The Doctor and The Captain - Book One

S1 EP7: The Long Game Part 2

___________

Adam walks over the little bridge and enters the observation deck. He looks around first to make sure no-one sees him before he places his hand on a palm print on a vertical console.

"Give me access." he says and the machine makes a noise. "Give me..." he starts before removing his hand from the console as if he had experienced an electrical shock. "I can learn anything." he smiles.

He turns his head to make sure no-one is coming and places his hand back on the console. "Let's try, erm, computers. From the 21st century to the present day, give me the history of the microprocessor." the computer scans and shows him the history of the microprocessor. "Oh, my god."

___________

"Look they only give us twenty minutes maintenance, can't you give it a rest?" Cathica asks the three, as they enter the broadcasting room.

"But you've never been to another floor? Not even one floor down?" the Doctor asks taking a seat on the middle chair, as Rose and the Captain walk up to the chair, Rose rests her hand on the head rest.

"I went to Floor 16 when I first arrived, that's Medical, that's where I got my head done and then I... I came straight here." she writes on a clipboard. "Satellite Five. You work, eat and sleep on the same floor, that's it. That's all." she kneels down to check a station. The three look at the woman. "You're not management, are you?"

"At last, she's clever." the Doctor says looking at the now standing woman.

"Yeah, well whatever it is, don't involve me. I don't know anything." Cathica says.

"Don't you even ask?" the Captain asks her.

"Why would I?"

"You're a journalist!" the man says.

"Why's all the crew human?" the Doctor asks.

"What's that got to do with anything?" Cathica asks.

"There's no aliens on board. Why?" he asks.

"I dunno, no real reason. They're not banned." she tells them.

"Then where are they?" the Captain asks.

She pauses for a second to think about it "I suppose immigration's tightened up... It's hard to, with all the threats." she says.

"What threats?" the Doctor asks.

"I dunno, all of them. Usual stuff. The price of spacewarp doubled, so that kept the visitors away. Oh, and the government on Chavic Fice collapsed, so that lot stopped coming, y'see? Just lots of reasons, that's all." she says continuing to walk round the room and making notes on her clipboard.

"Adding up to one great big fact. And you didn't even notice." the Captain states.

"Captain, I think if there was any sort of conspiracy, Satellite Five would have seen it. We see everything." she tells him.

"We can see better." the Doctor informs her. "This society's the wrong shape, even the technology."

"It's cutting edge!" she exclaims.

"It's backwards. There's a great door in your head. You should've chucked this out years ago." the Captain says, the Doctor nods along in agreement.

"So, what d'you think is going on?" Rose asks the two men.

"It's not just this space station, it's the whole attitude the way people think. The Great and Bountiful Human Empire's stunted, something's holding it back." the Doctor says.