vatheon | The Doctor Arrives (again)

Entry tags:

The Doctor Arrives (again)

Who: The Doctor and You
Where: Standard Plaza Drop
When: Late Morning, just before Noon, November 24th
Style: Brackets preferred but I'll match
Status: OPEN

[A rather damp man in a tweed dress jacket and red bow-tie suddenly appears in the plaza next to the corral.

He spins around quickly, observing and taking in the scene before him in a rush of information.

He runs his hand through his hair nervously only to discover that it is wet.]

I'm wet. [He brings his hand down from his head and inspects it. Sniffs it. Then tastes it.]

Correction. [He looks down at the rest of himself and flaps his jacket out a few times as if to get rid of the excess liquid. He begins to straighten his bow-tie.] I'm soaked... [There is a pause.] with salt-water.

And I'm inside a bubble under an ocean next to an enormous piece of coral.

Ooookay. [He claps his hands together and tilts his head to one side and then the other.]

No TARDIS in sight. [He checks his pockets.] Sonic accounted for, that's good. [He removes his sonic screwdriver and takes a reading. There is a green light and an electric buzzing noise for a few seconds. It turns off and he flips the device up to his eyes to inspect the data.]

Well I haven't mis-aimed. There is certainly something odd about this place.

[He places the sonic screwdriver back in his waterlogged pocket.]

So here's a question. [He continues to talk to himself and walks in a semi-circle around the coral.]

Why does this feel oddly familiar?

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[The Doctor has little modesty when it comes to finding interesting or unexpected things.]

Oh.

Well you could have mentioned something about it earlier. [Again he juts out his chin and wobbles his head slightly.

He begins to walk back to the bathroom but continues the conversation.]

What kind of connection?

[No need to act so childish!]

We're still trying to figure that out. I can tell you what we do know, though. The coral seems to be what keeps us alive down here under the water. If we don't touch it at least once a month, we begin to grow ill. It can be used in place of sleeping and will accelerate the body's healing somewhat. It's a power source of some sort. Whether it's actually sentient or not is still up for debate. The High Priestess Thalassino seems to think so, and has even claimed that it can communicate. The scientists running experiments here treat it like an experimental subject.

[She pauses.]

That does not really say all that much about whether it may be sentient or not, though. We are their subjects as well. Sunday at midnight you may notice that marking glowing. That indicates the beginning of a curse. The effects are varied, I have a list if you would like to take a look. They are non-lethal and last for one week, ending the next Sunday at midnight. While the priestess was missing, it became apparent that these curses use up some of the energy the coral produces as its power dropped after each curse. Just what that may mean has not become apparent yet, but I and a few others have been tracking its energy level regardless.

Even if you keep up with touching the coral monthly, you may end up falling into a coma at some point. The cause hasn't been determined, but other than a potential for bed sores they're harmless. Most last no longer than a month.

[The Doctor reemerges with his new outfit. He is putting on his still wet bow-tie.]

We're trapped down here with no apparent way to escape, there a giant all-powerful coral that may be intelligent and has tremendous possibly space-time altering powers, there is a secret group of mad scientists that are toying with everyone's lives, a priestess, and inexplicable curses that appear out of thin air.

[He finishes with the bow-tie and snaps his fingers to emphasize his last statement.]

Sounds like fun.

[He goes back to collect his wet clothes and sits himself at a table, dumping his old clothes in a wet pile behind his chair.]

[Fun? She looks at him incredulously, going to pick up the wet clothes and wash the salt out as well as put on a pot of tea. It sounds like a sarcastic statement, but somehow...]

Well, I cannot say that it's my idea of fun, but it isn't terrible.

[Just a quick rinse and she's drying them out with magic. It's easy to wick the moisture away with a spell. The salt? Not so much.]

Of course, who would think something like this is fun?

Pfff.

[He clears his throat and looks about the welcoming center a bit randomly.

He notices Zelda as she works with his clothes. His eyes squint.]

What are you doing?

Drying your clothing. Do you not have magic on your world?

[How in the world is he an expert on time travel without magic? That's impossible, isn't it? She can't even begin to wrap her mind around the thought.]

Right magic.

Look, I'm not falling for that one.

[He leans back in his chair and folds his arms across his chest.]

Underwater bubbles, giant god-like corals, the whole lot. I get it.

But magic? There's no such thing.

Edited 2012-11-26 05:08 (UTC)

Is that so?

[Zelda folds his clothes neatly and walks over, setting them on the table before him. Perfectly dry. There's surely a machine out there in the whole of time and space that could accomplish that, but she doesn't seem to be carrying anything.]

Well, there are many different terms for it. Mana control, artes, energy manipulation... whatever you call it when someone directly influences the energy all around us on your world. That is what I am doing.

