Doctor Who and The Goddess of Evolution

Chapter 6: River Song

They passed through the large oak doors of the science fiction section of the museum, and the Doctor decided he was quite impressed with the scale of the place.  And it most certainly was much bigger on the inside.

All this previous faces, and future ones, were hanging all over the place.  His previous companions, current and future companions all had honorable mentions on the wall.

And each Doctor and companion had their own exhibit.

"So, in the physical realm," the Doctor said as he took in the area, "I'd call this "dimensionally transcendental" or -"

"Bigger on the inside?" The old man laughed as he walked with the group.  "Yes, we use something similar here in the spiritual realm.  Pocket dimensions."

"Are the physics here the same as the physical realm?" The Doctor asked.  "Because I've been there, and trust me, the energy here is very different."

"Ah, I see your programming is starting to return.  But no, not the same.  In a way, the energy here is...how do I put this?  It can move more freely here."

The group got to the Eleventh Doctor's exhibit, but there was already an Eleventh Doctor there.  Same with Amy and Rory's exhibits.  There were already Figgies there.  The three times travellers stared at the moving figments in awe.

"Is that really how my nose looks?" Rory asked, seeming a bit annoyed.

"Yes, but it suits you," Amy grinned.  "And look at me...all...Scottish looking." Amy's Figgy was holding a beer and was also wearing a kilt.  And had bagpipes.  "I feel like I should be offended," Amy snickered.

Rory shook his head with a grin.  "I don't.  It suits you."

"Hmm," the old man said, looking at the Figgies.  "Perhaps you're part of the other exhibits.  Come along."

The group passed by each exhibit, the Doctor taking a good, hard look at each one.  When they got to River Song's exhibit, however, the Figgy was nowhere to be seen.  The room itself was quite large and showed off places and objects from every episode she'd been on.  What was more, there was a large crack in one of the walls.

"Oh dear," the old man said.  "Any exhibit but this one."

"Sorry?" the Doctor said, looking at the man. 

"Out of all the Figgies of Doctor Who, River Song is the least compliant with her programming."

"Doesn't surprise me," Amy chuckled.  "What about mine?"

"Yours likes playing the bagpipes every third, sixth, twentieth and twenty third day of each month."

Rory started laughing but Amy's jaw dropped.  "Really?  Why?"

"Well, we're not sure," the old man said as he reached for his walkie talkie again.  "In fact a lot of the exhibits do something extra special on those days.  They become more...active.  Security team, Code Spoilers.  I repeat, Code Spoilers."

The Doctor laughed.  "Code Spoilers?  I love that, makes perfect sense to me."

All that was heard from the walkie was static.  "This is Mr. Fredericks, where are you lot?" he asked in an irritated tone.  "I have four Figgies out of their exhibits.  Please respond."

Static.

"Mr. Fredericks, sir," the Doctor chimed in.  "Would you like us to help you look for your security team?"

Mr. Fredericks sighed in defeat.  "You might as well.  I can't log you back into your exhibits until I have approval from Mr. Gabriel anyway.  Come along."

As they explored the science fiction section more, the Doctor and his companions were in awe at all the exhibits.  Star Trek, Star Wars, Terminator, The Fifth Element, Torchwood, Aliens...all the good classic movies and tv shows that made up sci fi culture were on display.  The more the Doctor saw, however, the more he realized the place seemed to resemble a memory archive.  Especially when they got to the video game section. 

"How did you even manage to get all of this in here from the physical realm?" Amy asked coolly.

"From people's memories, of course.  They're donations," Mr. Fredericks explained.

"But how are they created?" The Doctor inquired a little suspiciously.

"We have a special computer that creates them in an instant.  They always come out in perfect condition.  Well, almost."

"Almost?"

"There have been a few times where Figgies come out incomplete so we end up having to finish making them ourselves.  That's actually part of Mr. Gabriel's abilities."

Just as they managed to get to the Mass Effect video game section, there was a commotion and people were screaming in fear. 

"That doesn't sound ideal," the Doctor said.

There had been a crowd that gathered around someone or something.  "Pardon me, folks," Mr. Fredericks said as he pushed through with the Doctor.  "Let me through, I want to see what all the ruckus is about.  Make way, make...oh dear..."

On the floor was a red headed woman on her knees in a praying position, her face turned towards the ceiling and tears in her eyes.  She was flickering in and out of existence, it seemed.

"Please..." it said softly, her eyes shut tightly.  "I need...find...and..."

Before anyone could do anything, the woman blinked out of existence, leaving the crowd looking quite shocked and upset.  A hologram of a blond woman appeared and started addressing the crowd.

"We're sorry for the inconvenience of the technical difficulty," the hologram said.  "We shall take care of the problem immediately.  Enjoy your visit to Mr. Gabriel's Nexus."

Amy and Rory eyed the Doctor carefully, it being quite noticeable that the gears were turning in his head.  "She sounded exactly like the voice we heard when we got here," Rory pointed out quietly as Mr. Fredericks tried to calm the crowd down.

"Yes, same voice in the aquarium," the Doctor said.

His eyes suddenly squinted and he grunted at the abrupt ringing in his head.  Was he receiving a psychic message?

"I cannot hold the connection long," an American male voice said.  "Act normally."

The Doctor blinked as his companions started checking him over.  "Are you alright?" Amy asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," the Doctor replied before adjusting his tie.  "Who are you?" The Doctor whispered in his head.

"You're not a Figgy, I can tell.  You're the actual Doctor from an alternate reality.  We need to talk.  We need your help."

"Fine, let's talk," the Doctor replied.

"Not here.  The security systems will track our conversation in a minute or two.  We will find you and you will know it's us."

The Doctor blinked in confusion before looking at his companions.  "Just act normally," he replied lowly.  "I'll explain later."

Mr. Fredericks approached with a grin, the crowd having departed.  "Well, now that's settled.  I just got a hold of the security team.  They've found River Song.  Come along."

As the three followed the older man, the pieces started coming into place inside the Doctor's head, but he knew there was more.  Constant malfunctions in a place that is supposedly cherished, it's only a century year old, and there's a machine that supposedly makes figments from people's imaginations.  He'd have to take a real look at one of them to see how lifelike they were.

The Doctor immediately got his chance when he heard a crash, saw an explosion, and none other than River Song running out of the hole the explosion made, gun in hand and smiling happily.

"HELLO, SWEETIE!" she yelled with a wave, still running in their direction.  She stopped in front of Mr. Fredericks and sighed.  "Sorry, old man.  You know not what you do," she spoke before knocking him out.  As he fell to the floor, she grabbed the companions and the Doctor.  "RUN!"