Of the Vortex Born: Chapter Thirteen
Jul. 31st, 2008 09:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
amberfocus
Chapter Thirteen: Self-Sufficiency
With as many people, including Landon, as could be spared working on the shuttle to get it up and running as soon as possible, the Doctor continued to lay out what he knew about the Ganyites, which admittedly wasn’t as much as he would have liked. Rose wasn’t very happy to find they didn’t seem to have any physical weaknesses.
“So basically you’re telling me they’re super strong, of superior intelligence to most species, and virtually indestructible?” Rose said.
“Well, yes. But for the most part they also value logic and reason and if we can appeal to that side of their nature we may have a chance of stopping whatever they’re planning,” the Doctor told her. “Although…”
“Now, that does not sound good,” Mairi said.
“There was one instance when I encountered them before that the leader had gone quite insane after contact with what was thought to be another benign alien race. It drove much of the crew mad as well. They were perfectly able to function and perform their day to day tasks, but when exposed to this substance excreted by the skin of the Riatuels they turned into bezerkers.”
“Sounds wonderful,” said Rose sarcastically.
“Not really, no,” said the Doctor missing her sarcasm. “Quite the opposite really. In bezerker mode there is no reasoning with them. Their ability to reason goes out the window.”
“So how did you stop them before?” Rose asked.
“We didn’t. We kept them from landing on Earth and waited for time to do its worst. They ended up tearing each other apart and then the last one standing set their ship to self-destruct. Hopefully, it’s not a situation we’ll have to deal with at all," the Doctor said.
“You said carbonaceous-silicate life-forms,” Mairi said. “But what exactly does that mean, other than part carbon, part silicate?”
“Their physical form is mostly carbon in its hardest form and the remainder is made up of crystallized igneous rock.”
“So they’re made out of diamonds with a bit of crystal thrown in for good measure?” Mairi said.
“Yes, they are. And onyx. One of the most solid species I’ve ever encountered. Pretty much the only thing that can stop them is extreme heat, like in a volcanic eruption or a fire that burns over 150 degrees Celsius. A violent enough explosion would blow them to pieces, but that wouldn’t necessarily kill them. If the pieces were large enough they’d just become immature versions of the species.”
“What, they reproduce by cellular division?” Mairi asked.
“They don’t really have that sort of thing. It’s more that when they reach a certain size, they hack a chunk off and it becomes a clone of the parent,” the Doctor explained.
“So basically, they’re impervious to any of our weaponry, the only thing that can kill them is blowing them apart or melting them with heat too violent for us to be near, and even then we might just be making more of them and there’s a chance they’ve gone mad? Do you always bring this much fun with you wherever you go?” Mairi asked.
“Oi, this comes from our universe, not his!” Rose exclaimed. “He didn't bring it here. We’re lucky to know this much about them. Now put that brain of yours to work, Mairi and figure out a way to stop or divert these aliens from further attacks on the Moon.”
Chastened a bit, Mairi excused herself from the table. “She’s…” Rose waved her hands trying to come up with something that might explain her daughter’s temperament.
“A bit like my last incarnation?” the Doctor provided.
“Yes, and quite moody. She has a good heart, though. In time…”
“Not sure that much time exists,” the Doctor said.
“Rose?” They were interrupted by Nikolas Onishenko. “There’s a message coming in from one of the life pods. It’s Jamie.”
Luke’s eyes had followed Jamie’s hands the entire time she worked, trying to commit to memory everything that was done in case he could be of some help when the time came to reassemble the propulsion unit that Jamie was taking apart. He had to crane his neck uncomfortably to do so, but they both felt it was important that he could back her up if necessary.
Jamie explained what she was doing as she worked, whether as back up or because she just couldn’t handle the silence for too long, Luke wasn’t sure. Jamie didn’t seem particularly comfortable with silence. It was a little unsettling to him.
He wasn’t particularly close to any of the girls he knew back home except Maria, his first and best friend and she wasn’t afraid of long silences. There were times when she had seemed quite welcoming of the fact that he tended to remain quiet for long periods of time. Particularly after one of her mother’s visits.
Jamie on the other hand seemed to be someone who thought out loud. Constantly. It didn’t exactly bother him. The Doctor did a lot of his thinking out loud and Luke had rather gotten used to it in the past couple of weeks. His mind was only partially committed to listening. He didn’t need to focus his full attention on what she was saying. He’d remember all of it even with his thoughts otherwise occupied. His brain had always worked that way as long as he could remember, though that wasn’t very long.
“Got it,” Jamie said as the sound of the jet propulsion engines whined down to nothing. “The acceleration towards Torchwood station should slow now. And I slightly altered our heading before I pulled the last wire so that even though our mass will continue forward it won't be quite in their direction. ”
“Great. Now for the communicator?” Luke asked.
“I need to eat something,” she said. “You?”
“Yeah.” She grabbed a handful of food packets and some water bottles and they moved into the position that gave them both the most room to eat. “What is it this time?” Luke asked.
Jamie looked at the label codes on the packets she was holding. “Chicken, potatoes, and green beans are in the big one. The little one is blueberry crumble.”
