DOCTOR WHO FAN AUDIO SERIES

1.8 “RULER OF THE MADHOUSE”

by
hitchhikerstowel

revised by
entertain-me

BASED ON:
DOCTOR WHO
 (c) BBC

NARRATOR
Previously, on the Doctor Who Fan Audio

Series...

(Insert snippets from previous episode, then cue the

theme music)

NARRATOR
The Doctor walks confidently towards the
Central Hub, the metal doors opening for
him, at once. Inside, he finds himself
standing in a large room full of computer
consoles and full-wall windows looking out
into empty space.

DOCTOR
So, who called me here?

NARRATOR
A young, scrawny man in prison uniform steps
out from behind a bookcase on the upper deck.
His scruffy, curly hair sat down past his
shoulders. The Doctor notices the man’s pale
skin and dark, cold eyes.

AMOK
Hi. My name is Amok Quon, not that it really
matters. And you must be the Doctor, yes?

DOCTOR
That’s me. How did you know who I was, by
the way?

AMOK
You’re a Time Lord. Planet Gallifrey, the very
existence of which is merely legend, it having
been lost from time and space. You’ve travelled
through time in a variety of forms, but you
never stay long; just to help out when you’re
needed. You also seem to have a particular love
of Earth.

DOCTOR
Oh, well that’s interesting. This is 80,016.
The whole world should be basically living in
a state of constant naivety. How come you know
 all this?

AMOK
Aren’t you forgetting something?

DOCTOR
Alicia? No, I haven’t forgotten about her, but
I think I can trust you, for now. Don’t avoid
answering my questions, I’m not very patient.

AMOK
Well, you hardly have anything to bargain, but
I shall indulge you, a little. I know about
you, Doctor, because I am, quite honestly,
better than those people. They are blind to
anything beyond their pathetic little lives. I
managed to see through that.

DOCTOR
And yet you managed to end up in a prison ship.

AMOK
It’s not so bad. I even have food. Have become
quiet partial to apples, actually.
(takes bite of apple in his hand)
Want a bite?

DOCTOR
No, thanks. Not my favourite. I wouldn’t mind

a banana, though, if you’ve got - Hang on a

second, why are there no wardens here, or a
crew, or something?

AMOK
I killed them all, of course. The bodies I
ejected in the escape pod. Frankly, they
stank. Anyway, Doctor, down to business. My
friends have already told you what I need.
Send this ship back to Earth. I’ve already gone
through the effort of planning a transmat for
your TARDIS.

(Amok presses a button and the TARDIS materialises in

the middle of the room)

AMOK
I can’t pilot it myself, you know.
 DOCTOR
(sighs and walks up stairs to Amok)
Why do you want to get back to Earth so badly?
Surely there’s nothing there for you. You’re
just a prisoner. Ah, you’re going for these
electrical creatures.

AMOK
The Xanathi, yes.

DOCTOR
And you want them to spread?

AMOK
Yes.

DOCTOR
And you realise they have to kill people to
inhabit them?

AMOK
Yes.

DOCTOR
Then I’m afraid I’ll have to decline. Nice
meeting you, though.

(Footstep sound as the Doctor begins walking down the

stairs)

AMOK
Have you seen the planet, Doctor?

DOCTOR
(stops walking)
Not been to Earth in this millenia, myself.
Only know what I’ve read in books. Why?

AMOK
I think this is something you should see for
yourself.

NARRATOR
Meanwhile, Alicia is being escorted down a

familiar-looking corridor by two of the dead

prisoners.
INT. CORRIDOR - PRISON SHIP

ALICIA
Fantastic, captured by dead guys. God, you

smell awful! I’d almost prefer it if you’d

kill me.

PRISONERS
We will kill you, if need be.

NARRATOR
The prisoners and Alicia finally came to a

stop outside a familiar-looking room. One

of the prisoners opens the door and leads
Alicia in. She gasps when she saw the
electric chair.

ALICIA
Oh, god! You’re not going to put me in that
thing, are you?

(the prisoners put a struggling Alicia into the chair and

strap her arms in)

ALICIA
No! Get me out of this thing! Please don’t kill
me! If you do, you know the Doctor is going to
kill all of you!
(pause)
What are you doing?

PRISONERS
Awaiting orders.

