Twists in Time
Chapter Twenty-Six: The Lazarus Experiment: Event of the Year
By Lumendea
AN: Was doing chores and realized that I outright forgot to upload! Sorry folks!
…
Rose watched Martha and Jack enter with a small smile. She had faith that Jack would look after Martha until they got in one way or another. And indeed, the person at the front, Rose hesitated to call a man in a tuxedo a bouncer, stopped them and frowned at his clipboard.
"I'm sorry Doctor and Mrs Tyler, you aren't on the list."
The Doctor pulled out the psychic paper with a slight sigh. Rose didn't bother to look at it and instead watched the man's eyes widen and him shift uneasily.
"The Unified Intelligence Task Force is a little… concerned," the Doctor said.
"The press conference drew our attention," Rose said quickly, but carefully. There was a lot of security out front, likely due to the status of the people entering for the event. A lot of rich-looking people. "There are… some concerns regarding the lack of documentation surrounding Professor Lazarus' work. Given that and the attention it is drawing, it was felt that a… discreet check was for the best." She smiled at the man, trying to tell him gently that this wasn't his fault, but that it could get far messier quickly. "I would rather not ruin the evening of a potentially historic event by UNIT forces rolling up in a tank." Now she gave him a sharper smile and watched with a twist of guilt as he sucked in a sharp breath.
"Alright, alright. Suppose that makes sense." He grumbled under his breath about not being paid enough for this. Given how Rose had already seen some of the other guests acting towards the staff, she agreed.
They walked through a very high-tech entryway. There was a panel of controls to one side beyond a reception desk that looked to have been pushed back. Tasteful and very modern décor had been put up, more plants had been brought in and a few carefully placed decorative screens helped hide that this was normally an office and lab building. Rose had never heard of them and that was bothering her.
Had something in the past changed? Or was it simply not big enough news that it crossed her radar? She supposed it was possible that UNIT had done their own investigation and not called her in due to her age. Rose wasn't able to fit in anywhere as a uni student and they did have a lot of staff. She nibbled her lower lip, trying not to be nervous, but it was difficult. She was in her own past and Rose's memory wasn't good enough to know for sure what had been going on right now without checking her journal.
"Easy, darling," the Doctor said. "It's fine."
"Feels odd being out on an adventure in my past," Rose admitted. She looked around the room and was startled to spot one very familiar face. "Sarah Jane," Rose whispered. She touched the Doctor's arm and nodded to where their friend Sarah Jane was speaking with a middle-aged man in a tuxedo. "Figures she'd be here. She never mentioned it."
"Well, she does have some experience with things like this," the Doctor whispered back. "Now… when would she be?"
"She's met this body," Rose said firmly. That had happened fairly early in her friendship with Sarah Jane. "So that's not a concern."
The Doctor made a thoughtful noise and recalled his recent displeasure that most people had already met this face. She supposed it did get annoying having friends having information you didn't have. And some of the others were more inclined to tease the Doctor about that than she was. They made their way over to Sarah Jane who smiled when she spotted them. The woman was wearing a simple, but attractive black dress with pearls and her hair pulled back. There was no sign of Johnny.
"Well," Sarah Jane said in greeting. "It's a pleasure to see you here." Rose noted with relief that Sarah Jane was being cautious enough not to use names.
"It's good to see you," the Doctor replied. "Covering the news story?" he asked lightly, casually. Rose almost laughed at the old friends carefully trying to see what they should and shouldn't say.
"Oh yes, Professor Lazarus made quite a boast during his earlier interview. Given my experience in handling unusual technology and science stories, one of my news contacts asked me to cover it."
So she was at least here publicly as a reporter. "How did you wrangle an invite?" Rose asked with a smile.
"I am a reporter, dear," Sarah Jane replied with a smile of her own. Then she lowered her voice. "And UNIT wanted a look so they helped shift me higher on the press list." She took a sip of her drink and glanced around. "Nothing so far beyond that no one knows much about exactly what Lazarus has achieved. The people who work here are keeping a tight lid on things."
