"Welcome back!" Says the Doctor with his usual excited smile. "I hoped you enjoyed our last little adventure, because we're going on another one!" He glances over at Amy.
"Our lesson today is on Mesopotamia! The first group of people to settle and farm there were the Sumerians around 4500 B.C., but we'll be visiting them around 2100 B.C.-"Amy begins to explain, but stops when the tardis shakes to a stop.
"Looks like we're here." The Doctor says giddily. He hops outside and Amy follows closely behind him. The air is so hot that you can see the waves of heat radiating off the ground. There's a corner of a large wall made out of stone, the rest of the wall continues the other way. It is possible to view the tops of some houses above the wall, but there is one building that seems to tower over all the others. The sun glares above it all. The Doctor pulls out some sunglasses.
"Hey, you didn't tell me to bring any sunglasses." Amy complains, while shielding her eyes from the burning sun. The Doctor smiles and pulls out another pair, but these are women's sunglasses. He hands them to Amy. "I'm always prepared."
"Much better." She says satisfied. "So Mesopotamia is located in the fertile crescent which is where modern day Iraq is. It's called the Fertile Crescent because it is between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, which give yearly deposits of silt."
"For those of you who do not have as splendid a vocabulary as these fine flash cards, silt is extremely rich soil left by overflowing rivers, and it is simply wonderful for farming. And while we're on the subject, let's go check out some Sumerian farms." He starts walking around the corner, and Amy follows. There are rows after rows of dirt and soil. Some people are plowing the fields, others are planting crops. The Doctor walks past them to the side of one of the fields.
"This," he says pointing down to a stream of water, "is an irrigation system." One branch breaks off and leads into the field. Others branch off into other fields. The stream flows around the perimeter of each field.
"The fertile soil isn't enough to grow crops, but these Sumerians are some smart cookies and they created these irrigation systems to bring a steady water supply to the crops." They continue weaving through the fields and arrive at a gap in the wall. "This," says the Doctor motioning to the large city laid out before him, "is a city-state."
"Each city-state is a completely independent city with an organized religion, government, and social classes. They become wealthy by using the rivers and the desert to trade between each other, and neighboring peoples. This leads to cultural diffusion which is," Amy pauses. She pulls out the flash cards and starts skimming though them. "which is, um, a government based on religion! No, that's Theocracy…Um, polytheism, worship of many Gods, no, no. Cuneiform, no! no-"
The Doctor sees she's getting angry, and stops her. "While Amy's doing that, let's explore the city!" They wander through the busy streets, but Amy is busy trying to find the cultural diffusion flash card. They eventually arrive at a hustling bazaar. "The perfect place to explore a culture, a grocery store!" They start exploring the bazaar. Some people stand behind booths littered with products and goods, but most sit on carpets with their products lying out in front of them. The Doctor walks up to one that is selling pots. He leans down and picks one up.
"This is a wonderful example of specialization, which is the development of skills in a specific kind of work. In this case, this man is an artisan." He points down to the confused looking man. "Artisans are skilled workers who make goods by hand…" he glances at Pond, but she is absorbed by the flash cards. He elbows her.
"Stop it. I'm kind of busy right now." She says not looking up.
"But you're supposed to ask me the difference between specialization and an artisan…" He whispers. She ignores him. He sighs. "Fine, the difference is that specialization is any skilled worker, such as a government official or a priest, but an artisan is someone who makes things by hand, such as a potter."
He turns the pot around, displaying the illustrations painted on it. "These are all their different Gods. The belief in many Gods is known as polytheism. And they worshiped these many Gods in temples known as ziggurats. Lucky for us they were always in the center of town and were very big, so we should have no trouble finding it." He hands the pot back to the man on the carpet.
"Thank you, you're pot is lovely." With that he pulls Amy along until they come upon the ziggurat. It really is easy to find because it is so huge. It looks like a tiered square that has a long staircase leading up. The Doctor in his excitement starts running up it, but a few feet slows down. When Amy catches up to him he is breathing heavily.
