Solipsism

Ten: Mr. Glass-Half-Full

It might surprise you, but then again maybe it won't, to learn that I keep a sort of ship's log. Actually, it's an offshoot of the Time Lord Galactic Database. During my last couple of regenerations it has become more of a diary than a simple logbook of destinations.

Jack's not looked at it. Well… that's probably because I've not told him about it. And it'd be pretty tough for him to stumble across it since it's encrypted with unhackable stream ciphers. I guess the log is kind of personal, but really, if it came right down to it I wouldn't mind sharing it with him.

If I had, he'd probably know what I meant by Clockwork Droids. As it now stands, he doesn't have a clue and to be honest I'm not all that anxious to go into a long story about Mickey, Rose and Madame de Pompadour. Especially Madame de Pompadour, although I'm sure Jack would be thrilled, in more ways than one, to learn about Reinette.

"Doctor?"

"Jack?"

"Um, what are Clockwork Droids?"

"They're a kind of android made up of intricate, beautiful clockwork that were on a ghost ship I bumped into once upon a time."

"Why are they important now?"

"They're not."

"So why did you bring them up?"

"Never mind, Jack," I pull out my sonic from a fastened pocket in the spacesuit, release it and watch as it floats slowly in the weightlessness of the bridge. "It's time we try to get this ship's heart beating again. Do you have any suggestions, Captain?"

Jack plucks the sonic out of the air and hands it back to me. "As a matter of fact, I do, and by-the-way, stop playing with that thing." He walks over to one of the bridge consoles. "This is the primary science station. It's the terminal John typically used when we were on the bridge together. If we can somehow get it resuscitated and back online, we may be able to start bringing up other ship's systems.

"But we're not going to get very far without ship's power…"

"Oh," I interrupt him, "I wouldn't be so sure about that..."

I know sometimes it annoys Jack when I announce what I'm about to say instead of coming out and saying it, so I continue on quickly. "The TARDIS is sharing a bit of her power with the Newhope. Normally she wouldn't be able or even willing to do that, especially if it is an unfamiliar ship, but she and the Newhope have a preexisting relation…ship. Uh, no pun intended."

"And you were going to tell me about this when?" Jack asks darkly.

"Well… right now. I'm telling you about this right now. It's nothing to be concerned about."

"It isn't?"

"No."

"The TARDIS has done this before?"

"Well…. Not exactly…"

"Doctor, we have to work on this communication thing."

My sonic starts to hum above the science station as I continue talking. Who says I can't multi-task?! "Really, Jack, the TARDIS has plenty of power to spare. She has loads and loads of power. She's a big ship, you know. In fact she's gigantic. I mean in comparison the Newhope is a tiny itsy-bitsy munchkin-sized baby ship. And the TARDIS is not going to be donating much power on a percentage-wise basis – just enough for me to get this terminal…

"Ah ha!" I announce jubilantly as the console's lights sputter a few times and then stay on. "What did I tell you?"

And there's no doubt it – it is an amazing sight to see – in this dark, dead, frigid room the various interfaces and monitors of the ship's master science station are coming to life. It is like a sign of hope, a heartbeat, a pulse…

And then to my continuing amazement as my eyes track along the length of the bridge, other ship's consoles are lighting up. Life seems to be taking hold and spreading! I glance at Jack and he's watching, too, as additional stations boot up and stay powered.

"Doctor?" He's got that Mr. Glass-Half-Empty sound to his voice.

"What is it, Jack?"

"What's going on?"

"Uh, it looks like there's more than just the primary science station coming online."

"Why?"

"I would hazard to guess the TARDIS is taking things a bit farther than I anticipated."

"And this is a good thing how?" he asks, still with that same downbeat tone of voice.

I refuse to buy into his Mr. Glass-Half-Empty spiel. If anything, I'm Mr. Glass-Half-Full, and proud of it. Variety is the spice of life and all, but I have to draw the line somewhere.

"Yes it is, Jack. It is a very good thing. The TARDIS would never do anything to put us or herself in harm's way. Don't be such a worrywart, Jack. Accept a little good news when it's offered to you!"

At that very moment the ceiling lights switch on and I can't help but notice the lighting in one of the secondary corridors off beyond Jack is coming on. Jack is suddenly very busy staring over my shoulder, behind me, so I turn my head and look. The main corridor through which we recently entered the bridge is now fully illuminated as well.

"I suppose what you mean by that," Jack deadpans when I look back at him, "is that you don't want me to say I have a bad feeling about this?"