On Gallifrey, someone commits a treasonous act and transmits the Doctor's bio-extract from The Matrix to a unknown being. Meanwhile on Earth, two students spend the night in a underground crypt in Amsterdam and are attacked by a alien creature.
ARC OF INFINITY BY: JOHNNY BYRNE Part One First Air Date: 3 January 1983 Running time: 24:37 [SCENE_BREAK] OMEGA: You have made your choice? TIME LORD: Yes. We are ready to begin. OMEGA: Excellent. And your choice? TIME LORD: It has not been easy, but time, present location, personality, for these and other reasons, it must be the Doctor. OMEGA: The Doctor? Yes. Clever. Most ingenious. The perfect choice, Time Lord. [SCENE_BREAK] DAMON: The security circuit. Cut the scrambler. DAMON: That's odd. Photon cell burnout? TALOR: Okay? DAMON: Yes. DAMON: I don't believe this. Talor, look. TALOR: What is it? DAMON: Someone's transmitting the biodata extract of one of the Time Lords. TALOR: Cut it! This is treason. I must report it at once. [SCENE_BREAK] DOCTOR: And such a simple repair job. NYSSA: Why didn't you do it sooner? DOCTOR: Well, you know how it is. You put things off for a day, next thing you know it's a hundred years later. NYSSA: It'll make quite a difference to have audio link-up on the scanner again. DOCTOR: Mmm. DOCTOR: Let's see if it works. [SCENE_BREAK] FRAZER: No, everywhere is full. You got to sleep rough tonight. Yeah, the hostel from tomorrow. That's the number I gave you. Look, I'd better go. I'll see you at the airport tomorrow. Take care. STUART: Okay? Oh no, a policeman. FRAZER: Steady. The Dutch are a very civilised race. They don't put people into prison for losing a passport. STUART: No, but they can deport you. FRAZER: Oh, come on, let's grab something to eat. Anyway, our real worry is where we're going to sleep tonight. STUART: I know a place. Not the most appealing, but central and very cheap. FRAZER: Sounds perfect. STUART: And literally as quiet as the grave. [SCENE_BREAK] DOCTOR: Perfect. NYSSA: We have an audio system, but nothing to listen to. DOCTOR: And now we have nothing to look at. Couldn't be better. Peace and quiet is just what the doctor ordered. NYSSA: Doctor? There are many other repairs to do. DOCTOR: Well, there's nothing urgent, is there? NYSSA: The navigational system? That must be faulty. We never seem to arrive where we intend. DOCTOR: No. Well, you see, ever since the Cybermen damaged the console NYSSA: And that's another thing. The TARDIS used to be in a state of temporal grace, you said. Guns couldn't be fired. DOCTOR: Yes. Well, nobody's perfect. NYSSA: Doctor. [SCENE_BREAK] NYSSA (OOV.): Doctor, come quickly! [SCENE_BREAK] OMEGA: The data has been received, Time Lord, but not the booster element. Why? TIME LORD: I had to close down transmission. A fault developed. OMEGA: What will you do? TIME LORD: Check to see it wasn't detected. OMEGA: And if it were? TIME LORD: I'll deal with it. Perhaps we should delay until I have. OMEGA: It is too late. Already the TARDIS is under my control. [SCENE_BREAK] DOCTOR: Sensors show we're converging with a massive source of magnetic radiation. NYSSA: But there's nothing out there. Just light years of black empty space. DOCTOR: Well, something's causing it. We must change course. NYSSA: To where? DOCTOR: Anywhere, so as long as it's away from here. [SCENE_BREAK] STUART: There we are. FRAZER: We're spending the night there? STUART: Yes. [SCENE_BREAK] NYSSA: What's happening? DOCTOR: I don't know. NYSSA: These readings don't make sense. DOCTOR: I know. [SCENE_BREAK] FRAZER: Hey, where are you going? STUART: Just follow me. [SCENE_BREAK] FRAZER: What is this place? It's so dark. STUART: Here, take this. (a torch) Trust me, Colin. Have I ever lead you astray? FRAZER: There's always a first time. Who owns this place? STUART: The state. It's a kind of forgotten national treasure. No one ever comes here except the odd gardener during the day. FRAZER: Wait a minute. This is a crypt! STUART: So? FRAZER: I thought you said this was a cellar. STUART: Didn't you see the ornamentation? The fountain? FRAZER: Are you serious about staying the night here? STUART: Of course. FRAZER: Now I know you're crazy. STUART: Come on. Our nest's through here. [SCENE_BREAK] STUART: Not quite the Ritz, but it's dry and warm. FRAZER: What's in the pipes? STUART: Water. We're below sea level here. Stop the pumps and Amsterdam would take up its stilts and