The Doctor pulled a lever, turned a knob, hit a button with the hammer, and flung his foot onto the console. The TARDIS hummed and shuddered, the glowing green tower in the center jumping to life, and I nearly lost my balance.
When the noise ceased, I regained my composer and looked at the Doctor. “So… Where are we?”
“Twenty-fourth century Earth,” he declared, grabbing his jacket as he ran over to the door. “London.”
“Seriously?” I asked. “What year exactly?”
“Twenty-three seventy-one.”
I walked over to the door of the TARDIS, grinning with anticipation. "Twenty-three seventy-one...?" I placed my hand on the door and the Doctor came up beside me, pulling one long arm through his jacket coat. "What are we here for? Saving the world again?"
"Ah," he said, "not this time." He opened the door and poked his head out. "It's a major scientific breakthrough, apparently."
"Oh, so you're not always saving the world." I stepped out of the TARDIS, and bumped into the Doctor. It took me a moment to realize that he was holding his arms up, and looking from side to side. "What are you doing?"
"Sorry, just so used the being cornered by the authorities as soon as I step out."
I laughed and looked around. We were standing in the middle of a long white hallway, the sound of voices filtering down from an airshaft nearby. It was a bit cold, like a museum or restaurant, and something smelled nice.
The Doctor started off running down the hall, his jacket billowing out behind him. I caught up to him, and he was standing at the door to an elevator, jabbing the coded lock with his sonic screwdriver.
"So the screwdriver doesn't get through every door?" I asked.
He sighed, suppressing a grin. "No, but that's when I bring out this!" He whipped out a small black wallet and threw it to me.
"What's this?" I opened it up and looked at a business card that read 'Dr. John Smith - Scientist'. I raised my eyebrows. "You use this in place of a sonic screwdriver?"
He grabbed it back from me, closed it, and handed it to me again. "Look again."
I did so curiously, and my mouth dropped open. The white card now read 'It's psychic paper. It says what I want it to say.' "Think of the parties I could get into with this..." I said, handing the wallet back to him.
He pressed it up against the lock's scanner and the elevator door opened with a beep. The inside was silvery and very high-tech looking, but not that different from the normal elevators I'd used back home.
Home.
Home was a few centuries away. Mum was making me a Christmas breakfast and Nikki was probably watching the telly with a bag of chips. They had no idea. And oh my God, I was traveling through time. Lisa Anderson, time traveler. Time traveler... I repeated the words over and over in my head.
The doors opened, and the Doctor and I found ourselves looking out into a large, high-walled room filled with people wearing gala dresses and posh black suits. They were holding thin champagne glasses and chatting while a screen on the back wall flashed pictures of a middle-aged man with grayish hair. It looked like he was talking, but the buzz of the party drowned out what he was saying.
“Well, I feel a bit underdressed…” I said as a large woman in a green silk gown hobbled by.
“Oh, you get used to this kind of stuff,” said the Doctor as he slipped passed a group of yammering people. “Can’t really keep up with the fads of the different centuries while you’re traveling through time.”
I grinned and opened my mouth to speak, but was cut off by a loud screeching noise from just under the slideshow screen. A young woman with red hair twisted into a bun was tapping on a thin microphone, looking a little nervous.
“Hello, everyone,” she said.
A few people greeted her back, and the Doctor and I made our way closer to the small stage.
“My name is Andrea Watkins, first assistant to Dr. Joseph A. Lugnar.”
The crowd clapped, and so did I, just to follow along. The Doctor wasn’t fully paying attention. He was looking off at the doors leading out of the large complex. They were each guarded by a man in a shiny black suit. That seemed a bit odd, but I turned my gaze back to Andrea Watkins.
“… Scientific breakthrough,” she was saying. “And here to tell you about it is the man himself- Dr. Lugnar!”
The same man from the screen stepped up to the podium, a strained smile pasted on his face. “Hello, then,” he said.
An awkward silence hung in the room.
“So…” Dr. Lugnar shuffled his speech cards and began his lecture. “Over the years, many people have wondered: How on this tiny, insignificant planet we call ‘Earth’ will we protect ourselves against the rest of the universe? In the past few centuries, we have had more than a few alien encounters, and not all of them friendly…”
The Doctor’s face grew grim as Lugnar’s speech wore on.
He talked about a new weapon, one that could be used to help defend our galaxy against extra-terrestrial forces. He talked and talked and talked about it so much, but he never really said anything about it. Just ways that we could use it. It seemed as though Dr. Lugnar was hiding something. Something that people didn’t really want to know, so they didn’t ask.
He finished his speech and everyone clapped. Dr. Lugnar stepped down from the pedestal and proceeded to the back of the room.
“Come on…” the Doctor said, making his way through the crowd.
“Where are we going?” I asked. Following him, I could smell the rich cologne and perfume of the many people at the party. “Doctor?”
He took my hand and let me across to the very back. Andrea Watkins and Dr. Lugnar were talking hurriedly to one of the guards, and before I could say anything, he strode up to them.
“Hello, then,” he said, grinning.
Andrea’s eyes narrowed as she took in our appearance. The Doctor’s old suit and red converse, and my blue Beatles t-shirt and jeans definitely would have been a bit off, now that I thought about it.
“Great speech,” he continued. “Really great. Intriguing actually. Just wondering, though,” He placed a hand on the wall and leaned against it. “What is this weapon?”
Dr. Lugnar sighed exasperatedly. “I’m sorry, sir, but we haven’t got the time. And who are you?”
“Dr. John Smith,” the Doctor promptly answered and threw his arm on my shoulder. “And this is my associate Dr. Anderson.”
Even the guard’s impassive expression looked unconvinced.
“Couldn’t you just, you know,” I whispered to him, “flash that psychic paper to prove it to them? I don’t think they believe us.”
“No, no, that was a test.”
“A test of what?”
“A test to see how trusting they are…”
“I’m sorry to interrupt your chitchat,” interjected Andrea. “But we really must be going.”
“Brilliant! Then let’s get going.” said the Doctor, standing up straight and putting his hands in his pockets. “Allons-y.”
Seeing that they couldn’t get rid of us, Dr. Lugnar and Miss Watkins sighed and nodded to the guard who opened the door. We all stepped inside, and found ourselves in a magnificently large elevator, which buzzed quietly. The guard punched in the numbers, shielding the view of me and the Doctor.
“So…” the Doctor said, turning to Dr. Lugnar. “What is this weapon? How long have you been working on it?”
“We’ve been developing it for just over eight years. It’s a weapon to be used for—did you pay any attention to the lecture?”
“Oh yes. Enough to gather that you are trying to protect you galaxy’s borders and that it’s costing England a lot of money.” He raised an eyebrow. “It’s a weapon. But what is the weapon?”
“You shall see for yourself,” replied Lugnar shortly, “Dr. Smith.”
There ya go!
Comment please!
AH! So good! Brilliant, in fact. You're kinda spectacular at this, you know that?
ReplyDeleteThis was my favorite part:
"It took me a moment to realize that he was holding his arms up, and looking from side to side. "What are you doing?"
"Sorry, just so used the being cornered by the authorities as soon as I step out." "
XD <3
xD Thanks!!!
ReplyDelete