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DOCTOR WHO
THE HAND OF FEAR
Written by
Bob Baker and Dave Martin
Part Three
(Overlap from 'Evacuate the complex immediately')
[INT. Corridor outside the fission room]
(There is a brief shot of WATSON rising from the smoking remains of the control centre and hurrying out.)
SARAH: Are we dead?
DOCTOR: No.
SARAH: Are you sure?
DOCTOR: Yes.
(They stand slowly.)
[INT. Fission room]
(The DOCTOR pushes shut the thick inner reactor door.)
SARAH: What happened?
DOCTOR: Nothing happened. A sort of un-explosion has taken place.
SARAH: Un-explosion?
DOCTOR: Yes.
SARAH: There's no such thing.
WATSON: Doctor, Miss Smith, get out of there. The radiation level in there will be lethal.
DOCTOR: Oh, no. Come on in, Watson. Come on in. There's no radiation at all. Look.
WATSON: What?
DOCTOR: (pointing) Look.
(He enters and does - the unit on the wall shows 'NORMAL'.)
WATSON: Where's Driscoll?
DOCTOR: He's in the core.
WATSON: But that would have caused a nuclear explosion.
DOCTOR: It did, but, fortunately, it was absorbed.
WATSON: But it couldn't!
DOCTOR: Oh, it could. It could, and it did.
SARAH: (helpfully) There was a sort of un-explosion.
WATSON: Un-explosion?
DOCTOR: Yes. Fission took place, but instead of the explosion going outwards, it went inwards.
WATSON: Driscoll?
DOCTOR: Driscoll's in the core, probably vapourised. You see, it's feeding on radiation, and it's now in control of the core's potential itself.
(A general creaking sound comes to our attention.)
WATSON: You mean that thing in there is still alive?
DOCTOR: Very much so, and regenerating.
WATSON: Well, it's beyond me. I mean, to what end?
DOCTOR: To live, to grow. You see, instead of energy being created from matter, matter is being created from energy. Eldrad is rebuilding himself, and the probability is he'll strike again.
WATSON: You mean other reactors?
DOCTOR: Who knows? Might as well put these back.
(He refers to the bolts of the door, which he re-bolts.)
SARAH: Yeah, well, that's not going to stop him.
DOCTOR: No, but I like to be tidy.
SARAH: Oh.
WATSON: It's time we got out of here. Fight fire with fire. I'm going to call in the armed forces. Destroy that thing before it causes any more harm. (He leaves.)
(The DOCTOR shakes his head.)
SARAH: Well, it's our only chance.
DOCTOR: Somehow I can't see throwing missiles against that working.
SARAH: It's trying to get out!
[INT. Nunton plant control centre]
WATSON: (into a red telephone) Nunton complex. Red alert. That's what I said. Red alert.
[INT. Fission room]
SARAH: Come on, Doctor.
DOCTOR: No, no, no. Wait a minute, Sarah. Maybe we should try and communicate with Eldrad.
SARAH: How, use hand signals?
WATSON: (entering) All right, we've got ten minutes. Air Command have ordered a tactical nuclear strike to take this place out.
DOCTOR: Take it out?
WATSON: Yeah, level it. And by God they're keen.
DOCTOR: Yes, I'm sure they are.
WATSON: Well, we're on an isolated part of the coast. It'll give them a chance to use their stand-off missiles.
DOCTOR: Yes, but what do we know about it?
WATSON: What?
DOCTOR: It's intelligent.
SARAH: It's destructive! It's killing people.
DOCTOR: An alien life force shipwrecked on a strange planet. Crystalline, regenerates through irradiation. It's probably afraid.
SARAH: It's afraid? I'm afraid! Look, that thing isn't friendly. Let's get out before it does. Look, you said we had ten minutes.
WATSON: That was half a minute ago. Come on.
SARAH: Right. Doctor!
DOCTOR: (who has stayed behind) Fascinating.
