E-Space is a Swamp

 

 

MONITOR:

From this point, the unravelling will spread out

until The Whole Universe is reduced to nothing.

 

The MASTER:

….so it's True.

 

(The Master walks away.)

 

MONITOR:

Yes, Doctor, You were right -- 

Our Numbers were holding

The Fabric of The Universe together.

 

NYSSA: 

But how? 

Surely in a closed system

like The Universe, entropy is

bound to increase?

 

MONITOR:

Certainly. The Universe long ago passed

The Point of TOTAL collapse.

 

Tom : 

….PASSED The Point?!

 

MONITOR:

….if it had remained closed.

But we had the means

to postpone The Time.

 

MASTER:

So that's why you adapted

The Pharos Project.

 

MONITOR:

Yes. We opened The System by creating

voids into other universes.

 

ADRIC:

Charged Vacuum Emboitments!

 

Tom: 

We passed through one of your voids, Monitor.

 

MONITOR: 

It all depended on our continued endeavours.

A temporary solution while the advanced research unit

worked on a more permanent plan.

But nothing will come of that now.

Our labours wasted.

The voids will be closing.

 

 

Tom : 

I take it you don't get many strangers here.

 

IVO: 

Strangers?

 

Tom : 

Yes, visitors. Foreign devils. 

You know, people you don't know.

 

IVO: 

Everyone here is known.

 

ROMANA: 

Well, what about people from 

The Next Village, or The Nearest Town?

 

IVO: 

There is only The Village and 

The Tower, nowhere else.

 

DOCTOR: 

Who lives in this Tower of your?

 

IVO: 

Why do you ask what everyone must know? 

Are you sent to test me? 

I am Ivo, Head Man of This Village 

like My Father before me 

and His Father before him. 

The Lords know I'm loyal.

 

DOCTOR: 

Please, don't shout. 

Splendid, I'm sure -- 

So you serve The Lords, but 

what do The Lords do for you?

 

IVO: 

They protect us from The Wasting.

 

 

DOCTOR: 

Surely you realise something here must be wrong?

 

ZARGO: 

Wrong?

 

Tom : 

Yes.

 

CAMILLA: 

What is, is.

 

Tom : 

No. What is, is wrong. 

Look, societies develop in varying ways. 

Yours just seems to be sinking back

into some sort of Primitivism,

wouldn't you say so?

 

ROMANA: 

Oh, yes — In terms of applied socioenergetics, 

it's losing its grip on level two development.

 

DOCTOR: 

On level two?

 

ROMANA: 

A Society that evolve backwards 

must be subject to some even MORE 

powerful force restraining it.

 

Tom: 

An even more powerful force?

 

ZARGO: 

How very mysterious.

 

Tom: 

Well, mysterious or not, those rebels seem 

to think The Power emanates from you.

 

CAMILLA: 

They flatter us.

 

ZARGO:

In any Society there is bound

to be a division between 

The Rulers and The Ruled.

 

Tom: 

A Division? 

Yawning chasm, I'd say. Wouldn't you?

 

ROMANA: 

No, I'd say a sociopathetic abscess.

 

Tom: 

Oh, I wish I'd thought of that. 

That's a good diagnosis. 

Yes, I've never seen such a State of Decay.

SHARKEY

(The Doctor tries Camilla's throne, then Zargo's.) 

DOCTOR: 

Oh yes, this is much more comfortable. 

What were those Hydrax officers called? 

ROMANA: 

Captain Miles Sharkey, 

Navigation Officer Lauren MacMillan, 

Science Officer Anthony O'Connor. 

DOCTOR: 

That's very good. 

Have you ever heard of the Brothers Grimm? 

ROMANA: 

This is no time for fairy tales. 

DOCTOR: 

They also discovered the Law of Consonantal Shift. 

How language changes over the years. 

ROMANA: 

You mean the hard sounds softening, 

B's becoming V's and so on?

DOCTOR: 

Hmm. 

ROMANA: 

Camilla, Aukon and Zargo. 

Wait a minute. 

Sharkey, 

Zharkey, 

Zarkey, 

Zar, 

Zargo. 

