BBC - Cult - Human Nature - Chapter ThirteenBBC Cult - Printer Friendly Version

Human Nature - Chapter Thirteen
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Let Me Tell You Something That's True
'Doctor!' Bernice cried, and ran to him. 
Smith disengaged himself from the hug. 'Smith. Still.' He pulled the Pod from 
his pocket and spun it in the air thoughtfully. 'I haven't yet applied for my 
honorary doctorate. I saw how you saved him, by the way.' He pointed to 
Greeneye, who was even now being bound in miles of schoolboy string. 'Well 
done.' 
'We need him as a hostage.' 
'I doubt that would work. Anyhow, that wasn't why you did it.' 
Benny resumed the hug and this time he allowed it. 'No,' she whispered. 'It 
wasn't. I think I've developed this phobia about letting people get surrounded 
by men with swords. Hey, how did you know about that?' 
'This.' Smith rubbed the Pod on his elbow. 'It lets me know little bits. At 
random, I think. Oh, by the way, I brought some friends.' 
Up the hill behind him had appeared Hadleman and Tim. 
Anand ran to Tim and shook him warmly by the hand. 'I thought you were dead!' he 
laughed. 
'So did I,' said Tim. 

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Alexander had been helping the boys secure Greeneye. Now the curator looked up. 
For an instant, he closed his eyes. Then he made himself smile and stood up, 
waving. 'Richard!'
Hadleman ran forward, and the two men stood at a distance from each other, their 
hands forming restrained spirals before them. 'Alex, old chap, what are you 
doing here?' Hadleman grinned. 
'I could say the same. Come and, erm, see what's happened to the monument.' 
Alexander glanced at Smith and the boys, and the two men wandered around to the 
other side of the destroyed statue. 
Benny was still holding on to Smith. 'So, you're finally convinced that you 
weren't always human?' 
'I am. What an odd thing to find out.' 
'Well, this might be a good time to consider what species you'd like to be. You 
know about Joan?' 
'Yes. They've told me I have until dawn to give them this, or they kill her.' 
Smith gazed at the brightness that was starting to redden the eastern horizon. 
'I had thought of just making the swap, but Timothy showed me what would happen 
if I did. I was tempted to go through with it anyway, because I do love her, 
Benny.' His eyes sought hers. 'But I don't think the Doctor would like it.' 

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'You mean you're still going to stay as Smith? You don't want to be the real 
you, despite all this?' Benny sat down heavily on the grass. 'The Doctor would 
have some plan worked out in two seconds. One, if we had a chessboard handy.'
He sat down beside her. 'John Smith is the real me. And it's because of all 
this, not despite it. You don't know what you really want in life until it's 
taken from you.' 
'You mean Joan?' 
'Yes. She agreed to marry me. I have to save her. And I have to do it as me.' 
Benny looked at him for a moment, and then resignedly laid her head on his 
shoulder. 'If there's one thing I've learnt in the past few weeks, it's that we 
don't get second chances. Do you need a bridesmaid? I've always wanted to be 
one, but everybody I've ever known has been scared to death of altars.' 
'You mean you think I should?' 
'I think you ought to go for whatever you think will work. I might even start to 
like her.' 
Smith nodded solemnly. 'So we have to win, if only so you can expand your 
wardrobe. But we're going to do it as you and me. Smith and Summerfield. Will 
you come with me?' 

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Benny carefully planted a kiss on top of his head.
'You're beautiful,' she told him. 'Of course I will.' 
Smith grinned, frowned and bit his lip at the same time. 
'Erm, thank you.' 
'You know, I think Rocastle got a bit of Doctorishness off of you before he 
died. It must be catching.' 
'Perhaps. But does the Doctor have to sacrifice himself to win?' 
'Sometimes.' Benny shivered, not knowing why. 'So,' she asked, 'shall we go and 
have this adventure?' 
'The last adventure. Before I retire.' 
'And do you have a plan?' 
'Oh yes. Tell me, have you ever played poker?' 
August checked the controls on the vortex tunnel. 'We can be ready to depart as 
soon as we have the Pod.' He glanced at the approaching dawn. 'If, that is, 
Serif and Greeneye get back.' 
'I'm worried,' Hoff muttered. He was still squatting by the post, his gun jammed 
under Joan's chin. 'They're taking too long. And we heard an explosion.' 