"What happened?" She asks, looking away from the flash cards for once.
"Stairs." is all he can manage to say.
"Stairs? You run away from Daleks, Cybermen, and God knows what else, and you have two hearts and yet you can't climb some stairs?"
"I don't run away. I bravely retreat. And I just need a…a breather. But while we're sitting here…let's talk about cuneiform! Cuneiform is so important because… it is the first form of developed writing. They didn't have paper though, so they wrote it on clay tablets…When the clay dried the cuneiform was forever engraved in it. This is very helpful for historians because it is preserved so well. And-"
"AH HAA! I FOUND IT!" Amy says, screaming gleefully. She raises the flash cards above her head triumphantly. "Cultural diffusion- the spread of ideas, tools, and goods from one region to another. HAHA! I knew these puny little flash cards couldn't defeat me."
"Alright, well I can breathe again and you seem to be done with your battle against the flash cards, so let's get going." They continue to walk up the steps (more slowly than before). Eventually they are high enough that they can see the entire city. The Doctor points out some interesting places, but Amy is focused on her victory.
Suddenly she stops short. The Doctor keeps walking. "See who needs a breather now? I told you stairs were hard work, especial-"
"Doctor, I don't need a breather. Look up there." She points toward the top of the ziggurat. The Doctor pauses and looks up.
"I think it's-"
"The tardis. Someone must have found it. Maybe they think it's a gift from the Gods. I hate to break it to them, but I'm going to have to take this godly gift away. Come along, Pond." They climb the rest of the way.
They reach the top and see the tardis has disappeared. "Hmm. They must have moved it into that building." Says the Doctor pointing straight ahead. They start towards it, but suddenly a man comes out. He has a long curly beard and a long dress to match it. "He must be a priest." The Doctor whispers to Amy.
"Civilians are not allowed in the temple." He says. The Doctor laughs and pulls out his psychic paper.
"I'm not a civilian, I'm a priest." He says, showing him the blank paper. He looks at it.
"This is a blank piece of paper." He says. The Doctor looks concerned for a moment and then his smiling face reappears.
"Right of course, how silly of me. I've seemed to have taken the wrong wallet. I'll just return home and get it." He says and then pulls Amy along back down the stairs. She tries to get him to stop, but he just keeps walking. A moment later he looks back and sees the priest is gone. He stops.
"Okay. That man is not a priest and he's not human. Or at least not from this time period."
"What?" Amy asks.
"That man could see through my psychic paper which means he either has superior intelligence or has been trained to do so. Either way he is not Sumerian."
"But how do you know he's not just a really smart Sumerian?" Amy asks. The Doctor rolls his eyes as if it's painfully obvious.
"Because he referred to the psychic paper as paper, which hasn't been invented yet."
"So why is he here and what does he want with the tardis?" The Doctor narrows his eyes.
"That's what we're going to find out…"
A few minutes later Amy and the Doctor reappear at the top of the steps. This time, however, they are wearing stolen clothing that they "borrowed" from a priest and priestess. No one is guarding the entrance, but just as they begin to enter the man from before appears.
"This temple is off limits to civilians." He says.
"Haha we, my friend, are not civilians." The Doctor gestures to his priestly tunic and beard. "I am a priest and this is my assistant priestess," Amy bows dignifiedly. "And we are here because we heard the news!"
"The news?" The priest asks quizzically.
"Yes, the news. The news that the gods have sent us a big blue box to worship in honor of them. Most exciting. May we see it?"
"I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about." The Doctor laughs at this whole-heartedly.
"But as a priest I'm sure you have been informed about it and have no doubt seen it. Especially because I was told that it resides in this temple."
"I think whoever gave you this information is very confused. I can assure you that there is no such-"
"Very well, but while we're here we might as well make some offerings to the gods. Come alo-"
"I hate to inform you, but currently this temple is closed for, um, renovations."
