Chapter 12

Mal surveyed the two of them, his eyes on their clasped hands. Whatever he saw must've satisfied him, because he nodded and addressed the Doctor. "So. You said you know how Niska thinks—there anythin' in particular you think we should know?"

"It might be more worthwhile for you to tell me what you know of him first, so I can fill in the gaps."

Zoe cleared her throat. "We know he's one of the wealthiest, most powerful crime lords in the 'Verse. What Niska wants, Niska gets—most of the time, at least."

The Doctor cocked his head, and his hair brushed Rose's cheek. She had to fight back a shiver. "Yes, you were the team that nearly crippled him before, weren't you? He liked to regale me with his plans for you." His eyes darkened. "Say what you will about his complete and utter lack of empathy or conscience, no one could deny that the man has quite the imagination. Reminded me quite a bit of an old friend of mine." He laughed bitterly. "I kept my eyes open for a fob watch the whole time I was there."

Mal's eyebrows drew up in confusion, but his voice was level when he spoke. "Nice as it is to know he remembers us, what else did you learn?"

"I'm assuming you're familiar with the Blue Sun Corporation?"

"'Course we are. They're everywhere. What, you sayin' Niska's been secretly selling canned goods?" His sarcasm faded when he noticed how serious the Doctor was.

"Oh, no. Blue Sun is far more than what they appear. Have you never wondered how that one corporation managed to end up everywhere the Alliance has touched?"

"Just thought they were smart businesspeople." Zoe's voice was calm and measured, but her gaze was intent on the Doctor. "Corporations can show up anywhere, if they're powerful enough."

"Blue Sun in powerful, there's no doubt about that. I suppose I worded my question incorrectly earlier." He paused and met their eyes seriously. "Have you never wondered how the Alliance managed to end up everywhere Blue Sun has appeared?"

Mal snorted. "What, you're sayin' that Blue Sun's the one controllin' the Alliance? That's absurd."

"Not as crazy as you might think." Mal turned a baleful gaze on Rose, but she met his eyes levelly and continued. "Where I came from, there were plenty of corporations that were more powerful than just about half the countries in the world. When money talks, Captain Reynolds, almost anyone will listen."

"And Blue Sun is far more than a corporation." The Doctor smiled crookedly. "That's just their cover, as it were. Have you ever heard of the Shadow Proclamation?" When both Zoe and Mal shook their heads, he nodded thoughtfully. "No, of course you wouldn't have. They're too cautious for that."

Mal was watching the Doctor with narrowed eyes. "Who is?"

"Blue Sun, of course. What they've done is extraordinary, really, if more than a bit twisted." He looked at Mal and Zoe. "What's your opinion on aliens?"

Mal blinked, and Zoe raised an eyebrow before speaking. "I know just about every two-bit charlatan claims to have one, but I've never seen any proof."

"Zoe, was it?" When she nodded, the Doctor grinned. "Good name, Zoe. I once had a dear friend named Zoe. She had her memories of me erased, but that's neither here nor there. You wanted proof? You're talking to it." He waggled his fingers at her. "Hello."

"You're an alien." He nodded, still grinning, and she crossed her arms. "You'll forgive me if I'm a bit skeptical."

"Nothing wrong with a little skepticism. Ol' Pyrrho was always fun to argue with. If you want more evidence, though, check out the scans the good doctor left on the counter." He leaned more firmly against Rose as Zoe picked up the scans and looked over them, Mal watching over her shoulder.

Mal raised his eyebrows. "Huh. Never seen two hearts on somebody before. Seen hearts that weren't theirs to begin with, sure, but never two at once."

"Oh, these two are definitely mine. Had 'em the whole time I've had this body. I'm what's known as a Time Lord, incidentally. Two hearts are a regular feature."

"Time Lord?" Mal snorted. "Bit grandiose, isn't it?"

"Hey, I wasn't the one who chose it." The Doctor shifted uncomfortably. "The only one. Anyway! Blue Sun. Judging from your attire and your bearing, I'd guess you were both Independents?" Both Zoe and Mal nodded cautiously, and he continued. "Did you ever wonder how exactly the Alliance managed to outgun and outman you so thoroughly?"

Mal's jaw clenched, and Zoe stiffened. Rose tightened her hand around the Doctor's, and he winced. "Sorry, was that rude? I have a tendency to be rude, this time around." He cleared his throat. "Now, according to what I remember of the politics of this period, the Alliance seems to have a finger in everyone's pie, so to speak. Blue Sun, though—they surround the berries that make up the pies." He paused. "I think that analogy got away from me. But think about it: Blue Sun sells everything from canned goods to travel packages. They've managed to work their way into every single person in this system's way of life. And that is what keeps them from being noticed. They're everywhere, so they're nowhere. They can do their experiments in peace, without anyone the wiser—and if anyone does happen to notice, they can use either the Alliance or people like Niska to wipe them out without ever getting their own hands dirty."

Mal frowned. "What experiments are you talkin' about?"

"I think you know, Captain. If I'm not mistaken, one of the victims has been living here for quite some time." The Doctor paused. "And according to my findings, you've most likely run into several others."

Zoe leaned against the counter, watching the Doctor. "We haven't seen anyone else like River, if that's what you mean."

"I didn't mean like that. River escaped relatively unscathed, in comparison to the victims I was referring to."

