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The Trial
of a Time Lord
by Pip and Jane Baker
Part Ten
Melanie notes the sign forbidding all but low spectrum light, and she
asks why this is.
Edwardes tells her its somthing to do with photosynthesis, and as he
uses his palm print to open the door, he goes on to say that low
spectrum light allows the plants to stay dormant.
The door slides open, and he turns and tells her he'll go first to
make sure she doesn't break her neck.
He turns and goes inside, reaching up to touch a wire mesh around one
of the pods. He says the words, "At least until. . . . "
Electric sparks shoot from his hand, and Edwardes cries in the pain of
electrocution. His entire body glows with a white aura, and Melanie
lets out a scream that could make milk curdle.
Explosions fire off in a series across the ceiling of the entire hydroponic
center, and electricity sparks fly around like the place were a giant
Jacob's ladder.
Inside one of the large, green vegetable pods, something stirs, and a hole
opens up in the shuck. A flower-like green bud starts pushing its way out
of the pod.
Melanie screams in mortal terror. . . . . . . .
Another bud grows out of another pod, and something like a red shoot extends
and contracts out of the bud.
Melanie screams again, turns, and runs.
Mel runs out of the hydroponic center at a lightning pace and straight into
two guards, one of whom is the one who apprehended Mel and the Doctor in the
hold in the first place.
This guard, who appears to be the senior, asks Mel what's going on down here.
Mel points back at the still sparking hydroponic center and blurts out that
Edwardes is dead back there.
The second guard immediately runs to the center, and Mel begins to explain
to the first guard how Edwardes dies. The guard tells her to save her
explanations for the Commodore.
The second guard looks up from where is kneeling beside Edwarde's body, and
he shouts that Mr. Edwardes is indeed dead.
The first guard tells the second to stay with him while he gets help. He
grabs Melanie by the shoulders and tells her to move. He drags her out of
the cargo hold.
...something shakes off a green covering, and light greets its eyes...
...its green-edged field-of-vision sees two people, the dead Edwardes and
the living guard kneeling over his body...
...it moves closer to the guard, very slowly, as though it were sneaking
up on him...
...it sees the guard turn and gape in fear...
...it makes a high-pitched whirring sound that terminates abruptly with
something like a near-silent shot...
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"Another death, Doctor?" criticizes the Valeyard. The evidence stops playing
on the Matrix screen as he goes on to point out that were it not for chance
the victim would've been his companion, Mel.
"Your culpability is beyond question!"
The Inquisitor reminds the Doctor that he could have prevented Melanie from
going into the cargo hold, but instead he had appeared to encourage her to.
The Doctor tells them again that when he viewed the Matrix earlier, that is
not what happened.
"More futile grasping at straws?" sneers the Valeyard. "When the facts turn
against you, cry 'Fraud.'"
The Inquisitor looks at the Doctor thoughtfully and asks him if he wishes
to reconsider.
The Doctor answers that he does not want to. "I am being manipulated, but
the only way to discover why, and by whom, is to press on."
The members of the Court turn back to look at the Matrix screen as the Doctor
turns and presses his controls to reactivate the playback, or perhaps in this
case, playforward.
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Defence Interface One "Terror of the Vervoids"
Continued
The Hyperion III continues on its cruise through space. . .
There is the sound of crashing crockery behind the door marked "ISOLATION ROOM."
The guard turns and looks surprised, and is even more surprised when Doland,
wearing a surgical mask and gown, comes out of the door carrying a tray
of what was plates of food. It is now a tray of violently smashed plates
and scrambled food.
Doland hands the ruins of the meal to the guard, telling him it was only an
accident, no cause for concern, and that the stewardess will take care of it.
Doland leaves and the guard looks in wonder at the door of the room.
The Doctor morosely winds a watch-like device, leaning against the treadmill
in the gymnasium.
Professor Lasky enters the gymnasium by the main doors and looks at the
Doctor. She picks up a watch-like device from a rack of similar devices
and approaches the Doctor.
She asks him why he isn't wearing a pulseometer, as the heart should be
monitored during exercise.
The Doctor asks her which heart she would suggest. He looks at the device
briefly and tells her that this doesn't register a double pulse.
