=======================================================================
Original 'Sloth' Transcription from http://www.hwcn.org/~an933
=======================================================================
This file was created without the consent or knowledge of the
Audio/Visuals team.
=======================================================================
/\
/ \UDIO
\ / ISUALS
\/
AUDIO ADVENTURES IN TIME AND SPACE
TRANSCRIPTION: "SHADOW WORLD" (AV6)
PART: 1 OF 2
DURATION: 27:50
=======================================================================
THIS IS A ROUGH VERSION OF THIS DOCUMENT. IF YOU HAVE A COPY OF THIS
PLAY, IT IS REQUESTED THAT YOU LISTEN WHILE READING THIS TRANSCRIPT
AT LEAST ONCE, NOTING ANY ERRORS WHICH YOU MAY COME ACROSS.
=======================================================================
SCENE 1: IN THE SHADOW WORLD....
MUSIC: CHILLING.
[THE VOICES OF ASKRAN AND THE WOMAN ECHO AND PRE-ECHO.
SOME OF THEIR WORDS CONTINUE TO RESOUND UNDERNEATH LATER
PHRASES. OCCASIONALLY A SEPARATE VOICE CAN BE HEARD
MAKING A THROATY GHOSTLY SOUND. WHEREVER WE MAY BE,
THIS IS NOT THE REAL WORLD...]
ASKRAN: You do like me, don't you?
WOMAN: Perhaps. I haven't quite made up my mind yet.
ASKRAN: I like you, very much.
WOMAN: That's obvious. But I still haven't decided about you,
little boy.
ASKRAN: Then let me help you.
WOMAN: You're very amusing, you know.
ASKRAN: Let's play a game.
WOMAN: [LAUGHS.]
ASKRAN: Do you agree?
WOMAN: All right. What game do you want to play?
ASKRAN: Can't you guess?
WOMAN: Hide and seek! How delightful!
ASKRAN: So you'll play?
WOMAN: Yes, but I warn you I'm very good.
ASKRAN: I'll hide first.
WOMAN: I'll count to twenty-five. Ready? One. Two. Three.
Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight.
SOUND: HER COUNTING IS OBSCURED BY A BRIEF SOUND WHICH FEATURES
BACKWARD VOICES.
WOMAN: ....Twenty-three. Twenty-four. Twenty-four and a half.
Twenty five. Ready, or not, I'm coming to get you!
[SING-SONG, CALLING] Where are you?
SOUND: CREAKING SOUNDS ACCOMPANY HER SEARCH.
[AS HER SEARCH INTENSIFIES, SO DO THE GHOSTLY WAILS.]
WOMAN: Are you here?
Or are you here, behind the curtain?
No. I know where you are! You're in the wardrobe! I'm
right, aren't I? I can *sense* it! And if you *are* in
there, and if I *find* you, you do know what will
happen, don't you; what happens to all...
SOUND: [SHE SLAPS A STRAP ACROSS HER PALM *OR* SHE OPENS THE
WARDROBE.]
WOMAN: *naughty* boys.
ASKRAN: [SCREAMS IN TERROR.]
[HIS SCREAM TRAILS OFF, LOST IN THE ECHO AND THE
MURMURS.]
[DISSOLVE INTO....]
SCENE 2: THE TARDIS - CONSOLE ROOM
SOUND: BG: THE TARDIS HUM - IN FLIGHT
DOCTOR: Ah, there you are, at last, Greg. We're about to land.
GREG: [STUBBORNLY] Hoo! Ray!
DOCTOR: I've had about as much as I can take of your *sighing*
and *whining* over the last few days! It's high time
you came to a decision, Greg. Either you face up to a
future with me in the TARDIS - unpleasant as that *may*,
at times, become - or I reset the co-ordinates and take
you *back home*!
SCENE 3: ASKRAN'S LAB.
SOUND: BG: WHIR OF ELECTRONIC MACHINERY.
MIRANDA: Askran!
ASKRAN: I was in the shadow world. With her.
MIRANDA: You took too much! That's why you crossed over. You
ought to be more careful.
ASKRAN: It was *necessary*.
MIRANDA: I can still see the fear in your eyes.
ASKRAN: Gullible innocent! You know *nothing* of the powers of
sargol! You see *only* the fear. Your eyes are *blind*
to the exhilaration of the total sensual experience I
have undergone.
MIRANDA: Then *teach* me. *Make* me see!
ASKRAN: There is only one way, Miranda: through sargol. There
lies the gateway to untold pleasures... and untold pain.
[DISSOLVE INTO]
MUSIC: THEME 1
SCENE 4: THE TARDIS CONSOLE ROOM.
