You will probably want to read the Introduction before you start.
Prologue
Laboratory – Silurian Base – 65 million BC
A Silurian moved hastily around a cluttered laboratory space, papers scattered across the desk, and samples of what look like freshly cut meat left in unmarked test tubes. The hissing sound of a boiling kettle drew the Silurian’s attention. Without taking his eyes from the whiteboard on the back wall on which a complex equation is drawn out, he reached for the kettle. And missed…
There was a crash as the test tube rack collapsed, each spilling their contents all over the desk, drenching the papers in sticky gelatinous goo. Quick to react, the Silurian grabbed the papers up off the table shaking the goo off of them, but to no avail. Clutching at straws he tried to rub the goo off using the cuff of his lab coat’s sleeve, but this made things worse as it smudged the writing on them making it unreadable.
“Aleana! Get in here now; I need assistance.” His voice was shaky but beneath that was an aura of experience, the kind only gained by years of hard work in the lab.
No response.
“Oh, bloody annual leave! Who takes leave right on the verge of one of the biggest scientific discoveries of our time? If you take an apprenticeship with Doctor Vershack you really should make sure you’re here. This is the good bit.” Realising no one was listening, and that his work was well and truly ruined, he put his face in his hand. “I’m sorry Aleana, that wasn’t fair of me. I know your sister is ill and you went to be with her. I respect that. It wasn’t fair of me to resent you for that.” He grabbed a post-it note from his desk and scribbled on it Apologise to Aleana. Taking the post-it note he added it to an ever growing pile of notes in a variety of shapes and colours.
As he went to go back to the kettle, he was once again distracted by a ringing communicator coming from his desk. No-one ever called him, not unless they had special reason to. With butterflies in his stomach he picked up the communicator and listened.
“Yes, I do understand that as head of the science division you have to make difficult decisions. But you can’t shut me down. Not when I’m so close. All I need is a Bi-Sophonic Carburettor and I’ll be able to finish up.” He wiped the sweat from his brow as he listened to the longwinded reply.
“I do appreciate that they are difficult to get, but I promise you…” He quickly scanned the whiteboard before continuing. “I promise you that this is a new species; it could revolutionise the planet. It will quite literally change everything.” He exhaled a deep slow breath as he finished talking.
He waited for what seems like forever before getting his reply. “You aren’t shutting me down? That is a good decision.” He allowed himself a smile, however this was short-lived. “What do you mean you won’t give me a Carburettor?” He dropped the communicator and noticed that his hand was shaking. After taking a moment to calm down, he picked up the communicator again. Leaning with his back to the desk staring at his equation he argued his case. “I am an old man; I have worked here for fifty years. How can you expect me to get one for myself? It’s just not possible.”
A movement from behind caught his eye. He was startled to find that his desk had been cleared. Sitting in the middle of the desk was a large black box. Pinned to it was one of his pink post-it notes graphited with impossibly neat writing which bore a message so wonderful it could have been sent from the heavens themselves.
“Actually I appear to have acquired one,” he proclaimed, suddenly aware of the voice still chatting into his ear he proudly. He paused to wait for a reaction, laughing to himself when it came. “Project Genesis is good to go. The EDEN incubator is ready. Tomorrow a new species will be born.” He beamed once more at the note.
One Bi-Sophonic Carburettor!
Love The Hunters of Andromeda.
A Silurian moved hastily around a cluttered laboratory space, papers scattered across the desk, and samples of what look like freshly cut meat left in unmarked test tubes. The hissing sound of a boiling kettle drew the Silurian’s attention. Without taking his eyes from the whiteboard on the back wall on which a complex equation is drawn out, he reached for the kettle. And missed…
There was a crash as the test tube rack collapsed, each spilling their contents all over the desk, drenching the papers in sticky gelatinous goo. Quick to react, the Silurian grabbed the papers up off the table shaking the goo off of them, but to no avail. Clutching at straws he tried to rub the goo off using the cuff of his lab coat’s sleeve, but this made things worse as it smudged the writing on them making it unreadable.
“Aleana! Get in here now; I need assistance.” His voice was shaky but beneath that was an aura of experience, the kind only gained by years of hard work in the lab.
No response.
“Oh, bloody annual leave! Who takes leave right on the verge of one of the biggest scientific discoveries of our time? If you take an apprenticeship with Doctor Vershack you really should make sure you’re here. This is the good bit.” Realising no one was listening, and that his work was well and truly ruined, he put his face in his hand. “I’m sorry Aleana, that wasn’t fair of me. I know your sister is ill and you went to be with her. I respect that. It wasn’t fair of me to resent you for that.” He grabbed a post-it note from his desk and scribbled on it Apologise to Aleana. Taking the post-it note he added it to an ever growing pile of notes in a variety of shapes and colours.
As he went to go back to the kettle, he was once again distracted by a ringing communicator coming from his desk. No-one ever called him, not unless they had special reason to. With butterflies in his stomach he picked up the communicator and listened.
“Yes, I do understand that as head of the science division you have to make difficult decisions. But you can’t shut me down. Not when I’m so close. All I need is a Bi-Sophonic Carburettor and I’ll be able to finish up.” He wiped the sweat from his brow as he listened to the longwinded reply.
“I do appreciate that they are difficult to get, but I promise you…” He quickly scanned the whiteboard before continuing. “I promise you that this is a new species; it could revolutionise the planet. It will quite literally change everything.” He exhaled a deep slow breath as he finished talking.
He waited for what seems like forever before getting his reply. “You aren’t shutting me down? That is a good decision.” He allowed himself a smile, however this was short-lived. “What do you mean you won’t give me a Carburettor?” He dropped the communicator and noticed that his hand was shaking. After taking a moment to calm down, he picked up the communicator again. Leaning with his back to the desk staring at his equation he argued his case. “I am an old man; I have worked here for fifty years. How can you expect me to get one for myself? It’s just not possible.”
A movement from behind caught his eye. He was startled to find that his desk had been cleared. Sitting in the middle of the desk was a large black box. Pinned to it was one of his pink post-it notes graphited with impossibly neat writing which bore a message so wonderful it could have been sent from the heavens themselves.
“Actually I appear to have acquired one,” he proclaimed, suddenly aware of the voice still chatting into his ear he proudly. He paused to wait for a reaction, laughing to himself when it came. “Project Genesis is good to go. The EDEN incubator is ready. Tomorrow a new species will be born.” He beamed once more at the note.
One Bi-Sophonic Carburettor!
Love The Hunters of Andromeda.
The Eighth Doctor Adventures
Series 1 - Episode 9
Extinction
Written by Mark McCullough
The TARDIS
Autumn and Lily-Rose are sitting on the armchair of the TARDIS console room; the Doctor is at the console fiddling with levers. The entire console room jolts throwing the Doctor to the floor. As he pulls himself to his feet he grabs the screen of the TARDIS console. Alarmed by the disruption Lily-Rose asks, “What was that?”
The Doctor is still looking at the screen with a frown on his face. “I’m not sure.” He plays with the controls a bit more so as the data on the screen changes. The frown becomes a scowl. “That shouldn’t be possible. The data is saying that the timeline is trying to resist the TARDIS.”
“Can you land?” Autumn is quickly at the Doctor’s side trying to help.
“I think so.” The Doctor flicks a switch and pulls a lever. There is a groan form the central column. The inside of the TARDIS is subject to another vigorous jolt. “We keep bouncing off; the TARDIS doesn’t want to land.”
Lily-Rose is actively trying to stay out of the Doctor’s way as he works. “I take it this isn’t normal.” The Doctor’s nod in her general direction confirms her observation. “What could possibly be causing this?”
“It’s the TARDIS’ defence systems. She thinks she is under attack.” He rubs the TARDIS console as if comforting it. “I can land it, but I need to take the defences down. There’s only one thing that could do this - a massive paradox.” The Doctor presses a red button on the console which causes the central column to reciprocate faster than ever before. The noise made is a raspy wheeze not dissimilar to the sound produced during a bad asthma attack.
“Have we landed?” Autumn breathes a sigh of relief.
“Yes, but I have to keep the defences down otherwise the TARDIS could dematerialise at any moment.” The Doctor consults the screen once more this time switching to an exterior view. “We need to find the paradox and address it. Left untreated it could tear open a hole in the time vortex itself.”
“So we are going out there?” Lily-Rose’s question was intended as rhetoric. “Do we even know what’s out there?” This time she looked towards the Doctor for an answer.
“Well the good news is, it’s Earth.” He glances at each of them hoping to see smiles, however both were bracing themselves for the inevitable downside. “But it is sixty five million BC. It’s a very different planet out there. No humans for a start, at least not for another ten million years.” He glances towards the screen and then back towards the women standing in front of him. “As for active life-forms, I have to idea. So we’ll just have to find out the old fashioned way.” Walking towards the door with the women in tow, he stops and holds it open for them. Once they have exited the TARDIS he follows allowing the door to gently swing closed.
Sand Planes – 65 Million BC
Upon stepping out of the TARDIS the team was greeted with a spectacular sight. To the left stood a majestic mountain range with cragged peaks extending into the sky like giant watchtowers. There was a small sprinkling of snow near their peaks. This was in complete contrast to the climate they found themselves in with the warmth and humidity leaving them feeling muggy. Directly in front of them about five hundred metres away was a dense forest of the tallest trees they had ever seen coloured in every shade of green imaginable. The remainder of the landscape was made up of a harsh sandy surface littered sporadically with boulders and withered black trees. From out of nowhere a group of small dinosaurs sprinted past on two legs, their heads bobbing up and down as they moved.
Lily-Rose fumbled in her pocket and produced a small rectangular device. She held it up in front of her as if taking a photo of the dinosaurs. There were a few beeps which let her know the machine was working followed by a soft ding informing her it had made a match. Reading off the screen she shared her findings with the group.
“Velociraptors; small carnivorous dinosaurs who love chasing their prey.”
Autumn watched as the Velociraptors continued to run away from them with no let-up in their speed. “Wait, did you say they were carnivores?” There was a gulp as she swallowed. “Why did they run past us then?”
“They didn’t,” The Doctor quickly interjected. “They were running from something.” Before he could even finish, a large shadow was cast upon the ground where they were standing, and a rumbling like a mighty machine about to go up. The Doctor imagined what his usual companions would do; closing their eyes, hoping for the best, but with the gut awareness of what they were facing. To Autumn and lily-Rose, this was just a field trip, and anything they found were just letters on a page. The great stomping didn’t carry generations of inaccurate storytelling. It was just a thing to be analysed.
All three turned to catch a glimpse of the unmistakable figure of a T-Rex which was almost upon them.
“I think it would be a good idea if we were to run too.”
Ensuring that Autumn and Lily-Rose were ahead of him at all times, the Doctor directed them to the forest. “Over there, the trees are tight together; we should be able to lose it there.” They continued running in the direction of the forest.
As they were approaching the treeline the Doctor became aware of small movements within the trees. He could pick out the vague outline of three masked figures wearing camouflage gear. They were armed. In the knowledge that the T-Rex was behind them, the Doctor made the split second decision that the armed figures were the safest bet: at least they could be reasoned with. He was surprised to see the creatures break cover and step out of the forest. Once they did he recognised the again unmistakable body shape of Silurians. The leader of the group took point with the other two following close behind; all three had their weapons raised. The Leader shouted towards the Doctor and his companions. His voice was assured and authoritative. “Get down. Now!”
The Doctor reacted to the order fastest by grabbing Lily-Rose and Autumn with one hand each. Pulling on their clothes he dragged them to the ground and threw himself on top of them in protection. There was the sharp sound of electrical discharge as the Silurian’s weapon unleashed a dazzling blue pulse which connected with the trunk of the oncoming T-Rex. Its momentum carried it on for a few paces, moving forward with laboured intoxicated strides. Eventually it lost its balance and crashed to the ground with a thud. Once the Doctor was satisfied it was safe to do so, he attempted to get back to his feet. Before he could, the ground began to shake vigorously making it extremely difficult for him to stand. The Silurians too were having difficulty, but quickly dropped to the ground and curled themselves into the foetal position. Noticing this, the Doctor followed suit after he had gestured for his companions to do the same. The vibrations continued for what felt like an eternity before they gradually began to reduce in intensity. The Doctor’s attention was suddenly diverted to a thud which occurred no more than three meters from him. When he looked up he noticed that one of the tallest trees had fallen missing him and his friends by a narrow margin. The Silurians were not so lucky; the Doctor could tell from where he was standing that the two who had followed their leader were dead, their skulls crushed by the weight of the fallen tree, their flimsy masks offering little protection. The Doctor instinctively went to comfort the leader without giving a second thought to what threat he could have posed.
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
The leader was close to tears, but trying to maintain a brave face. Silurians were known for that, just like humans. And these Silurians, the Doctor noticed, weren’t so far off his companions, even physically. They were at the end of their evolutionary trail.
“They were my friends. I don’t know what I’m going to do without them.” He looked the Doctor in the eye. “I need to get their bodies back to base. I can’t leave them out here. Can you help me?” The Doctor’s smile offered a slight comfort to the leader.
Lily-Rose decided that now was the time to interrupt. “What was that?” Without waiting for an answer she continued. “Will it happen again?”
“It was an Earthquake.” The Leader seemed glad of the change of subject. “My apologies; I haven’t introduced myself yet. My name is Elbore, I am the commander of scientific base alpha six theta. We have had a strange run of activity from the planet recently: earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes and the like. It’s as if the planet herself has turned on us.”
“So you’ve been investigating this?” Autumn enquired.
“That was not our original remit…” He paused for a moment, unsure as to how much he should share with these complete strangers. “Recently it has been a topic of study though; everyone is rather bored now that Doctor Vershack has made his big discovery.”
“I have a ship I might be able to use to help return the…” The Doctor went to point in the direction of his TARDIS. “Ah.” He scanned the flat landscape but there was no sign of his TARDIS. Instead, a large gash had opened in the ground where it once was. “It appears my ship has fallen into the earthquake.”
