Coryn Lu Reaux could not believe her eyes. She was sitting at a café in the South of France, visiting her aunt Genvieve. Aunt Genvieve was sitting at home, leaving Coryn to navigate all by herself. Coryn was far from home, good old Alberta, Canada. But in front of her was the strangest thing she'd ever seen. It was stranger than the mimes and street performers dotting the streets, stranger than her aunt Genvieve's cooking, which she'd always been somewhat skeptical of. Across the street, under a willow tree was a big blue box. It had appeared out of absolutely nowhere and said Police Box on it, and Coryn was sure she'd never seen one. And then the door opened, and first came out a very attractive man in a blue suit. He was tall, thin and had this great hair. He looked back toward the door, waiting for something or someone. Coryn was waiting too, cup still halfway to her lips. And out the door now came a woman. She was short, thin, and really very beautiful. Coryn was jealous of her, and she didn't even know why. The woman's hair was dark black, her skin incredibly pale and she looked up at the man, smiling. He took her hand and they walked over, straight into the café Coryn sat outside of. The woman smiled at her as they passed, but the man didn't seem to see her at all. Coryn turned herself round, watching them as they stood in line, purchased their drinks and then came back outside, sitting at a table across from her. She pretended to be reading the paper, left by the table's previous occupant. She barely read French, though, and cocked her ear so that she could hear this couple's conversation. They were speaking English! They had English accents!
"What is this? It's, it's cinnamon, oh, blast." said the man, sniffing his drink.
The woman rolled her eyes and said, "What's wrong with cinnamon?"
"No, it's not that, it just makes me sneeze." The woman barely suppressed a smile and instead took a sip of her own beverage. The man pulled two objects out of his pocket, a long silver probe-looking thing and a green and silver orb. He pushed a button on the silver probe and seemed to be scanning the orb. It made a strange metallic sound. Coryn looked round the street and found that no one else was so engrossed in these two. They were hardly even looking at them! And the woman, so used to him, for sure, was staring up at the sky, turning an odd necklace in her fingers. It looked like a key. Looking closer, Coryn could see evidence of a recently healed broken nose and a small scar on her right cheekbone. What had happened to this girl? Coryn prided herself on being sneaky, always able to eavesdrop, barely ever noticed. But this woman looked over at her; curious at first, then a little suspicious like she'd known Coryn had been staring at her the whole time. Coryn made quick business of running one hand through her long honey red hair and fishing for her mobile with the other. Of course she had no texts, no calls, no email, nothing. She'd always been somewhat lonely. No father ever, an absent, distant mother, no siblings and hardly any friends.
The man and woman were looking all round the street now, like they were checking to make sure the coast was clear. It was early on a Tuesday morning, so there were very few people out and about. They both stood, the man still holing onto the orb. It was glowing now and starting to revolve. He made to throw it into the air, but the girl stayed his hand when she touched his elbow. He raised his eyebrows at her and she just barely jerked her head back to Coryn herself! He took the briefest glance at her, Coryn, pretending she hadn't noticed a thing, and nodded. The woman let go and the man threw the orb into the sky. It hung there, defying gravity. The two were looking up at it expectantly. It had started to whistle, sort of like a tea kettle and out of nowhere, hurtling down the street came this, this thing! It was like a robot, only flying and it had its arms outstretched in a menacing fashion. The woman was standing directly in its path and the man was holding out the silver probe. As the robot came toward the woman, screeching, it seemed to see Coryn. She didn't know how any of this was possible, but yes, it was changing direction, banking slightly to the right. The man looked back, his eyes wide and Coryn saw her whole boring life flash before her eyes. As the robot reached out to grab her face, she ducked, swinging herself round to the left. The thing collided with the wall behind her, then immediately recovered. Coryn was able to trap it in the table's umbrella, quickly closing it, holding the bottom shut with her hands. She could feel it struggling, clawing, and trying to break loose. The couple walked over to her, the woman saying, "Are you alright?" Coryn nodded, though her eyes were wide and her heart was beating so fast. The man stepped forward and held out the orb, pushing a button on it that Coryn had not seen before. Coryn was unable to hold shut the umbrella, but the thing felt out, quite dead. Maybe. She took in several deep breaths and said frantically, "What is that? I thought it was gonna kill me!" The woman was scooping the thing up, putting it gently back into the orb, which had opened wide enough for it, and then man closed it with his sonic probe. "He's just territorial. Supposed to help, he is, but something's made him go slightly mad." Coryn only nodded, looking to the woman for help, for reassurance. "You're alright; the Doctor's put him to sleep. Or hibernate, or whatever it is you said he did. Anyway, that's him, the Doctor, and I'm Lucy Blake." she extended a hand and Coryn shook it.
"I'm Coryn Lu Reaux."
"American?" Lucy Blake asked.
"No, Canadian. I'm visiting my aunt on vacation though." Lucy Blake nodded and the man called the Doctor looked at Lucy first, so sweetly and then at Coryn. "Well, Coryn Lu Reaux, would you fancy yourself a traveler?"
