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DOCTOR WHO
THE KEEPER OF TRAKEN
Written by
Johnny Byrne
Part Four
(Overlap from 'By this act, Kassia')
[INT. Sanctum]
(NYSSA and ADRIC run through the vault.)
MELKUR: Thank you, Consul Katura. You were most wise to complete the access to the Source. I am grateful.
KATURA: Who are you?
DOCTOR: Your new Keeper.
TREMAS: This is no Keeper of Traken.
DOCTOR: Well, I know it's not exactly what you had in mind, but now I'm afraid you're rather stuck with him.
MELKUR: Consul Luvic, you may now summon Proctor Neman.
DOCTOR: (to a stupefied LUVIC) I should do it, Consul, if I were you. He'll make you.
MELKUR: There is no compulsion. It is your Keeper who asks. Do it to serve him.
DOCTOR: Huh. No compulsion? You've changed your tune.
MELKUR: Apparently you haven't, Doctor. Consuls, this man is known to me, as is his ambition.
DOCTOR: My only ambition is to stop you, Melkur.
MELKUR: An unhappy man. The old Keeper rejected him, and you consuls sentenced him to death. Is that not so?
KATURA: He speaks the truth. Do as the Keeper says, Luvic.
DOCTOR: (sotto) I want to get a closer look at that Melkur creature. I have the oddest feeling we've met somewhere before.
[EXT. Grove]
NYSSA: How could he just disappear and reappear like that?
ADRIC: That's nothing. We do it all the time in the TARDIS. Of course! Just like the TARDIS.
[INT. Sanctum]
TREMAS: And you have no right to sit in that chair. How dare you expect us to believe you were known to the old Keeper?
MELKUR: Known to him, Consul? It was he who arranged that I should succeed.
TREMAS: Impossible! No outsider can become Keeper.
KATURA: That's true. Our choice was Consul Kassia.
MELKUR: Yes, Consul. That is why it happened as you saw it happen. The old Keeper foresaw this, and Kassia gave her life so that I should serve you.
DOCTOR: If you ask me, poor old Kassia didn't have much say in the matter.
(The statue's head turns.)
[INT. Melkur]
MELKUR: You still do not recognise me, Doctor, but soon you will know me. Soon.
[INT. TARDIS console room]
NYSSA: So this is the TARDIS. But how-
ADRIC: Just a minute. (he closes the doors) We're safe now. No-one except the Doctor can get in. Or at least that's the theory.
NYSSA: How can all this be like Melkur?
ADRIC: I don't know, but the Fourier analysis we did says it is.
NYSSA: But why is it so much bigger inside than it is outside?
ADRIC: Oh, the Doctor told me that was because it was dimensionally transcendental.
NYSSA: What does that mean?
ADRIC: It means it was bigger inside than outside.
NYSSA: What are you doing?
ADRIC: Testing drives, in case we have to leave in a hurry.
NYSSA: What is it, Adric?
ADRIC: I'm getting blocking.
NYSSA: Blocking? What does that mean?
ADRIC: It means if we have to leave in a hurry, we're in very serious trouble.
[INT. Sanctum]
MELKUR: Proctor Neman, you will dismiss the consuls and have them confined to quarters. A purely temporary measure, consuls.
NEMAN: The Doctor is under sentence of death, Keeper.
MELKUR: Yes, death. I had not forgotten. I am loath to begin my regime with bloodshed, but in this case...
(The statue fades slightly and returns, several times.)
MELKUR: You are all confined to quarters. Your fate will be decided later. And Doctor, try to leave, try to gain access to the TARDIS, and you will suffer.
(The statue disappears.)
NEMAN: You are confined to Consul Tremas's quarters until further notice.
DOCTOR: He'll destroy you too, Neman, just as he destroyed Kassia.
NEMAN: Consuls, you are dismissed. Escort them to their quarters.
[INT. TARDIS console room]
(ADRIC is working on a panel of circuitry from the console.)
NYSSA: There must be something we can do.
ADRIC: There is. The Doctor showed me how this thing could be destroyed.
NYSSA: How?
ADRIC: You wouldn't like it.