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'That'll just be Greeneye over-reacting. Still, if they don't appear before 
Smith does, then I'll just use the Pod before we go to search for them. We'd be 
able to locate them in a moment with the services of a TARDIS at our command.'
'You're certain he'll bring the Pod?' 
'Of course. We have the thing he holds most precious in the world.' August 
patted Joan's head. 
'I'm not a thing,' Joan told him. 
'Oh, in this game you are. We're all things when it comes to war. You see -' 
August realised that Hoff was staring out of the dome in surprise. He followed 
his gaze. 
Smith and Bernice were wandering unconcernedly towards the dome, Smith wearing 
his white evening gloves. 
The two of them walked straight in through the open doorway. 
Hoff pressed his gun closer into Joan's face. 'John!' she cried. 'I hadn't dared 
hope -' 
'What?' hissed Smith. 'Oh, of course - she thinks that I am Dr Smith. Greeneye 
and I succeeded in cornering his fleeing companion on the hillside. She and some 
of the boys had mounted a trap for us. We fooled them through my assumption of 
this form. That finger I consumed proved to be very useful.' 

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'And I had some fun afterwards. Professor Summerfield put up quite a fight.' 
Bernice wiped the back of her hand across her mouth, her other hand on her hip. 
'Delicious memories, almost as good as that Auregan.' She wandered over to Joan 
and ran a hand through her hair.
Joan shivered. 'Does this mean that - Is John dead? Please tell me.' 
'No. He wasn't about. Lucky for him.' Bernice looked up at August. 'Can I have 
some of this? It's always that way with humanoids: you have one and ten minutes 
later you want another.' She pulled a strand of hair from Joan's head and chewed 
on it thoughtfully. 
Hoff relaxed, standing up and dropping his gun back into its holster. 
August smiled at Bernice. 'Yes, of course, but don't do her too much damage, we 
need something to give to Smith. This Auregan you mention, do you mean Sola?' 
Bernice glanced up from where she'd knelt down, starting to tap Joan's sides 
with her fingers like a skilled butcher. 'No, not him. Didn't I tell you about 
Kuala? Or was it Tuola? I just fancy some kidneys' 
Joan began to sob uncontrollably. 'Oh God, somebody save me, please' 
August turned back to Smith. 'You don't have the Pod, I take it?' 
'No.' Smith shook his head. 'Smith must still be searching for it.' 

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August absently picked up a scanner and checked a reading. 'So why keep his 
form?'
'I can search for the boy like this, also. He will trust me.' 
Joan gave a shriek. Bernice was working at something behind her. 'Finger,' she 
explained. 'That won't annoy Smith too much, will it? They'll be a matching 
pair.' 
Smith idly picked up the control dart-gun from one of the benches and inspected 
the muzzle. 'Ready?' he asked. 
'For what?' August frowned. 
'Yes,' Bernice called cheerfully. 
Smith spun the gun round and fired darts into August and Hoff. 
Bernice threw aside the manacles she'd been cutting through and pulled Joan to 
her feet. She dropped the laser cutter back into her pocket. 'Sorry I burnt 
you,' she told Joan, 'but it added a touch of realism.' 
August plucked the dart from his chest. 'I'm astonished,' he said. 'But those 
darts don't affect us.' He snatched his gun from its holster and pointed it at 
Bernice. 
A question mark umbrella handle plucked it from his hand and sent it spinning 
across the dome. 

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Hoff grabbed for Joan's shoulder, but she was already running, Bernice pulling 
her bodily out into the forest.
August swung a blow at Smith's head, but the little man ducked, rolled over and 
popped up again in time to trip Hoff as he dived for the door. He gave a quick 
bow and hopped over the sprawled alien, dashing off into the trees. 
'No!' August shouted. He slapped a control on the wall. 



Smith, Benny and Joan sprinted through the lightening undergrowth, Joan being 
virtually carried along between the other two. 'John!' she panted. 'You rescued 
me!' 
'We're not out of the woods yet,' Smith gasped. 'Still-' 
'Is it me, or are we slowing down?' Bernice asked. 
They all looked down. Beneath them, the humus was slipping away from their feet. 
A great wind rose against them, and suddenly they were pushing to make headway, 
the air around them as thick as treacle. A buffeting hurricane of leaves and 
twigs thundered by. 
Smith swung his umbrella in a slow arc and the handle caught around a tree 
branch a few feet ahead. He pulled on the umbrella itself and managed to haul 
them forward a little way, the wood stretching and creaking with the effort. 

