The Genocide Machine
1:55:37
The library on Kar-Charrat is one of the wonders of the Universe. It is also hidden from all but a few select species. The Doctor and Ace discover that the librarians have found a new way of storing data - a wetworks facility - but the machine has attracted unwanted attention, and the Doctor soon finds himself pitted against his oldest and deadliest enemies - the Daleks!
Tags: Doctor Who Seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy Ace Dalek TARDIS Dalek Empire Sophie Aldred The Doctor
Added: 1 month ago
From: TheParadoxAuthor
Views: 190
[scene opens with The Doctor humming to himself, as his female companion Ace McShane can be heard cleaning up his library]
ACE: Professor, who's been messing around with your bookshelves?
DOCTOR WHO: Eh?
ACE: Well, halfway through Dickens is this bloke called "Dieter of Rathgar." Then "Remik of Rathgar." Then a book on trees of Rathgar ... and suddenly we're into the horticulture section!
DOCTOR WHO: Ah, well ... I don't have much time to sort the TARDIS library out! Every fifty years of so I start, but I always forget how I'm organizing things. Sometimes it's by author, sometimes by planet. I thought I'd try stacking them by color. Yes, that might prove worth it!
ACE: So what should I do with "Bleak House?"
DOCTOR WHO: Oh, put it in the architecture section ...
[he trails off, then starts humming again]
ACE: Hey, these look well old!
[the sound of large books being dropped on a table is heard, as Ace starts coughing]
ACE: Oh, you could use a duster, Professor!
DOCTOR WHO: Ah yes, the grime of centuries does tend to build up in here ...
ACE: Hey, your fine on these is gonna have built up as well ... Mind you, I suppose the advantage of a time machine is that you don't have to be late with your library books.
[she laughs, but The Doctor's tone turns more serious]
DOCTOR WHO: Library books? Let me see them ... Oh no!
ACE: Oh, don't sweat it, Professor. Everyone's nicked a couple of library books at some point.
DOCTOR WHO: Yes, but these three books are from the Library of Kar-Charrat!
ACE: So?
DOCTOR WHO: Ace, the library on Kar-Charrat holds every scrap of information from every civilized world! One of everything, and if I've got these--
ACE: Then they've got some holes in their collection! Still, I can't see that anyone's gonna miss three volumes on ... "Juggling for Alpha Centurians."
[she snickers]
DOCTOR WHO: Ace, that is not the point! Kar-Charrat rivals the Matrix on Gallifrey for its sheer quantity of information ... All knowledge is useful to someone. I always preferred Kar-Charrat to the Matrix, there's a lot to be said for good old-fashioned books. Come on!
ACE: Hey, hold on! Where are we going?
DOCTOR WHO: Kar-Charrat!
ACE: What, now?
DOCTOR WHO: I haven't been there since the Time Lords were helping with the Defense Grid ... These books are long overdue.
ACE: Oh, I was only kidding about the fine ...
DOCTOR WHO: Oh, I doubt that the librarians will be joking! They take their duties very seriously!
ACE: How come this library's so important, Professor?
DOCTOR WHO: This isn't your local council library, Ace! I mean, think of it ... Every book, every piece of literature from every civilized world! Kar-Charrat is one of the Wonders of the Universe, and its existence is hidden from almost everyone.
ACE: I don't get it ... Why build a library and then hide it?
DOCTOR WHO: Because the accumulation of knowledge held within its walls makes it a very dangerous weapon ... if it's in the wrong hands.
[she laughs]
ACE: If you can read all the books ...
DOCTOR WHO: There are quicker ways of assimilating data than reading ... Aha! We're landing!
[...]
[Ace and The Doctor have entered the library, and are approached by one of the librarians]
ELGIN: Doctor, my dear doctor! How nice to see you again!
DOCTOR WHO: Chief Librarian Elgin! What a pleasant surprise! Oh, this is my young friend, Ace.
ACE: Hi!
ELGIN: Oh, hi ...
DOCTOR WHO: Yes, well, Ace is from twentieth-century Earth.
ELGIN: Charmed, charmed! The Doctor always travels with such delightful companions ... I, however, am stuck with the constantly glowering visage of Cataloguer Prink here. Come along Prink, say hello to our guests, and do try and raise a smile.
DOCTOR WHO: Good afternoon, Cataloguer Prink. I'm The Doctor and this is Ace.
ELGIN: Oh, come now! We can't stand chatting in Reception ... Tell me, Doctor, what brings you back to Kar-Charrat? It's been several years, back when the temporal grid was being erected, I believe. I seem to recall you being somewhat taller.
[the sound of footsteps is heard, as the librarian's voice fades out before fading back in again]
ELGIN: I do so hope that you have time to look around properly. Uh, not that I wish to detain you, I realize how full your life is.
DOCTOR WHO: Yes, well, that's very kind of you, Mister Elgin. Um, I would love to look around, but--
ELGIN: Oh, how wonderful! It's so rare that we are visited by anyone of your intellect! In fact, it is rare that we are visited at all ...
DOCTOR WHO: Yes, the library does seem somewhat empty.
ACE: Well, everyone is a time sensitive, are they?
DOCTOR WHO: [whispers] Ace ...
ELGIN: Oh, the staff are all on the upper levels, dealing with our agents for new data ... or dallying their lives away in the recreation lounge. Prink and I spend so long alone down here, amongst the books these days. Don't we, Prink?
PRINK: Uh ...
ELGIN: Yes, well, we've tightened up security so much that all research is done via hyper-cable these days. I can't recall the last time I took a shuttle to the frontier to browse in a news agent. I really should employ you, Doctor, to collect books for me! Or you, my dear! Ah, the wonders of twentieth-century Earth! Such classics in newsprint! The Sun, The Mirror! Ah ... Uh, now then, Doctor. What brings you back here to Kar-Charrat? A social call?
DOCTOR WHO: Uh, well, it seems that I may have accidentally taken some of your books ... possibly for somewhat longer than I expected.
ACE: Heh, and he's a bit worried about the fine, aren't you, Professor?
DOCTOR WHO: [tersely] Yes, thank you, Ace.
ELGIN: Books? Missing from the main library? This is unheard of! This is disastrous! Show me at once!
DOCTOR WHO: Uh, must've been when I was last here ... Only some light reading, a few reference books.
ACE: Heavy reading! Why he couldn't have nicked a couple of paperbacks ...
DOCTOR WHO: [whispers] Ace ...
[the sound of books being placed on a table can be heard]
ELGIN: Oh, my word! Volumes from the Alpha Centauri collection! Doctor, you have no idea how much trouble you could've caused ... Fortunately, no one has been asking after them. I am astounded that our cataloguing department has not missed them sooner, eh Mister Prink? What do you have to say for yourself?
PRINK: Uh--
DOCTOR WHO: I really didn't mean to cause Mister Prink any trouble.
ELGIN: No, no matter ... Return the books to their rightful place, Prink. I will show our visitors around. Well, go on Prink, hurry along!
[the sound of footsteps can be heard, then a door opening and closing]
ELGIN: Oh dear ... He is an excellent cataloguer, but it's so difficult to keep his mind on his work. Far too chatty!
[...]
ELGIN: And so Doctor, as you can see, the anti-grav systems have made access to upper levels far easier for a variety of different life forms.
DOCTOR WHO: Yes, most ingenious.
ACE: What life forms, though? I haven't seen a single person using the library.
ELGIN: Using it? My dear young girl, you make it sound like ... some kind of tool.
ACE: But isn't that exactly what it should be?
ELGIN: This facility is a masterpiece! Uh, one of the wonders of the known universe!
ACE: But surely the whole point of having all these books is that people can read them ...
ELGIN: Read them?! But that could mean damage! Uh, grubby finger marks, pages folded down ... My spine shivers at the damage that could be done if we let the public in here! We simply don't make enough of a profit to keep a restoration team.
ACE: And if more people knew it was here and could use it, maybe you would make more of a profit!
DOCTOR WHO: Now Ace--
ACE: Oh, come on, Professor! You're not siding with him, surely?
DOCTOR WHO: Well, the library is rather special.
ELGIN: Perhaps, if I showed you our new facility--
ACE: No thank you. I think I've seen enough untouchable books for the moment ... I'm going back to the TARDIS, Professor, to get a book I can read.
DOCTOR WHO: But you won't be able to get back in past the temporal barrier.
ELGIN: Oh, we have arrangements for people coming and going, Doctor ... Here, my dear.
ACE: Oy!
ELGIN: A DNA tag that will get you in past the barriers ... Sends a confirmation signal to the main computer, most ingenious. Our technical Boffins are always coming up with new ways of keeping us safe. Don't lose it, though, you won't get in without it.
ACE: Thanks ...
[the sounds of footsteps can be heard]
ACE: [under her breath] Patronizing git ...
DOCTOR WHO: Ace, wait a moment ... Chief Librarian Elgin may be a little pompous, but he does mean well. I'll come find you later, I believe that there's a very good reading room on the second floor. Barely used!
[she laughs]
ACE: Okay, Professor ...
[...]
[the sound of a door opening can be heard]
ELGIN: Here! Doctor! Here is the greatest achievement of Kar-Charrat ...
DOCTOR WHO: Water tanks? Don't tell me you've decided to start a trout farm!
ELGIN: Really, Doctor, try and show a little respect ...
[the sound of footsteps can be heard]
ELGIN: Ah, Prink! Glad you could finally join us! Now then, Doctor, this is our latest data-store. Contained in these tanks is every scrap of knowledge in the library, and room for more! It's a system called--
DOCTOR WHO: Aqueous data storage, commonly known as a wetworks facility.
ELGIN: Oh ... You've encountered them? I was rather hoping that we had come up with something that you didn't have knowledge of. How tedious.
DOCTOR WHO: I'm afraid that I do tend to get about a bit ... but the size of this facility, I've never seen anything on this scale, Elgin. Most wetworks chambers can only manage a few gigabytes of information, but this must house--
ELGIN: The entire knowledge of the universe!
[...]
ELGIN: Speechless, Doctor?
DOCTOR WHO: Impressed! I had no idea that you had such technical expertise ... Even the Time Lords failed to develop a wetworks facility like this. That's why the Matrix was created, and even we don't claim to hold all the knowledge of the entire universe!
ELGIN: Well, it's nice to see that we are good at some things ... Uh, would you like to see more?
DOCTOR WHO: Yes, I would!
[the sounds of footsteps can be heard]
DOCTOR WHO: How did you solve the problem of the differentiation of data currents? Or retaining droplet coherence?
[he laughs]
ELGIN: Oh, please Doctor! No boring technical questions ... I am an academic, I am not interested in the workings of the thing. I employ people to deal with that. I'll get Prink to introduce you to our resident technical Boffins later, if you so wish.
DOCTOR WHO: But you must know how the data can be downloaded.
[he laughs again]
ELGIN: Oh, yes, well ... I had to get them to make the user interface simple. You know that I'm useless with machines.
[the footsteps stop]
ELGIN: Here!
DOCTOR WHO: Ah ...
ELGIN: As you can see, the reader sits in the chair, and puts on the headset.
DOCTOR WHO: Programming the relevant data from the control panel on the armrest, no doubt!
ELGIN: Yes, quite ... Data retrieval is almost instantaneous.
DOCTOR WHO: Astonishing! You could acquire the wisdom of a million years from a billion worlds in less time than it would take to read a bus ticket!
ELGIN: Oh, yes! Elegantly put, Doctor, elegantly put! We've had representatives from a dozen different races inquiring about it ... Some of them got quite aggressive.
[The Doctor's tone suddenly turns serious]
DOCTOR WHO: Really? What races?
[...]
ELGIN: I really don't see why you are making such a fuss, Doctor ...
DOCTOR WHO: Making a fuss? What you have here has the potential to become the greatest weapon ever created! Knowledge is dangerous when abused, this much knowledge could be catastrophic in the wrong hands!
ELGIN: But that's why the Time Lords helped us with our defenses. The temporal field is impenetrable ...
DOCTOR WHO: Yes, I hope you're right ... What I want to know is how anyone got to here of this. Are your data collectors trustworthy?
[he laughs]
ELGIN: Oh really, Doctor! Don't be so melodramatic! They're all academics, quiet types. This is a research facility, not a weapon!
DOCTOR WHO: You'd be surprised, Mister Elgin, just how far some people would go to gain access to the Kar-Charrat library! You have something very precious here, remember that ...
