INFERNO
by: DON HOUGHTON
5:15pm - 5:40pm
[SCENE_BREAK]
1: INT. DOCTOR'S GARAGE
SECTION LEADER ELIZABETH SHAW: (Shouts.) Go on, Doctor! Go now!
DOCTOR: (Shouts.) I can't! It's still too erratic!
(A red glow comes through the open door. PETRA turns to look.)
DR. PETRA WILLIAMS: (Screams.) Greg!
(GREG and the SECTION LEADER turn. Through the open doors, a wall of lava is pouring towards the garage, engulfing everything in its path. The survivors within watch helplessly as death flows straight at them...)
[SCENE_BREAK]
2: INT. DOCTOR'S GARAGE
(The DOCTOR lies unconscious on the floor of the garage. All is quiet. In place of the neat storage shelves of the fascist world, the garage is lined with the packed wooden shelves. The TARDIS console and Bessie have also made it back. He has made it back to his world. A buzzing is heard from the doors and they open. LIZ is stood outside holding the sonic screwdriver. At a glance she takes in the scene presented to her.)
LIZ: Doctor!
(She runs over to him and quickly feels his neck and forehead. She then runs back to the doors.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
3: EXT. DOCTOR'S GARAGE
(She yells across the area.)
LIZ: (Shouts.) Sergeant! Over here! Quickly!
[SCENE_BREAK]
4: INT. DOCTOR'S GARAGE
(She runs back inside and starts to examine the DOCTOR again. SERGEANT BENTON quickly follows.)
SERGEANT BENTON: What's the matter?
(He sees who is back.)
SERGEANT BENTON: It's the Doctor!
LIZ: (Sharply.) I can see that. Tell the Brigadier.
SERGEANT BENTON: Right, Miss Shaw.
(He runs off as LIZ starts to undo the DOCTOR'S collar and tie.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
5: INT. CENTRAL CONTROL
(The countdown clock reads 3:22:38. In a quiet calm central control that presents a stark contrast to the chaos of the "other" world, STAHLMAN, still wearing his white gloves, is giving new instructions to an increasing doubtful PETRA.)
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: It's perfectly straightforward, Petra - we boost all power circuits to maximum and that'll give us a further acceleration of...
(He checks a clipboard which rests on top of the defunct computer.)
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: ...three point six percent.
(He looks at PETRA and sees the indecision on her face.)
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: Well, do you find some fault in my calculations?
PETRA WILLIAMS: Of course not, Professor Stahlman.
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: Well then, what's the matter?
PETRA WILLIAMS: We're already twelve percent over the planned acceleration. Well, another three percent'll take us well over the safety margin.
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: Oh, safety margins are for cautious old women like Sir Keith. I know perfectly well what I'm doing. Pass on my instructions please.
(He walks off towards the drill-head. GREG steps down from the upper level of consoles and, walking past PETRA, sees the troubled look on her face as she stares at the clipboard.)
GREG SUTTON: You look worried.
PETRA WILLIAMS: He's ordered a further acceleration - three point six percent.
GREG SUTTON: (Shocked.) But he can't do that!
PETRA WILLIAMS: I'm afraid he can.
GREG SUTTON: We're pushing the safety limits now.
PETRA WILLIAMS: Yes, I know.
GREG SUTTON: I'm gonna have a word with him.
(GREG moves towards the drill-head. PETRA runs after him and stops him.)
PETRA WILLIAMS: Greg! It's no use! He usually listens to me, but this time...
GREG SUTTON: But not any more, eh? Let's face it, Petra, he's losing his grip.
PETRA WILLIAMS: Professor Stahlman's been working on this project for years. He must know what's going on.
GREG SUTTON: But he can still make mistakes, can't he? If he makes one at this stage, it could be a lulu!
(GREG is about to set off once more but PETRA again stops him.)
PETRA WILLIAMS: Greg, let me talk to him first.
GREG SUTTON: All right. You go and soften him up and I'll close in for the kill.
(They smile at each other and PETRA goes after STAHLMAN. Meanwhile, the BRIGADIER enters central control, heading towards his office. SERGEANT BENTON comes running after him.)
SERGEANT BENTON: Sir?
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: Well, Benton?
SERGEANT BENTON: 'Scuse me, sir, but it's the Doctor - he's...well, he's back.
(Stood nearby, GREG overhears this.)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: Well, where is he?
SERGEANT BENTON: Well, he's in the hut, sir. Miss Shaw's with him.
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: Right, I'll come back with you now.
SERGEANT BENTON: Right, sir.
(The two men leave.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
6: INT. DRILL-HEAD
(A technician helps STAHLMAN on with a white lab coat. The PROFESSOR walks over to a waiting PETRA.)
