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DOCTOR WHO
THE ARMAGEDDON FACTOR
Written by
Bob Baker and Dave Martin
Part Four
(Overlap from 'Faster, faster!')
[INT. Zeon computer room]
DOCTOR: We have a problem. Well, several problems. Mentalis knows, but won't tell, about Astra. Refuses us access to the memory banks but tells us that the Marshal's on his way here to blow this place to smithereens.
SHAPP: But won't it react?
ROMANA: Oh, yes. Mentalis is convinced it's invincible. It's been programmed not to accept defeat.
MERAK: Then it'll stop him.
SHAPP: It'll counterattack.
DOCTOR: Unfortunately, it's been programmed that the war is over, so it can't attack. It thinks it's won. That's the trouble with machines.
ROMANA: So what will happen?
DOCTOR: Well, it will self-destruct. I think 'obliteration' was the term it used.
ROMANA: So if the Marshal attacks-
SHAPP: Which he will.
DOCTOR: There will be a rather large bang, big enough to blow up Zeos, take Atrios with it, and make certain the whole thing ends in a sort of draw. That's the way these military minds work. The Armageddon factor.
[INT. Marshal's ship]
PILOT: Target located, sir.
MARSHAL: Excellent. Prepare to attack.
[INT. Zeon computer room]
DOCTOR: Has it ever occurred to you, Shapp, that you and the Marshal and this thing are in an arena, playing out a game for some evil alien spectator?
ROMANA: The third force.
DOCTOR: Yes. I think I've met him. Calls himself the Shadow.
[INT. Shadow's domain]
(ASTRA stares at nothing in the gloom. The SHADOW enters, visible from behind as a black robe with a band of jewels and metal around the cowl area, and she is freed from her bonds. She remains blank.)
SHADOW: Astra. Princess Astra. Do you hear me?
ASTRA: (in a flat voice) Yes, I hear you.
SHADOW: Good. There are certain duties you must perform.
ASTRA: Yes.
SHADOW: You will help me in my quest. You understand?
ASTRA: Yes.
SHADOW: Astra, you are to meet your lover. Smile. (She gives a slight smile.)
[INT. Zeon computer room]
SHAPP: What are you going to do?
DOCTOR: Well, we're going to try and neutralise and dismantle Mentalis here, and it's absolutely essential that while I'm fiddling it doesn't have to be distracted by an attack from the Marshal. Now listen, I want you two to go back to Atrios via the transmat. You, Shapp, are to contact the Marshal. Tell him he's won. Tell him the war's over. Tell him anything you like, but stop him taking any further action.
SHAPP: And if I can't?
DOCTOR: Well, then Mentalis-
SHAPP: If the Marshal refuses to listen?
DOCTOR: Then Mentalis will-
SHAPP: If he insists on going ahead?
DOCTOR: Well, then Mentalis will go into its Armageddon sequence. We'll be bits of dust flying round the cosmos, including the Marshal. You might even tell him that. What are you waiting for?
SHAPP: Oh, yeah. (He races out.)
MERAK: But what about Astra?
ROMANA: Merak, don't worry about Astra. We'll find her. Your duty lies with your patients. You must go back to Atrios with Shapp.
MERAK: Oh, very well. (He too leaves.)
[INT. Outside the Zeos end of the transmat]
(MERAK is behind SHAPP, who is behind his gun.)
ASTRA [OC]: Merak!
SHAPP: What are you doing, Merak? Come on!
(Merak is no longer following him. The door to the transmat chamber opens. A Shadow MINION arrives from the corridor. SHAPP shoots him, but the MINION returns fire before falling himself. SHAPP falls into the transmat chamber.)
SHAPP: Merak!
(The transmat activates.)
[INT. Corridor on Zeos]
MERAK: Astra! Astra, it's me, Merak. Astra, where are you?
(He sees her nearby.)
MERAK: Astra.
ASTRA: Merak.
MERAK: Astra.
ASTRA: Merak.
(He heads toward her, and she holds her arms out. But she glides through him. He turns and begins a long, slow fall past a few lights of various colours in the darkness of the surreal.)
[INT. Zeon computer room]
(Mentalis's cameras watch the Doctor try to open the war computer's side panel.)
