THE KEEPER OF TRAKEN

BY: JOHNNY BYRNE

Part Four

First Air Date: 21 February 1981
Running time: 25:11

MELKUR: Thank you, Consul Katura. You were most wise to complete the access to the Source. I am grateful.

KATURA: Who are you?

DOCTOR: Your new Keeper.

TREMAS: This is no Keeper of Traken.

DOCTOR: Well, I know it's not exactly what you had in mind, but now I'm afraid you're rather stuck with him.

MELKUR: Consul Luvic, you may now summon Proctor Neman.

DOCTOR: I should do it, Consul, if I were you. He'll make you.

MELKUR: There is no compulsion. It is your Keeper who asks. Do it to serve him.

DOCTOR: Huh. No compulsion? You've changed your tune.

MELKUR: Apparently you haven't, Doctor. Consuls, this man is known to me, as is his ambition.

DOCTOR: My only ambition is to stop you, Melkur.

MELKUR: An unhappy man. The old Keeper rejected him and you Consuls sentenced him to death. Is that not so?

KATURA: He speaks the truth. Do as the Keeper says, Luvic.

DOCTOR: (quietly) I want to get a closer look at that Melkur creature. I have the oddest feeling we've met somewhere before.

NYSSA: How could he just disappear and reappear like that?

ADRIC: That's nothing. We do it all the time in the TARDIS. Of course! Just like the TARDIS.

TREMAS: And you have no right to sit in that chair. How dare you expect us to believe you were known to the old Keeper?

MELKUR: Known to him, Consul? It was he that arranged that I should succeed.

TREMAS: Impossible! No outsider can become Keeper.

KATURA: That's true. Our choice was Consul Kassia.

MELKUR: Yes, Consul. That is why it happened as you saw it happen. The old Keeper foresaw this, and Kassia gave her life so that I should serve you.

DOCTOR: If you ask me, poor old Kassia didn't have much say in the matter.

MELKUR: You still do not recognise me, Doctor, but soon you will know me. Soon.

NYSSA: So this is the TARDIS. But how

ADRIC: Just a minute.

ADRIC: We're safe now. No one except the Doctor can get in. Or at least that's the theory.

NYSSA: How can all this be like Melkur?

ADRIC: I don't know, but the Fourier analysis we did says it is.

NYSSA: But why is it so much bigger inside than it is outside?

ADRIC: Oh, the Doctor told me that was because it was dimensionally transcendental.

NYSSA: What does that mean?

ADRIC: It means it was bigger inside than outside.

NYSSA: What are you doing?

ADRIC: Testing drives, in case we have to leave in a hurry.

NYSSA: What is it, Adric?

ADRIC: I'm getting blocking.

NYSSA: Blocking? What does that mean?

ADRIC: It means if we have to leave in a hurry, we're in very serious trouble.

MELKUR: Proctor Neman, you will dismiss the Consuls and have them confined to quarters. A purely temporary measure, Consuls.

NEMAN: The Doctor is under sentence of death, Keeper.

MELKUR: Yes, death. I had not forgotten. I am loath to begin my regime with bloodshed, but in this case.

MELKUR: You are all confined to quarters. Your fate will be decided later. And Doctor, try to leave, try to gain access to the TARDIS, and you will suffer.

NEMAN: You are confined to Consul Tremas' quarters until further notice.

DOCTOR: He'll destroy you too, Neman, just as he destroyed Kassia.

NEMAN: Consuls, you are dismissed. Escort them to their quarters.

NYSSA: There must be something we can do.

ADRIC: There is. The Doctor showed me how this thing could be destroyed.

NYSSA: How?

ADRIC: You wouldn't like it.

NYSSA: Adric, if it stopped Melkur

ADRIC: It would. It would, but it'd do a lot more than that.

NYSSA: What do you mean?

ADRIC: We can destroy Melkur, Nyssa, but only by completely destroying the Source.

TREMAS: Doctor, these chaps are r

DOCTOR: Shush.

DOCTOR: Looks like the second law of thermodynamics.

DOCTOR: Talking of entropy, what happened last night in the sanctum, the statue fading and struggling, that was most unexpected.

TREMAS: It's normal, Doctor. The reaction when a new Keeper succeeds. The effort weakens him. His power comes and goes at first.

DOCTOR: A C-reaction. Melkur all sweetness and reason because he's vulnerable.

TREMAS: Yes, stalling opposition until his power's secure.

DOCTOR: Well then, perhaps we could apply the ultimate sanction.

TREMAS: His power's increasing by the minute. The full reaction process is a matter of hours. No, what am I thinking of? We still need all five rings.

DOCTOR: What, even though we've got the master plans of the Source Manipulator?

TREMAS: You mean there may be a way to short-circuit the security system?

MELKUR: Neman, you carried out my orders?

NEMAN: Yes, Keeper. The Consuls are confined to their quarters and the residential wing is sealed off.