float. How'd you like it? FRAZER: Well, I'm not too keen on the neighbours. [SCENE_BREAK] DAMON: The analysis checks out. TALOR: You're sure? DAMON: Yes, it's the Doctor's biodata extract. What did the Castellan have to say? TALOR: In spite of the urgency of my request, he chooses not to be available until tomorrow. DAMON: You realise only members of the High Council could have transmitted that data? TALOR: I know. We just have to wait. DAMON: Do you need me any more? TALOR: No. Good night. DAMON: Good night. TALOR: Good evening. TALOR: Impulse laser? [SCENE_BREAK] STUART: Are you really going to sleep like that? FRAZER: What's the matter with that? STUART: You're still fully dressed. FRAZER: I'm not taking any chances. STUART: Oh, come on. It's only a pump house. The worst that can happen is that we're caught by the police. FRAZER: I find this place spooky. STUART: At least take your boots off. [SCENE_BREAK] TIME LORD: As I feared, transmission was detected, but it has been dealt with. OMEGA: How? TIME LORD: An accident has been arranged. OMEGA: Bonding can take place immediately? TIME LORD: As long as you are positive there is no other way. OMEGA: I am not of your dimension, Time Lord. I have the means to enter, but without the physical imprint of bonding, I cannot remain among you. [SCENE_BREAK] DOCTOR: I can't control the TARDIS! NYSSA: Can't you override the control? DOCTOR: I just tried. NYSSA: Doctor! NYSSA: What is it? DOCTOR: Something's coming through. NYSSA: A materialisation? DOCTOR: No, extradimensional. DOCTOR: Quick, Nyssa, out of here! [SCENE_BREAK] The Doctor and Nyssa slow to a halt. The Doctor turns around to see Omega, who then glides inside him.) DOCTOR: No! No! NYSSA: Doctor! [SCENE_BREAK] FRAZER: Robin! Come on, wake up. There's something going on inside. STUART: What? FRAZER: There's somebody in there. STUART: You're imagining it. Go to sleep. FRAZER: I tell you I heard something. STUART: You sort it out. I want to sleep. [SCENE_BREAK] FRAZER: That wasn't here before. [SCENE_BREAK] NYSSA: Doctor? Oh, thank goodness you're all right. DOCTOR: How long have I been here? NYSSA: Not long. What was that thing? It just appeared from nowhere. DOCTOR: From another dimension. NYSSA: Has it gone? DOCTOR: From the TARDIS, yes. NYSSA: For a moment I thought it had taken you over. DOCTOR: Well, for a moment it did. What you saw was an attempted temporal bonding. The molecular realignment of two basically incompatible lifeforms. NYSSA: I checked the sensors. This creature is formed from anti-matter. DOCTOR: Are you sure? Then it's worse than I feared. NYSSA: But the creature failed. It's not in our dimension now. DOCTOR: Oh, it is somewhere, and halfway to achieving its purpose. It won't have given up that easily. NYSSA: To remain in this universe, the creature would have to reverse its polarity. I mean, if it failed DOCTOR: Matter and anti-matter in collision. Yes, I take your point. Come on, we've got work to do. [SCENE_BREAK] STUART: Colin? Colin? [SCENE_BREAK] STUART: Colin? Okay, very funny. Now cut it out. [SCENE_BREAK] ZORAC: Well, Lord President? BORUSA: The Matrix confirms what we already know, Cardinal Zorac. The creature is intelligent, immensely powerful, and formed from antimatter. ZORAC: Damnable business. Thalia, you're the expert on this, what do you have to say? THALIA: Well, in theory, movement between dimensions is possible. In practice, less so. But the same was said about time travel, and that has long been a reality. HEDIN: Has the Matrix fixed the location of the creature? BORUSA: It can't. Temporal distortion is extremely severe. THALIA: At present the creature is shielded, but that will soon decay. ZORAC: Then we shall know precisely where the creature is. CASTELLAN: But that will be too late, unless the bond was severed. THALIA: That, of course, is another matter. But we all know what that would mean for the Doctor. [SCENE_BREAK] NYSSA: (reads) Rondel, intergalactic region devoid of all stellar activity. In former times the location of collapsed Q star. NYSSA: Q star? DOCTOR: They're very rare. On burnout it creates quardal magnetism. That's what the sensors picked up. It's the only force known to shield anti-matter. NYSSA: That's what's shielding the creature? DOCTOR: Has to be. But it's known to decay rapidly. Anything else? NYSSA: Not much. Just the name the ancients gave to this region. The Arc of Infinity. DOCTOR: