Flowers on Air 3/11
TITLE: Flowers on Air
CHARACTERS: Ten/Rose, OC (lots)
RATING: PG/Teen
SPOILERS: None past mid-series-2
SUMMARY: After being temporarily stranded in 1999, the Doctor is faced with a temptation he may not be able to turn from. Can Rose save him from himself?
DISCLAIMER: If I owned any of these characters, I'd have already released a collectors edition of Until the End of the World on region 1 DVD. BBC, RTD, Wim Wenders, full props.
A/N: This is a crossover fic between Doctor Who and the mid-90's film Until the End of the World. Knowing anything about the movie is not required (besides, I'm taking some liberties, and then the Doctor shows up and the timeline's all shot to hell anyway).
This chapter: The Doctor and Rose meet Dr. Henry Farber and learn what's really behind the door.
Dr. Henry Farber regarded the two smiling strangers with great suspicion. Their gormless grins seemed entirely fake and their presence by the door to his laboratory certainly did not help their case. How to deal with them? Edith would surely welcome them and probably say something entirely too specific about the nature of his work. Sam would be more cunning, probably giving them some sort of smoke screen, placing them socially at ease and before they knew it they’d be discussing Aboriginal dreamtime clear on the other side of the centre. Dr. Farber had no idea where his son got that ability to talk to people, to lie to them so excellently, and to have them love him for it. Certainly not from his polite, innocent mother, nor from his unsociable introvert father.
“What do you want?” he finally barked, his German accent making his words sound even harsher.
“We’ve just arrived and thought we’d go for a walk around.” Rose twirled a finger in her hair, attempting to look innocent. She stuck out a hand towards Dr. Farber, “Rose Tyler, and this is my friend, the Doctor.”
Dr. Farber let her wave her hand about in the space between them for rather longer than was socially acceptable, but finally took it and gave it a perfunctory shake.
“Dr. Henry Farber,” he grumbled.
“Nice to meet you Dr. Farber,” chirped the Doctor, and then he took a deep breath and plunged in with both feet. “We were just out for a walk, but we couldn’t help but notice this great big door here. Set right in to the rock face!” He spoke as if he’d just made this discovery, as if no one else had ever before seen this amazing sight. He plowed onwards, “Imagine that! And I said to Rose here, I said, I bet that someone’s got quite a set-up in there, what with the security system still up and running even after the EMP. And here you are! You are that someone, are you not, Dr. Farber?”
Dr. Farber was overwhelmed by the torrent of words that tumbled out of this other Doctor’s mouth in his direction. This one could certainly give Sam a run for his money, that was for damn sure. And from looks, he was also just as successful in his snow jobs where women were concerned. The girl looked to be no older than 21, and it was plain as day what was going on here, from the admiring looks she kept flitting in this older man’s direction. This Doctor fellow looked to be almost twice her age, with laugh lines around his eyes and a heavy early evening growth of stubble. Professor and student perhaps.
“That is the door to my laboratory, you are correct Doctor….”
“Just the Doctor.”
Dr. Farber mopped his forehead with his linen handkerchief. He certainly had a live one here. Just the Doctor, indeed. What a ridiculous affectation.
“Well, Doctor, you are correct, and now if you don’t mind, I must be getting back to my work.” Dr. Farber made a motion to pass them on the path and continue on to the door.
The Doctor moved slightly to the left, and blocked him, through the sheer power of socially acceptable personal space being at a premium on the pathway.
“If you don’t mind my asking-it’s what you might call of professional interest to myself and Miss Tyler here-what exactly is your work? I mean to say, perhaps I might be of some help or provide some insight? I’m certainly dying to see what sort of work requires a laboratory in the middle of a desert.” The Doctor kept his tone breezy, but there was a definite undercurrent of impatience.
Rose knew, when the Doctor’s curiosity got the better of him, it was generally best to just stand aside and try to limit the scope of the damage.
“I am quite curious, Dr. Farber. And he’s really quite clever, this one.” She poked a thumb in the Doctor’s direction.
“I really am,” the Doctor noted, matter-of-factly.
The look on Dr. Farber’s face was one of complete and abject horror. The absolute cheek of these people!
“And what exactly are you a Doctor of, sir?”
“Oh, well, see for yourself,” said the Doctor, and reached in to his pocket to pull out a black wallet with a blank sheet of paper displayed under clear plastic. He brandished the psychic paper at Dr. Farber’s eye level and waited. Rose crossed her fingers and hoped. Every now and then, she found, what the reader wanted to see was not necessarily in the best interests of the Doctor and herself.
