realityshifted

Entry tags:

doctor who (d1) oliver day

[008]

[Oliver is in the library today, seated at a table with several stacks of books around him. most of the spines have to do with a variety of mythologies or with the end of the world--or the universe or time, depending on what society the book is from. he has a large volume open in front of him and is paging quickly through it, skimming for...something. unfortunately, it's an old book and he's creating a bit of a dust screen in his haste]

Weber said Pestilence, and if that rain held some sort of disease, maybe... But what does that have to do with the forcefield? Is it all even relate- [coughs, pausing in his research to sit back a bit and wave a hand in front of him in an attempt to dissipate some dust. he realises someone else is there then and blinks] Oh! Hey, I didn't--[cough]--see you there. [tries to smile through one more cough. waves his hand again; dust is so annoying]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Sirkka covers her mouth with a handkerchief.]

Oliver, you ought to slow down before you make yourself ill.

What are you looking for?

Didn't realise it was that...[sneeze]...dusty. Sorry.

[sighs] Anything I can find about the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Did you talk to Weber at all, Sirkka?

Some of these books must be centuries old... [She reaches out, but pulls her hand back at the last second, afraid of damaging them.

At the question, she shakes her head and looks away.]

No. I didn't. [Guilt? Maybe.]

Yeah, and from lots of different worlds. That's why I thought I might find something.

[frowns at that guilt, but he isn't sure what to say] Well...before we sent him away, he said that Pestilence was going to be our problem now. He and the king also mentioned War and Death. Obviously they're people--probably people interfering with the Plane, but...there has to be a reason for the reference.

So the Four Horsemen have something to do with this place...?

[She frowns deeply, then offers Oliver her handkerchief as she thinks. She's mostly out of dust-range, and she's taller, so it's not so bad.]

Maybe you should go back to the source material. I've never been much of a Christian, but if we are going to rely on something that's from the Bible, perhaps we should look at it more carefully. I think something's not quite adding up.

The Four Horsemen are concerned with the Apocalypse, which is about bringing the end of the Earth, right? Does that make this place Earth, or perhaps... the world that's supposed to come after?

Cheers! [takes the handkerchief gratefully, giving another cough before he covers his face]

Thought of that. [stands, riffling through the piles until he comes up with the book he's looking for] Here we go, I found this future sort of annotated Bible. The trouble is, I have a feeling they're just using this reference symbolically. I mean, not that there isn't symbolism to it full stop, but I don't think the Plane is Earth, and it sounds like somebody can become a god on the Plane, so I don't think they're looking at it from a literal perspective. But I really don't know what to think.

But...the Four Horsemen come before the actual destruction, right? They bring awful things, but the world doesn't go down yet. So either they mean coming destruction, or maybe they just mean change--or that they're taking control here? [sighs] I think I'm more confused now than I was when I started.

[Sirkka steps back as he starts digging through the pile of books.]

I don't think they'd want to control the Plane. Everything about the Apocalypse is anarchy, and if they really are the Four Riders they'll have their own domains to control. But that could be close. Consider what we've witnessed in this place, and tell me that wouldn't attract the attention of some godlike being or another. I think what this could be is a power shift, and these Horsemen are not rogue agents but entities working for a greater goal and possibly a more powerful entity that we don't know about.

[thoughtfully] Yeah, that sounds about right--someone wants to shift control of the Plane.

The Twins did tell me the horsemen want to control it. Or Pestilence does, at any rate. And so does someone named Kaiser. I wonder if they're Kaiser's horsemen? Except the Twins said Pestilence was his servant but is working against him now... [sighs, putting a hand to his head] It's all a mess. The deathmatches sound just like the passage on War, but I don't think Weber ever even hinted that War might be responsible. But that doesn't mean War wasn't responsible. And what we just went through...that was Death, wasn't it? Or am I reading too much into this?

... Wow, that is a bit of a mess.

Do you have notes anywhere? You could organize them in a certain way. Keep track of the people that are important, and see if you can form some clues out of the links between them all.

That's a good idea. [pulls out his datapad] Better on paper than in my head...well, in a manner of speaking.

[glances up at her] But what I am worried about is Weber warned us against Pestilence. If that rain wasn't Pestilence, then something is still coming. Something that fits with Pestilence, probably. I just don't know what to do about that.

[She frowns, considering.]

Oliver, did the King or Weber leave anything behind?

[frowns] I think only their cards, but something took those.

"Something"...?

[shakes his head] I don't know. We heard this voice asking...something about if it was fair for us to have the cards. And then they just disappeared.

... Strange...

Whatever we're dealing with, obviously it's something above our level of perception.

I know the Twins aren't normally reliable for questioning, but if we explain that we want to protect the Plane from whatever is about to be unleashed on it, they might be more cooperative. We did, after all, save the Plane last time as a cooperative effort— something they couldn't do.

Or at least has that sort of power on the Plane...

[considers that] You think I should try to talk to them? See if they'll tell me anything else?

[She considers.] See if you can get anything out of them in a casual conversation. But if they try to trick or trap you, just leave. All right?

[Sirkka thinks that maybe it's her turn to do something.]

[nods, starting to cheer up. he always feels better when he has a purpose] Yeah. Yeah, I'll go to the shop and give that a go. You never know!

Thanks, Sirkka. That's a great idea!

[That's much better. She smiles gently at Oliver.]

Good luck. Shall I leave you to your research?

Ah...you could do. But I never asked how you're doing! [looks a little sheepish]

[She smiles at him, though it's really more mischievous than it should be.] I'm fine. You've been doing your 'homework', right?

[nods] Good.

Oh, yeah! I'm getting better at it--on the Plane, anyway. It's a bit harder to do at home.

With practice, you'll be able to sustain yourself. I'm sure of it.

[determined] I'll keep working at it!

It's also getting a little easier--I mean, not just the walls, but like, working out which bits are me and which aren't. So...it's not so bad. [he's still embarrassed about her catching him in the bar in such a state]

[Awww. She picks that thought up without really trying, and gives him a sympathetic smile.] That's very important. You've come a long way in a short amount of time, Oliver. I'm so relieved.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject