The Trip of a Lifetime
The Long Game
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The TARDIS materialised in a large, brightly-lit room, full of TV screens broadcasting news channels. The Doctor and Rose stepped out of the box first ."So, it's 200,000." the Doctor told Rose, "It's a spaceship... no, wait a minute, space station, and uh... go an' try that gate over there." He pointed to a gate in the corner of the room. "Off yer go."
"200,000?" Rose clarified
"200,000." the Time Lord confirmed
"'Kay." Rose nodded and knocked on the TARDIS door, "Adam? Out ya come."
Adam stepped out, followed by Gazelle, who had been checking the scanner to see if they'd arrived in the right place. As the Doctor had chosen the destination for Rose's first trip, the they'd agreed that Gazelle would choose for Adam's.
Adam's mouth dropped open when he saw their surroundings. "Oh, my God!" he breathed in awe.
"Don't worry, you'll get used to it." Rose said casually
"Where are we?" Adam asked
"Good question." Rose said knowledgably, "Let's see. So, um... judgin' by the architecture, I'd say we're in the year 200,000. If ya listen... engines. We're on some sort of space station. Yeah, definitely a space station. It's a bit warm in 'ere, they could turn the 'eatin' down..." she commented, "Tell ya what, let's try that gate. Come on!" She led the way to the gate the Doctor had indicated earlier, an awestruck Adam following her and the Time Lords bringing up the rear. The quartet found themselves on an observation deck that gave a grandstand view of Planet Earth down below. "Here we go!" Rose said, "An' this is..." She paused as she looked down upon the Earth. Adam had to hold onto the railings for support as he joined her by her side. "I'll let the Doctor describe it." Rose finished, feeling a bit awestruck herself.
"Actually, I think Gazelle should do the honours." the Doctor replied, and gestured for the Time Lady to begin.
"Welcome to the Fourth Great & Bountiful Human Empire." Gazelle told Adam, "And there it is, Planet Earth in it's prime. Covered in mega-cities, and featuring five moons and a surface population of 96 billion. This is the heart of a galactic domain which stretches across a million planets and encompasses a million species, with Humanity right in the middle."
Adam promptly fainted with a girlish sigh. Gazelle managed to catch him before he hit the floor, while the Doctor and Rose didn't even bother to turn around. "He's your boyfriend." the Doctor commented dryly.
"Not anymore." Rose shrugged.
~8~
When Adam came to, the quartet returned to the room they'd landed in. "Come on, Adam, open yer mind." the Doctor said cheerfully, "Yer gonna like this fantastic period of 'istory. The Human race at it's most intelligence: culture, art, politics. This era has good fine food, good manners..."
"Outta the way!" a man said rudely as he barged past the Doctor and the floor suddenly sprang to life around them. Food stalls were set up and people bustled past the four time travellers to queue up with much chatter.
"One at a time." a dishevelled chef ordered his customers then started taking orders as the place became very busy. The Time Lords could only look on in bemusement. "Oi, you mate!" the chef called to a spiky-haired man, "Stop pushing! Get back, I said, back!"
Rose took a moment to examine the food being offered. "Fine cuisine?" she grimaced
"My watch must be wrong." a wrong-footed Doctor muttered and checked his watch, "No, it's fine. What about yours?" he asked Gazelle, who checked her watch too.
"Working fine." she replied, "My history must be wrong."
"No, you were spot on." the Doctor told her. He knew Human history like the back of his hand and he knew that Gazelle was right about 200,000 being the time of the Fourth Great & Bountiful Human Empire, so there was something wrong with this place.
"They're all Human." Adam commented, looking at the people milling about, "What about the millions of planets? The millions of species? Where are they?"
"Good question." Gazelle frowned, "Very good question."
The Doctor nodded his agreement then jovially put his arm around Adam's shoulder; "Adam, me ol' mate, you must be starving."
"No, I'm just a bit time sick." Adam groaned
"Nah, yer just need a bit of grub." the Doctor said, and turned to the chef. "Oi, mate, how much is a kronk burger?"
"Two credits twenty, sweetheart." the chef answered, "Now join the queue."
"Money. We need money." the Doctor decided, "Let's use a cash point." He went over to a cash point on the wall and flashed his sonic screwdriver at it. A thin metal strip fell out of the machine and the Doctor picked it up. "There yer go, pocket money." he said, handing it to Adam, "Don't spend it all on sweets."
"How does it work?" Adam asked, looking at the metal strip bemusedly.
"Go an' find out! Stop nagging me!" an exasperated Doctor replied, "Thing is, Adam, time travel's like visiting Paris. Yer can't just read the guide book. You've gotta throw yerself in. Eat the food, use the wrong verbs, get charged double and end up kissing complete strangers. Or is that just me?" he shrugged, then shooed Adam away. "Stop asking questions, go on, do it!" Adam turned and walked into the crowd. Rose made to follow him. "Off yer go." the Doctor said to her, "Yer first date."
"You're gonna get a smack, you are." Rose scoffed and went off after Adam.
The Time Lords watched their friend go, then their expressions turned serious. "So, if the date's right and our history's right, then maybe it's this place that's wrong." Gazelle mused.
"I think it is." the Doctor replied thoughtfully, "Fancy doing a bit of sleuthing, Miss Marple?"
"Why not, Monsieur Poirot?" Gazelle replied with spirit.
Just then, they noticed two women walking past them chatting. One was a black woman in a smart suit, while the other was Caucasian and wearing a flowery blouse. "Erm... this is gonna sound daft." the Doctor said to them, "But can yer tell us where we are?"
"Floor 139." the black woman replied dryly, pointing to a huge sign on the wall. "Could they write it any bigger?"
"Floor 139 of what?" Gazelle asked
"Must've been a hell of a party." the black woman remarked
"Oh, you're on Satellite Five." the Caucasian woman said
"What's Satellite Five?" the Doctor questioned
"Come on, how could you get onboard without knowing where you are?" the black woman scoffed
"Hang on, wait a minute, are you two a test?" the Caucasian woman asked, looking between the two Time Lords, "Some sort of management test thing?"
