Doctor Who: A New Outlook

By Ashley Miles

The old man slept. He had slept for millennia, timeless and unaged. He only ever stirred when his "alarm clock" went off. It was linked to a bank of computers: these were then linked to the greatest repository of data in the entirety of the Cosmos... Something was wrong. As the old man awoke, his awareness was transferred to a private area of the data store. Once inside his own personal domain, he was protected from the prying eyes of his own race. He yawned and checked a console on which a program had been running; the program had triggered his untimely waking. Long ago he had set it running and he had given it a name. It was known as the "UNIVERSAL DOMINATION PROGRAM" and now alerted him to the fact that two races in the universe had now reached the level of progress needed to dominate or destroy it. In the past, or was it future, his race had made various attempts to hinder the races involved, but they always returned stronger and more powerful than before. This time thought the old man, he would make certain and there would be no mistakes. All he needed was a pawn. Oh, but what pawn?

The TARDIS spun happily on its way, and was totally unaware of what was about to happen. Its course took it close to the planet Lakertya. As the TARDIS neared the planet, a beam struck it and scrambled the destination settings. This would normally force it to make an impromptu materialisation... Meanwhile inside, the Doctor and Mel were tossed about the console room like a pair of rag dolls. As he bounced from wall to wall, the Doctor caught his head on the side of the console. He was out for the count. At almost the same time, the passage of time for the whole area of space stopped abruptly...

The Doctor awoke in a void, or at least his mind did. His body was still in a stasis field back in the TARDIS. The only other thing he could see in the void was a large ornate throne, and on it sat the old man, or as the Doctor knew him - RASSILON...

Rassilon looked at the Doctor. He was saddened that he would have to use him the way he must, and said, "Welcome to my private part of the Matrix, Doctor. I have a little job for you to do." Rassilon then raised himself from the throne and lifted his hands aloft. With this gesture, the void ceased and was replaced by a room that was dominated by a large bank of computers. The Doctor finally got his bearings. He looked at Rassilon and said, "I demand to know what gives you the right to waylay me in this manner! If you think I'm going to do any little jobs for you then you've got the wrong idea." He paused before continuing, "I think you know of my feelings about interference in my life!" Rassilon looked at the Doctor with a stare that could have turned the fiery heart of a sun to ice. "At this moment you do not exist. Your personal time stream is suspended. My reasons for doing so will soon become clear." On hearing this, the Doctor looked flabbergasted; he could not believe his ears. He refused to be a pawn in anyone's game of chess... "I won't help you unless you tell me what is going on." Said the Doctor. His earlier rage was subsiding, he then continued, "You usually give me a little notice of an errand for you lot." Rassilon paused and then explained about the program that had woken him up. Then he dropped the real bombshell, the part of the plan the Doctor would never agree to. "I intend to alter your perceptions. To do this I will have to induce a regeneration." Rassilon completed his speech and waited calmly for the Doctor's reaction... The Doctor looked as if he was going to burst a blood vessel.

He shouted, "Do you really expect me to roll over like a puppy and just calmly except what you have just said? Well, I'm afraid the answer is a definite no!" After finishing, the Doctor stood defiantly before Rassilon. The old man said chillingly, "My dear Doctor, you have no choice in the matter." The Doctor was just about to reply when Rassilon pointed a bony finger at him...

A spark of power shot from it and struck the Doctor. Suddenly, the lights that twinkled in his eyes went out, and Rassilon smiled to himself. Soon the enemies of time would be halted in their tracks. He turned to the bank of computers behind him. The DNA modifier program was already running and all that it needed was a sample of DNA to use. He decided to use his own genetic material and bio-data extract. He laughed. The "new" Doctor would have all the Timelord attributes that had been programmed out during the development of his descendants. He would have Rassilon's own ancient killer instincts. These instincts had been repressed in all Timelords after the dark times. There would now be a true defender of Gallifrey...

The modifier eagerly excepted a sample of Rassilon's genetic material and his hand hovered above the activator. He paused and smiled, and then he pressed it. The machine completed its task in a few minutes, then the newly regenerated Doctor was returned to the TARDIS. Rassilon yawned and clicked his fingers. In a flash he was down loaded back to his rest until he was needed again...

When the "new" Doctor awoke, and time rolled onto an even keel again, He would certainly have a new outlook on life, Daleks and Cybermen. Yes, it would be definitely a totally new outlook...