NYSSA: Adric, if it stopped Melkur-
ADRIC: It would. It would, but it'd do a lot more than that.
NYSSA: What do you mean?
ADRIC: We can destroy Melkur, Nyssa, but only by completely destroying the Source.
[INT. Tremas's rooms]
TREMAS: Doctor, these chaps are ra-
DOCTOR: Ssssh.
(A FOSTER slams the door closed. The DOCTOR opens it, and the FOSTER, right outside, turns his head away.)
DOCTOR: (loudly) Looks like the second law of thermodynamics.
(They speak quietly beside Tremas's desk next to the computer area.)
DOCTOR: Talking of entropy, what happened last night in the sanctum, the statue fading and struggling, that was most unexpected.
TREMAS: It's normal, Doctor, the reaction when a new Keeper succeeds. The effort weakens him. His power comes and goes at first.
DOCTOR: A C-reaction. Melkur all sweetness and reason because he's vulnerable.
TREMAS: Yes, stalling opposition until his power's secure.
DOCTOR: Well, then, perhaps we could apply the ultimate sanction.
TREMAS: His power's increasing by the minute. The full reaction process is a matter of hours. No, what am I thinking of? We still need all five rings.
DOCTOR: What, even though we've got the master plans of the Source Manipulator?
TREMAS: You mean there may be a way to short-circuit the security system.
[INT. Sanctum]
(NEMAN stands before the Keeper's chair. He is now wearing a control collar and a consular ring.)
MELKUR: Neman, you carried out my orders?
NEMAN: Yes, Keeper. The consuls are confined to their quarters, and the residential wing is sealed off.
MELKUR: That is good, very good, because until my power is fully active, I shall depend on you.
NEMAN: You may count on me, Keeper. (He adjusts his collar.)
MELKUR: Excellent. Let us entrust you with another task. Neman, Consul Tremas has a certain document in his possession. It must be secured at once.
[INT. Tremas's rooms]
(The DOCTOR and TREMAS pore over said document.)
TREMAS: A control panel at the base of the chamber, activated by consular rings.
DOCTOR: Which in our case we have not got. What's that piece of mechan-? Oh, of course, a recursive integrator. Hmm. How are the rings encoded?
TREMAS: Uh, ah! Gamma-mode encryption.
DOCTOR: I see. Then there'll be a single large prime number at the root of it, and we don't have the integer key. What a pity you still haven't got your own ring.
TREMAS: Oh, you couldn't derive it from one ring. The computation would take thousands of years.
DOCTOR: Oh, I don't know. I know one or two shortcuts.
(Footfalls approach. The DOCTOR rolls up the master plans, which he places up his sleeve. Someone knocks on the door.)
DOCTOR: Uh, come in.
(It is NEMAN and two FOSTERS. The DOCTOR doesn't turn around.)
DOCTOR: Ah, Neman. How nice. (He waves with one hand, then turns to face him.)
NEMAN: Consul Tremas, I have orders to secure the plan of the Source Manipulator. You will please hand it over.
TREMAS: Impossible, Neman. The plans of the Source Manipulator are for the eyes of consuls only!
NEMAN: The Keeper orders it; that is enough. Do as I say.
(Weapons are produced. Then the seated statue materialises.)
DOCTOR: Dear me, he seems to be almost back on form.
MELKUR: Tremas, you will do as Proctor Neman asks.
TREMAS: I have told him, and now I am going to tell you.
(Hit by energy from the statue's eyes, TREMAS doubles over, covering his eyes.)
DOCTOR: All right, all right, Melkur. There's no need to show off your powers as Keeper. We know what you can do.
MELKUR: Only a beginning, Doctor. Persuade your friend to co-operate.
DOCTOR: Tremas, why don't you do as he asks? It's only a bit of paper, after all. You know why he wants it. He doesn't want you to show it to me.
MELKUR: Correct, Doctor.
(TREMAS goes to the wall where the safe is, and the DOCTOR holds the parchment out behind his back for TREMAS.)
DOCTOR: Afraid I might spoil your fun?
(The statue fades in and out again.)
DOCTOR: I'd watch it if I were you, Melkur. Burning the candle at both ends and all that.
