Paradise Saved

Chapter 1

Tom and Bryan had skipped school again. And why not? School was dull, and it wasn't like they would have difficulty finding work. After all, it was over eighty years since the last unemployed person under the age of 75 had found work. Not only in London, but there now wasn't a single unemployed person on the planet earth. They were truly in the Golden Age. And one more day's skipping school wouldn't hurt.

Even better was that they'd found a parcel of unused parkland by the Thames, not too far from the Battersea Power Station, where the GeneSearch field couldn't penetrate. No one would know where they were. An entire day without grownups to spoil it.

So there they sat, in the shade, with their TV Spex perched on their faces the way people wore glasses before GeneTherapy had relegated myopia to the history books. But after a couple of hours, Tom heard Bryan's footsteps on the dried grass.

"What are you pacing around for?"

"I'm bored".

"But we've got all the latest releases on our TV Spex. Come on, you know it's dangerous to walk around with them on. You can never see where you're going".

"Oh, like something's really about to happen here".

Famous last words, thought Tom.

Without warning, both boys heard a whooshing sound, and the air begin to breeze about them. Just before his ears began to pop, Tom heard a human scream and then a splash. Ripping his TV Spex off, he caught sight of Bryan, soaking wet, making his way out of the river.

But then his friend disappeared from view, as a bizarre object appeared. It was blue and seemed to be made of wood. It looked like an antique phone box. In fact, as the whooshing got louder, and it came even more into view, Tom could clearly make out the words "Police Box" boldly inscribed above two little windows at the top of the box. Frustrated, he mumbled to himself as he regarded the box. "Transmat capsule. Retro one at that".

"So where are we?" asked Amy excitedly. "When are we?"

"Doctor?" asked Rory, trying to direct the Timelord to his wife's last questions.

The Doctor was flicking switches on the console and connecting some wires. He recoiled as sparks began to fly from the control panel, and gave the view screen a slap on its side.

Amy was now growing impatient. "Doctor?!"

But their companion just continued to mumble to himself. "Not clear. It just isn't clear". He then started to shake the view screen. "Come on, I don't believe it!"

He whirled around, nudged the viewscreen to face his companions and took a couple of steps forward as if he had only just heard what they had said to him. "Where are we?" he echoed Amy's first question. "London, earth, I think. When are we? No idea. Can't get a clear fix on the viewer over there".

Rory was puzzled. "But isn't this a time machine? I mean, shouldn't the view screen be a relatively simple matter?"

Amy knew the Timelord slightly better than her husband did. She knew he wouldn't like that comment. "Rory Pond, I'll have you know this is the most advanced machine in the universe, millennia and millennia advanced of anything you humans have ever come up with".

"So it's so complicated that it just gets its wires crossed over every once in a while and breaks down?"

The Doctor frowned. "Has glitches. It never breaks down". At that moment, even the abstract static imagery vanished from the viewer. Amy smiled at the Doctor.

"All right, breaks down", he admitted. He nodded at the doors, changing the subject as quickly as he could. "Right, let's see where we are".

As they opened the doors, they were greeted with a rough patch of grass with two young teenaged boys stood on it. They were wearing bright clothing, not quite like anything Amy and Rory had ever seen. They each held a pair of what looked to be sunglasses in their hands. One of the boys was soaking wet.

Quite unaccustomed to opening the doors of his Timeship to observers, the Doctor fumbled for words. But before any of the three companions could utter a syllable, the soaking boy asked a question. "Is that a transmat capsule?"

More relieved than anything, the Doctor smiled. "Why yes, that's exactly what it is. A retro transmat capsule. Just beamed down from Pluto. Or one of its moons. I wonder, would either of you be able to tell me –". He broke off mid-sentence. Something had caught his eye. His mood suddenly changed. He stepped out of the TARDIS, and extended his arms so that his companions were dragged out also. Quick as a flash, he turned around and locked the doors. He then grabbed Rory on his shoulder. "This is Second Lieutenant Rory Pond. He knows more about transmat capsules than anyone else in the solar system. And he would be happy to explain everything". With that the Timelord ran off as quickly as he could leaving his bemused companions behind.

