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DOCTOR WHO
STATE OF DECAY

Written by
Terrance Dicks

Part Three

(Overlap from 'Where are we, Doctor?')

[INT. Resting place]

DOCTOR: Well, I'm glad to catch someone at home. Are we in time for a guided tour?
AUKON: You're a fool to mock, Doctor. There is power here such as you have never dreamed of. Can you not feel it?
(The DOCTOR wets his finger and holds it in the air.)
DOCTOR: No.
AUKON: Power, Doctor! It is the only reality. Why fight it when you could share it?
DOCTOR: Me?
AUKON: When I sent my winged messengers to hunt you down, I sensed the power of your mind. We seek such minds for our great purpose.
DOCTOR: What purpose?
AUKON: At the time of Arising, we servants will swarm. You could be one of us. (He holds out his hands.)
DOCTOR: I could? (holding out his own hands slightly) Well, you know, I've never been a great one for swarming. It's awfully kind of you to offer, but where were you thinking of swarming to?
AUKON: Out of this universe, back to our own.
ROMANA: You know the way out of E-space?
AUKON: That is the secret of him who brought us here.
DOCTOR: Aha! So there was a guided tour.
AUKON: We were summoned, the whole ship, to be his servants.
DOCTOR: Was that when you were just plain Science Officer O'Connor?
AUKON: What?
ROMANA: He was O'Connor?
DOCTOR: Yes. Those officers aren't the descendants of the originals; they are the originals.
AUKON: He has given us unending life. He summoned us here, speaking to the others through my mind. We fed and nourished him until now he is ready to arise.
ROMANA: (sotto, to the Doctor) Suppose we pretended to co-operate till we get the data on E-space?
DOCTOR: (sotto) Yes. No. Too dangerous.
AUKON: Consider well, Doctor. Won't you join us, like your other companion?
DOCTOR: Who's he talking about?
ROMANA: Can't even count on this planet.
AUKON: The boy will be the first of the Chosen Ones.
ROMANA: Boy? What boy?
AUKON: He came here looking for you. The name he used was Adric.
ROMANA: Adric?
DOCTOR: Adric?
AUKON: You will all serve the Great One, Doctor, one way or another. If you do not join us, you will feed him with your blood.
DOCTOR: No. There is a third choice.
AUKON: What is that?
DOCTOR: I can destroy the Great One. Off you go, Romana!
(She runs.)
AUKON: Stop, Doctor! By the power that is mine, I command you.
(His mind forces the DOCTOR to kneel.)
DOCTOR: I will not serve. I will not serve.
AUKON: Come, Doctor.
(ROMANA breaks off a long stalagmite. She hurls it at AUKON. It breaks over him, but it has served its purpose of breaking his concentration.)
DOCTOR: Cover your eyes, Romana. That might be all right for half-starved peasantry, Aukon, but it doesn't scare Time Lords.
AUKON: Time Lords! The ancient enemies!
ZARGO: Always so anxious to leave, Doctor?
CAMILLA: Now is the time of our feast.
ZARGO: We shall drain the blood from your bodies slowly.
CAMILLA: Drop by drop.
AUKON: Silence! I hear you, O Great One. Your ever-faithful servant Aukon awaits your command. Yea, o Great One. Preparations are complete. Sacrifice will be made. At the time of your arising, you shall drink the blood of Time Lords!
(AUKON faces the DOCTOR and ROMANA again. They have covered their eyes. He pulls their hands away.)
AUKON: (happily) You have been chosen. You have both been chosen.
(TARAK, in the uniform of a guard, watches as the Time Lords are led through a corridor. ZARGO and CAMILLA go a different way, passing through a metal door after placing a GUARD's keycard in a reader. The GUARD collects the keycard and returns it to his belt.)

[INT. Their chambers]

CAMILLA: Courage. It will not fail.
(They both wash their hands in a large metal bowl.)
ZARGO: Aukon still retains the power he promised to share. He swore to us.
CAMILLA: It hardly matters now. The time of the Arising is at hand, and all are equal before the Great One.
ZARGO: And this Doctor, what is he doing here at this time?
CAMILLA: We have him safe now. Tomorrow, his spirit will be one with ours. Come, we must rest. And when we wake, we shall feed.
ZARGO: Why am I still afraid?