"You got us." Gazelle said, producing a wallet of psychic paper and showing it to the two women, "Very clever of you."
"We were warned about this in basic training." the Caucasian women said to her partner, "All workers have to be versed in company promotion."
"Right..." the black woman said, turning to the Time Lords, "Fire away, ask your questions. If it gets me to floor 500, I'll do anything."
"Why, what 'appens on floor 500?" the Doctor asked
"The walls are made of gold." the black woman replied, sounding as if it was obvious, "And you two should know, Mr & Mrs Management. So, this is what we do..." She led them to the wall-mounted screens. "Latest news, sandstorms on the New Venus archipelago, 200 dead. Glasgow water riots in their third day, spacelane 37 closed by sunspot activity. And over on the Bad Wolf channel, the Face of Boe has just announced he's pregnant."
"I get it. You broadcast the news." the Doctor nodded
"We are the news." the black woman replied proudly, "We're the journalists. We write it, package it and sell it."
Little did they know that a camera was watching them from above.
~8~
Meanwhile, Adam was sitting at a table when Rose came over, offering him a paper cup. "Try this." she encouraged, "It's called 'Zaphic'. It's nice. It's like, um, a slush puppy."
"What flavour?" Adam asked
Rose took another sip. "Um, sort of beef." she answered
"Oh, my God." Adam shook his head, culture shock setting in. "It's like everything's gone. Home, family, everything."
Rose looked at him concernedly then took her phone out of her pocket. "This 'elps." she told Adam, "The Doctor gave it a bit of a top-up. Who's back 'ome, ya mom an' dad?"
"Yeah."
Rose offered him the phone; "Phone 'em up."
"But that's 198,000 years ago." Adam protested
"Honestly, try it. Go on." Rose encouraged
Adam took the phone. "Is there a code for Planet Earth?"
"Just dial."
Adam did so and soon heard his mother's voice on an answering machine; "Please leave a message. Bye!"
"It's on!" Adam stared, then heard the tone. "Hi. It's.. it's me." he began, "I've sort of gone... travelling. I met these people... and we've gone travelling together. But, um... I'm fine... and I'll call you later. Love you. Bye." He hung up gleefully. "That is just..." He was cut off by an alarm sounding and everyone in the canteen began to leave, but the two time travellers stayed where they were, unsure what to do.
As the crowd thinned, they saw the Time Lords talking to their new friends. "Rose, Adam, over here." Gazelle called to them.
Rose immediately got up and joined them. Adam paused for a moment, holding Rose's phone. Then he seemed to come to a decision and pocketed the phone and went off to join the others.
~8~
The two women led the time travellers to a white-walled room with a chair in the middle of a raised octagonal platform with hand-pads around the perimeter. The Caucasian women sat cross-legged at one of these, while several other people did the same at the others. The Doctor, Gazelle, Rose and Adam stood leaning against some railings at the side of the room, while the black woman stood in the middle of the octagonal platform. "Now. Everybody behave." she addressed the room, "We have a management inspection." She turned to the Time Lords. "How do you two want it? By the book?"
"Oh, right from scratch, thanks." the Doctor replied
The woman turned back to her colleagues. "Ok, so, ladies, gentlemen, multisex, undecided or robot, my name is Cathica Santini Khadeni. 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 any questions. The process of news gathering must be open, honest and be unbiased. That's company policy."
"Actually, it's the law." the Caucasian woman butted in
"Yes, thank you, Suki." Cathica huffed, annoyed at the interruption, "Ok, keep it calm... don't show off for the guests... here we go." She lay down in the chair. "And engage safety..."
The staff held their hands out over the pads in front of them, each of the wall panels lighting up as they did so. Cathica clicked her fingers and a door in her forehead opened, revealing her brain. The Doctor looked mildly disgusted at this, while Gazelle cringed and the two Humans looked alarmed. The staff placed their hands on the pads and bowed their heads, going into some sort of meditative trance.
"And 3... 2... and spike." Cathica said, and a blue light spiked down from the device above her chair and into her brain, flowing through her.
"Compressed information, streaming into her." the Doctor observed, "Reports from every city, every country, every planet, and they all get packaged inside her head. She becomes part of the computer. She is the computer."
"If it all goes through 'er, she must be a genius." Rose commented
Gazelle shook her head. "No Human brain would be able to take all that knowledge." she said, "Her mind would burn, so as soon as she closes the spike, she forgets it all. Her brain's like a computer processor."
"So, what about these people around the edge?" Rose asked, circling the platform.
"They've all got tiny little chips in their heads, connecting them to her." the Doctor explained, walking around the other side of the platform, watching them closely, "And they transmit 600 channels. Every single fact in the Empire beams out of this place." He finished his circuit of the room and leaned against the railing again next to Gazelle. "Now that's what I call power."
None of them noticed a camera overhead, focussing on each of the staff, then on the time travellers.
"You alright?" Rose asked Adam as she re-joined them by the railings.
"I can see her brain." Adam breathed
"D'ya wanna get out?" Rose offered
"No... no." Adam replied hastily, "This technology, it's... it's amazing."
"This technology's wrong." Gazelle said grimly
The two Humans looked at her. "Trouble?" Rose asked
"Looks like it." the Time Lady replied
Just then, there was shuddering sound and Suki twitched. A moment later, she gasped and lifted her hands off the pads as if she'd received an electric shock. The other members of staff were forced to lift their hands too and the wall lights turned off, while the compressed information stopped streaming into Cathica's brain and the door in her forehead closed.
"Come off it, Suki, I wasn't even halfway!" Cathica grumbled, "What was that for?"
"Sorry, must've been a glitch." Suki mumbled sheepishly, rubbing her hands.
Just then, a loudspeaker sounded over the room and a projection sprang to life; "Promotion."
"This is it." Cathica prayed to herself, "Come on, God, make it me. Come on, say my name. Say my name, say my name..."