"That's an achievement in its own right," the Doctor remarked.
"Exactly. UNIT is a bit jumpy when they can't find any records that indicate progress."
"And there's nothing here?" Rose asked.
"Oh, Lazarus has been obsessed with slowing or reversing ageing for most of his career," Sarah Jane replied. "But he's never had a lot of luck. He has impressive backers, but he's gotten into trouble with ethics boards in the past. Tends to cut corners and rush into experiments. From what I understand, there are a lot of blocks against him being allowed to do certain kinds of testing because he isn't allowed the animals. Too many incidents in the past." Displeasure coloured Sarah Jane's features. "He recently got a new backer, a Mister Flamel, and a few months later he's announcing that he's going to change what it means to be human. I don't like it."
"Flamel," the Doctor repeated. He had tensed up while Rose tried to place the name.
"Doctor?"
"Nicolas Flamel is a fairly famous alchemist, at least that's what the rumours about him claimed," the Doctor answered. When Sarah Jane started to ask, the Doctor shook his head. "Sorry, Sarah, but best not. Rose is already crossing her timeline without us giving you too much future knowledge."
"Future knowledge," Sarah Jane laughed. She shook her head. "Someday, you'll find that really funny. But have it your way, Doctor. At least for now." She glanced around. "I best mingle a bit more anyway. Though… I doubt I'll be able to print anything about this with you here." Sarah Jane studied them a moment. "And why are you here?"
"We were asked to come for UNIT," Rose replied calmly. "To discreetly take a look given some of Professor Lazarus' backers."
"Ah. Well, I'll text Benton and let him know you're here," Sarah Jane whispered. "So a younger you isn't called in if something goes wrong." She chuckled and pulled out her phone while starting to move away. "We best mingle and not be seen talking too long."
The Doctor beamed after Sarah Jane until Rose gently nudged him. Sarah Jane was correct that looking too friendly might cause problems for them. It was a bit annoying that Sarah Jane was assuming that something would go wrong. Though, Rose knew, she was probably right.
….
Martha was having trouble staying calm. Yes, she'd decided to stay on the TARDIS a bit longer, but now her two worlds were colliding. She was dressed in the flattering purple dress from the TARDIS and Rose had helped her style her hair in a sleek bun. Jack was her plus one and the sight of him in a tuxedo was very pleasant. She should feel great, but her stomach was turning as she searched the room for her mum. No sign of her yet.
"Hello," a familiar voice said behind her.
Martha spun around to find her sister Tish with a slightly smug expression. "Tish!"
"You look great," Tish said sincerely, making Martha smile. "So, what do you think? Impressive, isn't it?"
"Very," Martha agreed.
"And two nights out in a row for you. That's dangerously close to a social life."
"If I keep this up, I'll end up in all the gossip columns," Martha laughed.
"You might, actually. You should keep an eye out for photographers. And Mum, she's coming too. Even dragging Leo along with her," Tish replied seriously.
"Leo in black tie? That I must see," Martha chuckled. Then Tish's eyes moved to Jack. "This is Jack Harkness."
"A pleasure," Jack said with a charming smile. "I'm guessing that you're Martha's sister then."
"I am." Tish didn't seem to know what to think and looked at Martha. "Is he with you?"
"Yeah," Martha answered.
"But he's not on the list. How did he get in?"
"He's my plus one," Martha said defensively.
"So, you work for Professor Lazarus here at the lab?" Jack asked his smile still in place.
"Yes. I'm part of his executive staff," Tish answered proudly.
Martha scoffed, "She's in the PR department."
"I'm head of the PR department, actually," Tish informed her seriously.
"You're joking." Martha frowned at that. It was good, yes, but it seemed weird.
"I put this whole thing together," Tish told her, nodding around the room at the event.
"I thought this was a new job," Jack said quickly. "That's a lot of take on right away."
"I started last week and yes it was," Tish answered. "But as you can see, I made it happen."