The same name passed down through generations. 

The Edge of The World

The Edge of The World Party was filmed on 

Sept. 11th 2001

Remember, Remember The 11th of September

Thermite, Treason and Plot

"It's not The Girl, Peter, it's The Building! Something Terrible is about to enter Our World, and This Building is obviously The Door. 

The architect's name was Ivo Shandor. 

I found it in Tobin's Spirit Guide. 

He was also a Doctor. 

Performed a lot of unnecessary surgery. 

And then in 1920, he founded a Secret Society...."

POWER

HABRIS: 

Lord Aukon himself is here.

(Aukon enters and inspects the line.)

AUKON: 

Interesting -

(He goes back to Adric.)

Lord AUKON : 

A mind that shields itself.

 One who pretends to be a dull and stupid peasant, 

but who is different.

ADRIC: 

Who, me?

Lord AUKON : 

You. 

You. 

Come with me.

ADRIC: 

Why?

Lord AUKON : 

Spirit too, I see. 

Excellent.

ADRIC: 

Come with you? 

What's in it for me?

Lord AUKON: 

Wealth.

Power.

Dominion over This World.... 

....and over Many Others. 

EXT. BALCONY - GOETH'S VILLA - NIGHT
 Distant music, Brahms' lullaby, from the Rosner Brothers way down by the women's barracks calming the inhabitants. Up here on the balcony, Schindler and Goeth, the latter so drunk he can barely stand up, stare out over Goeth's dark kingdom.

 SCHINDLER 
They don't fear us because we have the power to kill, they fear us because we have the power to kill arbitrarily. 

A man commits a crime, he should know better.

We have him killed, we feel pretty good about it.

Or we kill him ourselves and we feel even better. 

 
That's not Power, though, that's Justice. 

That's different than Power. 

 
Power is when we have every justification to kill -- and we don't. 

That's Power.

That's what The Emperors had. 

A man stole something, he's brought in before the emperor, he throws himself down on the floor, he begs for mercy, he knows he's going to die... 

And The Emperor pardons him. 

This worthless man. 

He lets him go. 

That's Power. 

That's Power.
 It seems almost as though this temptation toward restraint, this image Schindler has brush-stroked of the merciful emperor, holds some appeal to Goeth. 

Perhaps, as he stares out over his camp, he imagines himself in the role, wondering what the power Schindler describes might feel like.

 Eventually, he glances over drunkenly, and almost smiles.

 SCHINDLER 
Amon the Good.

 EXT. STABLES - PLASZOW - DAY

 A stable boy works to ready Goeth's horse before he arrives.

 He sticks a bridle into its mouth, throws a riding blanket onto its back, drags out the saddle Schindler bought Goeth.

 Before he can finish, though, Goeth is there. The boy tries to hide his panic; he knows others have been shot for less.
 STABLE BOY 
I'm sorry, sir, I'm almost done.

 GOETH 
Oh, that's all right.

 As Goeth waits, patiently it seems, whistling to himself, the stable boy tries to mask his confusion.
 EXT. PLASZOW - DAY
 Goeth gallops around his great domain holding himself high in the saddle. But everywhere he looks, it seems, he's confronted with stoop-shouldered sloth. He forces himself to smile benevolently.
 INT. GOETH'S VILLA - DAY
 Goeth comes into his bedroom sweating from his ride. A worker with a pail and cloth appears in the bathroom doorway.
 MORE TO THE FLOOR --

 WORKER 
I have to report, sir, I've been unable to remove the stains from your bathtub.

 Goeth steps past him to take a look. The worker is almost shaking, he's so terrified of the violent reprisal he expects to receive.
 GOETH 
What are you using?

 WORKER 
Soap, sir.

 GOETH 
(incredulous) 

Soap? Not lye?

 The worker hasn't a defense for himself. 

Goeth's hand drifts down as if by instinct to the gun in his holster. 

He stares at the worker. 

He so wants to shoot him he can hardly stand it, right here, right in the bathroom, put some more stains on the porcelain. 

