name." Cathica then started walking away.
"Bye." Rose said.
"Well, she's gone and Adam's given up. Looks like it's just the three of us." The Doctor said.
"Yeah."
"Good."
"Let's go." Kyleigh said.
The Doctor put in the code. The lift doors closed and soon they were on their way up. It wasn't long before the doors opened again and they stepped out. The first thing Kyleigh noticed was ice was covering the walls. It reminded Kyleigh of a cave.
"The walls are not made of gold." The Doctor said.
"Well, I'm disappointed." Kyleigh said.
"You two should go back downstairs."
"I'm not leaving." Rose said.
"Me either." Kyleigh said.
They made their way into another room with different monitors. A man was standing there, waiting for them.
"Satellite Five contains every piece of information within the Four Great and Bountiful Human Empire. Birth certificates, shopping habits, bank statements, but you three…you don't exist. Not a trace. No birth, no job, not the slightest kiss. How can you go through the world and not leave a single footprint?"
Rose spotted Suki and rushed over to her. "Suki! Can you hear me?" Rose looked over at the Editor. "What have you done to her?"
"I think she's dead." The Doctor said.
"But she's working." Kyleigh said.
"They all got chips in their head and the chip keeps them going."
"Oooh. You're full of information." The Editor said. "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 'cause we're off. Nice to meet you. Come on, you two."
The three of them went to head out, but they were stopped by some people grabbing them.
"Tell me who you are."
"Since that information is keeping us alive I'm hardly going to say, am I?"
"Well, perhaps my Editor in Chief can convince you otherwise."
"And who's that?"
The Editor snapped his fingers and pointed up. The three of them looked up and saw a creature.
"What is that?" Rose asked.
"You mean that thing's in charge of Satellite Five?" The Doctor asked.
"That 'thing' as you put it, is in charge of the human race." The Editor said.
The Doctor looked at him in alarm.
"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 humanities guiding light, the mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe."
The jagrafess roared.
"I call him Max."
The Doctor, Rose, and Kyleigh were then restrained.
"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 slaves." Rose said.
"Is a slave really a slave if he doesn't know he's enslaved?"
"Yes." Kyleigh and the Doctor said.
"You have to admit, it is a great system."
"You can't hide something on this scale. Somebody must notice." Rose said.
"From time to time, yes. But the computer system allows me to see inside their brain. I can see the smallest doubt, and crush it. People carry on with their lives like their individuals, which they're not. They're just cattle. In that respect, the Jagrafess hasn't changed a thing."
"What about you?" Rose asked. "You're not a Jagra…uh…"
"Jagrafess." The Doctor helped out.
"Right, Jagrafess. You're human."
"Well, simply being human doesn't pay very well."
"But you couldn't have done this on your own." Kyleigh said.
"I represent a consortium of banks. Money prefers a long-term investment. Also, the Jagrafess needed a little hand to um…install himself."
"What's his life span?" The Doctor asked.
"Three thousand years."
"That's one hell of a metabolism generating all that heat. That's why Satellite Five's so hot. You pump it out of the creature, channel it downstairs. Jagrafess stays cool, stays alive. Satellite Five is one big support system."
The Editor snapped his fingers and an electrical shock went through the Doctor, Rose, and Kyleigh.
"Who are you?" The Editor asked.
"Leave them alone." The Doctor nodded towards Rose and Kyleigh. "I'm the Doctor, she's Rose Tyler, and that's Kyleigh Chase. We're nothing, just wandering."
"Tell me who you are."
"I just said."
Kyleigh would have said something, but she didn't want to get shocked again so she kept her mouth closed.
"Yeah, but who do you work for? Who exactly…"
The Doctor looked at him questioningly. Kyleigh was also looking at him with confusion. Why had he stopped talking?
"Time Lord."
"What?" The Doctor said.
"Oh, yes! The last of the Time Lords in his travelling machine and with his two little human girls from long ago."
"You don't know what you're talking about."
"Time travel."
How does he know this? Kyleigh wondered.
"Someone is telling you lies." The Doctor said.
"Young master Adam Michell?" The Editor said. He snapped his fingers and a projection of Adam, withering in pain and shouting, the compressed information flowing into him.
"Oh, my God, his head." Rose said.
"They're reading his mind. He's telling them everything." The Doctor said.
"And through him I know everything about you. Every piece of information in his head is now mine. And your infinite knowledge, Doctor. The Human Empire is tiny compared to what you've seen in your TARDIS."
"You'll never get your hands on it. I'll die first."
"Die all you like. I've got the key."
The TARDIS key started to float from Adam's pocket, dangling in front of his face.
The Doctor looked at Rose. "You and your boyfriends."
"We can rewrite history." The Editor said.
"And no one's gonna stop you because you've bred a human race that doesn't 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."
An alarm started going off.