(TREMAS turns from the safe and hands the plans to NEMAN.)
MELKUR: Hold it out, Neman.
(NEMAN does so, and energy from the statue's eyes cause the plans to burst into flames.)
MELKUR: Now, Doctor, we are safe. The Source is secure.
(The statue fades in and out, then disappears.)
DOCTOR: Oh, by the way, by the way, Neman. Neman, come here. (he places his arms around the men's shoulders) You chaps might be interested in this as well.
DOCTOR: Listen, do you know that expression 'Two heads are better than one', hmm?
(He hits the three men's heads together, and all three fall down.)
DOCTOR: Well, I think that one head's better than three.
(TREMAS collects the ring from NEMAN's finger.)
TREMAS: Part of the problem solved, Doctor.
DOCTOR: So far it's going magnificently. Melkur'll be out of action for a while. Let's try and make that a permanent arrangement, shall we? Come on.
[INT. TARDIS console room]
(NYSSA carefully brings ADRIC a large white ball with attachment points on the top.)
NYSSA: The servo shutoff.
(ADRIC inserts the attachment points into the panel he was working with earlier.)
ADRIC: Perfect. Now there's just the crossover element left.
[INT. Corridor]
FOSTER: Halt.
TREMAS: Consul Tremas on special mission for the Keeper.
FOSTER: Halt, or I'll fire. No-one may leave the residential quarter.
(The DOCTOR uses the ion bonder on the two FOSTERS, and he and TREMAS each drag one of them away.)
DOCTOR: Come on, through here. Come on.
(NEMAN wakes up, looks at the other two men, and rushes from Tremas's rooms. He is still unsteady on his feet.)
[INT. Outside the sanctum doors]
TREMAS: Here's the residential quarter.
DOCTOR: Yes. Ah.
TREMAS: Order of Proctor Neman. We're summoned to the Keeper.
(TREMAS uses the ring to open the door. He and the DOCTOR go inside.)
NEMAN: (appearing on the scene) Stop them!
(The doors close before the FOSTERS can react. NEMAN's shot misses as the doors close.)
NEMAN: No!
[INT. Sanctum]
DOCTOR: How much longer do we have, Tremas?
TREMAS: Can't say, but next time we see the Melkur, the reaction is almost certain to be over.
(They squat beside one of the panels along the side of the steps to the Keeper's chamber. TREMAS begins activating controls.)
DOCTOR: Not a very pleasant thought.
TREMAS: Yes.
DOCTOR: I had considered a more drastic solution.
TREMAS: You know another way to destroy Melkur?
DOCTOR: No. Just an idea that Adric and I had.
TREMAS: Progress, Doctor. You can start your code-breaking now.
[INT. TARDIS console room]
NYSSA: Finished?
ADRIC: Yes. Now all we have to do is connect it up to the manipulator circuits.
NYSSA: What will it do?
ADRIC: Nothing, until Melkur taps the energy core of the Source.
NYSSA: And?
ADRIC: Oh, all sorts of things. Time and energy will be displaced, energy will overflow, overload the control element.
NYSSA: And Melkur?
ADRIC: The Source will consume itself and whoever controls it. Or at least that's the Doctor's theory.
NYSSA: Let's hope we don't have to put it to the test.
ADRIC: Yes.
[INT. Sanctum]
DOCTOR: Eight, eight, seven, one, zero. Another zero. (the statue slowly starts to materialise on the chair) That's a bad sign.
(Once the statue has almost fully materialised, there is a bang and smoke pours from the control panel.)
DOCTOR: Down, Tremas!
(We hear thunder, and winds rip through the room, sending TREMAS and the DOCTOR back toward the door.)
TREMAS: Did you key the whole number in?
DOCTOR: What?
TREMAS: Did you key the whole number in?
DOCTOR: No. Three more digits to go.
TREMAS: You nearly had the sanction programs running, a matter of moments.
DOCTOR: Ssshh. We've still got a chance. Just remember - three, three, seven.
MELKUR: Now then, Doctor. Let's have you closer, shall we?
