REVELATIONS
THREE
It was not a tropical paradise, but at least, Rose thought, it was warm and the landscape wasn't covered with bird droppings.
And there were no snakes.
It was a desert planet and a deserted one as well. A lifeless wasteland of arid burnt oranges, apricots, corals, and gingers. Old, tortured-looking rock formations loomed above them as they sat on The Doctor's coat, which he had carefully laid out for them on the sandy ground, their backs resting against the warm exterior of the TARDIS. In the sky a red giant sun, long past its prime and approaching the end of its life, hung over their heads.
They were comfortably quiet for the longest time, looking out at the barren scenery.
"It's beautiful, in a bleak sort of way." Rose finally said, breaking the silence.
"It's a moon," explained The Doctor, after a moment. "It's the largest moon of a gas giant; you can't see the planet it is orbiting in synchronous rotation because it's behind us, beyond the horizon. Any earthlike planets that circled this sun would've been engulfed as the star expanded when its hydrogen decreased. Afterwards all that was left were the gas giants and their moons. This moon had been frozen desolation before the star became a red giant. Now it's thawed desolation."
The Doctor sighed, leaned his head back against the TARDIS and briefly closed his eyes before continuing. He inhaled deeply.
"This solar system was once home to the most extraordinary race. They were inward-looking, not outward. They valued solitude, peace and tranquility above all else. They had no space travel of any kind; they never ventured beyond their atmosphere…"
He smiled wanly. "Instead they were artists – they dedicated their civilization to creation, and they produced, fashioned and formed the most amazing works of art. Paintings and sculptures that would take your breath away; music that would astonish you; the most beautiful dance you could imagine; literature and theater that were unmatched anywhere else in the galaxy."
There was a long silence. Rose looked at him with growing alarm. "What happened to them?"
The Time Lord shrugged. "They're gone; consumed along with their planet when their sun expanded. Their biosphere was destroyed, their oceans evaporated and eventually the surface of their planet melted. Everything they were, everything they created, is lost."
Rose sat, blinking at him and feeling ill.
"The same as millions upon millions of civilizations that preceded them, and I'm sure millions upon millions more that will follow. Such is the way of all things."
He looked at her, realization hitting him belatedly. "I'm sorry – I didn't mean to upset you."
"Did you know them?" she asked. "Had you met them?"
"Yes," he whispered. "I knew them."
Her face brightened just a bit. "Then, it's like what they say, as long as you remember them…"
Her voice trailed off and she touched his arm with her hand.
He shivered in response.
"Doctor, are you all right?"
"I don't know… I feel like…" he made an odd sort of face and shivered again as his eyes scanned their surroundings. "I feel like we should go."