Post by Oldmankrondas on Apr 27, 2009 20:25:47 GMT
Professor Nigel Ryan pulled into his old parking space and took a deep breath. He'd been away for a month or two, seeking more funding for the project from various government officials, he'd not secured anything as yet but there were certainly irons in the fire. Of course, Henry would be furious with him, maybe he'd avoid him until tomorrow, do some work in the office. Taking another deep breath and grabbing his briefcase from the backseat he opened the car door and stepped out into the cold air of the car park. He watched as a few of the security staff bundled into the backs of vans and drove off, something was going on...it looked as if he wouldn't be able to avoid Henry for as long as he thought.
Henry Sterling led Anna into the cell where the Doctor stood, arms folded, a face like a spoilt child. 'About time...' he tutted.
'I heard you wanted to speak to me?' Sterling asked, taking a seat.
The Doctor nodded, stroking his chin, wondering where to begin. 'Have you used the machine yet?'
Sterling nodded 'I stepped through the portal last week...why?'
The Doctor ran both hands through his hair and sighed. 'Oh that's wonderful...have you any idea what you've done?' He cried, eyes ablaze.
'Doctor calm down...' Anna stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder, she didn't think poor Professor Sterling was quite deserving of the Doctor's righteous indignation just yet.
'Why don't you tell me Doctor? I'd be thrilled to have the opinion of UNIT's scientific advisor...'
The Doctor arched an eyebrow then looked to Anna, she smiled apologetically, slightly guilty for playing the UNIT card so early in their imprisonment. 'Jumping between universes used to be easy, it was all eyepatches and armageddon before getting home for dinner. But things have changed.' He turned to the window again, looking out, aware of what may be out there, roaming the countryside. 'To open a gateway to a different universe runs the risk of leaving permanent scars, gaps where things can filter through. Objects, people...creatures, but it's not the parallel universes you need to worry about.' The Doctor turned back round, eyes resting on the bottle of water Sterling was sipping from. 'It's the space between....' he trailed off, eyes fixed on the water. 'Professor, have you been dehydrated for long?'
'Dehydrated?' Sterling scoffed, screwing the top back on the bottle. 'I just have a dry throat...you were telling me about this great threat to the world.'
The Doctor walked over to Sterling and picked up the bottle of water. 'I still am.'
John was sat at the kitchen table, hands crossed in front of him, staring into space, a look of deep concentration on his face. He'd sat like that for hours, when George finally went through to check on him. 'Where were you John? You've been gone for days?'
He snapped out of it, and looked up at his old friend, a sad smile spreading across his face. 'I was only downstairs, well, for the most part...I did make a small trip...well, it would only be minutes for you...but for me...' a different smile formed on his face now, one of a man revitalised, a man who'd done something or tasted something he hadn't for years.
'You were downstairs...in that police box?' George spluttered, trying not to laugh at the bizarre image in his head.
'In the TARDIS yes...for many years it was my home.'
'John you're not making much sense, and it's getting late, you should get some rest, it's going to be a long day tomorrow.' He placed a reassuring hand on John's shoulder.
'Soon George, but not yet, I need you to listen. In a year or two, some men will come here and some time after that bad things are going to happen...and, I'm so sorry about this, but people are going to die.' He got to his feet, removing his smoking jacket and placing it over the back of the chair. 'I need to show you what to do when I come back.'
Nigel pushed open the door of his office to find Claire sat at his computer, she looked up, face flushing with embarassment at being caught. 'Professor Ryan...oh my god I'm so sorry, I thought you weren't back til next week.'
He smiled, putting the briefcase on the desk, he liked Claire, and it was his idea to hire someone to handle the press. Quite what she was doing in his office however, was another matter. 'Whilst I don't have any problem with you using my computer to update your Facebook I'd rather you asked me first.' He chuckled, hanging up his coat on the hanger behind the door.
'I'm glad you're here actually Professor...something's wrong.' She turned the monitor round to show one of the staff profiles; that of a Mitchell Latham, Sterling's lab assistant. 'Mitchell went missing after the first crossover...Sterling said it was just some travel sickness and he'll be back next week.'
'But?'
'But his car's still here and there's no CCTV footage of him leaving on the night of the experiment.'
'Where's Henry now?'
'There are creatures out there that feed on the molecules that hold this and every other universe together. They latch on to people who have travelled between parallel universes until they cross through the void back into their own world.' The Doctor watched as Sterling took another sip of water. 'They don't manifest themselves straight away, because they can't, they wait until they can fully assimilate the body. One side-effect of this is dehydration, the human body is, after all, 60-70% water so that's the first to go, which explains why you're so thirsty all the time.' The Doctor sighed. 'I am sorry about this Professor, but I can help you...you just need to show me your power source and tell me if anyone else crossed over to the other universe with you.'