Martha didn't know how to react to that. Part of her, the part of her that had been travelling on the TARDIS, was a bit suspicious of that. If this was nothing then fine, but if it was something then it was strange that her sister was involved. Martha firmly pushed that suspicion down and smiled, unwilling to rain on her sister's parade.
"Martha," her mum's voice greeted. Martha turned and found her mother walking over with Leo.
"Mum," she greeted happily. Martha threw her arms around her mother and hugged her. They didn't see each other every day, though her mum often called daily to check in, but with the high-stress situations Martha had been facing, it suddenly felt very good to be with her mother. Martha let go of her mum quickly, hoping that she wasn't blushing or looking guilty. Francine's attention immediately shifted to Jack.
"You disappeared last night," Francine said suspiciously.
Tensing, Martha tried not to react badly to the words. She's hardly vanished. She's just stopped following along with her fighting family. Leaving the restaurant like they had was embarrassment enough. Besides, she was an adult woman with her own life. Had her mum really expected her to just… linger there in the background while she had another screaming match with her father?
"I just went home," Martha replied.
Her mum was looking sternly at Jack. "On your own?"
"This is a friend of mine," Martha said quickly. "Mum, this is Jack."
"Jack Harkness," Jack said with a charming smile. Thankfully he didn't overdo it and Martha was glad he didn't add the captain part. Her mum would want to know everything about that. And her mum would likely have some thoughts about Martha dating someone in the military. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"How do you know my daughter?" Francine's eyes were narrowed on Jack and Martha wanted to sigh. She wasn't like
"He's a friend," Martha said quickly. "From a few years back."
"We ran into each other during that nasty business on the moon," Jack added. "Martha was amazing up there. Kept her cool and focused on the patients. I'm sure you're very proud of her."
Martha felt her cheeks warm at the compliment. It wasn't that she liked Jack like that, not really, but it was nice. Still, her mum seemed to be trying to size up how big of a problem Jack was going to be for her schooling. Tish and Leo teased her about having no social life or dating prospects, but her mum was always happy for Martha to keep her nose to the grindstone. As happy as she'd been to see her mum, Martha was now wishing she had an easy way out of the conversation. Her mum didn't seem happy about Jack's comments and in fact, glared at him.
"You were involved in that mess? Whatever it was?"
"Only vaguely," Jack answered. "Thankfully I wasn't in the thick of things."
That was almost true. Martha did her best to look innocent and smiled when her mother turned her attention back to her. She could almost feel the lecture about staying focused building inside of her mother. Hopefully, she wouldn't start with Jack standing with Martha.
…..
"Professor Lazarus," the Doctor greeted. The smile vanished from his face. Rose took in the older man quickly. He showed his age with heavy lines and discolouration, but his eyes remained sharp and intelligent. There was a friendly expression on his face, but it did not reach those eyes. "I hope everything is going well for you tonight."
"Indeed, except for two uninvited guests."
"You can't say things like that on television and not expect to draw attention," the Doctor pointed out before Rose could. "We at least decided to be subtle and not outright barge in."
Then Lazarus chuckled. "A fair point. Well, I don't suppose you understand it, being a government or military man, but the moment when everything comes together. When you know that years of work are about to unfold perfectly… well, you don't wait around for everyone else to catch up." He nodded. "You're welcome to stay. I suppose having you report my success to your superiors later will only smooth over whatever lingering concerns there might be."
"We certainly hope everything goes smoothly tonight," Rose said with a smile. "It is all very secretive though."
"I am standing at the brink of one of the most significant discoveries of our time," Lazarus said proudly, even as he leered a little. Rose fought back a grimace. "There are many who would love to steal this technology from me. And my investors deserve their fair share first."
Ah, capitalism. Rose could feel the Doctor holding back his thoughts. She was oddly proud of him for that.
"Tell me, what revolution do you and your investors have planned that requires a sonic micro-field manipulator," the Doctor nodded at the equipment that was roped off. "Built into a capsule no less."
That got Lazarus' attention and his gaze focused on the Doctor. "I'm a touch impressed, Doctor Tyler. I knew that UNIT seeks to recruit the intelligent. They've beaten my lab to a few minds in the past that I had my eye on." Then he smiled. "I'm sorry to say that by the end of the night, you'll regret working for them instead of me."