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Bernice got a hand on the umbrella, too, and helped to pull.
'They've got us again, John.' Joan's voice was calm and strong. 'Promise me one 
thing. Don't give them what they want, even if it means my life. They've told me 
what they intend to do with it. Do you understand? Don't be unfaithful to who 
you are. Promise me.' 
'They're not going to - ' 
'Promise me!' 
'Yes, I promise. I love you.' 
'I love you. Thank you for coming back for me.' The umbrella started to stretch. 

Bernice made a mighty effort. She slapped a hand forward, and worked her way up 
the shaft, hand over hand. 
She managed to get hold of the tree itself and hauled herself past it. 
She tumbled down a slope on the other side, free of the force. She scrambled 
quickly back up the bank. Supporting herself against the tree, she poked her 
head over the ridge. 

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It was like being hit on the back of the head with a hammer. The force grabbed 
her skull and tried to haul it off her shoulders. 'Doctor!' she called. 'Get 
down here!' She reached out a hand, but Smith and Joan were still clinging on to 
the umbrella and each other. Joan began to slip from Smith's arms and his 
fingers grew white on the umbrella handle.
'No' he said, despairing. 
And then he was torn from the umbrella. 
Smith and Joan shot off backwards towards the dome, the umbrella spinning after 
them. 
Bernice watched as they went. Hoff and August caught them neatly by the dome and 
threw them inside. Then the force that had captured them was switched off, and 
all was quiet again in the forest. 



'Do you think you're dealing with children?' August pulled Smith to his feet. 
'Children would be better behaved,' Joan told him. She smiled proudly at the 
aliens. 'John came to rescue me, against all the odds.' 
'We have similar ethics, then.' August let go of Smith and motioned to Hoff. The 
gruff alien grabbed Joan and secured her to one of the benches. 'We both look 
after our own. Where are Serif and Greeneye?' 

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Smith glared at him. 'The first is dead. The second we've taken prisoner. I'll 
swap him for -'
'No. If you had the stomach to harm him, that would have been your initial 
strategy.' He picked up the scanner again and checked the readings. 'You're 
swamped with the kind of radiation we've learnt to associate with the Pod. It's 
not on you, but you do have it hidden somewhere.' He pointed to Joan. 'Our offer 
still stands. Give us the Pod and she lives. Go and get it.' 
Smith looked into August's eyes. 'If she's hurt, there will be nowhere in the 
cosmos that you can hide from me.' 
August inclined his head. 'I believe you. One hour.' 
As Smith left the dome, he caught sight of the expression on Joan's face. Pride 
and quiet determination. He paused for a moment, then, imperceptibly, he nodded 
to her. 
When he'd left, Hoff turned to August, his eyes closed in grief. 'Serif too' he 
whispered. 'This trip has been costly.' 
'They'll both be avenged.' August patted his shoulder. 'Before we go, we'll 
reduce this world to ashes.' 

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The others were waiting in the forest, sitting in a great circle in a clearing, 
too shocked or nervous to make their way home. Alton had started a fire and 
Hutchinson was staring into it morosely. Anand and Tim were talking in whispers, 
going over Tim's adventures.
'The thing is,' Tim was saying, 'I thought that I knew how Rocastle was going to 
die. The Pod told me. But he blew himself up to kill Serif.' 
'Then that means that the future's wide open. We can change it,' Anand 
whispered. 'Isn't that wonderful?' 
The other boys were huddled together, some of them sobbing, others just slowly 
calming down, ridding themselves of the tension and the fear of death that had 
been with them for the last few hours. It didn't help that Greeneye was tied to 
a tree near by, under the watchful gaze of Alexander and Hadleman. After he woke 
up, the prisoner had started shouting threats and curses, but after a while, 
these had changed into pleas and requests for food. Once it was certain that he 
wasn't going to get any, he slumped into an angry silence. 
The sky overhead was getting lighter. It had been a warm night, but they were 
all ready to welcome the dawn. 
'So,' Alexander broke the silence. He'd been looking at Richard and wondering if 
he should tell him. He mustn't do that. The only thing he could do was to enjoy 
every moment they had left. 'Does anybody know any good stories?' 