“Then we’ll have to go back to base.” Elbore’s ability as a natural leader came to the fore. “We have the equipment to scale the rift and get you into your ship. Then you can help me recover the bodies of my friends.” He stopped for a moment as a distant stare formed on his face. “I’d suggest an alternative, but we were already undermanned before this happened.” Without giving them a chance to argue otherwise he turned on his heel and began marching off into the Forrest. “Follow me; the base is five hundred yards north.”
A pensive Autumn ensured she was positioned beside the Doctor. When she was sure that Elbore was out of earshot she whispered so that just the Doctor and Lily-Rose could hear her. “Are you sure this is a good idea? He could be leading us straight into a trap.”
The Doctor had already considered the possibility. “It’s unlikely. Besides, we came here to find the paradox. My instinct tells me that it’s somewhere in that base.”
“Could it be Doctor Vershack’s breakthrough?” Lily-Rose spoke louder than she had intended to so she immediately checked if Elbore had heard her. She breathed a sigh of relief as he seemed not to have.
“Exactly…”
The Doctor’s mind was already considering all of the possibilities. It too was like a machine, but one at its height and seemingly always in its optimum environment.
Control Room - Silurian Base
The inside of the base was even more decrepit than the outside; there was a small hole in the roof through which the plant life had invaded. A stagnant odour consumed the room which was small and claustrophobic.
“Here we are then.”
Elbore made a sarcastic gesture with his hands. “It’s not much, but it is home for us.” At the back of the room there was a young Silurian trying to keep on top of two screens which provided Elbore with a constant stream of numerical data. “This is Lailah; she is the chief analyst on base. Normally Aleana would help her, but she has gone back to the centre. Sadly here mother has been taken ill; haemophilus influenza. I don’t think she’ll make it.” He point to a small service corridor running east. “Living quarters are down there. There are a few spare beds if you need them,” and pointing in the opposite direction, “the main labs are this way, you’ll probably find Doctor Vershack there.”
Lailah had stopped working moments before and was eavesdropping on the conversation. She could not contain herself any longer and asked the burning question she had found was bothering her since their visitors had arrived. “The apes, why are they here?” She paused for a moment, scared to ask the next part, “Thesha and Marnock, what happened to them? Why aren’t they back?”
Elbore looked to the ground to avoid making eye contact. He tried to speak, but no words came out. The Doctor quickly picked up on his difficulties and took over. “I’m sorry, there was an earthquake. A tree fell on them… they didn’t survive.”
There was a deathly silence in the room as no one knew what to say next. The silence was broken as Lailah lashed out at a nearby desk smashing the conical flask and sending shards of glass across the room like projectile missiles. “No! This is a lie. Don’t you see what the apes are doing, Elbore? You went out to investigate the strange readings, the apes appeared and now our friends are dead. And now you’ve led them here, so they can kill us too. I will trust no ape.”
“Lailah,” Elbore raised his voice and furled his brow. “Please, they are not apes. I’ve scanned them and they aren’t from this planet. Secondly they have offered to help us bring back the bodies so we can give Thesha and Marnock a proper cremation.” He fought to hold back tears. “There are only three of us left now. We have to stick together.”
Lailah darted towards one of the screens and called up a pressure map of the local area. “You’ll need to hurry, there’s a massive storm coming in the next hour. According to predictions it is hurricane force.” Running to the supply cupboard she grabbed the hiking gear and tossed it across the room to Elbore. “You need to leave now.”
As Elbore moved towards the door, the Doctor and his companions followed him. Elbore allowed the Doctor to exit the base first before putting his arm across the door, blocking Lily-Rose and Autumn from leaving. “I’m sorry, just the Doctor. Lailah is right, you could pose a threat, so your friends will stay here as a deterrent in case you attempt anything untoward.”
Autumn glared, opening her mouth, but the Doctor nodded, silencing her. “I suppose that’s fair enough.” Reaching into his pocket he produced three small objects which resembled ear plugs. Tossing one to each of his friends he put the third into his own ear. Lily-Rose and Autumn did the same. “Basic communication device, so we can stay in contact. That’s my counter-condition.” He looked to Elbore for approval and received a nod in reply. “Keep in contact, try to find the paradox which brought us here. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” The effect of hearing the Doctor in person and through the earpiece was initially confusing.
Once the Doctor had left with Elbore, Lailah spoke. The hostility from earlier had been replaced by a softer gentle voice. “Can I get you anything to drink? I’ll take you down to see Doctor Vershack in a moment. I’ll bet he’s dying to tell anyone who will listen about Project Genesis.”
Laboratory – Silurian Base
“Doctor Vershack is renowned for his work with creatures. He is the leading Genetic Biologist within the scientific community.” Lailah filled the awkward silence. “This latest project was his maddest yet. It turned a few heads and got him stuck out here.” She sighed. “But he proved them wrong - it worked. And now thanks to him the planet has a new species.”
They had now entered the main part of the lab. Doctor Vershack was standing over a large plastic box which looked like an incubator. The usual contents of the room had been pushed to the side to make space. “I don’t think this species will be quite suited for the planet just yet. Perhaps the Ark is a better fit. That way we can control the eco-system to encourage the species to thrive.” Looking up from the incubator, he realised the presence of Lily-Rose and Autumn. “Oh my; how rude of me, I did not realise we had visitors.” He quickly made his way over and offered them each a firm handshake. “I’m afraid I do not recognise your species.” He gestured towards the incubator. “No matter, but you really must come and see my new species. Project Genesis was an unprecedented success. It’s all very exciting, so do come and have a look!”
He was everything both Autumn and Lily-Rose had suspected: the mad, eccentric and warm professor.
Autumn, Lily-Rose and Lailah squeezed around the incubator in order to get a better look. Inside there was a young human baby, no more than four weeks old. It was asleep and lay still. There was an assortment of various wires connected to it running into the machines which occupied the benches along the back of the lab. The baby’s hand was pressed against the side of the incubator. Placing her own hand on the incubator so as only the thin plastic sheet prevented her from touching it, Autumn whispered. “It’s beautiful. But it’s impossible. It’s human.”
“Human.” Doctor Vershack’s outburst caused everyone else to jump. “Human, that is a beautiful name, fitting of such a beautiful creature. I’ve been calling him Adam, as this is the male of the species.” He pointed towards a small desk. “I’ve been trying to isolate his DNA to extrapolate the female of the species. I haven’t had much success so far, but I’ve just taken a bone marrow sample from his ribs. That might work.”
“Sorry to interrupt,” Lily-Rose interjected. “The thing Adam is in, what is it?”
“I’m glad someone asked that.” Doctor Vershack was unable to contain his excitement. “I call it EDEN because of what it does for him: exchange of minerals, dialysis, expiration, and nutrition is also provided. Without it Adam, would not survive. But one day he’ll have to leave EDEN.” He gives them a huge smile. “You may wonder how I got such technology. I simply got lucky; the part I was looking for was gifted to me by an unknown benefactor.”
Before he had finished speaking, the lighting in the lab changed to red. There was an alarm ringing throughout the base. Almost immediately Lailah had left the room, Doctor Vershack in close pursuit. Unsure what to do, Autumn and Lily-Rose exchanged blank looks before the former decided to follow the Silurians. As Lily-Rose went to follow her acquaintance, a small post-it note with a thin layer of dust on it caught her eye. Reading its contents she scowled and placed it in her pocket for later before hurriedly following the rest of the part back to the main section of the base.
Sand Planes
The TARDIS was sitting at the bottom of a large crack that had formed within the desert plain. The collapsing earth caused by the quake had led to the formation of a chasm about fifty metres deep. The Doctor and Elbore stood atop of the cliff formed, inspecting its face in order to ascertain the best way down. Elbore had set up a winch which would allow him to lower the Doctor to the TARDIS. As the Doctor strapped himself into the harness, Elbore checked that everything was in order. Once satisfied he nodded to the Doctor who was now stood right at the edge of the cliff. “We’re good to go Doctor.”
The Doctor toppled backwards, arms outstretched, for a moment. All that he was aware of was the fact that he was falling. This sensation was quickly replaced as the rope became taut causing him to stop with a jolt. He was now standing perpendicular to the cliff-face. Elbore had run towards the edge of the cliff to make sure the Doctor was okay. “I’m fine, Elbore. There’s quite a lot of wind exposure. I don’t think we have long until the storm comes.”
Elbore looked at a small wrist-device. “Anything outside in twenty minutes is going to take a battering.” He looked in the direction of the base which was a five minute walk away. “I apologise, Doctor, but we are going to have to do this faster than I would have liked.”
“Of course.” The Doctor’s charisma was unshaken by the situation at hand. “Once I have the TARDIS I’ll recover the bodies and meet you back at the base.” He pulled on the rope three times. “You said pull three times for down?” As expected, the rope became loose allowing the Doctor to drop down another few metres. This process repeated and the Doctor gradually made his way down the cliff. Once he was sure he was out of earshot of Elbore he spoke into the communications system he had established with his companions. “Autumn. What’s happening?”
It took a moment before there was any response. Eventually Autumn’s voice sounded in the Doctor’s ear. “Doctor we’ve got a problem. The computer system, it’s giving us a frightening reading.”
“What is it? Are you in danger?” Forgetting where he was for a moment the Doctor lost his footing and had to scramble to regain it.
“Doctor, there’s a meteor on collision course for Earth. The data coming through suggests it will be a catastrophic impact, fatal to all life on the planet.”
The Doctor leant back to fall further, but he was surprised to find the ground against his back. Pulling himself to his feet, he removed the hoist and tugged on it five times to let Elbore know had has reached the bottom. “I’m at the TARDIS, give me a second to get inside. How long have we got?”
TARDIS – Console Room
The Doctor is now inside the TARDIS at the console. He is tracking the meteor’s progress on the screen.
“Autumn, we’ve got four hours until impact. There’s nothing I can do to stop it. Something strange is happening. Earth appears to be sitting out on its own, isolated. The rest of the planets are at the other side of the sun, which shouldn’t be possible. But what that means is that the planet is a sitting duck. The strange weather patterns and geographic disturbances, how long have they been going on for?”
There is a pause in which the Doctor assumes Autumn is trying to find the answer to his question. Eventually she returns. “Lailah says it’s been gradually getting worse over the last four weeks.”
“Four weeks…” Lily-Rose interrupted. “Isn’t that the time scale Doctor Vershack mentioned earlier.”
The Doctor enters something into the TARDIS control panel which gives him the information he needs. “The TARDIS is saying that the paradox started four weeks ago. You mentioned the good doctor’s work. Did you ever find out what it was?”
“Yes. It’s a human baby. He created a human.”
“Ah…” The Doctor sighs
“Ah?” Autumn turns his response back to him.
“That would be the paradox. The human race is not meant to exist for millions more years. The very presence of a new human is enough to put the entire future of the planet in flux. What we are seeing now is an incredibly rare phenomena, something I thought was a mere myth among Time Lords.” The Doctor pulls up a holographic image of Earth, “Something deep within the planet has awakened. An anti-paradox mechanism. The planet is trying to protect its own future.”
“How does a meteor protect the future of the planet?” Lily-Rose is horrified by the prospect.
“A complete reset. Kill all life on the planet and let evolution take its course again.” He has a sudden realisation. “I’ve always thought the dinosaurs died because of a spaceship colliding with Earth. Turns out it’s much worse. This must have been what happened.”
“You mean we can’t do anything about it?” Autumn’s voice chippers in his ear but he doesn’t fully hear it.
“In terms of solutions I don’t think we have many.” He bites his lip. “Well there is one, but it’s unthinkable and not even a guarantee of success.” He shakes his head. “We might have to kill the child.”
“Doctor. There’s something else.” Lily-Rose cut him off. “I found a post-it note, it’s them. The Hunters. This was almost certainly intentional.”
“Autumn, Lily-Rose. We face an impossible decision, one which I don’t think we can make alone.” The Doctor clears his throat. “This requires something I don’t normally do.” He sets the TARDIS for new co-ordinates. “The communications is going to cut off for a bit, but I promise, I have not abandoned you. I’m coming back, and I’m bringing help.” As the pulls the lever, the TARDIS dematerialises.
Museum of Gravity – Sigma 27 – 4873 AD
The TARDIS materialised in a spacious museum. Late at night, the museum was closed; the light from atop the TARDIS casting eerie shadows up the walls. The Doctor rapidly emerged from the TARDIS and headed directly and determinedly to one of the exhibits. Using his sonic screwdriver he removed the plastic display casing. A gentle click let him know that he had tripped the silent alarm. He would only have a few moments before a dozen armed space rangers would have him surrounded. Working fast he removed one of the two large cylindrical objects from the display and took it into the TARDIS. Once he had it inside, he returned for the other. Just as he reached the TARDIS door for a second time, the guards entered the room. The Doctor allowed the door of the TARDIS to close behind him as the soldiers surrounded the TARDIS. The soldiers’ shouts for him to come out because he was surrounded with no escape fell on deaf ears. Eventually they were left staring at thin air as the TARDIS dematerialised and the Doctor made his escape.
Control Room – Silurian Base – 65 Million BC
“You daft old man, you have killed us all!” Elbore stopped his hand inches before making contact with Doctor Vershack’s face. “All this is your fault. Thesha, Marnock, their deaths are on you.” His hand was shaking vigorously. “You disgust me.”
“How was I possibly to know?” Doctor Vershack masked feeling of guilt with fear. “I did what I thought was best for our species. How can one baby cause all of this?”
“Speaking of your little experiment, I’m going to kill the little runt.” He grabbed a hammer from the nearby desk and went towards the corridor leading to the labs.
He was confronted by Lailah. “Stop this, both of you. We need to work together to sort something out.”
“Lailah is right.” Lily-Rose made her voice heard. “Think: is there anything we have that could help? Anything this planet has which might swing things in our favour?”
