The Northern Lights: A Doctor in the House Part II

THE ADVENTURES OF THE NORTHERN LIGHTS – Phase 3 – The Unicron Saga

Chapter Nine:  A Doctor in the House Part II

For Part I, click here!

The TARDIS roared as it completed its 66 million year journey back through time!

The Doctor stood proudly, aboard this blue box:  his time machine, and with his companions for this mission.  With him were Northern Lights team members Mike the Brainiac II, Harrison El Moustachio, and Johnny Homework, ready to disembark after an unexpectantly long trip.  Having blown a temporal fuse, the TARDIS accidentally took them 66 million years into the past, instead of to 1977 London as planned.  The layover cost them some hours, but all seemed to be well now.

Harrison looked around.  “Now where is Ripper?  We have to get going.  We can’t stay in the TARDIS.”  Indeed, Harrison’s trusty squirrel companion had not been seen by the crew since Johnny and the Doctor killed some time by having an informal jam session.

The Doctor strode with confidence to the door.  “Come now, off we go te solve your mystery!”  The Northern Lights had come to 1977 London to investigate changes in the timeline centered on that year.  Musicians and artists that should be alive, were dead or missing.  Someone was doing this to change the future, and the Doctor had stepped in to help them.  He opened the door to the TARDIS to find an unexpected scene.

Instead of bustling downtown 1977 London England…was a completely empty marshland, by the side of a flowing river.  The Doctor’s mouth was agape.  He used his sonic screwdriver to scan the scene before him.

“The Thames…” he whispered.  He ran to the control panel while his companions tried to comprehend what was happening.

“Doctor?” asked Harrison.

“We’re in…we’re in 1977.  This is London.  That’s the Thames…” he answered.

That doesn’t look like London, thought Mike, afraid to speak the words aloud.

“Come on.  All of you.  We’re going outside.  We have to find out what transpired here.”  He motioned them to join him.

“What about Ripper?” asked Harrison.

“Safer for the wee creature if he remains inside,” answered the Doctor.  “Come on.”

The three men and one Time Lord stepped outside.  The air was cold, much colder than they were used to.  “Because there’s been no artificial introduction of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere,” mused the Doctor out loud.  “The industrial revolution never happened.  Humanity itself…never happened!”  The Doctor was beginning to look panicked while the others did their best to stay calm.  Inside, they were terrified.  Finally, Johnny spoke.

“What’s going on here Doc?”

The Doctor spun with burning intensity in his eyes.  “Something, or someone, has altered time.  Humanity…has never existed.  This land…is uninhabited by man…but teaming with wildlife, large mammals, megafauna that mankind hunted to extinction!  Humanity has been erased from history!”

“But how?” asked Johnny.

“I…I don’t know!” answered the Doctor, having lost control of the situation and showing it.  Johnny could sense this.

“Doc, I’m…I’m kinda scared,” he said.

The Doctor whipped around again.  “Scared?  Let me tell you about scared.”  He grasped one of Johnny’s hands in his.  “Your heart is beating so hard — I can feel it through your hands!  There’s so much blood and oxygen pumping through your brain, it’s like rocket fuel!  Right now, you could run faster and you could fight harder. You can jump higher than ever in your life.  And you are so alert, it’s like you can slow down time.  What’s wrong with scared?  Scared is a super power!  It’s your super power!  There is danger in this place, and guess what?  It’s you!  Do you feel it?”

Johnny nodded with confidence.  He breathed deep.  “I feel it, Doc.”

“Good,” replied the Doctor, feeling better himself having had the chance to give one of his legendary speeches.  Remarkably, Mike was the most calm this time.  He spoke up.

“Hey Doctor…I’ve watched your adventures on TV enough to know that usually you just start walking around, discover clues, encounter beings, and solve the mystery.  Maybe we should…walk around?”

“That’s…that’s a good idea!” said the Doctor.  He raised his sonic screwdriver, scanned around himself, and pointed.  “That way,” he motioned, and the three joined him as they trekked inland away from the marsh and the Thames.  “This land was an important trade route to the Romans, in our timeline,” explained the Doctor.  They built a bridge here and called it Londinium.  Today’s London Bridge would be right over there.”  The companions marveled in wonder, even as their entire history was erased.