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'Oh, shut up,' muttered Hutchinson.
'You shut up,' Tim told him. 
'You can't tell me that, bug.' 
'Yes I can, and don't call me bug.' 
'Who thinks' - Hadleman raised his voice - 'that Tim should shut up? Raise your 
hand.' 
No hands appeared. 
'And who thinks that Hutchinson should shut up?' A lot of hands appeared. 
'There. Tell us a story, Tim.' 
'It doesn't work like that,' Hutchinson sighed wearily. 'I'm his Captain, so I 
can tell him to shut up.' There was a murmur of discontent around the circle. 
Hutchinson looked up, suddenly bemused. 'What?' 
'I think' Hadleman picked up the red sphere that Smith had left with him and 
stood up. Alexander watched him worriedly. He'd advised Richard not to hold on 
to the Pod, to leave it by the fire. Now he was throwing it lightly from hand to 
hand. 'I think that democracy will soon be everything. You lads just got your 
first vote. If the balloon goes up this year, or the next, maybe the generals 
will finally realise that, in the end, a soldier fights for his conscience. He 
isn't an animal to be herded to the slaughter.' 

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'Wouldn't you fight, then?' Hutchinson glared at him. 'Would you be a coward?'
Alexander watched a distant expression wash over Hadleman's face. Finally, he 
put the Pod back down on the ground and met Hutchinson's gaze. 'I would fight if 
I thought the cause was just, as far as any of us can tell that sort of thing. 
And, believe me, there will be plenty of cowards on the battlefield, and plenty 
of heroes who make the decision not to go there.' Rather embarrassed by his 
eloquence, he shrugged and sat down. 
Alexander stared at him sadly. 'I love you,' he mouthed, though Hadleman 
couldn't see. 
Hutchinson probably wouldn't have let the matter rest there, but into the 
clearing walked Smith and Benny. 
Smith glanced around the group. 'I'm sorry,' he told them. 'We failed. They 
still have Mrs Redfern.' 
'Well then, there are enough of us!' Hutchinson gestured to the boys once more. 
'There are only two of them. Never mind all this anarchist bunkum -' 
'Socialist bunkum,' said Alexander. 
'It's time for some good old British grit. Play up and play the game, chaps! 
We've nearly done it, we've knocked out three-fifths of their force! Listen, I 
have a plan...' 

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Smith stared at the young man as he started to make the words again, to spread 
his hands in grand gestures. Unseen, he wandered around the campfire to where 
Alexander and Hadleman were sitting. Smith bent down and picked up the Pod. 
'Mine, I think.'
Alexander looked up at him. 'Is it?' 
'Oh yes.' 
'Take care.' 
'I will.' 
Bernice was standing with Tim and Anand's group, much to Merryweather's delight. 
The Captain had discreetly moved around the fire to sit by them. Benny was 
making loud coughs and trying to start other conversations as Hutchinson went 
through the motions of his speech. Every now and then she looked at what Smith 
was doing, desperate for him, yet not knowing what advice she could possibly 
give. 
Still, she was surprised when he appeared behind her and put a hand on her 
shoulder. 'It was good to know you.' 
'Doctor, you're not - ' 
'Smith. Dr Smith. Call me that now, at least.' 

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Benny carefully adjusted his tie, whispering so that Tim couldn't hear her. 
'You're not planning on -'
Smith patted her gently on the arm. 'Walk with me a little way, I don't want to 
listen to that.' He indicated Hutchinson, walking around the campfire, pointing 
in the air. 



They wandered through the forest until they came to a dark glade, where the 
rising sun stretched the shadows of the trees into long, spectral shapes. Benny 
rubbed a hand across her face. She was so tired that she felt like she might 
fall asleep any moment. The sensation had come over her in the last few minutes. 

'I've discovered a lot in the last few weeks,' Smith began. 'I've found out that 
being the Doctor... it's not about having special knowledge or abilities. It's 
about not being cruel. It's about not being afraid.' He walked into the middle 
of the clearing, searching for the right words. 'There are monsters out there, 
yes. Terrible things. But you don't have to become one in order to defeat them. 
You can be peaceful in the face of their cruelty. You can win by being cleverer 
than they are.' He turned back to Bernice. 'I tried to give up so much - my 
responsibilities, my past, my guilt. But others kept these things safe for me. 
Now, for one last time, I, John Smith, will be the Doctor again, and go on an 
adventure, and defeat the monsters. It doesn't take an object to let you do 
that. It takes determination. And hope for humanity. And love.' 