He takes a deep breath to calm himself.

 Then gestures grandly.
 
 GOETH 

Go ahead, go on, leave. 

I pardon you.
 The worker hurries out with his pail and cloth. Goeth just stands there for several moments -- trying to feel the power of emperors he's supposed to be feeling. 

But he doesn't feel it. 

All he feels is stupid.

 EXT. GOETH'S VILLA - MOMENTS LATER - DAY

 The worker hurries across the dying lawn outside the villa.

 He dares a glance back, and at that moment, a hand with a gun appears out the bathroom window and fires.

(Habris enters.)

HABRIS: 

My Lord, it is time.

ZARGO: 

How dare you interrupt us!

HABRIS: 

Aukon has seen The Sign. 
The Arising is at hand.

CAMILLA: 

The Arising? Leave us.

(Habris leaves.)

ZARGO: 

We must go to him.

CAMILLA: 

We shall resume this later. 

If you need anything, there are guards outside the door. 

Many guards.

The Great 1 :

You took the one, last 
PERFECT Crystal of POWER. 

I searched all Time, and all Space for it....!!!

I MUST have it! 

The Established Dandy : 

No! No, never. 

GREAT ONE [OC]: 

You are PROUD, Little Man. 

I see that I shall have to teach you to have respect! 

Round you go, Doctor. 

DOCTOR: 

No. No! 

No, I will not! 

(Against his will, the Doctor turns left, stepping high, as the Great One laughs.) 

DOCTOR: 

No! No, I will not! No! 

(The Doctor has turned right round and back to where he started.) 

GREAT ONE [OC]: 

Is that FEAR I can feel in your mind...? 

You are not ACCUSTOMED to feeling FRIGHTENED, are you, Doctor? 

You are very WISE to be afraid of ME...!!!. 

Go now. You must hurry back and fetch the crystal. 

I MUST have it, don't you understand? 

I must have it! I must! 

I must! I must! 

Go now. Go! 

Go! Go NOW! 

K'ANPO: 

We are all apt to surrender ourselves to domination. 

Even the strongest of us. 

DOCTOR: 

...Do you mean me? 

K'ANPO: 

Not all spiders sit on the back. 

SARAH: 

Oh, I don't understand. You're not saying they've taken over The Doctor, are you? 

DOCTOR: 

Oh no, Sarah, no. 

No, he's talking about my GREED. 

SARAH: 

Greed? You? 

DOCTOR: 

Yes, my Greed for KNOWLEDGE , for INFORMATION. 

He's saying that all this is basically My Fault. 

If I hadn't taken the crystal in the first place.....

I know who you are now!

K'ANPO: 

You were always a little slow on the uptake, my boy. 

GREAT ONE [OC]: 

Stop! Have you brought the crystal to me? 

DOCTOR: 

Well if I had not, why should I have returned? 

GREAT ONE [OC]: 

Very well. Very well, advance. 

(The Doctor walks around a corner and sees the universes biggest spider.) 

DOCTOR: 

I've brought you the crystal. 

Now why don't you just take it and leave the humans in peace, both here and on Earth? 

GREAT ONE: 

You think I care for the puny plans of my subjects? Earth? 

One paltry planet among millions? 

Give me the crystal. 

I thirst for it! 

I ache for it! 

DOCTOR: 

Well, why is it so important to you? 

GREAT ONE: 

You see this web of crystal above my head? 

It reproduces the pattern of my brain. 

One perfect crystal and it will be complete. 

That is the perfect crystal I need. 

DOCTOR: 

And then? 

GREAT ONE: 

My every thought will resonate within the web, and grow in power until, until, until....!!!

DOCTOR: 

But you've built a positive feedback circuit. You're trying to increase your mental powers to infinity. 

GREAT ONE: 

Exactly! 

I shall be the ruler of the entire universe! 

DOCTOR: 

Now listen to me. Listen. 

I haven't got much time left. 

What you're trying to do is impossible. 

If you complete that circuit, the energy will build up and up until it cannot be contained. 

You will destroy yourself. 

GREAT ONE:

 You waste the little time remaining to you. 