ELGIN: There was only one race that really had the security boys worried ...
DOCTOR WHO: What race, Elgin?
ELGIN: Oh, you know how bad I am with names ... I really don't think that, um--
DOCTOR WHO: What race?
ELGIN: Mmm, robotic things. Nasty little pepperpots. I think they were called--
DOCTOR WHO: [whispers] Daleks.
[...]
DOCTOR WHO: Daleks ... How on earth did they find out about this facility?
ELGIN: Oh, several military powers seem to be aware of its existence. It did strike me as a little odd at the time ... but really, Doctor, I'm sure that no harm has been done!
DOCTOR WHO: No harm done? If the Daleks get their nasty little suckers on this wetworks store--
ELGIN: But they won't! The defense structure is quite formidable. You yourself said that only the Time Lords and a handful of time sensitives could get in without the correct key ... Oh, those tiresome creatures tried to gain access, of course--
DOCTOR WHO: Tried? You mean they actually landed here on Kar-Charrat?
[he laughs nervously]
ELGIN: Eh, yes ... A small squad. They intercepted a hyper-cable transmission, made all sorts of threats.
DOCTOR WHO: Then?
ELGIN: Well, they tried to attack, of course.
DOCTOR WHO: Yes, they would ...
ELGIN: They tried blasting their way through the temporal field, but soon gave up.
DOCTOR WHO: Gave up? That's not like them ... not like them at all.
[...]
ELGIN: Are you sure that you're alright, Doctor? You seem agitated ...
DOCTOR WHO: I think I'd better have a look at your temporal defenses, Elgin. Just give them a quick once-over, a thousand-year service, as it were.
ELGIN: Is that really necessary, Doctor? The time-field generators always attract so much dust and dirt--
[he coughs]
ELGIN: With my chest the way it is ...
DOCTOR WHO: I'm sure that Mister Prink can show me the way.
ELGIN: Oh, what an excellent suggestion! Uh, Prink always likes tinkering with machines, don't you Prink?
PRINK: Uh--
ELGIN: Yes, you see? He can barely contain his enthusiasm!
DOCTOR WHO: Splendid!
ELGIN: Well, off you go, then. Don't keep the man waiting, Prink!
[the sound of the intercom turning on can be heard]
LIBRARY RECEPTIONIST: Would cataloguer Prink please report to main research room ... Cataloguer Prink to research room, please.
ELGIN: Oh, typical! Just when there's work that needs doing ... Well, run along, Prink. I suppose I'll just have to show the Doctor the way myself.
[the sounds of footsteps can be heard]
ELGIN: And don't spend all day down there! I pay you to work, not talk!
[the sound of a door opening and closing can be heard]
ELGIN: The problems I have with that man ...
DOCTOR WHO: Elgin? The time field generators, please?
ELGIN: Oh, very well. This way.
[the sounds of footsteps can be heard]
ELGIN: Your colleagues from Gallifrey do regular maintenance checks, you know.
DOCTOR WHO: Oh, you know me, Elgin. Always like to check things myself.
ELGIN: Mmm, please yourself, Doctor ... Computer, access to temporal defenses, please.
[computer sound effects can be heard]
COMPUTER: Thank you, librarian Elgin. Defense grid control opening.
[more computer sound effects can be heard]
ELGIN: As you can see, Doctor, everything is in order.
DOCTOR WHO: Yes ...
[he trails off and starts mumbling to himself]
ELGIN: Oh, is this going to take long? I-I really would like to demonstrate the wetworks facility.
DOCTOR WHO: Were there any problems after the Dalek attack.
ELGIN: Oh, none at all ... Perhaps "attack" was the wrong word, it was almost like--
DOCTOR WHO: A test?
ELGIN: Yes, exactly! As if they were testing themselves. Uh, just to check if they really couldn't get in.
DOCTOR WHO: Interesting ...
ELGIN: Whatever is the matter, Doctor? You look quite concerned ...
DOCTOR WHO: I shouldn't have let Ace go out there alone.
ELGIN: Oh, now come along, Doctor ... You are being needlessly melodramatic. Why, even Prink never gets as excitable as you are getting! It has been years since the Daleks were here. Surely you don't think that they would still be out there, lurking in the undergrowth!
DOCTOR WHO: Mister Elgin, the Daleks are devious, ruthless, and it is more than likely that they are lurking in the undergrowth!
[the sounds of footsteps can be heard]
ELGIN: Oh, where are you going?
DOCTOR WHO: Come along, Mister Elgin! I want to take some readings, and see if I can find Ace!
ELGIN: Oh, very well, very well, if it will ease your anxieties. Oh, do slow down, Doctor! I'm not nearly as fit as I once was ...
[cut to the the sounds of The Doctor and the librarian walking around in the mud outside, as the sounds of falling rain can be heard]
ELGIN: Oh ... Oh, d-do we have to go tearing off in quite such an undignified manner, Doctor? It's raining, and the damp is so bad for my chest! Uh, if we wait a few hours--
DOCTOR WHO: A few hours may be too late, if the Daleks are here on Kar-Charrat!
ELGIN: Oh, but my dear Doctor, I've explained already, it was years ago--
[the sounds of footsteps stop]
ELGIN: Oh, my word!
DOCTOR WHO: Ace?
ELGIN: Oh dear! Is the poor thing hurt?
DOCTOR WHO: Ace! Are you alright?
ACE DUPLICATE: Ohhhh ...
ELGIN: Oh, thank goodness!
DOCTOR WHO: Ace, what happened?
ACE DUPLICATE: Oh ...
DOCTOR WHO: Ace, was it Daleks?
ACE DUPLICATE: [weakly] Doctor ...
ELGIN: What about your other companion?
DOCTOR WHO: Other companion?
ELGIN: Yes, the ... the young lady over here.
[the sounds of Elgin walking towards Bev Tarrant (who had been discovered by the real Ace after her salvage team had been killed by Dalek Scout Seven) can be heard]
DOCTOR WHO: Just sit here for a moment, Ace.
ELGIN: Oh dear! This one seems quite badly hurt!
DOCTOR WHO: Yes, and very unconscious ... Do you have a medical facility in the library?
ELGIN: Well, yes, but--
DOCTOR WHO: Then hurry along, Mister Elgin! We need some form of stretcher!
ELGIN: Is this lady a friend of yours, Doctor?
DOCTOR WHO: Never seen her before in my life ...
[cut to the real Ace waking up inside the Dalek's containment unit]
ACE: Ugh, ow ... Uh, Bev?
DALEK SCOUT SEVEN: Do not move from holding area!
ACE: A Dalek, of course ... A weird-looking one, though. Some kind of special weapons model, are you?
DALEK SCOUT SEVEN: You are in our power!
ACE: Where's Beverly? What have you done with her?
DALEK SCOUT SEVEN: The other humanoid is of no importance!
ACE: She's important to me--
[the sounds of electrical restraints (and Ace crying out in pain) can be heard]
DALEK SCOUT SEVEN: Prolonged exposure to restraint field will cause considerable tissue damage! You will refrain from unnecessary movement!
ACE: Uggh ... Yeah right! Ahh!
[the "restraint field" sound effects die down, as Ace catches her breath]
ACE: What're you planning to do with me?
DALEK SCOUT SEVEN: You are to be teleported to the mothership for interrogation by the Dalek Supreme!
[the sounds of equipment being turned on can be heard]
DALEK SCOUT SEVEN: Scout Seven to Dalek Command! Teleportation in seven rels!
ACE: Sooner or later, someone's gonna notice that I'm missing!
DALEK SCOUT SEVEN: We have anticipated that possibility!
ACE: What do you mean? What've you done?
DALEK SCOUT SEVEN: The Dalek stratagem for your capture has included your duplication!
ACE: No!
DALEK SCOUT SEVEN: Your DNA profile has been inserted into the makeup of the duplicate!
ACE: You won't get past the library defenses! You can't!
DALEK SCOUT SEVEN: But the innate device you possessed is now in the hands of your duplicate! The defense computer will allow access! She will penetrate the Kar-Charrat facility! Dalek victory is assured!
ACE: No!
DALEK SUPREME: [over the intercom] Teleportation coordinates confirmed! Prepare for transference!
DALEK SCOUT SEVEN: I obey!
[cut to the library's medical facility, as the Doctor attends to Bev]
DOCTOR WHO: There, she's stable ... whoever she may be.
ELGIN: Will she be alright, Doctor?
DOCTOR WHO: Oh yes, a few hours sleep and she'll be as right as rain! Now then Ace, where did you find your new friend?
ACE DUPLICATE: She was outside ... in the jungle. I don't know who she is.
ELGIN: It's most unusual for us to have visitors.
DOCTOR WHO: Yes ... Did she say anything about where she came from? Why she's here?
ACE DUPLICATE: No.
DOCTOR WHO: [pause] Are you alright, Ace?
ACE DUPLICATE: Oh, I'm fine!
DOCTOR WHO: Perhaps we ought to get the medical computer to give you a quick check-up ...
ACE DUPLICATE: Honestly Doctor, I'm alright ... Don't fuss!
DOCTOR WHO: Alright ... What happened out there, Ace? What attacked you?
ACE DUPLICATE: Uh, I ... I'm not sure. Some animal, something from the forest.
DOCTOR WHO: Are you sure?
ACE DUPLICATE: Of course I'm sure!
DOCTOR WHO: An animal? Not a Dalek?
[she laughs]
ACE DUPLICATE: No!
DOCTOR WHO: Look Ace, I think you should rest here, just for awhile. I'll look in on you later ... Come on, Elgin! I still want to have a look outside!
ELGIN: Oh, if we really must ...
[he coughs, as the sound of a door opening and closing can be heard, then the voice of the Dalek scout projects inside the duplicate's head]
DALEK SCOUT SEVEN: [from off camera] Locate main temporal barrier controls! Disable!
[the duplicate (whose voice suddenly takes on a more robotic tone) responds to the command]
ACE DUPLICATE: I ... obey.
[cut to The Doctor and the librarian walking around the library]
ELGIN: I do hope that your young companion will be alright, Doctor.
DOCTOR WHO: Yes, so do I. She may be in shock. There's something that she isn't telling us, certainly, and it's going to be several hours before our mysterious visitor regains consciousness ... Elgin, what reason would that young woman have for being on this planet, given that the library's kept secret from practically the entire universe. Why should she come here?
ELGIN: I'm not sure, Doctor ... We do get some students out here studying the ruins. Oh, and the Ziggurat, of course.
DOCTOR WHO: The Ziggurat? You mean they've got pyramids on this planet?
ELGIN: Just the one. Quite an impressive specimen. Out in the jungles, some remnant of an ancient civilization. Generated quite a bit of interest when we were building the place.
DOCTOR WHO: Do you know how to get there?
ELGIN: Of course! It was quite a hobby of mine in my younger days!
DOCTOR WHO: Excellent! Then, you can tell me all about it on the way ...
ELGIN: Oh ...
[...]
ELGIN: Oh dear ... I'd forgotten how dreadful these jungles were!
DOCTOR WHO: Well, the sooner we see this Ziggurat, the sooner we can get back into the dry.
ELGIN: Yes, very well. Look, it's just ... Oh, oh my word!
[the sounds of their footsteps stop, as they discover the remains of Bev Tarrant's salvage team]
DOCTOR WHO: Ah, and you thought I was being melodramatic ...
ELGIN: Oh dear, they're not ... dead, are they?
DOCTOR WHO: [pause] Yeah, very. They've both been shot at close range with a powerful projected energy weapon.
[the sounds of their footsteps can be heard]
DOCTOR WHO: Oh yes, it scrambled this Drillian's innards, and almost melted the workings of this robot.
ELGIN: Daleks?
DOCTOR WHO: I think ... that it's likely, don't you?
ELGIN: Oh! This is dreadful ... Dreadful! But, who are these people? What are they doing here?
DOCTOR WHO: My guess, they're friends of our mysterious guest back at the library. They all have similar equipment and weapons ... Hmm, I would guess that they're after this Ziggurat.
ELGIN: After the Ziggurat? Preposterous!
DOCTOR WHO: Ah, they've got an anti-grav sled, Elgin. And digging equipment ... Hmm. Looks much as though they were planning to make off with your ancient artifact.
ELGIN: But to what end?
DOCTOR WHO: Ancient artifacts do tend to sell rather well to collectors.
