Saturday, 20 November 2021

The Way to Shada







[Command ship]
(A big red and orange spaceship 
complete with landing deck. 
The Tardis materialises inside. 
The sphere leads Skagra and Romana 
out into a corridor.)

ROMANA: Where are we? 

SKAGRA: 
On my command ship. 

ROMANA: 
And what are you hoping to command? 

SKAGRA: 
More than you can possibly imagine. 

ROMANA: 
I have a very vivid imagination. 

SKAGRA: 
So have I. 

(Something approaches, viewing them through a red filter.)

KRARG: 
Welcome Back, My Lord.

[Spacecraft]

(The Doctor is playing with his yo-yo.)

PARSONS: 
So where's he taken 
Your TARDIS? 

DOCTOR: 
Or when

PARSONS: 
What? 

DOCTOR: 
Time machine. 

PARSONS: 
Ah, yes. He took Romana because 
she can operate it for him? 

DOCTOR: 
So can he. He's got a copy of My Mind 
in that sphere of his. 
Everything I know is at his disposal. 

PARSONS: 
Then why did he take her with him? 

DOCTOR: 
Well, probably wants someone to show off too. 

PARSONS: 
There's one thing he doesn't know. 

DOCTOR: 
What? 

PARSONS: 
You're Still Alive. 

DOCTOR: 
Shush, shush, shush, shush. 
I'm Dead, remember. 

PARSONS: (sotto) 
Doctor, why doesn't The Ship know that?

DOCTOR: (sotto) 
It's only programmed to obey instructions, 
not to think about them. Blind Logic. 
It Serves Skagra and doesn't 
think beyond that. 

PARSONS: (sotto) 
Does it know where Skagra's gone

DOCTOR: 
Ship! Speaking to You as the late lamented enemy 
of Your Lord Skagra, I Command You 
to tell me where he has gone. 

SHIP: 
I Do Not Have That Information.

[Command ship]
(Skagra snaps his fingers and the sphere settles on a pillar.)

ROMANA: 
Why don't you tell me
Why won't you just say what 
you're trying to do? 

(Skagra looks out of a big window.)

SKAGRA: 
Tell me what you see. 

ROMANA: 
Stars. 

SKAGRA: 
What are they doing

ROMANA: 
Doing? 

SKAGRA: 
Yes. 

ROMANA: 
Well, they're just there
They're --

SKAGRA: 
Exactly. Spinning uselessly through The Void. 
And around them, billions of people 
spinning uselessly through their lives. 

ROMANA: 
Says who?

SKAGRA: 
I say. 

ROMANA: 
And who are you


SKAGRA: 
What I am now is Not Important. 
But what I, what We all shall become... 

ROMANA: 
What do you --

SKAGRA: 
Shush. Look. 
(He opens his hands.)

ROMANA: 
What? 

SKAGRA: 
What do you see? 

ROMANA: 
Nothing. 

SKAGRA: 
Billions of atoms spinning at random, 
expending energy, running down
achieving nothing
Entropy, like the stars. 

But what is the one thing that 
stands against Entropy
against random decay? Life. 

(indicating himself)
See how the atoms are arranged here
They have Meaning, Purpose
And what more Meaning and Purpose 
than in here. (his head

You do not understand Me. 
Your Mind is too limited. 
My Krargs. They shall be The Servants 
of The New Generation. 

ROMANA: 
New Generation? New people?

SKAGRA: 
Not new people. 
A new Person.

[Krarg generator room]
(They enter a vapour-filled room.)

ROMANA: 
What? 

SKAGRA
Shush. 

(Skagra activates A Machine, and a new Krarg is created. Giant shaggy alien red yeti with post-it notes instead of fur, pretty much.

KRARG: 
What is Your Command, O Master?

[Spacecraft]
(The Doctor is working inside some panelling.)

PARSONS: 
So it's Back to Square One, then. 

DOCTOR: That's it! Ow! Ouch! 

PARSONS: 
What? 

DOCTOR: 
Square One. That's where we've got to go 
if we want to find out what Skagra's up to. 

Once we know that, we know 
where to find him. 