DOCTOR: K9, are you sure this is all right?
K9: Affirmative.
DOCTOR: I mean, it doesn't feel threatened or anything?
K9: Negative. Proceed.
ROMANA: Doctor?
DOCTOR: Yes?
ROMANA: Do you think it was the Shadow who built this?
DOCTOR: Oh, more than likely, yeah.
ROMANA: Well, since there don't seem to be any Zeons on Zeos, if you know what I mean, presumably it's the Shadow who's got the princess.
DOCTOR: More than likely. The question is - where?
ROMANA: (holds her hand out as earlier) What about between Atrios and Zeos. Do you remember?
DOCTOR: Romana, that's brilliant. Of course! He's got a third planet all to himself.
ROMANA: Right. All we have to do is find it.
DOCTOR: After I've stopped this.
ROMANA: Well, if you can stop it.
DOCTOR: What?
(Three sonic-screwdriver-induced and smoke-producing holes in the panel later, one at each vertex, the panel is off. Mentalis's sounds get louder. The DOCTOR and ROMANA scramble along the floor away from the machine. The crystal turns pink.)
ROMANA: What have you done?
DOCTOR: I don't know. K9, what have I done?
K9: You have triggered primary alert function.
DOCTOR: Blast.
K9: Affirmative.
ROMANA: And now it's waiting to blow itself up.
K9: If required, to resist attack.
DOCTOR: Let's hope Shapp reaches the Marshal before he does anything silly. We're very vulnerable till that's done.
ROMANA: Yes, rather like sitting inside a time bomb.
(The Marshal's ship continues its approach. Mentalis beeps insistently and blurbles.)
DOCTOR: What's that, K9? Well?
K9: Assimilating information.
DOCTOR: Sorry. Well?
K9: Hostile craft approaching.
ROMANA: What?!
[INT. Marshal's ship]
MARSHAL: There! Zeos at last. I shall crush it like a rotten egg. Faster, man, faster.
[INT. Zeon computer room]
DOCTOR: The Marshal. Shapp must have missed him.
K9: Entering self-destruct sequence. In self-destruct sequence.
ROMANA: It's going to blow itself up.
DOCTOR: Yes, and us with it. Unless...
(He moves to check out the side of Mentalis that he has opened. The cameras rotate.)
ROMANA: Doctor, look out!
(Three blue-green beams converge to defend Mentalis but hit Mentalis instead, with the DOCTOR crouched low.)
[INT. Marshal's ship]
MARSHAL: Arm all warheads.
(A bomb bay door opens, and missiles lower into position from within.)
PILOT: Missiles armed and targeted, sir.
[INT. Zeon computer room]
(Mentalis is a charred wreck.)
DOCTOR: That was close.
ROMANA: How did they manage to miss?
DOCTOR: They weren't aiming at me. They were aiming at that, the control centre, like a scorpion stinging itself to death. As soon as it sensed I was trying to interfere with the sequence, it destroyed its own control centre. It's mindless now, clicking towards oblivion. How long, K9?
K9: Damage renders data unavailable.
DOCTOR: The TARDIS!
ROMANA: Come on, K9!
(They run out.)
[INT. Marshal's ship]
PILOT: Within range, sir.
MARSHAL: Go in closer. As close as you dare.
(The DOCTOR, ROMANA, and K9 reach the Shadow's sanctum and enter the TARDIS. We see a shot of Mentalis ticking toward oblivion.)
[INT. TARDIS console room]
(The DOCTOR enters with segments 1-5 of the Key to Time.)
DOCTOR: Here, take a look at this. (He sets the incomplete key on a clear-topped table near us.)
ROMANA: Ah, you put the five pieces together. Good.
DOCTOR: Have you got the tracer?
ROMANA: Yes. (She inserts it.)
DOCTOR: Lock it in. Lock it.
ROMANA: Now what?
DOCTOR: Well, it was just an idea. I thought if we had five sixths of the pieces, it might give us some power. Obviously, Guardian technology doesn't work that way.
ROMANA: If only we had the sixth piece.
DOCTOR: Yeah. Or a sixth piece.
ROMANA: What do you mean?
DOCTOR: What do you see there?
ROMANA: A gap.
DOCTOR: Exactly. A gap the shape of the sixth piece.