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: My dear Miss Williams, much as I value your services, I must remind you that you're not in con...
(He is struck by another attack from the effect of the slime on his hand. He hears a sharp whistling tone in his head and he stares upwards in pain...)
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: ...trol of the...
(His voice tails off. After a moment, he hears PETRA'S words echoing in his mind...)
PETRA WILLIAMS: Professor! Professor Stahlman!
(He screws his eyes up to clear his head. He then looks at a concerned PETRA.)
PETRA WILLIAMS: Are you all right? You look ill.
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: Yes, I...I have a headache, that's all.
PETRA WILLIAMS: You really ought to go to the sickbay.
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: I'm perfectly all right.
(He walks off. GREG enters the drill-head area and goes up to PETRA. She shakes her head but he carries straight on to the PROFESSOR.)
GREG SUTTON: Look, Professor Stahlman - this accelerated drilling - it just isn't on, you know.
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: Someone else is about to tell me how to run my own project.
GREG SUTTON: Well, we should be slowing down at this stage, not forcing the pace.
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: The drilling will continue at the pace I decide.
GREG SUTTON: Professor, you've been working on this project for years, right? What's the mad rush in the last few hours?
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: We must reach penetration zero at the earliest possible moment.
(Again, he is mentally attacked by the force from the Earth's depths.)
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: Every...second...
(His eyes widen and he reels. GREG'S words echo at him...)
GREG SUTTON: Professor? Professor?!
(The PROFESSOR regains control of himself again. He looks sharply at GREG.)
GREG SUTTON: You need a rest.
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: I don't want to discuss the matter any further. Please carry out my instructions at once.
(He stalks out of the drill-head area watched by an intensely concerned PETRA.)
GREG SUTTON: (To PETRA.) I thought you were supposed to soften him up?
PETRA WILLIAMS: He just wasn't listening! Greg, he's ill! He had some sort of attack!
GREG SUTTON: Yes, I saw it. Let's face it - this whole thing's getting too much for him, he's cracking up.
[SCENE_BREAK]
7: INT. DOCTOR'S GARAGE
(A camp bed has been brought into the DOCTOR'S garage and he lies on it unconscious. As the BRIGADIER watches, LIZ listens to his chest.)
LIZ: Hearts beating steadily.
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: Both of them?
LIZ: Yes.
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: Well, what's the matter with him?
LIZ: Some sort of coma.
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: How long before he comes out of it?
LIZ: Difficult to say. Could be a few hours...a few months.
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: (Concerned.) Months?
LIZ: Some people never recover.
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: I'll send for a doctor.
LIZ: I happen to be a doctor, Brigadier - remember?
(She feels the DOCTOR'S brow. The BRIGADIER is impatient...)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: Well, shouldn't he be in hospital?
LIZ: I think it'd be very dangerous to move him at all.
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: What, leave him here?
LIZ: Why not? It's quiet. We can keep him warm.
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: Miss Shaw, I really think he needs medical attention.
LIZ: (Insistent.) Brigadier, I will look after him.
[SCENE_BREAK]
8: INT. CENTRAL CONTROL
(GREG, undaunted, again approaches the PROFESSOR who is stood at the upper level consoles, checking readings against his notebook.)
GREG SUTTON: If you could spare me a moment, Professor? I've been checking an emergency flange on number two output pipe.
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: It was repaired some time ago.
GREG SUTTON: Yes, well the man didn't do a very good job and at the rate we're drilling, that flange could blow at any moment.
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: (Curtly.) Then what do you suggest?
GREG SUTTON: Well, if you could slow down the drilling rate, I can get a proper job done.
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: Another transparent excuse for delay!
GREG SUTTON: (Angrily.) Excuse, nothing! At the speed we're drilling, we could blow this place sky high before you ever reach penetration zero.
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: Mr. Sutton, you're here on sufferance. That being the case, I suggest...
GREG SUTTON: (Shouts.) I'm here because I was sent for by Sir Keith! And believe me, working with you is no pleasure!
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: Then I suggest you stop interfering in matters beyond your understanding.
(GREG lets out a huge sigh of frustration.)
GREG SUTTON: I'm trying to help! I am supposed to be an advisor!
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: Yes, one of Sir Keith's little army of experts. Well, we don't need your advice, Mr. Sutton. Now that ridiculous Doctor has gone, Sir Keith himself has gone, why don't you follow their example? And then we might make some progress.
(He walks off back towards the drill-head. GREG shouts after him.)
GREG SUTTON: Don't worry, I'll do just that! As far as I'm concerned you can blow yourself to kingdom come!
(The various technicians look up. GREG starts to walk out but PETRA runs after him.)