ELGIN: But this is outrageous! These people are little more than criminals, vandals!
DOCTOR WHO: Well, I rather think that they've been reprimanded more than enough, don't you? Curious ...
ELGIN: What?
DOCTOR WHO: There's a body missing.
ELGIN: Oh Doctor, please! You're being morbid!
DOCTOR WHO: No, look. The ground here is covered in blood. It's not the young woman's, I mean she's not that badly hurt. And Drillian's blood isn't red. Why would the Daleks remove a body? Assuming that it was the Dalek ... Elgin, there isn't another race on this planet, is there?
ELGIN: No, no of course not! Why do you ask?
DOCTOR WHO: Ace heard something earlier, something ... in the rain. And when I was here before, I seem to remember some talk about a legend. Ghosts in the jungles.
ELGIN: The Phantoms of Kar-Charrat? Oh really, Doctor! Space-port stories, that's all!
DOCTOR WHO: Phantoms ... Right! Where is this Ziggurat?
ELGIN: This way!
[the sounds of footsteps can be heard]
ELGIN: Oh ... Over here. Oh, mind that!
[the sounds of them climbing can be heard]
ELGIN: Though, I still don't understand why it's so important ...
[the sounds of them climbing stop]
ELGIN: Oh, heavens!
DOCTOR WHO: Extraordinary!
ELGIN: But ... the Ziggurat is--
DOCTOR WHO: Open. Yes ...
ELGIN: Oh, those dreadful people! A priceless artifact, desecrated!
DOCTOR WHO: Elgin ... Look at it. It's been opened from the inside. It's designed to do that.
ELGIN: But I don't understand, I've studied the Ziggurat for years! It's nothing but a stone artifact of some ceremonial purpose ...
DOCTOR WHO: Oh, I very much doubt that it's made of stone, and its purpose is far from ceremonial.
ELGIN: But, if there was something inside it--
DOCTOR WHO: Then whatever it was inside it, it's probably out here ... with us.
[...]
ELGIN: Oh ... Oh, be careful, Doctor!
DOCTOR WHO: Stop fussing, Elgin! Come along, at least it's dry in here ...
[the sounds of them climbing into the open Ziggurat can be heard]
ELGIN: Oh ... Oh, my word! This is most unusual. There should be burial chambers, vaults. Not machines. I don't pretend to understand any of this! What-what is this device?
DOCTOR WHO: It's a Dalek deep hibernation unit.
ELGIN: Doctor ... That is preposterous! The Ziggurat has been dated at one thousand two hundred and seventy years old!
DOCTOR WHO: Then the one in here must have been rather bored ...
[mechanical sound effects can be heard]
DOCTOR WHO: I wonder what activated it ...
[the sound of a loud beeping can be heard]
ELGIN: Oh!
DOCTOR WHO: Ah!
ELGIN: Isn't that the disagreeable noise that your time machine makes?
DOCTOR WHO: Yes ...
[more mechanical sound effects can be heard]
DOCTOR WHO: And that's a Type Seventy ... This is extraordinary! They have recognition software for the capsules of every time travelling race, and subspace relays to dozens of other planets in the sector!
[more mechanical sound effects can be heard]
DOCTOR WHO: Mister Elgin, have you ever heard of other Ziggurats like this one?
ELGIN: I believe that there are several in this part of the galaxy ... Not exactly the same design, of course, but similar enough to assume that they were all built by the same people. Uh, there's a book on it back at the library if you w--
DOCTOR WHO: And all of them waiting for a Time Lord. A time sensitive ...
ELGIN: Eh ... What about all these other devices?
DOCTOR WHO: Hibernation equipment, mostly. Nutrients to keep the Daleks alive, communication relays, anti-scan devices ... That looks like a short-range transmat! Hmph, they've certainly packed a lot in here!
ELGIN: This looks rather interesting ...
DOCTOR WHO: A replication generator! Oh no!
ELGIN: Doctor, whatever is the matter?
DOCTOR WHO: It's Ace! I arrogantly assumed that the Daleks would be after me, but it's Ace! She's a Dalek duplicate ... We've been tricked, Elgin! The duplicate is going to disable the defense grid! Come on, we've got to get back to the library!
[...]
[the sounds of The Doctor and the librarian running through the jungle brush can be heard]
ELGIN: Oh ... Oh please, do slow down, Doctor! I-I can't keep up!
DOCTOR WHO: We must get back to the library! We cannot let the Daleks get to that data-store!
ELGIN: Then, go on without me, I ... I must rest.
DOCTOR WHO: I can't leave you out here alone! For all we know, the Dalek from that hibernation unit is still out here!
ELGIN: Ohhh, uh ...
DOCTOR WHO: Oh alright, Mister Elgin! We will rest for a few minutes ...
ELGIN: Oh ...
[the sounds of them running stops]
ELGIN: You're worried, aren't you? Oh, about your young friend?
DOCTOR WHO: The Daleks will keep her alive as long as she is useful to them ... After that--
[the sounds of strange whispers can be heard]
ELGIN: What was that?! Doctor, is it ... the Dalek? The Dalek from the Ziggurat?!
DOCTOR WHO: No no, I don't think so ...
[the whispers can be heard again]
ELGIN: Ohhh ...
DOCTOR WHO: Elgin, those legends about the Kar-Charrat phantoms?
ELGIN: Doctor, if you're trying to scare me--
DOCTOR WHO: Quiet! I want to listen ...
[the whispers can be heard again]
ELGIN: Oh! There is it again ... Uh, c-come on, Doctor! I-I've quite rested enough now! I-I think we should move--
DOCTOR WHO: Fascinating! There's something else on this planet! Something alive, out here in the jungles with us!
ELGIN: Please Doctor, come on, let's go ...
DOCTOR WHO: One moment, Elgin ... If there is something out there, then I would rather like to find out what.
[the sound of a large engine roaring can be heard]
ELGIN: Doctor? What is it?! What's happening?!
DOCTOR WHO: A Dalek destroyer, heading for the library.
ELGIN: Surely ... they won't get past the defenses--
DOCTOR WHO: If I'm right, then the defenses will already be down!
[cut to inside the library, as the duplicate (synthesizing the librarian's voice to fool the computer system) has shut down the temporal shield]
COMPUTER: Defense grid de-activated.
[the sound of a door opening can be heard]
ACE DUPLICATE: All defenses are disabled. There should be no resistance.
DALEK SUPREME: Order two squads of Daleks to the wetworks facility! Scientific Division to prepare for immediate download of data into test subject! This planet is now under Dalek control!
[...]
ELGIN: [whimpering] Oh, this is dreadful! Calamitous! Daleks in the library complex!
DOCTOR WHO: [whispers] Quiet, Elgin!
ELGIN: But Doctor, heaven knows what damage they could do to my precious books!
DOCTOR WHO: That will be nothing to the damage that they will do to us if they find us ... so keep quiet!
ELGIN: We must get help! We must send an SOS! Uh, get the Marines!
DOCTOR WHO: Yes yes, you're right! But I must get Ace out of that ship, but I doubt that we'd get within a hundred yards of the library! We'll head for my TARDIS ...
ELGIN: Your ship? Is it out here?
DOCTOR WHO: Yes ... Not too far. Let's just hope that we can get to it before the Daleks! Come on!
ELGIN: Oh, yes ...
[cut to inside the library]
DALEK SUPREME: Locate and exterminate all unnecessary lifeforms! The Doctor and the technical staff are not to be harmed! Secure wetworks facility!
DALEK SOLDIER 1: I obey!
DALEK SOLDIER 2: Sensors indicate humanoids on upper levels!
DALEK SUPREME: Locate and exterminate!
DALEK SOLDIER 2: Accessing lift to upper level!
[the sounds of an elevator can be heard]
DALEK SOLDIER 1: Humanoids located! Exterminate! Exterminate!
[the sounds of laser beams (and people screaming) can be heard]
DALEK SOLDIER 1: Humanoids retreating through service areas! Pursue! Pursue!
[the sounds of more laser beams and screams can be heard]
DALEK SOLDIER 1: Exterminate! Exterminate!
[the screaming stops]
DALEK SOLDIER 1: Minimal resistance from humanoid lifeforms! Dalek units attacked on Level Two! Humanoids have been eliminated!
DALEK SOLDIER 2: Scientific Division report that the wetworks facility is now secure! Test subject is now ready to be prepared for data retrieval!
DALEK SUPREME: Has The Doctor been located?
DALEK SOLDIER 1: The Doctor cannot be located within the library complex! The chief librarian is also missing!
DALEK SUPREME: Duplicate will report the whereabouts of the Doctor!
ACE DUPLICATE: The Doctor and chief librarian Elgin are in the jungle. The Doctor was becoming suspicious.
DALEK SUPREME: The Doctor will attempt to return to his TARDIS! It must be located at once! Order a Dalek patrol to the jungle! Maximum urgency! The Doctor must be located and captured!
DALEK SOLDIER 1: I obey!
DALEK SUPREME: I will return to the mothership, and report to Dalek Command on Skaro! Order the chief scientist to prepare the first subject!
[...]
[Dalek patrols have the TARDIS surrounded, as The Doctor and the librarian hide in the nearby underbrush]
DOCTOR WHO: Blast!
ELGIN: Oh, Doctor! They're all around your ship!
DOCTOR WHO: Yes, I thought it might be too easy ...
ELGIN: Whatever is out here with us ... is getting closer!
DOCTOR WHO: Yes.
ELGIN: And the rain is getting through your umbrella!
DOCTOR WHO: Hmm, we do seem to be running out of options ...
[the sounds of a Dalek ship landing can be heard]
ELGIN: Doctor, look!
DOCTOR WHO: Ah, the Dalek Supreme! We should feel honored, Elgin ... He's come to do his own dirty work.
DALEK SUPREME: Doctor, you are surrounded! Surrender to the Daleks, and you will not be harmed!
ELGIN: Maybe we should do as he says ...
DOCTOR WHO: He doesn't even know we're here, Elgin.
DALEK SUPREME: Sensors have detected your biorhythms! We know you are in this area!
DOCTOR WHO: Oh ...
DALEK SUPREME: Observe!
[the sounds of their companions being led out of the ship can be heard]
ELGIN: Oh ... Oh my word! They've got your young friend! And Miss Tarrant! And Prink! Oh, this is a disaster! Prink will talk! He'll tell them everything!
DALEK SUPREME: You have five rels to surrender, or we will exterminate your companions!
ELGIN: What are we going to do?!
DOCTOR WHO: [whispers] Quiet, Elgin! I'm thinking!
DALEK SUPREME: Four rels ...
ELGIN: Doctor? They'll be killed!
ACE: Don't do it, Doctor! Get away!
DOCTOR WHO: They could be bluffing! They could be duplicates!
DALEK SUPREME: Three rels ...
DOCTOR WHO: Then again, what do they need the real Ace for anymore?
ELGIN: Doctor!
DALEK SUPREME: Two rels ...
DOCTOR WHO: Given the circumstances, I don't think that we've got any choice, Mister Elgin ...
ELGIN: Can we trust them?
DOCTOR WHO: We can trust them to kill those three, if we stay here!
DALEK SUPREME: One rel ...
[the sounds of The Doctor climbing out of the underbrush can be heard]
DOCTOR WHO: Good afternoon, Daleks! How lovely to see you!
DALEK SOLDIER 1: Do no move!
ELGIN: Ohhh ...
DALEK SOLDIER 2: You will remain still!
DALEK SUPREME: You are now a prisoner of the Daleks!
DOCTOR WHO: Yes, it rather looks that way ...
[cut to the prisoners being forced into the chief librarian's office]
DALEK SUPREME: Move!
ACE: Get off!
DOCTOR WHO: Alright, alright!
ELGIN: Oh ... dear.
ACE: Sorry, Professor.
DOCTOR WHO: Don't be silly, Ace. I could hardly sit by and let them shoot you.
ELGIN: Oh, Mister Prink! Whatever has been going on here? Where are the rest of the staff?
PRINK: I--
DALEK SUPREME: All unnecessary human lifeforms have been exterminated!
ELGIN: Exterminated? Oh no!
ACE: You murderous--
DOCTOR WHO: Typical Dalek solution ... Destroy, never create!
DALEK SUPREME: You are mistaken! We intend creating the most advanced lifeform the galaxy has ever seen!
