(Open POV)
A screen full of static.
"You must not watch this." Rasmussen said, his voice coming out of a video.
The image clears to reveal a man's face. He wears large spectacles, and speaks directly to the viewer.
"I'm warning you. You can never unsee it." Rasmussen said, while there is a static flicker. "But if you do watch. Gagan Rassmussen. I'm Gagan Rassmussen. This is Le Verrier lab in orbit around Neptune." He turns as something large groans unseen in the background. "I've put things together into some kind of order so that you can er... understand, so that you can have some idea. There are bits missing. Sorry about that. I don't fully understand what's been going on here, but er... this is what happened."
The screen is filled with apparently random letters and numbers, but which actually spell out the names of the characters and location across, and Doctor Who illuminated vertically.
Rescue ship…
A soldier is kneeling, checking a rifle.
"Stop staring!" Chopra yelled.
His face is framed by a facial recognition software, and his details pulled from his file. Chopra. (Osamu Aimi Chopra) Age: 28. Rank: Conscript. Survival rating 7/10.
"They came from Triton. This is Chopra. Bit of an attitude, in my opinion." Rasmussen said, as a voiceover.
A stocky soldier with a white face that has black lines up and down and across it turns away.
"Calm down, pet." Nagata said, a woman with a Geordie accent.
"Well, it's ridiculous. That thing's meant to be a lethal fighting machine and it just moons around like a love-sick puppy." Chopra said.
A soldier sits up from an opening pod and puts on his helmet. Neon blue tubes are still attached to him.
"I could hear you ranting from inside the pod, Chopra, for the Gods' sake." Deep-Ando said, annoyed.
"Feel better?" Nagata asked.
"Commander Nagata. Young, for the responsibility. Quite a baptism of fire, I'm afraid." Rassmussen said, as a voiceover.
Nagata. (Jagganth Daiki-Nagata) Age: 30. Rank: Officer 2nd Class. Survival rating 8/10.
"Marvellous, ma'am. All hail, Morpheus, eh?" Deep-Ando asked.
"Deep-Ando. Conscript. Likes to think of himself as the joker of this little group. Well, he did." Rassmussen said, as a voiceover.
Deep-Ando. (Haruka Deep-Ando) Age: 40. Rank: Conscript 2nd Class. Survival rating 6/10.
"Morpheus, Morpheus, Morpheus. Sleep's the one thing left to us. The one thing they couldn't get their filthy mitts on. Now, they're even grabbing that. Colonising it." Chopra said, sadly.
"Spoken like a true Rip." Nagata said, frowning.
"Oh, don't call me that."
"Don't call me that, ma'am. Give it a rest, pet."
"Give what a rest?"
"This is a mission, Chopra. We find out what's happened on Le Verrier and then we all go home. Keep your politics to yourself, okay?" Nagata asked.
"I know someone who'd love to get Chopra back home to Triton, eh? Ho-ho!" Deep-Ando said, going to the person with the strange face.
"This one's obvious from the markings, isn't it. We all know a Grunt when we see one." Rassmussen said, as a voiceover.
474. Age 5. Rank: Grunt. Survival rating 9/10.
474 takes a step forward and Deep-Ando backs away, hands raised.
"Whoa, whoa." Deep-Ando said, terrified.
"Come on. Behave." Nagata said.
We see they are flying through space to a satellite station above a very blue gas giant.
"Nearly there, kiddies." Nagata said, happily.
"These are the rescue crew. Don't get too attached. Everything you're about to see is from their individual viewpoints or taken from the station itself. " Rassmussen said, as a voiceover.
A monitor says 2 minutes to docking.
"The only footage available." Rassmussen said, as a voiceover.
"They came to find me. This is my station. My lab." Rassmussen said, on screen.
Corridor…
"I've pieced together the rescue as best I could. If you're going to watch, then pay close attention. Your lives may depend on it." Rassmussen said, as a voiceover.
The team go down the docking tunnel to the station itself. Static flash on screen.
"Emergency lighting only." Nagata said.
"Grav and orbit's stable. There must be power." Chopra said.
The doors to the docking tunnel close and they move on, lighting the way with flashlights on their rifles.
"Nothing?" Nagata asked, when 474 shakes her head. "No sign of anyone."
"There was no crew. No crew left. They did find others, though. Strangers." Rassmussen said, on screen.
(Jared's POV)
Corridor…
"What the hell happened here?" Nagata asked.
"Hide seek. Maybe they play hide seek." 474 said.
"Hide and seek! Why do they miss out words? It's infuriating."
"Chopra, don't be anger."
"Don't be an-gry! Is it so hard to breed them to speak properly?" Chopra asked.
"Oh, lighten up." Deep-Ando said, annoyed.
474 holds up a clenched fist and they all stop.
"What now?" Chopra asked.
"Talk." 474 said.
"What?"
"People talk."
"Do you ever get the feeling like you're being watched?" Clara asked, nearby.
"Oh. Are you talking about one of those horror films? Like with, um…" Chisato said, nearby.
"Freddy Krueger and Michael Myers." I said, nearby.
"Yeah. Them. 'Welcome to my world, Bitch!' Oh. And there's this one. 'Good evening. I'm Michael Myers. I have enormous psychological problems and I'm going to take them out on you'."
"Chisato…" Takina said, nearby. "Now isn't the time for impersonating."
The soldiers move quietly but quickly to a junction with another corridor.
"No. You're wrong, Takina. It is the perfect time. Stop being paranoid, Clara." I said, nearby.
"I can't help it. Why is it so dark?" Clara asked, nearby.
"Night-time setting. Faulty filament. Three-day week." The Doctor said, nearby.
"So, orbit around Neptune?" Clara asked, nearby.
"Not around Uranus?" I asked, nearby.
"Venus would have been good too. But Neptune. Oh. You told me about a guy called Neptune that's afraid of water." Chisato said, nearby. "So, we're in orbit around Neptune."
