VENGEANCE ON VAROS

BY: PHILIP MARTIN

Part One

Original Air Date: 19 January 1985
Running time: 44:42

ARAK: Not him again.

ETTA: Yeah.

ARAK: ComDiv must be running short of people to laserise.

ETTA: Yeah.

ARAK: Rubbish. He's not hurt, he's only acting.

ETTA: Never.

ARAK: Is this all?

ETTA: It's what they sent.

ARAK: How can I work, dig on this? It's not enough to fill a clinker-mole's belly, let alone a working man's.

ETTA: There's shortages, maybe more to come.

ETTA: Governor's punch-in vote tonight.

ARAK: Voting, voting. This Governor calls a punch-in every time he wants to change his trousers. The sooner he gets ruled out, the better.

ETTA: What would the next one do different?

ARAK: Everything. Anything. What is this I'm eating, Etta?

ETTA: How should I know? I just get it out the dispenser. It didn't have a label on it.

ARAK: Get off. I want to chuck it at the screen when your beloved Sir Governor begs my vote.

ETTA: Attacking ComTec property can bring loss of viewing rights. Way you're thinking, you'll be in that one's place. I'd like to see how far you get in the Dome of Punishment. You'd not even survive the first distort section.

ARAK: Marriage to you prepares me to survive anything. Why have they stopped? Oh, it's pathetic. When did they last show something worth watching, eh? When did we last see a decent execution.

ETTA: Last week.

ARAK: What?

ETTA: The blind man.

ARAK: That was a repeat.

ETTA: It wasn't. You're thinking of that infiltrator. He wasn't blind. Not at the beginning, anyway.

ARAK: Yes, he was. I'm going to sleep, anyway.

ETTA: Can't. You've got to vote.

ARAK: Do it for me.

ETTA: Do you want PolCorps calling here? Do you, Arak?

ARAK: How would they know it wasn't me voting?

ETTA: I'd tell 'em.

DOCTOR: That's it.

PERI: I don't believe it.

DOCTOR: I haven't told you what I've done, yet.

PERI: You sound confident. I don't want to know.

DOCTOR: What is the matter with you?

PERI: Every time you sound confident nowadays, something terrible seems to happen.

DOCTOR: Does it? What do you mean?

PERI: Well, since we left Telos, you've caused three electrical fires, a total power failure, and a near collision with a storm of asteroids. Not only that, you've twice managed to get yourself lost in the TARDIS corridors, wiped the memory of the flight computer and jettisoned three quarters of the storage hold. You even managed to burn dinner last night.

DOCTOR: I have never said I was perfect.

PERI: If you recall, last night I was supposed to have a cold supper.

DOCTOR: That was an unfortunate accident.

PERI: Before each and every unfortunate accident, you've said in a loud, confident voice, that's it. And to be honest, Doc, I am getting tired of clearing up the mess and being thrown around the TARDIS like the teddy bear of some psychotic baby.

DOCTOR: Have you finished, Perpugilliam?

PERI: For the moment.

DOCTOR: It's a good thing I like you.

PERI: Right now, the feeling isn't mutual.

DOCTOR: What more do you want? I've cleared up as you requested. I've s*ab the chameleon circuit.

PERI: So now what will we materialise as?

DOCTOR: A police box. I think.

PERI: Well, better than a pyramid or Nelson's column.

DOCTOR: We have never materialised as Nelson's column!

PERI: We did as a pyramid. On the frozen plains of Ewa Nine, remember?

DOCTOR: It's a good thing I'm a tolerant man, because sometimes you push me too far.

PERI: You're the most inconsistent and intolerant man I've ever met.

DOCTOR: Intolerant?

DOCTOR: Intolerant?

DOCTOR: Intolerant? Me?

PERI: Then why are you shouting?

DOCTOR: Because

DOCTOR: There's something wrong.

PERI: What?

DOCTOR: Shush. There's something amiss in the power transmission system.

PERI: Still? After all the work you've done?

DOCTOR: It's the one area I didn't check.

PERI: Oh, great. Aren't there emergency power circuits or something?

DOCTOR: It seems that function is about to become defunct too.

PERI: Terrific.

DOCTOR: The problem is, Peri, we are faced with a conundrum wrapped up in a dilemma.