SOUND: BG: TARDIS HUM - IN FLIGHT
DOCTOR: Well?
GREG: Even if you *could* get me home; which I *doubt*; I
hardly think I would feel settled and ready to return to
the life open to me there. You seem to forget that it
was Rhiannon's death that caused all this. And I
*can't* just dismiss it as you, obviously, can!
DOCTOR: You mistake my desire to *move on* for lack of emotion.
You're doing me an injustice, Greg.
GREG: [LET'S OUT A FRUSTRATED SIGH] To be honest, Doctor, I
don't know *what* I want to do now. I can't decide.
The more I think about it, the worse the confusion in my
mind becomes. Huh! So much for having nine O-levels.
SOUND: AN ALARM SOUNDS.
DOCTOR: We've landed.
GREG: Where this time?
SOUND: THE DOCTOR SHUTS OFF THE ALARM.
SOUND 2: BG: TARDIS HUM - AT REST.
DOCTOR: Somewhere unspoilt, uneventful, and completely quiet.
The planet Kelfer, to be precise. The ideal place for
*you* to go for a walk to think about everything.
*Alone*.
GREG: No need to lay it on with a trowel. I can take a hint.
DOCTOR: The TARDIS can be a claustrophobic place at the best of
times. I, more than anyone, know that.
GREG: Maybe you're right. It's worth a try, I suppose. When
do you want me back here with everything sorted out?
DOCTOR: Greg... Greg, it's *you* I'm worried about. You're not
making it any easier. Take as long as you need, but
remember: time waits for no man.
GREG: Hmmm, not even for a Timelord. Okay. I'll go for my
therapeutic walk. See you when I see you.
SOUND: THE DOORS ARE OPENED.
GREG: Oh, Doctor?
DOCTOR: Yes.
GREG: What will you do while I'm out?
DOCTOR: Oh, this and that. There's always something that needs
repairing.
GREG: Just as long as you don't wander off. I *don't* want to
come back and find myself locked out. Yes. I know. As
if you would!
[GREG EXITS.]
SOUND: THE DOCTOR CLOSES THE TARDIS DOORS BEHIND HIM.
DOCTOR: Ah. Peaceful tranquillity. How... how... how *dull*.
MUSIC: BRIDGE.
SCENE 5: ASKRAN'S LAB.
SOUND: BG: WHIR OF ELECTRONIC MACHINERY.
ASKRAN: Here you are, my dear. Take this to the village.
MIRANDA: I'm surprised we bother to go on supplying them. The
refinement process is lengthy enough without wasting
some of the end product on worthless peasants.
ASKRAN: It amuses me. And, besides, we don't want the villagers
to start causing any trouble.
MIRANDA: They need it more and more frequently, though. It's
*stupid* to go on giving it to them.
ASKRAN: Don't presume to tell me what is, or isn't stupid, my
dear. That is my privilege, and mine alone.
*Of course* they need it more and more frequently.
That's the uniquely commercial side of the addiction.
The side I shall *exploit*. People will pay because
they *have* to have the irresistible.
Now do stop being so *moral*, Miranda. It doesn't
become you.
MIRANDA: I just wish you'd take me more *seriously*. That's all.
ASKRAN: But, whatever for? You take yourself *quite* seriously
enough. Now run along. I have work to do.
MIRANDA: Let me guess. Your TARDIS.
ASKRAN: Without my TARDIS, nothing constructive, or, rather,
*de*-structive can come of our work here. As the old
saying goes: There's no rest for the wicked. [LAUGHS,
COOLLY.]
SCENE 6: THE FOREST - NEAR THE TARDIS.
SOUND: BG: KELFER FOREST ATMOSPHERE.
TYLOS: Over there. In the grove.
GORUM: What *is* it?
TYLOS: I don't know, but I don't like it.
GORUM: And you say you saw it here this morning?
TYLOS: Yes. When I came to find us food.
SCENE 7: THE TARDIS CONSOLE ROOM.
SOUND: THE SCANNER SCREEN IS OPENED.
DOCTOR: Ah, the locals. Now, I wonder if I can hear what
they're saying.
SOUND: THE CONSOLE MAKES A SICKLY-SOUNDING ELECTRONIC WHIMPER.
DOCTOR: Oh dear. Like so much of the TARDIS, the sound's
inoperative.
SCENE 8: THE FOREST - NEAR THE TARDIS.
SOUND: BG: KELFER FOREST ATMOSPHERE.
GORUM: What are we waiting for? I've seen enough to convince
me.
TYLOS: Right. We'd better tell Merik.
SCENE 9: THE TARDIS CONSOLE ROOM.
