Sunday, 14 August 2022

A Matter of Memory





















[Dark Tower staircase]

(The Third Doctor and Sarah Jane are walking down.) 

Sarah-Jane Smith : 
I can't go on -- I feel as if something 
were pushing me back. 

The Established Dandy : 
Yes. Yes, I can feel it too, Sarah. 
It's the mind of Rassilon. 
We must be nearing the tomb. 

Now, you've got to fight it. 
You must keep Your Mind under control.
 
Sarah-Jane Smith : 
I can't, I feel as if something 
absolutely terrible 
were going to happen. 
The Established Dandy : 
Sit down here. Sit down. 
Rest for a moment. All right? 

Sarah-Jane Smith : 
Where are you going? 

The Established Dandy : 
I won't be a second. 
Sarah-Jane Smith : Well, don't be too long.

[Dark Tower corridor]

(The Third Doctor walks along to a corner, then turns to go back to Sarah. A man in army uniform walks round the corner.) 

Mike Yates' Ghost : 
Doctor. Doctor, this way. 

The Established Dandy : 
Mike? Mike Yates? 
How did you get here? 

Mike Yates' Ghost : 
Same way as you. 
Liz Shaw is here, too. 
The Established Dandy : 
Good heavens. 
(Liz comes round the corner.) 

The Established Dandy : 
Hello, Liz. Any more of you? 

Liz Shaws' Ghost :
 Someone you should know very well. 
Come and see for yourself. 

The Established Dandy : 
Huh, not that little fellow in 
the checked trousers and 
the black frock coat. 

Liz Shaws' Ghost : 
And more. There are Five of You now. 

The Established Dandy : 
Oh, good grief. 

Mike Yates' Ghost : 
And they're waiting for you. 

The Established Dandy : 
Yes, well, you wait here for a moment. 
I'll go and get Sarah. 

(Yates blocks his way.) 

Mike Yates' Ghost : 
I'll fetch her. 

The Established Dandy : 
No, I, er, I think I'll go, Mike. 
She's nervous enough as it is. 

Liz Shaws' Ghost : 
Let Mike go. Your other selves 
need you urgently. 

The Established Dandy :
.... No, I think I'll go, thanks. 

(The Doctor dodges round Yates.)
 
Mike Yates' Ghost : 
No, Doctor! 

Liz Shaws' Ghost :
 Stop him! 

The Established Dandy : 
How? You're phantoms
illusions of the mind! 

Liz Shaws' Ghost : 
Stop him!!!
(Liz and Yates disappear in a cloud of black smoke.)

[Dark Tower staircase]


Sarah-Jane Smith : 
What's happening? Doctor? 
Doctor! Oh, there you are. 

The Established Dandy : 
Sarah? 

Sarah-Jane Smith : 
Sarah? Of course I am. 
What are you talking about? 
Listen, why did you leave me for so long? 
And what was that scream? 

The Established Dandy : 
They were just phantoms from The Past. 

Sarah-Jane Smith :
 Yes, well, I'm in The Present and I'm Real. 

The Established Dandy : 
Yes. Yeah, you're real enough. 
Come on. 

(They head off in the other direction.)

[Dark Tower corridor]


Tegan : 
Do you feel weird, Doctor? 

Old Grandfather : 
Full of strange fears and 
terrible forebodings? 

Tegan : 
That's it. 

Old Grandfather
No, as a matter of fact, I don't. It's all illusion, child. 
We're close to the domain of Rassilon,
 whose mind is reaching out to attack us. 
Just ignore it, as I do. 

Tegan : 
How? 

Old Grandfather
Fear itself is largely an illusion. 
And at my age, there's little left to fear. 
Hmm. No, there's nothing here to harm us. 

(The Master comes down a staircase behind them and follows.)




[Dark Tower staircase]

(The Second Doctor and the Brigadier are coming up some stairs.) 

The Brig : 
I don't like it, Doctor. I feel rather unwell. 
Touch of nausea, I think. 

The Cosmic Hobo : 
What you feel is Fear, Brigadier, 
projecting from the mind of Rassilon. 

The Brig : 
Fear? 

(A woman screams nearby.

WOMAN [OC]: 
Doctor, Help Me! 

The Cosmic Hobo : 
No. It may be A Trap. 
I'll go and see. You wait here. 

The Brig : 
Certainly not. 
I'm coming with you. 

The Cosmic Hobo : 
Oh, very well, but don't get in the way. 

(Another scream.)

[Dark Tower corridor]


The Cosmic Hobo : 
Take this. 

(He gives the torch to the Brigadier. The scream is close by.) 

The Brig : 
What was that? 

The Cosmic Hobo : 
We'll go and see.
 
(The Brigadier hooks the torch on a nearby sconce and they walk up to the corner.

The Brig : 
Good grief! 

The Cosmic Hobo : 
Jamie! Zoe!

 Jamie McCrimmon's Ghost
Stay back, Doctor. 



The Cosmic Hobo : 
Why, what's happening? 

Zoe Herriot's Ghost : 
Don't come any closer. 
There's a force field. 

The Cosmic Hobo : 
A force fieldWe'll soon see about that.
 
Jamie McCrimmon's Ghost : 
No, don't, Doctor. If the force field 
is disturbed, it'll destroy us. 

Zoe Herriot's Ghost : 
You must go back. 

The Brig : 
Well, Doctor, what are we going to do? 

The Cosmic Hobo : 
Get them out of it.
 
Jamie McCrimmon's Ghost : 
No, no, please don't, Doctor. 

Zoe Herriot's Ghost
Oh, go back. Save Yourselves. 

The Cosmic Hobo
I can't. I can't leave you there. 

Zoe Herriot's Ghost
You must

The Brig
We could find another way 
into the tomb area. 

The Cosmic Hobo
But Zoe and Jamie would still be trapped

Jamie McCrimmon's Ghost
The Brigadier's right -- 

The Cosmic Hobo
....or would they? Just a minute.... 
It's a Matter of Memory....
 
Zoe Herriot's Ghost
Stay away!
 
The Cosmic Hobo
Why? I can't harm you. 

Jamie McCrimmon's Ghost
One step nearer and we're dead!
 
The Cosmic Hobo
You can't kill illusions

(The Second Doctor steps between Jamie and Zoe. Jamie's voice echoes.

Jamie McCrimmon's Ghost
No, Brigadier...! 

The Cosmic Hobo : 
You're not Real -- 
When you were returned 
to Your Own People, 
The Time Lords erased Your Memory 
of the period you spent with me --
....so How Do You Know 
Who We Are? Answer

(Zoe and Jamie scream and disappear in a cloud of black smoke.

The Brig
They're gone. 

The Cosmic Hobo
Yes, yes, it's sad....

[Dark Tower staircase]


(They keep going upwards.

The Brig
I still don't like it, Doctor. 
I don't fully understand why we're here. 

The Cosmic Hobo
You want to get Home?
 
The Brig
Of course.
 
The Cosmic Hobo
That is why we are here. 
Have Faith, Brigadier --
Have I ever led you astray? 

The Brig
On many occasions. 


The Cosmic Hobo

Yes, well -- This will be The Exception. 

Come along.
























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