PERI: What exactly does that mean?

DOCTOR: We could very well be stuck in a limbo of space and time.

PERI: For how long?

DOCTOR: Eternity.

SIL: You're a reasonable man. Lower the price of your commodity a little, please.

GOVERNOR: My people deserve fair prices for the Zeiton-7 ore.

SIL: Who else will buy from you if my corporation withdraws its contract?

GOVERNOR: We shall have to find other outlets, I should think.

SIL: You are not a rich planet. Zeiton is all you have to sell.

GOVERNOR: There are other exports. We're expanding into entertainments and communications with some success.

SIL: How?

GOVERNOR: The Punishment Dome. We sell tapes of what happens there.

SIL: Ah, that is enterprising. Your idea, Governor?

GOVERNOR: Yes.

SIL: Are they very disturbing, these videos you sell?

GOVERNOR: They show what befalls those who refuse to obey the orders by which the people of Varos must live.

SIL: t*rture? Blindness? Executions?

GOVERNOR: All the functions of the Punishment Dome are recorded as warnings to miscreants everywhere.

SIL: But they entertain as well as instruct?

GOVERNOR: You must ask my Chief Officer. He is responsible for ComTec Division product.

SIL: I will hope to help organise your sales exports, if you consent to lower your Zeiton price.

GOVERNOR: I can't. I'm sorry.

SIL: Then my patience is exhausted and spent totally.

CHIEF: The people are anxious for a decision on the new price of our product.

GOVERNOR: Negotiations between ourselves and Galtron Mining are far from complete. The broadcast must be delayed.

CHIEF: Impossible. The rules must be obeyed by Governors as well as prisoners.

GOVERNOR: What is the difference?

CHIEF: What point have you reached, gentlemen?

SIL: Stalemate, on contract, royalties, everything.

CHIEF: But surely, a little movement regarding cost?

SIL: Already I have gone beyond my authority to meet the stubbornness of this Governor.

GOVERNOR: We must have an increase of price. We must.

SIL: I will wait. Perhaps the next Governor will be more sensible of reality.

GOVERNOR: I am the Governor. You deal with me.

SIL: But tonight you must place yourself at the mercy of the votes of your people. Should they not agree with your stubborn stance, you may be obliterated.

CHIEF: He is right, sir.

GOVERNOR: I am not afraid to die. My family have served and perished at the will of the people. Now, if it is my turn, so be it.

DOCTOR: That's interesting, not to say arresting.

PERI: Where are we?

DOCTOR: Neither here nor there.

PERI: Doctor.

DOCTOR: Somewhere. Let's see.

DOCTOR: Stalled, in the equivalent of a galactic lay-by. See?

PERI: No.

DOCTOR: Midway between Cetes and Sculptor. Materialised into actual and temporal void.

PERI: Yes, but why won't it move?

DOCTOR: This is the one problem the TARDIS cannot overcome. Like all things in the universe, she cannot move without power and energy.

PERI: Yes, Doctor, but we can. Don't give up, please.

DOCTOR: It's all right for you, Peri.

PERI: Me? Why is it okay for me?

DOCTOR: You've only got one life. You'll age here in the TARDIS and then die. Me, I shall go on regenerating until all my lives are spent.

SIL: Like this Governor we do not. Replace you must arrange most soon. That is what our secret payments to you are for.

CHIEF: My dear Sil, a little patience is all that is required. Trust me.

SIL: Do you think he suspects the truth of matters?

CHIEF: No, he simply wants a better deal.

SIL: Maybe I should dispense with your payoffs. Perhaps I should offer that and you to him.

CHIEF: You simply really mustn't thr*at me. You need me for what you hope to gain here.

SIL: If I do not succeed one way, I favour another. Enough talk. I would wish to witness the suffering moments of this fool Governorship.

CHIEF: I'm sorry. Sil refuses to increase his offer.

GOVERNOR: In a few moments, I have to appear before ViewPol. Propose further austerities, food dole, work feed cuts. They won't accept it. The vote against me will be overwhelming. We know what that will do.

CHIEF: The Constitution requires that Governors who fail to please the majority must suffer. It is the price of failure.

GOVERNOR: Even until death. I wish I had something to offer the people of Varos. Something to give them hope.

