State of Confusion (Doctor Who Fanfic)

Chapter Nineteen - Trekka

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Trekka

"Wow!"  Trekka's entire face was lit up as bright as the sun.  "This is amazing!"

A few steps behind, the Doctor was still trying to clear his blurry vision.  He was never, ever, ever using that device again. 

"Yes, just don't... touch anything, okay?"  With a kid this smart, there was no telling what he might do.

"Okay."

Rose remained close to the door, with Trekka's bewildered father, as the boy ran circles around the console, looking at everything and even crawling underneath.  But he didn't touch.  He simply identified.  He identified everything.  By the time he'd finished, the Doctor could almost see straight again.

"Trekka," Rose asked hesitantly.  "How do you know all that?"

"All what?"

"About the Tardis."  Rose exchanged glances with the Doctor.  "I mean, I've been around this ship the past two years and I couldn't tell you what any of this stuff is.  You name it all like you read the manual."

"Have you ever seen a ship like this?" the Doctor asked.

"No.  Only in my imagination."

"Yeah... About that..."  The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck as he leaned back on the console.  "Has your imagination always been so... detailed?"

"What do you mean?"

"You imagine things that most people wouldn't think of unless they've seen it.  Has it always been that way?"

"I don't know."  The boy shrugged, lowering his head.  "I guess."

He was hiding something.  It was in his body language, in the way he kept his eyes on the floor.  "Always?" the Doctor prodded.

Trekka nodded but didn't look up.  It was a lie.  But the Doctor didn't want to grill him.  If he did, the boy might shut down.  But what explained it, then?  Neural recoding?  Sentient transference? But what would cause it?  And even so, what was the source?

"So tell me about some of the things you imagine," the Doctor invited, turning his eyes to the screen as he initiated a system scan.  He really did need to get some more advanced medlab software for this thing.  Then he'd be able to do a full DNA workup.  But for now, a basic system scan would tell him what he wanted to know.  It would tell him if the Tardis recognized Trekka's essence.

"I imagine all sorts of things."

"Like this ship."

The boy looked up and nodded.  "Uh huh."

"What about it?  Fixing it?  Flying it?"

The boy frowned.  "No, nothing like that."

"What then?"

"It's just... familiar."  Trekka stood and walked slowly to the console.  "I don't know how to explain it."

Walking slowly, Trekka ran his hand over the edge of the console.  The Doctor watched him carefully, senses heightened to detect any recognition or response from the Tardis.

"If I'd asked you to draw a picture of a Type-40 Tardis, before you came here, could you have done it?"

"No."  The boy paused with his hand on the control for the dematerialization circuit, and the Doctor stood straighter.  But Trekka's hand passed over it after only a few seconds, and he looked up at the Doctor again.  "But I can draw a Type 339."