DOCTOR WHO: A Dalek lifeform, of course ...
DALEK SUPREME: Daleks are the superior species! It is our destiny! It is our right!
DOCTOR WHO: Right?! To destroy indiscriminately? To take what others have laboured over? You have no right at all!
DALEK SUPREME: You will witness the birth of a Dalek with the knowledge that will enable us to overcome all obstacles! There will be no errors this time!
DOCTOR WHO: And me?
DALEK SUPREME: Your knowledge will also be absorbed!
[the sound of a door opening and closing can be heard]
ACE DUPLICATE: Temporal barriers now re-established. This facility is now secure.
ACE: Got a frog in your throat? You should get some Strepsils!
ACE DUPLICATE: Human voice duplication is no longer necessary. It wastes power.
ACE: Huh, you should get some Duracells! Last longer than most ordinary batteries ...
DALEK SUPREME: Silence!
ACE: Hmm, touchy, aren't they?
DOCTOR WHO: Well, let's not over-antagonize them just yet, Ace ...
[the sound of a door opening and closing can be heard, as a Dalek returns from the wetworks facility (where their first attempt at downloading the library's data-store resulted in the test subject going rogue and escaping into the library)]
DALEK SOLDIER 1: Scientific Division report damage to wetworks control system caused by rogue Dalek unit! The two humanoid males will assist!
DOCTOR WHO: Having a bit of trouble, are they? Still reliant on humans to do your dirty work? Well, as the old song goes, "You need hands ... "
DALEK SUPREME: You!
ELGIN: Who, me?
DALEK SUPREME: You two will follow me to the wetworks data-store!
ELGIN: Me? Oh no no no, Prink here is the technical genius! Aren't you, Prink?
[nothing is said]
ELGIN: Well, say something, Prink!
PRINK: Uh--
ELGIN: Prink, this is no time for false modesty!
DALEK SUPREME: You will follow!
ELGIN: [whining] Prink!
DALEK SUPREME: Remaining humans and The Doctor are to be kept in confinement! You will remain here!
ACE DUPLICATE: Understood.
DALEK SUPREME: Move!
ELGIN: Come along, Prink! Do as they say!
DALEK SUPREME: Move!
ELGIN: Ohhh!
DALEK SUPREME: Move!
ELGIN: Ow!
[the sound of a door opening and closing can be heard]
ACE DUPLICATE: You will remain in the chief librarian's office. Any resistance, and you will be destroyed.
ACE: Yeah? You and whose army?
DOCTOR WHO: Ace ...
[cut to the librarians making their way to the wetworks facility]
ELGIN: Oh! Oh dear oh dear, look at the damage that has been done ... Ah! Oh, oh please! Don't! No, let me just put some of these books back on the shelv--Ah! Oh no, please! Prink! Tell them, tell them!
DALEK SUPREME: Humanoids will remain silent!
[Elgin whimpers in pain]
[...]
[mechanical sound effects can be heard]
ELGIN: There, that's the last connection ... but I really must stress, I am not a qualified technician.
DALEK SCIENTIST: Wetworks facility ready for Time Lord subject!
DALEK SUPREME: Bring The Doctor!
ELGIN: Oh dear ... Mister Prink! What have we done?
[cut back to the librarian's office]
ACE: Are you trying to tell me that the Kar-Charrat phantoms are real?
DOCTOR WHO: Yes ... A lifeform in the rainwater that has slipped into legend. What I can't believe is that Elgin and the others didn't know about it.
[the sound of a door opening and closing can be heard]
ACE DUPLICATE: You will come with me.
DOCTOR WHO: What? Tea time already?
DALEK SUPREME: Move out of the room!
ACE: Where are you taking him?
ACE DUPLICATE: We need his brain.
[the sound of a door opening and closing can be heard]
ACE: Damn you! What're you gonna do with him?
BEV: The more I see of the other you, the less I like you.
ACE: The less I like me too ... Oh, we've gotta get out of here!
[cut to inside the wetworks facility]
DOCTOR WHO: So, here we all are ... how nice!
DALEK SUPREME: Move him to the machinery!
DOCTOR WHO: Ah, no tea?
ELGIN: I'm afraid that they intend wiring you into the wetworks grid, Doctor.
DOCTOR WHO: I wonder why? No, let me guess ... Your Dalek test subject failed to assimilate the data at the acceptable rate, resulting in seizure and - by the look of the mess - madness. Not the most successful of afternoons you've ever had, is it?
DALEK SUPREME: We will be successful this time! Your neural pathways will assimilate the data at an acceptable speed! That data will then be fed through to our test subject!
DOCTOR WHO: I knew I'd come in handy for something ...
DALEK SUPREME: You will attach the Doctor to the data interface!
ELGIN: Oh Doctor, I'm--
DALEK SUPREME: You will obey!
DOCTOR WHO: It's alright, Mister Elgin ... Do as he says.
ELGIN: Ohhh ...
[mechanical sound effects can be heard, as The Doctor winces in pain]
DOCTOR WHO: [quietly] Careful ...
DALEK SCIENTIST: Second test subject linked to data grid! Memory buffers primed! Neural pathways clear! You will link the Time Lord to our test subject!
ELGIN: You can't download data through him at the speed that you're attempting, the shock could kill him!
DALEK SCIENTIST: The Time Lord's mind is capable of handling the flow of data!
ELGIN: But the pain ...
DALEK SCIENTIST: Irrelevant!
DALEK SUPREME: Activate data retrieval!
ELGIN: [quietly] Good luck, Doctor ...
DOCTOR WHO: [quietly] Thank you, Mister Elgin.
[computer sound effects can be heard]
DALEK SCIENTIST: Data stream activated!
DALEK SUPREME: Files downloading!
DALEK SCIENTIST: Memory circuits engaged! Receiving data!
DALEK SUPREME: Increase data flow!
[the sounds of The Doctor writhing in pain can be heard]
ELGIN: You're going to kill him!
DALEK SCIENTIST: Memory loading! Procedure proving successful!
DALEK SUPREME: Increase to maximum!
[the computer sound effects get louder and faster]
DOCTOR WHO: Ahhhhh!
[cut back to the librarian's office, as the sounds of the two women banging on the door can be heard]
BEV: Oh god, it's no use! Why do they build library doors so well here?
ACE: It stops people nicking the books, I suppose ... I still can't believe that this place is here!
BEV: Yeah ... Well, it's pretty well hidden.
ACE: What did bring you here?
BEV: Hmph, money. I had a collector on Coralee willing to pay a lot of money for ancient artifacts ... Thought it was an easy heist. A planet that no one comes to, an ancient stone thing that no one would miss. Easy money. Heh, boy was I wrong.
ACE: Your partner ...
BEV: Rappell.
ACE: Was he ... Well, was he--
BEV: A partner in every sense of the word? Yes. Seeing him alive again, it's tough.
ACE: Well, if the Doctor's right, then ... it's not him.
BEV: If the Doctor's right, then it's some alien entity using his corpse ... That doesn't exactly make me feel any better.
ACE: I'm sorry.
BEV: No, no it's okay ... Come on, let's have another go at this door.
[the sounds of the first Dalek test subject screaming (the one that couldn't handle the data flow and was driven insane) can be heard, as if from a distance away]
ACE: Wait, listen ... Something going on outside.
BEV: Daleks?
ACE: I'm not sure ...
[more sounds can be heard coming from outside the office]
BEV: What was that?
ACE: I--
[the sound of the door opening can be heard]
ACE: Uh oh, here comes trouble!
[the sounds of the gurgling/whispering can be heard, as the body of Rappell (whom Bev witnessed previously in the medical facility) is on the other side of the door]
ACE: What?!
BEV: Oh god ... Ace, it's him.
ACE: It's okay, Bev ... it's okay.
BEV: Rappell?
RAPPELL: We are not Rappell, we merely inhabit his form. We apologize if this is distressing for you, but we struggle to save our race. This was necessary. We wish it was not. We mean no disrespect to your dead.
BEV: Is ... Is there anything of Rappell there at all? Do you remember me?
RAPPELL: Yes, we remember you ... Beverly.
BEV: Are you ...
RAPPELL: Dead? Yes, but my feelings are still here.
BEV: Oh, I'm not sure I can do this, Ace ...
ACE: Oh Bev, I know this is gonna be hard, but we're out ... We're free! So let's go! Rappell, or whoever you are, do you know where the Doctor is?
RAPPELL: They're holding him in the wetworks chamber, but I fear it could be too late.
ACE: What do you mean?
[cut back to the wetworks facility]
DALEK SCIENTIST: Memory buffers at maximum! All files successfully downloaded!
DALEK SUPREME: Remove test subject from data retrieval!
[machine sound effects can be heard]
DALEK SCIENTIST: Test subject now disconnected!
DALEK SUPREME: Release remote operation!
[more machine sound effects can be heard]
DALEK SCIENTIST: Test subject now under self-control!
DALEK SUPREME: Report on condition!
DALEK TEST SUBJECT 2: Knowledge successfully assimilated! I have the complete knowledge from the data-store!
DALEK SUPREME: Then our mission is complete!
ELGIN: What about The Doctor?
DALEK SUPREME: Report on condition of The Doctor!
[the sound of restraints being removed can be heard]
DALEK SCIENTIST: Neural functions at zero! The Time Lord is dead!
ELGIN: Oh ... Oh no!
DALEK SUPREME: I will return to the mothership! Prepare to destroy this facility!
ELGIN: Destroy? No, you can't!
DALEK SUPREME: Activate Special Weapons Dalek!
[cut back to the women sneaking around the library]
BEV: Ace, this is madness ... We're walking deeper and deeper into the lion's den!
ACE: I'm not leaving The Doctor!
BEV: But you heard what Ra--
[she stops herself]
BEV: What he said ... The Doctor is probably already dead.
ACE: And until I know that for certain, than I'm not leaving! He wouldn't leave me ...
[the sounds of the first test subject screaming can be heard, getting closer]
BEV: Shh, listen! That sound again ...
RAPPELL: There is something approaching!
BEV: I think we'd better get out of here ...
ACE: I think it's too late for that!
DALEK TEST SUBJECT 1: Ahhh! Out of control! Out of control! Alert! Pain! Alert! Ahhh!
BEV: My god, what's wrong with it?
ACE: God knows ... Perhaps he can't see us.
DALEK TEST SUBJECT 1: Ahhh! Unauthorized humans detected!
ACE: Then again ...
DALEK TEST SUBJECT 1: You will be exterminated! Ahhh! Exterminate! Ahhh! Exterminate!
ACE: Get down!
DALEK TEST SUBJECT 1: Exterminate!
[the sound of a laser beam firing can be heard, then the sound of a wall collapsing]
DALEK TEST SUBJECT 1: Ahhh! Systems unbalanced! Control failing! Weaponry operating outside safety tolerances!
BEV: God, he's gonna bring the roof in!
ACE: Right! Let's get outside!
RAPPELL: You must hide in the jungles, I will hold it at bay!
BEV: Hell no, don't be stupid!
DALEK TEST SUBJECT 1: Ahhh! Ahhh! Ahhh!
RAPPELL: Run, Beverly!
BEV: Rappell!
DALEK TEST SUBJECT 1: Exterminate! Exterminate!
BEV: No, not again!
[the sound of an explosion can be heard]
BEV: No ... No!
ACE: Close your eyes, Bev! Close your eyes!
DALEK TEST SUBJECT 1: Target destroyed! Ahhh! Re-targeting on remaining humanoids! Ahhh!
ACE: Wait a minute ... What's the matter with it?
DALEK TEST SUBJECT 1: Vision impaired! I cannot see! Sensors indicate unknown lifeform in aqueous precipitation! Lifeform invading casing! Water levels increasing to above tolerance! Motor functions disabled! Weaponry offline! I'm losing control! I'm losing control! Ahhh!
BEV: What the hell happened?
ACE: Beats me!
BEV: Rappell? I ...
ACE: There's nothing left of him, Bev ...
[the voice of "Rappell" (much slower and with an echo) can suddenly be heard]
RAPPELL: Nooo ...
BEV: Who said that?
RAPPELL: His essence is still here ... in us.
BEV: Where ... where are you?
RAPPELL: In the rain ... We live in the rain.
ACE: And the Doctor?
RAPPELL: He is with us.
ACE: What?
[cut to the Doctor's consciousness "inside" the data-store]
DOCTOR WHO: Hello? Hello?
