Doctor Who: Death Cometh

DOCTOR WHO Series 12

Episode 2:

Death Cometh

Written by Zachary Denoyer

All rights belong to BBC Studios

Prologue

"What is Dvapara Yuga?" asked a much younger Doctor to Head Professor Borusa.

Professor Borusa grew silent, causing the other students in the Gallifreyan Biologics lab to turn and look at him. At this point in his life, Borusa was an older dark skinned man with fading white hair and a thick beard to match. Borusa gave the young Doctor a playful, somewhat frustrated, glare and pulled him aside from the class.

"Where did you hear about such things, young Theta?" Borusa asked.

The Doctor shrugged, thinking of a lie. "Nowhere really," he shrugged. "Mostly from other lecturers and students. They say it's the Universe before ours. A place where real magic exists."

Borusa chuckled, his heavy wrinkles on his forehead frowning a bit. "Yes, yes. Magic." He stopped, contemplating a bit. "Theta, what did I teach a few weeks ago about Block Transfer Computations?"

The Doctor struggled to remember, trying to hide the fact. "Hmm? Oh, I — I'm trying to remember."

"Lies, again? You were distracted by your Deca, was it? Your friend group seems to be a common distraction," Borusa said with a heavy sigh. "Block Transfers require living beings to compute, much like our Time Travel Capsules. Voice, mind, and even emotion is what makes these possible. But, in the Universe before ours the manipulation of reality was as simple and natural as waving a finger and thinking it. Quantum Mnemonics it was called. Before the energies of that faded world were stricken away by our leaders, the mind was much more powerful a tool than it is now. But in Dvapara Yuga the mind, and all its aspects, was everything."

The Doctor frowned. "So the people of that Universe are gone? Magic doesn't exist anymore?"

Borusa nodded, tilting his head a bit. "Yes, but likewise no. Even though that world is gone, the dangers of it still linger on in the form of — of a darkness. Shades of the past. Of the ones who came before us: The Great Old Ones."

"So, how did the Great Old Ones turn into shades? Did the Universe swallow them up and spit them back out wrong?"

"We truly don't know. Not even our leaders knew. Not Rassilon, not the Other, not Omega. All we know is they fled here and aren't the same. Maybe being in our very reality changed them."

Giving Borusa a confused look, the Doctor smirked. "Why are you telling me this, sir?"

Borusa chuckled. "Because I know you won't go out and look for these shades of the past. You're smart enough to run away from danger, not go to it."

"Are you sure about that?"

"About you, or the danger?"

"Both," said the Doctor with a grin.

Sitting up, Borusa gave the Doctor a frown full of annoyance. "Theta, you're already at 7 out of 10 marks for this semester. Don't make it 6. Now get back to your work."

The Doctor frowned and begrudgingly walked away to his station.

Gazing at the Doctor, Borusa laughed silently to himself. "That boy will be the death of us all, or the contributor to our salvation." He shrugged. "Might very well be both."