“I’m surprised how good the food has been,” Luke commented. “I was expecting military rations the first time.”
“We should be so lucky,” said Jamie.
“What? Military rations are horrible,” Luke said.
“Maybe in your universe. In this one, the soldiers get some of the best food prepared by some of the best chefs on the planet. Soldiers travel and fight on their stomachs,” she said. “Not that they fight much anymore. The U.N. mostly is big brother these days. None of the big countries keep personal armies anymore and the little ones can’t stand up to the U.N. power, or their sheer numbers,” she explained.
“Anyway, we get good food up on the Moon and good food in the life pods. People who live and work on the Moon get triple salaries of the Earthbound. All jobs are U.N. sponsored. Even the ones like dinner lady in the communal kitchens or janitorial services,” she said.
“Plus, everyone gets free access to education, whether at my level or the university level. A lot of people will emigrate to the Moon and work menial jobs just to get the free education. Most of them stay on in better jobs once they’ve achieved their degrees and training. Once you’ve lived on the Moon, it’s not so easy to go back to something as mundane as Earth life,” Jamie told him.
“Earth life isn’t necessarily mundane,” Luke said. “I quite like it.”
“Maybe it’s different where you come from. Of course, all I have to go on are stories from Mum, really. When she wasn’t in constant danger she was bored a lot of the time, she says. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her bored in my life.”
“Were you born on the Moon?” Luke asked.
“Yes. I was in the first generation of kids born on the moon. The eldest are about eighteen now. They didn’t allow children to be born on the Moon the first few years until the hospital facilities and staff were built up to handle any pregnancy or childbirth related problems. It wasn’t exactly a quick hop back to Earth in an emergency.”
“How did they manage to enforce that?” Luke asked.
“We have to take these supplemental shots monthly because living on the Moon means we don’t get exposure to certain things we would on Earth. The ones that are available for teenagers, men and women also have a fertility suppressant. If you want to have a child then you apply for the supplemental shots that don’t have the fertility suppressant. Well, Mum didn’t but then I wasn’t exactly conceived normally,” she said.
“And the people don’t put up a fuss?”
“Part and parcel of living on the Moon,” said Jamie with a shrug. “If you don’t like it, you don’t sign the contract to come here.”
Jamie looked down at her empty bags then over at his. She collected them all together. “Well, back to work,” she said, moving to put the waste in the recycler and then heading back up to the communicator to rewire it. Fortunately it didn’t take nearly as long as they’d both feared, as Luke had quite a bit of helpful knowledge in jiggering electronic devices and had taken a crash course with the Doctor on circuitry and wires his second day on the TARDIS when the Doctor had needed a hand with fixing something. Soon enough Jamie was calling the Moon base.
“U.N.I.T. base Alpha Zeta 51492 this is life pod 7849. Come in, please.”
Ch. 14: http://amberfocus.livejournal.com/117034.html
“Now, that does not sound good,” Mairi said.
“There was one instance when I encountered them before that the leader had gone quite insane after contact with what was thought to be another benign alien race. It drove much of the crew mad as well. They were perfectly able to function and perform their day to day tasks, but when exposed to this substance excreted by the skin of the Riatuels they turned into bezerkers.”
“Sounds wonderful,” said Rose sarcastically.
“Not really, no,” said the Doctor missing her sarcasm. “Quite the opposite really. In bezerker mode there is no reasoning with them. Their ability to reason goes out the window.”
“So how did you stop them before?” Rose asked.
“We didn’t. We kept them from landing on Earth and waited for time to do its worst. They ended up tearing each other apart and then the last one standing set their ship to self-destruct. Hopefully, it’s not a situation we’ll have to deal with at all," the Doctor said.
“You said carbonaceous-silicate life-forms,” Mairi said. “But what exactly does that mean, other than part carbon, part silicate?”
“Their physical form is mostly carbon in its hardest form and the remainder is made up of crystallized igneous rock.”
“So they’re made out of diamonds with a bit of crystal thrown in for good measure?” Mairi said.
“Yes, they are. And onyx. One of the most solid species I’ve ever encountered. Pretty much the only thing that can stop them is extreme heat, like in a volcanic eruption or a fire that burns over 150 degrees Celsius. A violent enough explosion would blow them to pieces, but that wouldn’t necessarily kill them. If the pieces were large enough they’d just become immature versions of the species.”
“What, they reproduce by cellular division?” Mairi asked.
“They don’t really have that sort of thing. It’s more that when they reach a certain size, they hack a chunk off and it becomes a clone of the parent,” the Doctor explained.
“So basically, they’re impervious to any of our weaponry, the only thing that can kill them is blowing them apart or melting them with heat too violent for us to be near, and even then we might just be making more of them and there’s a chance they’ve gone mad? Do you always bring this much fun with you wherever you go?” Mairi asked.
“Oi, this comes from our universe, not his!” Rose exclaimed. “He didn't bring it here. We’re lucky to know this much about them. Now put that brain of yours to work, Mairi and figure out a way to stop or divert these aliens from further attacks on the Moon.”