Lasky buckles the pulseometer to her wrist and asks if he is some kind of
comedian.
"No," answers the Doctor, "More a sort of clown, actually. Would you care to
hear my rendering of 'On With the Motley'?"
Lasky looks at him with a trace of disdain and turns to begin her exercise
routine.
The Doctor's attention is called for suddenly by Mr. Rudge, standing at the
door with two guards as an escort. Rudge tells the Doctor that he is
wanted on the bridge.
The Doctor is pleased by this, saying he will enjoy a chat with the Commodore.
Rudge tries to give an impression of threat but only partially succeeds,
saying that enjoyment will not be on the agenda.
Rudge and the guards lead the Doctor out of the gymnasium. Lasky is now
pedalling furiously on an exercise bike and only in passing notes their
departure.
Melanie stands on the bridge and is protesting that she doesn't need anyone
to speak up for her as she is quite capable of defending herself.
Rudge and the Doctor enter the bridge, with the guards.
The Commodore asks the Doctor how long he has known Melanie. The Doctor
answers that time is a comparitive concept, so he can't really answer.
Mel winces and tells the Doctor to just answer the question.
The Commodore advises the Doctor to drop the sophestry, and asks if he
can vouch for Melanie.
The Doctor answers that he can do so absolutely and then asks Mel what all
this is about.
She tells him of Edwardes' death and their belief that she killed him.
Rudge tells him that she was caught running from the scene, and that she
can't deny that. Mel answers that she hasn't tried to.
She explains that she had persuaded Edwardes to show her the hydroponic
center, and that the center was boobytrapped.
As the Doctor asks about this, Rudge's communicator device beeps. He puts
the rod-like device to his mouth and speaks to the caller.
Melanie explains further that if it hadn't been for Edwardes, it would have
been her that was killed.
Rudge is quizzing his caller on the certainty of his information, and the
Commodore asks what's going on. Rudge tells him that the medical team
can't find Edwardes anywhere down in the hold.
Melanie protests that he has to be there.
The Doctor suggests that he perhaps wasn't dead, that the weird atmosphere
down there could have led to "phantasmagoria."
Melanie is skeptical about this, and asks if the Doctor thinks she's
really prone to that sort of imagination. He shakes his hand doubtfully.
The Commodore asks the lead guard about the man he left down there.
The guard answers that he did indeed leave someone there.
The Commodore asks Rudge about him, and Rudge answers that the team can't
find any trace of him either.
Melanie wonders at this, and then realizes this gets her out of trouble,
and tells everyone to accept that she didn't do any of this as this latest
bit has happened when she was in custody.
The Doctor adds that it is the perfect alibi.
The Commodore orders Rudge to begin a search to find those men.
Rudge and the guard leave to do so.
The Commodore next rounds on the Doctor. "Now, since you've put in an
appearance, first a passenger, now my Communications Officer and a guard
have gone missing, two if not all three murdered, but you standing there
in your divine state of innocence, you can't tell me what's happening,
can you?"
Mel inputs that she can. "The answer's simple enough. You've got a killer
on board."
The Doctor smiles at the Commodore and gestures towards Mel in agreement.
In the hydroponic center, a Mogarian carefully sneaks around the now empty
shucks that once were sealed pods. He bends over and picks up a wet, green
leaf from the base of one of the pods.
He hears a sound in a nearby vent, like low voices speaking, and puts his
head to the vent to listen better.
The Doctor and Melanie walk down a cramped corridor and squeeze around the
guard to the isolation room.
They turn a corner and the Doctor stops. Melanie tells him in a low voice
that he can't simply play a passive role, as they were sent for.
The Doctor looks back the way they came and tells Mel he's cogitating about
whether that guard's job is to keep unwanted visitors out or. . .
"Keep someone else in?" completes Mel.
Bruchner and Doland enter the hold side by side. Doland is doing his best
to ingore Bruchner by reading from a large text as he walks.
Bruchner is telling Doland that no matter how he and Professor Lasky
rationalize their situation, they should never have proceeded to the point
they've reached.
Doland looks up at Bruchner and tells him he can't understand how he ever
became a scientist, as he has the temperment of an overcautious rabbit.
The two reach the hydroponic center and stand agape at the sight before
them.