PHANTOM: Welcome ...
DOCTOR WHO: I can't see you ... As it happens, I can't see me. Where's my body?
PHANTOM: It is where you left it ... You were on the brink of death.
DOCTOR WHO: I remember pain, and then ... nothing.
PHANTOM: We saved you. We brought you here.
DOCTOR WHO: And where is here, exactly?
PHANTOM: You are in the data-store.
DOCTOR WHO: Ah, wetwork ...
PHANTOM: We assimilated your consciousness, absorbed you into us. You have become part of the data.
DOCTOR WHO: And you?
PHANTOM: We are the wetworks ... We are all that is left of the people of Kar-Charrat.
[cut back to the wetworks facility]
ELGIN: Oh Prink, they've killed him. The Doctor ... dead. And it's all my fault.
[he begins to cry]
ELGIN: I should never have set up those machines ... You monsters! Look what you've done! How can I ever live with myself? Oh Prink, what're we to do?
DALEK SOLDIER 2: Mothership reports that rogue Dalek unit has been destroyed by unknown forces!
DALEK SUPREME: Lead Squad Seven to investigate! Activate Special Weapons Dalek!
DALEK SOLDIER 2: I obey!
DALEK SUPREME: Advise!
DALEK TEST SUBJECT 2: The aquatic lifeform native to this planet is capable of invading our casings and rendering us inoperative!
DALEK SUPREME: You will advise assault squads on correct procedure for extermination of these lifeforms!
DALEK TEST SUBJECT 2: The lifeforms are non-hostile! They do not require extermination!
DALEK SUPREME: You will obey!
DALEK TEST SUBJECT 2: Their destruction is not necessary!
DALEK SUPREME: You will obey!
[cut back to outside the library]
ACE: So, you're an aquatic lifeform?
RAPPELL: Not in the sense that you know it ... We don't live in the rivers and oceans, we are the rivers and oceans!
ACE: And the rain!
RAPPELL: Any water can hold our essence.
BEV: Including people ...
RAPPELL: Lifeforms such as yourselves are made up of so much water, that it is easy for us to live within you, yes ... but no lifeforms ever come here, so no one is aware of the genocide of our race! Of the crimes of the librarians! When you arrived, we tried to talk to you, we tried to talk to you both.
ACE: Oh, the voices in the rain!
RAPPELL: Yesss ... and when we failed, we found the body of the one called Rappell. He could take us where we cannot go. He could take us where it was dry, and gave us the power to communicate with your kind.
ACE: So you were the phantoms ... the phantoms of Kar-Charrat.
RAPPELL: Elgin and the others spread that rumor, so no one would ever take our voices seriously!
ACE: But why? What has Elgin been doing to you?
[cut back to The Doctor's consciousness]
DOCTOR WHO: Are you saying that your entire race is in here with us?
PHANTOM: All but a few that escaped ... This storage facility is no technological miracle engineered by Elgin. It is a prison, a prison where every piece of data is carried in the mind of one of our race. We have suffered in here, while the universe has gone on oblivious to us.
DOCTOR WHO: So every drop of liquid in here is a living being? This is obscene!
PHANTOM: It is only through our determination that we retain any identity of self. We have lost so many, their minds wiped clean to hold the data ... Your arrival has brought us hope. Will you help us, Doctor? Will you help to free us?
DOCTOR WHO: How do I get back to my body?
PHANTOM: The part of the data that makes up your mind can be downloaded back into your physical form ... but beware. The Daleks intend to destroy this facility! If they do so, then we are lost forever!
[cut back to the wetworks facility]
DALEK SUPREME: This subject is behaving erratically!
DALEK SCIENTIST: Scans indicate increasing neural activity outside of computer projections!
DALEK SUPREME: Failure to obey commands cannot be tolerated!
DALEK SCIENTIST: Remote control cannot be re-established!
DALEK SUPREME: It may be necessary to prepare another test subject!
DALEK SCIENTIST: The death of the Time Lord will affect speed of transfer!
DALEK SUPREME: The librarian Elgin will be fitted to the machine!
ELGIN: No ... No, you can't do--
DALEK SCIENTIST: His brain is not as suitable as that of the Doctor! His destruction will be certain!
ELGIN: Oh god!
DALEK SUPREME: Then we will continue to use the remaining humanoids!
ELGIN: You can't do this, it's inhuman!
DALEK SUPREME: I must report to Skaro! You will report to the main laboratory! Prepare another test subject! Report if it is necessary to destroy existing subject!
DALEK SCIENTIST: I obey!
ELGIN: [quietly] Oh god ...
DALEK SUPREME: You are to be kept alive! You will remain here until we have conducted our tests! Leave this room and you will be destroyed!
[the sound of a door opening and closing can be heard]
ELGIN: Oh Prink, this is dreadful ... I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you to talk to.
[cut back to The Doctor's consciousness]
PHANTOM: Now, Doctor ... The Dalek creatures have gone. Just the librarians remain. Are you prepared?
DOCTOR WHO: Uh, yes ... as I'll ever be.
PHANTOM: We will download your consciousness into your physical form. Do nothing. Just relax.
DOCTOR WHO: [quietly] Here goes ...
[cut back to the wetworks facility]
COMPUTER: Data retrieval online. Downloading.
[the sounds of The Doctor regaining consciousness can be heard]
ELGIN: Doctor? Prink, look! He's alive! Oh, my dear Doctor! I thought you were dead!
DOCTOR WHO: By the time I'm finished with you, Elgin, you'll wish I was ...
ELGIN: I ... don't understand.
[the anger in the Doctor's voice bubbles over]
DOCTOR WHO: To think I counted you among my friends! Oooh, you could be pompous, arrogant, selfish ... but now I find that the enemies I have fought are like children compared to the obscene crimes that you are responsible for!
ELGIN: I, I--
DOCTOR WHO: An entire race, Elgin! Trapped in your vile machine! Sentient creatures, trapped unaware! Unable to move, unable to think for themselves, unable to laugh or cry or love! Used by men like you, who have the audacity to call themselves civilized! This thing is little more than a gulag! You are an abomination! No better than the Daleks! I should leave you to them! Where are the rest of your people?
[the librarian pauses, then responds in a defeated and deflated tone]
ELGIN: Dead. It's only me and Prink left.
[the Doctor pauses, but still has an edge in his voice]
DOCTOR WHO: The Daleks?
ELGIN: They've returned to their ship. They mentioned something about a Special Weapons Dalek. They intend to destroy this facility when they leave.
DOCTOR WHO: Good! Let's just make sure they don't destroy its inhabitants! Is there a way out of here?
ELGIN: Yes. Yes, over here. We'll never get past the Daleks, though--
DOCTOR WHO: Let me worry about that.
ELGIN: Doctor, I'm so--
DOCTOR WHO: Be quiet, Elgin! Of the moment, I have nothing more to say to you ... Now come on!
[the sound of a door opening and closing can be heard]
[...]
ELGIN: Doctor, I--
DOCTOR WHO: Quiet, Elgin!
ELGIN: Yes but, Doctor, I-I just wanted to explain--
DOCTOR WHO: I've had all the explanations I need ... What about you, Mister Prink? Did you know about this, or was it all Librarian Elgin's doing?
PRINK: Uh--
ELGIN: Doctor, Daleks!
DOCTOR WHO: Quick, hide!
[the sounds of the Daleks can be heard, as if from a short distance away]
DALEK SOLDIER 1: Upper levels now clear! Human females have escaped from this facility!
DALEK SOLDIER 2: Hover-bot patrols will sweep jungle area!
DALEK SOLDIER 1: Remains of initial test subject to be taken to Chief Scientist for analysis! You will assist!
[the voices fade away]
DOCTOR WHO: I didn't think that Ace would remain locked up for long ... Looks like she's been busy!
ELGIN: [whispers] What do you mean?
DOCTOR WHO: Large holes blown in walls tend to be her trademark ... and that's our way out. Come on.
[...]
[cut to outside the library, near Bev's ship]
BEV: Well, I feel a lot happier now that I've got a blaster again!
ACE: How's the ship?
BEV: All the systems are operational, but the energy signature is bound to attract the Daleks. I daren't power anything up, and it's gonna get cold out here soon ...
ACE: Well, we don't light a fire. The Daleks are bound to spot that, too ...
[the sounds of footsteps can be heard]
DOCTOR WHO: Very true, but it might have made my job of finding you easier!
ACE: Professor! I thought you were dead!
ELGIN: So did Prink and I, didn't we, Prink?
PRINK: Uh--
DOCTOR WHO: Well, technically, bits of me were. But as you can see, I'm back in one piece! You seem to have made quite a mess of the library ...
ACE: Not guilty! That was a Dalek with an attitude problem!
DOCTOR WHO: Yes, it wouldn't have been the most stable of Daleks ... And how did you destroy that?
[the sounds of the whispering/gurgling can be heard]
RAPPELL: We were responsible for its destruction, Doctor ...
DOCTOR WHO: I've met others of your kind ... in the wetworks store.
RAPPELL: Then you understand what we need.
DOCTOR WHO: Yes ... We have to find a way of releasing the liquid contained in the data-store into the rain. Now then, Ace, what do you think we should do?
ACE: Mmm, blow a hole in the roof?
DOCTOR WHO: What an excellent idea!
[...]
[the sounds of the group running through the jungle can be heard]
BEV: If this place is kept so secret, how did the Daleks find out about it?
DOCTOR WHO: I don't know ... Care to shed any light on the subject, Elgin?
ELGIN: I don't know! Some of our collectors could have been forced to talk, I suppose ... or Prink! He is such a blabbermouth, after all!
DOCTOR WHO: Whereas you say nothing about anything, of course!
ACE: Why are you coming down so hard on him, Professor?
DOCTOR WHO: Elgin and the others have been using the Kar-Charratans as their data-store, systematically capturing them and imprisoning them in their tanks!
ELGIN: I think that "imprison" is a little harsh, Doctor ... After all, it's not like we knew they were intelligent!
DOCTOR WHO: Did you bother to try and find out? I mean, did you ever try to communicate?!
ELGIN: Well, I-I ...
[he sighs]
ELGIN: No. The library, you see, it's been my life's work! I, I--
ACE: What've they been doing?
DOCTOR WHO: The librarians have been capturing the Kar-Charratans, wiping their minds clean, and implanting data from their library!
BEV: My god ...
DOCTOR WHO: It's one of the most clinically brutal acts I've ever had the misfortune to witness!
ELGIN: Oh Doctor, you have no idea--
DOCTOR WHO: I have every idea! Now shut up, Elgin!
ACE: So blowing up the tanks will release them back into the rain?
DOCTOR WHO: Not quite that simple ... We've got to activate a data transfer at the same time that the tanks shatter, freeing the minds of the Kar-Charratans.
[the sound of the footsteps stop, as the sound of a waterfall can be heard]
DOCTOR WHO: Ah, there's the TARDIS.
ACE: Uh oh ... Daleks!
DOCTOR WHO: Two guards.
ACE: How we gonna get past them?
DOCTOR WHO: I was rather hoping our aqueous friends would handle that for us.
RAPPELL: Wait here, we will disable the guards.
BEV: I don't think I'm ever gonna get used to talking to raindrops ...
DOCTOR WHO: Careful what you say, your hair is full of them.
BEV: Thanks for reminding me ... God knows what I'm gonna do if I want a drink. So, this waterfall?
DOCTOR WHO: It's probably their equivalent of a major city.
ACE: [whispers] Professor, look!
[the sounds of the Dalek guards writhing around, then ultimately drowning (as "Rappell" fills their mechanical casings to the point where the organic lifeforms inside are fully submerged), can be heard]
RAPPELL: The way to your ship is clear, Doctor.
DOCTOR WHO: Right. Come on, everybody!
[the sound of the TARDIS being opened can be heard]
DOCTOR WHO: Right, everyone inside ...
ELGIN: Doctor!
DOCTOR WHO: What is it, Elgin?
ELGIN: I can hear something coming! I, I think that ... Ahhh!
[the sound of the duplicate emerging from the jungle and grabbing the librarian can be heard]
ACE: Elgin!
ACE DUPLICATE: Too late, Doctor ...
BEV: Oh my god, she's gonna throw him over the edge!
ELGIN: No, Doctor! Don't let her drop me, please! Don't let her drop me!
ACE DUPLICATE: Almost, Doctor, but not quite ...