Her hopes were dashed when the projection spoke; "Promotion for... Suki Macrae Cantrell." The words flashed on screen. Suki's mouth dropped open while Cathica looked gutted. "Proceed to floor 500."
Suki stood up and and stared at the projection as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing. "I don't believe it... floor 500."
"How the hell did you manage that?" Cathica demanded, "I'm above you!"
"I don't know, I just applied on the off-chance... and they've said yes!"
"That's so not fair!" Cathica sulked, "I've been applying to floor 500 for three years!"
"What's floor 500?" Rose asked the Time Lords
"The walls are made of gold apparently." Gazelle replied, a concerned frown on her face. It seemed suspicious that Suki glitched, then got a promotion immediately afterwards.
~8~
Suki was soon packed and ready to head upstairs. The Doctor, Gazelle, Rose and Cathica were stood by the lift to say goodbye to her. "Cathica, I'm gonna miss you." Suki said, "Floor 500..." She turned to the Time Lords. "Thank you!"
"We didn't do anything." the Doctor told her
"Well, you two are my lucky charms!" Suki replied with a giggle
"Alright, I'll hug anyone." the Doctor shrugged and did just that.
Gazelle followed suit. "Be careful, Suki." she told her quietly, a bad feeling growing in the pit of her stomach.
Rose went over to Adam, who was sitting a short distance away, looking lost. "Come on, it's not that bad." Rose encouraged him.
"What, with the... the head thing?" he scoffed
"Yeah, well, she's closed it now!"
"Yeah, but... it's everything. It freaks me out." Adam whined, "And I need to... If I could just... cool down. Sort of, acclimatise."
"How d'ya mean?"
"Maybe... I could just go and sit on the observation deck?" Adam suggested, "Would that be alright? Soak it in, ya know. Pretend I'm a citizen of 200,000."
"D'ya want me to come wiv ya?" Rose offered
"No, no, you stick with the Doctor and Gazelle." Adam told her, "You'd rather be with them, anyway. It's gonna take a better man than me to get between you and them. Anyway, I'll be on deck."
He got to his feet while Rose fumbled in her pocket. "Here ya go... take the TARDIS key. Ya know, in case it gets a bit too much."
"Yeah, like it's not weird in there." Adam retorted, but he took the key anyway and Rose went back to her friends, not noticing the devious smirk on Adam's face as he walked away.
"Oh, my God, I've got to go, I can't keep them waiting. I'm sorry!" Suki fussed, grabbing her bag and stepping into the lift, "Say goodbye to Steve for me! Bye!" she called as the doors closed.
Cathica looked away sourly. "Good riddance." she muttered bitterly.
"Yer talking like you'll never see her again." the Doctor remarked, "She's only going upstairs."
"We won't." Cathica replied, "Once you go to floor 500, you never come back."
The Time Lords shared a look at this, their suspicions growing. "Have you ever been up there?" Gazelle asked.
"No. You need a key for the lift, and you only get a key with promotion." Cathica replied, "No one gets to floor 500 except for the chosen few."
~8~
The lift arrived at floor 500 and Suki stepped out. As it turned out, the walls were not made of gold. Rather, they were coated in frost and snow. Suki grabbed her bag and cautiously began to explore the deserted corridor.
Pushing aside some industrial curtains, she found herself in a spike room, similar to the one she worked in on floor 139. She shone a torch around and jumped out of her skin when she saw a decomposing skeleton slumped in the info-spike chair, along with several other skeletons sitting round the edge of the platform, their bony hands pressed onto the pads. Suki backed out of the room and saw a shaft of light shining across the floor. Having no other indication of where to go, Suki headed towards the light.
Suki soon found herself in an office area, where several people were sat at computer screens, all looking frostily pale and sitting unsettlingly still. Also in the room was a pale man in a suit, who did look to be alive. The man gave her a cheeky wave and she walked over to him. "Who're you?" she asked
"I'm the Editor." he replied
"What's happening? There're... there's bodies out there." Suki blustered, "What's going on?"
"Well, while we're asking questions, would you please confirm your name." the Editor said and snapped his fingers.
A projection of Suki appeared between them, taken from when she'd applied for her job. "My name is Suki Macrae Cantrell. I was born 1-9-9' 8-9 in the Independent Republic of Morocco."
"Liar." the Editor said simply, causing Suki to look at him with something like defiance in her eyes.
"My hobbies include reading and archaeology." the recording continued, "I'm not an expert or anything, I just enjoy digging."
"Liar!" the Editor repeated. He snapped his fingers and the recording fast-forwarded to another point.
"I want to work for Satellite Five because my sister can't afford university. And the pay scheme is really good..."
"Liar!" the Editor shouted. Suki just looked at him defiantly. "Let's look at the facts, shall we?" the Editor said, and snapped his fingers again. The projection changed to show Suki dressed in combat fatigues, firing an assault rifle and shouting orders. "Ah, hidden behind a genetic draft, but that's still you. Eva San Julienne. Last surviving member of the Freedom Fifteen. Hmm, self-declared anarchist, is that right?"
Suki, or rather Eva, suddenly raised a gun on the Editor. "Who controls Satellite Five?" she demanded, her voice now harsh and cold.
Looking shocked, the Editor slowly raised his hands in the air, then he burst out laughing and lowered them. "There's the truth!" he chortled
"The Freedom Fifteen has been monitoring Satellite Five's transmissions." an unfazed Eva said, "We have absolute proof that the facts are being manipulated. You are lying to the people."
"Ohh, I love it. Say it again." the Editor sniggered
"This whole system is corrupt." Eva stated, readying her gun, "Who do you represent?"
"I'm merely a humble slave." the Editor answered nonchalantly, "I answer to the Editor-in-chief."
"Well, who is he? Where is he?"
"He's overseeing everything. Literally everything." the Editor replied, causing Eva to narrow her eyes at him. "If you don't mind, I'm going to have to refer this upstairs." He snapped his fingers and pointed to the ceiling.
A roaring sound came from above and Eva immediately pointed her gun at the ceiling. "What is that?" she blustered, sounding scared.