"Unlikely," the Doctor answered. "Sonic technology is useful, but there are many, many, many safety variables that have to be taken into account first. And no records from your labs to the Ethics Board regarding the tests needed for that."
"I assure you, and your superiors," Lazarus sneered the last word. "That I have this well in hand. Enjoy yourselves, you'll be grateful tomorrow that you had the opportunity to witness this."
With that, Lazarus moved to speak with the next group. He walked like a man with tremendous confidence despite his age. Rose couldn't help but think back to Sarah Jane's words about Lazarus.
"What do you think he's trying to do?" Rose asked. "What could sonic technology and ageing have in common?"
"In theory… well, you might try something similar to regeneration. Reset massive amounts, if not all of your cells. Reset your age."
"Reset your age?" Rose repeated. "But what about…" she trailed off, not even sure where to start.
"That's the problem," the Doctor murmured. "It won't renew the telomeres," at her expression, he explained. "Think of them like a large section of buffering material at the end of your DNA. When cells split to form new ones, they slowly degrade the DNA so the telomere slows that down. Signs of ageing like changes to the skin and hair losing its colour occur because the DNA is out of telomere to protect it and is getting damaged with each split of the cells. So, he might try to reset his age, but his body is still going to be working from partially damaged DNA. And that's the best outcome."
"What if he's worked out the telomere problem?"
"Then he would have already released that and made billions helped keep young people from getting old," the Doctor replied with obvious irritation. "That technology will be a key in the future, but it's way too early for it now."
Rose didn't want to know what the worst outcome was. She glanced towards Jack and Martha, eager to meet up with them to make some sort of a plan. If they could stop this before anything actually happened then that would be for the best. Then a cling-on glass drew the attention of the room. Professor Lazarus had moved to the front of the room and was beaming at the crowd. Once the room had quieted, he handed the glass to one of the staff.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am Professor Richard Lazarus and tonight I am going to perform a miracle." Rose watched as the man took in the crowd. He was loving their attention. "It is, I believe, the most important advance since Rutherford split the atom, the biggest leap since Armstrong stood on the moon. Tonight, you will watch and wonder. Tomorrow, you will wake to a world which will be changed forever."
"He's confident," Rose whispered. She risked a look back through the room, searching the unfamiliar faces and wondering if Mr. Flamel was present.
Professor Lazarus stepped into the strange chamber that the Doctor said was sonic technology. A pair of female scientists were at the controls. There was a hum as a machine turned on and the crowd held their breath. The four columns around the main machine capsule started to oscillate and rotate around the chamber. For a moment, Rose thought things were working properly. Then an alarm started to sound.
"Something's wrong," the Doctor said just before sparks erupted from the controls and a wave of smoke blew out across the room. "It's overloading!"
The Doctor rushed forward, pulling out the sonic screwdriver as he lunged for the controls. Rose followed and pulled the started technicians back. In the corner of her eye, she saw Martha and Jack moving forward. Martha came to join them, while Jack turned to control the crowd.
"Somebody stop him," an older, finely dressed woman shouted. "Get him away from those controls!"
"If this thing goes up, it'll take the whole building with it," the Doctor shouted back. "Is that what you want?"
Rose glanced around as the Doctor struggled with the burned-out controls. Her eyes landed on the large power cable that connected the contraption to a large power back. She called out to the Doctor and gestured at it. He leapt over the controls and pulled on the plug with her help, finally powering down the machine.
The capsule slowed down, smoke rising off pieces of it. Rose's stomach turned sharply as she stared at it. A chill rolled down her spine and she stayed in place as Martha hurried at the Doctor's words to open the door. The feeling grew worse as a much younger man staggered out. She heard gasps through the room but was frozen in place.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am Richard Lazarus," the man proclaimed. "I am seventy-six years old and I am reborn!"
Martha and the Doctor drew back from him as the crowd explored with wild applause.