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Benny went to him and held him. 'What you said about sacrifice, John. It doesn't 
have to be like that. There's always another way.'
'Not this time.' 
'I just don't want anybody to have to die. Hadleman, my old Guy, Rocastle. Poor 
Constance. But especially you. Both of you.' 
'Then let me do this, before more children get killed.' His words seemed quieter 
somehow, as if they were coming from a distance, part of the whole distance of 
the glade. When she came to write this section of the narrative up for her 
diary, Benny felt that she was somehow writing fiction. 
Especially considering what happened next. 
She stepped out from the trees, a beautiful dark-haired woman. 'John' she 
called. 
Smith and Benny turned and stared at her. 'Verity,' said Smith. 

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August stood by the door of the dome, gazing out into the darkness. 'It is quite 
a beautiful world, don't you think, son? I like the trees particularly.'
Hoff ducked his head outside and looked. 'Hmm. Trees are trees. I'm worried 
about Greeneye. Don't you think we should have bargained?' 
'And gone back to square one? No. Once we've got the Pod, we'll rescue him. Oh, 
and talking of which -' 
A small, shadowy figure was making his way slowly through the forest. 
Hoff picked up his gun and went to stand beside Joan. She had been sleeping 
fitfully, but now she'd woken once more. 
'You know, you really could come to some kind of accord with John,' she said. 
'He's a good man. We all feel for our own kind. Perhaps - ' 
'Shut her up,' August snapped. 
Hoff slapped a dart into Joan's neck and the woman froze, breathing shallowly. 
The figure in the darkness approached the dome. To the east, the sky was blue, 
and a prickly expectation was settling on the forest, the calls of waking birds 
mingling with the departing sounds of night hunters as the sun rose. 
August stepped forward. 'Dr Smith. Have you brought the Pod?' 
'Yes.' The figure stepped forward, his left hand in his pocket, his right 
holding the red sphere. 'Where's Joan?' 

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'Here.' Hoff activated a control and Joan stood up. He took a key and loosed her 
from her chains.
August studied the little man before him. 'You've finally given up, then? No 
last-minute tricks? No desperate gambits?' 
'Only a request. Reconsider. What's in that sphere is vast and terrible. It's a 
tremendous responsibility. Do you really want to take it on?' 
'I've thought about it long and hard, believe me.' August reached out, and, with 
an anticipatory pause, took the Pod from the other man's palm. 'I've prepared 
for this transformation. I've had psionic blockers placed in my brain to filter 
Time Lord personality data and stop it replacing my own. What I'll get is all 
the information, all the memories, but none of the compulsions or traits that 
made the Doctor what he was. He will, in effect, die, but in so doing he will 
create a new species. A very strong one. Now.' 
He slowly raised the Pod to his forehead. Blue sparks began to dance between the 
two surfaces. 
They touched. 
August screamed in pain and doubled over, his hand clutching the Pod in 
determined agony. Hoff stared at the scene, covering the others with his gun. 

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Suddenly, August jumped to his feet again and spun to look at Hoff, his arms 
extended. His pupils were shining silver, information spiralling across them. 
'Hoff, I can feel it, it's wonderful!'
He spasmed again, twisting into a crouch, his hand still wrapped tight around 
the Pod. 
His eyes met those of the little man in the shadows. 
A look of horror passed across the silver pupils. 
And then it was gone. 
August slowly straightened up and tossed the Pod from hand to hand. He smiled a 
satisfied smile and stretched. 'Let her go, Hoff. We've got what we wanted.' 
Hoff stared. 'It worked? You're a Time Lord?' 
'Yes! I feel as if I could fly!' He walked up to Joan, and waved a hand before 
her sightless eyes. 'I want her to see me.' He plucked the dart from her neck 
and she jerked back to life, staring at the man who stood before her. 
The smile was enough to tell her what had happened. 'You...' Her eyes narrowed, 
and she glanced between the three men in the dome. Then she said carefully: 'You 
gave him what he wanted.' 

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'No.' The man with the umbrella stepped forward. 'I didn't.'
August touched Joan's chin, extremely tenderly. 'He's right.' 
Hoff frowned, realising that something was happening that he didn't understand. 
He grabbed Joan, pulling her away from August, and pressed his gun into her 
neck. 'Wait!' 
'Hoff' August spread his hands, amazed. 'What's wrong?' 
'I want to see his hand. The one he's got in his pocket. Then I decide what I do 
next.' 
'Well, you could always -' The man in the shadows revealed his left hand, and 
flexed his little finger. His calm expression darkened into a stormy frown, and 
he growled: 'Run.' 
August lunged at Hoff. 
Hoff threw Joan aside and brought up his gun. 
The blast went straight through August's side. 
But the force of August's run sent both men tumbling backwards towards the wall 
of the dome. 