“The Council might have plans to stop this. I’ll try contacting them.” Elbore’s anger appeared to have subsided for now. “But there is nothing on this planet that will stop that meteor.”
“Nothing on the planet, yes…” Doctor Vershack was distant, deep in thought. “But in orbit of the planet maybe.”
“The Ark!” Lailah’s excitement lasted only a few seconds. “How will that help us?”
“What’s the Ark?” asked Autumn.
Lily-Rose’s heart thudded. This was all too familiar…
St Stephen’s Church – 1945 AD
Father Gerry was sat in the confessional. It was the last Tuesday before Easter and he has had a busy day. He was enjoying the temporary lull in people coming to confession as it afforded him possibly the only free time he would get, for the next week at least. His heart dropped when he heard the sound of the confessional door opening with a man walking in and taking a seat. Father Gerry was unable to see him due to the design of the confessional which had the priest and the person in separate sections with a slide window between, which his guest had opted to keep closed. “Good evening. Have you come for forgiveness?” He always opened confession with that question as it highlighted the very point of it. The chance to put to the past any mistakes, as long as the soul was willing. He wondered whether the mistakes would still be put aside if his soul were not willing to forgive them.
“I’m here for help, and I think you’re the best person for the job.” The voice sounded as if it belonged to a pleasant middle-aged man – well-spoken and charismatic.
“I am a mere servant of the Lord. It is he who will help you, not I.” There was an awkward silence which Father Gerry filled by asking. “How long has it been since your last confession?”
There was a soft chuckle from the other side of the confessional. “We’ll I’ve been around for about eight hundred years and I have no idea what you mean by confession.”
Father Gerry could feel himself beginning to get agitated. This would have been the third time today he’d had a prankster waste his time. Why weren’t people scared of eternal damnation anymore? He thought it still had a sinister ring to it. “Look if you’re not going to take this seriously, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cause any offense.” The reply was swift, but laced with warm sincerity. “I really do need to talk to you, Father.” The man was confident with his rapport, talking with a strange sense of familiarity, as if greeting an old friend. “But first, is everything okay? The Father Gerry I know would never ask someone to leave, even if they were wasting his time.”
“No, everything is not okay.” Realising what he had said, he caught himself on. “I really shouldn’t have said that. I don’t even know you.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Father Gerry could almost picture the smile on the man’s face as he heard the words. “I’d rather you tell me, I need to know before I let you help me.”
“Have you ever seen something so amazing that everything else pales in comparison?” Father Gerry found he was completely comfortable opening up to the man; there was something about that voice: he couldn’t quite shake the feeling that he’d heard it before. It was hypnotic. “I had a friend once who showed me something that I couldn’t have imagined in my wildest dreams, a marvel of our universe. But then he dropped me off home and I realised that nothing here could even hold a match to that.” He sighed. “I’ve been a man of god all my life, but I find it hard to accept that if we are his chosen race that there are such wonderful miracles out there that we aren’t a part of. And here we are, stuck in a bloody war.” He sniffled, and took a handkerchief from his sleeve to blow his nose. “I just don’t know what to believe anymore.”
“Well I’m terribly sorry about that; I could never have guessed that would have been the outcome.” There was a cheeky tone to the reply akin to that of a child trying to keep secret their wrongdoing. “Of course, though, it is obvious; why didn’t I see that? I’m so sorry.” There was a momentary pause. “Would another trip help? That’s what I was coming for anyway. I need a man of your persuasion.”
Father Gerry sat in a stunned silence. He pinched himself to check that he wasn’t dreaming before exclaiming: “Doctor! It’s you, isn’t it?” Before he got a reply, he heard the sound of the confessional door swinging closed. He frantically jumped off his seat and ran out of the confessional himself. Directly facing it he saw the familiar shape of the TARDIS parked in the central aisle of the church. The Doctor was standing in the doorway leaning against the frame with a welcoming smile on his face. “Give me a second, Doctor; I need to grab my backpack.” He sprinted down the church, the extra weight he had recently put on making it difficult to catch his breath.
He laughed as he heard the Doctor teasingly call after him. “Take your time. It’s not as if we’re on the clock.”
Control Room – Silurian Base – 65 Million BC
“I’ve just heard back from the Council - they’ve got nothing. They are going into shutdown, calling everyone back deep below the surface of the Earth.” Elbore delivered the bad news.
“That won’t work, will it?” Autumn looked at the data again. “The meteor will penetrate almost to the core. Your people won’t stand a chance.”
“We have to hope. I have faith in our scientists.” Lailah’s words lacked the conviction she hoped they would.
“They’ve given us the Ark, though.” Elbore entered a code into the computer and the Ark control panel came up on the screen. “If the Doctor can bring us up there we can save anyone who hasn’t been able to make it back down below, then we can survive this.”
“Will the Ark survive the impact of the meteor?” Lily-Rose asked the question that was on everyone’s lips. “If it is in orbit around the planet surely it has a high risk of being hit by debris?”
“She’s right,” Doctor Vershack confirmed.
“Then we activate the engines now.” Elbore primed them using the controls. “The Doctor can take us to the Ark no matter where it is. So if we start it on course away from Earth now, we can catch it later.” He made the decision for himself and activated the engines.
TARDIS – Console Room
“Wow, wow, wow.” Father Gerry takes a step back from the TARDIS console and crosses his arms. “You mean to tell me that you want me to make your impossible decision for you? In what sort of world is that fair?” He loosens the top button of his shirt and removes his priest’s collar; the collar of his shirt is soaked with sweat. “I find it hard to think that of all the people you know in the universe, that you thought I was the best man to help you make this decision.” He sighs. “I suppose what I’m getting at is: why me?”
The Doctor is rummaging through a box filled with gadgets of all shapes and sizes. Without looking up he answers Father Gerry. “It’s a very unique set of circumstances, and if I could do it myself I would. But I’m needed elsewhere. I chose you because I knew you had a strong faith, and because of that I know you’ll make the right decision. Or help to make it.” He carries on his search of the box as if nothing has happened.
“You talk about my faith. Then surely you know my stance on this dilemma already. Thou shall not kill, as written in the commandments of our lord.” He stares into the central column of the TARDIS as he contemplates. “All life is sacred; it is not the place of one man to decide the fate of another. That is my decision. You can take me home now.”
“I absolutely respect that.” The Doctor finds a small gold whistle encrusted with precious gems of all colours. At the side is a round red button. “A-ha, gotcha!” Slipping it into his pocket he makes his way to the seats gesturing for Father Gerry to join him. Once he is seated the Doctor explains the situation. “I totally agree with you, I could never bring myself to kill a child, or kill anyone for that matter.” He pauses for a moment, forcing a memory to the back of his mind. “But this choice is an impossible one. If we let the boy live, you are sentencing every human who ever lived on Planet Earth to death, worse even. With that child on Earth, the planet will be destroyed. Even if we kill him, it may be too far gone already.” The Doctor’s charm fades ever so slightly, telling of the pressure he is under.
“How can you possibly justify a decision to kill the child if you don’t know for sure that it will make a difference?” Father Gerry answers with scathing intensity.
“All I know is that if we do nothing, the future of the human race is over. How can we possibly stand back and do nothing? Surely anything is worth a try. Removing the child from the time zone is the only thing that might make a difference.” The Doctor’s passion rivals that of his opponent.
“Perhaps it is better to fail in doing the right thing, than succeed in doing the wrong,” Father Gerry retaliates, but his response is lacking the conviction of his previous retorts.
“Do you really believe that?” A rare scowl forms on the Doctor’s brow.
“I’m ready to make my decision.” Father Gerry stands from his seat; the Doctor is quickly up to his feet too.
“Excellent. I’ll take you to meet Lily-Rose Aston; she’s a new acquaintance of mine. She’s got a strong faith of her own, but nothing of the kind you’d know. She’s a nun from the Order of St. Ava.” The Doctor receives a blank look from Father Gerry. “I’ll let her fill you in. You’ll be working with her, and the man who created the child. I should warn you, he’s not human, so it may be a bit of a shock to the system. Then there’s my other friend Autumn Rivers, again different to the type of people you’d know, so try to bear that in mind. Between the four of you I hope you can make the correct decision.”
“I’m sorry...” The Doctor is interrupted by Father Gerry. “You’re not taking part in this?” He shakes his head, “I thought you were many things Doctor, but I never had you pinned down as a coward. Shame on you! Leaving your friends to do your dirty work - that’s not fair.”
“You know I’d help if I could.” There was a hint of shame in his voice. “But remember how I said it might be too far gone already? There’s a meteor about to crash into Earth, and unless I can do something about that it doesn’t matter what happens with the child; we’re doomed anyway. So as much as I’d have liked to make the decision myself and not burden my friends, who better than the people I trust the most?”
“That is absolutely fair enough. In that case I’m honoured that you chose me.” He gives the Doctor a reassuring smile. “I suppose this next question goes with the territory for you, but will it be dangerous?”
“Just a bit.” The Doctor laughs. “Earth’s attacking itself trying to fix the insult to time and there’s a meteor about to wipe out all life on the planet. Oh, and the TARDIS is under attack because it is technically a different time-zone inside than outside. It’s complicated. Good luck.”
Father Gerry grabs his backpack and walks to the TARDIS door. “You know Doctor, I think you might need luck more than I do.”
Firing him a cheeky grin, the Doctor retorts. “Oh, and do watch out for the dinosaurs…”
As Father Gerry exits the TARDIS, stepping into the alien world of the Silurian base, the Doctor runs over to the TARDIS console, pulling at levers and pressing buttons. Finally a message pops up on the screen telling him that the communication channels have been opened. Leaning against the console, he places his hand in his pocket retrieving the object from earlier. Fondling it between his thumb and index finger of one hand, he pulls the TARDIS lever with the other. As the TARDIS begins its familiar wheezing sound, he presses the red button on the side of the whistle and blows into it. No sound is produced.
Control Room – Silurian Base
Father Gerry was perplexed by his new surroundings. His eyes drifted around the room until they eventually focused on the Silurians. He remarked to himself how beautiful they were, yet how unlike anything he had ever seen on Earth before. He was so distracted by the unfamiliarity of the situation that he was unaware that Elbore was talking to him. This led to Elbore having to repeat his question.
“Where is the Doctor?”
“He’s not coming.” Father Gerry was still struggling with his surroundings. “He says he has to do something to stop the meteor. He thinks killing the child will slow it down enough that life will survive on the planet, but not your people. He says the meteor is too big and that the only way is for him to alter the gravity of the planet.”
“Is that possible?” Elbore looked to Doctor Vershack for answers.
“I don’t know. But for our sake, I hope it is.” Doctor Vershack was tapping nervously on the desk.
“So this child, where is it?” Father Gerry’s voice shook. “And are we actually going to be able to kill it?”
“I was up for killing it earlier when I was angry at Doctor Vershack.” Elbore grabbed the hammer once more. “I can do it again.”
TARDIS – Console Room
There is a flash of blue light as a small robotic dog teleports onto the TARDIS. “Ah, K-9, it’s good to have you on-board.” The Doctor is busy at the TARDIS controls.
“Mistress Leela sends her regards.” K-9’s monotone voice echoes around the TARDIS.
“Leela…” The Doctor is confused. “Oh, of course, K-9 Mark One. The whistle was still tuned to the first model.”
“Affirmative!” K-9 nodded. “How may I be of service, Master??”
“You’re going to help me save the world.” The Doctor pulls a lever on the TARDIS console. “We’re going to the North Pole.”
North Pole
The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS with K-9 following him. He was holding one of the objects he had stolen from the museum, annoyed to find that he had stepped into a small body of water that just about covered the tops of his shoes. The typical icy appearance of the North Pole had changed: it now consisted of a shallow beach which extended as far as the eye could see. It was reasonably warm and the air had a humidity about it. The Northern Lights are overhead casting winding shadows over the darkened beach. The Doctor looked perplexed. “The planet has changed its own climate.”
“Affirmative,” K-9 chirped in reply. “The change in density affects the magnetic pull of the planet.”
“Well, we can do something about that.” The Doctor pushed the rod firmly into the ground. “Gravitational reducer, it will lower the effect of gravity on the planet so the meteor doesn’t hit as fast.” He waited for a reply from the earpiece, but it did not come. “The magnetic field is blocking the communications.” He continued to set up the gravitational reducer blissfully unaware that the water was beginning to drain from the beach. “K-9, I need you to configure the system.”
As K-9 got to work with the system, the Doctor took a moment to observe his surroundings. His face became etched with panic when he realised what the receding water line meant. Within a moment, a wall of water barely distinguishable against the sky was heading towards them covering the ground at an alarmingly fast rate. As the Doctor turned towards K-9, the small robotic dog announced: “Configuring complete.”
“Good dog.” The Doctor was already half way to the TARDIS. “Now, into the TARDIS, no time to waste.” The Doctor waited until K-9 was inside before slamming the door shut. Seconds later the TARDIS was rocked by a violent impact which caused the cloister bell to sound. The shaking lasted for a few moments before it gradually subsided. Once it did, the Doctor opened the screen on the console to observe the scene and to see if his device was still standing. Miraculously, it was.
Silurian Base – Laboratory
“I can’t do it.” Elbore placed the hammer back on the desk and smiled at the young baby who was now awake and watching the people assembled around its incubator.
“There’s no way I could do it either.” Lailah diverted her eyes away from the baby. “I can’t even be here.” She looked at the floor in shame. “I’ll head back to the control room and monitor the meteor’s progress.”
As she reached the door, Elbore followed her out of the room. “She shouldn’t be alone. She lost her twin sister in an accident as a baby.” He tried to sound convincing. “I’m going to make sure she is okay. Sorry, team.”
“So, the baby. What is it?” Father Gerry’s attention was fixated upon it. “It looks human, but given the situation, I’d assume it is not.”