Mal spoke up angrily. "Unscathed? We've all heard her screamin' in the night, Doctor. You call that unscathed?"

"River can still be healed, Captain. But the others aren't so lucky." He swallowed. "I believe the common name for them is Reavers."

The blood drained from Mal and Zoe's faces.

Rose frowned. "I've heard horror stories about them—tales of blood and madness. A lot of people seem to think they don't exist."

Zoe swallowed heavily. "They exist, all right. Trust me when I say that if you ever run into them, death is a kindness."

"Laotian bu, somebody made them?" Mal gripped the countertop tightly, his knuckles showing yellow-white against his skin.

"Did you think they were just a coincidence? They patrol the outer reaches of this system, so violently mad that no one sane would ever chance invading their territory—so despite the terraforming technology that allows the settling of previously uninhabitable planets, no one ever dares venture beyond that barrier. The universe is a boundless and extraordinarily diverse place, Captain Reynolds. There are species out there that defy all description and even reason, and yet this system is populated only by humans, and aliens are nothing more than a cheap sideshow attraction. That's what makes Blue Sun's enterprise so extraordinary. They've managed to create a control group out of an entire star system."

The infirmary was silent after the Doctor stopped speaking, the humans in the room trying to grasp the scale of his explanation. Rose rubbed the back of the Doctor's hand with her thumb unconsciously. "That's how the Shadow Proclamation hasn't noticed, isn't it?" When he raised his eyebrows, she continued. "Blue Sun has immersed themselves in their own experiment and left the Alliance in control. The Proclamation can't tell who's actually running the show."

He beamed at her, gripping her hand more tightly. "Exactly. It's phenomenal, really, what they've managed to do. Aliens had been visiting Earth since you lot first stuck your little heads out of the primordial ooze—yours truly included—so any experiments they did there would be tainted by extraterrestrial influence. Here, though, only humans exist, and in such a number they can have endless diversity in their tests. Tell me, Zoe, what led to the settling of this particular star system?"

She frowned. "The Earth was used up, so we had to leave and find new planets to settle. Everyone knows that."

"Or everybody thinks they know that. If the terraforming technology was so advanced that a frozen wasteland could become habitable farmland, though, why didn't they use that technology on good old Mother Earth, hmm?"

Mal ran a hand roughly through his hair. "Assuming I believe you, why would they do that? Why do they want to isolate us—humans, I guess—so much?"

The Doctor grinned. "There's something about humans that defies understanding, really. You're such fragile creatures, and yet you're everywhere. Rassilon knows I still don't understand you, and I've been watching you for centuries. You lot have committed some of the vilest atrocities the universe has ever seen, but I've also seen moments of love and self-sacrifice that defy description. And you never stop looking! You're so frail, and yet you dash off head-long into the unknown, just to see what's there. I don't blame them for wanting to find out what makes humans human, really. You're all such mysteries."

He gripped Rose's hand at that, and she bit her lip. The Doctor certainly loved humans, but she wasn't sure how this him would react to finding out that she wasn't fully human any longer. The Eighth Doctor hadn't minded, to be sure—but he also wasn't the one who knew her before her change.

"So that's what they're trying to do, then? 'Find out what makes humans human'?" Zoe raised her eyebrow skeptically. "Where do Reavers fit in that plan, exactly?"

"I may have been a bit… enthusiastic when speaking about their intentions. From what I've seen, they not only want to understand humans better, but they want to make them better." The Doctor grimaced as if he'd just tasted something foul. "The Academy would be an example of this. Do you have any idea what River Tam is capable of?" Mal shook his head cautiously, and the Doctor sighed. "Be thankful you've never had occasion to find out." He paused and looked down, his eyes dark. "From the files I found, the Reavers were created as the result of an experiment gone wrong on a planet called Miranda."

"Miranda?" Mal frowned. "There ain't nothin' there, as far as I know. Place has been empty for years now."

"Yes, they said it was a terraforming mishap. They lied. It's no coincidence that Miranda is in the heart of Reaver territory. There was a drug that they'd introduced to the atmosphere there that was supposed to make the inhabitants more peaceful, more complaint. For most of the population, it worked—far better than they had planned, actually. Five thousand people stopped fighting, stopped working… eventually, they lost so much interest that they stopped eating, and just lay down and died. For 0.1% of the population, though, it had the opposite effect. Those 0.1% went mad, and became what you would call Reavers."

"Xiāohàn." Mal covered his mouth with his hand, staring at nothing.

Zoe cleared her throat. "Who else know about this?"

"As few people as possible. Those that headed the original project have been eliminated, and they've covered their tracks carefully, but there are still a few witnesses alive." The Doctor's jaw tightened. "One of them was only exposed by accident, but they've been looking for her ever since."

Rose paled. "River." The Doctor nodded, and Mal swore again.

"That's why they're after her so hard? She knows about this?"

"It's amazing how thick having power can make you, sometimes. The lead scientists at the Academy wanted to show off their star pupil, so they exhibited her to some of the highest-ranking officials from both Blue Sun and the Alliance. They just happened to forget that one of the many skills they'd forced on her was telepathy."

Mal shook his head. "Fúdìmó. The knowledge to change the universe, and she's been carryin' it around inside her brain. No wonder she's crazy."

(Laotian bu- God (Heavens), no)

(Xiāohàn- heavens above)