The Many Doctors - Chapter 26: The Lazarus Experiment (Part 2)
“It can't be the same man. It has to be a trick,” Martha said.
“Oh, it's Lazarus alright,” Felicia said.
“You're right, it is Lazarus,” the Doctor said to Felicia. “But I wish it was a trick,” he said to Martha.
“What just happened then?” Martha asked.
“He just changed what it means to be human,” the Doctor said.
Lady Thaw had approached Lazarus.
“Excuse me. That was the most astonishing thing I have ever seen. Look at you.”
“This is only the beginning. We're not just making history, we're shaping the future too,” Lazarus said.
“Think of the money we'll make. People will sell their souls to be transformed like that. And I'll be first in line,” Thaw said.
Lazarus stiffened and gasped. He grabbed a tray from a passing waiter and proceeded to all all of the food on it.
“Richard!” Thaw exclaimed.
“I'm famished.”
The Doctor stepped in. “Energy deficit. Always happens with this kind of process.”
“You speak as if you see this every day, Mister?”
“Doctor. And well, no not every day, but have some kind of experience with this kind of transformation.”
“That's not possible,” Lazarus objected.
“Using hypersonic sound waves to create a state of resonance. That's inspired.”
“You understand the theory, then?”
“Enough to know that you couldn't possibly have allowed for all the variables.”
“No experiment is entirely without risk.”
“That thing nearly exploded. You might as well have stepped into a blender.”
“You're not qualified to comment,” Thaw interjected.
“If I hadn't stopped it, it would have exploded,” the Doctor said.
“Than I thank you, Doctor. But that's a simple engineering issue. What happened inside the capsule was exactly what was supposed to happen. No more, no less.”
“No have no way of knowing that until you've run proper tests,” Martha said.
“Look at me. You can see what happened. I'm all the proof you need.”
“This device will be properly certified before we start to operate commercially,” Thaw said.
“Commercially? You are joking. That'll cause chaos,” Martha said.
“I don't remember anything about this happening in the late naughties,” Felicia said to the Doctor.
“Time can be rewritten,” the Doctor said to her.
“Not chaos, change. A chance for humanity to evolve, to improve,” Lazarus said.
“This isn't about improving. It's about you and your customers living a little longer.”
“Not a little longer, Doctor. A lot longer. Perhaps indefinitely.”
“Richard, we have things to discuss, upstairs.”
“Goodbye, Doctor. In a few years, you'll look back and laugh at how wrong you were,” Lazarus said. He kissed Martha's hand and left with Lady Thaw.
“Oh, he's out of his depth. No idea of the damage he might have done,” the Doctor said.
“That'll be right,” Felicia agreed.
“So what do we do now?” Martha asked.
“Now? Well, this building must be full of laboratories. I say we do our own tests,” the Doctor suggested.
“Lucky I've just collected a DNA sample then, isn't it?”
“Oh, Martha Jones, you're a star.”
Felicia followed them as they went to look for a laboratory.
Soon they were looking at Lazarus's DNA. “Amazing,” the Doctor said.
“What?” Martha and Felicia said at the same time.
“Lazarus's DNA.”
“I can't see anything different,” Martha said.
“Look at it,” the Doctor said.
Then, something flashed on the screen. The DNA strand was changing.
“O, Did that just change? But it can't have,” Martha said.
“Look's like it did,” Felicia did.
The Doctor nodded.
“It's impossible.”
“Clearly, Lazarus has done something to make it possible,” Felicia said.
“That's two impossible things we've seen so far tonight,” the Doctor added.
“That means Lazarus has changed his own molecular patterns.”
“Hypersonic sound waves to destabilise the cell structure, then a mutagenic program to manipulate the coding in the protein strands. Basically, he hacked into his own genes and instructed them to rejuvenate.”
“But they're still mutating now!” Martha said.
“That doesn't sound good,” Felicia said.