“He’s called Adam.” Lily-Rose smiled at the baby. “He is most definitely human, and he is most certainly beautiful.”
“He’s my creation,” Doctor Vershack announced with pride. “Project Genesis was my life’s work. If it has to be destroyed for the sake of the planet, so be it.” He moved towards the door. “But I shall not be the one to do it.”
“He said Genesis Project. The Doctor told me this was the first human, whose name is Adam.” Father Gerry was disturbed. “This can’t be right. How do we kill it?”
“The EDEN incubator is keeping him alive.” Lily-Rose explained. “But I’m not going to let you turn it off. This was set up by the Hunters, and I will not be privy to their games.”
“Oh great, now there’s an EDEN too.” Father Gerry thumped the table with his fist.
“What if this is it? The real Eden? What if the Bible really was a metaphor and this is how it started? This could be the work of the Destroyer.” Lily-Rose eyed the baby suspiciously.
Autumn, who had held her silence until now, finally offered her opinion. “One life for the sake of billions: it’s not even a decision, it is simple maths.” A quiver in her voice indicated the true emotion which lay underneath. “We have to do it.”
“One vote each, Father.” Lily-Rose looked him square in the eye. “Casting vote is yours.”
“Well…” Father Gerry took a moment to collect his thoughts. “I know this can’t really be the moment that started the human race. Yes, it fits some elements of the story, but it doesn’t match the biblical truth.” He was firm in his resolve. “Which means we aren’t killing humanity - it comes down to only one child.” He looked at Autumn, then to the baby, and then back to Lily-Rose. “And we think it can only live by being connected to the incubator?”
“Doctor Vershack seems to think so.” Lily-Rose used one of her own devices to scan the child. “But my own calculations suggest that it could be fine outside of the incubator, though that is unlikely”
“So it’s capable of living on its own.” Tears started to form in his eyes. “That makes the decision even tougher.” He swallowed, “But Autumn’s right, there is no other alternative. We have to kill it.”
“Fine.” Lily-Rose turned her back on them and headed to the door. “I will support your decision, but I will not partake in it.”
Once she had left, Autumn picked up the hammer and swung it at the incubator. Upon making contact there was a loud crash as the plastic splintered into uncountable fragments. When they landed the baby started to cry. They waited for a moment, but the baby continued to cry. It was evidently able to survive in the environment. “Now what do we do?” Autumn already knew the answer to her question. “One of us has to kill it.”
“I’ll…”
The crying. So new. So… alive.
Autumn trembled, hating herself.
“I’ll do it,” offered Father Gerry. Autumn gave a sigh of relief at the offer. “But on one condition.” Taking the hammer from Autumn he looked her in the eye and smiled. “You leave the room. I don’t want anyone seeing me do this.”
Autumn nodded respectfully and left. It was a relief. One euthanasia had been enough for her lifetime, and another would trigger some unsavoury memories.
Once she had gone, Father Gerry lifted the baby in his arms, cradling it with his left arm. He felt the weight of the hammer almost double in his right hand. The baby looked at him with an innocent smile on its face. It was blissfully unaware of what was about to happen. Reluctantly, Father Gerry raised the hammer. When he reached the top of his arc, his hand shook with a fine tremor. “I’m sorry, Adam.” He whispered softly into the baby’s ear as he began the down stroke of the hammer. Outside the lab, Autumn heard the sound of a hammer striking a soft surface, her heart sank. A few moments later a sobbing Father Gerry emerged from the room. He could only muster a few words, “It… is… finished…”
South Pole
The TARDIS appeared at the South Pole in the middle of an icy blizzard. The Doctor emerged wearing a large wool-lined coat with the hood up covering his face, K-9 in tow. Like at the North Pole, the Doctor placed the Gravitational Reducer into the ground and allowed K-9 to configure the system. Whilst this was occurring the Doctor heard a thunderous roaring sound coming from in front of him. Through the heavy snow which was blocking his view he was able to make out the silhouette of a large creature heading his way. It was not it was until it was almost on top of him that he realised it was a dinosaur. It had pale blue skin and sharp claws. Its body features matched what you would expect of a sea dwelling animal, not a land one. Awkwardly it lunged towards the Doctor. Before it could make contact, a laser beam flew past the Doctor’s head, striking the dinosaur and then passing right through. The dinosaur stopped in its tracks before it gradually toppled over. Upon making contact with the ground it shattered into millions of tiny ice crystals. “Fascinating,” the Doctor remarked. “An aqua-based life form able to survive on land because it’s so cold. The water literally froze into a skeleton. So no fossils. No one on earth will ever know this existed.” The thought saddened him.
“System Configured!” K-9 announced. “Power levels low. Recharge required.”
As the Doctor bent to pick up K-9 there was a voice in his ear. “Doctor?” It startled him. “Doctor, it’s Father Gerry, can you hear me.”
“I can hear you, Father.” The Doctor started to walk towards the TARDIS, struggling with K-9’s weight into the wind. “What is it?”
“It’s done, Doctor.” The Doctor could hear sobbing. “I’ve killed the baby.”
“I’m coming to get you all.” The Doctor made a final effort throwing himself through the doors of the TARDIS and out of the harshness of the storm.
TARDIS – Console Room
Everyone is in the TARDIS. Father Gerry, who was last to enter, takes off his backpack for the first time and with a sigh sets it down beside the console. Everyone else joins the Doctor at the screen on the console, the meteor on display. “It’s still too big. I’ve set up a gravity funnel at each pole, which should reduce the speed it crashes with.”
“But there’s still too much mass?” Doctor Vershack questions him and the Doctor nods.
“It hasn’t entered the atmosphere fully yet,” Lailah observes. “In theory, if you could split it from the inside, half of it would escape the planet’s orbit.”
“Are you telling me I killed a baby for no reason?” Father Gerry sobbed.
“No, we can still do this.” Lily-Rose comforts him. “Lailah’s right. A big enough explosion would suffice.”
“The Silurian Base was powered by nuclear materials.” Autumn recalls from earlier. “Surely that would be enough to do it.”
“Affirmative,” K-9 calculates.
“One of us would still need to set up a bomb.” Elbore’s face has a pensive look. “Can you get me down there Doctor?”
“I can’t land the TARDIS on the meteor.” The Doctor drops his gaze to the floor. “There’s nothing I can do.”
“Negative.” K-9 interrupts. “I can teleport myself and one other.”
“Well that settles it, then.” Elbore paces towards the TARDIS door. “I will take the nuclear material and go down there and detonate it.”
“It will kill you.” The Doctor was blunt. Why do people in my life always die blowing themselves up?
“I know, and I’m not okay with that.” Elbore raised his voice. “But I am head of security here and I will fulfil my duty.”
A few minutes later, Elbore is standing beside K-9 with the necessary equipment to split the meteor. The Doctor approaches him and points towards the button. “Press this once K-9 teleports away. I’ve programed him to return to his owner.” Looking Elbore in the eyes, the Doctor asks: “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“Just do it before I change my mind.”
The Doctor nods at K-9. There is a flash of blue light as Elbore and K-9 disappear along with the equipment.
The remainder of the TARDIS crew run over to the console and watch as there is a massive explosion within the meteor causing it to split in two. One half accelerates towards Earth, but crucially the other half begins to drift away, powered by the momentum of the explosion. There is a large crash as the earthbound half makes contact with the planet, sending up flames which engulf the entire atmosphere. Once the flames have stopped they are replaced by swirls of grey smoke, making the planet almost undistinguishable from the blackness of space. Everyone is in shock and no one speaks. Eventually Lailah breaks the silence. “His sacrifice will be remembered.”
After another few minutes of silence everyone turns to the Doctor looking for advice on what to do now. For once, he himself is speechless. Wiping the sweat from his brow he eventually musters an answer. “I have a time machine, I’ll salvage as much as I can.”
Silurian Ark
Doctor Vershack was sitting in the command chair in the main control room of the Ark. There was a large window behind him through which Mars was just about to become visible. “How many of us did you save, Doctor?”
“I got as many as I could.” The Doctor smiled. “I don’t think anyone was left unaccounted for.” His face became solemn. “What about the Silurian Council? Any word from them?”
“They survived, that’s the good news.” He paused for a moment. “However, they sustained a lot of structural damage and have initiated mandatory hibernation for all.” He pressed a button on the Ark and a 3-D projection of it came up on screen with lots of green dots on it. “I’ve done the same Doctor, Lailah too. Each of those dots is a Silurian. We saved them.”
“And what about you? What happens to you now?”
“I’ve set the Ark on auto-pilot, it will return to Earth someday.” The smile on his face masked the sorrow beneath. “But there will be no place for me in this new world. I am old and dying. Besides, I have all I could want here. A plethora of fantastic creatures to protect and keep healthy.” He winked. “Not a bad way to go if you ask me.”
“Better than burning anyway.” The Doctor laughed darkly. “There’s a lot of life on this ship now, and I’ll keep bringing more. But it’s all in your hands now. Look after it.”
Father Gerry appeared beside the Doctor and offered Doctor Vershack a warm handshake. “I’m sure you’ll do a magnificent job.”
“Not as great as the job you both did in getting us this far.” Doctor Vershack gave them a warmer grin. “Father, for making the impossible decision; and you, Doctor for using your ship to ensure our survival. If there’s anything I can do for you in return do not hesitate to ask.”
“Actually, there’s one more thing I have done for you…” The Doctor allowed a look of intrigue to form on Doctor Vershack’s face before continuing. “Thesha and Marnock, I have recovered their bodies. They deserve a proper burial. Sadly there was nothing I could do for Elbore”
All three men shared a moments silence in memory of their lost friends. Eventually Doctor Vershack nodded at the Doctor who quietly retreated towards the TARDIS with Father Gerry in tow. “We still need to pick up a few more dinosaur species. I’ll take you home after,” the Doctor explained to Father Gerry as they stepped inside the TARDIS which quickly dematerialised leaving Doctor Vershack alone in the control room.
TARDIS – Console Room
“Doctor.” Father Gerry waves a hand in front of a distant Doctor’s face in order to attract his attention. Once he is satisfied he has it, he continues. “First the Genesis project with Adam in EDEN and now we’ve led the dinosaurs two by two into the Silurian Ark. Is this a joke?”
The Doctor laughs. “If it is, it’s not a funny one. But the same is true of all stories. Everything in the universe, no matter how silly it sounds, originates somewhere. Usually time edits the story, grossly distorting it from its origin. People add bits, facts are forgotten, and new meanings are attributed. I think that’s why most people are disappointed when they learn the truth.”
“Doctor, this is hardly a laughing matter.” Father Gerry takes a step back from the TARDIS console. “This is my faith you are talking about. Are you really telling me that it is based on what I’m seeing right now? That my God does not exist, and that everything is down to human distortion?”
The Doctor too steps away from the console and stands in front of Father Gerry putting a hand on his shoulder for comfort. “Your faith is unique to you. It’s yours and no one can take it away from you. You choose what you want to believe. This planet is about to be hit by a meteor destroying all but the smallest forms of life. As the years go on, genetic mutations occur until one day by the slimmest of chances, the human race will come to Earth for a second time. Once is coincidental enough, but for the same species to be formed twice, on the same planet, that is virtually impossible.”
Father Gerry’s face wears a blank look. “What are you suggesting Doctor, that there is a God behind all of this? If so surely you aren’t implying that it is one of those Silurian beasts. God created man in his own image.”
“Doesn’t that just typify the arrogance of humanity?” Both men struggle to contain their laughter before the Doctor continues. “What I’m saying is that there is no definitive way to look at things, people see what they want to see, and that’s usually what comforts them. And maybe an imagine isn’t all about looks.”
“What about you Doctor? What do you find comfort in? What is your faith?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” The Doctor shoots him a wry smile. “I believe in people…” As if on cue the TARDIS doors burst open. Lily-Rose and Autumn both enter the TARDIS each with a young Tyrannosaurus which has been knocked out slumped over their shoulders. “And look how the people I care about justify that belief.” Leaning into the TARDIS console, he gently pulls a lever towards himself. Pivoting on a heel he turns to face his three guests. “Let’s save the dinosaurs.”
St. Stephen’s Church - 1945
The Doctor and Father Gerry stepped out of the TARDIS. They were back in the church moments after they had left. The Doctor waited until the door had closed behind him before he spoke. “So, earlier you said that last time I took you away it left you questioning your faith. Have I done more damage to you?”
“Doctor, you have damaged me in ways you could not possibly imagine, but equally you have healed me in others. You have showed me impossible things; marvellous things, and I should praise God for it all. But then I’m back here, and there’s a war on.” He swallowed, took out his handkerchief once more and wiped his eyes. “It’s just hard to see God in all of this fighting, young men dying. What sort of god lets that happen?”
“That is only natural given the circumstances.” The Doctor lifted a service leaflet from a table at the back of the church. “It’s 1945. I can’t see the fighting lasting much longer. And once it ends, that’s when the people will need you more than ever. Keep the faith, for their sake.”
“Thank you Doctor.” Father Gerry offered him a firm handshake. “I’m glad I met you.”
The Doctor watched as Father Gerry walked off down the aisle, a smile on his face as he went. Turning as if to step into his TARDIS, the Doctor changed his mind, instead calling after Father Gerry he asked: “One more question, though.”
Father Gerry turned with another wry smile on his face. Even with the length of the church between them he could see that Doctor was smiling back at him. “After what I’ve been through today, one questions isn’t too much to handle.”
“Your statue of Saint Anthony, you carry it whenever you are away from home.” He paused for a moment as he scanned his mind for the relevant information. “He is the saint of lost things; you believe he will help you get home safely.”
“Indeed Doctor, he has yet to let me down.” Father Gerry chuckled to himself.
The Doctor’s curiosity got the better of him as he cautiously asked, “is that why you left it on the bridge of the Ark? So as the Silurians make it home safely?”