CHIEF: Bend the truth a little. Imply you intend to squeeze a few million extra credits at the Galatron negotiations, and if you don't, well, fools have short memories.

BAX: You must make ready for the broadcast, sir.

GOVERNOR: Yes, yes, yes.

GOVERNOR: Good evening.

GOVERNOR (on screen): For centuries, the Galatron Mining Corporation has declared rich dividends by exploiting our labour. Now is the time to steel ourselves for sacrifice, to gain what is ours by right.

GOVERNOR (on screen): As always, I seek ways to market the resources of our poor planet

ARAK: Blah, blah, blah. Get to the point.

ETTA: Shut your mouth.

GOVERNOR (on screen): Seven credits per unit of zeiton ore mined is what I asked.

ARAK: Well, you won't get it.

ETTA: One more yak out of you, Arak, and you're down on my ViewStat report as a subvert.

GOVERNOR (on screen): Surely that is not too much to ask.

ARAK: I'm entitled to an opinion.

ETTA: Entitled to a vote is all.

ARAK: I know how I'll use that, then.

GOVERNOR (on screen): Viewers of Varos, I ask that we agree to hold out for what is a fair price for our principal marketable resource, that of zeiton ore. Those who wish to fight alongside me for a prosperous tomorrow, vote Yes to a ten percent reduction of our food rations. Those who wish for full bellies today and nothing to eat tomorrow have the option to punch their No button.

ARAK: Right.

ARAK: He's lost! Go on, pour it on and on.

ETTA: No, no.

ARAK: Yes, he's going. Yes, he's snuffed it!

ETTA: Has he?

ARAK: Oh. Well, next time. Next time for sure.

ETTA: He's strong. That's three losing votes in a row!

ARAK: Yeah. Next vote will see him blasted out for sure. No one's ever taken four bashings from that cell disintegrator thing.

ETTA: I wish you'd leave him alone.

ARAK: Why? He's the worst Governor we've had since. Well, since

ETTA: Since the last one?

SIL: Is the Governor no more?

BAX: He survived. Just.

SIL: We must arrange good riddance of this bad Governor soon.

CHIEF: He is weakened by the human cell disintegration b*mb. Engage him in negotiations now and you may gain advantage.

GOVERNOR: Permission to leave Governor's domain.

CHIEF: Congratulations, sir. You survived the vote.

SIL: Soon, your death will be apparent. You will see. Should we try again to reach agreement before I must communicate with my executive council?

GOVERNOR: Later.

SIL: Now or never!

GOVERNOR: Give me a moment or two.

SIL: Very well. Transport me to the office of the Governor.

SIL: I find the G-forces of this Varos size world quite excessive.

GOVERNOR: I'm so tired.

CHIEF: I warned the people would not accept yet more rationing cuts for whatever the reason.

GOVERNOR: This system of referendum, how much longer can I survive?

CHIEF: One more vote?

BAX: Governor, may I suggest you do something to please, to entertain, to please the people. Just to give yourself time to recover your strength. Why not give them the life of the rebel Jondar? After all, it's his death or yours.

GOVERNOR: It would have to be something different.

BAX: I thought perhaps by laser obliteration, sir, by a concentrated build-up of power. Neutralise the Q switch. That way, the random laser emitter builds up to a giant pulse of light, an expl*si*n of focused laser energy that would wipe the prisoner out of existence.

GOVERNOR: We have never shown that style of despatch.

CHIEF: Too quick. It would be over too soon. We'd never be able to sell so swift an execution.

BAX: It's the uncertainly. No one knows quite when the power will blow. We could get at least ten minutes of tension out of his apprehension and fear.

CHIEF: It's novel, I suppose.

BAX: I'm sure the video of his execution would sell. You said we must export or die.

GOVERNOR: Yes. Yes, I did. Very well, arrange it. And Bax

BAX: Sir?

GOVERNOR: Thank you for the suggestion.

BAX: End random pulses. Conserve CB. Neutralise Q switch. Activate viewer warning of imminent public execution.

QUILLAM: Bax.

BAX: Sir?

QUILLAM: The idea for the random laser obliteration, did that come from you?

BAX: Yes, Mister Quillam.

QUILLAM: Well done. New variation of execution is always welcome.