Doland asks Bruchner if he left the gates open, because they are.
Bruchner runs in near-panic through the open gates, with Doland following
at a clamer pace.
Bruchner runs around all the shucks and tells Doland that every one of
them has been opened.
Doland has a distant look in his eyes as he quietly says that some fool
must have introduced high-intensity light into the center.
Bruchner looks at him in disbelief. "We're confronted with a catastrophe,
and _that's_ your reaction? Don't you realize what's been unleashed?"
The guard at the isolation room door gives the plate of wrecked meal to
Janet. She looks at in disbelief.
Rudge happens to pass by and see the plate. "Not again," he says in surprise,
and Janet asks him what's going on in the isolation room.
"Don't ask me," answers Rudge, "I'm only the Security Officer."
Janet and Rudge head off in different directions.
Professor Lasky is seated in the lounge and engrossed in a large book.
Melanie and the Doctor enter via the entrance directly behind Lasky.
They stop at the door, and Melanie asks the Doctor where the seeds are
that he picked up in cabin 6. The Doctor produces them but won't
give them to Melanie, holding them above where she can reach, and he asks
what she wants them for.
Melanie explains that Lasky is an agronomist, and she wants to ask her about
them.
The Doctor looks across the room and decides to do the asking himself.
"This is a situation that requires tact and finesse. Fortunately, I am
blessed with both."
The Doctor leads the way down the short steps to where Lasky is sitting.
He calls to her, and she looks up from her book. "Oh, its you, the comedian,"
she says in recognition.
The Doctor explains that he knows she is an agronomist.
"A thremmatologist, to be precise," clarifies Lasky.
The Doctor looks even more pleased, and he produces the silver seeds he
found in the cabin, saying she's well qualified to tell him about these.
Lasky looks in his hand and abruptly gets to her feet. She calls for
the stewardess.
Janet crosses over from the side of the lounge and asks if there is something
wrong. Lasky tells her to fetch the Security Officer, and accuses the
Doctor of being a thief.
"Now what have you landed us in?" asks Melanie.
The Mogarian hidden in the hydroponic center shifts off his knees now that
Bruchner and Doland have entered the shed on the side of the center.
Bruchner turns suddenly and looks out the door, saying, "What was that?"
Doland looks at him and critically tells him to pull himself together.
Bruchner nervously runs out of the center, saying there's someone in the
hold. He goes to the gate from the center and looks out.
Doland joins him and tells him that he's allowing hysteria to . . .
Bruchner interrupts and insists furiously that he knows what he saw.
He advances slowly into the hold and peers around. Doland follows and
looks a little as well.
Behind a shelf of cargo, the Mogarian sneaks a little further towards the
exit.
Professor Lasky is now smiling and saying that Melanie's explanation has
put an entirely different complection on the matter. She adds it was a
pity her friend the comedian wasn't as lucid.
The Doctor begins to explain that he never had a chance when Lasky
interrupts and says she can't understant why the seeds were in cabin 6 or
why a mineralogist would steal them.
Melanie asks if they are special, and the Doctor begins to say he was
going to ask the same thign when Lasky interrupts and says they are and
that they represent a colossal leap. Along the way she calls them
Demeter seeds.
Melanie asks about the name, and the Doctor begins to explain the name
when Lasky interrupts and calls them "food of the gods," and goes on to
say that her highly-strung assistant, Bruchner, christened them.
Rudge enters the lounge and looks at the conversing people.
The Doctor begins to note that this still doesn't explain something, when
Lasky interrupts and says that Bruchner wasn't just being pretentious
as the Demeter seeds will increase potential yields threefold, and what's
more, they will grow in desert sands.
Rudge interrupts, and Lasky looks at him. "What is it, man? Don't stand
there hovering!"
The Doctor exasperatedly tells her she sent for him.
Lasky seems to remember this and tells Rudge not to worry.
Rudge answers that he does worry, especially when someone accuses someone
else of being a thief.
Lasky looks at the Doctor, and tells Rudge that while the Doctor may be a
fool, he isn't a criminal.
The Doctor huffs to himself, pops one of the Demeter seeds into the air,
and swallows it in his mouth.