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The Doctor threw the Pod across the room. It slapped against a control on a 
distant instrument bank. He jumped at a closer panel, and, faster than the eye 
could follow, clattered hundreds of switches into new positions.
Hoff threw the gasping body of August aside and swung up his gun towards the 
Doctor. 
But the Tim Lord had already spun the final dial. 
The first time barrier swept into the room through the wall of the dome and into 
the sphere atop the control panel that the Doctor was working on. Hoff shouted 
as the shimmering wall went through him. 'No!' he bellowed. 'Don't!' He dived at 
Joan and held on to her like a lifejacket. 'You'll kill her too!' 
'I'll kill no-one,' the Doctor snarled. 
The second timeframe arrived a moment later. 
The two walls collided, with all of them between them. 



Hoff fell from Aphasia's wrist, a tiny newborn trailing blood. 
Greeneye caught the baby and dropped him into a vat of liquid nutrients. 'Isn't 
he wonderful?' he said. 
Hoff had never known he'd heard that before. Serif was busy dabbing at Aphasia's 
wrist as she sobbed. August looked proudly down into the vat and smiled. 
'Well, that's the last one. What shall we do now?' 

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Laylock was standing by the door of the dome they'd erected. Every now and then, 
he'd glance out at the burning fields in the distance. 'What indeed?' he 
whispered.
Hoff lay back in the liquid and luxuriated in it. He was at peace, for the first 
time in his life. And the last. 
The Doctor watched the image of the scene spiral away, replaying itself time 
after time between the shimmering membranes of the timeframe. He was watching 
with his eyes closed, because he knew that if he opened them, he'd really be 
just standing in the dome. 
And it was good to be able to watch with his eyes closed again. 
Good to be the Doctor. 
August stood before him in the timeless time. He held out his hand. 'The Doctor, 
I presume?' 
'Good to meet you, Dr Smith.' The Doctor shook the hand of the being who used to 
be August, marvelling at how familiar the new expression on the alien's face 
was. 'I got you killed. I'm sorry.' 
'Don't be. Joan would never have accepted me like this, in this body. Does she 
know?' 
'I don't know.' 
'Then don't tell her. Do I call you Father?' 

Page 25 
   

'If you want. I haven't heard that for a while.'
'It doesn't seem appropriate.' 
'No.' The Doctor looked past August's, or rather, Smith's, shoulder. 
Verity was standing there. 'Doctor. Dr Smith.' 
Smith spun round and gazed at her. 'Verity. My dear.' 
The woman smiled. 'I'm flattered, John, that you regard me as an old flame. That 
was your interpretation of what I was doing in your memories. But I think you're 
on rather dangerous ground. I'm one of the Doctor's dreams, an icon, a female 
custodian of something that's deep inside him. I was the only piece of himself 
that he left behind in his head. I'm important to him. He hardly listens to me, 
mind you. And he never returns my telephone calls.' 
'Do you want to tell me what you told John in the glade this morning?' the 
Doctor asked. 'What you were trying to whisper in his ear for so long?' 
'You still don't know? I don't see why I should tell you now. You employed me, 
after all, to defend and take care of your deepest memories, and then you failed 
to take heed of any of my warnings.' 
'I didn't, you mean,' Smith interjected. 

Page 26 
   

'There are things down there in my unconscious that even I don't know about, 
memories from before I was born,' the Doctor explained. 'I couldn't get rid of 
all of them and Smith was certain to start accessing some of it. I just thought 
that there ought to be somebody in there who knew who I was.'
'Couldn't she have appeared earlier and saved me all that bother?' Smith asked. 
Verity patted him on the shoulder. 'I wasn't allowed to. That was the 
frustrating thing. I couldn't intrude into your consciousness. I could only 
appear when you'd got it sorted out for yourself.' 
'So what did you say to him?' the Doctor asked. 
'That he believes in good and fights evil. That, with violence all around him, 
he's a man of peace. That he's never cruel, or cowardly. That he is a hero.' 
Smith closed his eyes for a moment. 'It felt good to hear it confirmed. Of 
course, that's not a definition of me. That's you, Doctor.' 
The Doctor reached out and touched him on the shoulder. 'As I believe you said, 
being me is a state of mind. Six other people apart from you and I have had a 
go. You were rather good at it.' 

