Chapter Sixteen. CAL Revealed/New Plans

Everyone was in the computer area of the mainframe as they were alarmed by hearing a voice, "Help me. Please help me."

"What's that?" Nyssa asked, "is that a child?"

"The computer's in sleep mode." Ten announced.

"We need to wake it up." Five added.

"I'm trying." Ten told his past self.

"Doctor, these readings..." River told the two Doctors.

"I know. You'd think it was..." Five started.

"Dreaming." Ten finished the sentence.

"It's dreaming," Lux revealed as he prepared to pull a lever nearby, "of a normal life, and a lovely Dad, and of every book ever written."

"Computers don't dream." Anita chimed in.

"Help me. Please help me."

"No, but little girls do." Lux replied before pulling the lever.

Then, everyone hurried to the node in the room, revealing a little girl's face, "Please help me. Please help me."

"Oh my God." River gasped.

"It's the little girl." Nyssa stated.

"The little girl we saw on the computer." Rose added.

"She's not in the computer," Lux revealed, "In a way, she is the computer. The main command node. This is CAL."

"CAL is a child!" Five exclaimed.

"A child hooked on the mainframe!" Ten added, "Why didn't you tell us this?!"

"We needed to know this!" Five told Lux.

"Because she's family!" Lux answered before explaining about her, "CAL. Charlotte Abigail Lux. My grandfather's youngest child. She was dying, so we built her a library and put her living mind inside. The moon to watch over her, and all of human history to pass the time. Any era to live in, any book to read. She loved books more than anything, and he gave her them all. He asked that she be left in peace. A secret. Not a freak show."

"So you weren't protecting a patent," Five realized, "you were protecting her."

Lux stepped forward to the node and touched its face, "Hers was only half a life of course, but it's forever."

"And then the shadows came." Ten stated.

"The shadows." the Node spoke, "I have to...I have to save...have to save..."

"And she saved them." Five glanced at Ten, "She saved everyone in the library. Folded them into her dreams and kept them safe."

"Why didn't she tell us?" Anita asked.

"Because she's forgotten." Ten answered, "She's got over four thousand living minds chatting away inside her head. It must be like being, well..."

"Me!" Five and Ten said at the same time.

"Doctor?" Nyssa's curiosity piqued in at what they were planning to do.

"What do we do?" Rose asked.

"Auto destruct in ten minutes."

"Easy." Ten chimed in as Five followed him.

-Doctor-Who-

Adric looked over at Charlotte as they were making the final preparations of their plan.

"Adric," Charlotte asked, "is everything almost ready?"

"Almost," Adric answered, "did you delete everything that was made up?"

The little one nodded, "Now the people are getting scared. It is hard to separate them. The one that came with you with the red hair is one of them."

"Donna." Adric acknowledged that statement, "Do what you need to do. Just remember, you are not going to be alone this time. Those who didn't come with their bodies will be with you. Calculations are almost set."

-Doctor-Who-

Both Doctors made a run for it as they were setting their plans in motion, no time for anyone to argue. Not even Rose or Nyssa.

"We'll beam the people out of the data core," Five stated, "the computer will reset, stop the countdown."

"Difficult." Ten stated as he was the Doctor closest to the main computer, "Charlotte doesn't have enough memory space left to make the transfer."

"Easy," Five opened a nearby hatch and pulled some wires, "One of us, the Doctor will hook ourselves up to the computer. She can borrow my memory space. The question is, which Doctor shall it be?"

"What?!" Nyssa exclaimed.

"Doctor!" Rose added, "You can't be serious."

"Difficult!" River objected, "it'll kill both of you stone dead."

"Easy to criticize." Ten replied, "while my past self and I have the same brain capacity, I will be the one who does this since it will kill my future including me, if Five does."

"So you say." Five chided, "and I was about to nominate myself. Are we really gonna argue about this?"

"Only if you let me do this, we will."

Begrudgingly, Five nodded in agreement, "You win. You go for it."

"It'll burn out both your hearts," River told the two Doctors, "and don't think you'll regenerate!"

"I'll try my hardest not to die." Ten told her, "Honestly, it's the main thing."

"Doctor..." River started to say.

"I'm right." Ten stated, "This will work. Shut up!"

"Okay listen," Five told the group, "here's the plan. River, you and Lux go back up to the main library. Prime any data you can find for maximum download. Nyssa, you and Rose stay with me in case something goes wrong with my future self's plan."

"And before you say anything else," Ten told River, "can I just mention in passing, as you're here, shut up!"

River fumed in response, "Men! I hate you sometimes!"

"I believe that." Ten replied.

"Mr. Lux, with me." River told her crew, "Anita, if he or his past self dies, I'll kill them both!"

With that, River and Lux left, leaving Anita with the two Doctors, Rose and Nyssa.