BAX: Thank you, sir.

QUILLAM: I'll bear you in mind when my rehabilitation section's reorganised.

BAX: Thank you, sir. I'd welcome a chance to work with you in prison research.

QUILLAM: Ah, Chief. What of the seditionist's woman? Does the Governor require sh*ts of her witnessing her husband's obliteration?

CHIEF: He didn't ask for them.

QUILLAM: No sense of theatre.

CHIEF: Shall I order it?

QUILLAM: Oh, no, no, no. I have other delights in store for that lady.

PERI: Here, a little something to stop you sighing like a steam engine.

DOCTOR: What is it?

PERI: TARDIS manual. I found it in the workshop propping open a vent.

DOCTOR: Oh, yeah. Started reading that once.

PERI: Hey! Won't that tell you what's wrong with the TARDIS?

DOCTOR: Huh, I know perfectly well what category of disaster has befallen us.

PERI: The comparator?

DOCTOR: No. No, not this time. Might as well confirm my diagnosis. Something to pass eternity with, I suppose.

PERI: Doctor, the column moved!

DOCTOR: Oh, yeah? Probably some vestigial power passing through to the transitional elements. Which would mean

DOCTOR: Where are we?

PERI: What is it?

DOCTOR: Yes. Hold that. Don't lose the place. And don't give up hope. Not yet.

PERI: Yes, Doctor.

GOVERNOR: Another attempt will be made to obtain better terms for the mining of our resources. One other pronouncement. As Governor, I hold final say as to the appeal against sentence of death. The rebel Jondar, although enduring his pre-execution ordeal well, must nevertheless suffer the fate of all who transgress the rules of our society.

GOVERNOR (on screen): At eight o'clock, then, attend to your screens to witness what must befall all who oppose the reality of our just constitution.

RONDEL: The order for your husband's execution has just been received.

ARETA: When is it?

RONDEL: Soon.

ARETA: Jondar was your friend.

RONDEL: Before he rebelled against orders.

ARETA: Curious to see how the life of a guard has changed you.

RONDEL: I can do nothing.

ARETA: Rondel! Do you know what he found, what he saw?

RONDEL: No. Please!

ARETA: While the rest of us toil without hope, the officer elite enjoy power and luxury.

RONDEL: Lies!

ARETA: Varos is what is always was. A prison planet, a colony for the criminally insane. The descendants of the original officers still rule, by fear, with the spectacle of death our only entertainment. That is what Jondar found, what he learnt. That is why they want to k*ll him.

RONDEL: I must leave.

ARETA: Can't we make an attempt to save him? Rondel, please.

RONDEL: It's too late.

DOCTOR: TR reading from the IV table.

PERI: Is that in the hypertime ratio section.

DOCTOR: Where else?

PERI: Er, orthoganal reading is Zee S plus 101 EQ.

DOCTOR: Zee? Oh, zed.

PERI: Yes.

DOCTOR: Well, that's as it should be. The power conversion factor is s*ab, so why aren't we receiving full transmission of that power? There's a possibility. May I?

PERI: What is it?

DOCTOR: Let me see. Yes, we might. We'll try. Hold that.

PERI: Doctor, it's working!

DOCTOR: With the last vestiges of our emergency power booster. Enough for a limited flight, no further. The thing that depresses me most of all is that the transitional elements have lost the capacity to generate orbital energy and should be, must be, replaced.

PERI: How long would that take?

DOCTOR: No time at all. If we can obtain enough zeiton-7 to reline the transpower system, the TARDIS will be like, well, as she was. No, it's not the fitting that's the problem. Zeiton is a very rare element. It's only to be found on one planet.

PERI: Well, let's go there, then.

DOCTOR: Hmm? Oh. I suppose if we use the emergency power booster to bypass the failing circuits, we could just reach the planet of Varos in the constellation of Cetes. Question is, when? If we miss their mining era, we'll be stranded for evermore.

PERI: Well, anything's better than being stuck here.

QUILLAM: What's inside that skull? Anger? Fear?

ARETA: Hatred of you, Quillam.