"Yeah. This close into the planet, they must have some pretty powerful anti-grav shielding on board." The Doctor said, nearby.
Clara's flash light reveals an oriental mask on a red wall.
"Looks like a Japanese restaurant. Oh! Have you brought us to a space restaurant? Have you brought us to a space version of Cafe LycoReco?" Clara asked.
"People never do that, you know?" The Doctor asked, nearby.
"Do what?"
"They never put the word space in front of something just because everything's all sort of hi-tech and future-y. It's never space restaurant or space champagne or space, you know, hat. It's just restaurant, champagne or hat." The Doctor said, while the soldiers follow us as we walk. "Even if this was a restaurant…"
"What about a spacesuit?" Chisato asked.
"Gah. Stop being formal about it." I said, happily.
The Doctor, Clara, Chisato, Takina, and I turn as we hear the energy rifles powering up, eyes wide like rabbits in caught in car headlights.
"Hello." Chisato said, smiling.
"Are you crew? Are you crew?" Clara asked.
"Uh…" I said, carefully reaching into my sling bag and pulling out my psychic paper.
I held the psychic paper up to each soldier so they wouldn't shoot us.
"Engineering stress assessors?" Nagata asked.
"Yes. We are." Takina said, as I put the psychic paper away again.
"We're here to, er…" The Doctor said.
"We're here to assess stress." I said, clutching the strap of my sling bag.
"Stress."
"So, what happened?" Nagata asked.
"From the beginning of time? That's a very long story." The Doctor said.
"Doctor. They want to know how we got here." Takina said, sadly.
"Well. Well, we just arrived, you know, and there was nobody about. What are you doing here?" The Doctor asked.
Nagata lowers her rifle, "Twenty four hours ago, this station fell silent. No comm signal. Nothing. Dead. We've come to find out why."
"So, what theories do you have?" I asked.
"Could be anything. Meteorite strike. Space pirates." Nagata said.
"Ah, see? Not just pirates, space pirates." Clara said, smirking.
"Are you a rescue mission?" Takina asked.
"Yes." Nagata said.
"Of only four people?"
"Cuts, pet. Right, you're to consider yourself…" Nagata said, looking at us.
"Part of the furniture!" The Doctor said, singing.
"Under my command." Nagata said.
"Okay. Really?" The Doctor asked.
"Yes, really. Come on." Nagata said.
"Okay." The Doctor said.
The Doctor, Clara, Chisato, Takina, and I follow at a short distance.
"So, we still don't know where we are." Takina said.
"Indo-Japanese." The Doctor said, wetting his finger and holds it behind his right ear. We are apparently being watched from a wall screen. "Thirty 8th century." He tastes his finger again. "Tuesday."
"Thirty 8th century?" Clara asked.
"Hmm. After the Great Catastrophe, there was a tectonic realignment. India and Japan, they were sort of merged." The Doctor said.
"We still don't know where the rest of the crew are, though. I mean, a place this size?" Clara asked.
"Wait. What?! Great Catastrophe? What's the Great Catastrophe?" Chisato asked, looking over at me. "Did you know about this?"
"Maybe. 'Fleeing from the imminence of a catastrophic collision with the sun, a group of refugees from the doomed planet Earth…'" I said, quoting Turlough.
"Well, you've got all that to look forward to, haven't you? Mind you, this place looks as if it's been dead for a long while now." The Doctor said, running his finger along an edge then blows a lot of dust off it, and looks straight at us.
Static flicker to change of scene / viewpoint. We have caught up with the soldiers again.
"What's wrong?" Takina asked.
"I still can't shake the feeling." Clara said, frowning.
"Eyes. Watch. Eyes in sky." 474 said.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Chopra asked.
"Chopra not worry. 474 protect Chopra. Chopra pretty." 474 said, reaching to stroke Chopra's cheek and he slaps the hand away.
"Oh, for the Gods'. Just back off!" Chopra yelled.
Chopra pushes 474 who reacts by getting behind him and putting on a choke hold.
"Oh, come on now." Deep-Ando said.
"Let him go, pet!" Nagata said, angrily.
"474 sorry." 474 said.
"Let him go, now!"
"Not help it!"
The software display tells us that 474 is programmed to respond to physical threat. She releases Chopra from the choke hold and crouches by the wall, whimpering.
"It could have killed me!" Chopra cried.
"That's how they're grown. You know that. They react to any attack." Nagata said.
"Grown? What do you mean, grown?" Takina asked.
"They might not give them much upstairs, but our friend here certainly knows how to fight." Nagata said, and the Doctor kneels in front of 474. "You'd be glad of her in a tight corner, I'll bet."
"What does she mean, grown?" Clara asked.
"They're like Lycoris but different. Instead of being orphans being raised to be assassins, they're basically soldiers." I said, looking down at 474. "She's a grunt. They're bred in hatcheries. Not taken from orphanages. Cloned muscles and low intelligence. They also come with brute force, which means it's an instant army."
"That's horrible." Chisato said, her eyes widened.
"That's disgusting." Clara said.
"Well, that's how they roll in the thirty 8th century." The Doctor said.
Something large growls and moans.
"Clara, Jared, hold my hands." The Doctor said.
"I'm okay." Clara said.
"I'm not." The Doctor said.
"Same." I said, when Clara and I take the Doctor's hands.
Another growl nearby, and we panic as the lights on the rifles briefly illuminate two humanoid creatures ahead of us. Some shots are fired, then we turn and started running.
"Oh, run, run, run! Run! Run!" The Doctor said, terrified.
"Where are our guns?" Takina asked.
"They're in my sling bag." I said, as we arrived at a junction. "You and Chisato don't need them. There's already people here with guns."
"But they're soldiers. They're not us." Chisato said, looking at me. "Can't I use them?"