Ship, I order you to take us to where your lord Skagra last came before arriving here. 
SHIP: Your order does not conflict with my programmed instructions. I will activate launch procedures. Launch procedures activated. Launch procedures activated. Launch procedures activated. 
(Somewhere, more Krarg are created. Skagra's ship becomes visible once it is airborne and zooms off into space.) 
DOCTOR: Ship, how long will the journey take? 
SHIP: Thirty nine astro-siderial days. 
DOCTOR: What? That's neary three months. 
SHIP: At maximum drive. We have many hundreds of light years to cover. 
PARSONS: Hundreds of light years in three months? That's incredible. 
DOCTOR: Yes, incredibly slow. Stop. 
SHIP: Repeat, please. 
DOCTOR: I said, stop. Halt. (Juddering halt knocks Parsons off his feet.) 
PARSONS: Oh, what are you doing? 
DOCTOR: Ship, I'm now going to introduce you to a few new concepts. Now listen very carefully. Reverse the polarity of your main drive feed. Right? 
SHIP: Accomplished. 
DOCTOR: Regrade your de-ossilation diagetic synthesisers by ten points. 
SHIP: Warning. Drive will explode in twelve seconds. Eleven. Ten. 
DOCTOR: Did I say ten points? Sorry, minus ten points. 
SHIP: Accomplished. 
DOCTOR: Realign your maxivectal meter on drag so they cross-connect with your radial bicentric arrows. 
SHIP: Accomplished. 
DOCTOR: Good. Now, this is the easy bit. 
(More Krargs emerge.)
PARSONS: What have you done? 
DOCTOR: I've constructed a primitive dimensional stabiliser by remote control. The journey will now only take a couple of minutes to anywhere. 
SHIP: Doctor, you are extremely ingenious, for a dead man. 
DOCTOR: Oh, well, let's not harp on that aspect too much, shall we? 
(A familiar sound is heard as the ship dematerialises.)
[Prof. Chronotis' rooms]
(Clare lies unconscious on the carpet as the lights on the control panel continue to blink. She starts to wake up, bumps her head on the underside of an occasional table, then gets up and sits on a chair. Chronotis pops up from behind the back of the chair next to her, wearing a nightcap and gown. Clare jumps out of her skin) 
CHRONOTIS: What have you done to my machine? 
(He switches off the console, and the vague background humming stops.) 
CHRONOTIS: Tea? 
(Chronotis goes into the kitchen and comes straight out with the tea tray.) 
CLARE: May I ask who you are? 
CHRONOTIS: I was, I am, I will be, Professor Chronotis. Oh dear. We Gallifreyans have never managed to come up with a satisfactory form of grammar to cover these situations. 
CLARE: Look, I don't understand what's happening. What situation? 
CHRONOTIS: (sitting) Timelessness. Standing obliquely to the time fields. 
CLARE: Is that what we're doing? 
CHRONOTIS: Oh yes, and very grateful I am to you for arranging it. 
CLARE: Me? But all I did was just press a button and 
CHRONOTIS: Yes, I know. A very ancient Tardis, this. I rescued it literally from the scrap heaps. I'm not allowed have one really, you know. Still, just as well though, isn't it, otherwise I'd be dead still. 
CLARE: Still dead? 
CHRONOTIS: Oh, yes. Yes, I've been killed. Only your timely mishandling of this machine meant that you tangled with my time fields at the critical moment. You're not following me, are you? 
CLARE: Er, no. 
CHRONOTIS: Good. Think of me as a paradox in an anomaly and get on with your tea. 
CLARE: Oh, yes. 
CHRONOTIS: We must find Skagra. 
CLARE: Yes. 
CHRONOTIS: He has the book. 
CLARE: Ah! 
CHRONOTIS: You know about it? 
CLARE: Well, I sort of 
CHRONOTIS: It's a very dangerous book and I have been very careless. It is the key to Shada. 
CLARE: Oh. 
CHRONOTIS: The ancient prison planet of the Time Lords. They have been induced to forget about it.
CLARE: I see. 
CHRONOTIS: If Skagra is meddling with mind transference, mind control, he's only going to Shada for one particular reason and it is imperative that he be stopped. 
CLARE: Yes! Er, why? What on Earth's there? 
CHRONOTIS: It's not a matter of what, it's a matter of who.

[Command ship]
(An image of what the Doctor saw on the pages of the book is on a wall screen, projected by the sphere.) 

ROMANA: 
What's so important about the book? 

SKAGRA: 
It is The Ancient Law of Gallifrey. 

ROMANA: 
So? 

SKAGRA: 
So, what does a Gallifreyan Judge 
say when passing sentence? 

ROMANA: 
Er, 'We but administer. You are imprisoned not by this court but by the power of the Law. It is not -- '

SKAGRA: 
The Power of The Law. 
It used to be quite literally true.
 
ROMANA: 
What? You think that book is some sort of key to --

SKAGRA: 
The key with which the Time Lords used 
to imprison its most feared criminals. 
Criminals such as... 
He doesn't know. He doesn't know the code. 

ROMANA: 
I'm glad you realised that. 
It's about Time. 

SKAGRA: 
Time. Time. About Time. 
Yes, of course. I should have seen that. 
A Gallifreyan code would have 
to include the dimension of Time. 
(to the sphere) 
Stop. Find me the Doctor's last reference to Time.

[Spacecraft]
DOCTOR: Oh, come on, ship. What's taking you so long? 
SHIP: Estimated docking time, two minutes. 
DOCTOR: Hurry up. 
(A Krarg appears in the doorway behind them.) 
KRARG: Who are you? 
PARSONS: Doctor! 
DOCTOR: Ah, hello there. 
PARSONS: (sotto) What is it? 
DOCTOR: (sotto) I don't know. 
KRARG: You are intruders. 
DOCTOR: Well actually, I'm dead, and this is Bristol. 
PARSONS: Chris. 
KRARG: You trespass on my lord's ship. You shall die. 
DOCTOR: K9! 
(K9 fires his laser.) 
PARSONS: What on Earth is it? 
DOCTOR: What's Earth got to do with it? Looks like some sort of crystalline structure. 
SHIP: Preparing to dock. 
DOCTOR: You go ahead. Don't mind us. 
(The spacecraft materialises inside the shuttle bay.)
[FSAS Space Station - outside the shuttlebay]
(The place has gotten dark and dirty since we were last here. The Computer is still repeating the message from the top of the story.) 
COMPUTER: This is a recorded message. The Foundation for the Study of Advanced Sciences is under strict quarantine. Do not approach. Do not approach. Everything is under our control. 
PARSONS [OC]: Where is this place? 
DOCTOR [OC] How should I know? 
PARSONS [OC]: Big, isn't it? 
DOCTOR [OC]: I wonder where everybody's got to? 
(They come out of the shuttle bay.)
PARSONS: I don't know. 
DOCTOR: Neither do I. 
PARSONS: And I don't believe that we travelled hundreds of light years. 
DOCTOR: Why not? 
PARSONS: You cannot travel faster than light. Einstein. 
DOCTOR: What? Do you understand Einstein? 
PARSONS: Yes. 
DOCTOR: What? And quantum theory? 
PARSONS: Yes. 
DOCTOR: What? And Planck? 
PARSONS: Yes. 
DOCTOR: What? And Newton? 
PARSONS: Yes. 
DOCTOR: What? And Schoenberg? 
PARSONS: Of course. 
DOCTOR: You've got a lot to unlearn. Ah. 
(The Doctor spots the letters IASS ASD on a plaque on the wall.) 
DOCTOR: Institute for Advanced Science Studies. 
PARSONS: ASD Advanced State of Decay? 
DOCTOR: Shush. 
PARSONS: What? 
DOCTOR: Shush. Did you hear something? 
PARSONS: No. 
DOCTOR: Shush.
[FSAS Space Station]
(They enter the room from the first scene in the story.) 
DOCTOR: Ah ha! Think Tank. Quite interesting. 
(The Doctor turns off the broadcast.) 
PARSONS: Quite interesting? This is fascinating. Absolutely fascinating. Do you mean to say that all this means something to you? 
DOCTOR: Oh yes! It's all terrible simple. You see, when ah!
(Then they see the five remaining men huddled together, all terribly hairy and with very long nails now.)