PETRA WILLIAMS: Greg?! You're not serious, are you?
GREG SUTTON: Of course I'm serious. If I can't do anything else, at least I can save my own neck.
(He goes back to her.)
GREG SUTTON: Why don't you come with me?
PETRA WILLIAMS: You're convinced there'll be a blow up!
GREG SUTTON: I'd take odds on it - well?
PETRA WILLIAMS: I can't leave, you know that.
GREG SUTTON: Loyal to the last, eh?
PETRA WILLIAMS: I wish you'd change your mind about leaving.
GREG SUTTON: Why?
PETRA WILLIAMS: Well, if anything were to happen, I...I'd like to think you were here.
GREG SUTTON: (Bitterly.) Just for the good of the project?
PETRA WILLIAMS: (Shouts.) No!
(She collects herself.)
PETRA WILLIAMS: Not entirely. (Smiles.) I've just got used to your being around.
GREG SUTTON: (Smiles.) Maybe I haven't been wasting my time down here after all?
(Their new understanding is rudely interrupted by the blare of the alarm klaxon...)
[SCENE_BREAK]
9: INT. DRILL-HEAD
(Smoke pours out of the roaring drill-head. At the base of number two output pipe, the green substance starts to emerge.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
10: INT. DOCTOR'S GARAGE
(The alarm noise have reached the DOCTOR'S hut, the BRIGADIER is on the phone...)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: (Into phone.) Hello. Get me control. (He listens, then angrily.) Yes, I can hear the alarms. Now this is Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart, now get me control!
(On the camp bed, the DOCTOR'S face spasms as the noise of the alarm reaches through to him.)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: (Into phone.) Hello, control? Lethbridge Stewart here. Now, what's happening? (He listens.) Yes. (Listens.) Yes, yes, yes, go on! (Listens.) How serious?
(The DOCTOR, still hearing the klaxon, suddenly groans. LIZ is instantly by his side.)
LIZ: Doctor!
(His eyes still closed, the DOCTOR struggles to speak...)
DOCTOR: Number two...number two output pipe blown...
LIZ: Doctor, can you hear me?
DOCTOR: Number two output...output pipe...
(The BRIGADIER, now off the phone, looks down at the DOCTOR in amazement.)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: What did he say?
DOCTOR: Very dangerous...very dangerous...number two...output pipe blown.
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: How on earth did he know?
LIZ: What?
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: The emergency flange on number two output pipe has blown. It's just this minute happened!
DOCTOR: (Groans.) ...
LIZ: (To the BRIGADIER.) Listen...
DOCTOR: (Feverishly.) There's only...only one thing...one thing to do...reverse, huh...reverse all systems...reverse all systems immediately.
LIZ: Reverse all systems.
DOCTOR: Reverse all systems...!
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: Delirious...
DOCTOR: Yes...
LIZ: He knew about the leak, almost as though he expected it.
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: But how could he? Look at him - he's still in a coma.
LIZ: Doctor, can you hear me?
(But the DOCTOR is again still.)
LIZ: Doctor? Doctor?
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: It's no good.
LIZ: Keep an eye on him, Brigadier. I think central control ought to know about this.
(She walks towards the doors of the garage.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
11: INT. CENTRAL CONTROL
(Technicians are running across central control in a panic. STAHLMAN runs out of the smoke-filled drill-head, shouting as he goes.)
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: (Shouts.) ... This is only a minor emergency! It can be contained!
(PETRA and GREG are at the upper level consoles.)
PETRA WILLIAMS: Professor, stop the drill!
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: No, positively not.
GREG SUTTON: Then you'd better do something and quick, Professor, otherwise you'll bust this place wide open!
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: Have those riggers arrived yet?
GREG SUTTON: Look, an army of riggers are not going to get you out of this one!
(STAHLMAN sees technicians coming out of the drill-head and goes over to them, haranguing them back into the smoky interior.)
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: (Shouts.) Oh, get back there - go on! Get back to your posts all of you! Back to the drill-head ...
(GREG, furious, watches him go.)
GREG SUTTON: Look at him - he's out of his mind! He's not even trying to think of a solution!
(LIZ has entered central control.)
PETRA WILLIAMS: Is there one?!
LIZ: What would happen if you reversed all the systems?
GREG SUTTON: What?
LIZ: Reversed everything.
GREG SUTTON: Well it's not such a crazy idea. It's been done before.
PETRA WILLIAMS: With an oil shaft?
GREG SUTTON: Yes, in Arabia. You push all the coolant down the output pipes and draw up the debris from the bottom of the shaft in the input pipes.
LIZ: Reverse the vortex?
GREG SUTTON: Yes.
LIZ: It's a possibility - theoretically.