(We see something melting through the main reactor door from the inside.)
DOCTOR: This is intensely interesting, don't you-? (noticing that he's alone) Come on, let's get out of here.
[EXT. Nunton plant main gate]
(The DOCTOR hops into the back of a Land Rover by the gate. The final GUARD closes the gate and starts looking it.)
WATSON: Come on, man! Leave that! (the GUARD hops onto the Land Rover) All right, Jim.
(The vehicle drives off.)
[EXT. Country road]
(The door is melting away as the Land Rover heads down a country road. It stops.)
WATSON: Take cover, everybody!
(They get down behind the Land Rover. We see two aeroplanes on approach.)
WATSON: Get down, man!
(He is speaking to the DOCTOR, whom we see standing in the back of the Land Rover with a wide grin. He looks up as the jets approach.)
WATSON: We'd better take cover. The flash could blind us. Doctor. Doctor, please! Miss Smith, hold your nose and open your mouth.
SARAH: What?
WATSON: The blast. It could perforate your eardrums.
DOCTOR: Any second now.
(SARAH is doing as instructed as the missiles are launched and the jets turn. SARAH rises to her feet, nose still held.)
SARAH: Hey, shouldn't something have happened by now?
DOCTOR: (nose held) Yes.
WATSON: They fired the missiles. What happened?
SARAH: (no longer holding her nose) Yeah, what happened? We saw them fired.
DOCTOR: They've been neutralised in some way.
WATSON: How?
DOCTOR: Professor Watson, any being that can exist, let alone thrive, inside a nuclear pile is hardly likely to be deterred by a few primitive missiles.
WATSON: But they're the most powerful missiles we have.
DOCTOR: On your standards, perhaps. I think we should try much older weapons.
SARAH: Like?
DOCTOR: Speech? Diplomacy?
WATSON: What?
DOCTOR: Conversation? Come on, driver, let's go.
[INT. Fission room]
(The radiation indicator is still reading 'NORMAL'.)
ELDRAD [OC]: (a female voice) What is this place? Where have I come to?
(We pan to the door of the inner reactor chamber, which has a large hole in it. A figure steps out. It is a feminine form with glittering crystals on its greyish skin. The top of its high head is crowned in crystals.
The figure sees its reflection in the walls of the fission room and gasps.)
ELDRAD: (looking closely at the reflection) Can this be the form of the creatures who have found me and who now seek to destroy me? No matter. They shall fail, as the obliteration has failed. Strange form or not, Eldrad lives and shall again rule Kastria!
[EXT. Nunton plant main gate]
(The Land Rover stops at the gate, which the GUARD opens.)
DOCTOR: Right, you stay here. I'll go on. Shouldn't take long, one way or another.
SARAH: Good. Let's go then.
DOCTOR: Not you. You stay with Professor Watson.
(She starts to follow him anyway, but WATSON grabs her and holds her back.)
WATSON: I think you'd better do as he says this time.
SARAH: Yeah. Yeah, you're right. I should. (making a run for it) But I'm not going to!
WATSON: No!
[EXT. Nunton plant]
SARAH: (catching up with the DOCTOR, who stops) I worry about you. Look, anyway, who found that thing?
DOCTOR: You did.
(He resumes walking.)
SARAH: Right. So I'm involved. It could have been me, not Driscoll, and, besides, I'm from Earth and you're not.
DOCTOR: That's true.
SARAH: Exactly.
DOCTOR: Yes, but-
SARAH: Oh, but what?
DOCTOR: I worry about you.
SARAH: So, be careful.
DOCTOR: We'll both be careful.
SARAH: Fine.
[INT. Fission room]
(They start making their way up through the plant, and, from inside the gaping hole, we see them approach cautiously. We see ELDRAD step out behind them.)
ELDRAD: You!
(ELDRAD has the ring out. SARAH gasps, startled.)
ELDRAD: Come forward.
DOCTOR: Hello. You must be Eldrad. I was only going to say 'how do you do'. (He smiles.)