"Your boss." the Editor answered casually, "This has always been your boss. Since the day you were born.
Eva fired ineffectually at something on the ceiling, which bared down on her, causing her to scream.
~8~
Meanwhile, Adam had arrived on the observation deck on floor 139. He looked over the Earth for a few seconds, then turned to a computer behind him and placed his hand on the hand pad. "Give me access." he said cautiously. The computer screen sprang to life. Adam snatched his hand away and paused. "I can learn anything." he realised. He looked round to make sure that no one was watching then placed his hand back on the computer. "Let's try... uh, computers. From the 21st century to the present date, give me the history of the microprocessor." The computer started to stream the information on screen. Adam was amazed. "Oh, my God." he breathed, getting an idea.
~8~
Meanwhile, Cathica returned to the spike room, followed by the Doctor, Gazelle and Rose, the Time Lords continuing to fire questions at Cathica. "Look, they only give us 20 minutes maintenance, can't you two give it a rest?" she moaned
"But you've never been to another floor? Not even one floor down?" the Doctor quizzed, settling himself comfortably in the info-spike chair. Rose leaned on the back of it while Gazelle stood nearby.
"I went to floor 16 when I arrived, that's medical." Cathica explained, "That's when I got my head done, and then I came straight here. Satellite Five, you work, eat and sleep on the same floor. That's it, that's all." She eyed the trio suspiciously. "You guys aren't management, are you?"
"At last! She's clever!" the Doctor scoffed
"Yeah, well, whatever it is, don't involve me. I don't know anything."
"Don't you even ask?" Gazelle frowned
"Well, why would I?" Cathica rolled her eyes
"Because that's what journalists are supposed to do!" Gazelle retorted, "They ask questions. For starters, why's all the crew Human?"
"What's that got to do with anything?"
"There's no aliens on board." the Doctor said, "Why?"
"I don't know." Cathica shrugged, "No real reason. They're not banned or anything."
The Doctor looked around the empty room theatrically. "Then where are they?" he asked
"I suppose immigration's tightened up." Cathica shrugged, "It's had to, what, with all the threats."
"What threats?" Gazelle probed
"I dunno... all of 'em. Usual stuff. And the price of space warp doubled, so that kept the visitors away. Oh, and the government on Chavic Five's collapsed, so that lot stopped coming, you see. Just... lots of little reasons, that's all."
"Adding up to one great big fact and you didn't even notice." the Doctor stated
"Doctor, I think if there was any kind of conspiracy, Satellite Five would've seen it." Cathica scoffed, "We see everything."
"Not if Satellite Five was the source of the conspiracy." Gazelle countered, "There's something very wrong here. This society's the wrong shape. Even the technology."
"It's cutting edge!" Cathica protested
"It's backward!" the Doctor countered, "There's a great big door in yer head! You should've chucked this out years ago."
"So what d'you two fink is goin' on?" Rose asked the Time Lords.
"It's not just this space station, it's the whole attitude." the Doctor told her, "It's the way people think. The Great & Bountiful Human Empire's stunted. Something's holding it back."
"And how would you know?" Cathica bit back
"Trust me, Humanity's been set back 90 years." the Doctor replied, "When did Satellite Five start broadcasting?"
"91 years ago." Cathica frowned, just beginning to wonder if maybe something was going on with society.
~8~
On the observation deck, Adam stood in front of the computer with Rose's mobile in his hand. "Mum, dad, keep this message, ok?" he said into the phone, "Whatever you do, don't erase it. Save it. You got that?" He placed his hand on the screen again and relayed the information being displayed on screen; "The microprocessor became redundant in the year 2019, when it was replaced by a system called SMT, that's Single Molecule Transcription..." Suddenly, the information on the screen was replaced by the words. 'Floor 16'. "No, no, no, no, no, no!" Adam groaned, "What're you doing? Come back! Come..." He gave the base of the computer a frustrated kick, then quickly looked behind him to see if anyone had seen him. They hadn't, so he turned back to the screen. "Why're you doing that?" he grumbled as 'Floor 16' continued to flash onscreen, "What's floor 16? What's down there?"
~8~
When Adam arrived on floor 16, he found that it looked similar to a doctor's waiting area, with nurses in marron scrubs sitting at desks talking to patients. Adam stopped at an unoccupied desk and spoke to the nurse behind it. "Sorry, um, floor 16. What d'you cover?"
"Medical non-emergency." the nurse replied
"Right, wrong floor." Adam nodded, "I'm having technical difficulties. My screen keeps freezing, blocking me out."
"No, that's medical." the nurse told him, "There must be something wrong with your chip."
"Yes. Yeah, of course, yeah." Adam laughed, then paused. "I haven't got one."
"No wonder you can't get a screen to work." the nurse commented, and Adam nodded. "What are you, a student?"
Adam thought quickly. "Yes, yeah, I'm uh..." He sat down. "I'm on a research project from... the University of Mars."
The nurse rolled her eyes. "The Martian boondocks. Typical."
"Yep." Adam giggled apologetically
"Well, you still need chipping."
"So... does that mean like... brain surgery?"
"That's an old fashioned phrase, but it's the same thing, yes."
"Oh, ok, never mind. But if I get a chip... that means I could use any computer."
"Absolutely." the nurse confirmed, "You'll have to pay for it. They've stopped subsidising."
"Oh, right, sorry." Adam said, "Wasting your time. Thanks." He got up and made to leave, but stopped a few paces away when he suddenly remembered something. "Hold on, can I use this?" he asked, showing the nurse the credit stick the Doctor had given him earlier.
"That'll do nicely." the nurse smirked.
~8~
Adam was soon sat in an operating theatre with the nurse explaining the types of chip to him. "It all comes down to two basic types." she said, "Type one, the head chip. Inserted into the back of the skull, one hundred credits. There's the chip..." She placed the chip on her finger and showed it to Adam. "Tiny, invisible. Type two is the full info-spike."
"Oh, um, that's the..." Adam indicated his forehead and made sound effects to illustrate his point. "... thing."