"What's happening?" The Editor asked. "Someone's disengaged the safety." He clicked his fingers and the projection showed Cathica, the compressed information flowing into her brain.
"It's Cathica." Rose said.
"And she's thinking." The Doctor said. "Everything I told her about Satellite Five, the pipes, the filters, she's reversing it."
The icicles began to melt.
"Terminate her access." The Editor said.
The screens exploded with sparks and the drones fall lifeless to the floor. Rose's manacles come undone. The Editor tries to get the corpses to sit upright.
"The Jagrafess needs to stay cool and now it's sitting on top of a volcano." The Doctor said.
The Jagrafess roared.
Rose fumbled in the Doctor's jacket for the sonic screwdriver. She found it and took it out. "What do I do?" Rose asked.
"Flick the switch." The Doctor said.
Rose does so and the sonic screwdriver buzzes as she freed the Doctor and Kyleigh. Once Kyleigh was free she rubbed her wrists.
"Oi, mate, wanna ban on a certainty? Massive heat in a massive body. Massive bang." The Doctor said to the Editor. "See you in the headlines."
The Doctor, Rose, and Kyleigh then run from the room. They enter the room where Cathica was with the information still streaming into her. The Doctor clicked his fingers and the door in Cathica's head closed. She looked up at the Doctor who smiled at her.
Together, they all head back down to floor 139. Everyone was recovering from what had just happened.
"We're just gonna go. I hate tidying up." The Doctor said.
"You'll have to stay and explain. No one is going to believe me." Cathica said.
"They might start believing a lot of things now. The human race should accelerate. All back to normal."
Cathica eyed Adam who was loitering near the TARDIS. "What about your friend?"
"He's not my friend." The Doctor then marched over to Adam.
"I'm all right now. I've got the key." Adam said as he held it up. "Well, it…it all worked out for the best, didn't it?" He laughed nervously.
The Doctor took the key from him, unlocked the TARDIS, and pushed Adam inside.
"You know it's not actually my fault because you were in charge."
"Don't blame him for your stupid actions." Kyleigh said. "He doesn't control you."
They all piled into the TARDIS.
Nothing was said as the Doctor piloted the TARDIS. Soon, the TARDIS landed. The Doctor steered Adam outside; Rose and Kyleigh followed.
"It's my house. I'm home." Adam said.
"Is there something else you want to tell me?" The Doctor asked.
"What do you mean?"
The Doctor walked over to the telephone and picked it up. "The archive of Satellite Five. One second of that message could've changed the world."
The Doctor put down the phone, took out his sonic screwdriver, pointed it to the telephone and blew it up.
"That's that, then. See ya." The Doctor walked back to the TARDIS.
"You can't just go. My head opens up." Adam said.
"Well, you're the one stupid enough to do that." Kyleigh said.
"Like this?" The Doctor said as he snapped his fingers, opening the door on Adam's forehead.
"Don't." Adam said angrily as he snapped his fingers to close it.
"Don't do what?" The Doctor snapped his fingers again; Kyleigh had to suppress a laugh.
Adam snapped his fingers. "Stop it."
"All right, now, Doctor. That's enough." Rose said.
"Thank you."
Rose snapped her fingers making Kyleigh let out the laugh she was holding back.
"Sorry, I couldn't resist."
Adam snapped his fingers to close it again.
"The whole of history could have changed because of you." The Doctor said.
"I'm sorry. I really am, but you can't just leave me like this."
"Yes, I can. 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, unseen. Good luck."
"But I want to come with you."
"I only take the best. I've got Rose and Kyleigh."
Kyleigh smiled at the mention of that.
The Doctor and Kyleigh headed back inside the TARDIS while Rose lingered with Adam for a little bit. She then walked inside and the Doctor took off.
"Did you really mean that?" Kyleigh asked the Doctor.
The Doctor looked up at her. "Mean what?"
"That you only take the best."
"Of course I did."
"So does that mean that I am no longer a guest?"
The Doctor glanced over at Rose. "What do you think?"
Rose pretended think about it. "Well, she has been helpful."
"Yes, she has." The Doctor turned his attention back over to Kyleigh. "I suppose if you want to stick around for a while longer."
"Of course I want to stick around. This is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I don't want to go home just yet."
"Well then, Kyleigh Chase, welcome on board the TARDIS." The Doctor beamed at her.
Kyleigh smiled. "Thank you. Does that mean I get a key now?"
"You just want everything, don't you?"
Kyleigh shrugged.
The Doctor reached in his pocket and pulled out a key he held it out to Kyleigh. Kyleigh took it with a big grin on her face.
"Yah, my very own TARDIS key!"
"It doesn't take much to get her excited."
Rose just smiled.
Muirgen79: Daleks are definitely creepy. I'm sure I would be having nightmares if I ever met one.