"Follow me! Straight ahead." Deep-Ando said.
"No! This way! Deep-Ando!" Nagata said, worried.
"Come on!" Deep-Ando said, nearby.
Laboratory…
"Quick! Push anything in front of it! We've got to keep them out!" The Doctor said, angrily.
The Doctor and I move a cabinet as Chisato, Takina, and Chopra try to push the door shut.
"Deep-Ando! We've lost him! What the hell are they?" Nagata asked.
"They're not pirates." I said, leaning against the wall.
"We've got to get Deep-Ando!"
"Where's your friend? Where did he go?" Chisato asked.
"Deep-Ando? I dunno. He's…" Chopra said.
"He's still out there!" Nagata yelled.
The creatures are pushing at the door. One thrusts an arm through the gap.
"474!" Nagata said, looking at 474.
474 charges the door, shutting it and cutting off the arm, which turns to sand and falls to the floor.
"What the hell are they? Where did they go?" Nagata asked.
(Open POV)
Corridor…
"Chief Nagata, this is Deep-Ando. Where did you go? Nagata, this is Deep-Ando. May the Gods look favourably upon you." Deep-Ando said, getting static on his communicator. "May the Gods. Are you there?"
He walks on, sweeping his flash light around as he goes.
(Jared's POV)
Laboratory…
"Deep-Ando, this is Nagata. May the Gods look favourably upon you. Deep-Ando, are you there?" Nagata asked, as the Doctor takes a sample of the sand from the floor and puts it under a microscope.
"What are you doing?" Takina asked, looking at what the Doctor is doing.
"Finding out what they're made of." The Doctor said.
"Deep-Ando, are you there?" Nagata asked.
"Send the Grunt." Chopra said.
"No."
"Why not? That's what it's for. Look, he's still out there! You can't just abandon him."
"I need proper intel before I risk anyone else, including 474. Keep trying the comms."
"Deep-Ando, may the Gods look favourably upon you." Chopra said, trying her communicator again.
"Doctor? Whatcha got?" Chisato asked, crossing her arms.
"Organic. Definitely organic. Blood cells. Skin cells. Mucus." The Doctor said.
"Deep-Ando, may the Gods look favourably upon you. Deep-Ando." 474 said, talking into her communicator.
Clara, Chisato, and Takina are standing between two large white cabinets.
"Well. What are these?" Takina asked, looking at the two large cabinets.
"Morpheus?" Chopra asked.
"Morpheus? Isn't he the God of Dreams?" Chisato asked.
"He is. Chisato. Oh, yeah. Ooh, yeah. Not just this." Clara said, indicating her pretty face.
"So, what are these? Are they sleep pods?" Takina asked.
"More than that." Chopra said, getting static. "Deep-Ando? Deep-Ando, can you hear me?"
"Keep trying." Nagata said.
"I could take a look at that. You know, triangulate the signal, help you find your friend." The Doctor said.
"First, tell me what those things are."
"Deep, Deep-Ando." Chopra said, using her communicator.
"This is Deep…" Deep-Ando said, their voice coming out of the communicator.
"Deep-Ando, this is Chopra. I'm getting a signal. Deep-Ando, can you hear me? Deep-Ando? Deep-Ando, this is Chopra. Can you hear me?"
"Doctor! Jared!" Clara cried.
Thud. Clara has disappeared inside a Morpheus cabinet.
"Clara!" The Doctor yelled.
An alarm sounds, then four small holographic ladies in Dior New Style dresses with full skirts appear on the cabinet and start singing Pat Ballard's 1954 hit, just like the Chordettes did.
"Bom, bom, bom, bom, bom, bom. Mister Sandman, bring me your dreams." The singers said, singing.
"Clara!" The Doctor said, angrily. "Jared, why aren't you helping me get Clara out?"
"It's okay. Clara's fine." I said, happily.
"Make him the cutest that I've ever seen." The singers said, singing.
The singers vanish as the Doctor opens the cabinet. Clara is lying there, eyes closed and with neon blue tubes attached to her head and hands.
"What did you think you were doing?" The Doctor asked.
Clara opens her eyes and the Doctor removes the tubing.
"Huh?" Clara asked, sitting up. "It dragged me in. The wires, they were like snakes, like it was alive."
"Are you okay?" Chisato asked.
"Yeah. It just kind of flicked over my eyes. Did I sleep?" Clara asked.
"Yeah. You did. That looked like a nice nap." Takina said, smiling.
"Why, why did it just grab at me?"
"Semi-sentient. It thinks it knows what's good for you. You obviously needed forty winks. Clever little sleep pod. You said it was something more than that, though." The Doctor said.
Static flicker on picture.
"Come on, everyone knows." Nagata said.
"Well, let's just say, for the sake of argument, that we don't." The Doctor said, looking at the camera. "What is Morpheus?"
"Hang on. This is the last pod in the row. It's not empty." Chisato said, walking over to the last pod and she looked inside.
The Doctor puts on his sonic sunglasses. The singers return on the last pod.
"Bom, bom, bom, bom, bom, bom." The singers said, singing.
"Oh, no. No, no. enough of that." The Doctor said, pulling out a 38th century square DVD and they vanish. He takes off his glasses then tries to force down the shutter over the observation hatch where the sleeper's head should be. "It's almost like someone's…"
The Doctor nearly gets it open and it slams shut again.
"Doctor! Be careful!" I said, worried.
Weapons are powered up.
"Here. Let me try." Clara said, listening to the regular buzz from the pod then taps on the metal cover. "Hellooo? It's okay. We're not going to hurt you. Will you open up now? Come on. Let's er, let's start with names, shall we? Er, I'm Clara. This is the Doctor, Jared, Chisato, and Takina."
The hatch opens.
"It's okay." Clara said.
Rassmussen pokes his head out of the pod. Freeze image.
