From: pih@doc.ic.ac.uk (Paul Ian Harman) Newsgroups: alt.drwho.creative,alt.ql.creative Subject: Doctor, Samuel Beckett (Part Ten) Date: 30 Jan 1995 13:52:04 -0000 Organization: Dept. of Computing, Imperial College, University of London, UK. Message-Id: <3giqu4$hvc@oak29.doc.ic.ac.uk> Well, here it is - the long-awaited (?) tenth and final part to this story. I'd like to thank everyone for their comments, and helpful remarks, and I hope that everyone has enjoyed it as much as I have writing it. So, without further ado... ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Doctor, Samuel Beckett ---------------------- or A Leap in Time -------------- by Paul Harman ============== Part Ten ~~~~~~~~ Once again, the emergency sirens wailed at Project Quantum Leap. The hum of the emergency generators feeding the Accelerator was almost deafening. The Doctor, lying comatose in the Waiting Room, was in a bad state, with his body temerature down to Human levels his brain was being affected. Sam had shown some improvements after being in the TARDIS zero room, the Time Lord body he was in responsive to the harmonics of the room, however this was just a stay of execution. "Sam is now leaping..." said Ziggy. There was a blinding flash of blue-white light from the Accelerator, and a loud explosion swiftly followed. Al leapt up, screaming "Sam!", and he ran towards the Accelerator. "You can't go in there!" Gooshie shouted, trying to block Al's path. There was a lightning show taking place in the Chamber, flames had begun to lick the walls and a dense, acrid smoke billowed out through the blasted-open safety doors. "I damn well can!" he shouted, pushing Gooshie out of the way, and diving head-first into the smoke-filled Chamber. "Sam has leapt," said Ziggy. "Explosion in Acceleration Chamber, runaway reaction imminent." Gooshie ran into the Waiting Room, to find a highly disoriented Sam shaking his head in his hands. "Doctor Beckett?" he said. "Mmmm...?" "Samuel - come on!" "What... oh, Gooshie! It's so good to be home..." said Sam, standing up and collapsing into the arms of his friend. "There's no time. The reactor's about to go super-critical. We've got to get away." "What about the Doctor?" "Al's gone in to save him. Listen - are you alright?" "Just about, just a little light-headed." Gooshie helped Sam out of the Waiting Room. "It's just that the Doctor, while he was in your body, he was in a coma..." "Oh, the Leap will have fixed that," Sam said. "It's good for most things..." Another loud explosion sounded, and smoke poured into the Control Room. Sam staggered over towards the fire, and saw Al dragging a very weak Doctor out of the smoke. "Help me with him!" said Al. Sam grabbed the Doctor's legs, and between them they started carrying the Doctor out of the building. "No time..." the Doctor managed to say. "Into the TARDIS..." "Everyone into the Police Box!" Al shouted. "What - all of us?" Gooshie asked. "Just do it!" Sam replied, and he dragged the body into the Time/Space Machine. As the last technician passed through the doors, Sam thumped down the door lever, and the large doors swung closed. There was a huge explosion from outside, the TARDIS shook but stood firm. The Doctor made his way to the console, tapped a few keys, and the TARDIS dematerialised. The TARDIS arrived about half a mile from the project, out in the desert. Sam left first, and looked over to the remains, still burning. Al was beside him, and the Doctor was behind. "A whole life's work, gone." said Sam. Al touched him on his shoulder. "At least we got you home," he said, "thanks to the Doctor." "My pleasure, I'm sure," said the Doctor, doffing his hat and shaking Sam warmly by the hand. "Where _did_ you find this ridiculous outfit?" he asked Sam. "Oh, just lying about." he replied. The three of them looked into the distance, and watched the sun go down on the Project. "Well, I must be off." the Doctor said finally. "It was nice to meet you..." "You can't go now, I have so many questions to ask you..." Sam insisted. "No, Sam. The Doctor's first rule: never explain anything. Where's the fun, the sense of discovery, in simply being told how these things work?" he said, indicating the TARDIS. "I can say this much: you are very close. Keep working on it." The Doctor took Sam's hand once, and shook it. "It was indeed a pleasure." He took a paper bag out of his pocket, and gave it to Sam. "Remember me," he said, and disappeared into the TARDIS. There was the sound of dematerialisation, and Sam and Al were left alone in the desert. "Oh, I won't forget you, Doctor." he said, and looked into the bag. "Ha!" he said. "What's he left?" Al asked. "Jelly babies," Sam replied. He looked up into the sky, to see the first stars coming out. "See you soon, Doctor. I'm coming after you..." "Well, K9, I trust everything has been tickety-boo while I was away," the Doctor said. "Systems normal, Master," the robot replied. "Good - now, let's get rid of these clothes," he said, and pausing only to pick up the cricket bat leaning against the console, he walked into the TARDIS. He cam across a full-length mirror, put the bat down, and took a long hard look. "I could get used to this," he said, "but it is a little tight. Maybe another time..." he said, and hung the clothes neatly on the hatstand, swapping them for his own. He came back to the console room, to find the Time Rotor stationary. "Eh??" he said. "I didn't schedule a landing..." The doors of the TARDIS were open, and so the Doctor left the craft. He emerged behind a tree to find the man, dressed in white, sitting on the very same whicker chair, sipping at a glass of green liquid. "Doctor," he said, "you have been chosen for a vitally important task." "That's very flattering, sir," the Doctor replied. "It concerns the Key to Time..." THE END ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ -- -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- Paul `Ozymandias' Harman : pih@doc.ic.ac.uk -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+ The amazing changing quote currently stands as follows: +-+-+-+-+-+ How does the guy who drives the snowplow get to work in the mornings?