(PETRA considers...)
PETRA WILLIAMS: Professor Stahlman would never permit it!
LIZ: Just do it.
GREG SUTTON: Why not? What about it, Petra?
(PETRA, for once, acts independently.)
PETRA WILLIAMS: Come on!
(They run off.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
12: INT. DOCTOR'S GARAGE
(The DOCTOR still lies with his eyes closed but his face is creased in pain as hears the continuing klaxon. Suddenly the alarm stops and the DOCTOR'S features relax...)
[SCENE_BREAK]
13: INT. CENTRAL CONTROL
(GREG is at one console with PETRA. He crosses to LIZ.)
GREG SUTTON: Well, I reckon it's working.
LIZ: Seems to be.
GREG SUTTON: That was a brilliant idea of yours.
LIZ: Oh, it wasn't my idea.
GREG SUTTON: Then who? No, don't tell me - the Doctor. I heard he was back.
LIZ: That's right - the Doctor.
[SCENE_BREAK]
14: INT. DRILL-HEAD
(There is still a small amount of smoke coming from the drill-head.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
15: INT. CENTRAL CONTROL
(GREG watches as STAHLMAN confronts PETRA.)
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: I gave no such orders.
(She stands her ground.)
PETRA WILLIAMS: No, Professor Stahlman, I did.
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: Even you, Petra.
(Frowning, he walks off.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
16: INT. DOCTOR'S GARAGE
(The DOCTOR starts to stir. LIZ'S words echo through to him.)
LIZ: Doctor, are you all right?
(He slowly opens his eyes.)
DOCTOR: (Quietly.) Liz? It is Liz?
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: How are you, Doctor?
DOCTOR: Fine, Brigadier.
(He stares at the BRIGADIER.)
DOCTOR: You know, you really do look better with that moustache.
(LIZ and the BRIGADIER look at each other in puzzlement.)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: Delirious, poor chap.
(The DOCTOR tries to sit up. LIZ helps him.)
LIZ: Doctor, you really ought to...rest. You...you've been unconscious.
DOCTOR: Yes, I'm very well aware of that.
(He feels his wrist.)
DOCTOR: Oh...oh, the pulse seems to be more or less normal...at a hundred and seventy.
(LIZ smiles. The DOCTOR feels his chest.)
DOCTOR: Yeah, yes, both ticking away quite nicely. Although the right one seems a fraction faster. Still that's only to be expected, isn't it?
LIZ: Doctor, where did you go? Where did the TARDIS console take you?
(The DOCTOR becomes somewhat fearful and nervous as he starts to think of his recent experiences...)
DOCTOR: Same time, same place...only a different dimension. It was a parallel world, Liz. Terrible things are happening there - terrible things. It wasn't this Earth, and...yet it was. I didn't go...backwards into the past, or forwards into the future. I slipped sideways.
(He swings his legs off the camp bed as if he is about to get up.)
LIZ: (Gently.) You must lie down.
DOCTOR: Brigade Leader...?
(The BRIGADIER and LIZ look at each other at the use of this unfamiliar title.)
DOCTOR: That technician, the one who went berserk and started killing people, have you found him yet?
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: No.
DOCTOR: And Stahlman, how's he?
LIZ: Still as difficult as ever.
DOCTOR: But no worse?
LIZ: Well, I haven't noticed.
DOCTOR: How's the drilling?
(Suddenly, there is a knock at the garage door. Watched by the DOCTOR, LIZ goes and opens it up with the sonic screwdriver. SIR KEITH GOLD, his left arm in a sling, walks in. The DOCTOR is both amazed and delighted.)
DOCTOR: Sir Keith!
SIR KEITH GOLD: My dear fellow, so you've come back to us after all.
DOCTOR: So you're not dead?!
(LIZ closes the doors.)
SIR KEITH GOLD: Well, no, I came very close to it though.
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: Why, what happened?
SIR KEITH GOLD: Car crash.
DOCTOR: But you're not dead?
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: (Slightly embarrassed.) You can see he's not dead.
(He moves closer to SIR KEITH and speaks quietly.)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: The Doctor's been ill, sir.
(The DOCTOR starts to mutter excitedly to himself...)
DOCTOR: That's excellent! Excellent!
SIR KEITH GOLD: Well, yes, yes, I think so too! Brigadier, I shall have to lay very serious charges against Professor Stahlman. He ordered my chauffeur to delay my return.
(The DOCTOR thinks furiously and once more mutters aloud to himself...)
DOCTOR: So not everything runs parallel.
SIR KEITH GOLD: (To the BRIGADIER.) He's been ill, you say?
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: Yes, a coma.