ROMANA: Ah.
DOCTOR: We know what it looks like. We can make one.
(Mentalis ticks away.)
[INT. Marshal's ship]
MARSHAL: Steady now.
SHAPP: Atrian control to Marshal. Marshal? Come in, Marshal. This is Shapp. Imperative you abort. Repeat - imperative you abort mission.
MARSHAL: Turn that thing off.
PILOT: Sir.
MARSHAL: Useless bureaucrats trying to steal our thunder. Now, closer. Closer. Prepare to strike.
(The planet is quite large in the ship's front window now.)
MARSHAL: (when the PILOT reaches for the controls) Wait for it, man. Wait for the order.
[INT. TARDIS console room]
(The DOCTOR, in vest and work smock, enters, wiping his brow.)
DOCTOR: Here we are. (He has a shiny sixth segment to show for his labour.)
ROMANA: Ah. What did you use?
DOCTOR: Chronodyne.
ROMANA: Is that compatible?
DOCTOR: Well, it's as compatible as anything we've got.
K9: Compatibility ratio seventy-four per cent. Component therefore unstable and liable to deteriorate.
DOCTOR: Yes, and so are we if this doesn't work. This should, in theory, give us powers of balance and stasis. We should be able to create a neutral, timeless zone, for a while. Now, how does it go?
ROMANA: Hang on, let me just-
(She takes the almost-segment and lifts the tracer slightly to slot the whole thing together.)
DOCTOR: Lock it, lock it.
ROMANA: Right.
[INT. Marshal's ship]
MARSHAL: Fire!
[INT. TARDIS console room]
ROMANA: We've failed.
DOCTOR: Have we?
[INT. Marshal's ship]
MARSHAL: Fire! Fire! Fire!
(In a tight time loop, the PILOT's hand moves towards the firing pad to press the button. We also see a countdown displayed in Mentalis's machine room, cycling through 10, 9, and 8.)
[INT. TARDIS console room]
ROMANA: Doctor, I've got it.
(The scanner shows the Marshal's ship streaking toward them, but it jumps back and this move is repeated.)
[INT. Marshal's ship]
MARSHAL: Fire! Fire!
[INT. TARDIS console room]
ROMANA: We did it!
DOCTOR: Well, ninety-nine per cent.
K9: Correction. Ninety-nine point six.
DOCTOR: Even better. We haven't stopped them dead. We got them in a three-second time loop. Oh!
ROMANA: What?
DOCTOR: I've stopped the universe. Still, they'll never notice. Just imagine, somewhere someone's just slipped on a banana skin and he'll be wondering forever when he's going to hit the ground.
ROMANA: Doctor, why isn't it affecting us?
DOCTOR: Oh, come on, Romana! I mean, if it affected the operators, no-one would be able to use it. Even the Guardians would think of that.
ROMANA: (she nods, then thinks) So at the moment we've got absolute power over everything, everywhere.
DOCTOR: Yes. Yes, it's quite a feeling, isn't it? Gods for an hour or two.
K9: Negative. Deterioration rate of chronodyne chip is in direct proportion to area affected.
DOCTOR: Well, of course it is. Just imagine the amount of power required to stop the entire universe.
ROMANA: How long have we got, K9?
K9: Insufficient information for accurate prediction.
DOCTOR: Probability, then.
K9: Probability is for maximum three point two five minutes.
DOCTOR: Three and a quarter minutes?
K9: Maximum. Now three point one three minutes.
ROMANA: Hang on. If we've got so much power, we ought to be able to localise it in some way. That should help.
DOCTOR: Yes. How do you set about localising a time loop?
ROMANA: Well, if one has god-like powers, one ought to be able to use them, oughtn't one?
DOCTOR: Eh?
ROMANA: Command it.
DOCTOR: Oh, yes. (clears his throat) Stand aside. (holds his hands out) (in commanding voice) I c- (lowers his hands) Hey, I'd better get this right.
K9: Affirmative.
DOCTOR: (as we watch from the level of the table) (holds his hands out) I command that the spatio-temporal loop be confined to the vicinity of the Marshal's vessel, the co-ordinates of which are already known. (lowers his hands) There.
ROMANA: And the Zeon computer room!
