The Psychic Circus

I have fed you enough, 

Gods of Ragnarok — 

and you found what I have to offer indigestible. 

So, I have taken myself 

OFF The Menu. 

La comedia e finita.

Wise men have regarded 

The Earth as A Tragedy, 

A Farce, even An Illusionist's Trick; 

but all, if they are truly wise and not 

merely intellectual rapists, recognise that 

it is certainly some kind of stage 

in which we all play roles, most of us being 

very poorly coached and totally unrehearsed 

before The Curtain rises.

Is it too much if I ask, tentatively, that 

we agree to look upon it as A Circus, 

a touring carnival wandering about The Sun 

for a record season of four billion years 

and producing new monsters and miracles, 

hoaxes and bloody mishaps, wonders and blunders, 

but never quite entertaining The Customers 

well enough to prevent them from leaving, 

one by one, and returning to their homes 

for a long and bored Winter's 

sleep under The Dust?

Then, say, for a while at least, that 

I have found an identity as Ringmaster; 

but that crown sits uneasily 

on my head (if I have a head) and 

I must warn you that the troupe is small 

for a universe this size and 

many of us have to double or triple 

our stints, so you can expect me 

back in many other guises. 

Indeed do many things come to pass.

 

Time’s Champion : 

How many people have you destroyed, 

I wonder, before Kingpin was 

lured down here...?

....poor Kingpin.

That's What You Like, isn't it -- 

taking someone with a touch of 

Individuality and Imagination, and 

wearing them down to nothingness 

in Your Service. 


DAD : 

ENOUGH!

MUM : 

YOU HAVE SAID ENOUGH!

Time’s Champion : 

Enough? I've hardly started —

I have fought The Gods of Ragnarok 

all through time. 


(The Doctor looks at his watch.) 


DAD : 

You are in Our True 

Timespace now, Doctor. 

There is no appeal beyond 

its confines  to any other.

 

DOCTOR:

 Don't tell me what you want me to do. 

Let me guess. 

Now let me see. 

You want me to 
—

DAD : 

Entertain Us. 


MUM : 

Entertain Us. 


DAD :

Or Die. 

So long as You entertain Us, 

you may live. 


MUM: 

When you no longer entertain us, you die. 


Time’s Champion : 

Predictable as ever, 

Gods of Ragnarok. 

As I think it's been said before —

 (or was it after?)

Anyway, you ain't 

seen nothin' yet. 


(The Doctor leans and swings round 

at a remarkable angle.)

(The Doctor has a table in front of him, 

with a large pan and its cover.) 


Time’s Champion : 

Thank you very much, 

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

for that overwhelming reception. 

And now, I would like to begin 

like Life, at The Beginning. 

But How did Life begin? 

Was it with A Chicken 

or was it with 
—

DAD : 

What? 


(The Doctor produces an egg from his mouth 

and puts it in the pan. Then a second one 

which goes into his hand and disappears.) 


MUM : 

Don't Try Our Patience. 


(She throws a lightning bolt near the Doctor.) 


DAD : 

Don't Play Games. 


Time’s Champion : 

You're not interested in beginnings — 

You're only interested in endings.

Time’s Champion :

The climax of My Act, Gods of Ragnarok, 

requires something You Do not 

possess in great abundance. 

That is, Imagination. 

And it starts with A Piece of Metal. 

This piece of metal once 

belonged to A Sword, and 

that sword belonged 

to A Gladiator. 


(The Doctor throws the piece of metal into the air, where it transforms into a gladius, and then a long sword drops into his hand.) 


And that gladiator fought and died 

in this ring to entertain you.

I have fed you enough, Gods of Ragnarok — 

and You found what I have to offer indigestible. 

So I have taken Myself OFF The Menu. 

La comedia e finita. 

"That DEFEATIST RESPONSE has become part of a new System of Political CONTROL -- 

and to understand 

HOW this is happening : 

You Have to Look 

to Russia.

This is Vladislav Serkov -- who is a Hero of Our Time.

Serkov is one of President Putin's advisors, and has helped him maintain his Power 

for 15 YEARS -- but he has done it in a very new way.

He came originally from the

avant-garde art world -- and those who have studied his career say that what Serkov has DONE is to import ideas from the world of Conceptual Art 

into the very heart of politics.

His aim is to undermine 

People's PERCEPTION 

of The World, 

so they never know 

What is REALLY Happening.

Serkov turned Russian Politics into a behwhildering, constantly changing piece of Theatre -- he sponsored all kinds of organisations, from Neo-Nazi Skinheads, to Liberal Human Rights Groups..... He even backed parties that were OPPOSED to President Putin.

But The Key Thing IS that 

Serkov then let it be KNOWN 

that this is what he was doing -- 

which meant that no-one was SURE 

what was ‘Real’, and 

what was ‘Fake’.

….or, of Course —

Vice-Versa