DOCTOR: And that should do it.
SOUND: THE CHIRPING AND CHATTERING OF THE FOREST CAN NOW BE
HEARD INSIDE THE TARDIS AS WELL.
DOCTOR: Oh! Gone so soon? I was in just the mood for a chat.
SCENE 10: THE FOREST - NEAR THE COLLECTION STONES.
SOUND: BG: KELFER FOREST ATMOSPHERE.
[GREG IS HUMMING A JAUNTY LITTLE TUNE TO HIMSELF, WHEN
HE SPIES MIRANDA.]
GREG: Morning.
MIRANDA: Wait. Who are you? You're not from the village.
GREG: No. My name's Greg, if you're really interested.
MIRANDA: I'm intrigued more than interested.
GREG: You've got a very *hurtful* way with words.
MIRANDA: Thank you.
GREG: I could ask you your name.
MIRANDA: You could. Now *tell* me. You're obviously not from
this planet. So who *are* you, and *why* are you here?
GREG: You certainly ask a lot of questions.
MIRANDA: I'd like a few answers.
GREG: Oh. I think I'm beginning to understand.
MIRANDA: Good.
GREG: This clearly *isn't* the tranquil place I was told *so*
much about. Unless your *gun* is a figment of my
cynical imagination.
MIRANDA: Just a time-honoured aid to persuasion. So *talk*.
GREG: I'm a traveller. Nothing more. Nothing less. I'm not
here for any reason political, military, or otherwise.
In *fact*, I came here for a rest. And I was just
leaving.
MIRANDA: You came *here* to rest?
GREG: Ironic, isn't it? To be honest, all this quiet has been
driving me mad.
MIRANDA: And we can't have that, now, can we? Mmm. You *look*
harmless enough. Although I'm taking something of a
risk just letting you go. Perhaps I *should* kill you.
GREG: That's not going to be necessary. You don't want to
waste good bullets.
MIRANDA: Good what?
GREG: Well, whatever. I'll be out of harm's way as soon as
I'm back in the TARDIS.
MIRANDA: What did you say?
GREG: I appear to have *said* the wrong thing. It's a talent
of mine.
MIRANDA: You said something about a TARDIS.
GREG: Was that bad?
MIRANDA: Not *bad*, just incriminating.
GREG: That gun is *really* unnerving me.
MIRANDA: Good. Then you'll do *exactly* as you're told.
GREG: Oh no.
MIRANDA: Oh yes. Now *move*.
MUSIC: BRIDGE.
SCENE 11: THE VILLAGE.
MERIK: You said this... this blue object was somewhere in the
old, forbidden part of the forest?
TYLOS: It's in a grove.
GORUM: And it hums.
MERIK: It does what?!?
TYLOS: It gives out a low vibration, like the growl of an angry
wolf.
GORUM: Could it be the sargol store? The base of the real
supplier?
MERIK: It could, Gorum. Yes. It's possible.
TYLOS: It must be! It is alien, is it not?
MERIK: Yet you did not see the girl?
TYLOS: No. We did not. Which proves nothing.
MERIK: I saw the collectors gathering by the stones. The
sargol was there. The girl must have been there, too,
at around the time you were out hunting, Tylos.
TYLOS: Then we missed her.
GORUM: Or she saw us.
TYLOS: Either way we do not know for sure.
GORUM: What should we do, Merik?
MERIK: Do, Gorum?
GORUM: About the blue box?
MERIK: You, Tylos, and I shall go and take a closer look at
this manifestation. While we dare not risk another
ambush on the girl, for the moment, with further
knowledge, we could try again.
GORUM: And suffer the deaths of more of our people? My brother
died in one such futile attempt.
MERIK: He, nor any of the others will be forgotten for their
sacrifice. But we have to try something sooner, rather
than later. There are only a few of us still free from
the vile contamination of sargol.
TYLOS: Perhaps it would be wise to remember that the girl is
only the go-between for the *real* supplier - whoever he
is.
GORUM: *That* we may soon find out.
SCENE 12: ASKRAN'S LAB
SOUND: BG: WHIR OF ELECTRONIC MACHINERY.
MIRANDA: Askran, where *are* you?
ASKRAN: Here girl. Why do you disturb me?
MIRANDA: Explain *this*.
GREG: Hello there.
ASKRAN: Is it a villager? Some kind of joke on your part?
MIRANDA: Of *course* not!
ASKRAN: Then do accept my apologies. The lighting in here is
somewhat limited.
MIRANDA: Stop teasing me and listen! He's an outsider of some
kind. A traveller.
ASKRAN: So you kidnapped him and brought him here. Poor
creature. He must be confused.