DOCTOR: (holds his hands out) And the Zeon computer room. Let it be done. (lowers his hands) I thought I handled that rather well.
ROMANA: All power corrupts, Doctor.
DOCTOR: Oh, come on. It's only a three-second time loop.
K9: Negative. Time loop stretching.
DOCTOR: Already? How much?
K9: Point three milliseconds per second.
DOCTOR: And the chronodyne chip?
K9: Now deteriorating.
DOCTOR: Yes, I thought you'd say that.
ROMANA: I think we should move.
DOCTOR: Yes. Nothing lasts forever.
[INT. Shadow's domain]
SHADOW: (to ASTRA) The Doctor has been forced to use the Key to Time. It is no longer in a place of safety. You will lure the Doctor here and help me gain access to the TARDIS. You understand?
ASTRA: I understand.
SHADOW: Go with her. (his MINIONS attend her) Muahahahahaha!
[INT. Outside the Zeos end of the transmat]
DOCTOR: Come on, quickly. Remember that time loop's stretching.
ROMANA: Doctor, come on! The time loop's stretching.
(Meanwhile, ASTRA appears in the transmat chamber, with a MINION on either side, and leads them through the corridors.)
[INT. Zeos]
(MERAK wakes to ASTRA's voice. He has an open cut on his forehead.)
ASTRA: (visible through a round opening similar to what we saw Merak fall into earlier) Merak! Merak, I'm here. Are you hurt?
MERAK: My leg, it's twisted. What happened?
ASTRA: You fell. I tried to save you, but-
MERAK: I thought you were-
ASTRA: Can you stand?
MERAK: I think so.
ASTRA: Here, let me help you.
(She reaches down, and we cut.)
[INT. Zeon computer room]
(The DOCTOR and ROMANA examine the burnt and melted wires inside, and scattered about around, Mentalis.)
ROMANA: Not very hopeful, is it? Whoever built this had a very twisted mind.
(The countdown is shown. It now includes a bit of '7'.)
[INT. Corridor outside the interrogation room]
(ASTRA tends to MERAK. The MINIONS have followed and remain out of sight. When MERAK stumbles, ASTRA bends to help him and we see a control device on her neck.)
K9: Halt. Who goes there? Identify.
MERAK: K9, it's me, Merak.
K9: Affirmative. You may enter. Stop. Identify second unit.
ASTRA: What is it?
MERAK: It's called K9. It belongs to the Doctor.
K9: Affirmative. Repeat, identify second unit.
MERAK: K9, this is Astra, Princess Astra. The Doctor thinks that she may be able to help him.
K9: Hostile presence detected.
MERAK: Where?
K9: Hostiles approaching. Take cover.
MERAK: Quick, hide.
(K9 sets off to deal with the MINIONS. They fire in blue, and K9 fires in red.)
[INT. Zeon interrogation room]
(ASTRA steps up to the TARDIS and places her hands on it.)
ASTRA: What's this?
MERAK: It belongs to the Doctor.
ASTRA: What's inside? I must see inside.
MERAK: It's no use, Astra. Only the Doctor and Romana can get in. What's the matter?
ASTRA: It's the air in here. (She reaches for her throat, and MERAK takes her shoulder.)
MERAK: Perhaps we should go back to Atrios.
ASTRA: No, we must go on. We must find your friends.
[INT. Outside the Zeos end of the transmat]
(The MINIONS enter the transmat chamber as K9 chases them. Its doors close.)
K9: Hostiles repulsed. Most satisfactory.
(The doors open again. A box now sits on the floor. A light atop it flashes, and it beeps in two, alternating tones.)
K9: Who is there? Identify. Galactic computer distress call received. Please identify. K9 answering computer distress call. Please identify.
(K9 enters the transmat chamber.)
K9: Please identify source of distress.
[INT. Corridor outside the Zeon computer room]
(The two parties nearly collide in the corridor.)
MERAK: Doctor, I found her. This is Astra. She was captured by the Zeons.
DOCTOR: Was she, now? How do you do? I'm delighted to see you. I'm the Doctor, this is Romana.
ROMANA: Hello.
ASTRA: Merak's told me about you.
DOCTOR: So you rescued her from the Zeons?
ASTRA: I escaped.
DOCTOR: How did you manage that?
