Oh, Peri, Peri, Peri. I am a Time Lord, a member of the highest rank. I
am the President of the High Council. I have powers the likes of which you
could barely perceive. I am very different from you. I've lived the
better part of a millennia. You, dear Peri, are barely more than a child
to me. I've evolved past the use of foolish emotions to express myself,
unlike you humans who wallow in such things. That said, there is one lesson
to impart to you; there is one lesson you should learn. And that is: Be
careful of the paths you choose, Peri, for the longer you live, the more
chance you have of regret.
-Sixth Doctor to Peri soon after his regeneration.
Before Turlough entered the room, he could hear the strains of Jesu, Joy of Men's Desiring. The tenor voice sent shivers down his spine. Out of all the things he had learned and found lacking on Earth, their ability to express through song was not one of them. He took a deep breath and stood back as the door slid open. The singer was just reaching a high note and he closed his eyes to savor the beauty. The lad hadn't known the Doctor's predilection for classical music.
He opened his eyes slowly and saw the Time Lords, his friend and the shorter, older version of him, bent over computer stations. Tegan sat off the side, holding a container that she sipped from regularly. As he neared the woman, she held a finger to her lips. It became clear to Turlough that both Doctor's were humming and singing along with the music quietly. Both men had light voices and an amazing ability to carry a tune.
Turlough leaned against the desk where Tegan sat and nodded towards the Doctors. "Any luck?"
"I haven't asked lately," Tegan whispered in response. She lowered her cup and gave a small smile. "Classical music isn't my cup of tea, but when I hear the two of them sing it-" she shrugged. "It is actually beautiful."
"The phonograph? Where did that come from?" Turlough asked, suddenly interested in the peculiarities of the situation.
"The older one's TARDIS. You should see that place. All Gothic if you ask me and dark. He's changed," Tegan took another sip of liquid. "It gave me something to do other than sit here and listen to them type and mutter."
Turlough nodded and pushed away from the desk to approach the fifth Doctor. "What have you found out?"
"Turlough. Wonderful to see you- when did you come in?" The Doctor sat back from the computer monitor and removed his glasses.
"Just now, Doctor. The Commander of this station is heading this way for an update. He wants some answers. Have you found out anything?" The boy asked and hazarded a look at the monitor. Several small windows were open and were filled with several different Terran languages.
"-soul's aspiring." The eighth Doctor quietly sang. He hummed a few further bars and, with a flourish, pressed a final button. Several sheets of plastic slipped out of a slot next to him. "All the information you want to know is here. Tegan, your exile is over, dear. Join us." He called in a sing song voice.
The fifth Doctor rose from his seat and shrugged back into his frock coat as he stood. "Yes, well, Tegan, you were never exiled. We do, however, have the information that you are desiring, Turlough. It's been correlated and merged."
"And written in some sort of maths equation," Tegan grumbled and handed the sheet to her Doctor. "Care to translate to proper English?"
"Ah, well.that's Gallifreyan for you," the Doctor mumbled in confusion. "We programmed the mainframe to receive and write in Gallifreyan script; it sped the process. The translation circuit in the TARDIS won't translate it for you either. Bother."
The eighth Doctor sprang out of his seat to grab and don his frock coat. "I can tell you quite quickly what it says. We've researched and located and infiltrated several Sects of Religion on Earth. That cross with the crimson flames at its base belongs-" he raised his voice as the Captain and Security Chief of the station entered the room. "It belongs to the Light of the Eternal Church."
"Never heard of them," the Captain stated. He glanced sharply at the record player and Tegan turned it off, silencing the tenor voice.
"Well, I have," the older Doctor said, his voice talking over the quieter Captain. "A rather interesting sect of the Christian Church, the LEC is. It has had the most amazing growth. The Church is little over twenty years old and yet has seen an exponential increase in membership."
"Doctor," Turlough warned, quietly.
The fifth Doctor interjected. "The sects main doctrine is that space exploration and the creation of space faring societies are in direct contradiction to what they feel is the Divine Guidance of God. They feel that humans aren't supposed to be in space. In short, they believe that when humans made the jump into space travel, they abandoned the Garden of Eden."
"The Garden of Eden?" the Captain asked, shaking his head.
"Earth," the Doctor answered quietly.
"Yes, well," the Eighth Doctor muttered. "They also feel that space travel is akin to trying to be God. And that like the other mythical being you humans believe in that tried to be like your God, those that try to achieve divinity should be cast out of Heaven. Or out of the heavens, if you would rather."
"I wouldn't thanks," Tegan groaned. "That sounds horrible."
"Mythical being?" the Captain asked, clearly confused.
"Satan," Turlough stated in a tone that betrayed his disbelief at the Captain's inability to know the answer to that question.