Amy was certain she had detected a massive amount of excitement in his voice, like someone who was about to find out if they had passed their driving test. Looking at the wall past the two boys, she saw some kind of computer screen. It was displaying what looked like the front page of a newspaper. The headline said "Global Omni Employment Enters Eighty-Fifth Year". She began to wonder when they had landed.

As these thoughts flickered through her mind, Rory began made-up description of the TARDIS to the two boys. "This is a Mega Series 5000 Transmat Capsule".

At that the boys looked confused. "But aren't the 5000 Series a lot bigger". Rory paused. This was going to be difficult.

Amy was still wondering why the Doctor had run off so abruptly. It was when he started to act unpredictably that the ground tended to disappear from beneath her feet. What would interest him so much about "global omni employment"? Or was it the story beneath it that interested him? Something about an old female scientist dying in hospital? At any rate, she hoped her friend would return to them soon.

"I can't believe it's going to end like this", said Jason. "She deserved a more dignified end".

Doctor Johnston lay a hand on his shoulder. "We all do", he said, calmly. "But she's lived so long. Over two hundred years". They looked down. There she lay, in a hospital bed, quiet as a mouse and wired to so many machines. Johnston made Jason jump when he broke the silence. "That reminds me. Since she is so old, I ran a DNA test, just to see if she had any extraterrestrial genes". Jason looked shocked. "But she can't be an alien. She looks just like any one of us".

"Yes she does. And I thought that some of the recent advancements in science were what kept her alive so long".

"Scientific advancements that she was responsible for", added Jason.

"Quite, quite", agreed Doctor Johnston. There was another silence.

"So what did you find?" asked Jason in a soft voice. The physician was about to begin, when the door burst open. There stood a man, perhaps in his mid twenties, with long black hair, a pinstriped jacket and an antiquated bowtie. So loud was the sound of the door that the old woman's eyes opened.

"And just who are you?" demanded Jason.

Totally ignoring the question, the other man put his hand on the woman's forehead, and bent down to face her. "Oh, what have they done to you?" he sighed. He then shot up to his full height, and pointed an odd metal device with a green light on the end at the life support equipment. It gave off a buzzing sound.

Now Jason was clearly angry. "I'll ask again. Who are you and what in the solar system do you think you're doing?"

He turned back to them with broad grin and an expression of pride gleaming in his eyes. "I'm the Doctor. And I've come to set her free".

"You're not one of our doctors", Johnston protested.

Suddenly, sparks began to fly from the life support equipment. Jason was perplexed. "What's going on?" But Johnston seemed equally baffled. "He's done something to the equipment keeping her alive!"

Jason threw himself at the stranger. "What have you done?!"

As the two men struggled, Johnston looked toward his patient. He couldn't believe what he saw. It appeared as though her arms and face were beginning to dissolve into the atmosphere. Tiny glowing particles seemed to emanate from her and rise slowly upward like bubbles in a fizzy drink. Her flesh glowed, and now the physician was totally indifferent to the struggle in the room. Without warning, the old woman sat bolt upright in her bed. Energy flowed from her body like a volcano erupting. Now Jason and the stranger turned to face the bed. Jason's jaw dropped open, and his heart began to pound. The other man simply looked on and smiled.

And then the most remarkable thing of all happened. As suddenly as it had began, the eruption of energy stopped. But when it cleared, there was no longer an old woman in the bed. In her place, wearing her very nightdress was the figure of a young girl, perhaps in her early twenties with jet black hair. She looked up at the three men. Two of them were dumbstruck, but the man with the bowtie just continued to smile and nod. "The first one's the strangest. Not necessarily the worst, but always the strangest". She narrowed her eyes, like someone who had been in a dark room coming into bright sunlight. The stranger just grinned even wider, if that were possible. "Oh, come on, child, I told you I'd come back".

The girl widened her eyes. "Grandfather?"

The stranger folded his arms. "Susan".