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