DOCTOR: (To himself.) Yes, of course, of course, an infinity of universes! Ergo - an infinite number of choices. So free will is not an illusion after all! The pattern can be changed!
(Behind him, the BRIGADIER crosses to the phone.)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: (Into phone.) Hello, get me the medical section will you? (He listens.) Thank you.
(The DOCTOR jumps up and strides over to him.)
DOCTOR: Now look...
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: (Into phone.) Yes, very well.
(The DOCTOR snatches the phone from him.)
DOCTOR: Now, wait a minute. I'm not sick, I'm not in need of a doctor and I'm not a raving idiot!
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: (Reassuringly.) No, no, no, of course not. Perhaps you've...had some sort of nightmare.
LIZ: He did disappear - we saw him!
(The DOCTOR, as intense as he's ever been, goes back to SIR KEITH.)
DOCTOR: Sir Keith, unless we do something very, very quickly indeed, there's going to be a disaster.
SIR KEITH GOLD: Well, how do you know, Doctor?
DOCTOR: Because I've already seen it!
[SCENE_BREAK]
17: INT. CENTRAL CONTROL
(Followed by LIZ, the BRIGADIER and SIR KEITH, the DOCTOR runs into central control and straight up to STAHLMAN.)
DOCTOR: Professor Stahlman?! You must stop this drilling immediately!
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: (Furious.) Who let this maniac back in here?!
DOCTOR: (Shouts.) Do you hear me? Close down this operation now!
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: (Shouts.) Brigadier - arrest this man!
(The DOCTOR yells at all in the room...)
DOCTOR: (Shouts.) Now listen to me - all of you! You are not to attempt to penetrate the Earth's crust!
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: (Shouts.) Brigadier, you hear what I say?
(The BRIGADIER steps forward.)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: Doctor, please?
DOCTOR: (Shouts.) Now you get out of my light!
(The DOCTOR runs to a console, picks up a spanner and starts to hammer at one of the consoles. Sparks and smoke erupt from it.)
DOCTOR: (Shouts.) Now stop this drilling!
(The BRIGADIER runs up and tries to restrain him.)
LIZ: (Shouts.) Doctor!
DOCTOR: (Shouts.) Stop this drilling! You don't understand, do you?!
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: (Shouts.) Benton, get some help - quickly!
DOCTOR: (Shouts.) You've got stop this drilling!
GREG SUTTON: (Shouts.) Now Doctor, calm down!
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: You see? Completely demented!
DOCTOR: (Shouts.) Stop this drilling!
(BENTON and two soldiers run up. As the DOCTOR protests incoherently, the two soldiers start to drag him away.)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: (Shouts.) All right, Benton, go on! Take him to the sick bay and be careful - I don't want him hurt!
LIZ: (Shouts.) No, you can't!
(The DOCTOR struggles to get a last word with LIZ before he is dragged away.)
DOCTOR: (Shouts.) Now Liz, listen to me - computer - there's a micro circuit missing!
LIZ: I'll look. Will you treat him carefully?!
(The DOCTOR is pulled out, still protesting.)
DOCTOR: Stop it! Stop this drilling!
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: Brigadier, I hold you responsible.
SIR KEITH GOLD: Professor Stahlman, I'd like to speak to you please.
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: Ah, Sir Keith. I thought you were supposed to be in London.
(He notices the sling.)
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: An accident?
SIR KEITH GOLD: (Angrily.) This is a direct consequence of your orders to my chauffeur.
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: Mmm? Huh! Ridiculous!
SIR KEITH GOLD: Professor, the Minister would like you to report to him immediately .....
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: (Interrupts.) Oh, he would, would he?
SIR KEITH GOLD: There's to be an inquiry into this project and, if I may say so, into your conduct.
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: You can make as many inquiries as you like, my dear Gold, after we've penetrated the Earth's crust.
(He leaves SIR KEITH stuck for words.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
18: INT. DRILL-HEAD
(PETRA speaks to one of the technicians at the back of the drill-head area and then crosses the room to the PROFESSOR, absorbed as usual in collecting data in his notebook.)
PETRA WILLIAMS: Professor Stahlman, I'll be switching to robot controls in forty-nine minutes.
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: Thank you.
(She is about to move off but notices that STAHLMAN seems to sniff the air and crick his neck.)
PETRA WILLIAMS: Any wrong, Professor?
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: I feel...very cold in here.
PETRA WILLIAMS: Cold?
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: Yeah, have the maintenance people raise the temperature.
PETRA WILLIAMS: But it's running normally.
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: Do as I say.
(She moves off. As soon as she has gone, STAHLMAN suffers another attack. The technicians mutter to each other as they watch him stare wide-eyed across the room. Suddenly, he calls out to them.)