[INT. Cell]

(While a GUARD patrols back and forth outside the cell, the two prisoners within are being watched by another GUARD.)
DOCTOR: There was once an old hermit from the mountains of south Gallifrey.
ROMANA: Did he lead a very sheltered life?
DOCTOR: Yes. Yes, he did. He used to tell me ghost stories. I like a ghost story. Do you want to hear one?
ROMANA: No.
DOCTOR: It's about a race of giant vampires.
ROMANA: Vampires?
DOCTOR: Mmm. They came out of nowhere, and swarmed and swarmed.
ROMANA: What did they do, Doctor?
DOCTOR: Swarmed. That was the word he used.
ROMANA: Oh.
DOCTOR: They swarmed all over the universe. And they were so strong that one single vampire could suck the life out of an entire planet.
ROMANA: One single vampire could suck the life out of an entire planet?
DOCTOR: Yes.
ROMANA: Rubbish.
DOCTOR: Well, he wasn't a scientist. There are other ways of looking at life, you know. Anyway, according to the story, we Time Lords hunted them down across the universe in a war so long and so bloody that we were sickened of violence forever.
ROMANA: So they were all destroyed?
DOCTOR: One of them escaped, I think.
ROMANA: And?
DOCTOR: Just vanished into thin air. Poof.
ROMANA: Like the Hydrax, into E-space.

[INT. Outside the cell]

TARAK: I've been sent to relieve you. Give me your keys, and report to Habris.
GUARD: Why?
TARAK: Don't argue with me. Argue with Habris.
GUARD: I know you. You're Tarak, Tarak the traitor. You ran out to join the rebels.
(The two fight.)

[INT. Cell]

ROMANA: When was all this supposed to have happened?
DOCTOR: Hmm? When was all what supposed to have happened?
ROMANA: The legend.
DOCTOR: Oh, that. Oh, in the misty dawn of history, when even Rassilon was young.
ROMANA: I once worked in the Bureau of Ancient Records, for a time.
DOCTOR: So?
ROMANA: Oh, nothing. It's just that I once came across a reference to something called the Record of Rassilon in one of the old data books.
DOCTOR: And? Ssssh.
(They hear the fighting outside, which TARAK wins.)
ROMANA: And it was an emergency instruction. A copy of the book was to be installed in certain time vehicles.
DOCTOR: What time vehicles?
ROMANA: Oh, I don't know. I forget.
DOCTOR: What time vehicles?
ROMANA: Type Forty, I think.
DOCTOR: Psst. The TARDIS is a Type Forty.
ROMANA: Is it? Oh.
DOCTOR: Yes. Psst. You are wonderful.
ROMANA: Me? Wonderful? I suppose I am. I've never really thought about it.
(The DOCTOR motions to the GUARD inside, who bends down to hear him. The DOCTOR knocks him out, just as TARAK enters. The door hits the DOCTOR in the face as it bursts open.)
TARAK: Quick, the corridor. Where's the Doctor? Are you all right?
DOCTOR: Yes, I'm fine.
TARAK: Down the corridor to the left.

[INT. Rebel cave]

(VEROS wakes up.)
VEROS: Still poring over those old scientific records, Kalmar?
KALMAR: No, something new. Look.
VEROS: Ah, you've improved the picture. What's that, more history?
KALMAR: Not history, Veros, the present. We're scanning the surrounding countryside.
VEROS: A scanner cover.
KALMAR: With a full choice of frequencies. I only discovered the facility by accident. There's not much to see on the visible spectrum now that night is falling.
VEROS: Something's moving. Can it detect life forms?
KALMAR: I'll switch in infrared. Yes, someone's heading this way.
(VEROS grabs a spear and heads for the entrance of the cave.)
VEROS: It's Ivo, Kalmar.
KALMAR: Let him in.
(He does.)
KALMAR: It's dangerous for you to come here. Why didn't you use the communicator?
IVO: I have to talk face to face.
VEROS: Look, Ivo, Kalmar's discovered a scanner.
KALMAR: We cover all the surrounding area, maybe reach the village and the tower if I can boost the range.
VEROS: We'll be safe now. We'll have warning of an attack if the guards come snooping.
KALMAR: It's heat-sensitive. It measures the presence of life.
IVO: Then it can't help me find my son.
KALMAR: Karl?
IVO: He's dead. Those fiends drank his blood. But you're safe, aren't you? Technological rats living safely in their little hole.
KALMAR: I'm sorry.
IVO: Anyway, that's not what I came to talk about. Look, something's happening in the tower tonight, some kind of ceremony. They'll be busy, preoccupied.
KALMAR: No, it's too soon. We must have more information.
IVO: For me, Kalmar, it's already too late. I shall wait until tonight, gather my people together, and attack the tower.
VEROS: Ivo, no!
KALMAR: No, you mustn't!
IVO: You and your heroes can watch it on the scanner, Kalmar. But remember this. When they've finished with us, they'll come for you.