ELDRAD: Are you responsible for this stupid attempt to destroy me?
DOCTOR: No. Tell me, how did you prevent the missiles from exploding?
ELDRAD: I absorbed the energy of the explosion into myself to complete my regeneration.
DOCTOR: I thought so. Didn't I say I thought that was it? I thought-
ELDRAD: You are not of this backward planet. What are you doing here among these primitives?
DOCTOR: Well, I'm here to help them. I'm called the Doctor, and this is Sarah Jane Smith. Say hello to the lady.
SARAH: Hi.
DOCTOR: Eldrad-
[INT. Nunton plant control centre]
(WATSON enters.)
DOCTOR [OC]: Can I ask you the same question?
ELDRAD [OC]: I am Eldrad, creator of Kastria.
[INT. Fission room]
ELDRAD: Why did you try to destroy me?
DOCTOR: You've got it wrong, Eldrad. We're the ones who saved you.
(ELDRAD's head rises, eyes glowing blue. The DOCTOR is subjected to a probing stare.)
ELDRAD: It seems you speak the truth.
(ELDRAD's head lowers, and the DOCTOR cries out, grabbing his head.
We see WATSON head for one of the desks.)
ELDRAD: Why should they attack me with their primitive devices?
DOCTOR: Oh, because they're stubborn and violent, and sometimes they try to destroy things they don't understand.
[INT. Nunton plant control centre]
ELDRAD [OC]: Then they must be taught otherwise.
(WATSON inserts a clip into a handgun at the desk and hurries out.)
DOCTOR [OC]: You wouldn't be the first one to make that mistake. Others have tried.
[INT. Fission room]
DOCTOR: Excuse me. I don't want to pry, but could you tell us how you got here?
SARAH: We found your hand in a quarry.
ELDRAD: I was betrayed. They tried to obliterate me. Now I must return to avenge myself.
DOCTOR: What? After all this time?
ELDRAD: Explain!
DOCTOR: Well, you've been on Earth a hundred and fifty million years, and you've lain dormant all that time.
(The blue-glowing stare checks his veracity again.)
SARAH: Leave him alone. He's telling you the truth!
ELDRAD: You are a Time Lord. I have heard of you and the role you play in time and space.
(The DOCTOR falls.)
DOCTOR: You didn't need to do that. I would have told you.
ELDRAD: Unfortunately, Doctor, I have learned to trust no-one. I need your help.
SARAH: Our help? Oh, you must be-
DOCTOR: Sshh.
ELDRAD: As a Time Lord, you are pledged to uphold the laws of time and to prevent alien aggression.
DOCTOR: Only when such aggression is deemed to threaten the indigenous population. I think that's how it goes.
ELDRAD: Then you must help me in my struggle.
SARAH: Why must he help you? You're destructive.
ELDRAD: No. No. let me explain. Kastria was a cold, inhospitable planet, ravaged by the solar winds. I built the spatial barriers to keep out those winds. I devised a crystalline silicone form for our physical needs. I built machines to replenish the earth and the atmosphere. I brought Kastria to life! And then, two alien planets made war on each other, and Kastria became their battleground. They destroyed my barriers. The winds came again to dehydrate the planet. The alien invaders made puppets of the Kastrian leaders. I was discredited and sentenced to obliteration.
SARAH: But if you did all those things for your people, why did they turn against you?
ELDRAD: My people didn't. I beg you to help me save Kastria once more. Why do you hesitate? It is your duty. Help me. Take me back through time.
DOCTOR: That would contravene the First Law of Time, a distortion of history. I can't do that.
ELDRAD: You cannot refuse.
DOCTOR: I'm not refusing, Eldrad. I'll take you back, but it must be in the present time.
ELDRAD: Silence! (there is a pause) I seem to detect another presence in this building.
DOCTOR: I don't think there's anyone else here.
