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DOCTOR WHO
THE HAND OF FEAR
Written by
Bob Baker and Dave Martin
Part Four
(Overlap from 'Come. We will descend to the thermal chambers.')
[INT. Kastrian dome]
(The DOCTOR rushes to ELDRAD's aid. A hand held out keeps him at bay. ELDRAD pulls out the metal rod.)
ELDRAD: The traitors. I should have expected.
DOCTOR: Eldrad, what was in this tube?
ELDRAD: An acid designed to neutralise the molecular bond. It is now only a matter of time.
DOCTOR: Is there an antidote?
ELDRAD: Oh no, Doctor. I developed the acid. There is no antidote.
DOCTOR: But there must be something.
ELDRAD: Regenerator chamber, level three zero six. But you must get me there quickly before it shatters the crystal matrix. Ahh! Quick, quick.
SARAH: Wait. I'm coming.
(The DOCTOR supports ELDRAD, heading through the doorway. A lift carries them down, below the planet's surface.)
[INT. Control room]
COMPUTER: Intruders penetrating level fifty and descending. Intruders penetrating level one hundred and fifty and descending.
[INT. Level 306]
(The door from the lift rises.)
DOCTOR: Level three oh six.
SARAH: How can you tell?
DOCTOR: Worked it out from the indicator. It's all based on roots of three.
SARAH: I hope that regenerator isn't far.
DOCTOR: Which way, Eldrad?
ELDRAD: That way.
DOCTOR: Come on.
[INT. Control room]
COMPUTER: Intruders on level three zero six identified as two aliens, one Kastrian.
[INT. Level 306]
(SARAH is caught in a plume of glowing blue gas. She screams and flails her arms.)
DOCTOR: Sarah!
ELDRAD: She is unharmed, Doctor. These traps are only effective against silicon-based life forms.
DOCTOR: Come on, Sarah. Stop making a fuss, Sarah. You're from South Croydon.
SARAH: Eh?
DOCTOR: You're a carbon-based life form. The gas is only effective against silicon structures.
SARAH: Oh.
DOCTOR: Come on.
SARAH: Hang on. (she stands) The least you could do is wait for me. I nearly frightened myself to death back there.
DOCTOR: Yes, I know. It's that way.
SARAH: (helping the DOCTOR support ELDRAD) How can you tell?
DOCTOR: I have a superb sense of direction.
SARAH: What?
DOCTOR: I said 'I have a superb sense of direction'.
(A few rocks fall, and they run back to safety. ELDRAD lands on SARAH.)
DOCTOR: You fit for another stint?
SARAH: Oh, I'm as fit as I'll ever be. Give us a hand. (as the DOCTOR lifts ELDRAD) Oh, she's heavier than she looks. Oh, I hope some of them are still alive.
DOCTOR: I'm not sure.
[INT. Crystal-strewn chamber]
SARAH: Hey, look. No signs of life.
DOCTOR: Perhaps the aliens wiped them out.
SARAH: I wonder how long it's been like this.
DOCTOR: Could be millions of years.
ELDRAD: Doctor, please!
DOCTOR: (as SARAH trips) Are you all right?
SARAH: Yes. If they're dead, you'd think we'd have seen some bodies by now.
DOCTOR: We have.
SARAH: Eh?
DOCTOR: Well, if you're made of stone, you crumble to sand. We're walking on them.
SARAH: (looking down) Ew. Eww.
[INT. Control room]
COMPUTER: Intruders proceeding along level three zero six towards regenerator sector. Awaiting orders to activate automatic defence procedures.
[INT. Level 306]
DOCTOR: It can't be far now.
SARAH: Doctor, I've got a feeling we're being watched.
DOCTOR: It's your imagination. Nothing's been disturbed down here for thousands of years.
SARAH: Someone set those booby traps.
DOCTOR: Aw, it was long ago. Come on.
SARAH: Hey, wait a minute.
DOCTOR: What is it now?