INT. CENTRAL HUB - PRISON SHIP

NARRATOR
Back in the Central Hub, Amok shows the
Doctor images of 80th millenia Earth. Endless
rows of bland grey buildings, ruins of old
abandoned cities and burnt-down forests. Then
the images change to Earth’s people, walking
in an organised fashion within an overpopulated
and over-polluted metropolis.

AMOK
This is what the world has come to. This is how
I was brought up. People have jobs decided for
them. They don’t question, they just.. do.
Nobody is really happy. Few even have the
illusion they can achieve happiness.
Information is on a need-to-know basis.
Everything is monitored and restricted. Anyone
who steps out of line is considered crazy and
tend to end up in prison. In fact, the reason
this ship needs to exist is because the prisons
on Earth are so full.

DOCTOR
You humans have the ability to be so
destructive.

AMOK
That’s something we agree on, Doctor.

DOCTOR
So, why do you know what nobody else does?

AMOK
My mother told me stories of old Earth, which
she, in turn, heard from her grandmother. It
used to be a place where people could be happy.

DOCTOR
Of course it can. I’ve seen it. The planet
always goes through its ups and downs, much
like any other planet in the universe.
Sometimes it looks like it’s all hopeless but
you never die out. Not til the end of the
universe. You alway manage to bounce back.

AMOK
This doesn’t get better. We’re going further
and further into a depression. Half the planet
is sick and dying, and the other half just
live, tortured. I once had hope for the
planet. I was a vigilante, back on Earth, one
of the most feared criminals around. I killed
men who needed to die. I manipulated the
system. I found knowledge that was hidden from
everyone, even knowledge about you, son of
Gallifrey. It’s not even like the problems
couldn’t be fixed but the governments don’t
care about our prosperity. All they want is
control. And that’s why this planet needs to
die.

DOCTOR
But I’ve told you it can and will get better.

AMOK
It can’t and won’t. All the hope I had for this
planet has been destroyed by these people. I
don’t bother lying to myself, any more. They
all need to die. Every last one of them.
Pathetic filth! They don’t deserve life.

DOCTOR
Nonsense -

AMOK
Surely you can understand. You’ve lived a long
time, Doctor. You know what’s necessary. You
killed your own race. Do what you have to. Fly
your TARDIS back to Earth and let the Xanathi

consume the pathetic little people that inhabit

this dying world.

DOCTOR
No.

AMOK
Surely you don’t want to see anything bad
happen to Alicia.

NARRATOR
Amok presses a button and the images of Earth
are replaced by an image of Alicia, bound to
the electric chair.

DOCTOR
The electric chair. You’re going to do worse
than just kill her, Amok. You’re going to

infect her with the Xanathi.

AMOK
They are wonderful little things. Small
collections of conscious electrical energy.
They need quite a surge to transfer them
properly but once they do, they attack your
mind, try and steal it from you. They’re
weak at the moment, though. You have to be
dead or the brain overpowers them.

DOCTOR
I want to talk to her. To Alicia. Give her a
return video feed.
(to Alicia)
Hello, Alicia!

ALICIA
(voice crackly due to video feed)
Doctor! Thank god! They’ve captured me and -

DOCTOR
Yes, I can see that. I’m here in the Central
Hub with this loony. Says he wants to crash
the ship into the Earth and let those things
infect everyone. What do you think?

ALICIA
I think he can shove this ship right up his -

DOCTOR
Yes, I thought you’d feel that way.

AMOK
I don’t need your confidence, Doctor, but you
are going to do this for me.

ALICIA
Don’t even think about it, Doctor.

DOCTOR
Well, if you hadn’t figured it out yet,
Alicia, he’s going to kill you if I don’t.

ALICIA
(a bit unsure)
Uh.. Well, what are you going to do? You’re
not going to leave me to die.. are you?

DOCTOR
Oh, believe me, I don’t want to. If I don’t
help him, I’ll have enough time to get away but
you - you’ll be left to die.

ALICIA
Please, Doctor. I know I don’t act like it
much - I don’t want to seem weak - but right
now I’m scared. I don’t want to die here.

DOCTOR
 I’d be sacrificing millions of lives. Billions,
more likely.

AMOK
Lives that need to be sacrificed.

DOCTOR
I can’t do that to them!

AMOK
Why not, Doctor? All they do is cause pain.
My family died, thanks to them. Killing them
is the only option.

DOCTOR
It’s a coward’s option.

AMOK
Well, I see there is no getting through that
thick, alien skull. How about we give your
friend a bit of a shock?