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: All of you leave this area immediately! Go on!
(They move to the doorway and watch him.)
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: I shall control...the last phase of this operation alone. Stand by in the drill-head there.
(He moves towards them to urge them out of the room, which they do.)
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: Now, go on! Get out, all of you, go on! Do as I say!
(As soon as they have gone, he clutches his head.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
19: INT. CENTRAL CONTROL
(GREG speaks to this displaced technicians and then tells PETRA what has happened...)
GREG SUTTON: Well, he's just ordered them all out of there. Now do you believe he's cracked up?
PETRA WILLIAMS: Greg, the heat shield!
(They look across to the drill-head area where the heat shield hums down into place.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
20: EXT. COMPLEX
(Holding him by the arm, the two soldiers lead the DOCTOR out of one of the buildings and across the complex. The DOCTOR stops...)
DOCTOR: Well, I'm sorry about this, gentlemen.
(...and grabs the soldiers in a nerve hold. They groan and fall to the ground. He runs off as fast as he can. Clutching their necks, the soldiers recover as they watch him go. Meanwhile, the DOCTOR runs beneath some of the machine-like structures and starts to climb a vertical fixed ladder within. The soldiers recover fully and start to give chase. The DOCTOR'S climb brings him out on one of the lower level gasometer structures. Well practised by now, he ducks down below the eye level of anyone below and watches as the soldiers run by. Rising into place once they have gone, he hears animal noises behind him and turns to see the transforming BROMLEY on the other side of the circular catwalk. The DOCTOR backs off round the catwalk to where a fire extinguisher hangs. He takes it up and manages to have it pointed at BROMLEY before he lunges at him. Several jets of the spray send the creature to the ground.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
21: INT. DRILL-HEAD
(The green slime is seeping freely out of the grill at the base of number two output pipe. STAHLMAN, his gloves off, stares at the substances and then runs his hair covered hands through it before wiping it on his face. He cries out in a primordial type scream...)
PROFESSOR STAHLMAN: No!
(He falls to the ground, screaming and roaring.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
22: INT. CENTRAL CONTROL
(His calls are carried through the tannoy. A distraught PETRA shouts at the loudspeaker...)
PETRA WILLIAMS: Professor Stahlman! Please! What's happening! What's going on in there?!
SIR KEITH GOLD: Why don't you raise the heat shield?
GREG SUTTON: Because he's locked it down on manuals from the inside!
[SCENE_BREAK]
23: INT. DRILL-HEAD
(STAHLMAN, like his counterpart in the other world, has transformed into a full Primord. He stands and looks towards the heat shield.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
24: INT. CENTRAL CONTROL
(As per the DOCTOR'S advice, LIZ has fixed the computer and looks over the ticker-tape print out it churns out. The final countdown to penetration zero has started.)
GREG SUTTON: What does the thing say now?
COUNTDOWN VOICE: Zero minus two minutes, fifty seconds...
LIZ: The Doctor's right! It advises us to stop the drilling at once!
(LIZ, PETRA, the BRIGADIER and PETRA all look at SIR KEITH for guidance.)
COUNTDOWN VOICE: ...robot ... now operational.
GREG SUTTON: Why don't you give the order, Sir Keith?
SIR KEITH GOLD: Oh, I can't. The order to close down must come from the Professor. I have no authority to intervene.
COUNTDOWN VOICE: Zero minus two minutes, forty seconds...
(The DOCTOR has made his way back to central control. He calls out to the group from the entrance.)
DOCTOR: Where's Stahlman?
LIZ: He's locked himself in there!
COUNTDOWN VOICE: ... now to final build up.
DOCTOR: Good, then stop this infernal drilling.
(They don't move.)
DOCTOR: Well, what are you waiting for?!
COUNTDOWN VOICE: Zero minus two minutes, thirty seconds...
DOCTOR: Stop this drilling and start filling up that shaft!
COUNTDOWN VOICE: ... final ...
SIR KEITH GOLD: The data from the computer isn't conclusive, Doctor, nor is Stahlman's behaviour. We have no proof of an emergency situation.
(The heat shield starts to rise. They all turn to look at it.)
COUNTDOWN VOICE: Zero minus two minutes, twenty seconds. Heat control shields now on stand-by.
(STAHLMAN'S legs are revealed as the heat shield rises further. The hairy clenching hands are observed next and finally all the proof SIR KEITH needs is provided when the animal that once was STAHLMAN lunges growling into the room. PETRA screams and all including the technicians fall back. The BRIGADIER pulls out his pistol.
COUNTDOWN VOICE: Zero minus two minutes...
DOCTOR: Stahlman, get back!
COUNTDOWN VOICE: ...ten seconds.