GREG: I am.
MIRANDA: He said he came here in a *TARDIS*.
ASKRAN: Really? That is *fascinating*. And also potentially
threatening. You did well, my dear. An emissary from
the ever-humourless High Council, perhaps. But no!
This lack-brain is no Timelord. He's a Terran humanoid,
no more. See, Miranda? His face has the vacant staring
look shared by all his kind. It is a form of primitive
incredulity.
GREG: Thanks a lot.
ASKRAN: Spare me your painfully inadequate sarcasm, child, and
tell me how you came to learn of a TARDIS.
MIRANDA: Maybe in the same way that I did.
ASKRAN: Look at me, boy. And tell me from where you crawled.
MUSIC: CHILLING.
GREG: I came here with the Doctor, if that means anything to
you.
ASKRAN: The Doctor? Yes. Yes. In the core of my memory I *do*
know of him. Who could fail to remember such a
ridiculous name?
MIRANDA: But why has this *Doctor* come to Kelfer?
GREG: You've got a very short memory for somebody who's
supposedly so clever. I *told* you! He brought me here
to rest.
ASKRAN: You are his slave?
GREG: NOOO!
MIRANDA: His assistant, then? As I am to you Askran.
GREG: Well, that's nearer the mark, I suppose.
ASKRAN: Where is the Doctor now?
GREG: I left him in the TARDIS.
ASKRAN: Then he will still be there?
GREG: I wouldn't count on it.
ASKRAN: Fool!
MIRANDA: He has a sense of humour, Askran. I thought that was
something you appreciated.
ASKRAN: Have you done as you were bidden? Did you deliver the
sargol?
MIRANDA: I left it by the collection stones, as I always do.
Then I saw him.
ASKRAN: What would I do without your efficiency? However, I
feel bound to remind you that you have other tasks to
perform. Kindly attend to the refinement while I am
occupied.
MIRANDA: As you wish.
SOUND: AN ELECTRONIC DOOR IS OPENS AND CLOSES AS MIRANDA
EXITS.
ASKRAN: Now I can concentrate, undisturbed by the *dubious*
charms of my assistant.
GREG: Can't say I *liked* her much.
ASKRAN: Where is the Doctor's TARDIS located?
GREG: In the wood.
ASKRAN: How singularly irritating. A case of can't see the
wood for looking at the trees, hm.
GREG: What?
ASKRAN: His *chameleon circuit*.
GREG: Oh, that thing. That hasn't worked since I've known
him.
ASKRAN: [LAUGHS] I begin to admire the rank vulgarity of this
Doctor. There was an old saying on Gallifrey that a
broken chameleon circuit was as bad as forgetting to dot
your "i"s.
GREG: [WITHOUT HUMOUR] Ha-ha.
ASKRAN: Yes. Not very funny, is it? Still the jokes were never
the Timelords' strongest point.
SOUND: THE DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES AGAIN AS MIRANDA RE-ENTERS.
ASKRAN: This Doctor of yours, on the other hand, is something of
an unknown quantity for me. I've heard a little of his
reputation - enough to warn me against ignoring his
presence here. In case he causes me any trouble, I
suppose I'd better find and deal with him.
MIRANDA: So he is another Timelord.
GREG: The Doctor is, yeah.
MIRANDA: Then, Askran, he'll be qualified to help you with our
other work.
ASKRAN: I am *aware* of that. And I know just how to enlist his
assistance with a minimum of trouble. [CHUCKLES
OMINOUSLY.]
SCENE 13: THE TARDIS - CONSOLE ROOM.
SOUND: BG: THE TARDIS HUM - AT REST.
DOCTOR: Greg, Greg, where are you? Surely it doesn't take this
long to make a simple decision. Hm. Patience isn't one
of my better-known qualities.
Hello? What's this? More local interest? Well, at
least now I'll be able to hear what they're saying.
SOUND: HE PRESSES A FEW BUTTONS ON THE CONSOLE.
[THE VOICES OF GORUM AND MERIK ARE FILTERED THROUGH THE
SCANNER SCREEN'S SPEAKERS.]
GORUM: There it is.
MERIK: It is strange. I agree. And peculiarly unpleasant to the
eye.
SOUND: THE DOCTOR OPENS THE TARDIS DOORS.
SCENE 14: IN THE FOREST GROVE.
SOUND: BG: KELFER FOREST ATMOSPHERE.
DOCTOR: That's my TARDIS you're insulting!
MERIK: Your TARDIS?
GORUM: He's trying to confuse us.
MERIK: Quiet, Gorum. I can draw my own conclusions, thank you.
