Thursday, June 27, 2013

Trial Of A Timelord - Story Two: Mindwarp

PART ONE


They get their money's worth with that shot of the ship from space. Picking up where we left off, The Doctor objects to the abuse of The Brickyard. The Inquisitor warns them both. The Doctor brings up the bleeped evidence and the fact The Earth had been moved, but they continue on with the adventure The Doctor was in when he was taken. Thorus Beta, 24th century. A planet with neon pink oceans and neon green skies. In the sky you see the ringed planet, Thorus Alpha. The TARDIS materializes just off shore and The Doctor and Peri wade to shore. They've come from somewhere where a warlord of Thordin had a device that could stun and liquefy, and The Doctor wants to see where it came from. Inside a cave they find machinery for controlling the tide to extract energy. A creature I will call Sigmund the sea monster grabs Peri. The Doctor accidentally shoots and kills it. Guards enter and ask if The Doctor is with Professor Crozier, to which he agrees. The guard is puzzled that Sigmund attacked and takes The Doctor and Peri to see Crozier.


In the lab there is machinery hooked up to beds. On one bed is Brian Blessed in his energetic portrayal of King Yrcanos, barbarian warlord. Crozier is trying to pacify barbarians and enhance their brains. In the caves, The Doctor and Peri escape the guards. They hear a howl and find one of Crozier's experiments, a man with the face of a dog. He cries for help. There's a shot and they scatter. The Doctor and Peri see men pass by carrying platforms with slug-like creatures on them. One of them is Sil, last seen in Vengeance on Varos. This is his home planet. A greedy race that deal in commerce, loans, stocks, etc The other slug is the leader, Kiv, played by Christopher Ryan, who played the Sontaran leader in the season 4 two-parter. Kiv seems to be suffering from head pain. In the lab, Yrcanos is resisting pacification. They increase power. Kiv discusses a transference procedure to relieve his pain, and the dangers Crozier faces if he fails. The Doctor finds the lab and starts disconnecting cables. Sil comes in, finding Peri as revolting as usual. They don't believe The Doctor was attacked by Sigmund and strap him down to extract the truth about why he killed him. Crozier warns this procedure could kill The Doctor, then turns the machine on.



PART TWO


Yrcanos breaks free and starts rampaging. The Doctor and Peri follow him out. The Doctor seems dazed, not himself. Yrcanos speaks of devils and magic and wants weapons. They introduce themselves. The Doctor objects, claiming not to remember this. Valeyard says claiming amnesia won't work. He says if he doesn't remember then he's in for a surprise. Crozier tells Kiv he needs a new head for his increased brain power and size, but worried how Sigmund reacted to the same procedure. The Doctor, Peri and Yrcanos find where they process human's brains. Yrcanos sees weapons. The Doctor is acting silly. Yrcanos begins alluding to Peri as his queen. Guards come in and The Doctor gives the others away. Peri fumbles with a gun, gets a shot off, then runs. The Doctor stays. The Valeyard shows how The Doctor betrays his friends. the Doctor denies it is him, but is reminded that the matrix cannot lie. The Doctor believes something is wrong, and says it must be a ploy on his part, and to continue. 


Crozier wants to modify the procedure because of Sigmund, but Kiv wants him to proceed. The Doctor offers to help. Every time someone mentions needing a new body they eye The Doctor. Peri runs into a guard and, swear to God, kicks him in the leg and gets away. Yrcanos finds the dog man and discovers it's his friend Dorf. He vows to avenge him. He also wants to kill The Doctor. Guards chasing Peri are chased off by Yrcanos. Peri stumbles into the harem and gets a job. The harem enters the meeting/dining room where The Doctor sits by as Sil and Kiv eat green slimy chunks. Peri comes in with Kiv's medicine. The Doctor eyes her and asks for a drink. She uses his name and he accuses her of poisoning his drink. The guards take her away as she pleads for help. The Doctor interrupts the trial to say that was just a plan to get her alone. On the shore we see Peri chained to a rock as The Doctor yells at her to confess, but whispers at her that he's her friend. Then yells again that she must be sacrificed in his place. In trial, The Doctor shouts that it wasn't like that. He's reminded again that the matrix cannot lie. Yrcanos watches them taking Peri inside. She asks The Doctor what happened to him. He says he is doing what he thinks is best. Yrcanos attacks, aiming at The Doctor.