Yes, that is so. [He says rather flatly.]

Psychokinetic manipulation of ambient energy is perfectly explainable. Magic is what silly people use to explain what they don't understand.

How did you do that? [He points at his clothes.]

I drew away the moisture by polarizing the water element in the area and setting the opposite pole to the drain in the sink. If I hadn't rinsed it first, the salt would have made your clothing stiff.

[She frowns slightly.]

It is a little rude to say that people who use the term "magic" don't understand what they are doing, don't you think? The meaning of a word is hardly universal.

Impressive and quite skillful. But it's still not magic.

[He's not angry but he does keep his arms folded over his chest for a moment.

Seeing her get upset about it, he backpedals slightly.

It's true that the meaning of words aren't universal nor are customs. Regardless, he remains adamant that 'magic', doesn't exist.]

Fine. It's magical. But there's still a perfectly good explanation for it.

[What was it about this man's attitude that made her want to stick around and argue semantics all day? She can't let herself sink to that level.]

You can call it what you wish. Here, read this over while I finish up with the tea. It's basic, but it is a good starting point.

[Zelda leaves the Doctor with a brochure, heading back over to the kitchen area.]

[The Doctor reads through it in only a few seconds.]

Practically every need has been attended to.

It's odd. [He taps the brochure on the table. His thoughts shifting he looks back to where Zelda is finishing the tea.]

It didn't say anything about scientists.

[In fact, it had an eerily calm, almost cheerful, tone about it. There's something unsettling about that to the Doctor.]

We run the committee jointly with some of the locals now. I don't believe they would want that printed, so I simply tell anyone that looks like they can handle it. Most people are content to simply wait out their time here.

[Kettle set, she returns to the table.]

Considering the fact that you were trying to figure this place out before you even dried off, I thought you might want to know.

But not you. You felt like something was wrong and had to figure it out.

[He smiles.]

I have been told that being nosy is a flaw of mine.

[Her tendency to poke where she doesn't belong has hurt a lot of people. She has to learn to reign it in, but not on this matter. The city was already hurting people, and she couldn't let it send people like Link back home. The screeching of the kettle startles her out of her thoughts.]

Do you take milk or sugar, Doctor?

You're not nosy. You're curious! And don't let anyone tell you it's a flaw.

Two sugars please.

[He relaxes a little.]

You can always tell how civilized a culture is by their tea.

[Zelda stands to get the pot.]

Is that so? Well, it's not exactly high tea, but I hope it suits your tastes.

[It's a fairly light tea with a calming, floral scent. She's found that even people who don't like to actually drink it calm down a bit when they smell it, so it's what she serves here in the Welcome Center. After setting up a tray, she walks back over to the table, pouring them both a cup and putting two sugars in for the Doctor. She takes a drink first. Zelda's met a lot of paranoid people who thought that she might be serving them poison, so she's gotten into the habit of showing that it's safe to drink rather than waiting for the guest to take a sip.]

[The Doctor takes the saucer and cup in hand and sips the tea. The possibility of being poisoned is far from his mind.]

Not bad.

[He smirks, holding his cup and saucer off the table and at chest height.]

How did you find out what was going on behind the scenes?

I watched people and asked questions. There have been a few opportunities to uncover more information. The island was attacked this summer, and there was a lab beneath it. We found quite a lot of information there. I tell anyone that asks.

[Zelda tucks her hair behind her ears, glancing out the window.]

Beyond the fact that many people would feel frightened if they knew we were experimental subjects, I see no reason to conceal the information. If we all work together, we're more likely to figure out what's going on.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

[He sips his tea again.]

So who else is helping you?

On a full time basis? Well, Guy, Tech, and Mr. Crocker all monitor the coral's energy levels. Darkleer has been rather helpful as well. Many different people have uncovered information from both the ruins of the church and the island. Sir Motochika used to seek to leave the city as well, but I believe he has since become rather content here. Almost everyone settles down over time. It's especially disturbing since some documents we uncovered indicate that the locals are being pacified with a gas from the coral. The possibility that the same is happening to us is high.

[What it is that keeps her from losing motivation? Guilt, pure and simple.]

[The Doctor sniffs the air a few times.]

That is disturbing. I suppose that's why they don't seem particularly bothered that so many newcomers just pop into their home.

[He sets his tea down on the table.]

So what's the plan?

[The plan? She sets her cup of tea down as well, looking at him blankly for a moment. Then she laughs, leaning forward.]

Well, you certainly like to get things done, don't you? I am not one to act without as much information as possible. At this juncture, I feel that it's best to continue learning about this place as much as possible before taking any drastic action. I've distributed a few copies of my research so that it isn't lost in the event that I disappear from the city.

Well that's a little bit boring isn't it?

[He slumps in his chair.]

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