DOCTOR: There's absolutely no need for anyone to draw any
conclusions. I'm quite willing to account for myself,
and the TARDIS, if I have to.
MERIK: Tylos, keep him covered.
DOCTOR: Bow and arrow. Do you know, the last time I saw one of
those I.... Uh, another time, perhaps.
TYLOS: Should we search that thing?
DOCTOR: Oh, I don't advise you to try it.
GORUM: *Quiet* you!
MERIK: We shall leave the box alone. It could be a trap.
Gorum will remain here to guard it.
TYLOS: What if the girl returns?
MERIK: Tell her we have her master, and bring her to the
village.
GORUM: And you will return to the village to question this...
DOCTOR: Doctor.
MERIK: Yes, Doctor. Oh, I see. An apt title.
TYLOS: Yes, Merik. Good luck, Gorum.
DOCTOR: Why didn't I stay in the TARDIS?
MUSIC: SWIRLING BRIDGE.
SCENE 15: THE SHADOW WORLD.
GREG: What is this place?!? I can't see through the darkness!
[A CHORUS OF MALE AND FEMALE VOICES ANSWER HIM.]
VOICES: Oh yes, you can.
GREG: Who are you?!? Where are you?!?
VOICES: Here. [CLOSER] No. Here. [FARTHER BACK] Over here. [TO
THE RIGHT] This way! [ALL THE VOICES, IN ALL THEIR
PLACES LAUGH.] It's time to play a game.
GREG: What?!?
VOICES: [SINGING] Ring a-ring a roses. A pocketful of posies.
[SPOKEN] Hold on to something! [SINGING] A tissue! A
tissue! [SPOKEN] Too late! [SINGING] We all fall
*down*!!!
GREG: [SCREAMS.]
[GREG FALLS AWAY, DEEPER INTO THE SHADOW WORLD.]
SCENE 16: ASKRAN'S LAB
SOUND: BG: WHIR OF ELECTRONIC MACHINERY.
MIRANDA: You have given him the drug?
ASKRAN: As you can see, he is now in a world entirely of his
own.
MIRANDA: I wish him joy of it.
ASKRAN: Joy will be the last thing on his mind at the moment.
MIRANDA: Thank you for allowing me a chance to show I'm *worthy*
of your time.
ASKRAN: You are *invaluable* to me, my dear.
MIRANDA: And now you need me to fetch this Doctor here.
ASKRAN: Tusk tusk. I'm becoming predictable.
MIRANDA: That's not important. What's important is for you to
complete your work, repair your TARDIS, and get us out
of this place.
ASKRAN: And I have the distinct feeling that this Doctor is
going to help us. With a little help from his friend.
MIRANDA: How will I find the Doctor?
ASKRAN: His TARDIS is in a grove in the forest. I've devised
this little gadget to help you home in on his time
machine. If he is not there...
MIRANDA: ...he will have gone in search of his companion: to the
village.
ASKRAN: I will conceal our little bait somewhere where he can be
seen on the scanner.
MIRANDA: So near, and yet so far?
ASKRAN: Exactly right. For myself, there are other matters to
attend to, so be sure you do not return before the hour
is up.
MIRANDA: [WITH A HINT OF DISGUST] I understand.
SOUND: THE DOOR OPENS.
ASKRAN: And Miranda?
MIRANDA: Yes?
ASKRAN: If it is the Doctor I recall, he'll almost certainly try
to find out as much as he can about us through *idle*
conversation.
MIRANDA: [POINTEDLY] What do you think I *am*, a complete
*imbecile*?
[MIRANDA EXITS]
SOUND: THE DOOR CLOSES BEHIND HER.
ASKRAN: Sometimes, my dear, I wonder.
MUSIC: CHILLING.
SCENE 17: THE VILLAGE.
SOUND: BG: THE DISTANT SOUNDS OF THE FOREST.
TYLOS: I say kill him now.
DOCTOR: Belligerent fellow, isn't he?
MERIK: Tylos, control yourself. How could we learn the truth
from a corpse?
DOCTOR: Thank you.
MERIK: We will kill him after he has answered our questions
satisfactorily.
DOCTOR: Not exactly an incentive to speak, is it.
TYLOS: I've had enough of his jokes!
MERIK: *No one* could have such a *warped* sense of humour.
TYLOS: *Why* have you been corrupting us with sargol?
MERIK: Who are you working for? The Tehairs, perhaps? Or the
Ganza?
DOCTOR: You mean, other tribes on Kelfer?
MERIK: You will answer our questions sooner, rather than later,
Doctor.
DOCTOR: I can't answer your questions, because I really don't
know what's been going on. I would be grateful for an
explanation of events. They do sound rather alarming,
and I have a young friend alone out there in the forest.