(The DOCTOR reaches for a fire extinguisher.)
DOCTOR: Sutton, the fire extinguishers!
(STAHLMAN brings a chair crashing down on the DOCTOR'S back as the BRIGADIER fires. The DOCTOR is unharmed.)
DOCTOR: Fire!
(The two men both fire at STAHLMAN. He writhes under the combined fire of the jets and falls to the floor.)
COUNTDOWN VOICE: Zero minus two minutes, zero seconds and counting. Condition red-three now commences.
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: That's Stahlman?
SIR KEITH GOLD: What's happened to him?
DOCTOR: Petra, the drill - close it down.
COUNTDOWN VOICE: Zero minus one minute...
(PETRA runs for a console, followed by the DOCTOR, SIR KEITH and GREG.)
SIR KEITH GOLD: Cut off the nuclear power!
COUNTDOWN VOICE: ...fifty seconds.
PETRA WILLIAMS: But the drill will disintegrate!
COUNTDOWN VOICE: Final re-check - all monitoring circuits.
GREG SUTTON: All the better!
(PETRA reaches her console and shouts out instructions...)
PETRA WILLIAMS: Prepare for emergency shutdown!
(A series of countdown voices report in from other sections over the tannoy system...)
FIRST SHUTDOWN VOICE: Section one standing by.
COUNTDOWN VOICE: Zero minus one minute...
SECOND SHUTDOWN VOICE: Section two standing by.
COUNTDOWN VOICE: ...forty seconds.
THIRD SHUTDOWN VOICE: Section three standing by.
COUNTDOWN VOICE: Technical personnel at final stations.
DOCTOR: Hurry, hurry!
PETRA WILLIAMS: Shutdown...now!
(She flicks a switch.)
FIRST SHUTDOWN VOICE: Section one - shutdown.
COUNTDOWN VOICE: Zero minus one minute, thirty seconds.
SECOND SHUTDOWN VOICE: Section two - shutdown.
COUNTDOWN VOICE: Final power build-up now completed.
THIRD SHUTDOWN VOICE: Section three - shutdown. Shutdown completed.
(The noise from the drill continues to reach them.)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: But it's still going on!
COUNTDOWN VOICE: Zero minus one minute, twenty seconds.
DOCTOR: (To GREG.) That's the buffer controls at the drill-head - come on!
COUNTDOWN VOICE: Non-technical staff to safety positions.
(The DOCTOR and GREG run into the drill-head.)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: Buffer controls?
SIR KEITH GOLD: Oh, they it slow down by stages. It'll keep going for at least five minutes.
[SCENE_BREAK]
25: INT. DRILL-HEAD
(Within the drill-head area, one of the wall units has been ripped out and the wires hang loosely.)
COUNTDOWN VOICE: Zero minus one minute, ten seconds.
GREG SUTTON: The server switches are smashed!
COUNTDOWN VOICE: All systems check for final countdown.
GREG SUTTON: Is there anything you can do?
DOCTOR: I can only try.
(The DOCTOR takes a screwdriver out of his pocket and starts to work on the unit.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
26: INT. CENTRAL CONTROL
(Within central control, the BRIGADIER, LIZ, PETRA and SIR KEITH look tensely towards the drill-head area.)
COUNTDOWN VOICE: Zero minus one minute, zero seconds and counting. Final countdown commences now.
[SCENE_BREAK]
27: INT. DRILL-HEAD
(The DOCTOR frantically rewires the unit.)
COUNTDOWN VOICE: Zero minus...
[SCENE_BREAK]
28: INT. CENTRAL CONTROL
COUNTDOWN VOICE: ...fifty seconds. Stand by.
(The two men walk out of the drill-head.)
COUNTDOWN VOICE: Attention...attention...countdown drilling stopped at minus thirty-five seconds. All systems are ...
(The rest of the announcement is drowned out by cries of relief from all in the room. The DOCTOR and GREG smile at each other as LIZ runs over and hugs the DOCTOR and GREG and PETRA do the same.)
DOCTOR: Sir Keith, I think you'd better give orders...for that shaft to be filled in straight away.
SIR KEITH GOLD: Indeed, I will.
(He moves off. The DOCTOR, LIZ and the BRIGADIER look down at the dead STAHLMAN.)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: I'll send for a stretcher party.
[SCENE_BREAK]
29: INT. DOCTOR'S GARAGE
(The emergency over, the DOCTOR and LIZ both work at the TARDIS console.)
DOCTOR: "Shine on, Martian moons, up in the sky!" Join in. Liz, come on.
(LIZ has been quietly singing herself but she stops when there is a hammering on the door in order to open it with the sonic screwdriver.)