[Tardis]

(Skagra is reading the book as the time rotor goes up and down. Romana enters.)

SKAGRA: 
Keep back. 

(The sphere pins her to the doors. She notices that the time rotor stops when Skagra ceases to turn pages. Then he notices it too.)

SKAGRA: 
Exactly. Time runs backwards over the book. 
As I turn the pages within the time field of this machine, 
the machine operates. 

Turning the last page will take us to Shada.

[Command ship]
(Skagra hands Romana over to a Krarg.) 
SKAGRA: I have broken the code. 
KRARG: We can repair it, my lord. 

SKAGRA: Fool. Make all preparations for the entry into Shada. You are about to meet one of the greatest and most powerful criminals in all history. 
ROMANA: Salyavin. 
SKAGRA: A man the Time Lords chose to forget.
[FSAS Space Station]
PARSONS: Who are they? What are they, Doctor? 
DOCTOR: Victims of Skagra's brain drain. Their intellectual powers have been stolen. But their memory patterns might remain. Yes. 
(The Doctor sits in one of the central seats.) 
PARSONS: But if only they could tell us what happened to them. 
DOCTOR: Yes. What? 
PARSONS: If only they could tell us what happened to them. 
DOCTOR: Bristol? 
PARSONS: Yes? 
DOCTOR: Bristol, I'd like you to do something for me. 
PARSONS: Certainly. 
DOCTOR: It won't be pleasant. 
PARSONS: Oh. 
(Meanwhile, K9 is still holding the Krarg at bay with a continuous laser beam.) 
(The Doctor places one of the brain-drained men on a seat. Parsons is sitting on another one.) 
DOCTOR: Easy, easy. There, there. Bristol? 
PARSONS: Yes? 
DOCTOR: I'm going to allow this man access to your intelligence reserves. 
PARSONS: Oh. 
DOCTOR: It's all right, it's only temporary. But it might just allow him to function. 
PARSONS: I just hope you know what you're doing. 
DOCTOR: So do I. So do I. Now, take a deep breath. 
(The Doctor goes to the free-standing console and adjusts the controls, then goes to a wall panel and cranks up the power. The pyramid between the seats begins to twinkle, and Parson's head is pulled back between the receptors. The Doctor checks the lifesigns of the man, who then touches his head, making him jump.) 
CALDERA: Skagra! 
(K9 continues to hold the Krarg, but it is getting stronger.)
CALDERA: Who are you? 
DOCTOR: The Doctor. 
CALDERA: What are you doing here? 
DOCTOR: Who are you? 
CALDERA: My name is Caldera. 
DOCTOR: What? Not A St John De Caldera? 
(pronounced a singe on de caldera...) 
CALDERA: The same? 
DOCTOR: The neurologist. 
CALDERA: Yes. 
DOCTOR: It's a pleasure to meet you, sir. One of the great intellects of your generation. 
CALDERA: So are we all. 
DOCTOR: What? 
CALDERA: There's A S T Thira, the psychologist. G V Centauri, the parametricist. L D Ia, the biologist. R A F Akrotiri. 
DOCTOR: Some of the greatest intellects in the universe. 
CALDERA: And Doctor Skagra. 
DOCTOR: Skagra? 
CALDERA: Geneticist, and astro-engineer. 
DOCTOR: What? 
CALDERA: And cyberneticist, and neurostructuralist, and moral theologian. 
DOCTOR: Yes, and too clever by seven-eighths. Who is he? Where does he come from? 
CALDERA: We don't know. 
DOCTOR: What? 
CALDERA: But he was very impressive. He offered very handsome fees, so we agreed. 
DOCTOR: To do what? 
CALDERA: Don't you see? The Think Tank was his idea. He set it up. 
DOCTOR: He did? To do what? 
CALDERA: The pooling of intellectual resources by electronic mind transference. 
DOCTOR: What? 
CALDERA: He conceived it on the grand scale. Just how grand, we didn't realise. Not at first, not until after we had built the sphere, and by then it was too late. 
DOCTOR: Why? What happened? 
CALDERA: He stole our brains! He stole our brains. 
DOCTOR: Easy, easy. 
CALDERA: Stole. 
DOCTOR: Easy. Shush, shush, shush. 
CALDERA: The whole of humanity. 
DOCTOR: What? The whole of humanity? 
CALDERA: The whole! But he needed 
DOCTOR: What did he need? 
CALDERA: One mind.
DOCTOR: Which mind? 
CALDERA: One unique mind. 
DOCTOR: What mind? 
CALDERA: A man called 
DOCTOR: What was he called? 
CALDERA: A man called 
DOCTOR: What was he called? 
CALDERA: Salyavin! 
DOCTOR: Salyavin? 
(K9 runs out of power and backs out of the spacecraft, followed by the lumbering Krarg.) 
DOCTOR: Bristol? Bristol? Are you all right? 
PARSONS: I feel marvellous! 
DOCTOR: Good, good, it'll pass. You're fit. 
PARSONS: What did you find out? 
DOCTOR: Not much. Not enough to locate Skagra, just enough to frighten me out of my wits. 
K9: Master! 
DOCTOR: K9! Why aren't you back at 
(The Krarg is behind K9, it's upper torso and head glowing red hot. It fires energy bolts at the cowering scientists.) 
DOCTOR: K9, try and keep it back. 
K9: Power supply at danger level. 
(The Doctor tries to creep past, towards the members of the Think Tank. The Krarg raises its arm.) 
PARSONS: Doctor, look out! 
(The Doctor avoids the blast and rejoins Parsons. The Krarg advances on them.)
Part Five
[FSAS Space Station]
DOCTOR: Bristol? 
PARSONS: Yes? 
DOCTOR: You still feeling marvellous? 
PARSONS: Yes. 
DOCTOR: Right. Give me ten seconds. 
