Post by John Darnacan on Nov 30, 2005 20:32:14 GMT
Part 1 – Immortal Until They Die
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The word oblivion could have been coined to describe this place, a place that was no place. His very being had been twisted and destroyed, yet not quite eradicated. His mind, his consciousness, stretched like elastic across all eternity between two anchors, so tense and taut, no thought could squeeze out. Whether it was for a second, a millennium, or all eternity, he could not discern, for time did not exist in this non-place.
Then, in an inexplicable cataclysmic event, one of the anchors ceased to exist. What caused this, he could not discern. The elastic tension snapped across the non-ether that held him in limbo. Still not quite a reality, at least thought was now possible in this void. It was a start, an important start.
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The Doctor was tinkering with the TARDIS’s temporal vector mechanism beneath the central console, when he noticed his stomach growling. It dawned on him that it was well past time for a meal. The timing of meals had never been of much importance to the Doctor. As a time traveler, he had long abandoned any sense of a circadian rhythm for sleep or meals. However, Faye, a skilled and dedicated chef, tended to observe a more regular schedule of dining. The Doctor realised, to his dismay, that his stomach might be becoming conditioned to Faye’s meal schedule, Pavlov be d**ned. He pulled out his pocket watch to discover it was two hours past one of Faye’s mealtimes. He couldn’t remember whether it was lunch or supper. Lunch, he decided, definitely lunch.
He climbed out from under the console and headed for the kitchen. ‘Just to make sure she was all right’, he told himself. He found Faye at the kitchen table reading a thick book, a recipe book no doubt, the Doctor assumed.
Faye suddenly jumped with a start when she realised the Doctor was standing there.
“Sorry” muttered the Doctor.
“No problem. I can’t believe you had this book in your library!” Faye smiled.
“Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?”
“No, I finished that one. This one is Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince.”
The Doctor scowled. “Is that the one with the scarecrow, the tin man and cowardly tiger?”
“I believe you’re thinking of The Wizard of Oz. And it’s the cowardly lion, not tiger. No, this is the one about a boy wizard who is cursed by a Dark Lord, Voldemort, who engages in all kinds of dark magic to achieve immortality.”
“Everyone’s immortal until they die”, the Doctor quipped.
“I can’t believe you had this book in your library,” Fayed continued. “It’s not supposed to come out until next year.”
“Next year?”
“2005. You may walk in eternity, but I’m from 2004. When did you pick it up?”
“I didn’t. I believe Vicki, a former companion of mine bought it. No wait, I think it was Zoe. Now as I recall, she bought seven of those books at once.”
“Seven? You have the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series here?” Faye’s face beamed with excitement. Where is it? Do you remember the title?”
“Hmmm, ….I think it was…um….Harry Potter and the….Shriveled Stomach.”
Faye looked at the Doctor strangely, and then realization hit her as she looked at her watch.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. Supper is two hours late!”
“Is it?” commented the Doctor. “Hadn’t noticed. I’ve been concentrating of refurbishing some TARDIS circuits.”
“I’ll bring supper out to you.”
“Only if it’s convenient” murmured the Doctor. “I mean, you’re enjoying your book so” he added, as he skulked back to the console room smirking to himself.
The Doctor returned to work on the temporal vector assembly. One of the trans-dimensional tubules was vibrating in an erratic way. He pulled the tube closer to examine it.
“Dinner is served” announced Faye, as she entered the console room with a heavily laden tray of food. Just as the Doctor turned to Faye the tubule burst open spraying a vile gooey liquid on the Doctor’s face and chest. He fell back onto the floor in horrifying spasms. The Doctor’s eyes rolled back as he convulsed, his neck twisting awkwardly.
“Doctor!” cried Faye. She went to make sure he didn’t swallow his tongue, but realized the caustic liquid would probably do the same to her. She ran quickly back to the kitchen to get towels and gloves. When she returned less than a minute later, she found the Doctor lying completely still on the floor, lifeless.