SARAH: No, there's no-one here. They've all been evacuated. We're the only ones here. Alive, that is. (We see WATSON running into position with the handgun.)
DOCTOR: Do you accept our conditions, Eldrad?
ELDRAD: (heading rising) Yes. You leave me no choice.
DOCTOR: Good. Well, follow me.
SARAH: After you.
[INT. Corridor outside the fission room]
(In the corridor, WATSON shoots at ELDRAD, with no effect. A shot with the ring misses its target, and WATSON runs off, with ELDRAD in pursuit. The DOCTOR follows.)
DOCTOR: No, Eldrad, leave him!
[INT. Nunton plant control centre]
(WATSON reaches into a box for another clip. Eyes glowing, ELDRAD throws the doors open.)
ELDRAD: You shall die slowly, as traitors deserve.
(WATSON writhes in pain. The DOCTOR steps in.)
DOCTOR: Eldrad! Eldrad, I swear to you, if you don't release him, I'll never return you to Kastria.
(The light fades.)
SARAH: (checking him) He's still breathing.
ELDRAD: Come, Doctor. Let us be going.
DOCTOR: Listen. You owe your regeneration to this man. Remember that.
ELDRAD: Yes, and I am grateful. Leave him alone, and I promise you he will recover.
DOCTOR: I'm not leaving here until I know he's all right.
(WATSON sits up.)
DOCTOR: Are you all right?
WATSON: (hands on his head) Yes, yes.
DOCTOR: Very well.
ELDRAD: You see, Doctor, I am not as cruel as you think me.
DOCTOR: Come on, let's go.
(The DOCTOR and ELDRAD step from the room.)
SARAH: You're sure you're all right?
WATSON: Yes, yes, I'm all right.
SARAH: I've got to go. You'll be all right. I have to go.
(She runs from the room. WATSON stands, still in pain. He rights a chair and sees the gun on the floor. He picks it up and muses.)
WATSON: But I put six shots into that creature.
JACKSON [OC]: Professor Watson?
WATSON: Yes?
JACKSON [OC]: Professor Watson?
WATSON: Yes, yes. In here, Miss Jackson.
JACKSON: What happened?
WATSON: Well, it's just that the laws of physics have been... Of course, the Atomic Energy Commission are not going to believe this.
JACKSON: What were those planes doing? They were bombing the complex.
WATSON: Planes? Yes, of course, the planes. Yes, but the RAF are not going to believe this either.
JACKSON: And I saw the Doctor in your car. He nearly ran me over.
WATSON: Oh, thank goodness for that, the Doctor. You saw who was with him?
JACKSON: Miss Smith?
WATSON: But no-one else?
JACKSON: No. Well, I couldn't see in the back.
(He slowly takes a seat, still holding the handgun.)
JACKSON: You all right, sir?
WATSON: It's just that no-one is going to believe me.
(The telephone rings.)
WATSON: Yes? Yes, this is the director speaking. Well, we don't know what's happened yet. Well, of course there's going to be an inquiry.
[INT. TARDIS console room]
(The DOCTOR enters the wood-themed console room.)
DOCTOR: Come in, Eldrad. Welcome to the TARDIS. Well, what do you think?
ELDRAD: (smiling) I congratulate you, Doctor. The achievements of your people in temporal engineering are indeed as impressive as I have heard.
DOCTOR: Well, thank you. I'm glad you like it.
ELDRAD: Where are its armaments?
DOCTOR: (pointing to his head) They're in here.
(ELDRAD's eyes glow blue.)
DOCTOR: Your weapons won't work in here. We're in a state of temporal grace. We're multi-dimensional.
ELDRAD: What do you mean?
DOCTOR: Well, in a sense, you see, we don't exist while we're in here. So you can't hurt us, and we can't hurt you.
SARAH: She can't hurt us?
DOCTOR: No.
SARAH: Right. There's a question I can ask you now. Why are you helping her?