PARSONS: What? 
(The Doctor goes round the back of Parsons to the cowering Think Tank. Parsons takes up a boxing pose.) 
PARSONS: Well, come on then! Well, come on! 
(The Krarg turns away from him and hits the sparkling pyramid.) 
PARSONS: Doctor, it's going to blow up! 
(The Doctor stands in front of the scientists as the Krarg advances on them. Smoke starts to fill the room. Parsons runs behind the Krarg and out into the corridor, where he grabs a dangling power cable, then goes back in. K9 leaves. Parsons drags the Doctor out of the room.)
[FSAS Space Station - outside the shuttlebay]
DOCTOR: It's jammed! 
(The Krarg attacks the scientists. The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver, and the door rises. The Doctor, Parsons and K9 get underneath it just as the Krarg arrives on the scene. The door closes in front of it. The spacecraft dematerialises and the space station goes KaBOOM!!)
[Spacecraft]
DOCTOR: Good ship, good ship. Good, you're learning. Which is more than we're doing. 
PARSONS: What do you mean? 
DOCTOR: Well, we're still no nearer to finding Skagra or Romana. 
PARSONS: What do you think we should do? 
DOCTOR: I don't know. 
PARSONS: Well, try looking on the bright side. At least we're
DOCTOR: I am looking on the bright side, and it's dark, very dark. Now listen to me, ship. I'm going to ask you once again. Where is your lord Skagra? 
SHIP: He did not reveal his destination. 
PARSONS: But you must have some idea? 
SHIP: I am a computer. I do not have ideas. I obey instructions. 
DOCTOR: So you've no idea where he's gone. 
SHIP: I do not. 
DOCTOR: Bah. Doesn't he have a home to go to? 
SHIP: Yes. 
DOCTOR: He has? 
SHIP: Correct. 
DOCTOR: Well, then why didn't you tell me? 
SHIP: I have orders not to. 
DOCTOR: But, will you please take us there? 
SHIP: The order conflicts with my programmed instructions. 
DOCTOR: Well, just you tell it not to worry. I'm sure your lord Skagra will be very anxious to pay his last respects to me. 
SHIP: I obey. 
DOCTOR: I do hate computers. They're so literal minded. Aren't you, K9? 
K9: Affirmative, master.
[Prof. Chronotis' rooms]
(Chronotis is dressed to go out, and he and Clare are working on components from his Tardis mechanism.) 
CLARE: Oh. Look, I don't even know what I'm meant to be doing. 
CHRONOTIS: We must get this old perambulator moving again. 
CLARE: Well, it certainly moved when I touched it. 
CHRONOTIS: Oh, a spasm, a mere spasm. I just hope it wasn't a dying spasm, because it has left us jammed between two irrational time interfaces. Time is moving away from us. If we do manage to disentangle ourselves, I'll just have to be careful, otherwise I shall cease to exist again. 
CLARE: Oh. Really? 
CHRONOTIS: Now do as I do. 
CLARE: What's that? 
CHRONOTIS: Forget about it. 
CLARE: Oh, Professor, that's easier said than done. Who is this, er, Salyavin person? 
CHRONOTIS: Salyavin? He was a criminal. His exploits have been wildly exaggerated. He was a hotheaded, brilliant young man with a peculiar talent. I can't fix this. 
CLARE: Can I help? 
CHRONOTIS: Difficult, very difficult. To repair an interfacial resonator requires two operations which must be performed absolutely simultaneously. And to be honest, my dear, I don't think you have the knowledge. 
CLARE: So we're stuck. 
CHRONOTIS: Yes. 
CLARE: Well, I can learn, you know. I'm very quick. 
(Chronotis fetches a large wrench from the kitchen.) 
CLARE: What's the matter? 
CHRONOTIS: Listen to me. Listen to me very carefully. What I am about to do, you are never to speak of, and this is the only time I will ever do it. 
CLARE: What are you talking about? 
CHRONOTIS: Do I have your promise? 
CLARE: Well, what are you going to do to me? 
CHRONOTIS: Do I have your promise? 
CLARE: Yes, yes, all right. 
CHRONOTIS: What is that piece of equipment you have in your hand? 
CLARE: I have absolutely no idea. 
CHRONOTIS: Good. 
(Chronotis puts down the wrench and takes off his spectacles. His eyes glow as he stares hard into Clare's eyes.) 
CHRONOTIS: Now, what is that piece of equipment? 
CLARE: This? Er, it's a conceptual geometer relay, with an agronomic trigger, a totally defunct field separator. But it doesn't matter. We can dispense with it if we can get that interfacial resonator working again. 
CHRONOTIS: Splendid! 
CLARE: Well, let's do that then, shall we?
[Command ship]
(The spacecraft materialises on the hangar deck right next to another identical spacecraft. Lots of Krarg are still being made here.) SKAGRA: Well? 
KRARG: We have a full complement, my lord. 
SKAGRA: Good. Then we can begin. 
(The Krarg leave. A finger taps Romana on the shoulder and she gasps.) 
DOCTOR: I wish you wouldn't do that. 
ROMANA: How did you get here? 
DOCTOR: These kind people brought me. 
SKAGRA: Doctor. 
DOCTOR: Ah, hello there. 
SKAGRA: I am a little surprised to find you here. 
DOCTOR: Your ship was a little surprised 
SKAGRA: Oh, you stole my ship. 
DOCTOR: Only after you stole mine. Ah, there she is. I hope you've been looking after her. If you've been over-revving her... 