TYLOS: He admits he has a follower; the girl! The man's
presumption *astounds* me!
DOCTOR: The *feeling* is mutual. My "follower", as you put it,
is a young man.
MERIK: Very well, I shall tell you.
TYLOS: Why waste your breath? He knows what's been going on.
He caused it all.
DOCTOR: I assure you, I did no such thing.
TYLOS: Why *else* did we find you in that box?
DOCTOR: If I'm supposed to have been here for weeks, you haven't
done a very good job of spotting me before!
TYLOS: It's not an area of the forest in which we usually hunt!
No one has been near the grove for weeks! Until
recently, it was forbidden!
DOCTOR: How inconvenient for me.
Look, Merik. I have to know what's going on. I owe it
to my friend.
MERIK: Our village and our tribe is, as you have no doubt seen,
a small one. We are farmers: good honest men and women.
We've never had any involvement in the occasional tribal
disputes that disturb the pattern of life every so
often. All was well until a few weeks ago.
TYLOS: Then, one night, some of the younger lads of the village
went into the forest in a wine-tainted good humour.
There, they met a strange man, who gave them sargol for
the first time.
MERIK: When they came back, they were shaking. They were still
deeply affected by the powerful hallucinogenic side of
the stuff. The subsequent withdrawal symptoms were
terrible. The next day, the girl appeared for the first
time. She protected herself with a type of weapon we'd
never seen before.
TYLOS: We were defenceless. She supplied the drug to more and
more of us.
MERIK: Our tribe is falling victim to sargol, Doctor, and we
can do little to prevent it.
DOCTOR: Well, have you tried to ambush or overpower this girl?
TYLOS: Oh, we've tried all right, but she's always too quick
for us.
DOCTOR: It seems to me you have little to lose, and everything
to gain, but you *must* trust me.
TYLOS: Trust is not so easy to dispense.
MERIK: The stranger's words have a kind of reason to them. We
can always kill him if he betrays us.
DOCTOR: That won't be necessary.
TYLOS: As you say then, Merik. But it is you I trust, not
this... alien.
MERIK: What little we have left is being severely challenged
from within as well as without.
DOCTOR: Dissidents?
TYLOS: Two of the original addicts. They're convinced that the
drug comes from the benevolence of our god, Tehran. They
regard us as dangerous heretics.
MERIK: Stef and Amer lead for now, but they are addicts, and,
as such, doomed.
DOCTOR: Does this drug induce death?
TYLOS: Death. Yes, Doctor. But first, something far worse.
MERIK: As the victim becomes increasingly affected by the drug,
he slips into a trance for longer and longer periods of
time. Eventually, the state becomes permanent, and
death ensues.
TYLOS: But the nature of sargol first draws the addict into
what we call the shadow world: a world of constant
dreaming through all the spectrum of emotion and
physical response.
DOCTOR: I admire you for having held out against it. It must
take great strength of purpose. But your friend, Gorum,
isn't very safe where he is at the moment, and nor is my
companion, Greg.
MERIK: I don't care to think what might have happened to him
out there.
DOCTOR: What's important is finding him and Gorum, and then
trying to find ourselves a way out of this mess.
SCENE 18: ASKRAN'S LAB
SOUND: BG: WHIR OF ELECTRONIC MACHINERY.
ASKRAN: Enough. I grow *bored* of this machine, and there is but
one cure for boredom here.
SCENE 19: THE VILLAGE.
SOUND: BG: THE DISTANT SOUNDS OF THE FOREST.
MERIK: Well, Doctor, you've been acting as though you have all
the answers. How about some ideas?
DOCTOR: Yes. Yes. Quite. Mmm. Well, to look at it from a
logical, straight-forward approach.... And to be
perfectly calm about... uh, the... the problem...
we're facing, that is....
TYLOS: He's got no ideas.
DOCTOR: Well, come come! Give me time!
MIRANDA: Time, Doctor, is a commodity with which you are
well-acquainted.
MERIK: It's the girl!
MIRANDA: Be quiet! I'm here to fetch you, Doctor. You're wanted
at once.
DOCTOR: It's so nice to be in demand.
MIRANDA: Come on! I want to get out of this filthy dump.
TYLOS: Watch her, Doctor. She's evil!
DOCTOR: Stay here. I'll be back.
MIRANDA: I think *that* unlikely.
[THE DOCTOR AND MIRANDA LEAVE.]
TYLOS: And now what?
MERIK: We stay put.
TYLOS: What about Gorum? The Doctor said he was in danger
where he is.