The cloister bell began to ring.
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To be continued...
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The word oblivion could have been coined to describe this place, a place that was no place. His very being had been twisted and destroyed, yet not quite eradicated. His mind, his consciousness, stretched like elastic across all eternity between two anchors, so tense and taut, no thought could squeeze out. Whether it was for a second, a millennium, or all eternity, he could not discern, for time did not exist in this non-place.
Then, in an inexplicable cataclysmic event, one of the anchors ceased to exist. What caused this, he could not discern. The elastic tension snapped across the non-ether that held him in limbo. Still not quite a reality, at least thought was now possible in this void. It was a start, an important start.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Doctor was tinkering with the TARDIS’s temporal vector mechanism beneath the central console, when he noticed his stomach growling. It dawned on him that it was well past time for a meal. The timing of meals had never been of much importance to the Doctor. As a time traveler, he had long abandoned any sense of a circadian rhythm for sleep or meals. However, Faye, a skilled and dedicated chef, tended to observe a more regular schedule of dining. The Doctor realised, to his dismay, that his stomach might be becoming conditioned to Faye’s meal schedule, Pavlov be d**ned. He pulled out his pocket watch to discover it was two hours past one of Faye’s mealtimes. He couldn’t remember whether it was lunch or supper. Lunch, he decided, definitely lunch.
He climbed out from under the console and headed for the kitchen. ‘Just to make sure she was all right’, he told himself. He found Faye at the kitchen table reading a thick book, a recipe book no doubt, the Doctor assumed.
Faye suddenly jumped with a start when she realised the Doctor was standing there.
“Sorry” muttered the Doctor.
“No problem. I can’t believe you had this book in your library!” Faye smiled.
“Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?”
“No, I finished that one. This one is Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince.”
The Doctor scowled. “Is that the one with the scarecrow, the tin man and cowardly tiger?”
“I believe you’re thinking of The Wizard of Oz. And it’s the cowardly lion, not tiger. No, this is the one about a boy wizard who is cursed by a Dark Lord, Voldemort, who engages in all kinds of dark magic to achieve immortality.”
“Everyone’s immortal until they die”, the Doctor quipped.
“I can’t believe you had this book in your library,” Fayed continued. “It’s not supposed to come out until next year.”
“Next year?”
“2005. You may walk in eternity, but I’m from 2004. When did you pick it up?”
“I didn’t. I believe Vicki, a former companion of mine bought it. No wait, I think it was Zoe. Now as I recall, she bought seven of those books at once.”
“Seven? You have the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series here?” Faye’s face beamed with excitement. Where is it? Do you remember the title?”
“Hmmm, ….I think it was…um….Harry Potter and the….Shriveled Stomach.”
Faye looked at the Doctor strangely, and then realization hit her as she looked at her watch.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. Supper is two hours late!”
“Is it?” commented the Doctor. “Hadn’t noticed. I’ve been concentrating of refurbishing some TARDIS circuits.”
“I’ll bring supper out to you.”
“Only if it’s convenient” murmured the Doctor. “I mean, you’re enjoying your book so” he added, as he skulked back to the console room smirking to himself.
The Doctor returned to work on the temporal vector assembly. One of the trans-dimensional tubules was vibrating in an erratic way. He pulled the tube closer to examine it.
“Dinner is served” announced Faye, as she entered the console room with a heavily laden tray of food. Just as the Doctor turned to Faye the tubule burst open spraying a vile gooey liquid on the Doctor’s face and chest. He fell back onto the floor in horrifying spasms. The Doctor’s eyes rolled back as he convulsed, his neck twisting awkwardly.
“Doctor!” cried Faye. She went to make sure he didn’t swallow his tongue, but realized the caustic liquid would probably do the same to her. She ran quickly back to the kitchen to get towels and gloves. When she returned less than a minute later, she found the Doctor lying completely still on the floor, lifeless.
The cloister bell began to ring.
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To be continued...