As he examined the paper, Dr. Farber’s eyebrows shot skyward and he squared his shoulders. The Doctor’s credentials seemed to dovetail with his own work perfectly. Perhaps a little too perfectly. Optical neurobiology and computer science? There were only a handful of people in the world with that dual specialty. Dr. Farber was sure he’d already met them all at conferences.
There was the distinct possibility that this man was a government agent. Which would make the girl….what? His partner? Assistant? But there was an air about them both that made him want to trust them, which in and of itself was miraculous. Dr. Farber barely trusted his own son. And speaking of Sam, the work done in his protracted absence had been slow going and an ear to bounce a few new ideas off of could prove quite useful. Things were not yet ready for the return of the camera, though he’d been expecting its arrival for weeks now.
The pair still stood smiling before him, waiting for him to process all of the information.
“Very well, Doctor,” Dr. Farber grumbled. “Given your interest in neurobiology and computer science, I think you’ll be quite interested in what we’re doing here. Come with me and I’ll show you my laboratory. It’s the end of the world anyway.”
Rose and the Doctor each folded sideways to let the old man through, and then winked at one another as they followed him back through the door.
“What you are about to see will revolutionize the way we think of seeing,” Dr. Farber began his narration and tour. “To cut straight to the point, we are creating a camera that records pictures that blind people can see.”
He ushered them in to the main laboratory, a large cave-like room with walls covered in plastic sheeting, cables and wires running everywhere, monitors and keyboards, and a bank of supercomputers that would have put your average military to shame. Three researchers in white lab coats bustled around the room, barely taking notice of Dr. Farber or the newcomers.
The Doctor was clearly awestruck and Rose was likewise overwhelmed at the massive scale of the effort taking place here. This is more than one old man’s hobby, she thought. It wasn’t often Rose got to see the Doctor speechless, but this was one of those times.
Dr. Farber continued, “The camera doesn’t take a physical picture. Rather, it records the neurobiological act of seeing. Then for the subject to be able to view the pictures, the person who took it must again look at the images and remember what it was like to see it. These computers process that information and stimulate the brain of the subject in order to recreate the experience of seeing.”
The large dark sunglasses and the walking arm-in-arm that Rose had witnessed, as this man and what she presumed was his wife walked down the path earlier suddenly made sense. Dr. Farber’s wife was obviously blind, and his life’s work had been devoted to helping her see again. Rose found this so overwhelmingly touching, she wanted to hug this gruff old man immediately, even though he’d mainly just been rude to them thus far. There were about one million things she wanted to say to the Doctor at this moment, but she could not because he had finally found his gob again and was spouting technical jargon this way and that.
When the Doctor went off on jags such as this, it allowed Rose to hang back and observe. She’s gotten quite good at ignoring all the jibber-jabber going on and taking in small details about their surroundings and the people in them. Sometimes the Doctor feigned interest in the technical details of things just to throw whomever they were dealing with off the scent and allow Rose some time to snoop a little and take it all in. This was not one of those times however. The Doctor was genuinely fascinated and excited.
“You, Dr. Farber--and I don’t say this very often at all--but you are a genius!” the Doctor enthused. “Rose, tell him. Tell him that I don’t say that very often.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say that about anyone but yourself, Doctor.”
“Well…,” began the Doctor, none too modestly, but he never finished the thought.
And then they were off again, by this point joined by the technicians in the lab, none of whom introduced themselves to Rose, and she noted that the Doctor did not insist on such introductions either. This was, she supposed, her cue to snoop, whether the Doctor intended it to be or not.
Getting the physical lay of the lab was easy enough. Aside from the main room, there were two smaller rooms off to one side, each containing a bed-like lab table with a U-shaped headpiece at one end, and several monitors and screens. Other than that, there was little to see. The technical ins and outs of the equipment was a bit beyond her pay grade, but she began to develop a general feeling of uneasiness amongst it all. She still felt warmly towards this man who devoted his life to easing his wife’s disability, but something was not sitting quite right. Not the motivation, but something else. She couldn't put her finger on it. There were so many unanswered questions about why this work was being done here, of all places. The Doctor seemed to have forgotten all about the strangeness of having a laboratory in a cave (How very Bond villain, thought Rose) in his zest for learning about new technologies.
Rose left the cave, unnoticed by the Doctor, or anyone else.
Perhaps there would be better snooping to be had outside of the lab. Or maybe she’d just for once leave the Doctor to it for a while and let him have his fun. He seemed to be enjoying himself well enough, and Rose thought she wouldn’t mind perhaps working on a bit of a tan.
What could possibly go wrong?
