Doctor Who: Changes in Time and Space - Chapter 26 - The Lazarus Experiment Part 1
2 December 2008
London, England, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Martha Jones was not impressed that the Doctor had apparently picked up someone else whilst he had been away. This 'Felicia' person was not explaining herself, but was clearly was not comfortable around the Doctor.
“Why, if you are concerned about what that person said on the TV, did you pick up someone else?” she asked. The Doctor did not know how to answer. At least not right away.
“There was a problem with the TARDIS. A future version of it connected with the current version somehow. I somehow travelled between them,” Felicia said.
“I suppose so,” Martha said, after some thought. Felicia did not sound like she was lying.
“So, tell me what is going on with the scientist,” Felicia requested.
“I guess I should call Tish,” Martha said, referring to her sister.
“You had better do that,” the Doctor said.
Later that night the Doctor, Martha and Felicia were approaching the Lazarus Laboratories building.
“Black Tie. Why do I have to wear it?” the Doctor pondered.
“It looks good. In a James Bond kind of way,” Martha said.
“James Bond!” the Doctor exclaimed in a mock offended tone.
“Not really. It is more Jack Bauer,” Felicia said.
“That is even worse,” the Doctor said.
“Sorry,” Felicia said.
Meanwhile on the top floor of the Lazarus Laboratories building, Letitia Jones was delivering the guest list to Professor Lazarus.
“You wanted to see the guest list for tonight?” she asked.
“Yes Letitia,” Professor Richard Lazarus said.
He came very close to her as he took the guest list off her.
“Interesting fragrance,” he said.
“It's Soap!” Letitia snapped and turned around. It may have appeared that she walked calmly out of the office, but she was seething inside. Professor Lazarus was very creepy...
Downstairs, the Doctor, Martha and Felicia entered the building and were met by Letitia.
“Tish!” Martha said as the sister's hugged.
“You look great. So, what do you think? Impressive, isn’t it?” Tish asked.
“Very,” Martha said as she nodded.
“And two nights out in a row for you-that’s dangerously close to a social life.”
“If I keep this up, I’ll end up in all the gossip columns.”
“You might, actually. Keep an eye out for photographers. And Mum-she’s coming too, even dragging Leo along with her.”
Martha was incredulous. “Leo in black tie? That I must see.”
Tish then glanced at the Doctor and Felicia.
“This is the Doctor,” Martha said.
The Doctor held out his hand. “Hello.”
“And Felicia.”
“Hi!” Felicia said.
“Are they with you?” Tish asked.
“Yes,” Martha answered.
“But they're not on the list. How did they get in?”
.”They're my plus three,” Martha explained.
“There's no plus three,” Tish objected.
“There was in my case.”
The Doctor interjected. “So, this Lazarus, he's your boss?”
“Professor Lazarus, yes. I'm part of his executive staff.”
“She's in the PR department,” Martha explained.
“I'm head of the PR department, actually.”
Martha was even more incredulous. “You're joking.”
“I put this whole thing together,” Tish said to her sister.
“I guess Martha didn't know that,” Felicia said to the Doctor.
“Something may be going on...” the Doctor said to Felicia. He then seemed to be in thought. He then said to Tish. “So do you know what the professor's going to be doing tonight? That looks like it might be a sonic microfield manipulator.”
The words went over Tish's head. “He's a science geek, I should have known. Got to get back to work now. I'll catch up with you later.” Tish left.
The trio walked further into the lobby. “Science geek? What does that mean?” the Doctor asked.
'I'll let Martha answer,' Felicia thought.
“That you're obsessively enthusiastic about it,” Martha answered.
“Oh, nice!”
When they entered the main room, Felicia looked around it. There was equipment with many dials and switches sitting near the back wall, and a chamber around which a large device was installed. She supposed that this was the 'incredible device' that was supposed to 'change what it means to be human'. The lighting in the room was accentuating the device, making it stand out much more than anything else in the room. She also saw that the room was getting crowded as more people arrived to see the revelation of the device and the 'miracle' it was supposed to produce.
Soon, Martha saw her mother with her brother. She ran and hugged her mother. “Mum!”
“All right, what's the occaision?” Francine Jones asked her daughter.
“What do you mean? I'm just pleased to see you, that's all.”
“You saw me last night.”
“I know. I just miss you. You're looking good, Leo.”
“Yeah. If anyone asks me to fetch them a drink, I'll swing for him,” Leo said.
“You disappeared last night,” Francine said.
'She suspects something...' Felicia thought.
“I just went home,” Martha said.
“On your own?” Francine asked.
“These are friends of mine, the Doctor, and Felicia.”
“Doctor what?” Francine asked, taking no notice of Felicia, but focusing on the Doctor.
“No, it's just the Doctor. We've been doing some work together,” Martha said, trying to defuse the situation.
“You all right, mate?” Leo asked.
“It's lovely to meet you, Mrs Jones. Heard a lot about you,” the Doctor said.
“Have you? What have you heard then?”
“Oh, you know, that you're Martha's mother and. Er, no, actually, that's about it. We haven't had much time to chat. You know, been busy,” the Doctor said.
“Busy?” Francine asked. “Doing what, exactly?”
“Oh you know. Stuff,” the Doctor answered.
Felicia shot him a look as if saying. 'That's not helping!'
The sound of tapping on a glass drew the attention of everyone in the room.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I am Professor Richard Lazarus and tonight I am going to perform a miracle. It is, I believe, the most important advance since Rutherford split the atom, the biggest leap since Armstrong stood on the moon. Tonight, you will watch and wonder. Tomorrow, you will wake to a world which will be changed forever.”
Technicians flipped switches as the device powered up and began to spin around the chamber, seeming to produce some sort of visible vibrations in the air.
Suddenly alarms blared and the smell of burning electronics permeated the room. With mechanical squeals growing louder as it spun, the device was clearly beginning to overload!
“Something's wrong. It's overloading,” the Doctor said. He leapt into action, dodging through the startled crowd. He leveraged himself over the outer ring of equipment surrounding the chamber to access the controls. He flipped a few of the switches that he had seen the technicians flip earlier as he watched several dials and monitors. Then he kicked the machine with the biggest dial as the dial continued to move further into the red!
One of Lazarus's investors, Lady Thaw said. “Somebody stop him. Get him away from those controls!”
“If this thing goes up, it'll take the whole building with it. Is that what you want?” the Doctor asked. He finally pulled out a big power cable and the contraption slowed down.
Martha and Felicia rushed to the chamber. “Get it open!” the Doctor said. Martha opened the door and Lazarus clambered out.
“My name is Richard Lazarus. I am 76 years old and I am reborn!” he said in a clear voice.
He held up his arms triumphantly, a smug look on his face.
He looked decades younger...
“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,” she said, holding her hands up to his face.
“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.