SARAH: Who were they set for?
DOCTOR: Presumably the aliens Eldrad told us about. The people who invaded the planet.
SARAH: That means that they're silicon-based life forms too.
DOCTOR: Yes, yes, and they're very rare. And it's something of a coincidence that there are two of them in the same galaxy.
SARAH: Yes. Yes!
[INT. Dome control room]
COMPUTER: Awaiting orders to activate automatic defence procedures.
[INT. Level 306]
(As she helps to carry ELDRAD, SARAH stumbles backward. She loses her balance, heading over a sheer drop. The DOCTOR is holding her hand and pulls her up to safety.)
SARAH: Ah! Doctor!
DOCTOR: (kicking some rocks into the void) It's an abyss.
SARAH: It's a long way down too.
DOCTOR: Come on.
SARAH: Hey, we don't have to get across that.
DOCTOR: Is there any other way, Eldrad?
ELDRAD: No.
[INT. Control room]
COMPUTER: Alien intruders have faltered. Awaiting orders.
[INT. Level 306]
SARAH: It's not safe.
(There is something like a crystal-covered tree trunk bridging the chasm. The DOCTOR tests it.)
DOCTOR: It's only got to last until we get across.
SARAH: And what if it only lasts till we get halfway across?
DOCTOR: You've got no faith, have you? Come on, Eldrad.
(He lifts ELDRAD's rigid body over his shoulders and starts across.)
DOCTOR: It's perfectly all right as long as you don't look down. (reaching the far side) You coming?
(She crosses more cautiously, on her hands and knees.)
[INT. Control room]
COMPUTER: Alien intruders and unidentified Kastrian have reached regeneration chamber. Should they try to enter, they will be eliminated.
[INT. Corridor outside the regeneration chamber]
DOCTOR: I never met a door that couldn't be opened somehow.
SARAH: Hey, look, Doctor. Eldrad, I think she's found it. Look.
(ELDRAD has an arm out and is trying to push a control beside the door.)
DOCTOR: No!
SARAH: What's the matter?
DOCTOR: Get back.
(He takes off ELDRAD's ring.)
DOCTOR: Now stand back.
(He places it in the indented centre of the door control. The door rises.)
SARAH: You've done it!
DOCTOR: Get back. Get back!
(He removes a telescoping pointer from his pocket. Extending it through the doorway, he causes a flash and a bang.)
DOCTOR: (as the smoke clears) You all right?
(He carries ELDRAD, who is getting more and more rigid, into the chamber.)
SARAH: Determined lot.
(The DOCTOR sets ELDRAD on a large stone slab at the centre of the room.)
[INT. Control room]
COMPUTER: Intruders have entered the regeneration chamber. Positive identification of Kastrian essential. Obliteration will proceed on positive identification.
[INT. Regeneration chamber]
DOCTOR: I understand it now. The crystal in the ring carries Eldrad's genetic code. A master print that enables her to reconstitute herself from any suitable radioactive material.
SARAH: The question is 'are we in time?'
DOCTOR: The question is 'can I make this regenerator work?'
(The console lights up.
As SARAH watches, fissures form in ELDRAD's body.)
SARAH: Oh, Doctor, hurry!
DOCTOR: I can't go any faster. I'm guessing as it is. We'll just have to use maximum irradiation and hope.
[INT. Control room]
COMPUTER: Eldrad, genocide, anarch, sentenced to obliteration. Malfunction, malfunction. Power proving insufficient for obliteration. Regeneration will occur.
[INT. Regeneration chamber]
(A solid stone slab with a pattern on its bottom face lowers from the ceiling.)
SARAH: No, stop! It'll crush her!
(The slab comes to a stop, now in full contact with the lower one.)
SARAH: Oh, it's horrid. It's so horrible. It was supposed to remake her. It's destroyed her.
(The slab rises, and only a powder remains, in the shape of Eldrad's body.)