The Commodore and his Duty Officer are seated at their stations on the
bridge. The Commodore tells the Duty Officer to project their course
through the sector ahead.
The Duty Officer operates some controls and a square-shaped yellow
crosshair graphic is overlaid on the main screen's view of the space ahead.
At the moment, it is centered on a position in the left half of the screen.
The Commodore tells the Duty Officer to put them onto a straighter course
and reduce the diversion to a point nought three safety margin.
The graphic moves into the right side of the screen. The Officer replies
this will bring their ETA forward by 72 hours.
The Commodore says that means they're 72 hours closer to getting expert
investigators on board. He tells the Duty Officer to carry on, then
gets to his feet and departs the bridge.
The Hyperion III begins to turn onto its new course.
Two Mogarians, one with a red-colored translator device and the other
with a green device, sit opposite each other in the lounge and are playing a
holographic video game across a table that looks like a version of
"Space Invaders." One of the Mogarians reaches victory over the other,
and the hologram dissolves. The two bow to each other.
Janet offers a tray of snacks to the lounging Doctor and Melanie. The
Doctor begins to take one until Melanie slaps his wrist. He smiles
and decides not to eat it after all.
Janet next offers the elderly man some of the snacks. He says "no,
thank you" and begins to stand.
As he descends the small steps, he stumbles as the entire ship shakes for
about a second. He is caught and steadied by the Commodore, who has just
entered.
The Commodore addresses the entire lounge population, which currently
includes every passenger on the ship, and tells everyone there is no
cause for concern as the shaking was due to a navigational adjustment
that doesn't even require his presence on the bridge.
He adds for their information that the course change has brought their
landfall forward by 72 hours.
The two Mogarians stand from their seats and cross the room to address
the Commodore. The one with the red translator begins to speak, but he
has forgotten to switch the translator on, and therefore all anyone hears
is a garble of slurred speech.
The Commodore reminds the Mogarian to switch on his translator, and the
Mogarian does so. It lights up with a green light, and he then asks if
they are approaching the sector with the Black Hole of Tartarus.
The Commodore says he is correct. The Mogarian notes that if they are
saving time, then they must be going closer the the black hole.
The Commodore insists that there's no danger, as the safety margin is
more than adequate.
A third Mogarian with a yellow translator joins his fellows as the one
with the green device switches his on (which lights up red) and tells
the Commodore, "That is hardly a denial."
"Simply a bromide," adds the third Mogarian.
The Doctor is watching the conversation as the Commodore says that all
the Mogarians sought was reassurance, and he's just given it.
The "green" Mogarian lets the Commodore know that the word "reassurance"
bears sinister undertones for Mogarians, as it was the word Earthlings
first used when they first persuaded them to let them sink mines on Mogar.
The "red" Mogarian adds that a "limited concession" was all the Earthlings
required, but they are now stripping their planet bare.
The "yellow" Mogarian adds that "truth is a stranger to the Earthlings."
The Commodore excuses himself from the conversation, saying that politics
do not come into his realm of influence.
"Then they should," suggests the Doctor from his seat.
As the Commodore leaves the lounge, the three Mogarians turn to the Doctor
and ask who he is. "Another prospector?"
"Only of knowledge," answers the Doctor. He adds that he has visited their
planet, and that it is very rich in natural resources.
The "green" Mogarian says those resources will soon be exhausted if the
Earthlings are not restrained. "They are going through the galaxy like
a plague of interplanetary locusts."
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The Valeyard interrupts the evidence and asks if they really have to be
subjected to a discussion of interplanetary politics.
The Doctor gets to his feet and shouts, "Is that all you think it was?"
The Valeyard says it was only about mining rights between Earth and Mogar.
The Doctor tells the Valeyard that he is so pathetically intent on
incriminating him, he hasn't been watching what's going on.
"My eyes never left the screen," insists the Valeyard.
The Doctor hopes aloud that the Valeyard is never selected to defend him in
a court.
"An occasion which will not arise, Doctor," promises the Valeyard. "Your
lives are forfeit, as I've ably proven."
The Doctor tells the Court that something vital just happened in that
scene, but that the Valeyard perversely switched their attention to more
trivial matters.
"Then for pity's sake," says the Valeyard quickly, "tell us what it was
that happened and enjoy your moment of triumph."