DOCTOR WHO: Let him go!
ACE DUPLICATE: And lose my advantage? Humanoid lifeforms do not react well to being dropped from great heights ... Obey my instructions, or I drop Librarian Elgin.
DOCTOR WHO: I said let him go!
ACE: You heard what the Doctor said, metalhead! Back off!
BEV: I'll shoot!
ACE DUPLICATE: What, and let us both die?
DOCTOR WHO: Put the gun down, Beverly ...
ACE DUPLICATE: Pathetic. The Daleks duplicate you, duplicate a form vastly superior in so many ways, but this reliance on sentiment ... You have the potential to be so much more, and yet all I have to do, is loosen my grip.
[the sound of the librarian slipping can be heard]
ELGIN: Ahh!
ACE: No!
DOCTOR WHO: Alright, alright!
ELGIN: Oh my word! Please, please! Do something! Please!
ACE DUPLICATE: You will surrender the TARDIS to us, Doctor. Another valuable weapon in the Dalek's ever-expanding empire.
PRINK: No!
ELGIN: Prink, what're you doing?!
PRINK: Give me that gun!
DOCTOR WHO: Prink, get back!
PRINK: No! There have been too many senseless killings in my library, and I have had enough!
ACE DUPLICATE: You will put down the weapon, and remain where you are.
DOCTOR WHO: Prink, no!
PRINK: Let him go!
[the sound of a laser blast can be heard]
ACE DUPLICATE: Uuughhh!
ACE: Quick! Save Elgin, Doctor!
ELGIN: Oh! Oh ... Oh, thank you, Doctor!
PRINK: Gah!
ELGIN: Oh no! Now it's got Prink!
[the sound of Prink struggling and gasping for breath can be heard]
ACE DUPLICATE: Flesh and blood against Dalek technology? Foolish human.
DOCTOR WHO: Prink!
ACE DUPLICATE: Humans, so fragile. All I have to do is twist ...
[the sound of Prink's neck snapping can be heard]
ACE DUPLICATE: And you die!
[the sound of the duplicate releasing its grip, and Prink's body falling to the ground, can be heard]
ELGIN: Prink! Nooooo!
RAPPELL: You too can die, Dalek creature!
ACE DUPLICATE: There is no organic element for you to invade. I cannot be drowned.
RAPPELL: But Mister Prink has blown a hole through your water-tight skin ... How much water can you hold?
[the sound of the waterfall grows louder]
ACE: Professor! Look at the waterfall!
BEV: Dear god, it's moving!
ACE DUPLICATE: Gyro-circuits overloading! Balance impaired! Weight exceeding engineering tolerances!
DOCTOR WHO: Now, while it's off-balance! Push!
ACE DUPLICATE: Ahhhh!
[the sound of the duplicate being pushed over the cliff can be heard, as the waterfall quiets down]
DOCTOR WHO: Now that's something I don't want to have to do too often ...
ACE: You're telling me!
BEV: I hate to be a pain, but we did kill the right one, didn't we?
ACE: Oy!
DOCTOR WHO: Yes, this one's warm ...
ACE: Get off!
DOCTOR WHO: Daleks never get that right ...
ELGIN: Prink? Oh, Prink! Doctor! Doctor, is he ...
DOCTOR WHO: Dead.
ELGIN: Oh, no! No ...
DOCTOR WHO: And the best tribute we can give him, is to destroy the thing that he helped create.
ACE: Great! So all we have to do is get back into a library crawling with Daleks, set explosives, and get out again before they go off?
DOCTOR WHO: Exactly, Ace!
[...]
[the TARDIS materializes inside the wetworks facility, as Ace pretends to be her duplicate, telling the Daleks that The Doctor is her "prisoner"]
ACE: The Doctor and his TARDIS have been captured.
DALEK SUPREME: Your transponder has stopped transmitting! Why are you using human voice synthesis?
ACE: I sustained damage.
DALEK SUPREME: Doctor! You will be returned to Skaro for interrogation by the Emperor!
DOCTOR WHO: Yes ... You've finally defeated me.
DALEK SUPREME: Where are the other humanoids?
ACE: Destroyed. It was unavoidable.
DALEK SUPREME: Prepare to move time vessel to mothership! We are abandoning this facility!
ACE: I obey.
DALEK SUPREME: Special Weapons Dalek to wetworks chamber!
DALEK TEST SUBJECT 2: The destruction of this facility serves no purpose!
DALEK SUPREME: We must ensure that all knowledge is retained by the Daleks only!
DALEK TEST SUBJECT 2: The placement of guard units is sufficient!
DALEK SUPREME: You will obey!
DALEK TEST SUBJECT 2: Your orders are not logical! Mine is the superior intellect! I will assume the position of authority!
DALEK SUPREME: You will obey orders! We will destroy this facility and return to Skaro!
DALEK TEST SUBJECT 2: No!
[the sound of the Doctor whispering to Ace can be heard]
DOCTOR WHO: Well, that's going to keep them busy! I didn't think "No" was in the Dalek vocabulary ...
[cut to inside the TARDIS, as Bev and Elgin watch the proceedings]
DOCTOR WHO: Now Ace, while they're arguing amongst themselves!
ACE: Right!
BEV: Come on, Ace, come on!
ELGIN: They're never going to make it! They're bound to see her!
[cut back to outside the TARDIS]
DALEK SUPREME: Wait! Where is the duplicate?
DALEK SCIENTIST: Duplicate at wetworks storage tanks!
DALEK SUPREME: She is placing explosives! You are not the duplicate!
ACE: Too right, mate!
DALEK SUPREME: Exterminate!
DOCTOR WHO: Leave her alone!
DALEK TEST SUBJECT 2: She is not to be harmed!
DALEK SUPREME: You will obey!
DALEK TEST SUBJECT 2: Life must be protected!
[the sound of a laser beam firing can be heard]
DALEK SUPREME: All Dalek units to wetworks chamber! I am under attack! I am under attack!
[the sound of more laser beams can be heard]
DALEK SCIENTIST: Firepower ineffective! Test subject increasing power to casing shielding!
DALEK SUPREME: Special Weapons Dalek to open fire! Advise mothership to prepare for immediate takeoff!
SPECIAL WEAPONS DALEK: Targetting! Exterminate!
[the sound of a large explosion can be heard]
DALEK TEST SUBJECT 2: Damage to casing superficial! Desist or I will retaliate!
SPECIAL WEAPONS DALEK: Recalibrating! Exterminate!
[the sound of four explosions in succession can be heard]
DOCTOR WHO: Ace! How long before they blow?
ACE: We've got seconds! Come on, Doctor!
[computer sound effects can be heard]
DOCTOR WHO: I've got to set the data download at the same time as the tanks rupture!
ACE: Well, hurry it up!
DOCTOR WHO: I am hurrying!
[more computer sound effects can be heard]
DOCTOR WHO: There! Come on, Ace! Into the TARDIS!
[the sound of the TARDIS being opened can be heard]
ACE: Cut that a bit fine, didn't you?
DOCTOR WHO: Close the doors, Ace!
ACE: Okay, Professor!
ELGIN: Doctor ...
DOCTOR WHO: Out of the way, Elgin! I've got to dematerialize before the explosives blow!
SPECIAL WEAPONS DALEK: Test subject destroyed!
DALEK SCIENTIST: Dalek Supreme aboard mothership! Mothership lifting off!
SPECIAL WEAPONS DALEK: Remove explosives from data storage tanks! Remove explosives!
DALEK SCIENTIST: Explosives at critical--
[the sound of a giant explosion can be heard]
[...]
[the TARDIS rematerializes in the midst of the destroyed library]
ACE: Well, that's made a mess'a the books ...
DOCTOR WHO: Yes, another wonder lost to the universe.
[Elgin is fighting back tears]
ELGIN: My library! My beautiful library!
DOCTOR WHO: It was a mistake, Elgin. Knowledge at the cost of a species.
ELGIN: Yes ... yes.
[the sounds of whispering/gurgling can be heard]
PHANTOM: Doctor ... We are free! Thank you!
DOCTOR WHO: Did all your people make it?
PHANTOM: Most require healing. Some will never recover. But in the streams and the clouds, we will help them.
DOCTOR WHO: I'm glad.
PHANTOM: Now, we can reclaim our planet.
DOCTOR WHO: I've turned off the temporal barriers. Soon the jungle will claim the library. It will be as though it's always been here.
ACE: The Daleks?
DOCTOR WHO: Drowned in their casing.
BEV: Ooh, that's horrible ...
DOCTOR WHO: Yes, the Daleks always bring out the worst in people ... the worst in me.
ACE: Well, I doubt anyone is going to chastise you for it ... Where will you go, Bev?
BEV: Back to my ship, away from here. The ghosts on Kar-Charrat have become a little too real for me. Goodbye, Ace. Doctor.
ACE: Bye.
DOCTOR WHO: Bye.
[the sounds of footsteps walking off can be heard]
ACE: Will she be alright, Doctor?
DOCTOR WHO: Oh, I think so. The universe always has room for a talented thief.
ACE: What about him?
DOCTOR WHO: I don't know ... What will you do now, Mister Elgin?
ELGIN: Everything I knew here is dead, Doctor. My staff, my friends ... My work.
DOCTOR WHO: But your work was criminal.
ELGIN: Oh, I know that now. But at the time, I ...
[he chuckles to himself]
ELGIN: All that knowledge, and I could still be so stupid.
DOCTOR WHO: I'll send a message to the Time Lords, Elgin. The High Council will send a team. Can we take you somewhere?
ELGIN: No, Doctor. I'll wait here for the Time Lords to arrive ... See if we can salvage some of the books.
DOCTOR WHO: Goodbye, Elgin.
[the sound of the TARDIS dematerializing can be heard]
ELGIN: Goodbye, Doctor.
[the sound of the rainfall (and the whispering/gurgling) grows louder]
---
From wikipedia.org:
The Genocide Machine is a Big Finish Productions audio drama, released in 2000 and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It forms the first serial in the Dalek Empire arc, which continues in The Apocalypse Element and The Mutant Phase. It concludes in The Time of the Daleks.
Synopsis
On the planet Kar-Charrat, the Seventh Doctor and Ace try to prevent the Daleks acquiring a technology called the Wetworks Facility.
This episode addresses issues of scientific ethics.
Plot
Bev Tarrant and her salvage team arrive on the apparently uninhabited planet Kar-Charrat, in order to take possession of the mysterious and valuable Ziggurat. They soon discover though that there are Daleks on the planet, and maybe other creatures too.
In the TARDIS, Ace finds some overdue library books which the Doctor explains are from the library on Kar-Charrat. They travel to the planet in order to return the books. The Doctor enters the library where he meets an old friend, the chief librarian Elgin. Ace dislikes Elgin because he is not keen for people to actually touch any of the library's vast collection of books. She gets fed up and leaves to go back to the TARDIS. Elgin gives her a DNA tag which would allow her to re-enter the library. Elgin shows the Doctor the amazing technological development housed at the library — the wetworks facility. The Doctor is not particularly impressed until Elgin reveals to him that it contains all the knowledge in the Universe. The Doctor comments that not even the Time Lords had made such a break through using that technology, which is why the Matrix was built. Elgin mentions that aggressive aliens had been making threats against the library, and the Doctor eventually gets out of him that it is the Daleks.
Ace makes her way back to the TARDIS, but on the way hears a scream, and going to investigate finds Bev Tarrant. When Ace describes the library to her, she is incredulous because to her the planet seems uninhabited. She does however agree to go back with Ace, but they are both they are caught by a Special Weapons Dalek.
The Daleks had used time corridor technology to deploy Daleks on every planet in the sector, and then waited hundreds of years to capture a time-sensitive Time Lord in order to penetrate the library's defences and allow them to seize the wetworks facility. Instead, the Daleks create a duplicate of Ace, which — replete with the DNA tag — will be able to get through the library's barriers.
The Doctor sets out to find Ace and eventually finds her and Bev. After they have been brought back to the library, the Doctor leaves again to investigate the Ziggurat. However he does not realise the Ace left behind is in fact the duplicate. He discovers that the Ziggurat is in fact a Dalek hibernation unit, triggered to awaken the Daleks when the sound of the TARDIS was heard. He then sees the duplication machine and realises the truth about Ace. He and Elgin rush back to the library, but before they arrive, a Dalek battle cruiser lands at the library where the duplicate Ace has lowered the temporal shield.