The Doctor thought aloud as they strolled through the mucky ground.  “Who could have done this?  The Daleks?  The Cybermen?  The Master?  The Borg?”  The Doctor’s thoughts were interrupted by a cold, digital voice.

“DOC-TOR!  EXTERMINATE THE DOC-TOR!”

“The Daleks it is,” said the Doctor.  From behind them, swarmed a squadron of eight deadly Daleks.  Their conical shells shone in the English sun, while their domed heads sported weapons and eyestalks pointed directly at the Doctor and his companions.

“Daleks!” shouted the Doctor.  “Get behind me!” he instructed his companions, wielding his sonic screwdriver.  “Hear me Daleks!  What have you done here?”

“DOC-TOR!” exclaimed the lead Dalek.  “WHAT IS IT YOU HAVE DONE?”

“What?” asked the Doctor.

“WE FOUND THIS PLANET UNINHABITED.  IT SHALL BECOME THE NEW DALEK HOMEWORLD.  IT WILL BE NEW SKARO.  YOU DID THIS AND IT CANNOT BE UNDONE NOW.  WE WILL NOT ALLOW IT.”  The Daleks floated forward in threatening motion.  “EXTERMINATE THE DOC-TOR!”

“Wait!  Wait!  Shut up and listen to me!” said the Doctor with both hands making a “stop” motion.  “I don’t know what you’re talking about!  This is Earth!  We found it uninhabited but it is supposed be…teaming!  Teaming with humans, with people!  What have you done to the people?”

“THE DOC-TOR TRIES TO FOOL US!” said the lead Dalek.

The Doctor pocketed his sonic screwdriver.  “No tricks!  No deceit!”

“YOU DID THIS!” proclaimed the lead Dalek.  “YOU CANNOT UNDO IT.  EXTERMINATE!”

The Doctor turned to his companions.  “When I say run…RUN!” he ordered.  The companions set afoot, running as fast as they could towards the TARDIS.  A Dalek blasted a shot towards Johnny, who fortuitously slipped in the mud, just as the shot went inches overhead.

“Come on Johnny!” said Mike as he stopped to help him up.  “We gotta run!”  The pair caught up to Harrison and the Doctor, who had reached the TARDIS door.  Everyone with only one heart was breathing heavy, exhausted from adrenaline and overdrive.

“EXTERMINATE!” repeated the Daleks as they fired another volley of shots at the fleeing Doctor and companions.  “THEY MUST NOT ESCAPE!”

“Get in!” ushered the Doctor.  Mike and a muddy Johnny jumped through the doorway, almost colliding with Harrison.  With everyone on board, the Doctor slammed the door shut and ran to the central control panel.  He pulled a lever, and the TARDIS dematerialized into the fog as the Daleks closed in.

“THE DOCTOR HAS ESCAPED…” said the lead Dalek.  “INFORM DAVROS THAT THE DOCTOR HAS ESCAPED…”

The quartet dried off their muddy shoes and boots inside the comfort of the TARDIS.

“Doctor, did the Daleks really erase humanity?” asked Mike of the increasingly angry Doctor.

“You saw them with your own eyes.  They must have.  Oh, they said they didn’t, but Daleks lie!  It is what they do.  It comes from their own, inbred hatred of all things.  Honesty isn’t something they excel at.”

“Doctor, I’ve watched movies too,” said Harrison.  “If humanity was erased, how come we’re still here?”

“You were protected by the TARDIS from any temporal fluctuations that happened.  Wait a minute…which means…which means this happened while we were aboard the TARDIS!  Could it be…”

Mike was connecting the dots along with the Doctor.  “Do you think…do you think we might have caused this?  When we went 66 or 69 million years back in time?”

“It was 66 million years…” said the Doctor as he too began to pick up the pieces.  He snapped his fingers.  “66 million years ago!  Precisely when the first primate, Purgatorius, evolved!”

“So…like a butterfly effect, if we squashed one with the TARDIS?” asked Mike.

“No, no, not possible.  The TARDIS has safety landing measures built into the system to avoid such as catastrophe.  Even with the temporal fuse out, that failsafe is on a designated system,” assured the Doctor.

It was at that exact moment that Ripper the Squirrel emerged from the catacombs of the TARDIS, having tired of exploring every nook and cranny.

“Here Ripper!” smiled Harrison.  “You missed everything!”  Ripper ran towards his best friend…followed by his new friend.

“Umm…” said Johnny.  “How many squirrels did we bring with us on this trip?” he asked.