(The wind has stopped. As if in a trance, the DOCTOR stands and mounts the steps to the Keeper's chamber.)
MELKUR: On your knees, Doctor.
(The DOCTOR obeys, and the MASTER laughs.)
[INT. Vault]
NYSSA: Adric, the Source. Melkur's active.
ADRIC: The prime circuit bank, Nyssa. Which panel?
NYSSA: I'll do it.
(She lifts a cover from a panel.)
NYSSA: You know what to do?
(From the space within the machinery, ADRIC pulls out two sets of loose wires.)
[INT. Sanctum]
MELKUR: Too late, Doctor. I am now in full control of the Source.
TREMAS: You may call yourself Keeper of Traken, but our people will never accept you.
MELKUR: A noble thought, Tremas, but not true, you know. Your people will obey, just as you will.
TREMAS: I would die first.
(As he dives toward the panel with ring in hand, he is frozen in place.)
MELKUR: Oh, that's not necessary. Now, Consul Tremas, who do you obey?
TREMAS: (as if possessed but fighting it) I obey you, Melkur.
MELKUR: Let's put it to the test, shall we?
(The doors to the sanctum open.)
MELKUR: Come in, Neman. Please hand your weapon to Consul Tremas. (he does so) Doctor, you may watch (the DOCTOR rises) but not interfere. Now, Neman, you failed in your duty to me, did you not?
NEMAN: I tried, Keeper.
MELKUR: The punishment for failure is death. Consul Tremas, you're a fair-minded man. Kindly destroy Neman, will you?
(NEMAN slowly backs away. TREMAS, still a frozen puppet, raises the weapon behind himself and shoots NEMAN.)
MELKUR: And now yourself, Tremas.
(TREMAS holds the weapon to his head. It flies from his hand, and the MASTER laughs.)
MELKUR: You see, Consul? You will accept me now that I have these powers as Keeper. You have no choice, really. None of you has.
[INT. Vault]
(NYSSA is on soldering duty.)
ADRIC: Careful.
(He turns on the device they have installed, and its globe starts to glow similarly to that of the Source Manipulator.)
ADRIC: That's it.
NYSSA: Well done, Adric. Even my father couldn't have done better.
[INT. Sanctum]
MELKUR: Yes, Tremas. You will build machines - to my design, of course. Your colleagues will mobilise the people, and I shall lead them to worlds without number, to conquest!
DOCTOR: That's a very popular delusion.
MELKUR: And, along the way, many old scores will be settled, Doctor.
DOCTOR: Old scores?
MELKUR: You still do not know me, Doctor? But none of this will matter when I control the deeper mysteries of time.
DOCTOR: All this and that too? How do you propose to manage that?
MELKUR: Through the resources of the Keepership. And through you, Doctor. The knowledge will be taken from you atom by atom, and what is left of you, the husk of your body, that will also have its uses.
(The glass doors slide open, and the DOCTOR steps inside slowly. The doors close, and both the DOCTOR and the statue wink away.
TREMAS steps forward, and then ADRIC and NYSSA enter.)
ADRIC: We've sabotaged the Source Manipulator. Where's the Doctor?
TREMAS: He's in there.
NYSSA: But it's going to blow any minute!
[INT. Melkur]
MASTER: Well, Doctor?
(The seated, cowled creature turns his chair to face the DOCTOR.)
DOCTOR: Of course - the Master.
MASTER: Welcome to my new ship.
DOCTOR: I used to know an ancient remedy for mad dogs. I must look it up some time. Good library here, have you?
MASTER: (standing) Unfortunately for you, you will not be using it. (the DOCTOR reaches for a switch, but the MASTER activates a control and freezes him) This whole domain is now keyed to my biological rhythms. If you move a muscle, you will be destroyed.
[INT. Sanctum]
ADRIC: Nyssa, the vault.
NYSSA: (holding him back) It's too late, Adric. We can't disconnect at full power. It will be catastrophe.
ADRIC: But the Doctor!
[INT. Melkur]
MASTER: You will find immobility endurable, Doctor. I speak from experience.
DOCTOR: I thought you meant to destroy me.
