"Rose River" AU
'The Oncoming Storm'
Chapter Six
- Spin -
Wanting a break from twenty first century Earth for a bit, the Doctor scanned forward quite a ways. Something pinged, and he set the ship to land. Stepping out, he recognized the architecture as late 199,000 technology. Going to one of the large windows, he looked out to see the Earth. Grinning at the sight of the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire at its height, he stood there relishing their ingenuity.
Smirking, he wondered what set the ship off and headed back to the main area. There was a loud whistle, and shops opened. Doors opening all over the place, he had to duck out when someone yelled 'Out of the way!'. Frowning at the rudeness, he looked about and checked his chronometer again. 200,000? It is, but what's with the gruff scruffiness? That's my bag. These people should be highly cultured.
Seeing two ladies walking and chatting away, he stepped up to them. "Pardon me. This is going to sound daft, but could you tell me where I am?"
Eyebrows up, the darker of the pair held her hand up and pointed at a rather large number on the wall. "Uh, floor 139? Could they write it any bigger?"
Blinking at that, he looked back at her. "Floor 139 of what?"
"Must've been one hell of a party," she said.
The other one spoke up. "You're on Satellite Five."
"And what's Satellite Five?" he prodded.
The first one scoffed. "Oh come on, how could you get on board without knowing where you are?"
Self effacing grin on his face, the Doctor chuckled. "Look at me, I'm stupid!"
The other one's eyes widened. "Hold on, wait a minute. Are you a test? Some sort of management test kind of thing?"
He tilted his head and dug out his psychic paper. "You got me. Well done." He held it up for them to see. "You're too clever for me."
"We were warned about this in basic training," the second one said. "All workers have to be versed in company promotion."
The first one blanched. "Right. Fire away. Ask your questions. It gets me to floor 500, I'll do anything."
His brow went up. "Why? What happens on floor 500?"
She looked to the side. "The walls are made of gold."
The way she said that like it was obvious, made him frown.
"And you should know," she continued, "Mr. Management," she ended with a flirty smile. "So, this is what we do," she headed off. The other one smiled at him and went after her.
She walked him through several news stories that were displayed along the walls. From fires and water riots to solar reports, everything went through this station.
"I get it," the Doctor said. "You broadcast the news."
"We are the news," she countered. "We're the journalists. We write it, package it, and sell it. Six hundred channels all coming out of Satellite Five, broadcasting everywhere. Nothing happens in the whole Human Empire without it going through us."
Led into a twelve sided, white room, the Doctor noticed the informational interface on the ceiling and frowned. Seven places were on the floor, with a large chair in the middle – under the main interface. He watched as the second one he was talking to took her place in the circle.
"Now," the first one said, "everybody behave. We have a management inspection." Looking over to the Doctor, she asked, "How'd you want it, by the book?"
"Oh, right from scratch, thanks," he grinned.
Motioning around the people in the room, Okay so, Ladies, Gentlemen, Multisex, Undecided, or Robot, my name is Cathica Santini Kadani." She looked to the Doctor. "That's Cathica with a 'C', in case you want to write to floor 500, praising me," she winked. "And please … do.
"Now please feel free to ask any questions. The process of news gathering must be open, honest, and beyond bias. That's company policy," she smiled at the Doctor again.
"A-actually," the second one said from her seat, "it's the law."
"Yes, thank you Suki," Cathica snarked. "Okay, keep it calm; Don't show off for the guest; Here we go."
Watching her sit in the chair, the Doctor's stomach turned a bit. This was wrong. Technology like this was supposed to have been abandoned years ago.
Sitting back, Cathica continued. "And, engage safety." The room lit up as the seven in the circle put their hands over their controls. Cathica clicked her fingers, opening a portal in her skull. "And three, two... and spike."
A beam of energy came from the interface in the ceiling to the open port in Cathica's skull. The Doctor's lip twitched at the wrongness of the device. It wasn't like it was dangerous, but it utilized the woman's brain as part of the computer itself. If she tried to pay attention to what was going through, she'd burn up.