(To Chapter 4)
CHARACTERS: Ten/Rose, OC (lots)
RATING: PG/Teen
SPOILERS: None past mid-series-2
SUMMARY: After being temporarily stranded in 1999, the Doctor is faced with a temptation he may not be able to turn from. Can Rose save him from himself?
DISCLAIMER: If I owned any of these characters, I'd have already released a collectors edition of Until the End of the World on region 1 DVD. BBC, RTD, Wim Wenders, full props.
A/N: This is a crossover fic between Doctor Who and the mid-90's film Until the End of the World. Knowing anything about the movie is not required (besides, I'm taking some liberties, and then the Doctor shows up and the timeline's all shot to hell anyway).
This chapter: The Doctor and Rose meet Dr. Henry Farber and learn what's really behind the door.
Dr. Henry Farber regarded the two smiling strangers with great suspicion. Their gormless grins seemed entirely fake and their presence by the door to his laboratory certainly did not help their case. How to deal with them? Edith would surely welcome them and probably say something entirely too specific about the nature of his work. Sam would be more cunning, probably giving them some sort of smoke screen, placing them socially at ease and before they knew it they’d be discussing Aboriginal dreamtime clear on the other side of the centre. Dr. Farber had no idea where his son got that ability to talk to people, to lie to them so excellently, and to have them love him for it. Certainly not from his polite, innocent mother, nor from his unsociable introvert father.
“What do you want?” he finally barked, his German accent making his words sound even harsher.
“We’ve just arrived and thought we’d go for a walk around.” Rose twirled a finger in her hair, attempting to look innocent. She stuck out a hand towards Dr. Farber, “Rose Tyler, and this is my friend, the Doctor.”
Dr. Farber let her wave her hand about in the space between them for rather longer than was socially acceptable, but finally took it and gave it a perfunctory shake.
“Dr. Henry Farber,” he grumbled.
“Nice to meet you Dr. Farber,” chirped the Doctor, and then he took a deep breath and plunged in with both feet. “We were just out for a walk, but we couldn’t help but notice this great big door here. Set right in to the rock face!” He spoke as if he’d just made this discovery, as if no one else had ever before seen this amazing sight. He plowed onwards, “Imagine that! And I said to Rose here, I said, I bet that someone’s got quite a set-up in there, what with the security system still up and running even after the EMP. And here you are! You are that someone, are you not, Dr. Farber?”
Dr. Farber was overwhelmed by the torrent of words that tumbled out of this other Doctor’s mouth in his direction. This one could certainly give Sam a run for his money, that was for damn sure. And from looks, he was also just as successful in his snow jobs where women were concerned. The girl looked to be no older than 21, and it was plain as day what was going on here, from the admiring looks she kept flitting in this older man’s direction. This Doctor fellow looked to be almost twice her age, with laugh lines around his eyes and a heavy early evening growth of stubble. Professor and student perhaps.
“That is the door to my laboratory, you are correct Doctor….”
“Just the Doctor.”
Dr. Farber mopped his forehead with his linen handkerchief. He certainly had a live one here. Just the Doctor, indeed. What a ridiculous affectation.
“Well, Doctor, you are correct, and now if you don’t mind, I must be getting back to my work.” Dr. Farber made a motion to pass them on the path and continue on to the door.
The Doctor moved slightly to the left, and blocked him, through the sheer power of socially acceptable personal space being at a premium on the pathway.
“If you don’t mind my asking-it’s what you might call of professional interest to myself and Miss Tyler here-what exactly is your work? I mean to say, perhaps I might be of some help or provide some insight? I’m certainly dying to see what sort of work requires a laboratory in the middle of a desert.” The Doctor kept his tone breezy, but there was a definite undercurrent of impatience.
Rose knew, when the Doctor’s curiosity got the better of him, it was generally best to just stand aside and try to limit the scope of the damage.
“I am quite curious, Dr. Farber. And he’s really quite clever, this one.” She poked a thumb in the Doctor’s direction.
“I really am,” the Doctor noted, matter-of-factly.
The look on Dr. Farber’s face was one of complete and abject horror. The absolute cheek of these people!
“And what exactly are you a Doctor of, sir?”
“Oh, well, see for yourself,” said the Doctor, and reached in to his pocket to pull out a black wallet with a blank sheet of paper displayed under clear plastic. He brandished the psychic paper at Dr. Farber’s eye level and waited. Rose crossed her fingers and hoped. Every now and then, she found, what the reader wanted to see was not necessarily in the best interests of the Doctor and herself.