MASTER: That would be irrational, to waste all that acquired knowledge of the centuries. You spoke of my library, Doctor. I intend that you should become a part of it. Your mind I shall deposit there. (he places his fingers at his temples) Your body... I am now nearing the end of my twelfth regeneration.
DOCTOR: Then that is the end for a Time Lord.
MASTER: But not for the Keeper of Traken. With my new powers, anything is possible. (he giggles as he fondles the DOCTOR's hair) Yes. I shall enjoy full mobility once again.
(He reaches out to grasp the DOCTOR from behind but hears noises and runs to his control consoles.)
MASTER: The Source! Someone has tampered with the power of the Source! (He begins to scream.)
[INT. Sanctum]
ADRIC: Nyssa, the Source! It's in reverse.
(Controls in the Master's TARDIS are fried, and something catches fire near the DOCTOR. Now able to move, the DOCTOR breaks through a glass-type wall.)
NYSSA: It's useless, Father. You can't stop it.
(Winds are now blowing at fever pitch. TREMAS attempts to reach the control panel. LUVIC and KATURA make their way in. NYSSA points to the chamber, where the DOCTOR is inside the glass doors.)
DOCTOR: Adric! Three, three, seven!
(He points down toward the relevant panel. ADRIC crawls across the floor and up the bottom steps. He has almost reached the panel.)
DOCTOR: Three, three, seven!
(ADRIC enters the first two digits and is then blown back. The DOCTOR is able to exit the chamber now and keys in the final digit.
The winds cease immediately.)
DOCTOR: Why, thank you, Adric. That should cancel out your little bit of sabotage and put paid to the resident Keeper for good.
KATURA: The Source! The Source is failing.
DOCTOR: You know, I was going to mention that. I think that one of you two should step into the breach if you want to keep this quaint old custom going.
LUVIC: (in a high-pitched voice) I'll go.
(He runs up the steps and sits in the chair. The doors close once more. KATURA goes to the control panel.)
TREMAS: (re-entering the room) What happened?
DOCTOR: You just missed your chance of becoming Keeper yet again, but, confidentially, I think that you're very lucky.
TREMAS: Hmmf. We're all lucky, Doctor.
DOCTOR: Really?
TREMAS: To have met you.
DOCTOR: Ah, well, I'm afraid your luck's just run out. Adric and I have got to fly. Come on, Adric. (He leaves.)
ADRIC: We're supposed to be heading back to Gallifrey. (He waves, and the others wave back.)
TREMAS: Goodbye.
NYSSA: Goodbye.
[INT. TARDIS console room]
DOCTOR: (removing his coat) Well, she seems to be going right as ninepence now.
ADRIC: Why couldn't I start it?
DOCTOR: Ah, probably the Master up to one of his little party tricks again. Then the general run-down condition. It badly needs an overhaul.
ADRIC: Then why don't you?
DOCTOR: Well, it involves an awful lot of recalculation, and this type's not really my forte.
ADRIC: Well, you did work out the code for the Source Manipulator.
DOCTOR: Aw, guesswork mostly.
ADRIC: But it did work.
DOCTOR: Yes, it did, didn't it? Adric, wouldn't it be nice to be right about everything, eh?
[INT. Sanctum]
KATURA: Well, Tremas, the new Keeper has been inaugurated.
TREMAS: Perhaps we shall have peace again.
(We see a wooden grandfather clock next to the exit to the vault. It wasn't there before.)
NYSSA: Come on, Father. You'll be needed to put everything together again.
TREMAS: Starting with my quarters. I'll join you in a minute. There's something I want to look into.
(While NYSSA follows KATURA, TREMAS goes to the clock. He touches the face of the clock, near the hands, and he is unable to remove his hand.)
TREMAS: Help! Nyssa!
(The front of the clock case opens, and the MASTER emerges, then closes the door.)
MASTER: So, a new body, at last.
(He steps behind TREMAS and slides into the body. The new final form is a man with black hair and goatee.)
MASTER: (entering his TARDIS) A new body at last.
(The clock dematerialises as NYSSA enters the room.)
NYSSA: Father? Where are you?
The above notes, transcription, etc. by Anna Shefl
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