MERIK: The Doctor also told us to stay here. As for the time
being, we do just that.
SCENE 20: THE FOREST - NEAR THE GROVE.
SOUND: BG: KELFER FOREST ATMOSPHERE.
DOCTOR: So, you're the elusive young lady I've heard so many
unpleasant things about. May I ask your name?
MIRANDA: No.
DOCTOR: Pleased to meet you.
MIRANDA: I'm sure.
DOCTOR: They don't like you very much in the village, you know.
I can see why.
MIRANDA: I'm disappointed in you, Doctor. Your insults are
puerile in the extreme.
DOCTOR: Oh, I only make an effort when I feel the other person's
worth it. Where are you taking me?
MIRANDA: That you will discover.
DOCTOR: Ah! The TARDIS. Glad to see she's still there. But
where's Gorum?
MIRANDA: You ask too many questions. Since we're not stopping
here, I've no need to answer them.
DOCTOR: Oh, I think you do. You may have a gun, but you've
obviously got orders to bring me to whoever your
superior is *alive*. Kill me now, and you're not going
to be flavour of the month, are you. *Where's* Gorum?
MIRANDA: I take it you mean the primitive?
DOCTOR: If that's what you think, yes.
MIRANDA: He attacked me. I had to destroy him.
DOCTOR: He had good reason to attack you.
MIRANDA: All the same, there was nothing I could have done to
stop him. He committed suicide.
DOCTOR: Ha. Your compassion *astounds* me.
MIRANDA: Just shut up, and get moving.
DOCTOR: One more question?
MIRANDA: No more questions.
DOCTOR: After you.
MIRANDA: Very funny.
MUSIC: OMINOUS BRIDGE.
SCENE 21: IN THE SHADOW WORLD....
SOUND: A MENACING LAUGH.
SOUND 2: THE HEAVY PANTING OF A WOLF-LIKE ANIMAL, GROWING LOUDER
AND CLOSER.
GREG: Now what?
ROLAND: You're Greg Holmes, aren't you?
GREG: At the moment, I'm not sure.
ROLAND: My name's Roland.
GREG: Hello....OW! you *kicked* me!
ROLAND: Did not!
GREG: Did!
ROLAND: Didn't!
GREG: Damn well, did! Come here!
ROLAND: [TEASINGLY] Can't catch me! []!
GREG: Just you wait, and then you'll see!
ROLAND: Na! Na na! Na! Na!
GREG: Euh! Uhhh. I'm stuck! Uhhhk! I can't move!
ROLAND: Ha ha haa! Look at you now!
GREG: I'm sinking! Help me! Please!
ROLAND: Not likely. [SINGING] I'm the king of the castle, and
you're the dirty rascal!
[ROLAND'S CALL IS TAKEN UP AND ECHOED BY SEVERAL MORE
ROLANDS AS GREG STRUGGLES TO ESCAPE FROM THE QUAGMIRE.]
SOUND: THE BREATHING GROWS EVER CLOSER....
SCENE 22: OUTSIDE ASKRAN'S LAB
MIRANDA: This way. In here.
DOCTOR: Ahhh, I think I'm beginning to understand. This is a
laboratory.
MIRANDA: Of sorts.
SOUND: THE DOOR IS OPENED.
SOUND: BG: WHIR OF ELECTRONIC MACHINERY.
ASKRAN: Very astute, Doctor.
DOCTOR: Oh, I wouldn't say that. Up to now, I've simply been
stumbling around in the dark.
ASKRAN: You underestimate yourself.
DOCTOR: Not often.
ASKRAN: What misfortune brought you here, Doctor?
DOCTOR: Misfortune? I chose to land.
ASKRAN: Your intelligence has clearly been exaggerated. Who
would choose to land on Kelfer? It's phenomenally
*boring*. Quite devoid of interest.
DOCTOR: Your sentiments indicate you were forced to land, or,
perhaps, exiled?
ASKRAN: Unlike you, Doctor, I've yet to have that humiliation.
*I* always make sure *I* don't get caught.
MIRANDA: Is this relevant?
ASKRAN: Irrelevant, but enjoyable.
DOCTOR: Speak for yourself.
ASKRAN: I usually do. That's what makes having a mind capable
of responding in kind such a rare delicacy.
DOCTOR: You flatter me.
ASKRAN: I think not. But I must confess to being intrigued at
having met you at last. Such perfect timing. You have
arrived at the most opportune moment.
DOCTOR: I don't like the sound of that.
ASKRAN: Oh, come now, Doctor. Surely I don't intimidate you?
For it is I who'll be shortly in your debt. Miranda?
MIRANDA: Yes, Askran?