"That's the one." the nurse confirmed, "It does cost ten thousand."
"Oh, well, I um... I couldn't afford it, then." Adam said
"Not at all." the nurse replied, pulling out the credit stick, "Turns out you've got unlimited credit."
"No, but... I couldn't have it done. I mean... that's gotta hurt, hasn't it?"
"Painless. Contractual guarantee." the nurse placated
"No, my mate's waiting upstairs, I can't have any major surgery."
"It takes 10 minutes. That sort of money buys a very fast pocosurgeon." the nurse said, circling Adam's chair in a somewhat predatory nature.
"No, but I... I couldn't, no, no. It's..."
But the nurse wasn't taking no for an answer. "Type one, you can interface with a simple computer. Type two, you are the computer. You can transmit any piece of information from the archive of Satellite Five, which is just about the history of the Human race. Now..." She leaned in closer to him. "Which one's it going to be?"
~8~
Back on floor 139, the Doctor was sonicing a maintenance door. "We're so gonna get in trouble." an anxious Cathica fussed, "You're not allowed to touch the mainframe, you're gonna get told off."
"Cathica, do we look like we're worried about getting told off?" Gazelle retorted
"You can't just vandalise the place, someone's gonna notice." Cathica hissed urgently to the Doctor
The Doctor didn't reply, he just calmly wrenched the door open to reveal a mass of wires and fibre-optics within. "Right then, it's all yours." he said to Gazelle and backed away, allowing the Time Lady to start tinkering with the wiring.
"This is nothing to do with me." Cathica said shortly, "I'm going back to work." And she began to walk away.
"Go on then, see yer!" the Doctor called, not really paying much attention as he was busy watching Gazelle work.
Cathica stopped. "I can't just leave you, can I?" she moaned
"If ya wanna be useful, get 'em to turn the 'eating down." Rose said to her, "It's boilin'. What's wrong wiv this place, can't they do somefink about it?"
"I don't know, we keep asking, something to do with the turbine."
"'Something to do with the turbine'." the Doctor said mockingly, earning himself a kick in the shin from Gazelle as her hands were full with the wiring and she couldn't verbally scold him as she had her sonic in her mouth.
"Well, I don't know!" Cathica snapped back
"Exactly!" the Doctor shot back, "I give on you, Cathica. Now, Rose, look at Rose." He gestured to the blonde. "Rose is asking the right kind of questions."
"I thank you." Rose smirked
"Why's it so hot?" the Doctor pressed
"One minute you're worried about the Empire and the next it's the central heating!" Cathica scoffed
"Well, never underestimate plumbing. Plumbing's very important." the Doctor said simply and turned back to watch Gazelle work.
After a few minutes of fiddling about with the wiring, Gazelle managed to patch into the mainframe. "Ok, we're in." she told the Doctor, who then typed something into a monitor on the wall.
"Here, we go, Satellite Five. Pipes and plumbing, look at the layout." he told Cathica, turning the monitor to her.
Cathica examined the screen. "This is ridiculous. You've got access to the computer core. You can look at the archive, the news, the stock exchange... and you're looking at pipes?"
"But there's something wrong." the Doctor stated
Cathica turned back to the screen. "I suppose..." she muttered
"Why, what is it?" Rose asked
"The ventilation system." Cathica replied, "Cooling ducts, ice filters, all working flat out. Channelling massive amounts of heat down."
"All the way from the top." the Doctor finished.
"Floor 500." Gazelle agreed, "So something up there's generating a terrific amount of heat."
"Well, I dunno about you lot, but I feel like I'm missin' out on a party." Rose said, "It's all goin' on upstairs. Fancy a trip?"
"You can't, you need a key." Cathica reminded
"Keys are just codes, and we've got the codes right 'ere." the Doctor countered, tapping a few keys on the screen, "Here we go, override 215.9."
"How come it's giving you the code?" Cathica frowned
"Someone up there likes us." the Doctor replied, looking at a security camera on the ceiling, which was focused on the quartet.
~8~
On floor 16, Adam's head chipping had been completed. "I told you it was painless." the nurse told him, "No scaring, you see? Perfect success."
"How do I activate it?" he asked
"It's a personal choice." the nurse replied, "Some people whistle. I know one man who triggers it with Oh, Danny Boy... But you're set on default for now. That's a click of the fingers."
"So you mean, I just..." Adam began
"Click." the nurse confirmed.
~8~
The lift doors opened on floor 139 and the Doctor, Gazelle and Rose stepped inside, while Cathica stopped outside. "Come on, come wiv us!" Rose encouraged.
"No way!" Cathica said hastily
"Bye!" the Doctor waved cheerfully
"Well, don't mention my name." Cathica fussed, "When you get in trouble, just don't involve me!" And she stalked off.
"That's her gone." the Doctor commented, "Adam's given up. Looks like it's just the three of us, as usual."
"Yeah." Rose said, "Good."
"Three's company, four's a crowd." Gazelle quipped, and they all grinned as the lift doors closed.
~8~
Adam clicked his fingers and a door in his forehead opened, revealing his brain. He fingered the shutters for a few seconds then clicked his fingers to close them and flopped back in his seat. "Oh, my God. I'm gonna be sick." he groaned and wretched. A vomit-coloured ice cube popped out of his mouth. He took it between his fingers and looked it in confusion.
"Special offer. We installed the vomit-o-matic at the same time." the nurse told him, "Nano-termites have been placed in the lining of your throat. In the event of sickness..." She held out a bowl. "They freeze the waste."
Adam placed the ice cube in the bowl and peered at it, severely shaken.
~8~
The lift arrived on floor 500 and the time travellers stepped out. "The walls are not made of gold." the Doctor commented, surveying the room.
"You should go back downstairs." Gazelle told Rose
"Tough." the blonde retorted
"Stay close then." Gazelle advised, and the trio began exploring the floor.