SARAH: We killed her.
DOCTOR: Yes, Sarah. We've been used. They were determined to get Eldrad one way or another.
SARAH: Ah, I'm so confused. Oh, what do we do now?
DOCTOR: We leave.
(As another door to the room starts rising, they crouch behind the table. From the mist emerges a bulkier crystalline shape, less a humanoid female in build.)
ELDRAD: (male voice) At last! Doctor? Sarah? It is I, Eldrad.
DOCTOR: Eldrad?
ELDRAD: Of course. You don't recognise me.
DOCTOR: (coming out from behind the stone table) How do we know you're Eldrad?
ELDRAD: Oh come, Doctor, you sound like Professor Watson. As a Time Lord you should be well acquainted with the processes of regeneration. I've attained my true form at last.
SARAH: Why is she a he?
ELDRAD: I had to assume a form that would be acceptable to the primitives of your planet.
DOCTOR: Ah. And so you modelled yourself on the first primitive you came in contact-. He modelled himself on you.
SARAH: Oh, thanks.
DOCTOR: Sarah thought you'd been, ah, obliterated.
ELDRAD: They are fools. I gave them this. I designed it, programmed it to recognise my cell pattern, and they thought they could use it to destroy me.
(laughs) It is incapable of destroying me, no matter what you or they or anyone else might do. I controlled it. And now I shall control all Kastria, my creation!
DOCTOR: What about your enemies?
ELDRAD: I shall brush them aside, weak and miserable creatures. What can they do in their decrepitude against the might of Eldrad?
ROKON [OC]: Eldrad.
ELDRAD: Rokon!
(A Kastrian in a golden glow is visible on a large screen embedded in the wall.)
ROKON: Traitor. You think you have victory within your grasp, but I, Rokon, tell you you have won nothing but defeat.
(The screen goes grey.)
ELDRAD: So, Rokon, you still live.
DOCTOR: Who is Rokon?
ELDRAD: The so-called king of Kastria. It was he who ordered my obliteration. Me, Eldrad, architect of the barriers! They thought they could destroy me, so I destroyed the barriers.
DOCTOR: You destroyed the barriers?
ELDRAD: Yes.
DOCTOR: So all that business of alien invaders was a lie?
ELDRAD: A necessary lie. A means to an end.
DOCTOR: Why should Rokon want to destroy you in the first place?
ELDRAD: Because he knew I would take his place. I was young and strong. He was weak and old. He wasn't fit to rule Kastria. And he had no appetite for conquest.
DOCTOR: Ahhh. But you do.
ELDRAD: Yes. I wanted Kastrians to be masters of the galaxy. And now, with me at their head, nothing shall stop us! Every planet within range of our starships shall fall to the power of Eldrad. And now, Doctor, I have an audience with my king. King?
(ELDRAD laughs, then leaves. The other two do not follow.)
SARAH: We've been taken for a ride.
DOCTOR: (removing Eldrad's ring from the regenerator console) Come on.
[INT. Control room]
ELDRAD: Rokon. Rokon? You scorn me?
(The seated figure does not move.)
ELDRAD: Your successor?
(ELDRAD pulls the robe from ROKON's head, and ROKON pitches to the floor. The body crumbles into clumps.)
ELDRAD: What is this? You traitor, you've cheated me of my revenge!
[INT. Corridor outside the control room]
SARAH: But we saw him. He spoke.
DOCTOR: A recording from the past. The king obviously knew there was a chance that Eldrad would return.
ELDRAD [OC]: He robs me of my destiny.
SARAH: The booby traps?
DOCTOR: Yes.
[INT. Control room]
ELDRAD: Nevertheless, I am still king. Nothing can stop me. My ambition is invincible.
DOCTOR: Where are your subjects, Majesty?