That's it, Nyssa. That's how it came through. What we saw was the gateway to the dimensions. The Arc of Infinity. [SCENE_BREAK] OMEGA: The bonding registered in the Matrix? TIME LORD: Very clearly. OMEGA: And the High Council? TIME LORD: They had no choice but to act as we predicted. But you, I detect a weakness. OMEGA: My concern, Time Lord, not yours. Carry out your instructions and all will be well. [SCENE_BREAK] NYSSA: So, if this creature can't bond with you, it can have no real existence in this universe. DOCTOR: Right. NYSSA: But to do that, it would have to have detailed biological information about you. DOCTOR: Which in my case exists only in the Matrix on Gallifrey. NYSSA: So someone there passed it on. [SCENE_BREAK] MAXIL: Feed this into the Matrix. Well, don't you recognise the Lord President's seal? DAMON: I will need to confirm your authorisation. MAXIL: Arrest him. DAMON: Please, please. Well, perhaps I spoke in haste, but to recall a TARDIS, and without prior announcement, well, you must understand my position. MAXIL: It's not without due and proper consideration that this decision has been made. DAMON: Where do you want the TARDIS located? MAXIL: The security compound. And only I am to have access. Tell my men when the TARDIS arrives. They'll be waiting outside. [SCENE_BREAK] NYSSA: There was a massive energy transfer. DOCTOR: Hmm. This creature controls the shift of the Arc. Just think of it, Nyssa. With such power you can unlock the door to travel between the dimensions of matter and anti-matter. NYSSA: Doctor, we've changed course. DOCTOR: High Council of Time Lords. We're being taken back to Gallifrey. NYSSA: Why? DOCTOR: I don't know. It must be urgent. Only twice before in our history has the recall circuit been used. [SCENE_BREAK] STUART: Colin! It's me, Colin. Come on, let's get out of here. I was just about to fetch the police. STUART: Come on, let's get out of this hell hole! [SCENE_BREAK] MAXIL: The TARDIS has arrived. DAMON: Yes, I was about to inform you. The compound is secure. MAXIL: Excellent. DAMON: Commander Maxil, why are you treating the Doctor like a criminal? MAXIL: I'm simply following orders. [SCENE_BREAK] NYSSA: Where are we? DOCTOR: The security compound in the heart of the Citadel. DOCTOR: Well, they're taking no chances. NYSSA: We're locked in. DOCTOR: Handprint activated, from the outside. Fetch my indent kit from the workbench, will you? I might just be able to trip it. Quickly! [SCENE_BREAK] RECEPTIONIST: Look, come back in half an hour, okay? MAN: Okay, thank you. RECEPTIONIST: Bye. MAN: Bye-bye. STUART: You have a room booked for me. RECEPTIONIST: What's your name, please? STUART: Stuart. RECEPTIONIST: Ah yes. How long will you be staying for, Mister Stuart? STUART: I don't know. A few days. RECEPTIONIST: No problem. You are in room thirty four. Oh, one moment, please. Are you the Mister Stuart who reserved with Mister Frazer? Mister Colin Frazer? STUART: What about it? RECEPTIONIST: Well, will Mister Frazer be checking in today? STUART: Don't count on it. RECEPTIONIST: Sorry? STUART: What I said. Colin Frazer won't be coming here. Not today, not tomorrow. If you want the details, ask the police. Perhaps when they stop indifferent they might start looking for him. RECEPTIONIST: I'm sorry. I wish I could help. I'm only asking because there's a telephone message for him, that's all. STUART: Oh. What message? RECEPTIONIST: His cousin will arrive at Schiphol Airport tomorrow morning at ten thirty. [SCENE_BREAK] NYSSA: I don't understand, Doctor. DOCTOR: Not now, Nyssa. NYSSA: Why are we locked in? Surely the Time Lords have brought you back to help find the creature and prevent its bonding with you. DOCTOR: I wish I could believe that. NYSSA: What other reason would there be? DOCTOR: It won't be that easy to track this creature down. The universe is rather a big place. And there is an easier alternative. NYSSA: To kill you? Is that why they've brought you back? DOCTOR: Possibly. NYSSA: You did it! DOCTOR: I doubt it. Not with this kind of lock. And certainly not as quickly. [SCENE_BREAK] DOCTOR: This way. [SCENE_BREAK] GUARD (OOV.): Commander? MAXIL: Yes? NYSSA: Where are we trying to get to? DOCTOR: The computer room. It's not far now. NYSSA: Will it be guarded? DOCTOR: Well, they certainly know we've arrived. DOCTOR: Quickly! DOCTOR: Hello, I'm the Doctor. NYSSA: Doctor!
Arc of Infinity - part 1