MELKUR: That is good, very good, because until my power is fully active, I shall depend on you.

NEMAN: You may count on me, Keeper.

MELKUR: Excellent. Let us entrust you with another task. Neman, Consul Tremas has a certain document in his possession. It must be secured at once.

TREMAS: A control panel at the base of the chamber, activated by Consular rings

DOCTOR: Which in our case we have not got. What's that piece of mechanism? Oh, of course, a recursive integrator. Hmm. How are the rings encoded?

TREMAS: Er, ah! Gamma mode encryption.

DOCTOR: I see. Then there'll be a single large prime number at the root of it and we don't have the integer key. What a pity you still haven't got your own ring.

TREMAS: Oh, you couldn't derive it from one ring. The computation would take thousands of years.

DOCTOR: Oh, I don't know. I know one or two shortcuts.

DOCTOR: Come in.

DOCTOR: Ah, Neman. How nice.

NEMAN: Consul Tremas, I have orders to secure the plan of the Source Manipulator. You will please hand it over.

TREMAS: Impossible, Neman. The plans of the Source Manipulator are for the eyes of Consuls only!

NEMAN: The Keeper orders it, that is enough. Do as I say.

DOCTOR: Dear me, he seems to be almost back on form.

MELKUR: Tremas, you will do as Proctor Neman asks.

TREMAS: I have told him and now I am going to tell you.

DOCTOR: All right, all right, Melkur. There's no need to show off your powers as Keeper. We know what you can do.

MELKUR: Only a beginning, Doctor. Persuade your friend to cooperate.

DOCTOR: Tremas, why don't you do as he asks? It's only a bit of paper, after all. You know why he wants it. He doesn't want you to show it to me.

MELKUR: Correct, Doctor.

DOCTOR: Afraid I might spoil your fun?

DOCTOR: I'd watch it if I were you, Melkur. Burning the candle at both ends and all that.

MELKUR: Hold it out, Neman.

MELKUR: Now, Doctor, we are safe. The Source is secure.

DOCTOR: Oh, by the way, by the way, Neman. Neman, come here. You chaps might be interested in this as well.

DOCTOR: Listen, do you know that expression, two heads are better than one?

DOCTOR: Well, I think that one head's better than three.

TREMAS: Part of the problem solved, Doctor.

DOCTOR: So far it's going magnificently. Melkur'll be out of action for a while. Let's try and make that a permanent arrangement, shall we? Come on.

NYSSA: The servo shut-off.

ADRIC: Perfect. Now there's just the crossover element left.

FOSTER: Halt.

TREMAS: Consul Tremas on special mission for the Keeper.

FOSTER: Halt, or I'll f*re. No one may leave the residential quarter.

DOCTOR: Come on, through here. Come on.

TREMAS: Here's the residential quarter.

DOCTOR: Yes.

TREMAS: Order of Proctor Neman. We're summoned to the Keeper.

NEMAN: Stop them!

NEMAN: Doh!

DOCTOR: How much longer do we have, Tremas?

TREMAS: Can't say, but next time we see the Melkur, the reaction is almost certain to be over.

DOCTOR: Not a very pleasant thought. I had considered a more drastic solution.

TREMAS: You know another way to destroy Melkur?

DOCTOR: No. Just an idea that Adric and I had.

TREMAS: Progress, Doctor. You can start your code-breaking now.

NYSSA: Finished?

ADRIC: Yes. Now all we have to do is connect it up to the manipulator circuits.

NYSSA: What will it do?

ADRIC: Nothing, until Melkur taps the energy core of the Source.

NYSSA: And?

ADRIC: Oh, all sorts of things. Time energy will be displaced, energy will overflow, overload the control element.

NYSSA: And Melkur?

ADRIC: The Source will consume itself and whoever controls it. Or at least, that's the Doctor's theory.

NYSSA: Let's hope we don't have to put it to the test.

ADRIC: Yes.

DOCTOR: Eight, eight, seven, one, zero. Another zero. That's a bad sign.

DOCTOR: Down, Tremas.

TREMAS: Did you key the whole number in?

DOCTOR: What?

TREMAS: Did you key the whole number in?

DOCTOR: No. Three more digits to go.

TREMAS: You nearly had the sanction programmes running. A matter of moments.

DOCTOR: Shush. We've still got a chance. Just remember three, three, seven.

MELKUR: Now then, Doctor. Let's have you closer, shall we?

MELKUR: On your knees, Doctor.

NYSSA: Adric, the Source. Melkur's active.

ADRIC: The prime circuit bank, Nyssa. Which panel?

NYSSA: I'll do it.

NYSSA: You know what to do?

MELKUR: Too late, Doctor. I am now in full control of the Source.

TREMAS: You may call yourself Keeper of Traken, but our people will never accept you.

MELKUR: A noble thought, Tremas, but not true, you know. Your people will obey, just as you will.