“You're right. He's missed something. Something in his DNA has been activated and won't let him stabilise,” the Doctor said. “Something that's trying to change him.”
“Change him into what?” Martha asked.
“I don't know, but I think we need to find out.”
“That woman said they were going upstairs,” Martha said.
“Let's go,” the Doctor said.
The Doctor, Martha and Felicia entered Lazarus's office. “This is his office all right,” Martha said.
“So where is he?” the Doctor asked.
“Don't know. Let's try back at the reception,” Martha said.
Felicia found something behind the desk. The remains of Miss Thaw. “Over here!” The Doctor and Martha came over. “I think it's Thaw...”
“Used to be, now it's just a shell. Had all the life energy drained out, like squeezing the juice out of an orange,” the Doctor said.
“Lazarus?” Martha asked.
“I hope not!” Felicia said.
“I'm afraid that it could be,” the Doctor said.
“So he's changed already?” Martha asked.
“Not necessarily, the DNA was fluctuating. The process must demand energy. This might not have been enough.”
“So he might do this again?” Martha asked as they headed back towards the lifts.
As they went down in one lift, another one came up, containing Lazarus.
And Tish...
The Doctor, and his two companions arrived back down in the reception room. “I can't see him,” Martha said.
“Neither can I,” Felicia reported.
“Keep looking,” the Doctor directed.
Martha's brother came up to them. “Hey, you all right, Marth? I think Mum wants to talk to you,” he said.
“Have you seen Lazarus anywhere?” Martha asked.
Leo hesitated. “Yeah, well, he was getting cosy with Tish a couple of minutes ago.”
“With Tish?” Martha asked in surprise.
“Sounds creepy, given his actual age,” Felicia commented.
“Yeah,” Martha agreed.
“Where did they go?” the Doctor asked.
“Upstairs, I think, why?”
The Doctor ran passed Francine, who was calling his name. “I'm speaking to you!”
“Not now, Mum!”
“I don't think we have time,” Felicia said a she went passed.
“Are you Martha's friend?”
“Actually, I only met her today,” Felicia admitted before she followed the other two.
Francine sighed heavily.
“I think you need one of these...”
The Doctor and his companions returned to Lazarus's office. It was empty. “Where are they?” Martha asked.
The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver. “Fluctuating DNA will give off an energy signature. I might be able to pick it up.”
He soon home in on the signature. “Got him!”
“Where?” Felicia asked.
The Doctor pointed upward.
“Isn't this the top floor?” Felicia asked.
“The roof!”
When they got onto the roof, they saw Lazarus and Tish looking over at Southwark Cathedral. “...hard to believe the moment's finally arrived,” Lazarus was saying.
“Falls the Shadow,” the Doctor quoted as he approached.
“So, the mysterious Doctor knows his Eliot. I'm impressed,” Lazarus responded.
“Martha, what are you doing here?” Tish asked.
“Tish, get away from him.”
“What? Don't tell me what to do/
“I wouldn't have thought you had time for poetry, Lazarus, what with you being busy defying the laws of nature and all.”
“You're right, Doctor. One lifetime's been too short for me to do everything I'd like. How much more I'll get done in two or three or four?”
“Doesn't work like that. Some people live more in twenty years than others do in eighty. It's not the time that matters, it's the person.”
“But if it's the right person, what a gift that would be.”
“Or what a curse. Look at what you've done to yourself.”
'Seem's like the Doctor's talking from experience,' Felicia thought. She decided to talk to him later.
“Who are you to judge me?”
“Over here, Tish.”
“You have to spoil everything, don't you? Every time I find someone nice, you have to go and find fault.”
Lazarus then spasmed, and fell.
Felicia screamed.
“That's a bit melodramatic isn't it?” Tish asked.
“No, turn around!” the Doctor said.
Tish turned and saw Lazarus, or rather, what he had turned into... “What's that?”
“Run!” the Doctor shouted.