THREE

"Each player must accept the cards life deals for him or her. But once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game" - Voltaire

As soon as Martin lowered himself down onto the seat The Doctor leaped up suddenly.

"Nah, tell you what, let's go for a walk," he said starting to stroll slowly along the gravel path. "It's a lovely day with a nip in the air and a faint smell of lilac on the breeze," he sniffed in softly then pointed ahead, "And there's that lovely little wood next to Mrs McFlurry's cottage". He looked back at Martin for the first time, "We could have a wander in there".

"Mrs McFlurry's cottage?" Martin asked puzzled. "My Nan used to talk about her. She always used to tell me these old wife's tales of how that cottage used to have all sorts of dark things happening around it. People were killed and all sorts…" Martin stared off into the distance remembering the sound of his Nan's voice as she used to tell him stories at night. "Then, apparently, this 'stranger' came along and sorted the whole thing out and then suddenly all the monsters were gone." Martin shook his head at how silly the whole story sounded, clapped his hands together as he stood up and started following The Doctor who had picked up quite a pace. "But that was years ago. She was old when my Nan was young. It hasn't been Mrs McFlurry's house for over sixty years."

The Doctor stopped in his tracks. "Oh yeah" he said as if confused no more. He scratched his ear and played with the back of his neck. He then carried on walking but more slowly this time. Martin caught up with him and they both walked in line. "She made a lovely cup of tea, Mrs McFlurry did" The Doctor said casually, "She always had ice cream too". His voice trailed off softly and his eyes wandered towards the wood. He shook his head and lifted his voice once more "Anyway…" he said brightly, "Where were we?"

"You were about to tell me about 'One-ness' of all life, apparently" Martin said with a grin forming upon his mouth. The Doctor looked at him squarely in the eye. He held his gaze for a second and Martin could almost feel himself being pulled in…

The Doctor looked away suddenly and turned his eyes so he was squinting towards the sun.

"Well, you know, these are just theories, ok?" he began, "I'm not saying this is Truth with a capital T. How could it be? Your head would explode if I told you the Truth!" He raised a clenched fist to the side of his face and then opened it suddenly whooshing the sound of an explosion as he did it.

"Oh, come on, Doctor", Martin said undefeated, "I'm not thick. Tell me."

The Doctor was perfectly still and calm. He picked up a tiny, black pebble and stared at it intently. His voice was low and soothing…

"There is a myth among my own people, among many peoples, that says the universe sprang from one single entity. Some people call this 'The Day of Creation'. Others call it 'The Big Bang'. The Time Lords called it 'The Kinetic Dance'… which was unusually imaginative and poetic for that lot."

Martin wanted to interrupt but just couldn't. 'Time lords?' What was all that about?

The Doctor continued, his voice was calm and smooth. "Others personify this force and give it a names: Enki, Ra, God,… Dave… whatever". His voice was just above a whisper now, "And I suppose the idea is that this 'one thing' couldn't know itself as anything except that 'one thing' so it splintered itself into trillions and zillions of pieces in order to know itself as an experience… A sort of knowable 'something', if you like… And made all the pieces of itself forget that it was actually 'one thing' so that it could experience everything it was not… Namely the hot and the cold, the up and the down… the love and the fear… Life acting out it's own creations unaware of how everyone, and everything, is 'connected'… And that's 'us' right here and right now." He kept staring at the pebble as he bounced it in his hand. "We are the Universe experiencing itself … Because that is what life is… The Universe experiencing itself… through us. So, in a sense, we are God 'God-ing'… and 'God' is just another word for 'life'". He looked up and smiled at Martin. "We're all One thing…" He put his hands in his pockets once more squeezing the stone as he did so. "You know… Apparently", he added almost dismissively.

Martin could feel his head spinning.

"Now, of course," The Doctor continued, "On a molecular level that's true anyway. We're all made from 'star stuff', as Carl Sagan put it…We are all made from tiny little particles that came out of a dead sun…. so I can see where that's coming from." The sides of his mouth drooped down once more. "And, of course, on a spiritual level, all religions have their own idea of a 'One-ness' with God. The Buddha, for example, taught of how all life began with one thought. Muhammad, Paramahansa Yogananda, Baha'Allah…. Many spiritual masters all had very similar messages to convey, and most humans who've had, what some people call, a 'religious experience' always tell of the beautiful, euphoric sense of connection with all of life that the experience gives them."

