EPILOGUE ONE
Leaning back into his armchair, after explaining to Jamie and Zoe what he had discovered about the Vault of Memories, and what it really contained - the Doctor braced himself for their response. It wasn't long in coming. But he was surprised that only Jamie seemed upset, at least initially.
"But why did we leave them?' demanded the young Scot, vehemently, 'we should have stayed to help, Doctor!"
He would have said more, but Zoe laid a restraining hand on his arm, with a quiet request. "Please, Jamie, I need to ask the Doctor something…"
"But we have to go back, Zoe!"
"Please, Jamie…"
Despite his agitation, the Highlander was unable to refuse his friend, and he visibly calmed himself down. Taking this opportunity, Zoe turned to look up at the Doctor. "It was 'Humanity's Hope', wasn't it, Doctor?" Her voice held a bleak emptiness that chilled the Doctor to the core.
He blinked, taken aback by Zoe's perspicacity. "Er… Yes, Zoe. However did you guess that, my dear?"
"It wasn't a guess, Doctor,' Zoe replied, sounding very sad.
'I was never very much good at history, it just didn't interest me that much. But I remember the three sleeper ships that were launched from near-Earth orbit over the turn of the century. The first was 'Mankind's Dream', in 1996, then 'The Peoples Optimism for a Glorious Future', in 2001. The last to be sent out was 'Humanity's Hope'. She was the last great spaceship to leave Earth before the development of the Space Drive. There were over 500 people aboard her."
The Doctor watched as Zoe began finger-tracing patterns on the floor, seemingly lost in thought. "Ah, well, I see…"
Zoe cut him off sharply, for the first time allowing the Doctor to see just how truly angry she was. "I'm not finished yet, Doctor! When I absorb information… I never forget it! I had to be aware of those ships, because it was one of my monitoring duties aboard the Wheel. Earth Central had extensive records… The sleeper program was mothballed when the Space Drive was developed, but as soon as they could be built, surveillance drones were launched - to locate and observe those that had already set out.
'Dream' and 'Optimism' were found before I was born, but 'Hope' had apparently been lost. When I was assigned to Station W3, the search was still ongoing. One of my duties was to record any reports from the drone that was searching for her, so I made sure that I knew as much as I could. But I never received any reports from the drone-ship, anyway."
The Doctor shifted uncomfortably in his chair, as she fixed an accusatory glare on him. "Ah… Yes… I see. Um… well at least now you know why, Zoe! I mean, mystery solved and all that!" This was a far more personal response to his revelation than he'd been expecting. It didn't make the prospect of justifying his decision any less daunting - if anything, much more so - he just hoped that he could make them both understand his reasons.
When he had passed the attention over to Null, the Doctor had made a rather undignified descent from the pilots' seat - fortunately, Jamie had been there to help him down. Gripping the brawny young man by the arm, the Doctor had then rushed back into the Tardis. Before Jamie had time to question his actions, the Doctor had quickly confirmed that all of the information had been transferred to Null's data chip, and purged from the Tardis' computer banks. As a (rather lame, he had to admit) excuse, the Doctor had then got his friend to hold up the chip, whilst he disconnected all the leads. (Except the one connected to Null's wrist-comp, of course.)
After swiping the Oortelian storage crystal off the console, the Doctor had snatched the chip from a bewildered young Scot, and dashed outside again. Placing the chip by the giant spaceman's wrist, he tossed the crystal to Palasar - then he grabbed hold of a rather startled Zoe, dragging her back into the Tardis and slamming the door. Even as she and Jamie started to protest, the Doctor had dashed over to the console and activated the dematerialisation circuit. "Just do you best, old girl!" he had said encouragingly, before turning back to face the music. Taking a seat once more in the armchair - that he had just decided was his favourite - the Doctor had suggested that his companions might also want to take a pew… While he - explained…
Eventually, as he unraveled the unbelievable story, Zoe and Jamie had sat down on the floor before him.
Now they were looking at him like children who didn't like the story they had just been told, because it didn't have a happy ending. (Or any kind of ending, come to that!) He sighed and leaned forward, so that his arms were resting on his knees, clasped hands wagging for emphasis. "What you both have to understand,' he sighed slowly, 'is that we had no say in whatever is going to happen between Null and the Oortelians."
"But I thought that was what you did!' Zoe objected, 'help people!"
"Well, yes, Zoe,' the Doctor agreed quietly, 'in the normal run of things… I do try my very best! But only when there is a clear and definable threat to counter - like when the Cybermen attacked your space station, or… I showed you the Daleks with the thought-scanner, Zoe, remember? You still wanted to travel with us. But there have been so many other evils to face! Jamie will tell you."
"Aye, Zoe!' Jamie agreed enthusiastically, shifting around on his rump to face her, 'it's no' just Daleks and Cybermen, not by a long shot! When I first met the Doctor we had tae deal wi' the Sassenach Redcoats…"
The Doctor hurriedly interrupted, clearing his throat forcefully. "That's not quite the kind of example I had in mind, Jamie. The English were not irredeemably evil, even in your time!"