“Ah…” The smile dropped from Father Gerry’s face. “I thought I was discrete about that. But yes, that is why I left it there.”
“You don’t need to be discrete about your faith. You should be proud of who you are.” The Doctor offered him a reassuring smile. “But that’s not why you didn’t want me to know, is it?” The Doctor watched as Father Gerry looked away. “Because if you left the statue on the Ark, then what is in your backpack?” There was a stunned silence from Father Gerry. “Do you think I didn’t notice you had the zip slightly open?”
Father Gerry raised his voice in retaliation. “To ask me to make a decision for someone to kill a child is one thing, and it is something that I was just about okay with. But to ask me to kill him myself, that is a line I would never cross.”
Much to father Gerry’s surprise, the Doctor smiled at him. It wasn’t a fake smile, but one which suggested warmth and approval. “There was a reason I chose you and you’ve just shown me what it was. You found a solution that I didn’t even consider to be possible…” The Doctor paused for a moment. As he continued the warmth in his voice cooled. “How did you know it would work?”
Father Gerry’s anxiety was obvious from the speed of his speech. “I heard you say that the TARDIS existed as a separate time-zone to its surroundings, and that it was always the present, its own pocket of time. I guessed that taking the child into the TARDIS might have been enough to stop the bad things from happening. I was right wasn’t I? It worked.”
The Doctor’s reply was uncharacteristically harsh. “So you risked the future of an entire species based on a guess. Everything the human race has ever done, all on the whim of one man.”
Father Gerry could feel the sweat forming on his brow. “I had faith Doctor, faith that the Lord would show me the right path.”
Without breaking the locked eye contact between the two, the Doctor asked in a calm but firm tone. “Is your faith really that strong?”
“Yes!” Father Gerry shouted as he slammed his fist against the pew. The noise produced was enough to wake the baby, who still in the backpack began to cry. As he bent down to pick up the baby he had a sudden realisation. “Oh, you wonderful man, I see what you’re trying to do!” As he looked up he was greeted by a sudden blast of wind in his face. The empty church was filled with the sound of the TARDIS dematerialising. As he heard it, Father Gerry found that he too was filled with hope, for the first time in a long time. Speaking softly to himself he muttered: “Thank you Doctor, for showing me the true strength of my faith.” As he looked down at the beautiful young baby in his arms, now in a state just between sleep and consciousness, he whispered: “Now then Adam, what on earth am I going to do with you?”
TARDIS – Console Room
“I’ve detached the time pocket now. All back to normal.” The Doctor bounced up to the console unit. “But all that hopping… oh, we’ve got a bit behind. The Hunters have the advantage.” He glared at the scanner.
“But we’re still tracking them?” asked Autumn. “We can catch up?”
“Yes. But we might end up going a bit further back than before…”
The TARDIS shook, jolting in an unusual, sporadic way. Autumn felt that gut feeling that something wasn’t right. Lily-Rose sensed it. The Doctor understood, gesturing to the door.
“Further back than I’ve ever been before. A time before the time before history, and we’re going to meet the Hunters of Andromeda.” He paused. “Who wants to go first?”
Autumn and Lily-Rose are sitting on the armchair of the TARDIS console room; the Doctor is at the console fiddling with levers. The entire console room jolts throwing the Doctor to the floor. As he pulls himself to his feet he grabs the screen of the TARDIS console. Alarmed by the disruption Lily-Rose asks, “What was that?”
The Doctor is still looking at the screen with a frown on his face. “I’m not sure.” He plays with the controls a bit more so as the data on the screen changes. The frown becomes a scowl. “That shouldn’t be possible. The data is saying that the timeline is trying to resist the TARDIS.”
“Can you land?” Autumn is quickly at the Doctor’s side trying to help.
“I think so.” The Doctor flicks a switch and pulls a lever. There is a groan form the central column. The inside of the TARDIS is subject to another vigorous jolt. “We keep bouncing off; the TARDIS doesn’t want to land.”
Lily-Rose is actively trying to stay out of the Doctor’s way as he works. “I take it this isn’t normal.” The Doctor’s nod in her general direction confirms her observation. “What could possibly be causing this?”
“It’s the TARDIS’ defence systems. She thinks she is under attack.” He rubs the TARDIS console as if comforting it. “I can land it, but I need to take the defences down. There’s only one thing that could do this - a massive paradox.” The Doctor presses a red button on the console which causes the central column to reciprocate faster than ever before. The noise made is a raspy wheeze not dissimilar to the sound produced during a bad asthma attack.
“Have we landed?” Autumn breathes a sigh of relief.
“Yes, but I have to keep the defences down otherwise the TARDIS could dematerialise at any moment.” The Doctor consults the screen once more this time switching to an exterior view. “We need to find the paradox and address it. Left untreated it could tear open a hole in the time vortex itself.”
“So we are going out there?” Lily-Rose’s question was intended as rhetoric. “Do we even know what’s out there?” This time she looked towards the Doctor for an answer.
“Well the good news is, it’s Earth.” He glances at each of them hoping to see smiles, however both were bracing themselves for the inevitable downside. “But it is sixty five million BC. It’s a very different planet out there. No humans for a start, at least not for another ten million years.” He glances towards the screen and then back towards the women standing in front of him. “As for active life-forms, I have to idea. So we’ll just have to find out the old fashioned way.” Walking towards the door with the women in tow, he stops and holds it open for them. Once they have exited the TARDIS he follows allowing the door to gently swing closed.
Sand Planes – 65 Million BC
Upon stepping out of the TARDIS the team was greeted with a spectacular sight. To the left stood a majestic mountain range with cragged peaks extending into the sky like giant watchtowers. There was a small sprinkling of snow near their peaks. This was in complete contrast to the climate they found themselves in with the warmth and humidity leaving them feeling muggy. Directly in front of them about five hundred metres away was a dense forest of the tallest trees they had ever seen coloured in every shade of green imaginable. The remainder of the landscape was made up of a harsh sandy surface littered sporadically with boulders and withered black trees. From out of nowhere a group of small dinosaurs sprinted past on two legs, their heads bobbing up and down as they moved.
Lily-Rose fumbled in her pocket and produced a small rectangular device. She held it up in front of her as if taking a photo of the dinosaurs. There were a few beeps which let her know the machine was working followed by a soft ding informing her it had made a match. Reading off the screen she shared her findings with the group.
“Velociraptors; small carnivorous dinosaurs who love chasing their prey.”
Autumn watched as the Velociraptors continued to run away from them with no let-up in their speed. “Wait, did you say they were carnivores?” There was a gulp as she swallowed. “Why did they run past us then?”
“They didn’t,” The Doctor quickly interjected. “They were running from something.” Before he could even finish, a large shadow was cast upon the ground where they were standing, and a rumbling like a mighty machine about to go up. The Doctor imagined what his usual companions would do; closing their eyes, hoping for the best, but with the gut awareness of what they were facing. To Autumn and lily-Rose, this was just a field trip, and anything they found were just letters on a page. The great stomping didn’t carry generations of inaccurate storytelling. It was just a thing to be analysed.
All three turned to catch a glimpse of the unmistakable figure of a T-Rex which was almost upon them.
“I think it would be a good idea if we were to run too.”
Ensuring that Autumn and Lily-Rose were ahead of him at all times, the Doctor directed them to the forest. “Over there, the trees are tight together; we should be able to lose it there.” They continued running in the direction of the forest.
As they were approaching the treeline the Doctor became aware of small movements within the trees. He could pick out the vague outline of three masked figures wearing camouflage gear. They were armed. In the knowledge that the T-Rex was behind them, the Doctor made the split second decision that the armed figures were the safest bet: at least they could be reasoned with. He was surprised to see the creatures break cover and step out of the forest. Once they did he recognised the again unmistakable body shape of Silurians. The leader of the group took point with the other two following close behind; all three had their weapons raised. The Leader shouted towards the Doctor and his companions. His voice was assured and authoritative. “Get down. Now!”
The Doctor reacted to the order fastest by grabbing Lily-Rose and Autumn with one hand each. Pulling on their clothes he dragged them to the ground and threw himself on top of them in protection. There was the sharp sound of electrical discharge as the Silurian’s weapon unleashed a dazzling blue pulse which connected with the trunk of the oncoming T-Rex. Its momentum carried it on for a few paces, moving forward with laboured intoxicated strides. Eventually it lost its balance and crashed to the ground with a thud. Once the Doctor was satisfied it was safe to do so, he attempted to get back to his feet. Before he could, the ground began to shake vigorously making it extremely difficult for him to stand. The Silurians too were having difficulty, but quickly dropped to the ground and curled themselves into the foetal position. Noticing this, the Doctor followed suit after he had gestured for his companions to do the same. The vibrations continued for what felt like an eternity before they gradually began to reduce in intensity. The Doctor’s attention was suddenly diverted to a thud which occurred no more than three meters from him. When he looked up he noticed that one of the tallest trees had fallen missing him and his friends by a narrow margin. The Silurians were not so lucky; the Doctor could tell from where he was standing that the two who had followed their leader were dead, their skulls crushed by the weight of the fallen tree, their flimsy masks offering little protection. The Doctor instinctively went to comfort the leader without giving a second thought to what threat he could have posed.
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
The leader was close to tears, but trying to maintain a brave face. Silurians were known for that, just like humans. And these Silurians, the Doctor noticed, weren’t so far off his companions, even physically. They were at the end of their evolutionary trail.
“They were my friends. I don’t know what I’m going to do without them.” He looked the Doctor in the eye. “I need to get their bodies back to base. I can’t leave them out here. Can you help me?” The Doctor’s smile offered a slight comfort to the leader.
Lily-Rose decided that now was the time to interrupt. “What was that?” Without waiting for an answer she continued. “Will it happen again?”
“It was an Earthquake.” The Leader seemed glad of the change of subject. “My apologies; I haven’t introduced myself yet. My name is Elbore, I am the commander of scientific base alpha six theta. We have had a strange run of activity from the planet recently: earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes and the like. It’s as if the planet herself has turned on us.”
“So you’ve been investigating this?” Autumn enquired.
“That was not our original remit…” He paused for a moment, unsure as to how much he should share with these complete strangers. “Recently it has been a topic of study though; everyone is rather bored now that Doctor Vershack has made his big discovery.”
“I have a ship I might be able to use to help return the…” The Doctor went to point in the direction of his TARDIS. “Ah.” He scanned the flat landscape but there was no sign of his TARDIS. Instead, a large gash had opened in the ground where it once was. “It appears my ship has fallen into the earthquake.”
“Then we’ll have to go back to base.” Elbore’s ability as a natural leader came to the fore. “We have the equipment to scale the rift and get you into your ship. Then you can help me recover the bodies of my friends.” He stopped for a moment as a distant stare formed on his face. “I’d suggest an alternative, but we were already undermanned before this happened.” Without giving them a chance to argue otherwise he turned on his heel and began marching off into the Forrest. “Follow me; the base is five hundred yards north.”
A pensive Autumn ensured she was positioned beside the Doctor. When she was sure that Elbore was out of earshot she whispered so that just the Doctor and Lily-Rose could hear her. “Are you sure this is a good idea? He could be leading us straight into a trap.”
The Doctor had already considered the possibility. “It’s unlikely. Besides, we came here to find the paradox. My instinct tells me that it’s somewhere in that base.”
“Could it be Doctor Vershack’s breakthrough?” Lily-Rose spoke louder than she had intended to so she immediately checked if Elbore had heard her. She breathed a sigh of relief as he seemed not to have.
“Exactly…”
The Doctor’s mind was already considering all of the possibilities. It too was like a machine, but one at its height and seemingly always in its optimum environment.
Control Room - Silurian Base
The inside of the base was even more decrepit than the outside; there was a small hole in the roof through which the plant life had invaded. A stagnant odour consumed the room which was small and claustrophobic.
“Here we are then.”
Elbore made a sarcastic gesture with his hands. “It’s not much, but it is home for us.” At the back of the room there was a young Silurian trying to keep on top of two screens which provided Elbore with a constant stream of numerical data. “This is Lailah; she is the chief analyst on base. Normally Aleana would help her, but she has gone back to the centre. Sadly here mother has been taken ill; haemophilus influenza. I don’t think she’ll make it.” He point to a small service corridor running east. “Living quarters are down there. There are a few spare beds if you need them,” and pointing in the opposite direction, “the main labs are this way, you’ll probably find Doctor Vershack there.”
Lailah had stopped working moments before and was eavesdropping on the conversation. She could not contain herself any longer and asked the burning question she had found was bothering her since their visitors had arrived. “The apes, why are they here?” She paused for a moment, scared to ask the next part, “Thesha and Marnock, what happened to them? Why aren’t they back?”
Elbore looked to the ground to avoid making eye contact. He tried to speak, but no words came out. The Doctor quickly picked up on his difficulties and took over. “I’m sorry, there was an earthquake. A tree fell on them… they didn’t survive.”
There was a deathly silence in the room as no one knew what to say next. The silence was broken as Lailah lashed out at a nearby desk smashing the conical flask and sending shards of glass across the room like projectile missiles. “No! This is a lie. Don’t you see what the apes are doing, Elbore? You went out to investigate the strange readings, the apes appeared and now our friends are dead. And now you’ve led them here, so they can kill us too. I will trust no ape.”
“Lailah,” Elbore raised his voice and furled his brow. “Please, they are not apes. I’ve scanned them and they aren’t from this planet. Secondly they have offered to help us bring back the bodies so we can give Thesha and Marnock a proper cremation.” He fought to hold back tears. “There are only three of us left now. We have to stick together.”
Lailah darted towards one of the screens and called up a pressure map of the local area. “You’ll need to hurry, there’s a massive storm coming in the next hour. According to predictions it is hurricane force.” Running to the supply cupboard she grabbed the hiking gear and tossed it across the room to Elbore. “You need to leave now.”