"Triumph?" asks the Doctor soberly, "Oh, there's no cause for celebration.
One of the occupants of that lounge is about to die."
"Another murder?" asks the Valeyard.
"Yes," answers the Doctor, "And if you had been watching, you would know
who was the intended victim."
The Inquisitor interrupts. "Gentlemen, is this case to be resolved with
a battle of words or conducted via the Matrix?" She and the other members
of the Court turn towards the Matrix screen as the Doctor reactivates.
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Defence Interface One "Terror of the Vervoids"
Continued
Janet carries a green drink to the "yellow" Mogarian and offers it to him.
He accepts it and attaches a straw to his face-plate so that he can drink
the drink.
The Commodore and Rudge regard all of the passengers from the observation
gallery above the lounge.
The Commodore asks quietly if Rudge has drawn a blank where Edwardes is
concerned, and Rudge admits that he has. He asks if they should search
the passenger cabins.
The Commodore says the passengers are uneasy as it is, and that he'd
rather they didn't know they were trapped with a killer on the loose.
Below, Professor Lasky closes her book, stands, and ascends the steps
to talk with Bruchner and Doland in the corner of the room.
The Doctor looks at Melanie, who is being very silent.
He notes this, and tells her its not her style to go into a brown study.
"Brown study?" asks Melanie. "Is the vocabulary of all the Time Lords
so antediluvian?"
Suddenly the "yellow" Mogarian leaps to his feet, coughing and choking
and grasping at his throat. He stumbles and then collapses down the
stairs.
The Doctor is first to the man's aid, while everyone else crowds around.
The Doctor begins to try to get the Mogarian's face plate off, and the
Commodore stops him physically and asks if he's trying to kill him.
"No!" cries the Doctor desperately. "I'm trying to save him!"
The "red" Mogarian turns on his translator and tells the Doctor the
other Mogarian will die if he removes his helmet.
Rudge adds that Mogarians cannot breathe oxygen, and the Doctor should
surely be aware of that.
"He's not a Mogarian!" shouts the Doctor to everyone's surprise.
Melanie and the Commodore ask who he is in this case, and the Doctor
struggles free of the Commodore's grasp and removes the plate to reveal
a very human face behind it, which is also now quite dead.
Janet recognizes him as Mr. Grenville. Rudge does as well, saying he was
the passenger from cabin 6. The Commodore adds that he is supposed to have
been dumped in the pulverizer.
The Doctor recognizes the man as well, and says his name isn't Grenville,
but rather Hallet.
The Commodore feels for a pulse on his neck and doesn't find one. He
turns and pulls out his communicator rod. He calls the bridge and orders
that a stretcher party be brought to the lounge.
The Duty Officer leans over the console and tells the Commodore that
he'll organize that immediately.
The Commodore leaves Rudge in charge of the scene and departs the lounge.
The old man looks in at the dead man as everyone else does, and says that
he knew his name was Hallet. He asks Janet if she remembers that, and
she shakes her head no.
The Doctor asks about this, and Rudge clearly does recall the incident,
saying that the man denied being Hallet and insisted his name was Grenville.
The Doctor says that this is what he would do.
Melanie asks why he stages his own death in the pulverizer.
The Doctor says that this gentleman (the old man) has just given them the
answer. Hallet had been sent to investigate somebody or something on
board the ship, and that he had the bad fortune to be recognized. It
was a chance encounter that put the entire mission in jeopardy.
Rudge asks, "Are you saying that we had an undercover agent on board, and
I wasn't informed?"
The Doctor reacts surprised that Rudge finds this surprising, and he tells
him its because he may have been a suspect together with everyone else on
board.
Rudge asks if this is guesswork, or if the Doctor has any other tricks up
his sleeve.
The Doctor says these aren't tricks. He knew Hallet, and admired him,
but he assures him that until he removed the faceplate, he didn't know
he was on board.
Rudge says this is all nice and lily white, but it leaves one nasty little
problem. "How did you know the dead man wasn't a Mogarian?"
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"Yes, how did you know?" demands the Valeyard. "Have you been editing the
Matrix, and denying the Court all the evidence to which it is entitled?"
The Inquisitor adds that this would be a very serious offence.