"Ah, this is where I come in." Rasmussen said, as a voiceover.
"Hello. I wanted to get out of there. Immediately. Of course I did. But er, this man, the Doctor, he wanted explanations first. So…" Rassmussen said, on screen.
Laboratory…
A large holographic disembodied lady's head appears above the pods.
"May the Gods look favourably upon us all. Friends. We live in a time of unparalleled prosperity. A golden age of peace, harmony and industry. But every shift must come to an end. Every working day must stop." The presenter said, on screen.
A holographic yawning woman appears on her outsized hand.
"Of course, we can take stimulants to make that deadline, to keep us propped up through that important meeting. But always, always, sleep claims us in the end." The presenter said, on screen.
The woman lies down to sleep.
"Until now." The presenter said, on screen.
"Are they sleep-deprivation pods?" Takina asked.
"Not exactly." Chopra said.
"Welcome, Morpheus." The presenter said, on screen.
"Bom, bom, bom, bom, bom, bom." The singers said, singing.
The song continues underneath the dialogue.
"The Morpheus machine concentrates the whole nocturnal experience into one five minute burst. Now, you can go a whole month without sleep." The presenter said, on screen.
"A month?" Clara asked.
"All the chemical benefits of rest, but freeing up the nights to continue working, working, working. To get the edge on your competitor. To turn that extra profit."
"That's insane. That's horrible!" Clara said, worried.
"Finally, someone who sees it for what it is." Chopra said, happily.
"Leave the Rip Van Winkles behind and become one of a new generation of Wide-Awakes! The future is here. The future is now. Let yourself slip into the arms of Morpheus!" The presenter said, on screen.
"Mister Sandman, bring me a dream." The singers said, singing.
The Presenter's head vanishes.
"But sleep is…" The Doctor said.
And reappears.
"Terms and conditions apply." The presenter said, on screen.
And gone again.
"Sleep is vital. Sleep is wonderful. Even I sleep." The Doctor said.
"When?" Clara asked.
"Well, when you're not looking." The Doctor said, leaning forward and stares at us.
The viewpoint turns look at the next speaker, and keeps swinging around as the rest of us join in the conversation.
"Morpheus is mine. My invention. It's changed Triton society forever." Rassmussen said.
"So, how does it work?" The Doctor asked.
"Er, the pod sends out a coded electronic signal that acts on certain parts of the brain. Changes the fundamental chemistry."
"It's disgusting. Making people into bloody drones. I've said it before…" Chopra said.
"Aye, you have." Nagata said.
"Colonising our sleep. Is nothing sacred?"
"We spend a third of our lives asleep. And time is money." Rassmussen said.
"He's right, man. It's amazing. Everyone on Triton's using it." Nagata said.
"Are they now? Sleep, that knits up the ravelled sleeve of care. The death of each day's life, sore labour's bath. Balm of hurt minds, chief nourisher in life's great feast. Congratulations, Professor. You've revolutionised the labour market. You've conquered nature." The Doctor said.
"Thank you." Rassmussen said, happily.
"You've also created an abomination."
"The Doctor said that we had to find the other soldier. And to find answers. So, we left the lab. He thought that there was some connection between my Morpheus process and those creatures that attacked us. Anyway, you'll see, he had a theory." Rassmussen said, on screen.
Corridor…
We are watching from Clara's viewpoint.
"Sleep dust?" Chopra asked.
"Sleep dust." The Doctor said, smirking.
"You're kidding." Nagata said, scoffing.
"Well do I look like I'm kidding? Is this a kidding face? Ask the crew of this station if they're kidding. Or what's left of them." The Doctor said.
"But sleep dust?"
"Yes. The stuff in the corner of your eye. The stuff you wipe away every morning when you wake up."
"That's ridiculous. This is getting us nowhere." Rassmussen said, annoyed.
"Okay. Doctor. How? How can those things out there be made out of sleep dust?" Chisato asked.
"Well, when we sleep, the mucus crust builds up in our eyes. Blood cells, skin cells. That's what dust largely is. Human skin. But your meddling has evolved it. Hot-housed it. What used to be sleep in your eye has turned into a carnivorous life form." The Doctor said.
"You can't just throw accusations like that around!" Rassmussen yelled.
"Oh. I think I get it. The longer you're in Morpheus, more dust builds up." Takina said, her eyes widening.
"That's slander!" Rassmussen said, angrily.
Static flicker.
"Lying there in those pods, people are a ready-made food source." The Doctor said.
"So, where are they?" I asked, leaning against the wall.
We switch to Nagata's viewpoint.
"Where's the crew?" Clara asked.
"Digested." The Doctor said.
"Come on, we need to find Deep-Ando." Nagata said.
(Open POV)
Another corridor…
Deep-Ando is looking at a projected schematic of the local area, a corridor joining with another that appears to run all the way round the spacestation.
"Come on. Oh, come on. Must be an exit here somewhere." Deep-Ando said, activating comms. "Listen to me. Those things, they're everywhere. For the Gods' sake, come and get me."
A roar nearby.
(Jared's POV)
Corridor…
Mostly from Clara's viewpoint, apart from the occasional black and white external.
"What about us? We've all used the pods back on Triton." Nagata said.
"Not all of us." Chopra said.
"This isn't a good time to be smug, pet."
"Well, my guess is that the ones you're using are pretty primitive compared to what's going on up here. These are a sort of a Mark Two. Yeah?" The Doctor asked, looking at Rassmussen.
"Obviously, I have tried to improve the process. Speed things up." Rassmussen said.
"You've succeeded there."
"But how does the dust become those creatures?" Nagata asked.
"You saw what happened. The dust conglomerates and moulds itself into humanoid form. It's adaptable. It's clever." The Doctor said.
A loud long noise nearby. They power the weapons up.
"And it's coming for us." The Doctor said, sadly.