The Doctor heads back to the TARDIS with Elgin, the only course of action left open to him is to send an emergency message to the Time Lords. However, they arrive at the TARDIS to find it surrounded by Daleks, including the Dalek Supreme, and are forced to surrender. The Doctor is vital to the Daleks' plan as they could not download the knowledge of the Wetworks into a Dalek mind without a Time Lord's neural buffers. They take him to the facility, and connecting him to the machinery, they successfully download the entire knowledge of the Universe into a Dalek test subject. After the download is complete, Elgin thinks that the Doctor has been killed by the pain of the procedure.
Meanwhile Ace and Bev realise that mysterious noises they had overheard in the rainfall were in fact some kind of life form. Bev had seen her colleague Rappell, who had been exterminated, in what she thought was a dream. His body had been possessed by the creatures. Whilst the Daleks' download of the Wetworks is occurring, Rappell arrives and proceeds to rescue them, but they soon come face to face with the Dalek test-subject, ready to exterminate them…
The test-subject is out of control and disoriented after the download and misses completely when it tries to exterminate Ace, Ben and Rappell. It shoots a hole in the wall of the library, through which Ace and Bev make their escape, but Rappell stays behind to cover them and is exterminated. However, when the Dalek pursues the women, a heavy fall of rain falls on the Dalek. The rain contains the native creatures of Kar-Charrat, and they are able to penetrate the casing and kill the Dalek.
The Doctor finds his consciousness still alive inside the Wetworks where he discovers to his outrage that the wetworks technology is based on the enslavement of the Kar-Charratians. The creatures are able to download the Doctor's mind back into his body, and he swears to free them. Soon reunited with Ace, Elgin and Bev, he plans to free the Kar-Charratians from the Wetworks by allowing Ace to use Nitro-9 on the library building. Elgin expresses remorse to the Doctor about the enslavement of the Kar-Charratians not realising that they were sentient, but the Doctor is not moved as the librarian and his people had not even tried to communicate with the natives.
Trying to allow the Doctor to re-enter the surrounded TARDIS, the Kar-Charratians kill the Daleks surrounding the time machine, but the duplicate Ace arrives. The duplicate is impervious to the rain unlike the Daleks, and threatens to kill Elgin. However, the chief cataloguer Prink rushes to his aid and attacks the duplicate, damaging it. Although Prink was killed by the duplicate, the damage allowed the Kar-Charratians to penetrate the duplicate's insides, and they succeed in destroying it.
The Doctor proceeds to the Wetworks with the intention of destroying it, using Ace to pretend to be her own duplicate to get past the Daleks. At the facility they encounter the Dalek test-subject and the Dalek Supreme arguing. Having obtained something of a conscience, the test-subject was refusing to destroy the Wetworks facility against the Supreme's orders. When Ace places Nitro-9 on the Wetworks facility, the test-subject fires at the Supreme to prevent it exterminating her. The Dalek Supreme retreats to its mother-ship leaving the Special Weapons Dalek to kill the test-subject, but the Nitro-9 succeeds in blowing up the machinery of the Wetworks, and the Kar-Charratians manage to escape. The remaining Daleks on the planet are drowned by the newly free natives.
The TARDIS returns to the ruins of the library, and Ace and the Doctor ponder on whether the test-subject Dalek with the complete knowledge of the universe and a moral consciousness could have heralded a new era for the Doctor. Elgin rues the destruction of his life's work, but out of guilt for his treatment of the Kar-Charratians realises it was a crime. Reporting its failure to the Dalek Emperor on Skaro, the Dalek Supreme is ordered to self-destruct. The Emperor is not totally despondent, however, as it has more plans to extend the Dalek Empire ...
Cast
The Doctor — Sylvester McCoy
Ace — Sophie Aldred
Rappell — Daniel Gabriele
Bev Tarrant — Louise Faulkner
Chief Librarian Elgin — Bruce Montague
Cataloguer Prink — Nicholas Briggs
Dalek Voices — Alistair Lock and Nicholas Briggs
Phantom Voices — Daniel Gabriele
---
From drwhoguide.com:
The Genocide Machine
Serial 7S
Written by Mike Tucker
Directed by Nicholas Briggs
Sound Design, Post-Production and Music Composition by Nicholas Briggs
Part One
(drn: 33'08" )
Bev Tarrant and her salvage team have come to the rain forests of Kar-Charrat, to dig up an alien ziggurat which Bev feels sure will make them all rich. Her partner Rappell isn't so sure that this job will be the easy money that Tarrant claims; it's hot, it's pouring rain, and something about the ziggurat makes him profoundly uneasy. It's supposed to be 1270 years old, but there is no vegetation growing on it, and it doesn't feel as though it's made of stone at all. Tarrant dismisses his concerns, telling him that he's been listening to too many stories about the phantoms of Kar-Charrat -- and unaware that her team is being observed by something. Something lurking in a hideout filled with the characteristic heartbeat sound of Dalek technology...
While trying to make sense of the TARDIS library, Ace happens across some particularly old and musty books which the Doctor borrowed from the library of Kar-Charrat long ago and forgot to return. Appalled, he sets off at once, telling Ace that the library on Kar-Charrat holds every scrap of information from every civilised planet in the Universe; it is one of the wonders of the Universe, and the Time Lords helped to install its defence grid, knowing that such knowledge could be terribly dangerous in the wrong hands. To Ace's disgust, the TARDIS materialises in the middle of a jungle, and the Doctor leads her through the pouring rain past a waterfall to what appear to be a set of ancient ruins. As Ace pokes around by herself, looking for something of interest, she hears an odd, wet bubbling sound -- almost like whispers in the rain. The Doctor seems to have vanished, but he steps out of nowhere before her eyes, and leads her through the temporal barrier -- to reveal the Kar-Charrat library in all its glory. Dismissing the sounds in the rain as her imagination, Ace accompanies the Doctor as he explains that the Time Lords hid the library behind a temporal projection of how it will appear thousands of years in the future. Only a time-sensitive can penetrate the barrier without the proper key, and since the library appears to have been destroyed centuries ago, nobody else knows that it is here.
Elsewhere, the TARDIS' arrival has been detected, and the appropriate action is being taken. As Tarrant and her team prepare to unearth the ziggurat, it opens up by itself and something violent emerges -- something which guns down her team without mercy and sets off into the jungle in search of its primary target. But the target has been lost, and it therefore retreats into the jungle to wait for contact to be re-established. Tarrant slowly recovers from the shock of the attack, and her damaged service droid, detecting that Tarrant's leg is seriously injured, uses the last of its power to open its medical pouch before shutting down. Knowing that she's managed to get her friends killed leading them to what she thought would be easy money, Tarrant crawls off through the jungle, trying to get back to her ship. As she goes, she fails to hear the sounds behind her -- sounds like whispers, bubbling through the rainforest. Rappell is dead, and no longer needs his body. But others do...
The library lobby is larger than St Paul's Cathedral, and it's here that the Doctor and Ace are greeted by Chief Librarian Elgin and Cataloguer Prink. Elgin, an effusive and rather pompous old friend of the Doctor's, is delighted to see the Doctor again and looks forward to showing him about the library. It is all but empty now; the staff reside on the upper levels, dealing with agents for new data or passing time in the recreation lounges. The rather embarrassed Doctor returns his overdue books, and the scandalised Elgin blames Prink for not noticing their absence earlier and orders him to return them to their proper place. Ace, taken aback by the emptiness of the facility, asks Elgin whether anybody ever uses it, and Elgin is shocked and scandalised by the thought. If people were actually to read the books here, they would be damaged! Ace, irritated by his attitude, decides to go back to the TARDIS, and Elgin gives her a DNA tag so that she can get past the barriers when she wishes to return. The Doctor quietly tells Ace that although Elgin may be pompous he means well, and arranges to meet her on the second floor reading room later.
As Ace departs, Elgin leads the Doctor to the greatest achievement of the library. At first glance it appears to be a huge chamber full of water tanks, but the Doctor recognises it as an aqueous data storage system -- a "wetworks" facility. This is the largest of its kind he has ever seen, and Elgin proudly claims that it houses the entire knowledge of the Universe. Fascinated, the Doctor bombards Elgin with technical questions, none of which Elgin can answer; all he knows is that it works. He shows the Doctor the retrieval unit, a simple chair and headset which enables the user to download any information into their brain almost instantly. Elgin mentions in passing that a number of races have inquired about the facility, and that some became quite aggressive about demanding access to it. This concerns the Doctor; knowledge can be dangerous in the wrong hands, and this much knowledge in one place makes the wetworks facility potentially the most dangerous weapon ever created. Elgin, however, assures him that the defences installed by the Time Lords are impenetrable. Only one race has ever seriously worried the security staff. A race of robotic creatures called the Daleks...
Ace emerges from the library, already regretting her outburst but unwilling to swallow her pride and return. As she approaches the TARDIS, however, she hears Tarrant nearby, calling for help. Ace helps her to an overhang where she can shelter from the rain. Tarrant isn't sure what it is that attacked her -- only that the rest of her crew are dead. She believes the planet to be deserted, and when Ace insists that there's a hidden library further up the cliff where she can get help, she thinks Ace is delusional. But they hear the shrieks of jungle birds in the distance, and, realising that something in the jungle has disturbed them, Tarrant decides it would be best to humour Ace. She nearly loses her temper when she sees that Ace has dragged her away from her spaceship to another set of ruins, but before Ace can get through the temporal barrier, the thing that attacked Tarrant's team emerges from the jungle and captures them. It's too late for them to run, and the Special Weapons Dalek reports its success to the mothership. Phase One of the plan is complete. The Doctor's companion is a prisoner of the Daleks...
Part Two
(drn: 25'42")
Elgin is convinced of the reliability of the Time Lords' defences, and doesn't understand why the Doctor is so concerned that the Daleks know of the facility's presence. They did try to attack the library once, but failed to blast their way through the barrier and gave up. When Elgin admits that the attack was not really a full assault -- it was more like a test, as if the Daleks were trying to prove to themselves that they couldn't get in -- the Doctor becomes even more concerned. It's not like the Daleks to give up, and it may not be safe for Ace to wander around outside. Elgin reluctantly accompanies the Doctor out beyond the barrier, where he is shocked to find Ace and Tarrant lying unconscious in the ruins. The Doctor has them both taken back into the library's medical facility, where Ace recovers and claims that they were both attacked by an animal which lunged out of the forest before she could get a look at it. There's something a bit off about her responses, and the Doctor, concerned that she may be suffering from delayed shock, tells her to rest in the medical bay for a while. He and Elgin depart, leaving Ace alone with the unconscious Tarrant. Or at least they would be doing so, if this were the real Ace...
Ace is a prisoner of Dalek Scout Seven, the special weapons unit which killed Tarrant's crew and hunted Ace to the library ruins. It has reported its success to a Dalek mothership which is now entering geostationary orbit and preparing to engage in battle. To Ace's shock, the Daleks reveal that they intended to capture her all along; she has been duplicated and her DNA tag has been given to her clone, who will penetrate the temporal barrier and shut down the defence grid, granting the Daleks access to the library at last. Ace is to be kept prisoner on the mothership, in case the duplicate requires access to her brain patterns to remain undetected. While Scout Seven reports on surface conditions and the battle computers are updated, Ace learns that the Daleks have used time corridor technology to plant agents on every planet in the sector, and have waited hundreds of years for a Time Lord to arrive. And now the Doctor has finally returned, and the Daleks' capture of the Kar-Charrat facility is inevitable.
The Doctor wonders why Tarrant is here, given that the library is supposed to be a secret. Elgin suggests that she's here to study the ziggurat, supposed to be the relic of an ancient civilisation. The Doctor, curious, sets off to examine the ziggurat himself, accompanied by the weary Elgin -- whose weariness gives way to shock when they find the bodies of Tarrant's crewmates lying in the jungle near the ziggurat. It appears obvious from their equipment that they were here to steal the ziggurat and sell it to a collector, but what's more interesting is the amount of human blood on the ground. There's more here than could have come out of Tarrant, but there is no human body nearby. The Doctor wonders whether something other than the Daleks is at work here, and recalls Ace's comment that she heard something in the ruins earlier. The last time he was here, he also recalls hearing tales about ghosts in the jungle, stories which Elgin dismisses as foolish spaceport rumours. Putting aside this mystery for the moment, the Doctor and Elgin continue on to the ziggurat, which to Elgin's horror has been opened from the inside. As the Doctor feared, it is not an ancient artefact at all, but a Dalek deep hibernation unit -- with activation sensors rigged to wake the hibernating Dalek when they detect the arrival of a TARDIS nearby. Elgin spots a cloning chamber in the corner, and the Doctor finally realises, to his horror, just why Ace was behaving so strangely in the medical bay. The Daleks weren't after him at all, but his companion -- and he has just left a Dalek duplicate alone in the library, with access to the defence grid!