SKAGRA: I'm curious to know how you survived the attentions of my sphere. 
DOCTOR: Well, it only looks for what it expects to find. I made it look for the wrong things. 
SKAGRA: If you've come here in the hope of interfering with my great purpose. 
DOCTOR: Great purpose? Great purpose? Ha! 
SKAGRA: The very greatest purpose, Doctor. 
DOCTOR: You want to take over the universe, don't you. I've met your sort before. Any moment now a mad gleam will come into one of your eyes and you'll start shouting, the universe shall be mine. 
SKAGRA: How naive, Doctor. How pathetically limited your vision must be. 
DOCTOR: Limited? 
SKAGRA: Take over the universe? How childish. Who could possibly want to take over the universe? 
DOCTOR: Exactly. That's what I keep telling people. It's a troublesome place, difficult to administer. And as a piece of real estate, it's worthless, because by definition there'd be no one to sell it to. 
SKAGRA: Such visions are for infants. My purpose will fulfil the natural evolutionary goal of all life. 
DOCTOR: Oh yes? 
SKAGRA: With the aid of these spheres, I shall make the whole of creation merge into one single mind, one god-like entity. 
DOCTOR: You will? 
SKAGRA: The universe, Doctor, shall not, as you so crudely put it, be mine. The universe shall be me. 
DOCTOR: Ah. Have you discussed this with anyone? I mean, why don't you send one of your rocky pals off to make some tea and we can sit down and chew on a macaroon. 
SKAGRA: Doctor, your inane whitterings do not interest me. This will happen. It will start within hours. And once it has started, nothing you or anyone else can do will stop it. Take them away. They bore me. 
(Krargs bear down. The Doctor taps one.) 
DOCTOR: Jink! 
(He grabs Parsons and runs.)
SKAGRA: Kill them. 
(K9 follows the Doctor, but Romana is held fast.) 
ROMANA: What's a jink?
[Command ship corridor]
(The Doctor, Parsons and K9 hide in an alcove as the Krarg lumber past.)
DOCTOR: Clever jink that, don't you think? I made them think I was trying to get to the Tardis. 
PARSONS: What were you trying to do? 
DOCTOR: Get to the Tardis. 
PARSONS: Doctor, that man must be mad, mustn't he? 
DOCTOR: Oh, madness, sanity, it's all a matter of opinion. 
PARSONS: And what's your opinion? 
DOCTOR: He's as mad as a hatter. They've gone. Right, back the way we came. Quietly. 
(Further on they hear a stuttering sound.)
DOCTOR: Shush. 
PARSONS: (sotto) What? 
DOCTOR: That. 
PARSONS: Your Tardis. Surprised you can hear it from here. 
DOCTOR: There's something odd about it. Come on. 
(A Krarg fires a bolt that just misses Parson's head.) 
DOCTOR: Run! 
PARSONS: It's a dead end. 
DOCTOR: Then we're trapped. 
(A wooden door with a brass knob is against a wall.)
PARSONS: This wasn't here before. 
DOCTOR: Get in!
[Prof. Chronotis' rooms]
(The door bursts open and the Doctor and Parsons run in from the Carrier corridor and slam it shut again. They quietly congratulate each other then turn to see where they are. Their jaws hit the floor with a loud Thud!) 
PARSONS: Keightley! 
CLARE: Chris? 
CHRONOTIS: Cup of tea? 
DOCTOR: Tea? (Shortly afterwards, the chasing Krarg has moved off and the Doctor is sitting at the control panel.) 
CHRONOTIS: Doctor, how do you like my Tardis? 
DOCTOR: Oh, ace. Ace. 
CHRONOTIS: It's strictly unofficial. I'm not really allowed to have one. 
DOCTOR: Yes, and what better way to hide it than by living in it, you old sly boots. 
CLARE: What are you doing here? 
PARSONS: How am I'm suppose to know. Yeah, and what's the Professor's room doing here? 
CLARE: Oh, you may well ask. But ask the Professor. 
CHRONOTIS: Doctor, where is Skagra? 
DOCTOR: Shush. Not so loud. He's just outside. 
CHRONOTIS: Oh. 
DOCTOR: He's got Romana, he's got the Tardis, he's got the book. I thought you were dead, Professor. 
CHRONOTIS: Yes, so did I. 
DOCTOR: Did you really? 
CHRONOTIS: Listen, Doctor, if Skagra has the Tardis and the book, he can get to Shada. 
DOCTOR: Shada? Shada? 
CHRONOTIS: Yes, the Time Lords' prison planet. You've probably forgotten about it. 
DOCTOR: I never forget anything. I never forget. Well, that's right. I have forgotten. The Time Lords' prison planet. Now why would I have forgotten? Got it. Of course! Salyavin was imprisoned on Shada. Yes. Ask me who Salyavin is. 
CLARE: Oh, now he was a great criminal imprisoned centuries ago by the Time Lords. 
DOCTOR: A great criminal. Unique mental powers. He had the ability to project his mind into other minds, completely take them over, didn't he, Professor? 
PARSONS: That's what Skagra's doing? 
DOCTOR: Oh no, no, no, no, no. Quite the opposite. Skagra had the capacity to take minds out of people, but he can't put minds back into them. That's why he needs Salyavin in the sphere, and that's why he's going to Shada. 
PARSONS: Of course! 
CHRONOTIS: Doctor! He must not get there.
[Tardis]
(Skagra allows the pages of the book to turn over one at a time, as the time rotor moves.) 