They soon found themselves in the Editor's office, where the Editor was watching the screens. "I started without you." he told them, "This is fascinating. Satellite Five contains every piece of information in the Fourth Great & Bountiful Human Empire. Birth certificates, shopping habits, bank statements, but you three... You don't exist!" The trio looked right back at him and he laughed. "Not a trace! No birth, no job, not even the slightest kiss. How can you all walk through the world and not leave a single footprint?"
Then, Rose spotted someone familiar. "Suki!" she cried, rushing over to Eva and kneeling beside her, but Eva did not respond. "Hello? Can ya 'ear me?" Still no response. "What've ya done to 'er?" Rose demanded from the Editor.
"I think she's dead, Rose." Gazelle replied grimly, "They all are." She looked at the other people lining the room.
"But they're working." Rose stared
"They've all got chips in their heads, and the chips keep going. Like puppets." the Doctor said in disgust.
"Ohhh! You're full of information!" the Editor cheered, "But it's only fair we get information back, because apparently, you're no one." he laughed, clearly enjoying himself. "It's so rare not to know something. Who are you?"
"It doesn't matter, cos' we're off." the Doctor glared, "Nice to meet yer. Come on." he said to the women.
The Time Lords turned to leave, only for two of the Editor's drones to appear out of nowhere and restrain them. Rose got up to intervene but Eva grabbed her arm. "Tell me who you are!" the Editor persisted
"Since that information's keeping us alive, we're hardly gonna say, are we?" the Doctor retorted.
The Editor just smirked. "Well, perhaps my Editor-in-chief can persuade you otherwise." he said
"And who's that?" Gazelle glared
"It may interest you to know that this is not the Fourth Great & Bountiful Human Empire." the Editor replied, "In fact, it's not actually Human at all. It's merely a place where Humans happen to live."
Something above them growled angrily.
"Yeah, sorry." the Editor winced, "It's a place where Humans are allowed to live by kind permission of my client." He snapped his fingers and pointed to the ceiling. The time travellers looked up and saw a huge, slobbering lump of meat with a mouth full of sharp, snapping teeth.
"What is that?" Rose quivered
"That thing's in charge of Satellite Five?" Gazelle grimaced, she and the Doctor staring at the creature in disgust.
"That 'thing', as you put it, is in charge of the Human race." the Editor retorted, causing the Time Lords to look at him in alarm. "For almost a hundred years, Mankind has been shaped and guided, his knowledge and ambition strictly controlled by it's broadcast news. Edited by my superior, your master, and Humanity's guiding light, the mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe. I call him Max." he finished gleefully
The Doctor smiled sarcastically and nodded.
~8~
Adam had returned to floor 139. He swiftly stepped aside as he saw Cathica approaching. She didn't notice him, however, as she was too busy mulling over what the Time Lords had told her. She went over to the computer which they'd hacked earlier. She memorised the code and entered the lift to go to floor 500.
~8~
The Editor's drones had forced the three time travellers onto a rack with manacles, with the Doctor being restrained in the middle, Gazelle on his left and Rose on his right. The Editor was monologuing, clearly relishing every moment of this; "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 destabilise an economy, invent an enemy, change a vote."
"So, all the people on Earth are like, slaves?" Rose glared
"Well, now. There's an interesting point." the Editor said casually, "Is a slave a slave if he doesn't know he's enslaved?"
"Yes." the Time Lords answered in unison
"Aw." the Editor pouted, "I was hoping for a philosophical debate. Is that all I'm gonna get? Yes?"
"Yes." the Doctor grunted
"You're no fun." the Editor chortled
"Let me out of these manacles, you'll find out just how much fun I am." the Doctor retorted
"Oh, he's tough, isn't he?" the Editor smirked to Gazelle.
"Not just him." she retorted, "I gave a man a black eye the other day, and I'm greatly tempted to do the same to you. Might do wonders for that pasty mug of yours!"
The Editor just laughed at the threat. "But, come on. Isn't it a great system? You've got to admire it, just a little bit."
"Ya can't 'ide somefink on this scale." Rose pointed out, "Somebody must've noticed."
"From time to time, someone yes." the Editor said casually, "But the computer system allows me to see inside their brain. I can see the smallest doubt and crush it." He made a fist to emphasis his point.
~8~
On floor 139, Adam snuck into the spike room, a greedy plan hatching in his brain.
~8~
On floor 500, Cathica crept up to the Editor's office, and caught the Doctor's eye, but she didn't reveal herself to their captor, who was too busy monologuing to pay any attention. "And then they just carry on, living their life. Strutting about downstairs and all over the surface of the Earth like they're so individual. When of course, they're not. They're just cattle. In that respect, the Jagrafess hasn't changed a thing."
"What about you?" Rose pointed out, "You're not a Jagra... uh... a... belly thing."
"Jagrafess." the Doctor corrected
"Jagrafess." Rose nodded, "You're not a Jagrafess, you're Human."
"Yeah, well simply being Human doesn't pay very well." the Editor retorted
"But you couldn't 'ave done all this on ya own."
"No, I represent a consortium of banks." the Editor replied, "Money prefers a long-term investment. Also, the Jagrafess needed a little hand to, uh, install himself."
"No wonder, a creature that size." the Doctor remarked, looking up at the Jagrafess Cathica following his gaze and saw the creature for herself. "What's his lifespan?" The Doctor asked.
"3000 years." the Editor replied
"That's one hell of a metabolism generating all that heat." the Doctor said for Cathica's benefit, "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's one great big little life support system."
~8~
On floor 139, Adam settled himself down on the info-spike chair and opened the door in his head, then he dialled his home phone on Rose's mobile. "Me again. Don't wipe this message. It's gonna sound like white noise, but save it cos' I can translate it. Ok? And 3, 2, 1... and spike."
Compressed information began to stream into his brain.
~8~
But that's why you're so dangerous." the Editor said to the time travellers, "Knowledge is power, but you three remain unknown." He gave a small laugh and snapped his fingers. The manacles sent electric shocks through his three captives. "Who are you three?"