ELDRAD: Subjects? Stored in the race bank. There's a whole new race of Kastrians, Doctor. A hundred million crystal particles waiting to be placed in the regenerator. And they shall have me as their ruler! They will rebuild the barriers. They will restore the cities. They will replenish the exhausted lands. We will build a new Kastria, and together we shall go forth and conquer the universe!
SARAH: Let's-
DOCTOR: Sssshh
(ELDRAD steps into the darkness of the race bank vault.)
ELDRAD: Nothing! What stupidity is this? Nothing!
ROKON [OC]: Eldrad!
(ELDRAD returns to the control room.)
ROKON [on screen]: After the premature detonation of the module, we knew there was a remote possibility that one day you would return.
ELDRAD: Yes, I'm here!
ROKON [on screen]: But let me tell you. After you destroyed the barriers, after we knew for certain that life on the surface was finished and the alternative was a miserable subterranean existence, the Kastrian race chose final oblivion. And, because they feared you might return to wage eternal war throughout the galaxy, they elected also to destroy the race banks.
ELDRAD: Traitor! I gave them life!
ROKON [on screen]: So now you are king, as was your wish. I salute you from the dead. Hail, Eldrad, king of nothing.
ELDRAD: (as the image fades from the screen) Is this my reward? I created this world! It is mine! Mine by right!
DOCTOR: Well, Rokon seems to have solved the problem for us. A drastic solution.
SARAH: I wouldn't want to live down here, and I wouldn't want him as a leader.
ELDRAD: (rising and turning to face the others) Yes, I shall be king. The Earth people. Very backward and primitive, but they have the necessary aggression. I shall rule them! I shall be their god! And you will take me back!
DOCTOR: Oh, no. That's not in the contract. A one-way ticket only. My obligation to you is over. You're in your own world now.
ELDRAD: You have my ring. Give it to me.
DOCTOR: No, I don't think so.
ELDRAD: It is my key to eternity. Give me the ring!
DOCTOR: Oh well, since you've put it so nicely.
SARAH: Don't.
DOCTOR: Here. Catch.
(He throws the ring into the race bank vault.)
DOCTOR: Come on, Sarah. (They leave as ELDRAD cries out in fury.)
[INT. Level 306]
(As ELDRAD picks up the ring, they reach the chasm and, rather than crossing it, crouch down to the side.)
DOCTOR: Down there. Get down there.
SARAH: Why?
DOCTOR: Hold this. (He refers to the end of his scarf.)
SARAH: What?
ELDRAD: There is no escape.
SARAH: What do I do?
DOCTOR: When I say 'pull', you pull.
ELDRAD: You will take me back!
DOCTOR: Pull!
(They use their scarf trip wire, and ELDRAD falls backward into the blackness with a great cry.)
DOCTOR: Well, the gravity of the law finally caught up with him.
SARAH: Yeah, that's all very well, but that was a bit rash, giving him his ring back.
DOCTOR: Yes. (He removes the ring from his pocket.)
SARAH: Oh. Well, what did you give him back, then?
DOCTOR: My magician's stick.
(The DOCTOR throws the ring after Eldrad. We do not hear it hit the bottom.)
SARAH: Oh.
DOCTOR: Come on.
[INT. TARDIS console room]
SARAH: I'll never be warm again. Never, ever, ever.
DOCTOR: No, we're well out of that. Goodbye, Kastria.
(The TARDIS dematerialises from the frozen wastes.)
SARAH: Do you think that Eldrad, well, do you think he really is dead?
DOCTOR: Oh, I doubt it. Very difficult to kill.
SARAH: Well, I quite liked her, but I couldn't stand him.
(The ship tilts.)
DOCTOR: Whoa, easy, old girl, easy. These temperatures must have affected the thermo-couplings.
SARAH: Yes, I know how she feels. I think Kastria must be the coldest planet in the galaxy.
DOCTOR: Oh, rubbish. I've been to much colder places.
SARAH: Oh, big deal. It's all right for you. I'm human. We're not so thick-skinned.
DOCTOR: (prodding about under the console) Where's that astro-rectifier? What did you say?