"Look, you came to rescue the crew. I'm crew, so rescue me!" Rassmussen cried.
"Wait. Why are you the only one left?" I asked, looking down at the floor.
"Because I hid. I hid in the only place I thought those monsters wouldn't find me. Look, we've got to get out of here!"
"No. We can't leave this place until there's not a trace of the dust or your machines left. Or that's it for your lot." The Doctor said.
"Our lot? What do you mean?" Nagata asked.
"Oh, the human race."
(Open POV)
Storage area…
Deep-Ando's light sweeps over containers and stuff and sees a bulkhead door. He puts his hand on the keypad. Most of this are views through the grid of the pad, computer's point of view.
"Hey." The computer said.
"Haruka Deep-Ando, 6897. Let me in." Deep-Ando said.
"I'd love to."
"Well, do it then. Me ID must be on the Corporation index."
"You have to do the song."
"What?"
"You have to do the song, Deep-Ando 6897."
"I haven't got time for this."
"Do the song, please."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"After the Maha Shivaratri slash Oshogasu slash Christmas party, some of the crew reprogrammed me."
"They did, did they?"
"Yes. In order to enter rooms, everyone must do the song. It's very amusing." The computer said.
"But you know who I am. You've just called me by my name."
"Nevertheless."
"Oh, ffff. What song?"
"You know the one." The computer said.
"I don't!" Deep-Ando said, terrified.
"Now you're just being silly. Of course you do. Silly Deep-Ando 6897. You must know the song. Everyone here knows it."
Groaning echoes around Deep-Ando.
"I'm not from this station. I'm on a rescue mission." Deep-Ando said.
"Bom bom, bom, bom, bom, bom, bom." The computer said, singing.
"Morpheus?"
"The Morpheus song!"
"Oh, this is insane!"
"The song, please."
"Morpheus." Deep-Ando said, singing. "Mister Sandman, bring me your dreams. Make it the cutest…Haruka Deep-Ando 6897. Let me in!"
"More, please." The computer said.
"Give him two lips like roses in…" Deep-Ando said, singing. "Please, let me in. Let me in!"
Two of the creatures are there.
"Let me in!" Deep-Ando cried.
Deep-Ando screams. The bulkhead doors close in front of the creatures. In the observation room, with a nice big window looking out on Neptune, Deep-Ando checks his station schematic projected onto it. Then he turns to see the gaping maw of a creature.
"Er, he was the first of them to die. We heard the scream but er, well, we, we had our own problems." Rassmussen said, on screen.
(Jared's POV)
Laboratory…
The space station is shaking violently. We are hanging onto something for dear life.
"What's happening?" Takina asked.
"Is it the engines?" Chisato asked.
"Nope! The gravity shields! They're failing!" I said, worried.
Neptune is getting closer through the window.
"Nagata! That thing, the schematic. Give it to me!" The Doctor yelled.
"Who the hell do you think you are?" Nagata asked.
"Me? I'm in charge, when things are out of Jared's depth." The Doctor said.
"You have no authority…"
"No, but I'm in charge. Jared hasn't been around me lately to do this. I can bypass the main systems and reboot the grav-shields!"
"For fucks sake! Just listen to the Doctor! He knows what the hell he's talking about!" I cried, grabbing Chisato's hand and Takina's hand and using my electromagnetism to keep us from falling down to the fall as long as I could.
Nagata lets go to hand the Doctor her helmet with me de-magnetizing myself and we slide on the floor.
"Doctor? Jared? Chisato? Takina? Doctor, Jared, Chisato, Takina, if the grav-shields are decaying…" Clara said, looking between the Doctor and I.
"Clara, don't jinx us. Please don't jinx us!" Chisato said, terrified.
"We're being pulled towards Neptune!"
"Oh, Gods! Oh, Gods! Oh, Gods!" Chopra said, worried.
"Hang on!" The Doctor said, angrily.
"Argh, this day couldn't get any worse!" Clara said, annoyed.
A creature smashes a small glass window in the door, and opens it.
The Doctor is projecting the schematic onto a cabinet door, "I can do this! I can fix this!"
"No! Please! Help me. Argh!" Rassmussen said, when a creature looms over him.
"No! No!" Clara cried.
"The G-force is increasing the closer we get to the planet! Hold on!" The Doctor said, looking at us.
A creature reaches out, bits falling off it. Static flicker.
"We're back online! Grav-shields fixed! We're rising! Go. Let's get out of here! Go, go! Out of here. Come on!" The Doctor yelled.
"Chopra! 474! Come on!" Nagata cried.
"Keep going, move it, move it, move it! "
Cold store…
"Nagata!" I said, looking over at Nagata.
"No, I can't leave them!" Nagata said, when I pulled her inside and closed the door. "Chopra. 474. May the Gods. Where are you?!"
Chopra and 474 are running down a corridor, still alive.
"They're fine. For now. They're alive." I said, happily.
"Oh, God. Of all the places! A cold store." Clara said, annoyed.
"Nagata, are you okay?" Chisato asked.
"No, I'm not." Nagata said, sadly.
"What about the others? Jared. Do you know?"
"Don't know. I can't remember everything. Geez." I said, rolling my eyes.
"We have to go after them. Chisato. Takina. You two can back me up." Clara said, looking between Chisato and Takina.
"Don't be ridiculous." The Doctor said, scoffing.
"Doctor!"
"Chisato and Takina are here because we need backup. Yeah. But I'm not risking them." I said, crossing my arms. "Sending them out there would be suicide."
"It's not." Chisato said, smiling.
"We can handle it." Takina said, frowning.
"No." I said, looking between Chisato and Takina.
"They're under my command. I owe it to them." Nagata said.
"To die? They wouldn't thank you for that. Nor you, Clara, Chisato, and Takina. To die, to die. Glamis hath murdered sleep, therefore Cawdor shall sleep no more. Macbeth shall sleep no more." The Doctor said.