SKAGRA: 
The key turns slowly in the lock. 
The Door to Shada opens.












What Would The Valeyard Say?

Q. ) What Would The Valeyard Say?

A.) He would say,










[Outside Ryan's home]
Our Lady
What did you mean in your speech, 
you thought you'd run out of Time? 

GRAHAM: 
Oh, well, er, I had cancer and er... 

Well, strictly speaking, 
I'm still in remission, three years gone. 

And Grace was my chemo nurse. 
That's where we met and fell in love. 

So by rights, I shouldn't even be here. 

YASMIN: 
Have you got Family? 

Our Lady
No. Lost them a long time ago. 

RYAN
How do you cope with that

Our Lady
I carry Them with Me. 
What They would've Thought 
and Said and Done

I make Them 
a part of 
Who I Am. 


So even though They're gone from The World, 
They're never gone from Me

GRAHAM
That's the sort of thing 
Grace would have said. 




VALEYARD
I really must curb these urges — I've no wish to be contaminated by your whims and idiosyncrasies. 

Mister Six
Quite so. But what I •don’t• comprehend — 

(The Valeyard vanishes.) 

GLITZ
He's over ‘ere, Doc — 
Slippery customer, 
Your Other Persona. 

Mister Six
What I don't comprehend 
is WHY You want Me DEAD

No — No, let me rephrase that — 
It would satisfy my curiosity 
to know why you should go to such extraordinary lengths…. 
to KILL Me. 

[ Because, of course, he would have to get Someone ELSE to Do it FOR Him. ]

(The Valeyard relocates to the dunes.)

VALEYARD
Come now, Doctor. 
How else can I obtain My Freedom?
Operate as a COMPLETE entity — unfettered by YOUR side 
of My Existence? 

[ Which means, therefore, that He IS still IN there, somewhere — Buried Alive.

Otherwise, why would He need to get rid of Him in The Past…? ]


Only by ridding myself of you and your misplaced morality
your constant crusading, 
your —

GLITZ
Idiotic honesty? 

VALEYARD: 
OAF. •Microbe•. 

GLITZ: 
Oh Pardon me for trying to help. 
I'm neutral in this set-up, you know. 

(The Valeyard returns to the Doctor.) 

VALEYARD
Only by releasing myself from the misguided maxims that you nurture can I be free. 

(The Valeyard vanishes.) 

GLITZ
Sounds to me like Armageddon's beckoning you, Doc. 

VALEYARD
With you destroyed and 
no longer able to constrain me, 
and with unlimited access to the Matrix, 
there will be nothing beyond my reach.

Hero or God










Hero or God?

Heracles’ role as a culture hero, whose death could be a subject of mythic telling (see below), was accepted into the Olympian Pantheon during Classical times. This created an awkwardness in the encounter with Odysseus in the episode of Odyssey XI, called the Nekuia, where Odysseus encounters Heracles in Hades:

And next I caught a glimpse of powerful Heracles—
His ghost I mean: the man himself delights
in the grand feasts of the deathless gods on high ...
Around him cries of the dead rang out like cries of birds
scattering left and right in horror as on he came like night ...

Ancient critics were aware of the problem of the aside that interrupts the vivid and complete description, in which Heracles recognizes Odysseus and hails him, and some modern critics deny that the verse’s beginning, in Fagles’ translation His ghost I mean ..., was part of the original composition: “once people knew of Heracles’ admission to Olympus, they would not tolerate his presence in the underworld”, remarks Friedrich Solmsen, noting that the interpolated verses represent a compromise between conflicting representations of Heracles.

Thursday, 18 November 2021

The Shining





It’s a Fortress of Solitude.



HALLORAN :
 It won't take you long to get the hang of it.

WENDY, Darling :
 This is The Kitchen, huh?

HALLORAN :
 This is it.
 How do you like it, Danny? 
Is it big enough for you?

DANNY, Champion of The World :
 It's the biggest place I ever seen.
[ Didn't answer The Question. ]

WENDY, Darling :
 This whole place is such 
an enormous maze --

 I feel as though I'll have to leave 
a trail of breadcrumbs 
every time I come in.

HALLORAN :
 Don't let it get you down.
 lt's BIG, but it ain't nothing 
but A Kitchen.
 A lot of this stuff you'll 
never have to touch.

WENDY, Darling :
I wouldn't know what to do with it if I did.

HALLORAN :
 One thing for sure, you don't have to worry about Food.
 You could eat here for a year and never 
have the same menu twice.

 Right here is our walk-in freezer.
 This is where we keep
all of Our Meat.

 You got rib roasts
ten-pound bags of hamburger.
 We got turkeys, 
we got chickens
sirloin steaks, 
two dozen pork roast
and legs of Lamb

You Like Lamb, Doc?

Dan shakes his head.

HALLORAN :
 You don't? What's your 
favourite food, then?


DANNY, Champion of The World :
 French fries and ketchup.
[ Ah! A Wise Child! ]

HALLORAN :
I think we can manage that too, Doc.
 Come along. Watch your step.


WENDY, Darling :
How'd you know we call him 'Doc'?

HALLORAN :
Beg your pardon?

WENDY, Darling :
You called Danny "Doc" twice.

HALLORAN :
I did?

WENDY, Darling :
 We call him 'Doc' sometimes, like 
in the Bugs Bunny cartoons.
 But how did you know?

