Until We Burn | Dr Who

Chapter Eighty-Nine: I Am Your Future

We gather once the lights have been set up, both those overhead and a series of bright lamps set up in the central circle of marble. The Doctor looks out at us all, sat cross-legged atop the desk. "How does the data core work? What's the principle? What's CAL?"

River coldly replies, "Ask Mr Lux."

"CAL, what is it?"

"Sorry. You didn't sign your Personal Experience contracts."

I roll my eyes. "Keep playing around like that and you'll get a personal experience I can guarantee you will not enjoy."

Outraged, he turns his squinted eyes on me and bellows, "How dare you? I will not be spoken to in such a manner!"

The Doctor lowers himself back onto the floor, strolling purposely up to the man. "Mr Lux, right now, you're in more danger than you've ever been in your whole life. And your protecting a patent?"

"I'm protecting my family's pride."

He meets the scowling remark with impatience, still remaining remarkably calm. "Well, funny thing, Mr Lux. I don't want to see everyone in this room dead because some idiot thinks his pride is more important."

"Then why don't you sign his contract?" River points out. She hesitates, her coy smile growing at the Doctor's confusion. "I didn't either. I'm getting worse than you."

He simply stares at her for a moment. Thinking better of any urge to backtalk or question her, he presses on. "Let's start at the beginning. What happened here? On the actual day, a hundred years ago, what physically happened?"

Her face falls, the need for seriousness taking over. "There was a message from the Library, just one: 'The lights are going out'. Then the computer sealed the planet and there was nothing for a hundred years."

"It's taken three generations of my family just to decode the seals and get back in," Mr Lux gravely explains.

"Um, excuse me..." Miss Evangelista calls.

"Not just now."

River sighs, "There was one other thing in the last message."

Anticipating her, he quickly interjects, "That's confidential."

She pats down her trousers until she finds the right pocket. "I trust this man. With my life, with everything."

"You've only just met him!"

"No, he's only just met me."

We gather around her to get a look at the little device in her hands. Miss Evangelista calls out again but our attention is already caught. "This is a data extract that came with the message," River explains as the information shows up on the tiny screen.

The Doctor reads aloud, "'4022 saved. No survivors'."

"4022, that's the exact number of people who were in the Library when the planet was sealed."

Donna frowns. "But how can 4022 people have been saved if there were no survivors?"

"That's what we're here to find out."

Mr Lux nods in confirmation and matter-of-factly states, "So far, what we haven't found are any bodies."

Somebody screams.

Grabbing our torches, we sprint in the direction of it. It doesn't come from one of the doors but rather an opening in the wall panelling which certainly had not been there before. We follow the corridor within all the way through to another section of the library, lined with book-laden desks.