ASKRAN: Some refreshments for our guest.
DOCTOR: No, thank you.
ASKRAN: Sour grapes? So soon?
DOCTOR: Merely a lack of appetite.
ASKRAN: You are probably wise. The only wine I can produce here
tends to be rather too piquant and lacking in
character. All the same, I shall enjoy a glass, please,
Miranda.
MIRANDA: Anything to oblige.
ASKRAN: Just a drink for now, my dear.
[MIRANDA EXITS.]
DOCTOR: You've got her well-trained.
ASKRAN: Now you flatter me.
DOCTOR: Exactly what do you want, Askran?
ASKRAN: As you will have gathered, I am on this dismal planet
against my will; marooned, if you like. My TARDIS, such
as it is, has been damaged beyond a condition where my
skill can repair it. Temporal engineering was always my
Achilles heal, alas.
DOCTOR: And you want my help to fill in the gaps, so to speak?
ASKRAN: You are my only tangible hope.
DOCTOR: And what do I get in return? [PAUSE] Well?
SOUND: ASKRAN PRESSES SOME BUTTONS.
ASKRAN: This.
GREG: Greg!
ASKRAN: I'm afraid it *is* rather predictable, but then I do
have a lot at stake.
SOUND: HE PUSHES SOME MORE BUTTONS.
DOCTOR: First you must stop this *disgusting* contamination of
the village. It's pointless and cruel!
ASKRAN: You don't imagine the villagers are of any importance to
me. They were a useful test for the powers of sargol,
and a temporary amusement.
DOCTOR: What for? A test for what?
[MIRANDA RE-ENTERS WITH THE WINE.]
ASKRAN: Ah, Miranda! A *timely* entrance.
DOCTOR: If I'm to help you, I must know why you're doing this.
ASKRAN: Your curiosity is unrelenting. Very well. Tell him,
Miranda.
MIRANDA: Sargol is a drug we discovered after landing here. It's
a mild hallucinogenic, capable, through various
dosages, of anything from mild dreaming to death by
brain asphyxiation.
DOCTOR: Civilization itself.
ASKRAN: There's more.
MIRANDA: Askran experimented with it on the village. He
witnessed its effect there. The very core of their
society has been weakened and debilitated.
ASKRAN: When my TARDIS is operative once more, I shall leave
this God-forsaken rat-trap with enough of the drug to
destroy the societies of worlds without number, and
civilizations without end. Then, I shall take them
over.
DOCTOR: You're as mad as the rest. A pathetic, misguided,
deluded lunatic.
ASKRAN: But, oh how I'm enjoying it.
MIRANDA: Is he going to help you?
ASKRAN: He is.
DOCTOR: I am?
MIRANDA: You are.
ASKRAN: Your companion is not asleep, Doctor. He has been given
a fifteen milligram dose of the drug. He is currently
in the first stage of entering what we call the
shadow world. If you do not help me, I shall increase
that dosage to such an extent that his mind will descend
into total collapse, and he will suffer a lengthy,
unpleasant, and undignified death. A death you will,
naturally, have to witness.
MIRANDA: Even now, he will be suffering in a world of constant
nightmares.
DOCTOR: Can you bring him back from this shadow world?
ASKRAN: There is an antidote. The source of which *I* control.
DOCTOR: It seems I have no choice.
ASKRAN: How true.
DOCTOR: Greg, wherever you are, I hope you'll live to appreciate
this.
SCENE 23: IN THE SHADOW WORLD....
GREG: I can't stand much more of this. I've got to find a way
out.
RHIANNON: Greg!
GREG: Rhi...Rhiannon?
RHIANNON: I'm here to help you! Hold out your hand, and grasp
mine!
GREG: I can't! I can't reach it!
RHIANNON: Hurry! We haven't got much time! If you can reach me,
I'll be able to...
SOUND: HER VOICE IS ENGULFED IN ANOTHER SERIES OF BACKWARD
SCREAMS.
RHIANNON: [SCREAMS SEVERAL TIMES]
GREG: Don't.. don't leave me alone! I'm scared!
CHORUS 1: You killed her, you know?
CHORUS 2: Yes. It was all your fault, Gregory boy.
CHORUS 1: I sent a letter to my love.
CHORUS 2: And on the way I lost it.
GREG: Stop it!
CHORUS 1: And one of you has picked it up.
CHORUS 2: And put it in his pocket.
CHORUS 1: It wasn't you.
CHORUS 2: And it wasn't you.
GREG: It wasn't me!
CHORUS 1: It wasn't you.
CHORUS 2: It was *you*!
GREG: Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
[GREG'S SCREAM RESOUNDS]
- end part one -