Walking around them all, he recognized the hand chip interfaces. "Now that's what I call power," he mumbled. There was a bubble of a noise, and Suki flinched. Raising his brow at her, he watched as the system shut down.
Looking over at her, Cathica's port closed. "Come off it, Suki, I wasn't even halfway. What was that for?"
"Sorry," Suki apologized. "Must've been a glitch."
Sighing, Cathica stood up. "This isn't good, Suki. Management Inspection, and you do this?"
There was a chime, and a computerized voice started up. ~Promotion.~
Cathica's eyes widened as the screen came on, blinking the word Promotion. "Come on. This is it. Come on! Oh my God, make it me. Come on, say my name. Say my name," she whispered. "Say my name," she pleaded.
~Promotion for: Suki Macrae Cantrell. Please proceed to floor 500.~
Suki stood with wide eyes. "I don't believe it. Floor 500."
"How the hell did you manage that?" Cathica complained. "I'm above you!"
"I don't know," Suki said. "I just applied on the off chance." She began hyperventilating. "And they said yes!" she squeaked.
"So not fair," Cathica grumbled. "I've been applying to floor 500 for three years."
At the lift, Suki was grinning. "Cathica, I'm going to miss you!" She turned to the Doctor. "Thank you."
"I didn't do anything," he protested.
She bounced. "Well, you're my lucky charm!"
"All right," he conceded, "I'll hug anyone." Grinning, he took the hug gracefully.
"Ohmigod, I've got to go. Can't keep them waiting. Sorry!" Moving to the lift, Suki waved. "Say goodbye to Steve for me!" The doors closed. "Bye!"
Waving, the Doctor's grin faded when Cathica complained again. "Good riddance."
"You're talkin' like you'll never see her again. She's only going upstairs."
"We wont," she said. "Once you go to floor 500, you never come back."
Frowning, the Doctor looked at the lift numbers as they increased. "Haven't you ever been up there?"
Turning, Cathica walked by the food shops. She looked over her shoulder at him. "Can't. You need a key for the lift, and you only get a key with promotion. No one gets to floor 500 except the chosen few."
Walking into the now empty newsroom, Cathica was annoyed when she saw him following her. "Look, they only give us twenty minutes maintenance. Can't you give it a rest?"
He leaned on the centre chair and crossed his arms. "You've never been to another floor," he asked, "not even one floor down?"
"I went to floor 16 when I first arrived. That's medical. That's when I got my head done, and then I... I came straight here. Satellite Five: You work it, you sleep on the same floor. That's it, that's all." Pausing, she turned to him. "You're not Management, are you?"
"At last! She's clever!" the Doctor said, scoffing.
She blinked at him. "Yeah. Well, whatever it is, it doesn't involve me. I don't know anything."
"Don't you even ask?" he said with a brow up.
"Well, why would I?"
"You're a journalist!" he said incredulously. "Part of the job description to ask questions, and you should know that. Now tell me. Why's the entire crew human?"
She paused. "What's that got to do with anything?"
He shook his head. "Looking about the place, I haven't seen anyone not from Earth. Besides, me. There's no aliens on board. Why?"
"I don't know. No real reason. They're not banned or anything."
He looked about, holding his hands out to the side. "Then where are they?"
"I suppose immigration has tightened up," she said with a shrug. "They've had to, what with the threats."
"What threats?"
"I dunno, all of them. Usual stuff," she said, getting flustered. "And the price of space warp doubled, so that kept the visitors away. Oh, and the government on Travik Five 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," he said in annoyance, tapping his wrist.
"Doctor, I think if there was any sort of conspiracy, Satellite Five would've seen it. We see everything," she said, getting her confidence back.
"I can see better," the Doctor countered. "This society's the wrong shape, even the technology."
"It's cutting edge!"
He scoffed. "It's backwards! There's a great big DOOR in your head. You shoulda chucked this in the bin years ago."
"And how would you know?" she asked.