"What?" Nagata asked.
Clara's point of view.
"Shakespeare. He really knew his stuff. They all did. The Ancients. The poets. All those sad songs. All those lullabies. Sleep is essential to every sentient being in the universe. But to humans. Greedy, filthy, stupid humans. It's an inconvenience to be bartered away. Well, now we know the truth. Sleep isn't just a function. It's blessed. Every night we dive deep into that inky pool, deep into the arms of Morpheus. Every morning, we wake up and wipe the sleep from our eyes, and that keeps us safe. Safe from the monsters inside." The Doctor said.
"Well, the bloody monsters are outside now. What do we do?" Nagata asked.
Thud! We turn and move into the area where meat is hanging from hooks in labelled covers.
"Dead meat." Nagata said.
(Open POV)
Corridor…
"Dear Gods, what are we going to do?" Chopra asked.
"Get ship. Go home." 474 said.
"We can't let those things off here. If they were to get out, to spread. It's like an infection. You don't understand, do you?"
"Sleepmen bad. Kill sleepmen."
"Yeah. That about sums it up. Chief Nagata, this is Chopra. May the Gods look favourably upon you. Chief Nagata, this is Chopra. May the. We'll head for the rescue ship. If we don't hear from them soon, I'm going to have to assume they're dead."
"Then what Chopra do?"
"I have no choice. I'll have to destroy this whole station. "
(Jared's POV)
Cold store…
The Doctor has donned his sonic sunglasses and is projecting an image on the wall of himself, Clara, Chisato, Takina, and I, when we first came on board.
"What are you doing?" Nagata asked.
"I've hacked into your helmet cams." The Doctor said.
"What?"
"Reviewing the footage. There's something not right here."
"We don't have helmet cams."
"So, why did it kill Rassmussen like that?" Takina asked.
"But isn't that what they do? They kill people?" Chisato asked.
The Doctor removes his glasses, "But that's a direct attack. That's not how they operate. Dust grows. Consumes the host."
"Doctor, they evolve like the Boneless. You said so yourself." I said, clutching the strap of my sling bag.
"Maybe. There's something going on here. Something we're not getting." The Doctor said.
(Open POV)
Corridor…
Black and white view of a Morpheus pod gliding along above the walkway.
"Please stand clear of the pod. Dangerous materials in transit." The computer said.
(Jared's POV)
Cold store…
"What can we do now? We obviously can't stay here." Chisato said, hugging Takina to warm themselves up.
"You're right. We're going to freeze to death." Takina said, letting out a sigh.
"That. And if we do go back out there, the Sandmen will get us."
Static flicker.
"Sandmen?" The Doctor asked.
"Yeah. The Sandmen. It works." I said, smugly. "Like the song."
"It does!" Chisato chirped, singing. "Bom, bom, bom."
"Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream…"
"No, Chisato, you and Jared don't get to name things. I'm the Doctor. I do the naming." The Doctor said, looking between Chisato and I.
"Sorry."
"We're sorry." Chisato said, sadly.
"It's like the Silurians all over again." The Doctor said, annoyed.
"Well, what do you want to call them? The Dustmen?"
"Sandmen." The Doctor said, and he looked over at Nagata. "What did you just say?"
"When?" Clara asked.
"One point eight three minutes ago." The Doctor said.
"I said we don't have helmet cams." Nagata said.
Banging on the door. Roaring. We hide amongst the hanging meat.
"Doctor, Jared, Chisato, Takina, that door isn't going to last much longer." Clara said.
"So, what do we do?" Chisato asked.
"We let them in." The Doctor said, smirking.
"What?" Takina asked.
"We let them in."
"Hmm. Clever, that. Clever strategy. If they'd stayed in there, they'd have frozen to death, so the Doctor had to let the creatures in. That was his theory. Oh, I'm not dead. You've probably guessed that by now." Rassmussen said, on screen.
The sound of heartbeats as the creatures prowl the cold storage. We are hiding inside empty meat sacks. Suddenly, Boom!
(Open POV)
Corridor…
"What happen?" 474 asked.
"Must be damage from when we fell out of orbit." Chopra said.
There is a fire blocking the corridor in front of them.
"We have to go back." Chopra said, but there is at least one Sandman behind them. "I don't know what to do. I can't save us."
"474 can." 474 said.
"What?" Chopra asked.
Thump. 474 knocks Chopra out then picks him up and walks through the flames.
(Jared's POV)
Cold store…
The Doctor looks out of his sack then gestures, first covering his eyes then the shush sign.
"The Doctor worked it out. The creatures can't see." Rassmussen said, as a voiceover.
Clara gestures to Nagata, Chisato, Takina, and I. We tiptoe past the Sandmen then the Doctor accidentally kicks something, alerting them.
"Run! Engine room!" The Doctor yelled, shutting the Sandmen in the cold store.
(Open POV)
Corridor…
"What happened?" Chopra asked.
"474 help." 474 said, while she is is badly injured.
Chopra goes to her, "What?"
"474 die soon."
"No, no, no. Don't, don't say that! You got us through. You can survive this." Chopra said, sadly.
There are Sandmen cowering on the other side of the flames.
"Chopra go. Get ship. Chopra be safe. Chopra pretty." 474 said.
Chopra takes 474's hand, then she pushes him away. He leaves as the first Sandman braves the flames and walks through them. We get a very good view of them, with vertical maws running down their throats, hands reaching out blindly. 474 picks up her rifle and runs towards them.
"Yaaaargh!" 474 yelled.
(Jared's POV)
Engine room…
"Clara, you said you felt like you were being watched." I said, clutching the strap of my sling bag.
"Jared, you said for me to stop being paranoid." Clara said, scoffing.
"Not really."