"Exactly, Turlough," the fifth Doctor agreed. "Satan, the Devil, Mephistoles, Bezelbub. That particular chap goes by many different names throughout the ages of your world. Regardless, what my other self said is very much the crowning theology of the LEC."
"So." Tegan frowned and turned to her Doctor. "So, they believe that this station is like a new age Sodom and Gomorra. Wonderful."
"In a manner of speaking, yes. But in this case, they think that it's more of a problem that children are born here," the Doctor told her. He turned to his older self. "They view the children as the seed of evil here."
"Their birth on the station seems to be the major problem," the Eighth Doctor answered, fixing his cravat. "Our major problem is that time is of the essence to find the children. How long exactly has it been since the children were taken? How long in Earth Standard Time?"
"What other time is there?" the Captain asked.
"Of course, how utterly silly of me," the Eighth Doctor said and straightened his coat. "I love humans, always thinking so parochially. Yes, yes - regardless, how long has it been?"
The Security Chief frowned and glanced at his watch. "It's been a little over 18 hours."
The Eighth Doctor nodded. "Now, translate that to time lapse on Earth. There is a slight adjustment, man. Do it."
Tegan shrugged, uncomprehending and Turlough tapped her on the arm to explain. "The Genesis project is located outside the Moon's trajectory in orbit around Earth. With space travel, the further you are from the point of origin for time and the speed at which you are revolving affects the time difference. The faster your speed, relatively, the slower your time is, the larger the difference between the point of origin and you."
She gave him her patented frown number 32 and turned to her Doctor. Her friend was already leaning towards her to comment: "It seems I have become rather hyper."
"Oh never mind," the Eighth Doctor. He tapped his fingers against his lip rapidly and muttered under his breath for a minute and then spouted: "Twenty hours, sixteen minutes and, depending on the state of your watch battery, six seconds." He glanced at his other self and nodded. "It's worse than we suspected."
"That isn't good," the fifth Doctor muttered with a barely contained horror. "That isn't good at all, I'm afraid."
"What isn't good?" Tegan whispered. "How do you know?"
"This sect is very particular about time schedules from what we've been able to determine," her Doctor explained.
"And whereas six is the number of man, seven is divine," the Eighth Doctor continued. "And three is the number of God. Therefore-"
"Three times seven- twenty-one," Turlough answered glumly and shared a sour glance with the Security Chief. "Are you sure?"
The fifth Doctor raised his eyebrows. "Not sure, but let's say I, or rather, we have a hunch."
"Enough talking," the Eighth called. "We've a sect to find on this station. Let's get started."
**
-Sixth Doctor to Peri soon after his regeneration.
Before Turlough entered the room, he could hear the strains of Jesu, Joy of Men's Desiring. The tenor voice sent shivers down his spine. Out of all the things he had learned and found lacking on Earth, their ability to express through song was not one of them. He took a deep breath and stood back as the door slid open. The singer was just reaching a high note and he closed his eyes to savor the beauty. The lad hadn't known the Doctor's predilection for classical music.
He opened his eyes slowly and saw the Time Lords, his friend and the shorter, older version of him, bent over computer stations. Tegan sat off the side, holding a container that she sipped from regularly. As he neared the woman, she held a finger to her lips. It became clear to Turlough that both Doctor's were humming and singing along with the music quietly. Both men had light voices and an amazing ability to carry a tune.
Turlough leaned against the desk where Tegan sat and nodded towards the Doctors. "Any luck?"
"I haven't asked lately," Tegan whispered in response. She lowered her cup and gave a small smile. "Classical music isn't my cup of tea, but when I hear the two of them sing it-" she shrugged. "It is actually beautiful."
"The phonograph? Where did that come from?" Turlough asked, suddenly interested in the peculiarities of the situation.
"The older one's TARDIS. You should see that place. All Gothic if you ask me and dark. He's changed," Tegan took another sip of liquid. "It gave me something to do other than sit here and listen to them type and mutter."
Turlough nodded and pushed away from the desk to approach the fifth Doctor. "What have you found out?"
"Turlough. Wonderful to see you- when did you come in?" The Doctor sat back from the computer monitor and removed his glasses.
"Just now, Doctor. The Commander of this station is heading this way for an update. He wants some answers. Have you found out anything?" The boy asked and hazarded a look at the monitor. Several small windows were open and were filled with several different Terran languages.
"-soul's aspiring." The eighth Doctor quietly sang. He hummed a few further bars and, with a flourish, pressed a final button. Several sheets of plastic slipped out of a slot next to him. "All the information you want to know is here. Tegan, your exile is over, dear. Join us." He called in a sing song voice.