PART THREE


Peri stops Yrcanos and runs off with him. "My lady, what have you done?" asks Yrcanos. The Valeyard interrupts to call The Doctor a coward. The Doctor says he can recall some of it but the emphasis is wrong. It happened, just not as they saw. The Inquisitor suggests a recess, but The Doctor declines. The guards take The Doctor to Crozier. Kiv is being prepped for brain transfer. A dead slug with a slightly larger skull is ready. The Doctor helps, they sedate Kiv. For some strange reason we get a maniacal glare from Crozier here. Yrcanos tells Peri he wants to lead the resistance to overthrow Kiv, this is his destiny. Peri scoffs at destiny, which enrages Yrcanos. He says everyone has a purpose, and his is to die a hero. Peri talks him into resting, a cute scene. It seems the brain transfer has failed and the guards raise their guns, but then they get life signs. The resistance finds Yrcanos and takes the three of them away by force.

Peri, Yrcanos and Dorf are tied up. Peri pleads they are on the same side. Yrcanos has a plan and talks of the glory of battle. Trouble with Kiv. Cardiac arrest. The Doctor advises Sil on a business matter. Yrcanos talks himself into leader of the resistance. They find an old man collapsing who had been one of Croziers test subjects. They learn he was young, not old as he appeared. There is a small device attached to the back of his neck. They stabilize Kiv. Yrcanos finds the weapons dump blocked by a rock fall, and they find a body. The Doctor in trial objects that this wasn't his fault. The Valeyard says he is indirectly responsible. In hiding Yrcanos is doing his big war talk when there are shots. He, Peri and Dorf are all shot. The Doctor jumps up in the courtroom, crying out "No" and he's not reponsible. The Valeyard says in his mind maybe, but in reality it is something different.


PART FOUR

The Doctor finds out they were only stunned. The Inquisitor finds the video footage gratuitous. Peri, Yrcanos and Dorf wake up captive for experiments. Kiv is funny because he keeps talking about the sea and once just said "do you smell fish" in the middle of a scene. The new body had been a fisherman. The host cells are trying to distort Kiv and they need another body. Peri is homesick and wants to go home. Yrcanos learns what love means. He says his people are reincarnated to a better life until a king, then they go to Fortuna, the home of the gods, to fight. The Doctor agrees with Crozier that he would willingly give his body for Kiv if it were compatible. He scoffs at the idea of using Peri. When Crozier says he will examine her, The Doctor asks him not to, to which Crozier says he must find him a suitable candidate in time.


The Doctor finds where Yrcanos is kept and frees him, to Yrcanos' confusion. Yrcanos wants to find his "bride." He and The Doctor go to slave control to free the slaves. Crozier has not waited and Peri is strapped into one of the beds. They shave her head for the procedure. Yrcanos is destroying the control center, causing all the slaves to go wonky. He cries out that he needs his queen. A guard kills Dorf. The Doctor and Yrcanos run in Peri's direction as alarms go off. The Doctor, however is stopped when a beam of light shines down behind him and the TARDIS materializes. This, yes this point, is where the Timelords chose to get him for this trial. The Doctor objects that he was on his way to save Peri. The Inquisitor said that things had gone too far and the high counsel intervened to prevent the consequences of the experiment. 


Perfect transfer. But not a brain transfer. Crozier has transferred Kiv's mind into Peri's brain. Peri no longer exists. And Kiv need never die, trading old body for young over and over. Yrcanos is outside about to attack, but the Timelords trapped him in a time bubble until the right moment of attack, using him as an assassin. Peri/Kiv wakes up. He likes the strong body, free of pain. Yrcanos is freed from the time bubble and enters the lab shooting. He sees Peri and goes mad, shooting everyone. The Doctor stands, shocked. The Valeyard says his negligence made it impossible for her to live. The Doctor says something is going on. He was taken out of time for a reason and he has every intention of finding out what it is.

The story isn't finished, but I can remember feeling sick after watching what happened to poor Peri. 

Next up is story three: "Terror of the Vervoids"

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