QUILLAM: Ah, but hatred of yourself as well. We all have some parts of our mind that we consider unworthy, some memory that makes us shudder and squirm. Do you know what my process of transmutation does? It focuses on the seeds of fear in your mind and makes them grow until you, your body, your face, your entire being, transforms into the image in your mind. You should turn into something quite interesting. A reptile, or something simian perhaps.

ARETA: Or something truly loathsome, such as you.

QUILLAM: Take her to the rehabilitation unit.

RONDEL: Sir.

CHIEF: For sedition, thought rebellion, and incitement of other rebels to organise, to unionise and to terrorise the workforce of Varos, the vote of the people was for your death to take place by laser obliteration.

JONDAR: The Governor was to consider my appeal!

CHIEF: Our Governor bows to the will of his people. As Systems Arbiter and Chief Officer, I confirm that the conditions of the Constitution have been complied with. I therefore permit your execution to proceed.

JONDAR: When will this be, Chief Officer?

CHIEF: At eight o'clock. You have ample time to compose yourself for eternity. All of five short minutes.

CHIEF: It isn't exactly certain when obliteration takes place. Stand clear of the execution site. You have your anti-hallucination helmet?

MALDAK: Yes, sir.

CHIEF: Good. Switched on?

MALDAK: Yes, sir.

CHIEF: Good. We wouldn't wish for one of my guards to succumb to the phantoms of the Punishment Dome. Not with all of Varos watching.

MALDAK: No, sir.

DOCTOR: Ah, who's this coming to welcome us?

MALDAK: Control. Senior Guard Maldak 239. Report of fault on anti-hallucination helmet. Am experiencing sensory distortion. Permission to withdraw?

CHIEF (OOV.): Stay until after execution.

MALDAK: Understood.

PERI: Artificial atmosphere, enclosed, underground, breathable.

DOCTOR: With distorted readings from a nearby power source.

PERI: What kind of place is this, Doctor? Why did that man f*re at us and then turn away as if we didn't exist?

DOCTOR: Let's go and ask him.

BAX: Sir, Chief, there's something wrong.

CHIEF: Be quiet!

BAX: But we

CHIEF: Attend to your function!

SIL: Silence! Execution is imminent.

GOVERNOR: What is it?

SIL: This is the most wonderful entertainment.

DOCTOR: Hello.

PERI: Hi!

DOCTOR: Not interrupting anything?

MALDAK: I know how this place works. I know you are but a product of my mind, and I choose to resist you to know that you cannot exist.

DOCTOR: Quite right.

MALDAK: Control, Control, my anti-hallucination switch is suffering malfunction. Permission to withdraw.

DOCTOR: That's what we've come to fix. Isn't that right, Peri?

PERI: Yes, sure.

DOCTOR: Let me have it. Come on. Give it to me now.

PERI: Doctor, careful!

DOCTOR: Thank you.

SIL: Is this planned?

GOVERNOR: Certainly not. What's happened?

CHIEF: I'll alert the IR squad immediately, sir.

BAX: Sir, there's another group

CHIEF: Yes, thank you, we have seen.

GOVERNOR: Are they rebels?

BAX: I don't know.

GOVERNOR: We must, we must act.

SIL: They must be apprehended, sentenced, ex*cuted. All of them!

GOVERNOR: Attend to it.

CHIEF: Sir. Bax!

BAX: Sir.

SIL: My company is only interested in s*ab situations.

GOVERNOR: Varos has been s*ab for more than two hundred years.

SIL: See you remain so, or a most unfavourable report I will give!

GOVERNOR: I, I'm

SIL: Help him.

SIL: Now, my dear friend, what is good price for your zeiton-7 ore?

GOVERNOR: Seven credits per unit. Seven. I'm so, so tired.

SIL: Seven credits a unit, when the engineers of every known solar system cry out for his product to drive their space-time craft? A planet of fools who don't realise their luck and don't deserve to. Return to our craft. Alert the Council to have a colonising force sent to this sector.

sl*ve: Right.

SIL: When I control this planet, I will possess the means of power throughout this entire galaxy! And, perhaps, for all others beyond.

JONDAR: Help me! Whoever you are, quickly!

DOCTOR: Peri, pull his away from the wall.

PERI: Like this?

DOCTOR: That's it. Right, hold. Close your eyes and wish for luck. Here we go.

DOCTOR: Right, now the other one.

JONDAR: Who are you?