The shocks weren't so bad for Gazelle, as her gloves saved her from the worst of it, but the Doctor and Rose weren't so lucky. "Leave them alone!" the Time Lady ground out, "I'm Gazelle, he's the Doctor and she's Rose Tyler. We're nothing. We're just three travellers passing through."
"Tell me who you are!" the Editor insisted, stopping the shocks.
"She just said!" the Doctor growled out
"Yeah, but who do you work for?" the Editor persisted, "Who sent you? Who knows about us? Who exactly..." He stopped suddenly, then smirked maliciously. "Time Lords."
"What?" the Doctor blinked
"Oh, yes!" the Editor cackled, "The last two Time Lords in their travelling machine. Oh, with their little Human girl from so long ago." He reached out to touch Rose's face, who promptly jerked her head away with a vicious glare.
"Ya don't know what you're talking about." Gazelle tried to wave him off
"Time travel." the Editor continued
"Someone's been telling you lies." the Doctor insisted
"Young master Adam Mitchell?" the Editor smirked and clicked his fingers.
A projection of Adam in the info-spike chair came up. He was writhing in pain and shouting as the compressed information continued to stream into him. "Oh, my God! His head!" Rose stared in shock.
"What the hell's he done?" the Doctor demanded, "What the hell has he gone and done?!"
"They're reading his mind!" Gazelle realised, "The stupid idiot's telling 'em everything!"
"And through him, I know everything about you." the Editor crowed, "Every piece of information in his head is now mine. And you two have infinite knowledge, Doctor, Gazelle. The Human Empire is tiny compared to what you've seen in your T-A-R-D-I-S. TARDIS."
"You'll never get yer hands on her!" the Doctor vowed, "I'll die first!"
"Me too." Gazelle added defiantly
"You can both die all you like." the Editor waved them off, "I've got the key."
The projection showed Rose's TARDIS key slowly floating out of Adam's jean pocket and dangling in front of his face. "How the hell did he get that?!" Gazelle burst out
The Doctor rounded on Rose. "You and your boyfriends!" he growled and the blonde bowed her head in shame.
"Today, we are the headlines." the Editor said smugly, "We can rewrite history. We can prevent Mankind from ever developing."
"And no one's gonna stop you." the Doctor ground out, indirectly addressing Cathica, who was still listening from her hiding place. "Cos' 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."
Cathica turned and walked away full of determination. She knew what she had to do, so she made her way to floor 500's spike room, tossed aside the skeleton on the info-spike chair and sat down on it herself "Disengage safety." she said and the wall panels lit up.
~8~
In the Editor's office, alarms went off, wiping the smug smile off the Editor's face. "What's happing?" he fussed, rushing over to check one of the computers.
~8~
"Maximum access." Cathica ordered the computer, "Override floor 139."
~8~
The compressed information stopped streaming into Adam's head and the TARDIS key fell to the floor.
~8~
"And... spike!" Cathica said, and information began to stream into her.
~8~
"Someone's disengaged the safety." the Editor growled and clicked his fingers. The projection showed Cathica in her info-spike chair. "Who's that?!" the Editor stared
"It's Cathica!" Rose cheered
"And she's thinking." the Doctor grinned, "She's using what she knows!"
"Terminate her access!" the Editor ordered Eva.
"Everything we told her about Satellite Five, the pipes, the filters, she's reversing it." the Doctor explained to Rose.
"And it's working." Gazelle said, noticing the icicles beginning to melt, "The heat's coming back up here."
"I said, terminate." the Editor continued to order Eva, who didn't seem to be complying, "Burn her mind!" Still no response, so he placed his hands over hers and attempted to do it himself.
~8~
Cathica wasn't giving up without a fight. "Oh, no you don't." she growled, "You should've promoted me years back!" She closed her eyes and concentrated with all of her willpower.
~8~
All the screens in the office suddenly exploded in showers of sparks and the drones all fell lifeless to the floor, their chips deactivated by the energy surge. The same surge deactivated Gazelle's manacles and she began to wiggle out of them. The Editor tried to get his drones up again, but it was no use.
"She's venting the heat up here." the Doctor grinned, "The Jagrafess needs to stay cool and now it's sitting on top of a volcano."
The Jagrafees roared furiously. "Yes!" the Editor blustered, "Uh, I'm trying sir, but I don't know how she did it, it's impossible. A member of staff with an idea..." He shoved Eva's body aside and tried to operate the computer himself.
Gazelle managed to get free of her manacles then she pulled out her sonic and freed Rose and the Doctor, while the Jagrafess continued to roar and snap at them helplessly.
Once he was free, the Doctor called to the Editor; "Oi, mate, wanna bank on a certainty? Massive heat in a massive body, massive bang! See yer in the headlines!" And the trio promptly ran for it.
The Jagrafess began to pulsate horribly and glow red while it roared in pain.
"Um, actually, sir." the Editor blustered, "If it's all the same to you, I think I'll resign. Bye then!" He made to leave but Eva grabbed his ankle, tripping him up and preventing him from escaping. "Let go of me!" he growled.
~8~
The Doctor, Gazelle and Rose ran across floor 500, dodging the falling chunks of ice.
~8~
"Let of me! Let go of me!" the Editor growled, trying to free his ankle from Eva's grip, but she stood her ground, refusing to let her murderer escape.
The Jagrafess swelled horribly. The Editor screamed in terror, then the Jagrafess exploded, taking everyone in the room with it.
~8~
Down the corridor, the time travellers heard the bang. They entered the spike room and the Doctor clicked his fingers, closing the door in Cathica's head. She opened her eyes to see the Time Lords smiling down at her.
~8~
A little later, they were all back in floor 139's canteen. "We're just gonna go." the Doctor told Cathica, "I 'ate tidying up. Too many questions. You'll manage."
"You'' have to stay and explain it." Cathica said, "No one's gonna believe me."
"Oh, I think they might just start believing a lot of things now." Gazelle shrugged, "The Human race should hopefully accelerate and get back to normal."
"What about your friend?" Cathic asked, eyeing Adam, who was loitering by the TARDIS.