The Doctor puts his sunglasses on a ledge and projects an image onto the wall, "There is a feed. Wireless. These images are being stored by someone. Collated. Nagata, look at this footage. What's wrong with it? What's wrong with it?"
"Don't know." Nagata said.
"Look, there's one very obvious thing about it. Do you see it yet? No? Okay, I'll tell you what's wrong. There's footage here of everyone. But what's missing in all of it? What can't you see anywhere? Not in the footage, not on this ship. Look. Really look. There are no cameras here. No CCTV. No helmet cams. So, how and why does this footage even exist? The dust has been watching us. Each little organic speck, just a tiny spy drifting through the air. The monsters have been with us all along. That's why the Sandmen are blind. Their visual receptors are being hijacked. But by whom, and why? And then, there's this." The Doctor said.
The projected image is the now, the Doctor pointing over his shoulder at the image, showing him pointing over his shoulder at the image ad infinitum.
"That's you, Clara. That's you, looking at me." The Doctor said.
"Me?" Clara asked.
"Yup. You went into the pod, Clara. The process of Morpheus started." I said, sadly.
"Er, well."
"There's nothing here from Chopra's point of view because he refuses to use Morpheus. And there's nothing here from Jared's point of view because he didn't use Morpheus. And Jared keeps on pulling Chisato and Takina away from the Morpheus machines. But everybody else is here. Including you. You don't have a camera, Clara. But you will have by now, sleep in your eye." The Doctor said.
"Okay, well, we'll fix this. You and Jared will fix this." Clara said.
"I know we'll fix this. It'll be fine. There's no need to worry. You'll be fine. I promise." I said, happily.
"Sure?" Clara asked.
"We will sort this, Clara. We'll sort you. We'll sort Nagata, and everyone back on Triton. And then we will destroy Morpheus forever." The Doctor said.
"Okay then. Let's get on with it. The power's been almost entirely out since we arrived, but we've still got emergency lighting. But the engines are still on." Clara said.
"Wasn't there a problem with the gravity shields?" Takina asked.
"Oh yeah. There was." Chisato said, smiling.
"What, what, what, what, what?" Clara asked.
"Basically, the gravity shields didn't fail. They were shut down on purpose." I said, smirking.
"By the Sandmen?" Nagata asked.
"Well, that's not their style, is it?" The Doctor asked, picking up two disconnected power couplings. "It's like, it's like something's been kept here, near the engines, where it's hot. Like something's being kept alive."
(Open POV)
Corridor…
The Morpheus pod is still gliding along.
"Warning. Dangerous materials in transit. Human contact not advised. Warning. Dangerous materials in transit. Human contact not advised." The computer said.
(Jared's POV)
Engine room..
"Well, you said someone's watching, collating images." Nagata said.
"Yeah." The Doctor said.
"Well, if it's not the Sandmen, then who is it?"
"I have an idea who. A very nasty idea." The Doctor said, turning off his sunglasses and we left. "And that explains why Jared is so relaxed and why he brought Chisato and Takina."
"Bingo. You figured it out. If the villain we were facing was more serious, I wouldn't have brought LycoReco. I'd have brought some Magical Girls." I said, smugly.
(Open POV)
Docking tube…
"In the absence of any further communication with Chief Nagata and the others, I must regrettably assume them to be deceased. Under the circumstances, I'm now returning to the ship and will begin preparations to destroy Le Verrier station." Chopra said.
The bulkhead doors open, a Sandman roars. Chopra readies his rifle and walks forward.
Rescue ship…
"Who's there? Chief?!" Chopra exclaimed.
There is a closed Morpheus pod in the compartment. He goes forward to the next, where the one that Deep-Ando had been using is still open. The doors close behind him. There is a roar and he screams.
(Jared's POV)
Docking tube…
"Rescue ship? Why are we going to the rescue ship?" Nagata asked.
"Because that's where he'll be." The Doctor said.
"Yup." I said, looking down at the floor.
Rescue ship…
"Gagan Rassmussen. I'm Gagan Rassmussen. This is Le Verrier lab in orbit around Neptune. I've put things together into some kind of order." Rassmussen said, over the speakers.
"You had that prepared well in advance, didn't you? Your statement. Your alibi. There would inevitably be questions when you got to Triton. So, you needed to get your story straight." The Doctor said.
"This is what happened." Rassmussen said, over the speakers.
A portion of hull slides back by the closed pod.
"You can't fight them, Doctor. There's no point. They're the future. A new life form. A better life form. That's very clear to me now. They've made me understand. And we're to be their food, and that's only correct. I just needed to find a way to get them off this station, and back to Triton. And then, they'll spread. Spread everywhere." Rassmussen said.
"Is that what you want?! You're helping the Sandmen wipe out humanity!" Chisato cried.
"Things have been made very clear to me!" Rassmussen yelled.
"Hang on. We saw you die. The Sandmen ate you. Swallowed you whole." Takina said, looking at Rassmussen.
"He's been playing the long game. Am I right?" I asked, crossing my arms.
"They speak to me in my mind. Trust me, I think. But they're like children. Babies. So new. Evolving. Hungry. Always so hungry. I made them understand. We had to find a way out. And then there'd be new food sources. Unlimited. So, they spared me. And we waited." Rassmussen said.
"You and your cargo were waiting the entire time."
"I got it in here while you were all distracted." Rassmussen said, nodding.
Rassmussen opens another bulkhead door to reveal the closed Morpheus pod that had been gliding through the station.
"What's in there? Is it sleep dust?" Chisato asked.
"It's like smuggling a jam jar full of germs through customs." The Doctor said.
"No. No, more than that." Rassmussen said.
"What do you mean?"
"I've been working on Morpheus for a very long time, Doctor. I had to start somewhere. Morpheus's first client. Patient Zero. The ultimate Wide-Awake. Inside there is a man who hasn't slept in five years."
"Or what's left of him."
"He's the well-spring. Once we get to Triton, he will spread his spores."