As Elbore moved towards the door, the Doctor and his companions followed him. Elbore allowed the Doctor to exit the base first before putting his arm across the door, blocking Lily-Rose and Autumn from leaving. “I’m sorry, just the Doctor. Lailah is right, you could pose a threat, so your friends will stay here as a deterrent in case you attempt anything untoward.”
Autumn glared, opening her mouth, but the Doctor nodded, silencing her. “I suppose that’s fair enough.” Reaching into his pocket he produced three small objects which resembled ear plugs. Tossing one to each of his friends he put the third into his own ear. Lily-Rose and Autumn did the same. “Basic communication device, so we can stay in contact. That’s my counter-condition.” He looked to Elbore for approval and received a nod in reply. “Keep in contact, try to find the paradox which brought us here. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” The effect of hearing the Doctor in person and through the earpiece was initially confusing.
Once the Doctor had left with Elbore, Lailah spoke. The hostility from earlier had been replaced by a softer gentle voice. “Can I get you anything to drink? I’ll take you down to see Doctor Vershack in a moment. I’ll bet he’s dying to tell anyone who will listen about Project Genesis.”
Laboratory – Silurian Base
“Doctor Vershack is renowned for his work with creatures. He is the leading Genetic Biologist within the scientific community.” Lailah filled the awkward silence. “This latest project was his maddest yet. It turned a few heads and got him stuck out here.” She sighed. “But he proved them wrong - it worked. And now thanks to him the planet has a new species.”
They had now entered the main part of the lab. Doctor Vershack was standing over a large plastic box which looked like an incubator. The usual contents of the room had been pushed to the side to make space. “I don’t think this species will be quite suited for the planet just yet. Perhaps the Ark is a better fit. That way we can control the eco-system to encourage the species to thrive.” Looking up from the incubator, he realised the presence of Lily-Rose and Autumn. “Oh my; how rude of me, I did not realise we had visitors.” He quickly made his way over and offered them each a firm handshake. “I’m afraid I do not recognise your species.” He gestured towards the incubator. “No matter, but you really must come and see my new species. Project Genesis was an unprecedented success. It’s all very exciting, so do come and have a look!”
He was everything both Autumn and Lily-Rose had suspected: the mad, eccentric and warm professor.
Autumn, Lily-Rose and Lailah squeezed around the incubator in order to get a better look. Inside there was a young human baby, no more than four weeks old. It was asleep and lay still. There was an assortment of various wires connected to it running into the machines which occupied the benches along the back of the lab. The baby’s hand was pressed against the side of the incubator. Placing her own hand on the incubator so as only the thin plastic sheet prevented her from touching it, Autumn whispered. “It’s beautiful. But it’s impossible. It’s human.”
“Human.” Doctor Vershack’s outburst caused everyone else to jump. “Human, that is a beautiful name, fitting of such a beautiful creature. I’ve been calling him Adam, as this is the male of the species.” He pointed towards a small desk. “I’ve been trying to isolate his DNA to extrapolate the female of the species. I haven’t had much success so far, but I’ve just taken a bone marrow sample from his ribs. That might work.”
“Sorry to interrupt,” Lily-Rose interjected. “The thing Adam is in, what is it?”
“I’m glad someone asked that.” Doctor Vershack was unable to contain his excitement. “I call it EDEN because of what it does for him: exchange of minerals, dialysis, expiration, and nutrition is also provided. Without it Adam, would not survive. But one day he’ll have to leave EDEN.” He gives them a huge smile. “You may wonder how I got such technology. I simply got lucky; the part I was looking for was gifted to me by an unknown benefactor.”
Before he had finished speaking, the lighting in the lab changed to red. There was an alarm ringing throughout the base. Almost immediately Lailah had left the room, Doctor Vershack in close pursuit. Unsure what to do, Autumn and Lily-Rose exchanged blank looks before the former decided to follow the Silurians. As Lily-Rose went to follow her acquaintance, a small post-it note with a thin layer of dust on it caught her eye. Reading its contents she scowled and placed it in her pocket for later before hurriedly following the rest of the part back to the main section of the base.
Sand Planes
The TARDIS was sitting at the bottom of a large crack that had formed within the desert plain. The collapsing earth caused by the quake had led to the formation of a chasm about fifty metres deep. The Doctor and Elbore stood atop of the cliff formed, inspecting its face in order to ascertain the best way down. Elbore had set up a winch which would allow him to lower the Doctor to the TARDIS. As the Doctor strapped himself into the harness, Elbore checked that everything was in order. Once satisfied he nodded to the Doctor who was now stood right at the edge of the cliff. “We’re good to go Doctor.”
The Doctor toppled backwards, arms outstretched, for a moment. All that he was aware of was the fact that he was falling. This sensation was quickly replaced as the rope became taut causing him to stop with a jolt. He was now standing perpendicular to the cliff-face. Elbore had run towards the edge of the cliff to make sure the Doctor was okay. “I’m fine, Elbore. There’s quite a lot of wind exposure. I don’t think we have long until the storm comes.”
Elbore looked at a small wrist-device. “Anything outside in twenty minutes is going to take a battering.” He looked in the direction of the base which was a five minute walk away. “I apologise, Doctor, but we are going to have to do this faster than I would have liked.”
“Of course.” The Doctor’s charisma was unshaken by the situation at hand. “Once I have the TARDIS I’ll recover the bodies and meet you back at the base.” He pulled on the rope three times. “You said pull three times for down?” As expected, the rope became loose allowing the Doctor to drop down another few metres. This process repeated and the Doctor gradually made his way down the cliff. Once he was sure he was out of earshot of Elbore he spoke into the communications system he had established with his companions. “Autumn. What’s happening?”
It took a moment before there was any response. Eventually Autumn’s voice sounded in the Doctor’s ear. “Doctor we’ve got a problem. The computer system, it’s giving us a frightening reading.”
“What is it? Are you in danger?” Forgetting where he was for a moment the Doctor lost his footing and had to scramble to regain it.
“Doctor, there’s a meteor on collision course for Earth. The data coming through suggests it will be a catastrophic impact, fatal to all life on the planet.”
The Doctor leant back to fall further, but he was surprised to find the ground against his back. Pulling himself to his feet, he removed the hoist and tugged on it five times to let Elbore know had has reached the bottom. “I’m at the TARDIS, give me a second to get inside. How long have we got?”
TARDIS – Console Room
The Doctor is now inside the TARDIS at the console. He is tracking the meteor’s progress on the screen.
“Autumn, we’ve got four hours until impact. There’s nothing I can do to stop it. Something strange is happening. Earth appears to be sitting out on its own, isolated. The rest of the planets are at the other side of the sun, which shouldn’t be possible. But what that means is that the planet is a sitting duck. The strange weather patterns and geographic disturbances, how long have they been going on for?”
There is a pause in which the Doctor assumes Autumn is trying to find the answer to his question. Eventually she returns. “Lailah says it’s been gradually getting worse over the last four weeks.”
“Four weeks…” Lily-Rose interrupted. “Isn’t that the time scale Doctor Vershack mentioned earlier.”
The Doctor enters something into the TARDIS control panel which gives him the information he needs. “The TARDIS is saying that the paradox started four weeks ago. You mentioned the good doctor’s work. Did you ever find out what it was?”
“Yes. It’s a human baby. He created a human.”
“Ah…” The Doctor sighs
“Ah?” Autumn turns his response back to him.
“That would be the paradox. The human race is not meant to exist for millions more years. The very presence of a new human is enough to put the entire future of the planet in flux. What we are seeing now is an incredibly rare phenomena, something I thought was a mere myth among Time Lords.” The Doctor pulls up a holographic image of Earth, “Something deep within the planet has awakened. An anti-paradox mechanism. The planet is trying to protect its own future.”
“How does a meteor protect the future of the planet?” Lily-Rose is horrified by the prospect.
“A complete reset. Kill all life on the planet and let evolution take its course again.” He has a sudden realisation. “I’ve always thought the dinosaurs died because of a spaceship colliding with Earth. Turns out it’s much worse. This must have been what happened.”
“You mean we can’t do anything about it?” Autumn’s voice chippers in his ear but he doesn’t fully hear it.
“In terms of solutions I don’t think we have many.” He bites his lip. “Well there is one, but it’s unthinkable and not even a guarantee of success.” He shakes his head. “We might have to kill the child.”
“Doctor. There’s something else.” Lily-Rose cut him off. “I found a post-it note, it’s them. The Hunters. This was almost certainly intentional.”
“Autumn, Lily-Rose. We face an impossible decision, one which I don’t think we can make alone.” The Doctor clears his throat. “This requires something I don’t normally do.” He sets the TARDIS for new co-ordinates. “The communications is going to cut off for a bit, but I promise, I have not abandoned you. I’m coming back, and I’m bringing help.” As the pulls the lever, the TARDIS dematerialises.
Museum of Gravity – Sigma 27 – 4873 AD
The TARDIS materialised in a spacious museum. Late at night, the museum was closed; the light from atop the TARDIS casting eerie shadows up the walls. The Doctor rapidly emerged from the TARDIS and headed directly and determinedly to one of the exhibits. Using his sonic screwdriver he removed the plastic display casing. A gentle click let him know that he had tripped the silent alarm. He would only have a few moments before a dozen armed space rangers would have him surrounded. Working fast he removed one of the two large cylindrical objects from the display and took it into the TARDIS. Once he had it inside, he returned for the other. Just as he reached the TARDIS door for a second time, the guards entered the room. The Doctor allowed the door of the TARDIS to close behind him as the soldiers surrounded the TARDIS. The soldiers’ shouts for him to come out because he was surrounded with no escape fell on deaf ears. Eventually they were left staring at thin air as the TARDIS dematerialised and the Doctor made his escape.
Control Room – Silurian Base – 65 Million BC
“You daft old man, you have killed us all!” Elbore stopped his hand inches before making contact with Doctor Vershack’s face. “All this is your fault. Thesha, Marnock, their deaths are on you.” His hand was shaking vigorously. “You disgust me.”
“How was I possibly to know?” Doctor Vershack masked feeling of guilt with fear. “I did what I thought was best for our species. How can one baby cause all of this?”
“Speaking of your little experiment, I’m going to kill the little runt.” He grabbed a hammer from the nearby desk and went towards the corridor leading to the labs.
He was confronted by Lailah. “Stop this, both of you. We need to work together to sort something out.”
“Lailah is right.” Lily-Rose made her voice heard. “Think: is there anything we have that could help? Anything this planet has which might swing things in our favour?”
“The Council might have plans to stop this. I’ll try contacting them.” Elbore’s anger appeared to have subsided for now. “But there is nothing on this planet that will stop that meteor.”
“Nothing on the planet, yes…” Doctor Vershack was distant, deep in thought. “But in orbit of the planet maybe.”
“The Ark!” Lailah’s excitement lasted only a few seconds. “How will that help us?”
“What’s the Ark?” asked Autumn.
Lily-Rose’s heart thudded. This was all too familiar…
St Stephen’s Church – 1945 AD
Father Gerry was sat in the confessional. It was the last Tuesday before Easter and he has had a busy day. He was enjoying the temporary lull in people coming to confession as it afforded him possibly the only free time he would get, for the next week at least. His heart dropped when he heard the sound of the confessional door opening with a man walking in and taking a seat. Father Gerry was unable to see him due to the design of the confessional which had the priest and the person in separate sections with a slide window between, which his guest had opted to keep closed. “Good evening. Have you come for forgiveness?” He always opened confession with that question as it highlighted the very point of it. The chance to put to the past any mistakes, as long as the soul was willing. He wondered whether the mistakes would still be put aside if his soul were not willing to forgive them.
“I’m here for help, and I think you’re the best person for the job.” The voice sounded as if it belonged to a pleasant middle-aged man – well-spoken and charismatic.
“I am a mere servant of the Lord. It is he who will help you, not I.” There was an awkward silence which Father Gerry filled by asking. “How long has it been since your last confession?”
There was a soft chuckle from the other side of the confessional. “We’ll I’ve been around for about eight hundred years and I have no idea what you mean by confession.”
Father Gerry could feel himself beginning to get agitated. This would have been the third time today he’d had a prankster waste his time. Why weren’t people scared of eternal damnation anymore? He thought it still had a sinister ring to it. “Look if you’re not going to take this seriously, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cause any offense.” The reply was swift, but laced with warm sincerity. “I really do need to talk to you, Father.” The man was confident with his rapport, talking with a strange sense of familiarity, as if greeting an old friend. “But first, is everything okay? The Father Gerry I know would never ask someone to leave, even if they were wasting his time.”
“No, everything is not okay.” Realising what he had said, he caught himself on. “I really shouldn’t have said that. I don’t even know you.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Father Gerry could almost picture the smile on the man’s face as he heard the words. “I’d rather you tell me, I need to know before I let you help me.”
“Have you ever seen something so amazing that everything else pales in comparison?” Father Gerry found he was completely comfortable opening up to the man; there was something about that voice: he couldn’t quite shake the feeling that he’d heard it before. It was hypnotic. “I had a friend once who showed me something that I couldn’t have imagined in my wildest dreams, a marvel of our universe. But then he dropped me off home and I realised that nothing here could even hold a match to that.” He sighed. “I’ve been a man of god all my life, but I find it hard to accept that if we are his chosen race that there are such wonderful miracles out there that we aren’t a part of. And here we are, stuck in a bloody war.” He sniffled, and took a handkerchief from his sleeve to blow his nose. “I just don’t know what to believe anymore.”
“Well I’m terribly sorry about that; I could never have guessed that would have been the outcome.” There was a cheeky tone to the reply akin to that of a child trying to keep secret their wrongdoing. “Of course, though, it is obvious; why didn’t I see that? I’m so sorry.” There was a momentary pause. “Would another trip help? That’s what I was coming for anyway. I need a man of your persuasion.”