ASTRA: Through a tunnel of light.
MERAK: I was on my way to the transmat when I heard her calling. Then I fell and hurt myself.
ASTRA: I think one of the guards who was after me took a shot at him.
DOCTOR: Very likely, very likely. Where are they now?
MERAK: Well, they were coming after us, but K9 chased them away.
DOCTOR: Good, good.
ROMANA: I think Merak needs some medical attention.
DOCTOR: Yes. Look, Astra, why don't you and Merak go back to Atrios via the transmat? He'll show you the way.
ASTRA: I'd feel safer with you.
DOCTOR: Well, I dare say, but we've got a few complicated things to do and Merak does need attention. I think the thing you should do is go back and show your people that you're free.
MERAK: He's right, Astra.
DOCTOR: Of course I'm right. Off you go now. Hope to see you soon.
MERAK: Come on, this way.
(ASTRA and MERAK leave.)
DOCTOR: Odd.
ROMANA: Very odd.
DOCTOR: I think we should concentrate on the Shadow and the third planet.
ROMANA: All right.
[INT. Shadow's domain]
(K9 materialises and backs out past some rocks.)
K9: This is not Atrios. Neither is this Zeos. What is this place?
(He heads down rock-hewn corridors.)
[INT. Corridor outside the Zeos end of the transmat]
MERAK: It's not far now. Just over there.
(She lets MERAK fall and makes no move to help him up.)
MERAK: Oh, my leg. You'll have to help me up, Astra.
ASTRA: I have more important work to do. (She displays a faint, creepy smile.)
MERAK: What do you mean?
ASTRA: I'd stay and watch you die, but I haven't the time.
MERAK: You're, you're not Astra.
ASTRA: You fool.
(She holds her hand beside her throat. Two MINIONS emerge from the transmat, and ASTRA leads them out. MERAK manages to stand and hobble into the transmat. He dematerialises as we hear the SHADOW laugh.)
[INT. Interrogation room]
DOCTOR: K9? K9?
ROMANA: He was on guard.
DOCTOR: Yes. Something must have happened.
ASTRA [OC]: Doctor!
ROMANA: What's that?
ASTRA: Doctor! (running in and banging on the TARDIS doors) Help! They're after me! Doctor!
DOCTOR: Yes, what is it? What is it? Quick into the TARDIS. Key?
ROMANA: Doctor, quickly.
DOCTOR: All right, all right.
ROMANA: Come on. (They all head inside.)
[INT. TARDIS console room]
DOCTOR: Where's Merak? Is he all right?
ASTRA: I got him into the transmat shaft, but they were on me before I could follow. He's safe, though.
DOCTOR: Good.
ROMANA: (in front of the scanner) Doctor, the time loop. It's stretched to about five seconds by the look of it.
DOCTOR: Yes. That gives us about an hour of real time.
ROMANA: If it goes on stretching and if the false piece lasts long enough. Listen, I'll get a fix on the third planet.
(ASTRA's attention is on the key.)
DOCTOR: (to her) It's a pretty little thing, isn't it?
ASTRA: (whispers) What is it?
DOCTOR: It's the Key to Time. Are you all right, Astra?
ASTRA: Yes, perfectly.
DOCTOR: Well, now you've seen it, does it trigger off any hidden memories?
ASTRA: No. It means nothing to me.
DOCTOR: That's a pity. I was hoping you'd be able to tell us where the sixth piece is.
ASTRA: The sixth piece?
DOCTOR: Yes. Look. We have the other five segments. Now we're looking for the sixth and final one. Think, Astra, think.
(He pulls back her collar slightly to check for a little black control device, while she reaches for the tracer. He stops her, grabbing her hand.)
DOCTOR: I wouldn't touch it. It's hot.
ROMANA: Got it!
DOCTOR: Good, good. Set the co-ordinates. Let's get on our way.
[INT. Shadow's domain]
(The TARDIS materialises on the Shadow's rocky space station. The SHADOW watches the TARDIS appears.)
SHADOW: Your friends have arrived. We must greet them.
K9: Affirmative, Master.
SHADOW: You fool, Doctor. The Key to Time is mine! Muahahahahahaha!
The above notes, transcription, etc. by Anna Shefl
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