[INT. Tower]

(TARAK leads the two Time Lords to a door.)
DOCTOR: Tarak, now listen. We're going back to our ship for some information. I want you to tell Kalmar. No, wait. Tell Kalmar to prepare an attack but not to move until I join you, all right?
TARAK: Right.
DOCTOR: Good. Come on, let's go.
ROMANA: We've forgotten about Adric. He's still a prisoner somewhere. We've got to find him.
DOCTOR: Adric? Ad-? Where can we start?
TARAK: Well, there is an inner sanctum. It's where nobody's allowed but the three.
DOCTOR: If that thing down there's what I think it is and if it escaped into our universe, billions of lives would be lost. Could you take me there?
TARAK: Of course, Doctor.
DOCTOR: Come on. No, no. Romana, you take the TARDIS, and I'll take the inner sanctum.
ROMANA: No, you take the TARDIS. I'll take the inner sanctum.
DOCTOR: Good.
(The DOCTOR leaves.)
ROMANA: Inner sanctum, please.
TARAK: Certainly.

[INT. TARDIS console room]

(The DOCTOR makes it through the woods without incident and enters the TARDIS.)
K9: Master, the young humanoid Adric-.
DOCTOR: Yes, I know, I know. What do you mean, letting stowaways aboard the TARDIS? It isn't a number 9 bus, you know.
K9: Culpability factor zero, Master.
DOCTOR: Yes, well, never mind about that. We've got work to do.
K9: Please specify task, Master.
DOCTOR: I want you to help me tap the memory core of the TARDIS. Now, the information I want will be on the earliest section of the data core. It's called the Record of Rassilon, and it's to do with-
(He strokes the place where the bat bit him.)
K9: Master?
DOCTOR: Vampires.

[INT. Corridor of the tower]

TARAK: That's the entrance to the inner sanctum. It's always guarded.
ROMANA: Time for the old prisoner trick, wouldn't you say?
(She raises her arms.)
TARAK: Come on! Come on!
(Holding a knife, he marches her to the door.)
TARAK: Lord Zargo wishes to see the prisoner.
GUARD: Zargo sleeps. It's forbidden to disturb him.
TARAK: I have my orders.
GUARD: And I have mine. No-one must pass this door.
TARAK: I will take full responsibility. The code key, please.
(The GUARD hands it to TARAK, who places it in the reader upside down. The reader beeps.)
ROMANA: No, not like that.
(She inserts it correctly. The door opens.)
GUARD: Just a minute. Who are you?
ROMANA: Do you know the Lady Camilla?
GUARD: Of course.
ROMANA: I just happen to be her blood group separator.
GUARD: What? Hey-
(TARAK knocks him unconscious.)
TARAK: Okay?
ROMANA: Well done.

[INT. Chambers]

TARAK: This way. We have to move quietly.
ROMANA: Ssssh. Let's hope they're sleeping.
TARAK: Let's hope they don't wake up. I've heard that when they wake, they wake hungry.

[INT. TARDIS console room]

(Several leads connect K9 to the console.)
DOCTOR: Well?
K9: Nothing.
DOCTOR: (after flipping more switches) Well?
K9: Nothing.
DOCTOR: Nothing? What do you mean 'nothing'?
K9: Nothing, Master. There is no mention of the Record of Rassilon.
DOCTOR: Have you tried 'Rassilon, Record of?'
K9: Access attempted under all permutations.
DOCTOR: Vampires.
K9: Information on vampires totally absent from TARDIS databanks.
DOCTOR: Okay, try your folklore section.
K9: My folklore section contains vampire lore from seventeen inhabited planets. I will begin with Earth, the legend of Count Dracula.
DOCTOR: No, thank you. Not Dracula. Emergency instructions.
K9: There are eighteen thousand three hundred and forty-eight emergency instructions. I will now list them in code order. One-
DOCTOR: No, no, no, thank you. No, thank you.
K9: There is a magnetic card system on this vehicle, Master.
DOCTOR: Well, why didn't you say? Of course!
(The DOCTOR heads into an inner area of the TARDIS.)