SARAH: Thick-skinned.
DOCTOR: Oh, good, good.
SARAH: Here. (She hands him an instrument.)
DOCTOR: Multi-quantiscope.
SARAH: You know, I might as well be talking to the moon. You don't even listen to me.
DOCTOR: Mergin nut.
SARAH: What?
DOCTOR: No, no. Forget the mergin nut. I'll have the Ganymede driver.
SARAH: There. (She passes it to him.)
DOCTOR: Thank you.
SARAH: Oh. (sitting on the floor) I must be mad. I'm sick of being cold and wet, and hypnotised left, right, and centre. I'm sick of being shot at, savaged by bug-eyed monsters, never knowing if I'm coming or going or been.
DOCTOR: Zeus plug.
SARAH: Oh, I want a bath. I want my hair washed. I just want to feel human again.
DOCTOR: Forget the Zeus plug. (holding his hand out) I'll have the sonic screwdriver.
SARAH: Ooh, and boy am I sick of that sonic screwdriver! (she hands it to him) I'm going to pack my goodies and I'm going home. I said 'I'm going to pack my goodies and I am going home!' Right! Excuse me!
(She leaves the room.)
DOCTOR: What was that you-? I don't know why she goes on like this. There's really nothing the matter at all.
(As he stands, something makes contact with his mind.)
DOCTOR: The call. The call from Gallifrey. Gallifrey. After all this time. Gallifrey. Can't take Sarah to Gallifrey. Must get her back home. Must reset the co-ordinates. South Croydon.
(She enters with a bag, a pot plant, some clothes, and a tennis racquet.)
SARAH: Ahem!
DOCTOR: You're a good girl, Sarah.
SARAH: Oh, look, it's too late apologising now. Everything's packed. I'm going to go.
DOCTOR: What? How did you know?
SARAH: What?
DOCTOR: I've had the call from Gallifrey.
SARAH: So?
DOCTOR: So I can't take you with me. You've got to go.
SARAH: Ah, come on. I can't miss Gallifrey. Look, I was only joking. I didn't mean it. Hey. Hey, you're not going to regenerate again, are you?
DOCTOR: Not this time. I don't know what's going to happen.
SARAH: You're playing one of your jokes on me, just trying to make me stay.
DOCTOR: No. I've received the call, and as a Time Lord, I must obey.
SARAH: Alone?
DOCTOR: Yes.
(The TARDIS materialises on a pavement near a dog.)
SARAH: And, uh, I'll give your love to Harry and the Brigadier. Oh, and I can tell Professor Watson that you're all right, and-
DOCTOR: We've landed, Sarah.
SARAH: What?
DOCTOR: We've landed.
SARAH: Where?
DOCTOR: South Croydon. Hillview Road, to be exact.
SARAH: That's my home. Well, I'll be off then. Here.
(She removes his coat and hands it to him.)
DOCTOR: Thanks.
(She puts on her own coat and picks up her assorted things.)
SARAH: Don't forget me.
DOCTOR: Oh, Sarah. Don't you forget me.
SARAH: (shaking her head) Bye, Doctor. You know, travel does broaden the mind.
DOCTOR: Yes. Till we meet again, Sarah.
(He is smiling. She is trying not to cry. SARAH exits the TARDIS.)
[EXT. Stokefield Close]
(SARAH, carrying her cuddly owl, flower, and whatnot, stops and watches the TARDIS dematerialise. She stops beside the dog and looks around.)
SARAH: This isn't Hillview Road. I bet it isn't even South Croydon. Oh. (laughing and then hitting herself lightly on the head with the tennis racquet) He blew it.
(She gets the dog's attention, hitting its head too with the tennis racquet. It just looks at her.)
SARAH: Hey. Hey. You. He blew it.
(The dog runs off, and SARAH walks off, casting one last look back behind her.)
The above notes, transcription, etc. by Anna Shefl
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