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DOCTOR WHO
THE DEADLY ASSASSIN
Written by
Robert Holmes
Part Three
(Overlap from shooting at the Doctor)
[INT. Matrix]
(The DOCTOR throws his body sideways, though his foot is still trapped, and we hear the engine in the distance. He now is able to free his foot with ease.)
DOCTOR: It's an illusion. Dreams.
(Back in the quarry area, he steps straight into a huge egg and stops.)
DOCTOR: I deny this reality. The reality is a computation matrix.
(The quarry walls become less solid. We see them as circuit boards for a moment before the vortex reasserts itself, in a spiral effect, and the DOCTOR collapses. Face down under a blinding sun, he awakens as vultures circle overhead. Two eyes appear in the rock face.)
FIGURE [OC]: I am the creator here, Doctor. This is my world. There is no escape for you.
(The eyes fade out as we hear laughter. Hearing running water, the DOCTOR brushes some sand away and finds glass. Reflected in the surface is a clown, who laughs. The DOCTOR replaces the sand. He then heads down a slope into an area with some vegetation. This time, it's a biplane that circles overhead. This dives and buzzes him. The DOCTOR ducks. The plane heads back for a strafing run, and the DOCTOR takes off running. A trail of shots follows him, as does the laughter.)
DOCTOR: (noticing that his leg is bleeding) I deny it. I deny it!
(He looks down, and the bleeding fades away. The DOCTOR smiles.)
FIGURE [OC]: You are trapped in my creation, Doctor. My reality rules.
(The leg is bleeding once more.)
DOCTOR: All right, I'll fight you in your reality.
FIGURE [OC]: Then it will be a pleasure to destroy you. Be on your guard. (He laughs.)
[INT. Records room]
SPANDRELL: His respiration rate has increased.
ENGIN: That's an adrenaline response. And there's a massive blood sugar demand. That would suggest he's preparing either to run for his life or to fight for his life.
SPANDRELL: But he can't, can he? Who or what is he fighting?
ENGIN: Presumably, another mind.
SPANDRELL: You mean there's another living mind in the Matrix?
ENGIN: I'm only speculating, Castellan.
SPANDRELL: Yes.
[INT. Adytum]
(We see someone who is probably the decaying figure handling controls as someone with a helmet over the head lies on a couch. In the helmet, we see someone running through the foliage. In the corner of the room stans a GUARD.)
DECAYING FIGURE: We have him now, but be wary. The Doctor is never more dangerous than when the odds are against him.
[INT. Matrix]
(The enemy is now a big game hunter with face covered. Shooting at the DOCTOR with his rifle, he strikes the cliff, and the DOCTOR skitters away. The HUNTER looks through binoculars and sees the DOCTOR running. At the top of the slope he is climbing stands the HUNTER. The HUNTER misses his shot, and the DOCTOR lets himself drop slowly down. He hides behind a bush on the cliff face. Nearby is a very large spider in its web. As the HUNTER heads nearer, the spider lowers itself in front of the DOCTOR. The HUNTER sets his rifle down and drinks from his canteen. He then studies a map from his backpack.)
HUNTER: (sotto) Water. He's going to need water.
(The DOCTOR chews on a leaf. The HUNTER picks up his rifle but leaves his canteen and backpack. We then see the DOCTOR check these out. He shakes the canteen, which is empty. In the backpack are a torch, some dynamite, powder, a hand grenade, and more.)
DOCTOR: No anti-tank gun.
(He takes the grenade and a reel of wire. The grenade goes in the fork of a tree. Meanwhile, the HUNTER finds the water source and empties a bottle of green substance into it. He then moves into the reeds as the DOCTOR arrives.)
DOCTOR: I wonder what he's been up to.
(The HUNTER goes back to his backpack. He walks into the wire that the DOCTOR had attached to the grenade pin. It explodes.)
DOCTOR: It didn't get him. If it had, this nightmare would have ended.
HUNTER: All right, Doctor. A good try, but not quite good enough.
[INT. Adytum]
FIGURE: The fool! That could have been fatal. Physical deterioration increasing. He should have finished the Doctor off before now.
(The FIGURE speaks to a GUARD seated in a chair.)
FIGURE: Stand. I have a task for you. There may be difficulties. Others may try to prevent you fulfilling my orders. You will ignore them and obey only me. You will let nothing stop you. Do you understand?
SOLIS: Yes, Master. I will obey only you.
FIGURE: This is what you will do.
[INT. Matrix]
(The DOCTOR bends down to drink some water but pauses. He sees the empty bottle and gives it a sniff.)