"I suppose. It's not like I have anything better to do."
"Well traveling is the best thing in the universe you can do. Fancy a trip?"
"I'm already on a trip, you know. Besides… you two. I mean, is it always like that? Running and robots. I was in England for the past two Christmases. Titanic? That Star?"
The man laughed, saying, "Yeah, I was there for all of that. I was at Canary Warf too." And then he looked sad and Lucy put a hand on his elbow, squeezing briefly.
"Well, I couldn't live like that. You two, you're, you're strange, you know? Frankly, you scare me to death." The Doctor looked only slightly disappointed and then said,
"Well, alright, suit yourself. Come on Lucy, time to go."
"Hold on, Doctor, I'll be right there." The Doctor looked back and forth between the two women, then shrugged and walked back towards his blue box, hands in his pockets. Lucy looked Coryn in the eye, but didn't say anything for a moment. So Coryn began.
"Is it really always like that, though?"
"Sometimes. But it's worth it, it's so worth it."
"Oh yeah? And what happened to you then?" Coryn said, indicating Lucy's scar and nose.
"That wasn't his fault. But traveling with the Doctor is the best thing you'll ever do. It changes you. He's an alien, you know. He's called a Time Lord. And that's his ship over there; it's called a T.A.R.D.I.S. Time and relative dimension in space. Please come, Coryn, I can tell he's impressed by you."
"Oh yeah? How's that?"
"I can just tell. It was the way he looked at you."
"Where would we go?"
"Anywhere, anywhen. I told you, we can travel in time as well, and to different planets, different galaxies."
"You look like him, you know. Just, in the eyes, somehow." Lucy gave her a strange look, not sure whether it was a compliment or an accusation. But in a moment she was fine, looking at her expectantly now.
"I suppose, well…I suppose a trip couldn't hurt." Lucy beamed and led her back to this T.A.R.D.I.S. thing. It looked awfully small.
Inside the Doctor's ship, Coryn stood, mouth hanging open. "It's, dear god it's bigger on the inside!" Lucy and the Doctor smiled. Lucy, jerking her head towards Coryn, said to the Doctor, "Is that what I sounded like my first trip?"
"Your eyes were wider." She hit him playfully on the shoulder and then he turned to Coryn.
"So, Miss Lu Reaux, where do you want to go? Oh, I love rhyming." Coryn was bewildered. What did these people see in her? Looking at Lucy Blake, she said, "You said we can go anywhere, and travel in time as well?" Lucy nodded sagely, leaning up against the metal railing like it was home. Well, for her it was.
"I don't know if I could pick. There's just so much."
"Tell you what." said the Doctor, "We'll make it random! I always say to Lucy it makes it more fun." As the Doctor messed with the controls, Lucy threw him a doubtful look but then a reassuring one over at Coryn. She motioned for her to come over and silently led her down a hallway, into what looked like her bedroom.
"Lucy, I'm so overwhelmed! I mean, you two just sort of show up in my life and now everything's different! Is that how it happened with you?" Coryn was sitting on Lucy's bed, Lucy, leaning against her armoire.
"Pretty much, yes. I was working as a designer in London and he showed up one day. I was the only one who noticed him, who paid attention to what he was really doing and he invited me to travel with him. It's just like you, actually. You noticed what we were doing on that street in France. You paid attention. I could tell he knew you were different."
"But that's just the thing, I'm not. I'm a waitress back in Alberta. This, and England are the only places I've been outside of Canada in my whole life."
"That's more than some people can say."
"Not you, though. And certainly not him."
"Before I met the Doctor, I'd been on holiday in Greece. That's it. Nowhere else outside the good old U.K." Lucy looked up as she felt the familiar jolt that meant they'd landed. She leaned forward, squeezed Coryn's knee and stood up, not waiting for her to follow as she walked out the door.
"So, where did we end up, Doctor?" Lucy asked, smiling.
"This is Earth's future in 5,000 years. I don't think I've ever been, so it's an adventure for all!" Lucy grinned as she bounded out the door. The Doctor turned to Coryn, sensing that she was frightened. Lucy could manage on her own for a couple minutes.
"I'd understand it if you were scared. I myself don't know what's waiting outside those doors."
"I'm really glad you asked me to come with you…Doctor. It's just, you know, you both are new and-"
"How old are you?"
"Um, I just turned eighteen last month."
The Doctor nodded and looking deep into Coryn's eyes, said, "Happy belated." She only nodded, entranced in those chocolate brown pools. He jerked his head forward, motioning her outside, and the spell was broken.