The Doctor looked over at the Church and turned to walk straight back towards it. It was an old 15th century church built onto the side of a picturesque green hill, it's roof a recent 21st century update but it's walls were beautiful, granite grey. Martin and The Doctor approached the side of the church in silence. Martin didn't really know what to say. This was all moving so fast for him.

The Doctor looked deeply into a stained glass window. Among the tirade of colours was a depiction of Christ on the cross, his side pierced and his head bloodied with a crown of thorns. The Doctor looked deeply into the eyes of the figure.

"I mean Jesus said 'I and the Father are One' so maybe he was onto something too" he nodded up at the window but then winced at the scene depicted as if only just really seeing it for the first time. "And look where he ended up".

"But Jesus died for us, Doctor" Martin began before stopping himself. He thought he had put his 'faith' behind him.

The Doctor looked round at him, "Are your old Sunday School teachings kicking in, Marty? I'd get that seen to if I were you." The Doctor nodded condescendingly.

"But it all can't be for nothing!" Martin protested his voice was raised for the first time as he stood pointing towards the window. "He can't have gone through all that for nothing! He had a message!" Martin surprised himself at his out burst. Did he really believe that?

"And what was his message Marty, huh? You tell me" The Doctor stood almost looking down on him as if demanding of Martin the answer he did not yet have himself.

Martin sat down on the grass heavily. He let out a long sigh and looked up at the Doctor. How could he sum up what he believed Jesus' message was? What had he actually learnt in those Sunday schools?

What would his Nan say right now?

"It was love, Doctor" he said gently, "He said to love one another".

The Doctor starred at him once more. Martin looked deeply into The Doctor's brown eyes. He kept his gaze firm and The Doctor did the same. Again Martin felt himself been drawn towards The Doctor. It was as if he was literally falling into his eyes…

The Doctor suddenly sniffed and turned to look once more at the window.

"Well, yeah," The Doctor began, "But he also talked about Hell and Judgement and the end of the world… I mean, it's not all love and light is it? The Bible, that is…". He sucked in air between his teeth "Of course, there's no way of telling if Jesus actually said those things. Maybe he was just a lovely, spiritual bloke who's had his teachings perverted by other human's agendas. . Maybe people have added to his story and taken away from it… The Council Of Nicaea … Mystery schools… Hidden knowledge… The Di Vinci Code…" The Doctor breathed in sharply "Oh, it's a mine field, Marty. 'To love each other'? Yeah, that's great but what does that mean? What about pain? Suffering? Tyranny? How do you love someone who's coming at you with an axe?" The Doctor shook his head, his eyes skyward. "It's not all love and light," he repeated. He looked around at Martin once more and saw that the man was sobbing gently, "But, you know, most of the time it can be… if you want it to be" The Doctor added softly, he knew he might have over stepped the mark a bit. He knelt down beside Martin balancing on his tiptoes with his hands interlocked above his knees. "I'm sorry, Martin, but you did ask" he said, his voice was low and measured.

"Oh, it's not that, Doctor" Martin said wiping away his few tears, "it's just…. Bloody hell… everything. I've buried my Nan today and now I'm having my … her faith dissected before my eyes." He stood up sharply. The Doctor began to speak but Martin silenced him with his hands. "It's ok, Doctor, I know you don't mean to be disrespectful but I'm sure if my Nan was here she would argue you into the ground with all that you are saying." He brushed grass from his coat and patted down his trousers. "I'm sure if Jesus was alive today he'd have lots to say about how the Church has handled his message since his death but, as he isn't, we'll just have to pretend we know what he meant!". He breathed in deeply and let out almost a nervous laugh. He looked at the Doctor who stood perfectly calm in front of him.

When the Doctor spoke his voice was confident and measured.

"Do you want to go and ask him what he meant?"

Martin was taken aback "What, like, pray or something?"

"No, I mean go meet Jesus… in the flesh… right now… me and you"

The Doctor's face was straight and expressionless.

Martin laughed again as he started to rise to his feet "And how do we do that?" He asked sarcastically.

The Doctor just smiled.

"Like attracts like.

Whatever the conscious mind thinks and believes

The subconscious identically creates"

- Brian Adams, 'How to Succeed'