"Renovations?"
"Yes, quite. We are installing a new- um, altar. Yes. And until we are done I'm afraid you'll have to worship elsewhere. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but if you'll just be goi-"
"A new altar! How exciting! Surely as another priest you will allow me to glimpse-"
"No, no, no I'm sorry but it is a surprise. Now if you'll be going" The priest says rather aggressively. The Doctor is silent for a moment. But then he speaks up and says, "Of course. And may the gods favor your fortune." And he turns to walk away.
"What was that?" Amy asks once the priest has disappeared.
"Just something I heard being said at the Bazaar. I think it's the traditional farewell here-"
"Not the goodbye, that guy."
"Oh. Yes I noticed he seemed quite passionate about keeping us from going into that temple."
"So, what are we going to do now?" Amy asks. The Doctor smiles mischievously at her.
"Try again…"
"Your holiness. I have an offering for you." A man says to the priest. The priest looks skeptically at him. The man is carrying a large clay pot covered by a lid, almost big enough to fit a person. Maybe even two.
"But I did not order any offerings." He says.
"Yes. But this is a gift. To you." The priest looks at him skeptically again.
"Who is it from?"
"It says," The man begins while leaning down to read an inscription on the side of the pot. "From your secret admirer." The priest looks at the man questionably. The man just shrugs indifferently. Finally the priest gives in.
"Very well. Bring it in, just be quick about it." The priest beckons the man to follow him. They enter the temple and walk down some corridors lined with rooms. They continue to twist and turn until the priest stops outside one of them.
"Just leave it in here." He says. The room is filled with other pots and vessels filled with various spices and beans of sorts. The man places it down and then stands there. He holds out his hand expectantly waiting for a tip.
"Oh, very well." The priest says. He rummages through his tunic until he pulls out two gold coins. He hands them over. "Now goodbye." The man leaves and a moment later the priest leaves in the opposite direction.
A few moments later there is a rough scraping sound as the lid of the pot is pushed off. The Doctor pokes his head out. "All clear."
He climbs out and starts surveying the room. Amy climbs out after him. "Ouf. That was a tight fit. Unlike the tardis, that pot is smaller on the inside." She stretches out her back.
"And by the way, from your secret admirer? Why?" She asks laughing a bit. The Doctor turns to smile at her.
"It always works, even in the 22th century B.C." He glances down the corridor. "Alrighty then, let's find us a tardis."
They wander through the halls but find no sign of the tardis or the mysterious priest. "This place is much bigger than it looked on the outside." Amy says trying to pass the time.
"Yes, that's because where we entered was only a small entry way. We probably went down some stairs and are now in the lower, bigger layers of the ziggurat."
"Right…So how are we going to find the tardis in here?" Amy asks. The Doctor shrugs his shoulders.
"Just keep looking." And so they continue searching all the corridors and rooms. Finally they find a hallway that has no other rooms branching off of it. It seems to be a dead end.
"Let me guess. Hidden door that leads to a hidden room maybe?" Amy asks. The Doctor smiles.
"Beautiful deduction. Now we just need to locate this hidden door." The Doctor pulls out his sonic screwdriver and begins scanning the walls. Amy glances around the hallway and notices a single torch burning along one wall. Only one torch? I'm sure the Doctor needs more light than that. Amy thinks to herself. She reaches up to grab the torch and pull it out.
Suddenly the wall directly next to her begins to shake. A thin line appears outlining a door. The Doctor looks up. "Job well done Pond. The old torch that's really a hidden lever trick. Should've known."
He peers down the hallway. There's a light at the end. "Déjà vu." He jokes.
"Yeah. Let's just hope there are no mad Cybermen at the end of this hallway." Amy jokes back.