"He's not our friend." the Doctor said darkly. He and Gazelle had checked the computer logs and found out what Adam had been trying to do with his chip. They got to their feet and strode towards Adam, cold looks on their faces.
"Now, don't..." Rose tried.
Both Time Lords ignored her and continued their advance on Adam. "I'm alright now." he said meekly, trying to sweep the whole thing under the carpet, "Much better. I've got the key." He held up Rose's TARDIS key and Gazelle promptly snatched it out of his hand. "It all worked out for the best, didn't it?" Adam chuckled feebly. The Doctor grabbed him by the shoulder while Gazelle unlocked the TARDIS. "You know, it's not actually my fault, because you were in charge." Adam tried.
The Doctor ignored him and frog-marched him into the TARDIS.
~8~
Everyone was silent during the flight away from Satellite Five. The Time Lords worked the controls, pointedly ignoring Adam, who sat nervously on the jump seat, while Rose stood nearby, wisely keeping quiet. When the TARDIS stopped, the Doctor frog-marched Adam out and into a suburban living room. "It's my house!" Adam laughed in relief, "I'm home! Oh, my God, I'm home!" He turned to look at the glaring Time Lords. "Blimey, I thought you were gonna chuck me out of an airlock."
"Is there something else yer wanna tell us?" the Doctor asked bluntly
"No. Um, what do ya mean?"
The Doctor strode over to the phone and picked it up. "The archive of Satellite Five. One second of that message could've changed the world." Adam bowed his head at being rumbled. The Doctor put the phone down and flashed his sonic at it until it blew up. "That's it then, see yer." He walked back towards the TARDIS.
"How d'yer mean, see yer?"
"As in 'goodbye'." Gazelle told him coldly
"But... what about me?" Adam protested, "Yer can't just go. I've got a chip type two. My head opens."
"What, like this?" the Doctor remarked and clicked his fingers, causing Adam's head to open.
"Don't." Adam grumbled, and clicked his fingers to close his head again.
"Don't do what?" the Doctor asked innocently, clicking his fingers again.
"Stop it!" Adam snapped, closing his head again.
"Alright now, Doctor, that's enough. Stop it." Rose reasoned
"Thank you." Adam nodded. Rose then clicked her fingers, opening Adam's head again. "Oi!" he grumbled
"Sorry, I couldn't resist." Rose sniggered as Adam closed his head again.
"The whole of 'istory could've changed because of you." the Doctor told Adam sternly
"I just wanted to help."
"You were helping yourself." Gazelle retorted, "You were trying to use information from the future to profit yourself. You should consider yourself lucky the rest of our people are no longer around. They took things like that very seriously, and they would not be as lenient with you as we're being."
"And, I'm sorry." Adam whined, "I've said I'm sorry, and I am, I really am, but yer can't just leave me like this."
Gazelle huffed and flashed her sonic at Adam's head. "There, I've deadlocked the chip." she told him, "Now it can't be opened by accident, but just to be on the safe side, ya might wanna live a quiet life. Keep out of trouble, stay normal, be unseen. Good luck with that." And she went back inside the TARDIS.
"But I wanna come with you three." Adam protested
"We only take the best. We've got Rose." the Doctor told him bluntly and followed Gazelle inside the TARDIS.
Just then, Adam heard the front door, followed by his mother's voice; "Who's that? Jeff? Is that you?"
"It's me, mum." Adam called back, "Don't come in, wait there a minute."
"Oh, my Lord!" Mrs Mitchell called back excitedly, "You never told me you were coming 'ome. Hold on, I'll just take me coat off. You should've told me were coming 'ome. I'd got yer favourite tea in."
"Rose... take me with you." Adam whispered urgently to Rose.
Rose just turned on her heel and went inside the TARDIS without a second glance. Adam had made his bed, now he had to sleep in it.
~8~
Once Rose was inside, the Time Lords got the TARDIS back into the Time Vortex. "I'm sorry." Rose spoke up nervously, "I was the one who invited 'im along."
"It's not your fault, Rose." Gazelle assured her friend, "You didn't know he was gonna do that. Adam was selfish and tried to use time travel for his own gain. We know you would never do anything like that."
"Did ya mean it?" Rose asked the Doctor, "When ya said I was one of the best, did ya mean it?"
"Of course I did." the Doctor smiled, "I 'andpick my companions very carefully. 900 years, and Adam's the first one one I've ever kicked out." he commented.
"And let's hope he's the last." Gazelle replied
"How many people 'ave ya 'ad travellin' wiv ya anyway?" Rose asked. She knew that it was naïve to assume that she was the first person to travel with the Doctor in his long lifetime, but now that he'd confirmed that they had been others, that had pipped her curiosity.
"Right then, onwards and upwards." the Doctor said, changing the subject, "You ladies fancy a trip to Woman Wept?"
"Fine by me." Gazelle shrugged
"What's Woman Wept?" Rose asked
"Just you wait an' see." the Doctor smiled, a twinkle in his eye.
"Well, if it's anyfink like Justica, I'm tellin' ya now, I am not setting foot outside of this box!" Rose said with spirit.
Gazelle just smiled. "Don't worry, Rose. Woman Wept is nothing like Justicia. You're gonna love it, I promise."
"Well than, what're we waitin' for?" Rose said happily.
And with that, the trio set off for their next adventure.
Author's notes: And that's V2 of The Long Game, now with more Adam and the Editor. Although this is one of series 1's two weaker entries, the Editor is a definite highlight. Simon Pegg was clearly having fun in the role. And as you can see, I'm back to full-time writing again. My plan is to get two chapters done a week, with Wednesdays and Saturdays being the days where I upload and Sunday being a day off. In other news, I've found out how to insert line breaks now, so I've gone back and inserted them into the previous chapters, and I've done the same with Spark of Adventure and The Best of Times, while A Cracked Fairy-tale is in the process of having them retro-inserted too. I've also started uploading to AO3 now too. Gotta say, it's great to be back doing RTD-era stuff again. See you all next time for V2 of Father's Day.