THE MAN WHO FORGETS, doctor who [book 02]

vii. the last of its kind

     "I don't understand."

     "Don't you? Try to. Go on. The spaceship that could never fly. No vibration on deck. This creature, this poor, trapped, terrified creature. It's not infesting you, it's not invading, it's what you have instead of an engine. And this place down here is where you hurt it, where you torture it, day after day, just to keep it moving. Tell you what. Normally, it's above the range of human hearing. This is the sound none of you wanted to hear."

     The Doctor sonics a tentacle. They hear a screaming sound.

     "Stop it," Liz orders. "Who did this?"

     "We act on instructions from the highest authority," Hawthorne informs.

     "I am the highest authority. The creature will be released, now. I said now! Is anyone listening to me?"

     "Liz," the Doctor calls. "Your mask."

     "What about my mask?"

     "Look at it. It's old. At least two hundred years old, I'd say."

     "Yeah? It's an antique. So?"

     "Yeah, an antique made by craftsmen over two hundred years ago and perfectly sculpted to your face. They slowed your body clock, all right, but you're not fifty. Nearer three hundred. And it's been a long old reign."

     "Nah, it's ten years. I've been on this throne ten years."

     "Ten years. And the same ten years, over and over again, always leading you here."

     There are two buttons on the voting machine: Forget and Abdicate.

     "What have you done?" Liz demands.

     "Only what you have ordered," Hawthorne explains to the dark-skinned Queen. "We work for you, Ma'am. The Winders, the Smilers, all of us."

     A screen turns on and an old video of Liz begins to play. "If you are watching this... If I am watching this, then I have found my way to the Tower Of London. The creature you are looking at is called a Star Whale. Once, there were millions of them. They lived in the depths of space and, according to legend, guided the early space travellers through the asteroid belts. This one, as far as we are aware, is the last of its kind. And what we have done to it breaks my heart.

     "The Earth was burning. Our sun had turned on us and every other nation had fled to the skies. Our children screamed as the skies grew hotter. And then it came, like a miracle. The last of the Star Whales. We trapped it, we built our ship around it, and we rode on its back to safety. If you wish our voyage to continue, then you must press the Forget button. Be again the heart of this nation, untainted. If not, press the other button. Your reign will end, the Star Whale will be released, and our ship will disintegrate. I hope I keep the strength to make the right decision."

     "I voted for this..." Amy whispers in disbelief. "Why would I do that?"

     "Because you knew if we stayed here, I'd be faced with an impossible choice. Humanity or the alien," the Doctor explains, deathly calm. "You took it upon yourself to save me from that. And that was wrong. You don't ever decide what I need to know."

     "I don't even remember doing it."

     "You did it. That's what counts."

     "I'm, I'm sorry."

     "Oh, I don't care. When I'm done here, you're going home."

     "Why? Because I made a mistake? One mistake? I don't even remember doing it. Doctor!"