Father Gerry sat in a stunned silence. He pinched himself to check that he wasn’t dreaming before exclaiming: “Doctor! It’s you, isn’t it?” Before he got a reply, he heard the sound of the confessional door swinging closed. He frantically jumped off his seat and ran out of the confessional himself. Directly facing it he saw the familiar shape of the TARDIS parked in the central aisle of the church. The Doctor was standing in the doorway leaning against the frame with a welcoming smile on his face. “Give me a second, Doctor; I need to grab my backpack.” He sprinted down the church, the extra weight he had recently put on making it difficult to catch his breath.
He laughed as he heard the Doctor teasingly call after him. “Take your time. It’s not as if we’re on the clock.”
Control Room – Silurian Base – 65 Million BC
“I’ve just heard back from the Council - they’ve got nothing. They are going into shutdown, calling everyone back deep below the surface of the Earth.” Elbore delivered the bad news.
“That won’t work, will it?” Autumn looked at the data again. “The meteor will penetrate almost to the core. Your people won’t stand a chance.”
“We have to hope. I have faith in our scientists.” Lailah’s words lacked the conviction she hoped they would.
“They’ve given us the Ark, though.” Elbore entered a code into the computer and the Ark control panel came up on the screen. “If the Doctor can bring us up there we can save anyone who hasn’t been able to make it back down below, then we can survive this.”
“Will the Ark survive the impact of the meteor?” Lily-Rose asked the question that was on everyone’s lips. “If it is in orbit around the planet surely it has a high risk of being hit by debris?”
“She’s right,” Doctor Vershack confirmed.
“Then we activate the engines now.” Elbore primed them using the controls. “The Doctor can take us to the Ark no matter where it is. So if we start it on course away from Earth now, we can catch it later.” He made the decision for himself and activated the engines.
TARDIS – Console Room
“Wow, wow, wow.” Father Gerry takes a step back from the TARDIS console and crosses his arms. “You mean to tell me that you want me to make your impossible decision for you? In what sort of world is that fair?” He loosens the top button of his shirt and removes his priest’s collar; the collar of his shirt is soaked with sweat. “I find it hard to think that of all the people you know in the universe, that you thought I was the best man to help you make this decision.” He sighs. “I suppose what I’m getting at is: why me?”
The Doctor is rummaging through a box filled with gadgets of all shapes and sizes. Without looking up he answers Father Gerry. “It’s a very unique set of circumstances, and if I could do it myself I would. But I’m needed elsewhere. I chose you because I knew you had a strong faith, and because of that I know you’ll make the right decision. Or help to make it.” He carries on his search of the box as if nothing has happened.
“You talk about my faith. Then surely you know my stance on this dilemma already. Thou shall not kill, as written in the commandments of our lord.” He stares into the central column of the TARDIS as he contemplates. “All life is sacred; it is not the place of one man to decide the fate of another. That is my decision. You can take me home now.”
“I absolutely respect that.” The Doctor finds a small gold whistle encrusted with precious gems of all colours. At the side is a round red button. “A-ha, gotcha!” Slipping it into his pocket he makes his way to the seats gesturing for Father Gerry to join him. Once he is seated the Doctor explains the situation. “I totally agree with you, I could never bring myself to kill a child, or kill anyone for that matter.” He pauses for a moment, forcing a memory to the back of his mind. “But this choice is an impossible one. If we let the boy live, you are sentencing every human who ever lived on Planet Earth to death, worse even. With that child on Earth, the planet will be destroyed. Even if we kill him, it may be too far gone already.” The Doctor’s charm fades ever so slightly, telling of the pressure he is under.
“How can you possibly justify a decision to kill the child if you don’t know for sure that it will make a difference?” Father Gerry answers with scathing intensity.
“All I know is that if we do nothing, the future of the human race is over. How can we possibly stand back and do nothing? Surely anything is worth a try. Removing the child from the time zone is the only thing that might make a difference.” The Doctor’s passion rivals that of his opponent.
“Perhaps it is better to fail in doing the right thing, than succeed in doing the wrong,” Father Gerry retaliates, but his response is lacking the conviction of his previous retorts.
“Do you really believe that?” A rare scowl forms on the Doctor’s brow.
“I’m ready to make my decision.” Father Gerry stands from his seat; the Doctor is quickly up to his feet too.
“Excellent. I’ll take you to meet Lily-Rose Aston; she’s a new acquaintance of mine. She’s got a strong faith of her own, but nothing of the kind you’d know. She’s a nun from the Order of St. Ava.” The Doctor receives a blank look from Father Gerry. “I’ll let her fill you in. You’ll be working with her, and the man who created the child. I should warn you, he’s not human, so it may be a bit of a shock to the system. Then there’s my other friend Autumn Rivers, again different to the type of people you’d know, so try to bear that in mind. Between the four of you I hope you can make the correct decision.”
“I’m sorry...” The Doctor is interrupted by Father Gerry. “You’re not taking part in this?” He shakes his head, “I thought you were many things Doctor, but I never had you pinned down as a coward. Shame on you! Leaving your friends to do your dirty work - that’s not fair.”
“You know I’d help if I could.” There was a hint of shame in his voice. “But remember how I said it might be too far gone already? There’s a meteor about to crash into Earth, and unless I can do something about that it doesn’t matter what happens with the child; we’re doomed anyway. So as much as I’d have liked to make the decision myself and not burden my friends, who better than the people I trust the most?”
“That is absolutely fair enough. In that case I’m honoured that you chose me.” He gives the Doctor a reassuring smile. “I suppose this next question goes with the territory for you, but will it be dangerous?”
“Just a bit.” The Doctor laughs. “Earth’s attacking itself trying to fix the insult to time and there’s a meteor about to wipe out all life on the planet. Oh, and the TARDIS is under attack because it is technically a different time-zone inside than outside. It’s complicated. Good luck.”
Father Gerry grabs his backpack and walks to the TARDIS door. “You know Doctor, I think you might need luck more than I do.”
Firing him a cheeky grin, the Doctor retorts. “Oh, and do watch out for the dinosaurs…”
As Father Gerry exits the TARDIS, stepping into the alien world of the Silurian base, the Doctor runs over to the TARDIS console, pulling at levers and pressing buttons. Finally a message pops up on the screen telling him that the communication channels have been opened. Leaning against the console, he places his hand in his pocket retrieving the object from earlier. Fondling it between his thumb and index finger of one hand, he pulls the TARDIS lever with the other. As the TARDIS begins its familiar wheezing sound, he presses the red button on the side of the whistle and blows into it. No sound is produced.
Control Room – Silurian Base
Father Gerry was perplexed by his new surroundings. His eyes drifted around the room until they eventually focused on the Silurians. He remarked to himself how beautiful they were, yet how unlike anything he had ever seen on Earth before. He was so distracted by the unfamiliarity of the situation that he was unaware that Elbore was talking to him. This led to Elbore having to repeat his question.
“Where is the Doctor?”
“He’s not coming.” Father Gerry was still struggling with his surroundings. “He says he has to do something to stop the meteor. He thinks killing the child will slow it down enough that life will survive on the planet, but not your people. He says the meteor is too big and that the only way is for him to alter the gravity of the planet.”
“Is that possible?” Elbore looked to Doctor Vershack for answers.
“I don’t know. But for our sake, I hope it is.” Doctor Vershack was tapping nervously on the desk.
“So this child, where is it?” Father Gerry’s voice shook. “And are we actually going to be able to kill it?”
“I was up for killing it earlier when I was angry at Doctor Vershack.” Elbore grabbed the hammer once more. “I can do it again.”
TARDIS – Console Room
There is a flash of blue light as a small robotic dog teleports onto the TARDIS. “Ah, K-9, it’s good to have you on-board.” The Doctor is busy at the TARDIS controls.
“Mistress Leela sends her regards.” K-9’s monotone voice echoes around the TARDIS.
“Leela…” The Doctor is confused. “Oh, of course, K-9 Mark One. The whistle was still tuned to the first model.”
“Affirmative!” K-9 nodded. “How may I be of service, Master??”
“You’re going to help me save the world.” The Doctor pulls a lever on the TARDIS console. “We’re going to the North Pole.”
North Pole
The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS with K-9 following him. He was holding one of the objects he had stolen from the museum, annoyed to find that he had stepped into a small body of water that just about covered the tops of his shoes. The typical icy appearance of the North Pole had changed: it now consisted of a shallow beach which extended as far as the eye could see. It was reasonably warm and the air had a humidity about it. The Northern Lights are overhead casting winding shadows over the darkened beach. The Doctor looked perplexed. “The planet has changed its own climate.”
“Affirmative,” K-9 chirped in reply. “The change in density affects the magnetic pull of the planet.”
“Well, we can do something about that.” The Doctor pushed the rod firmly into the ground. “Gravitational reducer, it will lower the effect of gravity on the planet so the meteor doesn’t hit as fast.” He waited for a reply from the earpiece, but it did not come. “The magnetic field is blocking the communications.” He continued to set up the gravitational reducer blissfully unaware that the water was beginning to drain from the beach. “K-9, I need you to configure the system.”
As K-9 got to work with the system, the Doctor took a moment to observe his surroundings. His face became etched with panic when he realised what the receding water line meant. Within a moment, a wall of water barely distinguishable against the sky was heading towards them covering the ground at an alarmingly fast rate. As the Doctor turned towards K-9, the small robotic dog announced: “Configuring complete.”
“Good dog.” The Doctor was already half way to the TARDIS. “Now, into the TARDIS, no time to waste.” The Doctor waited until K-9 was inside before slamming the door shut. Seconds later the TARDIS was rocked by a violent impact which caused the cloister bell to sound. The shaking lasted for a few moments before it gradually subsided. Once it did, the Doctor opened the screen on the console to observe the scene and to see if his device was still standing. Miraculously, it was.
Silurian Base – Laboratory
“I can’t do it.” Elbore placed the hammer back on the desk and smiled at the young baby who was now awake and watching the people assembled around its incubator.
“There’s no way I could do it either.” Lailah diverted her eyes away from the baby. “I can’t even be here.” She looked at the floor in shame. “I’ll head back to the control room and monitor the meteor’s progress.”
As she reached the door, Elbore followed her out of the room. “She shouldn’t be alone. She lost her twin sister in an accident as a baby.” He tried to sound convincing. “I’m going to make sure she is okay. Sorry, team.”
“So, the baby. What is it?” Father Gerry’s attention was fixated upon it. “It looks human, but given the situation, I’d assume it is not.”
“He’s called Adam.” Lily-Rose smiled at the baby. “He is most definitely human, and he is most certainly beautiful.”
“He’s my creation,” Doctor Vershack announced with pride. “Project Genesis was my life’s work. If it has to be destroyed for the sake of the planet, so be it.” He moved towards the door. “But I shall not be the one to do it.”
“He said Genesis Project. The Doctor told me this was the first human, whose name is Adam.” Father Gerry was disturbed. “This can’t be right. How do we kill it?”
“The EDEN incubator is keeping him alive.” Lily-Rose explained. “But I’m not going to let you turn it off. This was set up by the Hunters, and I will not be privy to their games.”
“Oh great, now there’s an EDEN too.” Father Gerry thumped the table with his fist.
“What if this is it? The real Eden? What if the Bible really was a metaphor and this is how it started? This could be the work of the Destroyer.” Lily-Rose eyed the baby suspiciously.
Autumn, who had held her silence until now, finally offered her opinion. “One life for the sake of billions: it’s not even a decision, it is simple maths.” A quiver in her voice indicated the true emotion which lay underneath. “We have to do it.”
“One vote each, Father.” Lily-Rose looked him square in the eye. “Casting vote is yours.”
“Well…” Father Gerry took a moment to collect his thoughts. “I know this can’t really be the moment that started the human race. Yes, it fits some elements of the story, but it doesn’t match the biblical truth.” He was firm in his resolve. “Which means we aren’t killing humanity - it comes down to only one child.” He looked at Autumn, then to the baby, and then back to Lily-Rose. “And we think it can only live by being connected to the incubator?”
“Doctor Vershack seems to think so.” Lily-Rose used one of her own devices to scan the child. “But my own calculations suggest that it could be fine outside of the incubator, though that is unlikely”
“So it’s capable of living on its own.” Tears started to form in his eyes. “That makes the decision even tougher.” He swallowed, “But Autumn’s right, there is no other alternative. We have to kill it.”
“Fine.” Lily-Rose turned her back on them and headed to the door. “I will support your decision, but I will not partake in it.”
Once she had left, Autumn picked up the hammer and swung it at the incubator. Upon making contact there was a loud crash as the plastic splintered into uncountable fragments. When they landed the baby started to cry. They waited for a moment, but the baby continued to cry. It was evidently able to survive in the environment. “Now what do we do?” Autumn already knew the answer to her question. “One of us has to kill it.”
“I’ll…”
The crying. So new. So… alive.
Autumn trembled, hating herself.
“I’ll do it,” offered Father Gerry. Autumn gave a sigh of relief at the offer. “But on one condition.” Taking the hammer from Autumn he looked her in the eye and smiled. “You leave the room. I don’t want anyone seeing me do this.”
Autumn nodded respectfully and left. It was a relief. One euthanasia had been enough for her lifetime, and another would trigger some unsavoury memories.