(Alicia screams in pain as the electricity runs through

her)

DOCTOR
No!

AMOK
(laughing)
Now it’s inside her. It’ll start taking over
her. They might not be strong enough to take
over people yet, but they can torture you so
much that you’ll want to die. That’s why all
the prisoners killed each other, Doctor. I
convinced them to.

ALICIA
It hurts, Doctor!

DOCTOR
Just try and fight it, Alicia. Whatever you do,
you can’t let it affect you.

ALICIA
(sobbing slightly)
I guess I shouldn’t have trusted you in the
first place.

DOCTOR
No, Alicia, I don’t ever want you to think

you can’t trust me.

ALICIA
I was beginning to think you were a good
person but now you’re leaving me to die!

DOCTOR
It’s not that simple!

AMOK
That’s your problem, Doctor. You want to save
everybody. I’ve read enough about you to know
that. Sometimes you just have to give up.

DOCTOR
(after a pause)
Fine, I’ll do it. I’m going to save you,
Alicia. Maybe sometimes you just have to end
things.

AMOK
Good. I’m glad you’ve broken that wall of false
hope you so gallantly hold up.

DOCTOR
Okay, I’ll need to connect the TARDIS to the
ship’s main computer system. It’s too big for
me to manipulate by the towing field alone, so
it’ll need an electrical connection.

NARRATOR
With heavy hearts, the Doctor runs down the
staircase and begins pulling some cables out
from the TARDIS then plugging them into
various consoles in the hub, as Amok watches.

AMOK
You know, when I first found the Xanathi, they
were hidden inside a military research
facility. I broke in and opened a box, only to
find little electrical creatures inside. They
tried to infect me, of course, and I ended up
lying on the floor, fighting for control. My
mind, however, is far stronger than that of
most of the people on this ship. I’ve had so
much experience, so much suffering in my life
 that they couldn’t handle it and I managed to
control them, and now they obey me.

DOCTOR
(sarcastically)
Good for you.

AMOK
Unfortunately, I was captured because of that,
and ended up here. After that, I was able to
let them into the ship’s main electrical
network when I was put in the electric chair.
I let them think I was crazy. And it worked,
didn’t it?

DOCTOR
Shut up.

(Amok laughs softly and walks down the stairs to the

Doctor and the TARDIS)

DOCTOR
Alright, it’s ready.

AMOK
I think I’ll need to set the co-ordinates
myself.

NARRATOR
Amok walks into the TARDIS, closely followed
by the Doctor. Once Amok has set the
co-ordinates, the entire prison ship slows
down and begins to shift direction.

DOCTOR
I’ve recalibrated the inertia stabilisers.
We’re reversing a lot faster than it seems.
What will you do, anyway, if you survive this?

AMOK
Oh, I don’t think there’s any hope for me. I
just want one victory and then I can accept
death. I mean to die with the Earth.

DOCTOR
Good.

NARRATOR
 Amok walks back out of the TARDIS and sits down
on a chair, staring up at the ceiling. The
Doctor remains in the TARDIS and smiles to
himself.

DOCTOR
I think you’ve overlooked something, Amok.

NARRATOR
Still smiling, the Doctor presses one of the

TARDIS console’s many buttons and the door to

Alicia’s cell closes suddenly as a strange

sound can be heard.

(electrical charging noise, stopping after a few

seconds)

NARRATOR (CONT)
Amok changes the screen to show the outside of
Alicia’s cell. All the prisoners have
disappeared.

AMOK
What did you do, Doctor?

DOCTOR
Well, it’s convenient, really, how utterly
totalitarian Earth is right now. Inbuilt in
this ship is an emergency kill-switch - I was
lucky enough to peruse a copy of the manual
earlier, so it wasn’t hard to find. Normally
takes a while to charge up, which would be how
you managed to kill the guards first, but my
wonderful, brilliant ship gave it enough power
that it only took a couple of seconds. Total
organic disintegration beams in every hall.
Enough power to wipe out the physical bodies
the Xanathi were using, and they become little
microscopic loose charges in the air, totally
helpless. Of course, it would destroy all life,
including Alicia, but I directed it as to only
affect certain rooms. Well, actually every room
except that one and this one. And now I think
I’ll let Alicia out.

INT. ALICIA’S CELL - PRISON SHIP

 NARRATOR
Alicia sits solemnly, when suddenly she is
released from the chair and the door opens.