Even now the cave of crystal is destroying the cells of your body. 

I will grant you one last favour. 

You may watch the completion of my triumph before you die! 

(The crystal flies out of the Doctor's hand and becomes the keystone of the web lattice.) 

GREAT ONE: 

I am complete! 

Now I am total power! 

All praise to the Great One! 

DOCTOR: 

Stop. Stop! 

Don't you see what's happened to you? 

GREAT ONE: 

All praise to the Great One! 

All praise to me! Bow down before me, planets! 

Bow down, stars! 

Bow down, all galaxies and worship the Great One! 

The me! The Great, all-powerful me! 

Argh! 

(The giant spider starts to glow red.) 

GREAT ONE: 

I hurt! Help me! 

I am burning! My brain is on fire! 

(The Doctor runs out of the cave.) 

GREAT ONE: 

Help me!

DOCTOR: 

Compressed information, streaming into her. Reports from every city, every country, every planet, and they all get packaged inside her head. She becomes part of the software. Her brain is the computer. 

ROSE:

 If it all goes through her, she must be a genius. 

DOCTOR: 

Nah, she wouldn't remember any of it. There's too much. Her head'd blow up. 

The brain's the processor. As soon as it closes, she forgets. 

ROSE: 

So, what about all these people round the edge? 

DOCTOR: 

They've all got tiny little chips in their head, connecting them to her and they transmit six hundred channels. 

Every single fact in the Empire beams out of this place. 

Now that's what I call power. 

EDITOR: 

I started without you. 

This is fascinating. 

Satellite Five contains every piece of information within the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. 

Birth certificates, shopping habits, bank statements, but you two, you don't exist. 

Not a trace. No birth, no job, not the slightest kiss. 

How can you walk through the world and not leave a single footprint? 

ROSE: 

Suki. Suki! Hello? 

Can you hear me? Suki? 

What have you done to her? 

DOCTOR: 

I think she's dead. 

ROSE: 

She's working. 

DOCTOR: 

They've all got chips in their head, and the chips keep going, like puppets. 

EDITOR: 

Oh! You're full of information. But it's only fair we get some information back, because apparently, you're no one. It's so rare not to know something. Who are you? 

DOCTOR: 

It doesn't matter, because we're off. 

Nice to meet you. Come on. 

(Suki grabs Rose's arm. Two other zombies grab the Doctor.) 

EDITOR: Tell me who you are. 

DOCTOR: Since that information's keeping us alive, I'm hardly going to say, am I. 

EDITOR: Well, perhaps my Editor in Chief can convince you otherwise. 

DOCTOR: And who's that? 

EDITOR: 

It may interest you to know that this is not the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. In fact, it's not actually human at all. It's merely a place where humans happen to live. 

(Growl, snarl.) 

EDITOR: 

Yeah. Yeah, sorry. It's a place where humans are allowed to live by kind permission of my client. 

(Who we finally see is a giant lump hanging from the ceiling, with a very nasty set of teeth in a mouth on the end of a pseudopod.) 

ROSE: What is that? 

DOCTOR: You mean that thing's in charge of Satellite Five? 

EDITOR: That thing, as you put it, is in charge of the human race. For almost a hundred years, mankind has been shaped and guided, his knowledge and ambition strictly controlled by it's broadcast news, edited by my superior, your master, and humanity's guiding light, the mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe. I call him Max. 

(Down on Floor 139 Adam avoids Cathica as she goes to take another look at the schematic that the Doctor called up. Then she goes to the lift and punches in the code for Floor 500. 

Meanwhile, the Doctor and Rose have been placed in hefty sets of manacles.) 

EDITOR: Create a climate of fear and it's easy to keep the borders closed. It's just a matter of emphasis. The right word in the right broadcast repeated often enough can destabilise an economy, invent an enemy, change a vote. 

ROSE: So all the people on Earth are like, slaves. 

EDITOR: Well, now, there's an interesting point. Is a slave a slave if he doesn't know he's enslaved? 

DOCTOR: Yes. 