He looked at her. "Trust me. Humanity's been set back ninety years. When did Satellite Five start broadcasting?"
"Ninety one years ago," she said with a frown.
Nodding, the Doctor just kept quiet and let her stew on it. After a bit, he turned and left the room. Confused, she followed him. "Hold on, what do you mean?"
"Told you what I meant," he said dismissively. "You're a journalist. Work it out."
Frowning at his back, she followed him to a maintenance hatch. "What are you doing?"
"Taking a peak at things. Something's wrong, and I plan on finding out what." His sonic whirred, and things crackled and popped.
"This has nothing to do with me. I'm going back to work," she said, turning away.
"Go on then. See ya," he grumbled at her back.
"I can't just leave you, can I?"
"Any reason this place is running hot?" he asked. "Well, hot for humans? Boiling for me. Surprised I've not started sweating yet."
"I dunno, something to do with the turbines."
He rolled his eyes. "Some journalist you are."
"Well I don't know!" she countered.
"Exactly! "Done given up on you. Run off, go ahead. Stick your head down and don't ask questions. Your like a spin cycle. Nothin' but what the government wants spat out at everyone."
"One minute it's the Empire, the next it's the central heating?"
"Never underestimate plumbing. Countries have gone under because of it." He yanked out some wires.
Gaping at what he was doing, she was surprised security hadn't noticed yet.
He looked at her and turned a screen out so she could see. "Here you go, pipes and plumbing. Look at the layout. See anything int'restin'?"
Coming forward, she was incredulous. "This is ridiculous. You've got access to the computer core. You could look at the archive, the news, the stock exchange, and you're looking at pipes?"
"But there's something wrong. Look again," he prompted.
"I suppose…" she frowned. "But if this is cooling flat out, where's it going?"
"Now that's the right question," he grinned. "Where do you think?"
She looked back and traced the diagram. "Floor 500? What? That doesn't make any sense."
"Somethin' up there is generating tonnes and tonnes of heat. What you think? Wanna take a look to see what's goin' on?"
"Can't. You need a key," she pointed out.
He pursed his lips. "Keys are just codes, and we've got the codes right here." he stepped forward. "Here we go. Override: 215.9." The numbers kept scrolling, and ended up with 215.9976/31.
"How come it's giving you the code?" she asked.
He glanced up to the camera on the wall. "Someone up there likes me." Turning, he headed to the lift. He paused when he noticed he wasn't being followed. "What's wrong?"
"No way."
"Suit yourself," he frowned.
"Don't mention my name! When you get in trouble, don't involve me!" she walked away.
Sighing, the Doctor put the chip he pulled from the maintenance hatch into the lift controls. "Just once, I'd like someone to make a stand." The doors closed, and his hand felt so empty and cold.
"Speaking of cold. 'S a bit nippy," he said when the doors opened. Coming out, everything he saw was frosted over. "Made of gold huh? Letter off, they were."
The place was quite frosty. Turning a corner, he saw an albino man in a black suit. In front of him were multiple screens and several people at the controls. All of them save one, was covered in frost. The one that wasn't turned out to be Suki, and she looked just as blank as the others.
"Started without you," the man said with a chuckle, looking over. "This is fascinating. Satellite Five contains every piece of information within the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. Birth certificates, shopping habits, bank statements, but you…" he turned to him fully, "You don't exist." He snickered a bit madly. "There's not a trace! No birth, no job, not the slightest kiss.
"How can you walk through the world, and not leave a single footprint?"
"Stepping lightly helps a lot," the Doctor deadpanned.
Snorting, the man just shook his head.
"So what's this all about? You got dead people runnin' the place like puppets." He pointed at Suki. "I liked her. She was sweet."
"Not really, no," the man said. "Turns out she was a freedom fighter with a genetic graft, hiding her real identity. Thanks for that. If I wasn't following you about, I might've missed her."
"Class act, you are," he groused.