Chastened a bit, Mairi excused herself from the table. “She’s…” Rose waved her hands trying to come up with something that might explain her daughter’s temperament.
“A bit like my last incarnation?” the Doctor provided.
“Yes, and quite moody. She has a good heart, though. In time…”
“Not sure that much time exists,” the Doctor said.
“Rose?” They were interrupted by Nikolas Onishenko. “There’s a message coming in from one of the life pods. It’s Jamie.”
Luke’s eyes had followed Jamie’s hands the entire time she worked, trying to commit to memory everything that was done in case he could be of some help when the time came to reassemble the propulsion unit that Jamie was taking apart. He had to crane his neck uncomfortably to do so, but they both felt it was important that he could back her up if necessary.
Jamie explained what she was doing as she worked, whether as back up or because she just couldn’t handle the silence for too long, Luke wasn’t sure. Jamie didn’t seem particularly comfortable with silence. It was a little unsettling to him.
He wasn’t particularly close to any of the girls he knew back home except Maria, his first and best friend and she wasn’t afraid of long silences. There were times when she had seemed quite welcoming of the fact that he tended to remain quiet for long periods of time. Particularly after one of her mother’s visits.
Jamie on the other hand seemed to be someone who thought out loud. Constantly. It didn’t exactly bother him. The Doctor did a lot of his thinking out loud and Luke had rather gotten used to it in the past couple of weeks. His mind was only partially committed to listening. He didn’t need to focus his full attention on what she was saying. He’d remember all of it even with his thoughts otherwise occupied. His brain had always worked that way as long as he could remember, though that wasn’t very long.
“Got it,” Jamie said as the sound of the jet propulsion engines whined down to nothing. “The acceleration towards Torchwood station should slow now. And I slightly altered our heading before I pulled the last wire so that even though our mass will continue forward it won't be quite in their direction. ”
“Great. Now for the communicator?” Luke asked.
“I need to eat something,” she said. “You?”
“Yeah.” She grabbed a handful of food packets and some water bottles and they moved into the position that gave them both the most room to eat. “What is it this time?” Luke asked.
Jamie looked at the label codes on the packets she was holding. “Chicken, potatoes, and green beans are in the big one. The little one is blueberry crumble.”
“I’m surprised how good the food has been,” Luke commented. “I was expecting military rations the first time.”
“We should be so lucky,” said Jamie.
“What? Military rations are horrible,” Luke said.
“Maybe in your universe. In this one, the soldiers get some of the best food prepared by some of the best chefs on the planet. Soldiers travel and fight on their stomachs,” she said. “Not that they fight much anymore. The U.N. mostly is big brother these days. None of the big countries keep personal armies anymore and the little ones can’t stand up to the U.N. power, or their sheer numbers,” she explained.
“Anyway, we get good food up on the Moon and good food in the life pods. People who live and work on the Moon get triple salaries of the Earthbound. All jobs are U.N. sponsored. Even the ones like dinner lady in the communal kitchens or janitorial services,” she said.
“Plus, everyone gets free access to education, whether at my level or the university level. A lot of people will emigrate to the Moon and work menial jobs just to get the free education. Most of them stay on in better jobs once they’ve achieved their degrees and training. Once you’ve lived on the Moon, it’s not so easy to go back to something as mundane as Earth life,” Jamie told him.
“Earth life isn’t necessarily mundane,” Luke said. “I quite like it.”
“Maybe it’s different where you come from. Of course, all I have to go on are stories from Mum, really. When she wasn’t in constant danger she was bored a lot of the time, she says. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her bored in my life.”
“Were you born on the Moon?” Luke asked.
“Yes. I was in the first generation of kids born on the moon. The eldest are about eighteen now. They didn’t allow children to be born on the Moon the first few years until the hospital facilities and staff were built up to handle any pregnancy or childbirth related problems. It wasn’t exactly a quick hop back to Earth in an emergency.”
“How did they manage to enforce that?” Luke asked.
“We have to take these supplemental shots monthly because living on the Moon means we don’t get exposure to certain things we would on Earth. The ones that are available for teenagers, men and women also have a fertility suppressant. If you want to have a child then you apply for the supplemental shots that don’t have the fertility suppressant. Well, Mum didn’t but then I wasn’t exactly conceived normally,” she said.
“And the people don’t put up a fuss?”
“Part and parcel of living on the Moon,” said Jamie with a shrug. “If you don’t like it, you don’t sign the contract to come here.”
Jamie looked down at her empty bags then over at his. She collected them all together. “Well, back to work,” she said, moving to put the waste in the recycler and then heading back up to the communicator to rewire it. Fortunately it didn’t take nearly as long as they’d both feared, as Luke had quite a bit of helpful knowledge in jiggering electronic devices and had taken a crash course with the Doctor on circuitry and wires his second day on the TARDIS when the Doctor had needed a hand with fixing something. Soon enough Jamie was calling the Moon base.
“U.N.I.T. base Alpha Zeta 51492 this is life pod 7849. Come in, please.”
Ch. 14: http://amberfocus.livejournal.com/117034.html