TREMAS: I would die first.

MELKUR: Oh, that's not necessary. Now, Consul Tremas, who do you obey.

TREMAS: I obey you, Melkur.

MELKUR: Let's put it to the test, shall we?

MELKUR: Come in, Neman. Please hand your w*apon to Consul Tremas. Doctor, you may watch but not interfere. Now, Neman, you failed in your duty to me, did you not?

NEMAN: I tried, Keeper.

MELKUR: The punishment for failure is death. Consul Tremas, you're a fair-minded man. Kindly destroy Neman, will you?

MELKUR: And now yourself, Tremas.

MELKUR: You see, Consul? You will accept me now that I have these powers as Keeper. You have no choice, really. None of you has.

ADRIC: Careful.

ADRIC: That's it.

NYSSA: Well done, Adric. Even my father couldn't have done better.

MELKUR: Yes, Tremas. You will build machines, to my design, of course. Your colleagues will mobilise the people and I shall lead them to worlds without number, to conquest!

DOCTOR: That's a very popular delusion.

MELKUR: And along the way, many old scores will be settled, Doctor.

DOCTOR: Old scores?

MELKUR: You still do not know me, Doctor? But none of this will matter when I control the deeper mysteries of time.

DOCTOR: All this and that too? How do you propose to manage that?

MELKUR: Through the resources of the Keepership, and through you, Doctor. The knowledge will be taken from you atom by atom, and what is left of you, the husk of your body, that will also have its uses.

ADRIC: We've sabotaged the Source Manipulator. Where's the Doctor?

TREMAS: He's in there.

NYSSA: But it's going to blow any minute!

MASTER: Well, Doctor?

DOCTOR: Of course, the Master.

MASTER: Welcome to my new ship.

DOCTOR: I used to know an ancient remedy for mad dogs. I must look it up some time. Good library here, have you?

MASTER: Unfortunately for you, you will not be using it. This whole domain is now keyed to my biological rhythms. If you move a muscle, you will be destroyed.

ADRIC: Nyssa, the vault.

NYSSA: It's too late, Adric. We can't disconnect at full power. It will be catastrophe.

ADRIC: But the Doctor!

MASTER: You will find immobility endurable, Doctor. I speak from experience.

DOCTOR: I thought you meant to destroy me.

MASTER: That would be irrational, to waste all that acquired knowledge of the centuries. You spoke of my library, Doctor. I intend that you should become a part of it. Your mind I shall deposit there. Your body. I am now nearing the end of my twelfth regeneration.

DOCTOR: Then that is the end for a Time Lord.

MASTER: But not for the Keeper of Traken. With my new powers, anything is possible. Yes. I shall enjoy full mobility once again.

MASTER: The Source! Someone has tampered with the power of the Source! Argh!

ADRIC: Nyssa, the Source! It's in reverse.

NYSSA: It's useless, father. You can't stop it.

DOCTOR: Adric! Three, three, seven!

DOCTOR: Three, three, seven!

DOCTOR: Why, thank you, Adric. That should cancel out your little bit of sabotage and put paid to the resident Keeper for good.

KATURA: The Source! The Source is failing.

DOCTOR: You know, I was going to mention that. I think that one of you two should step into the breach if you want to keep this quaint old custom going.

LUVIC: I'll go.

TREMAS: What happened?

DOCTOR: You just missed your chance of becoming Keeper yet again. But confidentially, I think that you're very lucky.

TREMAS: We're all lucky, Doctor.

DOCTOR: Really?

TREMAS: To have met you.

DOCTOR: Ah, well, I'm afraid your luck's just run out. Adric and I have got to fly. Come on, Adric.

ADRIC: We're supposed to be heading back to Gallifrey.

TREMAS: Goodbye.

NYSSA: Goodbye.

DOCTOR: Well, she seems to be going right as ninepence now.

ADRIC: Why couldn't I start it?

DOCTOR: Oh, probably the Master up to one of his little party tricks again. Then the general run-down condition. It badly needs an overhaul.

ADRIC: Then why don't you?

DOCTOR: Well, it involves an awful lot of recalculation, and this type's not really my forte.

ADRIC: Well, you did work out the code for the Source Manipulator.

DOCTOR: Oh, guesswork mostly.

ADRIC: But it did work.

DOCTOR: Yes, it did, didn't it. Adric, wouldn't it be nice to be right about everything?

KATURA: Well, Tremas, the new Keeper has been inaugurated.

TREMAS: Perhaps we shall have peace again.

NYSSA: Come on, father. You'll be needed to put everything together again.

TREMAS: Starting with my quarters. I'll join you in a minute. There's something I want to look into.

TREMAS: Help! Nyssa!

MASTER: So, a new body at last.

MASTER: A new body at last.

NYSSA: Father? Where are you?
{"type": "series", "show": "Doctor Who", "episode": "18x24 - The Keeper of Traken - part 4"}