"Now, now, now. None of that. Information is meant to be shared, though. And, it would be nice if you gave back, because apparently... you're no one. It's so rare not to know something. Who are you?"
"Doesn't matter, because I'm off. Nice to meet you. Bye." Turning to leave, he was held up by two of the dead controllers.
"Tell me who you are," the man prodded.
The Doctor frowned. "Since that bit of information is keeping me alive, I'm hardly gonna say, am I?"
The man smirked. "Well, perhaps my Editor In Chief could convince you otherwise."
"And who's that?"
The man leaned in conspiratorially. "It may interest you to know, that this is not the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. In fact, it's not even human at all."
Hearing that, the Doctor scowled at him. "What is it then?" he asked dangerously.
"It's merely a place where humans happen to live." The man was interrupted by a strange gurgle.
Understanding it, the Doctor heard, ~Stop strutting you insignificant weasel. Get to the point and figure out who he is. Humans are allowed, not happen. Say it correctly.~
Nodding, the man continued. "It's a place where humans are allowed to live, by kind permission of my client." He snapped his fingers and pointed up.
~Tremble before my presence.~
"You mean that thing is in charge of Satellite Five?" the Doctor asked, a bit unimpressed.
"That thing," the man said, "as you put it, is in charge of the Human Race. For almost a hundred years, mankind has been shaped and guided. His knowledge and ambition strictly controlled by its 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."
Grinning, the Doctor looked up. "Been to your planet. It's not half cold."
~What do you know of my world, human?~
"I know it was destroyed," the Doctor said quietly, much to the man's surprise. "You have my sympathies, but you claimed the wrong planet. It's mine, so bugger off," he growled.
"You understand him? You're not even chipped! How the hell?"
Kicking out with his leg, the Doctor caught the man's groin. Instantly, the dead men that had a hold of him let go as the man gasped and fell on the floor. Apparently, he was the one controlling them.
Flipping out his sonic, the Doctor ramped the power up to full, and let loose with a hypersonic signal. Wincing as he did so, he watched as the screens and controls sparked, cascaded, and in some cases exploded.
~Stop him!~
Hitting something important with the sonic, the dead controllers fell as if their strings were cut. Roaring from above, the Jagrafess was shaking what constituted its head back and forth, completely enraged.
"Oh do shut it, wont you?" the Doctor said. "Screaming about it isn't gonna help you at all. You're installed up there. Stuck. Trapped."
The jelly like head descended and snapped at him.
"Useless!" he shouted. "Mess with my part of space, will you?" He turned and hit the environmental controls with the sonic. "See how you put up with everythin' in reverse!"
A hand on his leg got his attention, and he looked down. The Editor looked up with wide eyes. "Take me with you!"
"Like that's gonna 'appen," the Doctor scowled. Bending down, he took a hold of the Editor's head and twisted, breaking his neck.
A gasp from behind had him turn around. Seeing Cathica, the Doctor was petulant. "Walls of Gold, yeah? Same load of shit that keeps idiots like you pining and in line! GET OUT OF HERE!"
Seeing the Doctor's solid jet black eyes, Cathica screamed and ran away.
Turning back around, the Doctor cracked his neck and backed away as he felt the place warm up.
~Mercy!~
"My mercy is a precious thing," the Doctor said quietly. "People like you? You don't deserve it. Consider this your notice, because you're fired," he smirked at the irony.
The Doctor watched impassively as the Jagrafess enlarged, screaming and roaring in pain. Stepping back a bit more, his face was completely blank when it exploded from its own internal body heat.
Turning, he went back to the lift. "Don't know why I bother," he muttered. "Always someone else tryin' to step on, enslave, or destroy the one place I felt 'appy." Pausing as the lift doors opened, he smiled sadly. "That's why," he answered himself. "Makes me 'appy. Course I'll defend it."
Stepping in, he turned and watched the doors shut. "I 'ate being alone. Think I'm losin' it." Distantly in his mind, he could hear the TARDIS singing to him. "Thanks, old girl. I think you're the only reason I exist any more."