DOCTOR: Let's get back to the TARDIS, I'll explain there.

PERI: Doctor!

DOCTOR: Then again, retreat another way might be a more viable idea.

PERI: They're too close.

DOCTOR: Help me turn this round.

DOCTOR: Right.

DOCTOR: Come on!

CHIEF: k*ll laser connection!

ARAK: Run! Run! Go on, run!

DOCTOR: It's a d*ad end.

JONDAR: I can't go on much further.

PERI: Nor me.

DOCTOR: What is this place?

JONDAR: An ordinary prison once, but now. There's a patrol car coming. I'm sorry, I thought there was an escape cell down here.

DOCTOR: Let's create a little difficulty for our uniformed friends, shall we?

JONDAR: Why should you want to help me?

DOCTOR: You're the only person we've encountered so far who hasn't tried to destroy us. Help me. Pull! Pull!

DOCTOR: Ah! Right, let's see what I can do with this. Stand back.

CHIEF: Where's that emergency lighting?

DOCTOR: If you insist.

PERI: This way.

ARETA: I thought we'd lost you. They set up your execution so quickly we couldn't even stage an attempt at a rescue.

JONDAR: I thought he was sent by you.

ARETA: No.

DOCTOR: I will explain. I'd sooner leave whatever this place is and get back to the safety of the TARDIS, er, ship.

JONDAR: Spaceship?

PERI: Something like that.

ARETA: Rondal's agreed to help us escape through the guard's entrance.

RONDAL: We must leave straightaway.

DOCTOR: First, I want to know what this place is.

JONDAR: This place is where the innocent are tortured as the population gloats over our efforts to survive.

RONDAL: Not all enjoy. Some of us seek to help.

ARETA: For every Rondal there are thousands of Varosians slumped over their wall screens, deadened by overwork and starvation.

DOCTOR: Starvation? But Varos has precious mineral deposits. Zeiton-7.

JONDAR: That stuff. Who wants it?

DOCTOR: I wouldn't say no to a little.

RONDAL: We must go.

ARAK: Great! Great, they're getting away!

ETTA: Yeah, but wait till they meet the guards at the end of the tunnel.

ARAK: Nah, they'll be all right. This batch of rebos are good.

ETTA: I like that one, the one in the funny clothes.

DOCTOR: Back.

DOCTOR: All these cameras, do they feed pictures from here into every home?

JONDAR: The whole dome is wired. Areas of ingenious danger lurk in every corner. You can die in so many varied and spectacular ways.

ARETA: The cruel thing is that there is supposed to be safe route leading towards an exit. Freedom.

DOCTOR: If we can get back to the TARDIS, we can get away from here much more easily.

JONDAR: How?

PERI: You find a way back to the TARDIS and then the Doctor'll be delighted to demonstrate.

ARETA: Do you know where we are?

JONDAR: Near the purple zone, next to the interrogation and execution area.

ARETA: Is there another way to get back to his spaceship?

DOCTOR: TARDIS.

JONDAR: Not without traversing the purple zone.

ARETA: Then we're trapped. Good as d*ad.

DOCTOR: Not yet. Let's see what this purple passage has to offer.

JONDAR: Is he sane, this Doctor?

PERI: Sometimes.

DOCTOR: Peri, this is no time for casual conversation.

PERI (OOV.): Coming.

DOCTOR: We must pass through quickly. Quickly! The guards might return any time.

JONDAR: Come on. We must try.

ARAK: Oh, I like this section. I wonder if they know what's waiting.

ETTA: This'll sort them out.

DOCTOR: Of course, that's it. Close your eyes.

PERI: I can't.

DOCTOR: Close them. Now! Right, now all take hands. That's it. Now, follow me. It's just an illusion.

DOCTOR: Come on, but whatever happens, keep your eyes closed.

SIL: He's not a fool, your intruder.

BAX: Perhaps just lucky.

CHIEF: Or he has received information on how the dome works. There was a guard helping them.

BAX: The prison contains too many devices. No one could know or survive them all.

SIL: They do not seem or act like Varosians. They could be from a rival company! The Amorb-Prospect Division. I would want the strangers removed for questioning.

CHIEF: Get me a line to patrol headquarters.

BAX: Yes, Chief.