DOCTOR: Well, in a sense I think you could say I'm helping Earth, Sarah. After all, I can't allow Eldrad to go on smashing nuclear power stations. Who knows how big she might become or what damage she might do. Anyway, I want to see Kastria.
SARAH: Why? What on Earth for?
DOCTOR: Well, travel broadens the mind.
SARAH: And a stitch in time saves nine.
DOCTOR: What does that mean?
SARAH: Look before you leap.
ELDRAD: Will you stop all this childish prattle? Time is passing.
DOCTOR: Yes. I wonder would you just give me a hand with the co-ordinates? I'm a bit vague on the exact whereabouts of Kastria.
(SARAH walks out of the room.)
ELDRAD: Of course, Doctor. What is the expansion factor?
DOCTOR: Oh, just punch up seven four three eight oh oh oh W eight I one two one two seven two seven two nine double one E eight E X four one one one three zero nine eleven five, and then see what happens.
(The TARDIS dematerialises, and a blue screen on the wall shows '78b REF.66735 144328X 66e 8 0257634 RD=77 144092R 31751 246X56'. The ship lurches, and the DOCTOR ends up on the floor while ELDRAD grabs hold of the console.)
SARAH: (entering, eating a banana) Off course, are we?
DOCTOR: No, I don't think so, no. Could I just check your co-ordinates?
ELDRAD: Why, do you doubt my ability?
DOCTOR: Oh, no, no, no. I just want to make sure we get there.
SARAH: So for once you'll have to trust someone, won't you?
ELDRAD: Only fools trust. I trusted them, and they tried to obliterate me.
DOCTOR: Eldrad, you'll achieve nothing on Kastria unless you overcome this paranoid obsession with treachery. You must co-operate.
ELDRAD: Again you leave me no alternative, Doctor.
DOCTOR: Oh, don't be so abject. All we want is your co-operation. If you've mis-set those co-ordinates, symbolic resonance will occur in the trackoid time crystal, and if that happens, there'll be no chance of us landing anywhere, ever, ever, ever.
(We see the TARDIS materialise just outside the darkened dome.)
DOCTOR: We've landed.
ELDRAD: You will have to trust me, Doctor.
(The DOCTOR turns on the scanner. ELDRAD looks at the windswept view it shows.)
SARAH: Is that Kastria?
ELDRAD: It is.
SARAH: It's very nice.
ELDRAD: The solar winds have devastated it, but I will reclaim it again.
DOCTOR: You may have left it a bit late, Eldrad. That hurricane's been blowing for a hundred and fifty million years.
ELDRAD: How is the atmosphere constituted?
DOCTOR: Near enough Earth normal.
ELDRAD: And the radiation count?
DOCTOR: A bit high.
ELDRAD: It's all I shall need.
[INT. Kastrian dome]
(They enter the dome and close the doors. SARAH is wearing the Doctor's coat.)
DOCTOR: Damn it, the aliens have left this planet as good as dead.
ELDRAD: Oh no, Doctor. This is as Kastria was before I built the solar barriers. My fellow Kastrians may not have been able to maintain the systems that I devised for them, but there will be survivors, leading miserable existences in the thermal caves deep underground.
DOCTOR: But nothing functions. There's no power. I can't see how we can reach these survivors even if they do exist.
ELDRAD: Do you think that I would not be prepared for my return?
(ELDRAD presses a large control on a frosty console. The lights of the dome come on.)
SARAH: That's incredible! Where's the power coming from?
ELDRAD: Energy drawn from the core of the planet.
DOCTOR: Inexhaustible energy.
ELDRAD: Exactly, Doctor. My gift to Kastria. I have come to claim my kingdom. Come, we will descend to the thermal chambers.
(As ELDRAD reaches for a door, the DOCTOR takes his coat back from SARAH in the background. She helps him put it back on.
We then see the door rise, and we hear a thunk and a gasp. There is a metal rod protruding from ELDRAD's chest.)
The above notes, transcription, etc. by Anna Shefl
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