"At the risk of appearing impertinent, _sagacity_," soothes the Doctor,
"I would point out that you, the Valeyard, and everyone here present coud
have acquired the same knowledge."
The Inquisitor asks to hear the Doctor's explanation.
"With respect," says the Doctor, "You will not hear it from me."
He turns to his control pad and activates the Matrix. It replays an
earlier section, and everyone turns to look.
On the screen, the two Mogarians stand from their seats and cross the room to
address the Commodore. The one with the red translator begins to speak, but he
has forgotten to switch the translator on, and therefore all anyone hears
is a garble of slurred speech.
The Commodore reminds the Mogarian to switch on his translator, and the
Mogarian does so. It lights up with a green light, and he then asks if
they are approaching the sector with the Black Hole of Tartarus.
The Doctor fast forwards the playback a little.
The Commodore insists that there's no danger, as the safety margin is
more than adequate.
A third Mogarian with a yellow translator joins his fellows as the one
with the green device switches his on (which lights up red) and tells
the Commodore, "That is hardly a denial."
"Simply a bromide," adds the third Mogarian.
The Doctor switches the playback off and the Court turns back to listen to
him.
"As you saw," says the Doctor proudly, with his eyes on the Valeyard,
"The _bogus_ Mogarian did not switch on his translator!"
"Very astute of you, Doctor," smiles the Valeyard sarcastically. "But
don't stop there. Let us assume the murdered man was responsible for
the Mayday call. Perhaps you will now direct your deductive gifts towards
justifying his extraordinary behavior."
The Inquisitor adds that Hallet's methods were very unorthodox.
The Doctor agrees, and goes on to say that the Valeyard has just put his
finger on the nub of his defence. "The reason why I could no longer stay
on the sidelines!"
He turns to the Matrix controls and resumes the play of the story.
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Defence Interface One "Terror of the Vervoids"
Continued
Mel and the Doctor look down on the nervous passengers in the lounge from
the observation gallery. As stars pass by slowly behind them, Mel notes
that anyone down there could've poisoned Hallet's drink.
"Providing us with a plethora of suspects," adds the Doctor.
Mel notes his use of the word "us" and asks if this means he's committed
at last.
The Doctor sighs and turns to lean against a railing. Melanie asks if
this commitment is due to Hallet's death and the fact the Doctor admired him.
The Doctor says that Hallet was one of a rare breed, a maverick, and that
even the highly organized society of the thirtieth century has need of his
kind. "He'll be missed."
He pulls the silver Demeter seeds from his pocket and tells Melanie that
Hallet left these seeds for him to find.
"To lead you to where I've been telling you all along," completes Mel,
"The hydroponic center."
The Doctor takes Mel by the shoulder and leads her along the deck, having
reached a decision apparantly to go there.
A gold-colored metal grating along a corridor wall shakes with a vibration
and rattles like something were behind it.
The grating is close to the guard at the isolation room, and he steps over
to investigate. Before he reaches it, Bruchner suddenly turns down the
corridor and catches him away from his post. Bruchner rebukes him severely
and insists that the room be guarded at all times, and that if the guard
leaves his post again, he will report the incident to the Commodore.
The guard steps back to the door and nervously watches the very nervous
Bruchner storm down the corridor.
The Doctor and Melanie enter the hold by the usual entrance opposite
the hydroponic center, and Mel notes that it must have been Hallet that
sent the Mayday call.
The Doctor agrees, saying that Hallet wanted him here as a catalyst and
also to divert attention away from his own activities.
Mel notes that the Doctor would do that without being asked.
The Doctor and Mel stop walking, as he considers that Hallet, while being
an unorthodox man, was also a subtle man, and he therefore doesn't
understand why he resorted to such "blunderbuss tactics. Why use me as
a Judas goat?"
Mel notes that Hallet was running out of time, and that the Mayday message
said as much. She repeats it back perfectly to the Doctor, and guesses
that the incomplete word in the message was "imperative," and then asks
if he agrees.
The Doctor sets off for the center again, saying he's always envied Mel's
extraordinary ability for almost total recall.
Mel notices that the Doctor is undergoing a change, since he just complemented
her.