EDITOR: Oh. I was hoping for a philosophical debate. Is that all I'm going to get? Yes? 

DOCTOR: Yes. 

EDITOR: You're no fun. 

DOCTOR: Let me out of these manacles. You'll find out how much fun I am. 

EDITOR: Oh, he's tough, isn't he. But, come on. Isn't it a great system? You've got to admire it, just a little bit. 

ROSE: You can't hide something on this scale. Somebody must have noticed. 

EDITOR: From time to time, someone, yes, but the computer chip system allows me to see inside their brains. I can see the smallest doubt and crush it. 

(Cathica arrives on Floor 500. Adam goes to the broadcast room on 139.) 

EDITOR: Then they just carry on, living the life, strutting about downstairs and all over the surface of the Earth like they're so individual, when of course, they're not. They're just cattle. In that respect, the Jagrafess hasn't changed a thing. 

(The Doctor and Rose spot Cathica behind the Editor's back.) 

ROSE: What about you? You're not a Jagrabelly 

DOCTOR: Jagrafess. 

ROSE: Jagrafess. You're not a Jagrafess. You're human. 

EDITOR: Yeah, well, simply being human doesn't pay very well. 

ROSE: But you couldn't have done this all on your own. 

EDITOR: No. I represent a consortium of banks. Money prefers a long-term investment. Also, the Jagrafess needed a little hand to install himself. 

DOCTOR: No wonder, a creature that size. What's his life span? 

EDITOR: Three thousand years. 

DOCTOR: That's one hell of a metabolism generating all that heat. That's why Satellite Five's so hot. You pump it out of the creature, channel it downstairs. Jagrafess stays cool, it stays alive. Satellite Five is one great big life support system.

[Adam's home]

(Adam settles in the broadcast chair and opens his portal, then phones home.) 

ADAM [OC]: It's me again. Don't wipe this message. It's just going to sound like white noise, but save it because I can

[Newsroom]

ADAM: Translate it, okay? Three, two, one and spike. 

(Information beams into Adam.)

[Floor 500]

EDITOR: But that's why you're so dangerous. Knowledge is power, but you remain unknown. Who are you? 

(The Editor snaps his fingers and energy surges through the manacles. Back in the now, the little dog watches energy encircling the telephone answering machine.) 

DOCTOR: Leave her alone. I'm the Doctor, she's Rose Tyler. We're nothing, we're just wandering. 

EDITOR: Tell me who you are! 

DOCTOR: I just said! 

EDITOR: Yes, but who do you work for? Who sent you? Who knows about us? Who exactly 

(He stops. The Jagrafess growls.) 

EDITOR: Time Lord. 

DOCTOR: What? 

EDITOR: Oh, yes. The last of the Time Lords in his travelling machine. Oh, with his little human girl from long ago 

DOCTOR: You don't know what you're talking about. 

EDITOR: Time travel.

[Newsroom]

(Adam screams as information is sucked out of his brain.) 

ADAM: Help!

[Floor 500]

DOCTOR: Someone's been telling you lies. 

EDITOR: Young master Adam Mitchell? 

(The Editor calls up the holo-monitor showing Adam in the broadcast chair.) 

ROSE: Oh, my God. His head! 

DOCTOR: What the hell's he done? What the hell's he gone and done? They're reading his mind. He's telling them everything. 

EDITOR: And through him, I know everything about you. Every piece of information in his head is now mine. And you have infinite knowledge, Doctor. The Human Empire is tiny compared to what you've seen in your T A R D I S. Tardis. 

DOCTOR: Well, you'll never get your hands on it. I'll die first. 

EDITOR: Die all you like. I don't need you. I've got the key. 

(The Tardis key rises from Adam's pocket.) 

DOCTOR: You and your boyfriends! 

EDITOR: Today, we are the headlines. We can rewrite history. We could prevent mankind from ever developing. 

DOCTOR: And no one's going to stop you because you've bred a human race that doesn't bother to ask questions. Stupid little slaves, believing every lie. They'll just trot right into the slaughter house if they're told it's made of gold. 

(The Jagrafess snarls, and Cathica leaves.)