Jamie shot the Doctor a look that clearly stated that he might have a thing or two to say about that! But then he shrugged it away, and turned to face Zoe once again. "Well, mebbe they're no' as bad as the Daleks… But Zoe! One time we landed on a planet where these great big crab things, the Macra, were trying to take over! They were trying to gas everybody! Then there was the Great Intelligence with its robot Yeti - Abominal Snowmen, ye ken? We had a fair nasty time, with that thing trying to take over the whole world! And if you think that's bad - what about the Ice Warriors! Men from Mars! They were green, right enough, but they were no' so little! Great hulking beasties they were, in armour!'
Jamie was pleased to see Zoe's eyes growing wider and wider as he spoke, so didn't notice the Doctor wincing. 'Och, there were a couple of your run 'o' the mill Sassenachs, to be sure. One evil wizard tried to turn Polly into a fish! Can ye cried it? And another time, there was this power mad dictator who looked exactly like…"
"Yes, well, that's quite enough for now, Jamie. I think that Zoe gets the picture."
"But… ah havnae told her about the seaweed monster yet, Doctor!"
Zoe, who was goggle-eyed by now, suddenly frowned, and exclaimed in angry exasperation. "But surely that's the whole point! Isn't it? Everywhere you go, you help to put things right! How could you leave all those people on Humanity's Hope behind like that?"
"No, Zoe,' the Doctor countered, trying for his most reasonable tone, 'the point is that in all of those situations… There was actually something that needed to be 'put right.' In this particular case, there is no enemy to be defeated. There is no wrong to be addressed, no evil menace to be thwarted. It isn't any of our business, don't you see?"
"But what about the people in that vault thing? On Null's ship? I agree with Zoe!" Jamie almost shouted.
"Whatever happens to them, if they are still alive, and if they can - or even should - be 'revived' or whatever… that is not our decision to make! They shouldn't even be here… Or there… Their very existence is practically a statistical impossibility!"
"But they're human beings!" Zoe shouted, frustrated almost to the verge of tears.
The Doctor lowered his face into hands and stayed in that position for some time, and when he looked up again his face was a picture of pain and remorse. "I know, Zoe. I am very much aware of that.' He sighed deeply. 'I thought that you, at least, would have some idea of the timespan we were looking at…"
"Hey! What do you mean by that, Doctor?" Jamie asked indignantly.
"Oh! I'm sorry, Jamie! That was thoughtless of me. Let me try to approach this from a different perspective…' Leaning back into his armchair again, the Doctor tented his fingers before his chin ruminatively, then began. 'The catastrophe we encountered, that evidently brought us to Null's ship, delivered us much further than I have ever travelled, both in time and distance. Whatever circumstance that caused the people aboard Humanity's Hope to end up where they did… That must have been an equally incomprehensible journey. Remember… those that Null referred to as his 'progenitors' had already drifted very far from baseline humanity.
'Nothing lasts forever, my friends. Races… Civilisations… Countries, Kingdoms, Empires - even Galactic Empires. They all pass away. Even Confederations of thousands of civilised worlds have succumbed to the predations of time, and they were the fortunate ones! What chance does a species have, if its entire genepool is confined to a single planet? I'm talking about deep time here, of course - a few hundred million years is the blink of an eye in comparison. But… I think that I must be brutal here, so I'm sorry if this upsets you…
'When we stepped out onto the flight deck of Null's ship, the Universe outside it was very, very old. The Oortelians had explored far, but found no other sentient lifeforms… or none that they recognised as such, at least. I have no doubt that there are others for them to encounter eventually, but in their Universe… The Daleks are no more, the Cybermen are long gone - Ice Warriors aren't even a distant memory… And if there are any remnants of humanity still clinging on to existence, they will have evolved beyond all recognition. In the Oortelians universe - human beings no longer exist, I'm afraid."
Jamie waited for Zoe to say something, but she remained silent. "But surely, Doctor, that's exactly why we should have stayed to help revive those people… to give us humans another chance, eh?" He asked cautiously.
"No!' The Doctor shouted, his voice cracking with anguish as he pounded one fist against an arm of his chair. 'That's exactly why we should not interfere! Whatever decisions are made back on that ship, they are not ours to make! More importantly, it wasn't my decision to make… Can't you see that? As much as I like humans, you know that I am not human, Jamie! Neither am I a God! I simply do not have the right to tamper with the flow of history at such a fundamental level…"
He lowered his head, as if ashamed by this admission.
At a loss for words to express his mixed emotions, Jamie was startled when Zoe leapt to her feet and ran from the control room. His instinctive reaction was to follow her, to check that she was alright, but the Doctor laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. "No, Jamie, leave her be,' he murmured quietly. Gazing sadly after his newest travelling companion, he added. 'I didn't handle this very well, did I?" Jamie didn't think the Doctor was actually asking him, so didn't reply.
Standing slowly from his armchair, the Doctor kept his hand on Jamie's shoulder, almost as if he needed something to lean on. The little man looked much older, somehow, as he shuffled across to the console and began checking various doodads and geegaws. "Well, there is no going back now, anyway, Jamie.' He said. 'I just hope that the Tardis doesn't have too much trouble getting to know the Vortex again." The shaken Highlander boosted himself to his feet, surprised at just how wobbly his legs were.
As he joined the Doctor at the console, his strange friend looked up at him pensively.
"Tell me, Jamie, have you ever heard of the dinosaurs?"
"No, Doctor, ah cannae say I have."
The Doctor's eyes drifted away. He just stared, as if hypnotized, at the steady motion of the time rotor.
Then he looked down at the console and sighed, "A story for another day, perhaps…"