HALLORAN :
 I guess I must have heard 
you call him that.

WENDY, Darling :
 It's possible. But I don't remember
calling him that since 
we've been with you.

HALLORAN :
 Anyway, he looks like a Doc, don't he?
Nyah! What's up, Doc?
[ That ain't no kind of Answer, Dick, and You know it..!! ]
 Now, this is The Storeroom.....
 In here is where we keep all the dried goods and the canned goods.

 We got canned fruits and vegetables. . .

 . . .canned fish and meats, hot and cold cereals.

 Post Toasties, Corn Flakes, Sugar Puffs. . .

 . . .Rice Krispies, oatmeal, Wheatena and Cream of Wheat.

 You got a dozen jugs of black molasses.

 We got boxes of dried milk. . .

 How'd you like some ice cream, Doc?

 . . .Sociables, finger rolls. . .

 . . .and kinds of what have you.

 We've got dried peaches, dried apricots. . .

 . . .dried raisins and dried prunes.

 You know, you got to keep regular if you want to be happy.

 -How're you getting on? -Fine.

 Can we borrow Mrs. Torrance? We're on our way to the basement.

 l promise we won't keep her very long.

HALLORAN
 No problem. I was just getting to the ice cream.
 You like ice cream, Doc?


 I thought so.
 You mind if I give Danny some ice cream?

 -Not at all. -We don't mind.

 -Good. -Sound good to you, Doc?

 Okay, you behave yourself.

HALLORAN
 What kind of ice cream do you like?

DANNY, Champion of The World :
 Chocolate.

HALLORAN
 Chocolate it shall be. 
Come on, Son.

 lt's amazing, all this activity today.

 The guests and some staff left yesterday, but the. . .

 . . .last day's always hectic.

 Everybody wants to be on their way as early as possible.
 By tonight, you'll never know anybody was ever here.

 Just like a ghost ship, huh?

 Do you know how I knew 
your name was Doc?

 You know what I'm talking about, don't you?

 I can remember when I was a little boy
my grandmother and I could hold conversations. . .
entirely without ever opening our mouths.

 She called it "Shining. "

 And for a long time I thought it was just 
the two of us that had "The Shine" to us.

 Like you probably thought 
you was the only one.

 But there are other folks. . .
though mostly 
they don't know it, 
or don't believe it.

 How long have you been able to do it?
 Why don't you want to talk about it?

DANNY, Champion of The World :
 I'm not supposed to.

 Who says you ain't supposed to?

DANNY, Champion of The World :
 Tony.

 Who's Tony?

DANNY, Champion of The World :
 Tony's the little boy 
that lives in my mouth.

 Is Tony the one that tells you things?
 How does he tell you things?

DANNY, Champion of The World :
 It's like I go to sleep 
and he shows me things.

 But when I wake up, 
I can't remember everything.

 Does your mom and dad know about Tony?

 Do they know he tells you things?

 Tony told me never to tell them.

 Has Tony ever told you anything about this place?

 About the Overlook Hotel?

 I don't know.

 Now think real hard, Doc.

 Think.

DANNY, Champion of The World :
 Is there something bad here?

 You know, Doc, when something happens. . . 
it can leave a trace of itself behind.
 Say, like. . . if someone burns toast.

 Maybe things that happen leave other kind of traces behind.
 Not things that anyone can notice.
 But things that people who shine can see.
 Just like they can see things that haven't happened yet. . .
sometimes they can see things that happened a long time ago.

 I think a lot of things happened right here 
in this particular hotel over the years.
 And not all of them was Good.

DANNY, Champion of The World :
 What about Room 237?

 Room 237?

DANNY, Champion of The World :
 You're scared of Room 237 ain't you?

 No, I ain't.

DANNY, Champion of The World :
 Mr. Hallorann, 
What is in Room 237?

 Nothing.
 There ain't nothing in Room 237.
 But you ain't got no business going in there anyway.
 So stay out.
 You understand? Stay out!

 Good morning, hon.
 Your breakfast is ready.

 What time is it?

 lt's about  : .

 Jesus!

 I guess we've been staying up too late.

 I know it.

 I made them just the way you like them, sunny-side up.

 Nice.

 It's really pretty outside.

 How about taking me for a walk after you finish your breakfast?

 I suppose I ought to try to do some writing first.

 Any ideas yet?

 Lots of ideas.
 No good ones.

 Something will come.
 It's just a matter of settling into 
the habit of writing every day.
 That's all it is.

All right.

And you're going to lose.
 And l'm going to get you. 
You'd better run fast!
 Look out!

 I'm coming in close.

 Loser has to keep America clean.
 Keep America clean.

 Danny, you win.
 Let's take the rest of this walking.

 Give me your hand.
Isn't it beautiful?

 Dead end.

 We made it.

 Isn't it beautiful?
 It's so pretty.
 I didn't think it was this big. 
Did you?

 Hi, hon.
 How's it going?

 Fine.

 Get a lot written today?
 The weather forecast said it's going to snow tonight.

 What The Fuck do you want me to do about it?

 Come on, hon.
 Don't be so grouchy.

 I'm not. . . being grouchy.
 I just want to finish my work.

 Okay. I understand.
 I'll come back later with a couple of sandwiches.
 Maybe you'll let me read something then.

 Wendy. . .
let me explain something to you.

 When you come in and interrupt, you're breaking my concentration.

 You're distracting me
and it will then take time to get back to where I was.

 Understand?

 Fine.

 We're making a new rule:
 Whenever I'm in here
and you hear me typing,
or whatever the fuck you hear me doing in here
when I'm in here, that means 
I am working.

 That means 
Don't Come In.

 Do you think you can handle that?

 Fine.
 Why don't you start right now 
and get the fuck out of here?