Outside the T.A.R.D.I.S. Coryn looked round herself. The sky was clear above her, very much liker her own sky, but everything else was as different as could be. Every building looked regulation, no personal touches anywhere. Everything was cold metal and there wasn't a single plant or green thing in sight. The air was cool and actually felt stiff, as though the wind were afraid to blow. Walking alongside the Doctor, Coryn noticed two things: there was no one walking round, at all, and Lucy was also nowhere. The Doctor seemed to be sharing her feelings and was looking about himself as well, searching. "Maybe she's playing a joke on us. Saw that no one was around, made herself scarce." The Doctor shot her a look like even he knew that she didn't believe herself. And now Coryn was starting to get scared. This was her first trip in time, and the one person she felt close to was nowhere to be found. Everything was so unfamiliar! The Doctor made his way inside a building, pushing the revolving door. She followed, timidly and saw that the inside was just as stark as the out. Cold people sat on cold chairs before cold desks in cold rooms. Everyone, men and women wore a nearly shapeless grey uniform, one piece. On each left breast pocket was a letter, followed by a series of three numbers. The woman who looked like the receptionist had T135 across her chest. A man in the same uniform was pushing round a cleaning trolley and Coryn took him to be a janitor. His serial number was Q618. Maybe the farther up in the alphabet you were, the higher your rank was. The Doctor walked up to T135 and said, "'Scuse me, mum, but I've lost my friend and I was wondering if she wandered in here." The woman looked up at him coldly and said, "I can assure you no one has wandered in here. A woman was just brought in because she had not been assimilated. Nor, I see, have you and your other friend. Guards!" And forth came two men that apparently neither Coryn nor the Doctor had noticed. Their numbers were F372 and F373, who took hold of the Doctor and Coryn respectively. They were led down an annex, one that was far too brightly lit for Coryn's taste and then down several flights of stairs. The guard in front pushed open a door to his immediate left and Coryn and the Doctor were guided inside. This room too, was brightly lit and the sight that met Coryn's eyes was both confusing and terrible. A man and woman were standing, waiting for them. Their numbers were A500 and A600. They looked quite cold, disconnected. In front of them were five tables, each the length of a tall man. Strapped to the middle one was Lucy. She was unconscious, strapped at the chest, hips and ankles, the hip straps extending to bind her wrists tight. The Doctor could see a distinct puncture mark on her neck, and thought that was what they'd used to knock her out and drag her away without her screaming and struggling. Why did this kind of thing keep happening? The man, A500, snapped his fingers and the guard holding Coryn swiftly pulled a syringe out of his pocket and jabbed it into her neck before the Doctor could shout, "No!" He braced himself, but no needle met his flesh. He watched, helpless, as the guard, with the help of the A500 man strapped Coryn to the table. "Why haven't you dosed me? What's going to happen to them? Who are you people?"
"We are human." said the woman. Her eyes were as dull as anyone else's, he thought they might once have been green, but now they were the same opaque colour as all these people. Her hair was pulled back in a sleek bun, like all the women's and was dusty brown. "And you are not human." Her cool, measured voice was actually starting to unnerve him. "And you are called…Doctor. A Time Lord. The last of the Time Lords. The lonely god."
"How are you doing this? Stop it, and answer my questions."
"Very well. The human race has started to fall apart. In efforts to preserve it, a man, a scientist created a vaccine. He ensured that any human would instantly be able to detect alien threats. It became mandatory. Once we had everyone vaccinated, it was easy to convince them that they needed order. In order to preserve the human race, they must all be the same. They must let no difference contaminate them."
The Doctor noticed that she herself might be Asian, and the man she was with was black. Apparently race didn't matter as much as species.
"Is that what you've done to my friends? Have you vaccinated them already?"
"No, only put them asleep. It works faster that way, you see. The vaccination will re-educate them. It will be like they are being born again. They will be one with each other and with all of us. The human race, as one."
"And how could you tell that I'm not human, and what I actually am?"
"The vaccine itself. We can see the auras of all beings, and each one has its own colour, texture, taste, smell. Yours is unlike anything we have ever seen. It is so filled with both life and death, light and dark. How can you stand it?"
"I very often can't." the Doctor said darkly. "I've been so alone for so long."
"A vaccination would keep you from ever feeling alone again. If only you were human." At this point, the man stepped up to the Doctor. At first, he didn't say anything, just studied him, walking around him in a circle. "You fascinate us, Doctor." He said. His voice was quite deep, and where the woman's was cool, and almost vacant, his was downright frigid and cruel. The Doctor frowned, knowing that he was in for some trouble. He always was.
"But you can't just go round making everybody the same! You evolve, that's what you do, it's natural!"
"The human race will prevail, Doctor." said the man. "And you can do nothing to stop us."
"Well that's where you're wrong. I can, and I will."
"I wonder." said the man stepping over to the tables that held Lucy and Coryn. "I wonder what you would do. Do you value all life, Doctor? Or only your own?"
"All life." said the Doctor, his voice matching the coolness in the other man's.
"Then what would you do if you had to choose? And you do have to choose. One life over another's. Coryn Lu Reaux's or Lucy Blake's? It is up to you." A500 lowered his head and grinned. On his part, the Doctor resisted the urge to vomit.