The Doctor suggests he could have been comparing Mel to an elephant, as
figuratively speaking they never forget.
They reach the door to the center, and Mel looks down and quietly tells
the Doctor she realizes he's trying to take her mind off of Edwardes.
The Doctor looks into her eyes and asks if she would rather wait here. She
shakes her head no, a little nervously, and then the two of them enter
the center.
The Doctor reaches into his pocket and pulls out a single green leaf.
Mel asks what he's got there, and the Doctor says its a bit of leaf he
got from Hallet's pocket.
Mel notes that she didn't see the Doctor take it, and he tells her no one
else did either, as it was another one of his little tricks.
He demonstrates by taking the leaf in his left hand and moving his sleeve
such that the leaf winds up hidden up his sleeve.
Mel laughs. The Doctor laughs. He then produces the leaf from his right
sleeve. He then kneels down and looks at the open pods, comparing the leaf
with the material they seem to be made of.
He asks Mel what she makes of the pods, and Mel answers she's not into
agronomy, therefore he'll have to ask the Professor.
The Doctor reminds Mel that the Professor said she was a thremmatologist.
He has to define the word for her. "The science of breeding or propagating
animals or plants under domestication."
Mel says she's not much wiser, and the Doctor encourages her to use her
good brain to think about it.
He examines the pod further, then stands and manages to stand himself
completely inside one of the pods. He wonders quietly what came out of
the pod.
...something moves down what appears to be a service tunnel...
...the something has a point-of-view with a green colored edge...
Bruchner stands accusing of Lasky and Doland in the gymnasium. Neither
will look him in the eye as he tells them to end their charade.
"This pathetic pretense at normality! Can't you realize we're on the
brink of disaster?"
Doland finally looks at him and testily tells him to stop panicking.
He insists their work must remain secret whatever the cost.
Bruchner accuses Doland of being completely without conscience, and then
rounds on the Professor, saying he's surprised she hasn't grasped the
enormity of their folly.
Doland says that Bruchner is suggesting jeopardizing years of research
for the sake of a hypothetical danger.
Lasky seizes on this, telling Bruchner that they have no reason to believe
that the results of their experiments are nothing other than benign.
"Benign?" demands Bruchner in disbelief. "Have you been in the isolation
room lately?"
Lasky says this was an unfortunate mishap that has no relevance to the
situation they're in now. She calls it academic.
Bruchner says he lacks the Professor's lofty detachment.
Lasky accuses him of also lacking loyalty to his colleagues. She reminds
him that before they left Mogar they all agreed that their discovery
would be divulged to no one until they reached Earth. She adds that
unless he has concrete evidence to prove there is danger, she expects
him to keep his word.
"You simply don't understand, do you?" he asks desperately. "The crime
we're committing in the name of science will make us infamous!"
...something with a green-tinted field of vision watches from a vent near
the top of the room as Bruchner adds "That's assuming there's anyone left
to pass judgement."
Janet passes the elderly gentleman in the corridor. He has stopped before
a cabin door, and from the conversation, it is clear that this one is his.
Janet calls him Mister Kimber, and asks if he's decided to get some rest.
He tells her he has, but he doubts that he'll sleep, as at his age one
doesn't like to be reminded of mortality.
Janet asks if she can fetch him a warm drink as that might help.
Kimber thanks her and says that's very gracious.
She goes to get a drink while he enters his cabin.
...something with fuzzy green vision watches from behind a door as Kimber
enters his room...
...it watches as Kimber takes off his watch...
...it sees Kimber open the door it hides behind...
...it sees Kimber see him, and Kimber's eyes open wide...
...it fires a red shoot at Kimber's neck, and with a quick popping sound,
a single red thorn is injected into the man's neck...
...it watches Kimber cry out in pain and slump to the floor...
Janet carries a tray of cups and a teapot to Mr. Kimber's cabin door. She
knocks and says it is the stewardess.
There is no answer, so she opens the door and goes inside.
She doesn't see him, so she knocks on the door to the bathroom.
She calls inside and tells him she's brought him a warm drink.
...something with arms that seem to be made of leaves reaches for the faucet
of the shower...
...hands that seem to be solid leaves turn the knob, and water begins to pour...