The fifth Doctor rose from his seat and shrugged back into his frock coat as he stood. "Yes, well, Tegan, you were never exiled. We do, however, have the information that you are desiring, Turlough. It's been correlated and merged."
"And written in some sort of maths equation," Tegan grumbled and handed the sheet to her Doctor. "Care to translate to proper English?"
"Ah, well.that's Gallifreyan for you," the Doctor mumbled in confusion. "We programmed the mainframe to receive and write in Gallifreyan script; it sped the process. The translation circuit in the TARDIS won't translate it for you either. Bother."
The eighth Doctor sprang out of his seat to grab and don his frock coat. "I can tell you quite quickly what it says. We've researched and located and infiltrated several Sects of Religion on Earth. That cross with the crimson flames at its base belongs-" he raised his voice as the Captain and Security Chief of the station entered the room. "It belongs to the Light of the Eternal Church."
"Never heard of them," the Captain stated. He glanced sharply at the record player and Tegan turned it off, silencing the tenor voice.
"Well, I have," the older Doctor said, his voice talking over the quieter Captain. "A rather interesting sect of the Christian Church, the LEC is. It has had the most amazing growth. The Church is little over twenty years old and yet has seen an exponential increase in membership."
"Doctor," Turlough warned, quietly.
The fifth Doctor interjected. "The sects main doctrine is that space exploration and the creation of space faring societies are in direct contradiction to what they feel is the Divine Guidance of God. They feel that humans aren't supposed to be in space. In short, they believe that when humans made the jump into space travel, they abandoned the Garden of Eden."
"The Garden of Eden?" the Captain asked, shaking his head.
"Earth," the Doctor answered quietly.
"Yes, well," the Eighth Doctor muttered. "They also feel that space travel is akin to trying to be God. And that like the other mythical being you humans believe in that tried to be like your God, those that try to achieve divinity should be cast out of Heaven. Or out of the heavens, if you would rather."
"I wouldn't thanks," Tegan groaned. "That sounds horrible."
"Mythical being?" the Captain asked, clearly confused.
"Satan," Turlough stated in a tone that betrayed his disbelief at the Captain's inability to know the answer to that question.
"Exactly, Turlough," the fifth Doctor agreed. "Satan, the Devil, Mephistoles, Bezelbub. That particular chap goes by many different names throughout the ages of your world. Regardless, what my other self said is very much the crowning theology of the LEC."
"So." Tegan frowned and turned to her Doctor. "So, they believe that this station is like a new age Sodom and Gomorra. Wonderful."
"In a manner of speaking, yes. But in this case, they think that it's more of a problem that children are born here," the Doctor told her. He turned to his older self. "They view the children as the seed of evil here."
"Their birth on the station seems to be the major problem," the Eighth Doctor answered, fixing his cravat. "Our major problem is that time is of the essence to find the children. How long exactly has it been since the children were taken? How long in Earth Standard Time?"
"What other time is there?" the Captain asked.
"Of course, how utterly silly of me," the Eighth Doctor said and straightened his coat. "I love humans, always thinking so parochially. Yes, yes - regardless, how long has it been?"
The Security Chief frowned and glanced at his watch. "It's been a little over 18 hours."
The Eighth Doctor nodded. "Now, translate that to time lapse on Earth. There is a slight adjustment, man. Do it."
Tegan shrugged, uncomprehending and Turlough tapped her on the arm to explain. "The Genesis project is located outside the Moon's trajectory in orbit around Earth. With space travel, the further you are from the point of origin for time and the speed at which you are revolving affects the time difference. The faster your speed, relatively, the slower your time is, the larger the difference between the point of origin and you."
She gave him her patented frown number 32 and turned to her Doctor. Her friend was already leaning towards her to comment: "It seems I have become rather hyper."
"Oh never mind," the Eighth Doctor. He tapped his fingers against his lip rapidly and muttered under his breath for a minute and then spouted: "Twenty hours, sixteen minutes and, depending on the state of your watch battery, six seconds." He glanced at his other self and nodded. "It's worse than we suspected."
"That isn't good," the fifth Doctor muttered with a barely contained horror. "That isn't good at all, I'm afraid."
"What isn't good?" Tegan whispered. "How do you know?"
"This sect is very particular about time schedules from what we've been able to determine," her Doctor explained.
"And whereas six is the number of man, seven is divine," the Eighth Doctor continued. "And three is the number of God. Therefore-"
"Three times seven- twenty-one," Turlough answered glumly and shared a sour glance with the Security Chief. "Are you sure?"
The fifth Doctor raised his eyebrows. "Not sure, but let's say I, or rather, we have a hunch."
"Enough talking," the Eighth called. "We've a sect to find on this station. Let's get started."
**