Page 27 
   

Smith looked at him again and managed a smile. 'Perhaps I taught a few more 
would-be Doctors how to do it.'
'Perhaps. But I wonder how many will remember when they grow up?' 
Verity waved a hand between them. 'Sorry to interrupt. Look who's here.' 
Death looked at them all, sniffily. 'You deal with me again, raven Time Lord, 
possibly for the last time.' She put a hand on Smith's shoulder. 'This one 
belongs to me, now. I told you long ago, Doctor, that I would take a life from 
you in return for that of your companion. Our business is now concluded.' 
Smith shivered at her touch. 'What's going to happen to me?' he asked. 
'Another owl for Lord Rassilon?' the Doctor asked. 
'That is not for you to ask,' Death replied. 
Verity kissed Smith's forehead. 'It'll be fine. Bloody Eternals think they own 
the universe. They don't know everything.' 
Death began to fade, and Smith with her, the man looking around himself in 
wonder. 
'Give my love to Time and Pain,' said the Doctor. 
'If it wasn't for Time, I would never entertain you.' Death glared at him. 'But 
you cannot let family down.' 
She clicked her fingers. 

Page 28 
   

The Doctor opened his eyes.
Joan was standing in front of him, staring at the ring on her finger. 'When - 
whatever that was - happened, the ring saved me. I could feel it, protecting me, 
holding me here like a sort of anchor.' 
'Good.' The Doctor went to the bank of controls, and pulled a long electrical 
cord from it. He peered at the globe where the two timeframes spun around each 
other, then hopped over to where the Pod lay, still in August's dead fingers. 
'That poor man,' Joan whispered. 'He must have turned against his fellows at the 
last moment. He gave his life for his conscience.' 
The Doctor bit his lip, pulling the Pod from the cold hand. 'Yes' He connected 
the Pod to one end of the cable, and the timeframes to the other, then hit a few 
switches. The timeframes faded and he spun the Pod in triumph. 'Good, that's 
Hoff in the Pod as well. Now' He pulled the cloth from the vortex disc, and 
reset the controls, so the butterfly tunnel spun off in another direction. 'The 
Monks of Felsecar guard some of the most dangerous artefacts in the universe. 
I'm sure they'll appreciate another item for their collection. Who knows, maybe 
one day they'll let those two out.' 
'Why, John, what do you mean?' 

Page 29 
   

The Doctor winced again, secretly. 'Nothing. I'm still confused.' He tossed the 
Pod into the vortex, and watched it spin away into the distance. Then he 
switched off the cabinet. 'Shall we go?'
'Where?' 
'About three hundred yards away. Out of range of the self-destruct mechanism.' 
'Oh,' said Joan. 



From the diary of Prof Bernice Summerfield 
In the clearing in the forest, I watched as the woman walked up to John Smith 
and whispered something in his ear. 
She vanished soon afterwards and Smith turned and walked away into the darkness. 

I think. When I came to write this all up Listen, if you're a historian, you 
know you can't trust a diary, right? 
Well, it felt like the woman was just a character I'd made up. Perhaps I'll just 
start this whole account with the words: 'Long ago and far away.' I got back to 
the campfire and walked round and round it, hugging myself. 

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Hutchinson was still in mid-rant when the time barriers hit us.
We got to our feet after they'd passed, feeling as if a ghost had gone by, or 
that we'd just missed a fast aircraft at an air display. 
Tim blinked. 'I feel like - like I've just woken from a dream,' he said. 
'Goodness, Anand, what a strange few days this has been.' 
Hutchinson stopped talking, tried to pick up his place and started to flounder. 
I have a feeling, if my own experience was anything to go by, that he has a 
smell of mud and iron in his nostrils. 
Hadleman and Alexander clutched each other. Alexander looked at the other man 
and I saw a strange, hopeful, smile on his face. 'I don't know why,' he said, 
'but I suddenly feel quite hopeful.' 
While I was doing all this observing, and the sun was coming up too - by the 
way, I'm really quite thorough about background - I realized that I'd started to 
cry. Or laugh. Or something. 
What a strange life this is. 
At any rate, by the time the Doctor got there, I was smiling. 
Diary Entry Ends 