DOCTOR: So that's what he was up to.
(He takes a section of reed. Meanwhile, the HUNTER, in clear pain, has completed a field dressing for his wounded side. The DOCTOR is using his time to hollow out the reed. He uses his makeshift straw to suck clean water from the very edges of the pond. Hearing the HUNTER approach, he makes his exit.)
HUNTER: I'm very close to you, Doctor. You'd better start running. Do you hear me, Doctor?
(The DOCTOR does. Hiding, he catches himself on a thorn, which gives him the idea of breaking several thorns off. He climbs a tree and dips a thorn into what was left in the small bottle. The thorn goes in his reed. As the HUNTER approaches slowly, the DOCTOR uses his makeshift blowpipe. The HUNTER is hit in the thigh. He looks up, shoots, and thereby causes the DOCTOR to fall. The HUNTER removes the thorn, then uses a knife to cut his trouser leg and have a look at the wound. Meanwhile, we see the DOCTOR roll over. He has been shot in the upper arm. He staggers off while the HUNTER injects his leg with something.)
[INT. Records room]
(The guard SOLIS enters.)
SPANDRELL: Yes?
SOLIS: Message from the Chancellor, sir. He'd like the Doctor brought to him.
SPANDRELL: Solis, isn't it?
SOLIS: Yes, sir.
SPANDRELL: He's one of the Chancellor's personal guard.
ENGIN: Very well. You'll have to wait. It'll be over soon, one way or the other.
SPANDRELL: He's been in almost four minutes. How long can a living man exist in there?
ENGIN: I've no data available, but his body's on the point of collapse now. Low blood pressure. Shallow respiration. Carbon dioxide increasing. He can't last much longer.
(SOLIS sees a knob on the APC controls, marked with a purple dot. He smiles.)
[INT. Matrix]
(The DOCTOR is in a marshy area and walking none too swiftly.)
DOCTOR: Must keep going. I must keep going.
HUNTER: He can't last long. (He readies his rifle.)
[INT. Records room]
SPANDRELL: It's only a mental battle. If the Doctor's losing, why can't he just pull out?
ENGIN: It's not that simple. His adversary must have been in the matrix many times before. (to SOLIS) Hey, don't touch that!
SOLIS: Sorry.
ENGIN: He's created a mental stronghold, a dreamscape if you like. The Doctor's got caught up in it.
SPANDRELL: So he doesn't stand a chance?
ENGIN: A very slight one. His opponent is expending energy in maintaining the reality projection. The Doctor can employ all his own artron energy for defence.
(SOLIS tries again.)
SPANDRELL: Get back! Get back from-
(He pushes SOLIS back. When SOLIS makes a dash for the knob again, SPANDRELL shoots him.)
[INT. Matrix]
(In the mists of the marsh, the DOCTOR is limping along, with a branch for support.)
DOCTOR: Marsh gas.
(He heads for the trees, on higher ground.)
[INT. Adytum]
MASTER: That man! One final effort. Kill him! Destroy him! I, the Master, command you!
(The image in the red helmet, which he is watching, takes the full screen once more.)
[INT. Matrix]
(The DOCTOR is crouched in the underbrush as the HUNTER approaches. He is no longer whispering, and his cadences reveal his identity. Also, the gauze covering his face hides little.)
GOTH: Where are you, Doctor? You can't win, Doctor. You might as well give up now.
DOCTOR: What do you want of me?
GOTH: Only your life, Doctor - your life for my master.
DOCTOR: I'll make a bargain with you.
GOTH: No bargains! Show yourself, Doctor. Get it over with. Do you hear me?
DOCTOR: No. You show yourself first. Your real self.
GOTH: Very well, Doctor.
(He pulls off his hat, taking the gauze with it, and his identity is in no doubt.)
DOCTOR: Goth. All right, Goth, you win.
(GOTH lifts the rifle sights to his eyes. The DOCTOR steels himself. When GOTH fires, he ignites the marsh gas and reels back as flames engulf the area. He and the marsh are set ablaze. GOTH doubles over and pitches forward into the murky water. The DOCTOR watches for a time and then cautiously steps forward, wading into the water. GOTH grabs him from behind. With a hold on each other, they trade punches in the water. GOTH ends up in the water but stands and throws the DOCTOR back. A kick reverses the positions, but finally GOTH ends up atop the struggling DOCTOR.)
GOTH: Finished, Doctor. You're finished.
(He holds the DOCTOR's head under the water.)
The above notes, transcription, etc. by Anna Shefl
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