Sterling nodded, devastated by what sounded like a death sentence. 'Mitchell...he was my lab assistant, he stayed behind trying to get as much data as he could, I almost lost him.'
'And where is he now?' the Doctor asked, forming a link in his head with the missing security staff.
'I don't know...' Sterling stammered, tears forming in his eyes. '...I really don't know.'
*
Henry Sterling led Anna into the cell where the Doctor stood, arms folded, a face like a spoilt child. 'About time...' he tutted.
'I heard you wanted to speak to me?' Sterling asked, taking a seat.
The Doctor nodded, stroking his chin, wondering where to begin. 'Have you used the machine yet?'
Sterling nodded 'I stepped through the portal last week...why?'
The Doctor ran both hands through his hair and sighed. 'Oh that's wonderful...have you any idea what you've done?' He cried, eyes ablaze.
'Doctor calm down...' Anna stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder, she didn't think poor Professor Sterling was quite deserving of the Doctor's righteous indignation just yet.
'Why don't you tell me Doctor? I'd be thrilled to have the opinion of UNIT's scientific advisor...'
The Doctor arched an eyebrow then looked to Anna, she smiled apologetically, slightly guilty for playing the UNIT card so early in their imprisonment. 'Jumping between universes used to be easy, it was all eyepatches and armageddon before getting home for dinner. But things have changed.' He turned to the window again, looking out, aware of what may be out there, roaming the countryside. 'To open a gateway to a different universe runs the risk of leaving permanent scars, gaps where things can filter through. Objects, people...creatures, but it's not the parallel universes you need to worry about.' The Doctor turned back round, eyes resting on the bottle of water Sterling was sipping from. 'It's the space between....' he trailed off, eyes fixed on the water. 'Professor, have you been dehydrated for long?'
'Dehydrated?' Sterling scoffed, screwing the top back on the bottle. 'I just have a dry throat...you were telling me about this great threat to the world.'
The Doctor walked over to Sterling and picked up the bottle of water. 'I still am.'
*
John was sat at the kitchen table, hands crossed in front of him, staring into space, a look of deep concentration on his face. He'd sat like that for hours, when George finally went through to check on him. 'Where were you John? You've been gone for days?'
He snapped out of it, and looked up at his old friend, a sad smile spreading across his face. 'I was only downstairs, well, for the most part...I did make a small trip...well, it would only be minutes for you...but for me...' a different smile formed on his face now, one of a man revitalised, a man who'd done something or tasted something he hadn't for years.
'You were downstairs...in that police box?' George spluttered, trying not to laugh at the bizarre image in his head.
'In the TARDIS yes...for many years it was my home.'
'John you're not making much sense, and it's getting late, you should get some rest, it's going to be a long day tomorrow.' He placed a reassuring hand on John's shoulder.
'Soon George, but not yet, I need you to listen. In a year or two, some men will come here and some time after that bad things are going to happen...and, I'm so sorry about this, but people are going to die.' He got to his feet, removing his smoking jacket and placing it over the back of the chair. 'I need to show you what to do when I come back.'
*
Nigel pushed open the door of his office to find Claire sat at his computer, she looked up, face flushing with embarassment at being caught. 'Professor Ryan...oh my god I'm so sorry, I thought you weren't back til next week.'
He smiled, putting the briefcase on the desk, he liked Claire, and it was his idea to hire someone to handle the press. Quite what she was doing in his office however, was another matter. 'Whilst I don't have any problem with you using my computer to update your Facebook I'd rather you asked me first.' He chuckled, hanging up his coat on the hanger behind the door.
'I'm glad you're here actually Professor...something's wrong.' She turned the monitor round to show one of the staff profiles; that of a Mitchell Latham, Sterling's lab assistant. 'Mitchell went missing after the first crossover...Sterling said it was just some travel sickness and he'll be back next week.'
'But?'
'But his car's still here and there's no CCTV footage of him leaving on the night of the experiment.'
'Where's Henry now?'
*
'There are creatures out there that feed on the molecules that hold this and every other universe together. They latch on to people who have travelled between parallel universes until they cross through the void back into their own world.' The Doctor watched as Sterling took another sip of water. 'They don't manifest themselves straight away, because they can't, they wait until they can fully assimilate the body. One side-effect of this is dehydration, the human body is, after all, 60-70% water so that's the first to go, which explains why you're so thirsty all the time.' The Doctor sighed. 'I am sorry about this Professor, but I can help you...you just need to show me your power source and tell me if anyone else crossed over to the other universe with you.'
Sterling nodded, devastated by what sounded like a death sentence. 'Mitchell...he was my lab assistant, he stayed behind trying to get as much data as he could, I almost lost him.'
'And where is he now?' the Doctor asked, forming a link in his head with the missing security staff.
'I don't know...' Sterling stammered, tears forming in his eyes. '...I really don't know.'