Superman :
I’m just like EVERYBODY ELSE.

Except MY Eyes don’t just 
ABSORB radiation 
like yours do, 
they EMIT all kinds.”



The Brightness



Recite, then, as much of The Koran 
as may be easy to you. 





God knoweth that there be some among you sick...
while others travel through the Earth 
in quest for the bounties of God. 
Others do battle in His cause. 

Recite, therefore, as much as may be easy. 

And observe the prayers. 
This will be best and richest in the recompense. 

Seek ye the forgiveness of God. 
Verily, God is forgiving, merciful... 
 
Greetings, Ali. 

My lord. - Sherif Ali. Lieutenant Lawrence, you have met Sherif Ali, I think. 
 
Yes, my lord. 
 
And now, Selim, 
"The Brightness." 
 
Selim :
"By the noonday brightness... 
and by The Night when it darkeneth 
Thy Lord hath not forsaken thee...
neither hath He been displeased. 
And surely The Future shall be better for Thee than The Past." 

Lawrence :

"And in The End shall Your Lord be bounteous to thee... 
...and Thou be satisfied." 

Sir? Yes, colonel.

I want a decision, sir. 

You want me to fall back on Yenbo. 


Well, you're not doing much good here, sir. 
I'm sorry to rub it in, sir, but we can't supply you here. 

You could supply us through Aqaba! 

Aqaba! If you can get ahold of Aqaba, we can supply you.
But you can't! 

You could. 

You mean, The Navy? 
The Turks have 12-inch guns at Aqaba, sir. 
Can you imagine what that means? 

Yes, I can imagine. 

Put that out of your mind, sir. 
The Navy's got other things to do. 


Oh, yes. 
Protecting the Suez Canal. 

The one essential sector of this front is and must be the canal. 
You can see that, sir, surely. 


I see that the canal is an essential British interest. 
It is of little consequence to us. 


I must ask you not to speak like that. 
British and Arab interests are one and the same. 

Possibly. 

Upon my word, sir, 
you're ungrateful. 
Fall back on Yenbo and we will give you equipment. 
Give you arms, advice, training, everything.

Guns? 

A modern rifle for every man. 

No. Guns. Artillery. 
Guns like the Turkish guns at Medina. 

Yes, give us guns and keep the training. 

Your men need training far more than guns, sir. 

English will teach Bedu to fight? 

We will teach them, Sherif Ali, 
to fight a modern mechanized army. 

Yes, Lieutenant? 
What do you think about Yenbo? 

I think it is far from Damascus

We'll have you in Damascus, sir. 
Never fear. 

Have you been in Damascus, Mr. Lawrence? 

Yes, My Lord. 

It is Beautiful, is it not? 

Very

That will do, Lawrence. 
Dreaming won't get you to Damascus, 
but discipline will
Look, Great Britain is a small country, 
much smaller than yours. 
Small population compared with some. 
It's small, but it is Great
And why

Because it has guns.

Because it has discipline

Because it has A Navy
because of this, 
The English go 
where They please,
and strike 
where They please. 

This makes them Great. 

Lawrence :
Right

Mr. Lawrence, that will do
Lawrence is not your military adviser. 


...But I would like to hear his opinion. 

Col. Brighton :
Damn it! Who do you 
take your orders from? 

Selim :
From Lord Feisal, 
in Feisal's tent


Sherif Ali :
Old Fool! 
Why turn from him to him?
 They are Master and Man

Lawrence :
My Lord, I Think... 
I think Your Book is right
The Desert is An Ocean 
in which no oar is dipped. 

On this ocean, 
the Bedu go where they please 
and strike where they please. 

This is the way the Bedu 
has always fought. 
You're famed through the world 
for fighting this way. 
And this is the way 
you should fight now



I don't know.... 

Lawrence :
I'm sorry, sir, but you're wrong

Fall back on Yenbo, 
The Arab Rising becomes one poor unit in the British army.


What is this to you

You're A Traitor. 

No, Colonel — 
He A Young Man, 
and Young Men are Passionate

They must Say their Say... 
But wiser people must decide….
I know you are right. 

Very well. 
When shall we move, 
the sooner the better. 
You'll lose another 50 men tonight. 


You tread heavily... 
But you Speak The Truth. 

I will give you 
My Answer tomorrow. 

And now... it is late. 



Colonel Brighton means to put my men under European officers, does he not? 

Lawrence :
In effect, my lord, yes. 

And I must do it — because The Turks 
have European guns. 
But I fear to do it... 
Upon my soul I do. 


The English have a great hunger for desolate places. 
I fear they hunger for Arabia. 

Lawrence :
Then you must deny it to them. 

You are An Englishman. 
Are you not loyal to England? 

Lawrence :
To England.
And to Other Things. 

To England and Arabia both
And is that possible? 

I Think you are another of these 
Desert-Loving English :
Doughty, 
Stanhope... 
Gordon of Khartoum. 

No Arab loves The Desert. 
We love Water and Green Trees. There is nothing in The Desert. 
And No Man needs nothing

Or is it that you think we are something you can play with... ...because we are a little people, a silly people...
Greedy, Barbarous and Cruel? 

Or do you know, Lieutenant, 
in the Arab City of Cordoba,
were two miles of lighting in the streets, when London was a village

Lawrence :
Yes, you were Great. 

Nine centuries ago. 

Lawrence :
Time to be Great again
My Lord. 

Which is why My Father 
made This War upon the Turks. 

My Father, Mr. Lawrence, 
not The English. 

But My Father is old, and I... 
I long for the vanished gardens 
of Cordoba...

However, before The Gardens 
must come The Fighting. 

To be Great again, it seems
We need The English, or... 

Lawrence :
Or..? 

What No Man 
can provide, 
Mr. Lawrence. 
We need a Miracle.