Once she had gone, Father Gerry lifted the baby in his arms, cradling it with his left arm. He felt the weight of the hammer almost double in his right hand. The baby looked at him with an innocent smile on its face. It was blissfully unaware of what was about to happen. Reluctantly, Father Gerry raised the hammer. When he reached the top of his arc, his hand shook with a fine tremor. “I’m sorry, Adam.” He whispered softly into the baby’s ear as he began the down stroke of the hammer. Outside the lab, Autumn heard the sound of a hammer striking a soft surface, her heart sank. A few moments later a sobbing Father Gerry emerged from the room. He could only muster a few words, “It… is… finished…”
South Pole
The TARDIS appeared at the South Pole in the middle of an icy blizzard. The Doctor emerged wearing a large wool-lined coat with the hood up covering his face, K-9 in tow. Like at the North Pole, the Doctor placed the Gravitational Reducer into the ground and allowed K-9 to configure the system. Whilst this was occurring the Doctor heard a thunderous roaring sound coming from in front of him. Through the heavy snow which was blocking his view he was able to make out the silhouette of a large creature heading his way. It was not it was until it was almost on top of him that he realised it was a dinosaur. It had pale blue skin and sharp claws. Its body features matched what you would expect of a sea dwelling animal, not a land one. Awkwardly it lunged towards the Doctor. Before it could make contact, a laser beam flew past the Doctor’s head, striking the dinosaur and then passing right through. The dinosaur stopped in its tracks before it gradually toppled over. Upon making contact with the ground it shattered into millions of tiny ice crystals. “Fascinating,” the Doctor remarked. “An aqua-based life form able to survive on land because it’s so cold. The water literally froze into a skeleton. So no fossils. No one on earth will ever know this existed.” The thought saddened him.
“System Configured!” K-9 announced. “Power levels low. Recharge required.”
As the Doctor bent to pick up K-9 there was a voice in his ear. “Doctor?” It startled him. “Doctor, it’s Father Gerry, can you hear me.”
“I can hear you, Father.” The Doctor started to walk towards the TARDIS, struggling with K-9’s weight into the wind. “What is it?”
“It’s done, Doctor.” The Doctor could hear sobbing. “I’ve killed the baby.”
“I’m coming to get you all.” The Doctor made a final effort throwing himself through the doors of the TARDIS and out of the harshness of the storm.
TARDIS – Console Room
Everyone is in the TARDIS. Father Gerry, who was last to enter, takes off his backpack for the first time and with a sigh sets it down beside the console. Everyone else joins the Doctor at the screen on the console, the meteor on display. “It’s still too big. I’ve set up a gravity funnel at each pole, which should reduce the speed it crashes with.”
“But there’s still too much mass?” Doctor Vershack questions him and the Doctor nods.
“It hasn’t entered the atmosphere fully yet,” Lailah observes. “In theory, if you could split it from the inside, half of it would escape the planet’s orbit.”
“Are you telling me I killed a baby for no reason?” Father Gerry sobbed.
“No, we can still do this.” Lily-Rose comforts him. “Lailah’s right. A big enough explosion would suffice.”
“The Silurian Base was powered by nuclear materials.” Autumn recalls from earlier. “Surely that would be enough to do it.”
“Affirmative,” K-9 calculates.
“One of us would still need to set up a bomb.” Elbore’s face has a pensive look. “Can you get me down there Doctor?”
“I can’t land the TARDIS on the meteor.” The Doctor drops his gaze to the floor. “There’s nothing I can do.”
“Negative.” K-9 interrupts. “I can teleport myself and one other.”
“Well that settles it, then.” Elbore paces towards the TARDIS door. “I will take the nuclear material and go down there and detonate it.”
“It will kill you.” The Doctor was blunt. Why do people in my life always die blowing themselves up?
“I know, and I’m not okay with that.” Elbore raised his voice. “But I am head of security here and I will fulfil my duty.”
A few minutes later, Elbore is standing beside K-9 with the necessary equipment to split the meteor. The Doctor approaches him and points towards the button. “Press this once K-9 teleports away. I’ve programed him to return to his owner.” Looking Elbore in the eyes, the Doctor asks: “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“Just do it before I change my mind.”
The Doctor nods at K-9. There is a flash of blue light as Elbore and K-9 disappear along with the equipment.
The remainder of the TARDIS crew run over to the console and watch as there is a massive explosion within the meteor causing it to split in two. One half accelerates towards Earth, but crucially the other half begins to drift away, powered by the momentum of the explosion. There is a large crash as the earthbound half makes contact with the planet, sending up flames which engulf the entire atmosphere. Once the flames have stopped they are replaced by swirls of grey smoke, making the planet almost undistinguishable from the blackness of space. Everyone is in shock and no one speaks. Eventually Lailah breaks the silence. “His sacrifice will be remembered.”
After another few minutes of silence everyone turns to the Doctor looking for advice on what to do now. For once, he himself is speechless. Wiping the sweat from his brow he eventually musters an answer. “I have a time machine, I’ll salvage as much as I can.”
Silurian Ark
Doctor Vershack was sitting in the command chair in the main control room of the Ark. There was a large window behind him through which Mars was just about to become visible. “How many of us did you save, Doctor?”
“I got as many as I could.” The Doctor smiled. “I don’t think anyone was left unaccounted for.” His face became solemn. “What about the Silurian Council? Any word from them?”
“They survived, that’s the good news.” He paused for a moment. “However, they sustained a lot of structural damage and have initiated mandatory hibernation for all.” He pressed a button on the Ark and a 3-D projection of it came up on screen with lots of green dots on it. “I’ve done the same Doctor, Lailah too. Each of those dots is a Silurian. We saved them.”
“And what about you? What happens to you now?”
“I’ve set the Ark on auto-pilot, it will return to Earth someday.” The smile on his face masked the sorrow beneath. “But there will be no place for me in this new world. I am old and dying. Besides, I have all I could want here. A plethora of fantastic creatures to protect and keep healthy.” He winked. “Not a bad way to go if you ask me.”
“Better than burning anyway.” The Doctor laughed darkly. “There’s a lot of life on this ship now, and I’ll keep bringing more. But it’s all in your hands now. Look after it.”
Father Gerry appeared beside the Doctor and offered Doctor Vershack a warm handshake. “I’m sure you’ll do a magnificent job.”
“Not as great as the job you both did in getting us this far.” Doctor Vershack gave them a warmer grin. “Father, for making the impossible decision; and you, Doctor for using your ship to ensure our survival. If there’s anything I can do for you in return do not hesitate to ask.”
“Actually, there’s one more thing I have done for you…” The Doctor allowed a look of intrigue to form on Doctor Vershack’s face before continuing. “Thesha and Marnock, I have recovered their bodies. They deserve a proper burial. Sadly there was nothing I could do for Elbore”
All three men shared a moments silence in memory of their lost friends. Eventually Doctor Vershack nodded at the Doctor who quietly retreated towards the TARDIS with Father Gerry in tow. “We still need to pick up a few more dinosaur species. I’ll take you home after,” the Doctor explained to Father Gerry as they stepped inside the TARDIS which quickly dematerialised leaving Doctor Vershack alone in the control room.
TARDIS – Console Room
“Doctor.” Father Gerry waves a hand in front of a distant Doctor’s face in order to attract his attention. Once he is satisfied he has it, he continues. “First the Genesis project with Adam in EDEN and now we’ve led the dinosaurs two by two into the Silurian Ark. Is this a joke?”
The Doctor laughs. “If it is, it’s not a funny one. But the same is true of all stories. Everything in the universe, no matter how silly it sounds, originates somewhere. Usually time edits the story, grossly distorting it from its origin. People add bits, facts are forgotten, and new meanings are attributed. I think that’s why most people are disappointed when they learn the truth.”
“Doctor, this is hardly a laughing matter.” Father Gerry takes a step back from the TARDIS console. “This is my faith you are talking about. Are you really telling me that it is based on what I’m seeing right now? That my God does not exist, and that everything is down to human distortion?”
The Doctor too steps away from the console and stands in front of Father Gerry putting a hand on his shoulder for comfort. “Your faith is unique to you. It’s yours and no one can take it away from you. You choose what you want to believe. This planet is about to be hit by a meteor destroying all but the smallest forms of life. As the years go on, genetic mutations occur until one day by the slimmest of chances, the human race will come to Earth for a second time. Once is coincidental enough, but for the same species to be formed twice, on the same planet, that is virtually impossible.”
Father Gerry’s face wears a blank look. “What are you suggesting Doctor, that there is a God behind all of this? If so surely you aren’t implying that it is one of those Silurian beasts. God created man in his own image.”
“Doesn’t that just typify the arrogance of humanity?” Both men struggle to contain their laughter before the Doctor continues. “What I’m saying is that there is no definitive way to look at things, people see what they want to see, and that’s usually what comforts them. And maybe an imagine isn’t all about looks.”
“What about you Doctor? What do you find comfort in? What is your faith?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” The Doctor shoots him a wry smile. “I believe in people…” As if on cue the TARDIS doors burst open. Lily-Rose and Autumn both enter the TARDIS each with a young Tyrannosaurus which has been knocked out slumped over their shoulders. “And look how the people I care about justify that belief.” Leaning into the TARDIS console, he gently pulls a lever towards himself. Pivoting on a heel he turns to face his three guests. “Let’s save the dinosaurs.”
St. Stephen’s Church - 1945
The Doctor and Father Gerry stepped out of the TARDIS. They were back in the church moments after they had left. The Doctor waited until the door had closed behind him before he spoke. “So, earlier you said that last time I took you away it left you questioning your faith. Have I done more damage to you?”
“Doctor, you have damaged me in ways you could not possibly imagine, but equally you have healed me in others. You have showed me impossible things; marvellous things, and I should praise God for it all. But then I’m back here, and there’s a war on.” He swallowed, took out his handkerchief once more and wiped his eyes. “It’s just hard to see God in all of this fighting, young men dying. What sort of god lets that happen?”
“That is only natural given the circumstances.” The Doctor lifted a service leaflet from a table at the back of the church. “It’s 1945. I can’t see the fighting lasting much longer. And once it ends, that’s when the people will need you more than ever. Keep the faith, for their sake.”
“Thank you Doctor.” Father Gerry offered him a firm handshake. “I’m glad I met you.”
The Doctor watched as Father Gerry walked off down the aisle, a smile on his face as he went. Turning as if to step into his TARDIS, the Doctor changed his mind, instead calling after Father Gerry he asked: “One more question, though.”
Father Gerry turned with another wry smile on his face. Even with the length of the church between them he could see that Doctor was smiling back at him. “After what I’ve been through today, one questions isn’t too much to handle.”
“Your statue of Saint Anthony, you carry it whenever you are away from home.” He paused for a moment as he scanned his mind for the relevant information. “He is the saint of lost things; you believe he will help you get home safely.”
“Indeed Doctor, he has yet to let me down.” Father Gerry chuckled to himself.
The Doctor’s curiosity got the better of him as he cautiously asked, “is that why you left it on the bridge of the Ark? So as the Silurians make it home safely?”
“Ah…” The smile dropped from Father Gerry’s face. “I thought I was discrete about that. But yes, that is why I left it there.”
“You don’t need to be discrete about your faith. You should be proud of who you are.” The Doctor offered him a reassuring smile. “But that’s not why you didn’t want me to know, is it?” The Doctor watched as Father Gerry looked away. “Because if you left the statue on the Ark, then what is in your backpack?” There was a stunned silence from Father Gerry. “Do you think I didn’t notice you had the zip slightly open?”
Father Gerry raised his voice in retaliation. “To ask me to make a decision for someone to kill a child is one thing, and it is something that I was just about okay with. But to ask me to kill him myself, that is a line I would never cross.”
Much to father Gerry’s surprise, the Doctor smiled at him. It wasn’t a fake smile, but one which suggested warmth and approval. “There was a reason I chose you and you’ve just shown me what it was. You found a solution that I didn’t even consider to be possible…” The Doctor paused for a moment. As he continued the warmth in his voice cooled. “How did you know it would work?”
Father Gerry’s anxiety was obvious from the speed of his speech. “I heard you say that the TARDIS existed as a separate time-zone to its surroundings, and that it was always the present, its own pocket of time. I guessed that taking the child into the TARDIS might have been enough to stop the bad things from happening. I was right wasn’t I? It worked.”
The Doctor’s reply was uncharacteristically harsh. “So you risked the future of an entire species based on a guess. Everything the human race has ever done, all on the whim of one man.”
Father Gerry could feel the sweat forming on his brow. “I had faith Doctor, faith that the Lord would show me the right path.”
Without breaking the locked eye contact between the two, the Doctor asked in a calm but firm tone. “Is your faith really that strong?”
“Yes!” Father Gerry shouted as he slammed his fist against the pew. The noise produced was enough to wake the baby, who still in the backpack began to cry. As he bent down to pick up the baby he had a sudden realisation. “Oh, you wonderful man, I see what you’re trying to do!” As he looked up he was greeted by a sudden blast of wind in his face. The empty church was filled with the sound of the TARDIS dematerialising. As he heard it, Father Gerry found that he too was filled with hope, for the first time in a long time. Speaking softly to himself he muttered: “Thank you Doctor, for showing me the true strength of my faith.” As he looked down at the beautiful young baby in his arms, now in a state just between sleep and consciousness, he whispered: “Now then Adam, what on earth am I going to do with you?”
TARDIS – Console Room
“I’ve detached the time pocket now. All back to normal.” The Doctor bounced up to the console unit. “But all that hopping… oh, we’ve got a bit behind. The Hunters have the advantage.” He glared at the scanner.
“But we’re still tracking them?” asked Autumn. “We can catch up?”
“Yes. But we might end up going a bit further back than before…”
The TARDIS shook, jolting in an unusual, sporadic way. Autumn felt that gut feeling that something wasn’t right. Lily-Rose sensed it. The Doctor understood, gesturing to the door.
“Further back than I’ve ever been before. A time before the time before history, and we’re going to meet the Hunters of Andromeda.” He paused. “Who wants to go first?”
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Next Time
The Quest Through Time
It's the end of the line as the Doctor, Autumn and Lily-Rose reach the earliest point in the universe, and find something impossible - life. Episode list: 1. The Time Museum 2. The Adulteress and Her Doctor 3. Peacepoint 4. Earthstop 5. Sunset Forever 6. The Planet Makers 7. Who Watches The Watchmen? 8. The Anger Games 9. Extinction 10. The Quest Through Time 11. A Village Called Nothing 12. Bigger on the Inside 13. Extermination of the Daleks |