...it hears Janet outside ask if she should leave the drink on the dressing
table...
Janet shrugs and leaves the tray on the dressing table.
Janet comes out of Kimber's cabin and walks down the corridor, passing the
isolation room and the guard.
The guard moves from his position a little to allow Professor Lasky to
get past him as she comes out of the isolation room wearing a surgical mask.
As she removes it, the Doctor and Melanie squeeze past, with the Doctor
looking back at her quizically as she walks in the opposite direction.
He asks Melanie quietly what a thremmatologist has been doing in an
isolation room wearing a surgical mask.
Melanie tells him that as there's only one way to find out, the Doctor has
two problems.
"Two?" asks the Doctor.
Mel tells him that apart from getting rid of the guard, he's going to need
a mask, and he can hardly ask the Professor to lend him hers.
The Doctor has a "huh, piece of cake" expression on his face. He goes
towards the wall.
A rattling sound in the wall vent catches Mel's attention, and she asks
what the sound is.
The Doctor doesn't seem to hear her. He almost casually reaches towards a
fire fighting section of the wall and reaches for an axe. He pulls it
off the wall and uses the base to break the glass on an alarm.
The entire ship seems to resonate with a trill alarm sound. The guard
from the isolation room rounds the corner suddenly, and the Doctor
hands him the axe.
"Quickly!" shouts the Doctor. "The lounge! There are passengers trapped!"
The guard turns and runs down the corridor, as the Doctor shouts for him
to hurry as there are lives at stake.
The Doctor turns back to Mel and next pulls two gas masks off the fire
fighting section. He hands one to Mel, and they both head for the
isolation room.
With both wearing the black gas masks, the Doctor and Mel cautiously
enter the cramped isolation room. The room appears to be like any other
cabin except that the furniture and fittings have been removed to
accomodate a large tent on the side of the wall.
Amidst sounds of life support equipment, the Doctor and Mel bend over
to examine the black, opaque tent cover.
The Doctor and Mel exchange looks, and the Doctor leans over to pull the
cover away.
Inside is a bed, and someone is lying on it. . . .
The person appears to have once been a healthy young woman.
The right side of her face appears mostly normal, but the left is horribly
overgrown with green and orange plant material, including a giant insect-
like eye. Green veins pulse across her face, and her single human eye opens
suddenly and looks straight at Mel and the Doctor. . .
Melanie screams and the Doctor stares in shock. . .
The Doctor
COLIN BAKER
Melanie
BONNIE LANGFORD
The Valeyard The Inquisitor
MICHAEL JAYSTON LYNDA BELLINGHAM
Professor Lasky Commodore
HONOR BLACKMAN MICHAEL CRAIG
Rudge Doland Bruchner
DENYS HAWTHORNE MALCOLM TIERNEY DAVID ALISTER
Janet Enzu Kimber
YOLANDE PALFREY TONY SCOGGO ARTHUR HEWLETT
Atza Ortezo Duty Officer
SAM HOWARD LEON DAVIS MIKE MUNGARVAN
First Guard Second Guard Mutant
HUGH BEVERTON MARTIN WEEDON BARBARA WARD
Incidental Music Special Sound
MALCOLM CLARKE DICK MILLS
BBC Radiophonic Workshop
Production Manager Production Associates
IAN FRASER JUNE COLLINS
JENNY DOE
Production Assistant Assistant Floor Manager
JANE WELLESLEY KAREN LITTLE
Visual Effects Designer Video Effects
KEVIN MOLLOY DANNY POPKIN
Technical Co-ordinator Camera Supervisor
ALAN ARBUTHNOTT ALEC WHEAL
Vision Mixer Videotape Editor
SHIRLEY COWARD HUGH PARSON
Lighting Director Sound
DON BABBAGE BRIAN CLARK
Costume Designer Make-Up Designer
ANDREW ROSE SHAUNNA HARRISON
Desinger
DINAH WALKER
Producer
JOHN NATHAN-TURNER
Director
CHRIS CLOUGH
(C) BBC MCMLXXXVI
First transmitted on 8 November, 1986.
This synopsis by Steven K. Manfred
Synopsis copyright July 31, 1994.
Permission is given to all to copy this synopsis as long as it is not for
reasons of profit.
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