“Just one…” answered Harrison.

“Then, who’s that?” followed up Johnny, pointing towards tiny, playful Purgatorius Prime.

The Doctor stood up and raised his arms in caution.  “Careful, gentlemen.  No sudden moves.  Stay seated.”  He knelt to the ground and smiled at the small creature.  “Remarkable.  Now how did you get in here?” he asked the creature who stared, not understanding.  The Doctor glanced up towards little Ripper, on Harrison’s shoulder.  “Never mind.  I think I know.”

The Doctor spoke to his companions.  “My friends, I would like you to meet someone very special.  Possibly the most special person…the most special creature in all your planet’s entire history.  I introduce you to your own ancestor.  Gentlemen, meet your great great great to the millionth power great grandmother, Purgatorius.”

Mike’s jaw dropped as it often does.  “Are you saying…”

Johnny continued the thought.  “That this little creature…”

Harrison finished.  “Is the ancestor of all humanity?”

The Doctor smiled.  “Not just that, El Moustachio.  Of every primate that ever lived on this planet.  Every ape, every chimp, every orangutan, and yes, every person.  This very creature.  Of all the creatures, of all the Purgatoriuses that we could have encountered at any point in space and time…and we happen to find the one that survives and goes on to populate the planet with her progeny.  Purgatorius Prime.  Remarkable.”  He shook his head in disbelief, and finally he stood again.

“Well, the solution here is clear!” concluded the Doctor.  “We bring this wee little beast back to the exact point of our departure, 66 million years ago, and bring her home.  Timeline restored, we finally come back to the proper 1977 and get on with our mission!”

“To find out who’s been changing history in 1977 and putting a stop to it!” said Mike.

“That’s right young man!” answered the Doctor, apparently having promoted Mike from “boy” to “young man”.

“Then let’s get prehistoric again!” shouted Mike.

The Doctor smiled.  “Harrison, you mind that wee beast!  She has all humanity in her genes.  Let’s go!”

“Allons-y!” shouted Mike.

The Doctor stared.  “That’s my line.”

“It was your line,” contended Mike.  The Doctor paused.

“Fair.  It’s your line now.”

“Allons-y!” said Mike one more time as the TARDIS departed for 66,000,000 BC

The TARDIS stood in all its blue glory, stark against the green backdrop of the lush, prehistoric cliff.  The air was clean, and there was not a single plane or satellite in the sky.  The Doctor and his companions stood in the doorway of the TARDIS, to release their stowaway back to her home.  Back in the past to restore their future, back on the cliff where this misadventure took its left turn.

“I hope you appreciate this moment, boys,” said the Doctor to Mike, Harrison, Johnny and Ripper.  “We’re restoring time to its proper flow, having saved one of the most important animals of all time.  Purgatorius, the ancestor of all primates.”

A little brown creature, no larger than a squirrel but roughly the same in appearance, scooted out of the TARDIS, back to its home.  It waved goodbye to Ripper the Squirrel, who looked terribly sad to be losing his new friend.  History had to be repaired, and this little creature had an important destiny ahead.  She jumped, and scooted into the leaves.  Out of sight, and safely back home.

The Doctor clapped his hands and spoke to his companions.  “Right!  Again!  Everyone back to your seats, we’re off to the races…again.  Setting year for 1977, London, Oxford street.”  The doctor confidently manipulated his controls, and pulled the levers.  The TARDIS groaned once more, and disappeared in both space and time.

Where the TARDIS stood in the lush green, there was a clear, square depression in the ground.  A T. Rex roared in the distance, while a male Purgatorius nosed its way, sniffing the ground where the TARDIS had been, searching for his mate.  Suddenly, she too appeared from the leaves, searching for him.  Finally reunited, the pair went off into the forest to fulfill their destiny.

To be concluded….

THE ADVENTURES OF TEE BONE MAN:  PHASE ONE – THE SQUIRREL SAGA 

THE ADVENTURES OF TEE BONE MAN:  PHASE TWO – THE MULTIVERSE SAGA

THE ADVENTURES OF THE NORTHERN LIGHTS:  PHASE THREE – THE UNICRON SAGA

SPINOFFS AND SIDE QUESTS

THE COMPLETE ADVENTURES OF EDIE VAN HEELIN’

THE WRITER’S ROOM

 

 

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