They start walking down the hallway. They hear a voice and follow it to the end. They find a very modern looking room, with computers lining the wall. And at the end of the line of computers the tardis! Unfortunately the sketchy priest is sitting at one of the computers and appears to be speaking to someone.
"No signs of suspicious activity. Although there's been one thing…Yes. It is very strange indeed. It appears to be a blue police box from around the 1960's A.D…It just appeared on the edges of the city…I've no idea…Who? I don't think so…Wait. On second thought there was this one person…Well he was-yes of course…" Amy is listening intently to the snippets of conversation, but the Doctor is focused on a large T made out of hexagons above the row of computers.
"Torchwood." He mutters. Suddenly the priest spins around.
"You." He says.
"Who it is? Anderson what is it?" A voice says from the computer behind him. "Anderson? Respond. What is the situation?"
"It's him." The priest says, his eyes locked on the Doctor. "It's the Doctor." The voice behind him goes silent. The Doctor's eyes narrow.
"That's right." He says, now very serious. "It's the Doctor. And I want to know what exactly Torchwood wants with my tardis." The priest jumps up. He seems very frightened and mousy all of a sudden.
"I'm so terribly sorry. I hadn't realized. If I'd have known- You see, Torchwood has been experimenting with time travel and I was sent back to see how far back we can go. This is the furthest anyone has traveled back with our technology. I'm supposed to monitor it to be safe and also look out for any suspicious activity. When I saw a police box from the 1960's I thought-"
"Wait. Hold up." Amy says, holding her hands up in a stop gesture. "I'm so confused right now can someone please explain to me what's going on and what exactly Torchwood is?" The Doctor turns to Amy.
"Long story short, Torchwood is an institute created to defend the Earth against me, but later evolved to include all aliens and monsters and such. And-no offense-"he says to the priest. "But whenever our paths cross they always tend to get in the way or make things complicated. And I want to know why they stole my tardis." He says, his voice exposing a bit of venom.
"This is a misunderstanding." The priest says. "I didn't know. I'm so sorry. You can have your um, tardis back." The Doctor's face softened a touch.
"No experiments or anything were performed on it?" The Doctor asks. The priest shakes his head violently.
"I couldn't even open it." He says. All traces of anger on the Doctor's face suddenly disappear.
"Oh, no harm done. I was just teasing you." He says smiling. "It was just a little mix up, nothing to be angry about. Oh and say hi to Martha for me." With that he hops up to the tardis and pulls out his key.
"Doctor, why are you here?" The priest asks.
"Oh, Amy and I are teaching a history course." He says while unlocking the tardis door.
"Excuse me? I must have misheard you, I swear you said you were-"
"Teaching a history course. Yes. Amy show him the flash cards." Amy holds up the flash cards decisively.
"Yep." She says. "And our next unit is Ancient Egypt."
"Ooo. I can't wait for you to meet Queen Nefertiti. She's a feisty one." The Doctor says. Amy rolls her eyes.
"Doctor I already met her. On the spaceship with dinosaurs." She reminds him.
"Oh. I guess you'll just have to be satisfied with watching priests embalming mummies."
"Oh I'm very excited for that." Amy says sarcastically. She climbs into the tardis behind the Doctor, then pokes her head out.
"It was nice meeting you, um, I didn't catch your name."
"Anderson."
"It was nice meeting you Anderson." And she jumps back in. A moment later a whirring noise signals the departure of the tardis and they disappear. The priest stands silently in shock for a moment. Then the voice on the computer speaks up.
"Hey, so how'd you like your first meeting with the Doctor?"
"It was…fascinating…Did you know he's teaching history?" The voice laughs in disbelief.
"The Doctor? Teaching history? Very funny."
"No really! He said he's going to Ancient Egypt next."
"Hmm. I think maybe you might have misheard him."
"But I-"
"Alright Anderson, enough fooling around. Back to work." With that the voice signed out. Anderson just sat there staring at where the tardis had been a moment ago.
"A Time Lord teaching history…" He mutters to himself.