"But you said it was an encoded signal. Something electronic in the Morpheus process that changed the chemical reaction in the brain." Clara said.
"That's how it started, yes, but it's changing all the time. Evolving new ways to infect, to flourish. Whole moons, whole planets, whole civilisations. They'll spread everywhere." Rassmussen said.
"You know I can't allow that." The Doctor said.
"You can't stop them. None of us can."
Nagata aims her weapon at Rassmussen, "I wouldn't bet on that, pet."
Rassmussen raises his hands, then grabs a lapel. The pod starts to open. A Sandman sits up and roars. Nagata shoots at it.
"Doctor! Jared! Doctor! Jared!" Clara said, worried.
Rassmussen runs out, closing the bulkhead door. The Doctor, Clara, Nagata, Chisato, Takina, and I stay still and whisper.
"His plan is to get it off the ship. We need to stop him." I said, rolling my eyes.
"Got any ideas?" Takina asked.
"The doors are not a problem." The Doctor said, putting on his sonic sunglasses.
"But that's a problem." Chisato said, looking at Rassmussen.
Rassmussen is operating controls.
"Well, we need a distraction." The Doctor said, taking the song holo-disc out from his pocket. "When I say run, run." He puts the holo-DVD on a storage container and activates it. "Hey! Sandy!"
"Bom, bom, bom, bom, bom…" The singers said, singing.
"Run!" The Doctor yelled.
The Sandman is distracted by the holograms.
"Bom, bom, bom, bom, bom, bom, bom, bom…" The singers said, singing.
"Doors!" The Doctor said, angrily.
"Mister Sandman, bring me your dreams."
The doors open and we run into the compartment where Rassmussen is working the controls. Doors close again.
"Rassmussen! Turn off the engines. Shut this ship down!" The Doctor said, looking at Rassmussen.
"I can't do that, I'm afraid, Doctor. We can't fight the inevitable. Humanity's day is done." Rassmussen said.
"Yeah? Well, Humanity might have something to say about that, pet." Nagata said, shooting Rassmussen, who falls back into a chair.
"Argh!" Rassmussen cried.
"No!" The Doctor said, worried.
"Is that your answer for everything?" Clara asked.
"Did you have a better one?" Nagata asked.
"He's not the only one dead. According to this data, we're the only ones left alive on this station." The Doctor said.
The Sandman bangs on the door. We can still hear the Singers too.
"Doctor. Jared." Clara said, looking between the Doctor and I.
"Come on, you guys. We need to go!" Chisato said, terrified.
The Doctor has his glasses on again, "This doesn't make any sense."
"What doesn't?" I asked, clutching the strap of my sling bag.
"A man who hasn't slept for five years?" The Doctor asked.
"You heard what that man said. The first Morpheus patient is in there." Takina said.
"But the dust consumes the host."
"And then they make Sandmen. They conglomerate." Clara said.
"We escaped from that cold storage room because they were blind. And why power down the grav-shields when he did? It's like this is all for effect." The Doctor said.
"Look, can we maybe have this conversation when we get off this thing?"
The Doctor removes his glasses, "Like a story."
"Come on! We need to get out of here!" I said, grabbing Chisato's hand.
Docking tube…
"How do we get off this crate?" Nagata asked.
"We have our own way of getting out of here." I said, smirking. "We've got an alternative way of transport."
The Sandman forces the tube doors open and follows us.
Storage area…
"We have to get to Triton, destroy all the Morpheus machines. End this." The Doctor said.
"This is how we get home?" Nagata asked.
"I've never been so pleased to see…" Clara said, happily.
Sandmen move between us and the Tardis. More approach from behind.
"Nagata!" The Doctor said, turning Nagata round and uses her helmet schematic projector on a copper sheet.
"Doctor, quickly!" Clara said, worried.
"We haven't had much time!" Takina said, terrified.
"Hurry up!" Chisato cried.
The Doctor taps the projection of the anti-grav shield generators.
"What did you just do?" Nagata asked.
"Self-destructed the grav-shields." The Doctor said.
"What?"
The space station tilts. Clara, Nagata, Chisato, and Takina cry out.
"It's working!" The Doctor cheered.
"Time to get inside." I said, taking my TARDIS key from underneath my shirt and used said key to open the TARDIS door.
The Sandmen are stationary, falling to pieces.
"Neptune's gravity is pulling them apart, bit by bit! It doesn't make sense. None of this makes any sense." The Doctor said.
The Doctor, Nagata, Clara, Chisato, Takina, and I run inside the TARDIS and it dematerialises.
(Open POV)
The station is shaking as Rassmussen pops up on our screen. We now know these messages have been compiled in the rescue ship.
"Hello again! Thing is, you see, this message, this testament, it wasn't just my alibi. It was my plan. There are no spores, no infection. The Morpheus process remains the same. An electronic signal that affects the sleep centres of the brain. Changes them. An electronic signal that's contained in this recording." Rassmussen said, and there is a static flicker. "There it is. Tickles, doesn't it? I've just got time to fit this bit in and then I can finish the story, and then I'm going to transmit this footage to the whole Solar System. I do hope you've enjoyed the show. I did try to make it exciting. All those scary bits. All those death-defying scrapes, monsters, and a proper climax with a really big one at the end! Compulsive viewing. I did tell you not to watch."
Rassmussen rubs his eye. Dust falls out, leaving a hole in his head.
"There's nothing left of Rassmussen any more." Rassmussen said, in a deeper slowe voice. "Only us. Only us. You will show this film to your family, won't you? And your friends. And everyone, really. Then we can all be together, dust to dust. Excuse me, you've got something there, just in the corner of your eye."
Rassmussen's head falls to dust as he points to the top left corner of the screen. He laughs as he crumbles to pieces, then the cathode ray screen goes black, with just a small fading dot of light in the centre.