From: pih@doc.ic.ac.uk (Paul Ian Harman)
Newsgroups: alt.ql.creative
Subject: Doctor, Samuel Beckett (part one)
Date: 2 Jun 1994 19:17:16 +0100
Organization: Department of Computing, Imperial College, University of London, UK.
Message-Id: <2sl7nc$pr4@oak24.doc.ic.ac.uk>
Nntp-Posting-Host: oak24.doc.ic.ac.uk


As I'm sure you are fed up of reading when a new story crops up here, I won't
tell you that this is my first attempt at a QL story, I won't ask you to
bare with me through any and all continuity errors, and I won't ask you not to
flame me when you've read it. I simply ask that you try to enjoy it, and give
me any _constructive_ critisism, either by posting here or by mailing me direct
(e-mail address at the end). I also have an apology to make, but I'll say that
at the end or it'll spoil the surprise!

	Have fun now!

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

			     Doctor, Samuel Beckett
			     ----------------------
				       or

				 A Leap in Time
				 --------------

				 by Paul Harman
				 ==============

		Part One
		~~~~~~~~

	The usual post-leap euphoria in the control room at Project Quantum
Leap was broken as sirens blared throughout the complex. Al, tired from the
last leap (which had been a particularly difficult one), looked up in
puzzlement.
	"What the hell's that?" he demanded of no-one in particular.
	"I have no idea, but I intend to find out!" replied Gooshie, already
on his feet and making good speed towards Ziggy.
	Ziggy herself seemed in a panic, or at least as close to a panic as a
computer could get. She was slurring her speech slightly, spouting strange
but worrying error messages that had never before been used. Gooshie leapt to
the main console, and placed his hand onto one of the access pads.
	"Ziggy, what's going on?" he asked. It took Ziggy some time to respond.
	"I have lost contact with Sam," Ziggy replied, apparently in some
distress (or at least a good imitation of distress).
	"What exactly do you mean?"
	"I had his position until he leapt, but now I have no trace."
	"Was there any indication of where he leapt to?"
	"None whatsoever."
	"Great," said Al, "just great."


	Sam blinked as he completed his leap, sheilding his eyes from the
bright blue glare. I really must work out what that is when I get back, he
thought. He looked around to see what situation he had been left in this time,
and shook his head when he did so. He couldn't really believe what he was
seeing. He was in a cream-white room, standing in front of... something. The
walls were white, with glowing circular depressions which he took for some
kind of light fittings: certainly there were no other visible means of
illumination; no windows, skylights, strip-lamps or anything else. There
appeared to be two exits from the room, a door opposite him and what he
presumed to be a heavy security double-door (an airlock?) with no visible means
of opening. For some reason, this made him think of a laboratory, with
highly dangerous experiments being conducted behind those unopenable doors.
They had definately been built to withstand _something_, he thought. If
that were the case, then the room he was in would be some sort of control
centre. There was a monitor half-way up the wall opposite to the safety doors,
currently turned off. If this was a control room of some kind, it would
explain the mushroom-like structure in the centre of the room. But what of the
rising/falling perspex column in the centre?
	Somewhere in the distance a bell was ringing, a slow loud tolling. It
sounded like a warning of doom itself. Sam opened the smaller door and looked
out into a corridor, the walls of which were the same as those in the control
room. The bell was louder out there. Was it a fire bell? Maybe, but what was
he to do about it? He didn't know where to run.
	"Oh, where _are_ you Al?" he asked. "I need you here..."
	Sam was getting a little warm. He looked down at his clothes: a thick
purple overcoat, a waistcoat and a shirt, trousers, and a very long scarf
were all he could see. A hatstand in the corner of the room had a floppy
wide-brimmed hat on it. No wonder he was getting warm. He began to search
through the pockets to work out what was going on. In one, a paper bag full of
jelly babies, he took one and nibbled the end experimentally before popping
it into his mouth. In another, what appeared to be a screwdriver with some
buttons on the handle, and a business card written in a language which bared
a striking resemblance to Greek.
	"Oh, boy!" he said.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

	I hope you enjoyed part one! Apologies to any Doctor Who fans who are
about to hate the rest of this story... I hope that I don't offend too many
people.

	To my knowledge, no other Quantum Leap/Doctor Who crossover stories
have been written. If I'm wrong, where could I find one?


	Comments etc to the following address. Have fun!

		Ozzy.
-- 
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- Paul (Ozymandias) Harman : pih@doc.ic.ac.uk -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
-+-+-+-+-+ The amazing changing quote currently stands as follows: +-+-+-+-+-
 "Arrogance and Ignorance go hand in hand." - Metallica