[INT. Chambers]

(ZARGO and CAMILLA are sleeping, with their arms crossed across their chests.)
TARAK: We could destroy them now, while they're sleeping.
ROMANA: They can only be destroyed with a wooden stake.
TARAK: There's this. (He holds out his knife.)
ROMANA: It's not a wooden stake, Tarak. We're supposed to be looking for Adric, remember?
(She pulls back a curtain. Behind it lies ADRIC, dressed in the manner of the three rulers.)
TARAK: Your friend?
ROMANA: I'm just wondering if we've found him in time.

[INT. TARDIS console room]

(The DOCTOR wheels a book-cart sort of affair in from deeper inside the ship.)
DOCTOR: The Record of Rassilon.
(A punched card falls off the trolley. He feeds it into a slot in the console.)
DOCTOR: Oh, good. The Record of Rassilon.
(Paper tape emerges from the console.)
DOCTOR: Got it! Vampire army. Phew, listen to this, K9. 'So powerful were the bodies of these great creatures, and so fiercely did they cling to life, that they were impossible to kill, save by the use of bow ships.' Bow ships? What are bow ships?
K9: Bow ships - unknown.
DOCTOR: Never mind. 'Yet slain they all were, and to the last one, by the Lords of Time, the Lords of Time destroying them utterly.' Well, that's good news. 'However, when the bodies were counted' (gasps) I knew it. Just like the legend said. 'When the bodies were counted, the king vampire, mightiest and most malevolent of all, had vanished, even to his shadow, from time and space.' Until now.
K9: Continue, Master.
DOCTOR: 'Hence it is the directive of Rassilon that any Time Lord who comes upon this enemy of our people and of all living things shall use all his efforts to destroy him, even at the cost of his own life.'
K9: Query. How may this creature be destroyed?
DOCTOR: What? That's a good question. Let's see what it says about battle.
(He goes through more cards.)
DOCTOR: Cattle, rattle, battle.
DOCTOR: (pulling out another printout) Got it. 'Energy weapons were useless, because the monsters absorbed and transmuted the energy, using it to become stronger. Therefore, Rassilon ordered the construction of bow ships.' Ah. 'Swift vessels that fired a mighty bold of steel that transfixed the monsters through the heart. For only if his heart be utterly destroyed will a vampire die.'
K9: Query.
DOCTOR: What? What is it?
K9: Is this data of practical value, Master?
DOCTOR: Well, it might come in useful, if we can only lay our hands on a mighty bolt of steel.

[INT. Chambers]

ROMANA: Surely not so soon. The mutation must take some time.
(ADRIC's eyes open. ROMANA gasps.)
TARAK: Maybe he's still under hypnosis?
ROMANA: Adric, wake up.
(As she shakes him, it is ZARGO who wakes.)
ROMANA: Wake up!
(This time, CAMILLA's eyes open. ADRIC just groans sleepily.)
ROMANA: I'm trying to rescue you. Come on.
ADRIC: It's like a kind of dream. Someone was whispering to me about power and eternal life.
(ZARGO and CAMILLA sit up.)
ADRIC: They're going to initiate me at some big ceremony, tonight.
ROMANA: Come on, Adric. We've got to get out of here.
ZARGO: I think not.
TARAK: Look out!
(He charges at CAMILLA, who twists his arm behind his back. He drops the knife. She throws him at ZARGO, who lifts him into the air by the front of his tunic.)
TARAK: No! No! No!
(ZARGO throws him down onto their bed, which is made of stone. When TARAK rolls onto the floor, ZARGO and CAMILLA approach him.)
CAMILLA: You killed him. The blood of the dead is stale and flat. I must feed on the living.
ZARGO: We still have these.
(As ZARGO and CAMILLA turn, ADRIC throws the dropped knife at ZARGO. It hits his shoulder. CAMILLA keeps moving, and ROMANA backs away, toward ZARGO. He grabs her and turns her toward him. He then pulls the knife out of his shoulder and throws it down. We see that the blade is clean.)

The above notes, transcription, etc. by Anna Shefl

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