SIL: Then check on that object found near the execution chamber. Have it brought here at once!

DOCTOR: All clear.

PERI: Oh, what was that thing we saw? A creature from my worst imaginings.

DOCTOR: It might in fact. Ah ha! There we are.

ARETA: A gee-jee fly? But it was huge!

DOCTOR: We thought it was. That little fly was enlarged by the effect of the purple zone on our visual cortex. Once the purple light was eliminated, we were restored to a proper sense of proportion. Interesting.

PERI: Is everything we experience here like that?

JONDAR: No, some dangers are very real. The crowd loves to watch trialists face a danger they believe to be imaginary. The viewers applaud and shout with laughter as we poor fools walk towards certain death.

DOCTOR: Who loves to watch?

JONDAR: Almost all of Varos. It's the way the officers divert discontent, questions, thoughts of revolution.

DOCTOR: Oh. Let's see what else this fun palace has to offer.

PERI: Oh, what a stench. Phew!

JONDAR: Animal.

DOCTOR: Real or imaginary? Just as loathsome. The niff at least is not an illusion. Or is it?

JONDAR: Just like ComTec design to put a real monster immediately beyond an imaginary one.

DOCTOR: Or is that exactly how they would expect us to reason. One way to find out.

PERI: No, Doctor!

DOCTOR: It's all right, they're lights. Green lights, two of them.

BAX: The ViewPop like them. We've received very good punch-in appreciation figures.

CHIEF: Good. All the more impact when they are captured, tried and ex*cuted. A rebo leader, and his woman, and intruders from another world. That's not only prime time viewing here, but the recording of their final agonies will sell on every civilised world.

PERI: The TARDIS should be

DOCTOR: Just here.

DOCTOR: It was just here.

ARETA: Your ship has gone?

DOCTOR: It most certainly has.

JONDAR: Where?

PERI: Yes, Doctor, where?

DOCTOR: Well, it can't be far away. Hmm. Come on.

SIL: This mysterious most is.

CHIEF: There's an explanation. The strangers will be captured soon, then we'll force some answers.

SIL: Who are other people helping rebels? If he should be of another mining corporation, our contracts are ended.

GOVERNOR: No, he is unknown to us.

SIL: I would wish them d*ad. Only that would please my company.

GOVERNOR: Close them out, Chief. Use every guard available. I'll talk to the people. Arrange it quickly.

BAX: What about this?

GOVERNOR: Keep trying to open it.

PERI: All these corridors look the same to me.

DOCTOR: Check down there.

JONDAR: Shush. There's a patrol car coming. Quick!

PERI: Doctor, look out!

GUARD: There's one!

ARAK: They've had it now.

MALDAK: Make a fool of me, would you? Take her to the Prison Control Centre. The others, to the termination cell.

ETTA: Oh, dear. And I really liked him.

GOVERNOR (on screen): Good evening.

ARAK: Oh, no. What's he want?

ETTA: Shut up and listen.

GOVERNOR: I must report that the attempt to divert the course of justice has been repelled. The rebel and his compatriots have either been captured or destroyed. The extent of the rebellion is greater than feared, and help from another source, perhaps from another world, is suspected. The vehicle of their transport is now in the possession of my officer guard. The leader of the inv*de is at this moment walking into a no-options k*ll centre. There he will suffer the fate of all who seek to overturn the law of Varos.

GOVERNOR: I ask you to vote now upon my campaign to halt insurrection. I await your verdict. Yes, and the rebellion will be crushed. No, and no doubt another Governor will have other plans.

GOVERNOR: Thank you.

PERI: Drink, Doctor? Drink, Doctor. Drink water. Drink water.

DOCTOR: Peri!

CHIEF: What a wonderful thing a man's mind is. The hallucinatory inductor makes him believe he cannot survive, and soon he will be unable to draw one breath after the next.

ARAK: Have we got anything to drink?

PERI: Doctor!

GOVERNOR: Keep quiet! We're recording. The moment approaches. Close up on death throes, please.

BAX: No sign of life, sir.

SIL: d*ad as death!

BAX: How long should I hold?

GOVERNOR: And cut it, now.
{"type": "series", "show": "Doctor Who", "episode": "22x03 - Vengeance on Varos - part 1"}