DOCTOR: "Shine on, shine on, Martian moon..."
(The BRIGADIER and SIR KEITH enter.)
SIR KEITH GOLD: Sorry to disturb you, Doctor. I just popped in to say goodbye.
DOCTOR: Oh, are you leaving, Sir Keith?
SIR KEITH GOLD: Everyone is.
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: Word came through this morning. This project is being officially abandoned.
DOCTOR: Well, I'm not sorry to hear that. Well, what about the nuclear reactor?
SIR KEITH GOLD: They're dismantling it tomorrow.
DOCTOR: Oh, but there's time for me to use it just once more, I hope?
SIR KEITH GOLD: Oh, yes, of course, with pleasure. It's the least we can do.
DOCTOR: Thank you, Sir Keith. By the way, how's Sutton and Miss Williams?
SIR KEITH GOLD: Oh, they've left already.
LIZ: Together?
SIR KEITH GOLD: Well, I believe he is driving her to London in his car.
(They laugh gently.)
DOCTOR: Nothing like a nice happy ending, is there?
SIR KEITH GOLD: No. Well, er, goodbye, Doctor.
DOCTOR: Goodbye, Sir Keith.
(They shake hands.)
SIR KEITH GOLD: Goodbye, Miss Shaw.
LIZ: Bye bye, Sir Keith.
(They too shake hands and LIZ re-opens the door for SIR KEITH. The BRIGADIER shows him out but the DOCTOR thinks he is going too.)
DOCTOR: Goodbye, Brigadier.
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: Oh, there's quite a lot of mopping up to do. I shall be around for quite a while yet.
DOCTOR: Oh ho, pity! Well, come on, Liz. If we've got to link up to that nuclear reactor, we'd better get a move on.
LIZ: Now, just a moment, Doctor...
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: Doctor, you're not still tinkering with this machine after all the trouble it's caused us?
DOCTOR: (Angrily.) The trouble it's caused you?!
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: Doctor, if you hadn't chosen such a crucial moment to disappear, this whole business might have been cleared up a great deal sooner!
LIZ: Well, he did try to warn everybody, Brigadier.
DOCTOR: And a fat lot of notice you all took!
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: So, you went gallivanting off in a fit of pique!
DOCTOR: Brigadier, there are times when you strongly remind me of your other self! I shall leave at once.
(He crosses to the power unit and starts to switch it on.)
LIZ: In the TARDIS console?
DOCTOR: Naturally.
LIZ: Oh, but Doctor, you can't!
(The DOCTOR crosses back to the console and starts to switch that on.)
DOCTOR: With the work that we did today, the TARDIS console is now fully operational.
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: We seem to have heard that before.
(The DOCTOR poises before operating the console.)
DOCTOR: Goodbye, Liz. I shall miss you, my dear. But I've had about all I can stand of this pompous self-opinionated idiot here!
(The BRIGADIER'S mouth drops but before he can say anything, the DOCTOR and the console disappear. LIZ turns on the BRIGADIER.)
LIZ: Now see what you've done!
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: Well, I didn't know he'd go off like that. The man's so infernally touchy.
LIZ: Well, I shall be most interested to see how you get on without him, Brigadier.
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: May I remind you, Miss Shaw, that you're still a serving member of UNIT? I don't entirely care for your tone.
LIZ: I don't much care for yours either! No wonder the Doctor cleared off.
(There is an embarrassed cough from the doorway. The DOCTOR is stood there, his immaculate coat and trousers covered in stains.)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: Welcome back!
LIZ: Where did you go?
DOCTOR: A few seconds forward in time...and a few hundred yards due east in space.
(LIZ thinks...)
LIZ: The rubbish tip?
DOCTOR: (Ruefully.) The rubbish tip.
LIZ: (Laughs.) Oh, dear!
(The DOCTOR goes up to the BRIGADIER with a sheepish look on his face.)
DOCTOR: Erm, Brigadier, my dear fellah, I wonder whether I could borrow a couple of your stalwart chaps to give me a hand in bringing the TARDIS back? It's landed in rather an inaccessible position.
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: "Pompous, self-opinionated idiot" I believe you said, Doctor?
DOCTOR: Yes, well we...we don't want to bear a grudge for a few hasty words, do we?
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: Mmm.
(The DOCTOR pats him on the back and leads him to the door.)
DOCTOR: No, not after all the years that we've worked together. Now come long, my dear fellah, put on a smile! Just remember...
(LIZ bursts into laughter as they go.)
Plan: A: The Doctor; Q: Who must stop Stahlman before his earth suffers the same fate as the parallel universe? Summary: The Doctor is back in his own universe and must stop Stahlman before his earth suffers the same fate as the parallel one.