The Daleks impatiently await word from Ace's duplicate. The test subjects have been prepared for data acquisition, and the scientific division is poised to access the wetworks facility and begin downloading. Ace-2 reaches the defence grid, activates her voice synthesiser and uses Elgin's voice to bypass the security protocols and shut down the barrier. The Dalek mothership detects fluctuations in the defence grid, and the Dalek Supreme orders his troops to attack. Meanwhile, the disoriented Tarrant wakens in the medical bay to the sound of alarms as the library's defences shut down -- but amongst the confusion she hears a bubbling sound like a whisper of her name. And her dead partner Rappell steps out of the shadows, begging her for help.
Elgin and the Doctor rush back to the library, but the pace is too much for Elgin and he is forced to rest and catch his breath. As the impatient Doctor waits for him to recover, he too hears the odd bubbling, whispering noises -- and the terrified Elgin suddenly finds the strength to carry on. The Doctor's interest has been piqued, however; perhaps the tales of the phantoms were more than mere legends. There's something else on the planet, something alive... but before he can investigate further, he and Elgin hear a roaring sound overhead, and see a Dalek battle cruiser coming in to land at the library. The temporal barrier has been shut down, all of the defences have been disabled, and there is nothing to stop the Daleks as they enter the library and prepare to seize control of the wetworks facility. Kar-Charrat is now under Dalek control.
Part Three
(drn: 25'37")
The Doctor and Elgin have no choice but to try to return to the Doctor's TARDIS and send out an SOS to the Time Lords. Dalek patrols have been sent out into the jungle to look for them, and they are forced to take a roundabout route to avoid detection. As they do so, the whispering, bubbling sounds become ever more urgent. There's definitely something else out here in the jungle with them. Something upset...
The Daleks exterminate all unnecessary life forms in the library -- in other words, everybody -- and prepare to link the first test subject to the wetworks facility. The Dalek Supreme reports the progress of the operation to the Emperor on Skaro, but admits that the Doctor has not yet been captured. The Chief Scientist predicts a 70 percent possibility of failure if a Time Lord's neural pathways are not used as a buffer to filter the data download, but the Emperor will not tolerate any delays to its invasion plans and orders the Dalek Supreme to attempt the procedure without the Doctor. Tarrant is brought before the Dalek Supreme to explain her presence on the planet, and although the Daleks conclude that she is irrelevant, they decide to keep her alive in case a lure is needed to bring the Doctor out of the jungle. As Ace-2 takes Tarrant away under guard, the wetworks facility is brought on-line, and the first test subject is connected to it; however, when the Daleks try to download the knowledge of the Universe into its memory circuits, it is unable to handle the data flow. The Dalek's memory circuits overload, and it goes mad, breaks out of its restraints and hurtles off into the corridors, screaming in agony and firing at random as its fellow Daleks pursue it. Without the neural buffers of a Time Lord such as the Doctor, the Daleks can only survive the experiment by downloading the data at a slower rate -- which will mean a delay to the invasion. This is unacceptable. The Doctor must be captured immediately!
The Doctor and Elgin find the TARDIS surrounded by Daleks, and the Dalek Supreme arrives and threatens to kill Ace, Tarrant and Prink if the Doctor does not give himself up. The Doctor, aware that these could be duplicates, is unable to take the risk and surrenders to save their lives. He and Elgin are returned to the library with the others, where the Daleks inform them that they intend to create a Dalek with the complete knowledge of the Universe -- a mobile data store with which they can conquer the Universe, one planet at a time. The Doctor, Ace and Tarrant are left under guard by Ace-2 while Elgin and Prink are forced to repair the damage caused by the rogue test subject. The Doctor tells Ace about the noises he heard in the rain, apparent evidence that there is another force at work on the planet -- and the shocked Tarrant realises that her dream of Rappell in the medical bay wasn't a dream after all. It appears that the phantoms of Kar-Charrat are real -- but if so, why do Elgin and the others dismiss them as nothing more than stories?
Elgin and Prink repair the damage to the wetworks facility, and are forced to stand by and watch as the Daleks bring in the Doctor. The sickened Elgin has no choice but to connect the Doctor to the retrieval interface, and the Daleks prepare to download the wetworks' data into a second test subject. This time, the natural neural buffers within the Doctor's Time Lord brain are capable of handling, filtering and compressing the rapid data flow, and the Dalek test subject survives -- and acquires the accumulated knowledge of the entire Universe. But the agony has been too much for the Doctor to bear, and the grief-stricken Elgin discovers that the process has killed him. As the Dalek test subject assimilates the knowledge it has acquired, the Dalek Supreme returns to the mothership to report the success of the operation... and to prepare to destroy the Kar-Charrat facility behind them.
Tarrant admits to Ace that she intended to sell the ziggurat to a collector on Coralee; now that will come to nothing, and she's only gotten her lover killed and his body possessed by an alien entity. The door unexpectedly opens, apparently by itself, but it turns out to have been operated from the outside -- by the alien entities which inhabit Rappell's body. They apologise to Tarrant for the disrespect; but they struggle to save their race, and this was necessary. Ace refuses to leave the library without trying to rescue the Doctor, but as "Rappell" tries to guide them to the wetworks facility, they run into another problem -- the insane Dalek test subject is still at loose in the facility, and it stumbles across them, recognises them as humanoid life forms, and prepares to exterminate them all...
Part Four
(drn: 31'00")
Fortunately, the Dalek is completely unbalanced, and its weaponry is operating outside safety tolerances -- which means that it misses its aim completely and blows a hole in the library wall, through which Ace and Tarrant flee to safety. "Rappell" remains behind to hold off the Dalek, and the horrified Tarrant is forced to watch as her lover is blasted apart for a second time. But when the Dalek pursues them out of the library, the rainfall suddenly seems to concentrate itself over the Dalek -- and it drowns within its own casing. The voice of "Rappell" speaks to Ace and Tarrant, who realise that the sound is coming from the rainfall itself. The Phantoms are the true natives of Kar-Charrat, a living essence which can inhabit any form of water; the rivers and the oceans, the waterfall, the rain, everywhere water is to be found on the planet. Since the human body consists largely of water, Rappell's dead body was able to act as a host for the Phantoms' intelligence as they tried to contact someone who would listen to them -- someone who would understand the crimes the librarians have committed against the Kar-Charratians...
The Doctor finds his mind floating disembodied in the wetworks facility itself, where the Kar-Charratians are finally able to speak with him. They saved him at the moment of his death by uploading his consciousness into the wetworks facility -- where they exist themselves in torment. To the Doctor's horror, the Kar-Charratians reveal that the wetworks unit is not a technological miracle, but a gulag where their species has been enslaved, their minds wiped clean. Each drop of liquid in the wetworks storage tanks is or was a living being, and as the librarians replace the living Kar-Charratian minds with the data from the library, they are wiping out an entire race. The Doctor, infuriated, promises to free the Kar-Charratians -- but they warn him that he will have to act quickly, for the Daleks intend to destroy the entire library when they depart.
The Daleks detect the destruction of the rogue, and the Dalek Supreme orders the test subject to explain. With its new storehouse of knowledge, it understands that the native life forms of the planet are capable of invading Dalek casings and rendering them inoperative -- but to the Dalek Supreme's fury, it insists that the natives are non-hostile, and refuses to advise on the correct procedure for the natives' extermination. The "erratic" behaviour of the test subject suggests that a second may be required, and since the Doctor is dead, this means the Daleks will have to attach the remaining prisoners to the data retrieval unit, burning out their minds one after another until successful transfer is achieved. The Dalek Supreme reports the problem to Skaro, but the impatient Emperor Dalek will brook no further delays. Infuriated that the Dalek Supreme has foolishly killed the Doctor before he could be interrogated, the Emperor orders it to return to Skaro and destroy the facility immediately. The Dalek Supreme has no choice but to obey.
The Daleks leave the dispirited Elgin and Prink locked up in the wetworks facility, and once it's safe, the Kar-Charratians download the Doctor's mind back into his body. Elgin is overjoyed at first, until the furious Doctor accuses him of unspeakable crimes against the Kar-Charratians. He had counted Elgin as a friend, and all along he no better than the Daleks! Subdued, Elgin shows the Doctor the way out, and they manage to avoid the Dalek patrols and slip out of the library through the hole blown in the wall by the rogue Dalek. Their escape is discovered, and the chief scientist examines the remains of the rogue Dalek and determines that it was drowned within its own casing. The Daleks cannot venture out into the jungle to recapture the prisoners. But Ace-2 has no such weakness...
The Doctor, Elgin and Prink are reunited with Ace and Tarrant outside Tarrant's ship, which she doesn't dare power up in case the Daleks detect it. The Doctor takes them back to the TARDIS, planning to blow a hole in the wetworks facility and release the enslaved Kar-Charratians into the rainfall. Elgin claims that he never knew the natives were intelligent, but is forced to admit that he never tried to communicate with them; the library has been his life's work, and he long ago lost the ability to see anything beyond it. The Kar-Charratians kill the Daleks guarding the TARDIS, but before the Doctor can enter Ace-2 arrives and captures Elgin, threatening to kill him if the Doctor does not surrender. Prink finally snaps and attacks Ace-2, rescuing Elgin and shooting the duplicate in the chest. Ace-2 snaps his neck, but the Kar-Charratians flood into the hole in her chest and short out her internal circuitry. Elgin, stunned by Prink's death, offers no resistance as the Doctor prepares to take the TARDIS into the library, to destroy the wetworks facility for good.
The Daleks detect the arrival of the TARDIS and are waiting for the Doctor when he emerges, but Ace pretends to be her duplicate, and claims to have taken the Doctor prisoner and killed his friends. The Dalek Supreme orders his followers to move the TARDIS to the mothership, and to destroy the facility behind them -- but the test subject intervenes, claiming that the destruction of the library and the extermination of the Kar-Charratians serves no logical purpose. Since it has the superior intellect, its orders should be obeyed, not those of the Dalek Supreme's. As the furious Dalek Supreme orders the test subject to obey, Ace manages to plant explosives on the wetworks storage units, and when the Dalek Supreme notices what she is doing, the test subject opens fire upon it, refusing to let it harm Ace. Life must be protected, not exterminated. As the Daleks open fire on the rebellious test subject, the Doctor sets the data retrieval unit to download at the moment the explosives blow, and retreats to the TARDIS with Ace.
The Dalek Supreme retreats to the mothership and flees, and although the test subject is finally destroyed by a Special Weapons Dalek, the remaining Daleks have no time to defuse Ace's explosives. The data storage units trigger a download just as the tanks are smashed open by the explosives, and the Kar-Charratians are freed at last. The remaining Daleks are drowned within their casings by the vengeful Kar-Charratians. The Dalek Supreme is forced to retreat, and to report failure to the Emperor Dalek. The infuriated Emperor orders it to place the Chief Scientist in command and to self-destruct, which it does. This is only a setback, the Emperor insists; an alternate plan will be devised and the Dalek invasion will succeed. Nothing will stop them!
The TARDIS returns to the ruins of the library, which are now really ruins. Another wonder has been lost to the Universe, but Elgin now accepts that his life's work was criminal and that he was too blind to see what he was doing. Many of the Kar-Charratians require healing, and some will never recover, but at least now they are free to reclaim their planet. Tarrant bids farewell to the Doctor and Ace and returns to her ship, while a sadder and wiser Elgin remains in the ruins of his library, waiting for the Time Lords to arrive and hoping that somehow he can reclaim some of the lost knowledge. The Doctor and Ace depart, wondering whether the test subject would have ushered in a new age for the Daleks. They'll never know for sure; all they know is that while they may have delayed the Daleks for a while, they haven't stopped them, and that the Daleks remain a force for evil in the Universe -- spreading, killing, and destroying without mercy...
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