As he examined the paper, Dr. Farber’s eyebrows shot skyward and he squared his shoulders. The Doctor’s credentials seemed to dovetail with his own work perfectly. Perhaps a little too perfectly. Optical neurobiology and computer science? There were only a handful of people in the world with that dual specialty. Dr. Farber was sure he’d already met them all at conferences.
There was the distinct possibility that this man was a government agent. Which would make the girl….what? His partner? Assistant? But there was an air about them both that made him want to trust them, which in and of itself was miraculous. Dr. Farber barely trusted his own son. And speaking of Sam, the work done in his protracted absence had been slow going and an ear to bounce a few new ideas off of could prove quite useful. Things were not yet ready for the return of the camera, though he’d been expecting its arrival for weeks now.
The pair still stood smiling before him, waiting for him to process all of the information.
“Very well, Doctor,” Dr. Farber grumbled. “Given your interest in neurobiology and computer science, I think you’ll be quite interested in what we’re doing here. Come with me and I’ll show you my laboratory. It’s the end of the world anyway.”
Rose and the Doctor each folded sideways to let the old man through, and then winked at one another as they followed him back through the door.
“What you are about to see will revolutionize the way we think of seeing,” Dr. Farber began his narration and tour. “To cut straight to the point, we are creating a camera that records pictures that blind people can see.”
He ushered them in to the main laboratory, a large cave-like room with walls covered in plastic sheeting, cables and wires running everywhere, monitors and keyboards, and a bank of supercomputers that would have put your average military to shame. Three researchers in white lab coats bustled around the room, barely taking notice of Dr. Farber or the newcomers.
The Doctor was clearly awestruck and Rose was likewise overwhelmed at the massive scale of the effort taking place here. This is more than one old man’s hobby, she thought. It wasn’t often Rose got to see the Doctor speechless, but this was one of those times.
Dr. Farber continued, “The camera doesn’t take a physical picture. Rather, it records the neurobiological act of seeing. Then for the subject to be able to view the pictures, the person who took it must again look at the images and remember what it was like to see it. These computers process that information and stimulate the brain of the subject in order to recreate the experience of seeing.”
The large dark sunglasses and the walking arm-in-arm that Rose had witnessed, as this man and what she presumed was his wife walked down the path earlier suddenly made sense. Dr. Farber’s wife was obviously blind, and his life’s work had been devoted to helping her see again. Rose found this so overwhelmingly touching, she wanted to hug this gruff old man immediately, even though he’d mainly just been rude to them thus far. There were about one million things she wanted to say to the Doctor at this moment, but she could not because he had finally found his gob again and was spouting technical jargon this way and that.
When the Doctor went off on jags such as this, it allowed Rose to hang back and observe. She’s gotten quite good at ignoring all the jibber-jabber going on and taking in small details about their surroundings and the people in them. Sometimes the Doctor feigned interest in the technical details of things just to throw whomever they were dealing with off the scent and allow Rose some time to snoop a little and take it all in. This was not one of those times however. The Doctor was genuinely fascinated and excited.
“You, Dr. Farber--and I don’t say this very often at all--but you are a genius!” the Doctor enthused. “Rose, tell him. Tell him that I don’t say that very often.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say that about anyone but yourself, Doctor.”
“Well…,” began the Doctor, none too modestly, but he never finished the thought.
And then they were off again, by this point joined by the technicians in the lab, none of whom introduced themselves to Rose, and she noted that the Doctor did not insist on such introductions either. This was, she supposed, her cue to snoop, whether the Doctor intended it to be or not.
Getting the physical lay of the lab was easy enough. Aside from the main room, there were two smaller rooms off to one side, each containing a bed-like lab table with a U-shaped headpiece at one end, and several monitors and screens. Other than that, there was little to see. The technical ins and outs of the equipment was a bit beyond her pay grade, but she began to develop a general feeling of uneasiness amongst it all. She still felt warmly towards this man who devoted his life to easing his wife’s disability, but something was not sitting quite right. Not the motivation, but something else. She couldn't put her finger on it. There were so many unanswered questions about why this work was being done here, of all places. The Doctor seemed to have forgotten all about the strangeness of having a laboratory in a cave (How very Bond villain, thought Rose) in his zest for learning about new technologies.
Rose left the cave, unnoticed by the Doctor, or anyone else.
Perhaps there would be better snooping to be had outside of the lab. Or maybe she’d just for once leave the Doctor to it for a while and let him have his fun. He seemed to be enjoying himself well enough, and Rose thought she wouldn’t mind perhaps working on a bit of a tan.
What could possibly go wrong?
(To Chapter 4)