ALICIA
He did it! I’m out!

INT. CENTRAL HUB - PRISON SHIP

DOCTOR
Aha! Not so hopeless now, am I? You say you’ve
read about me? Well, there’s one thing you
should know: I never give up. Not ever.

AMOK
It doesn’t matter. We’re already moving.

DOCTOR
Yes, we are. But don’t worry, I can fix that
in a second.

NARRATOR
The Doctor turns to go back into the TARDIS
but Pelham and Smith, who have been very quiet
since entering the hub, grab him and pull
him away from the TARDIS.

DOCTOR
Oh, um... Okay. That’s interesting.

AMOK
What? You thought that out of the whole ship,
four people would survive by pure luck. They’ve
been dead for quite a while, Doctor. They
didn’t just wait for you to turn up.

NARRATOR
As if to show some proof, the wardens
undo the top collar button on their
uniforms with their free hand, revealing
strangulation marks.

AMOK
I thought ahead. Obviously something you never
do.

DOCTOR
 Well, I do tend to make it up as I go along,
but not all the time.

NARRATOR
Amok looks on, in surprise, as Pelham lets
go of the Doctor and, instead, grabs Smith
and handcuffs him. The Doctor walks away
from them, smiling gleefully.

DOCTOR
Of course I knew. Easy. I received a distress
signal. The bad guys - that’s you, by the way -
needed me. The crew lacked basic knowledge of
the ship they were flying. How could they when
they were being controlled by a bit of
electricity that would, at best, have basic
sentience? Not to mention they were unusually
pale. Like a vampire or something. Not original
vampires, anything late 19th century onwards.
Anyway, I think what really gave me the hint

was how they didn’t care one bit about their

colleague dying. No matter how much you crush
them, humans are still humans and they still
care.
(pulls out green orb from pocket)
This thing, this little green glowy thing is
not actually just a little green glowy thing.
It is an electrical system override in a box,
sphere, whatever. Overrides weak electrical
currents. All it requires is contact and, at
will, I can control whatever, or in this case,
whoever I want.

AMOK
Why are you doing this? These people need to
die.

DOCTOR
I’ve travelled through time and space for
almost all my life and I know for a fact that
the Earth did not die in 80,016. Who am I to
mess with history? Oh, Alicia should be here
in a second or two.

(the elevator opens and Alicia comes running out)

DOCTOR
Ha! There you are! Hop in the TARDIS. We’re
 moving on.

ALICIA
Sounds good to me. Who the hell is this guy?

DOCTOR
Oh, don’t worry about him.

AMOK
What are you going to do, Doctor?

NARRATOR
The Doctor walks casually into the TARDIS
then races up to the console and presses some
buttons and pulls some levers. At once, the
prison ship begins to change momentum.

DOCTOR
We’ve stopped perfectly still in the middle of

space, far from any large masses. What happens

now is up to you.

NARRATOR
The Doctor disconnects the cables from the
TARDIS and closes the doors. Very soon, the
TARDIS dematerialises, leaving Amok alone in
the middle of the hub with the remaining crew
members under his control but with nothing to
do. With all hope lost and his plans thwarted,
Amok sits down, brooding silently.

INT - TARDIS

(The Doctor moves some switches. Alicia is sobbing in

the corner)

DOCTOR
Alicia, are you okay?

ALICIA
I don’t know. My head hurts so much and I can
barely move.

DOCTOR
It’s taking over you. It’s killing you and
you’ll be dead soon if I don’t stop it.

ALICIA
Is there anything you can do?

DOCTOR
(frustrated)
Yes. No. Yes, there must be. There has to be
something I can do, but what?

ALICIA
I can’t fight it much longer!

DOCTOR
They started weak but they were getting
stronger. But Amok could fight it...

AMOK
(flashback)
I’ve had so much experience, so much suffering
in my life that they couldn’t handle it and I
managed to control them.

DOCTOR
Look at me, Alicia. You’re young but I’ve got
900 years of experience. Amazing experiences.

NARRATOR
The Doctor places both hands at either side of
Alicia’s face and closes his eyes.

DOCTOR
Concentrate, Alicia!

NARRATOR
Gradually, fragments of memories from the
Doctor’s past flood through Alicia’s head.
Her mouth opens in awe at the incredible and
terrible things the Doctor has gone through.
Finally, the Doctor releases his hands. Alicia
remains sitting on the floor, in a slight
daze.

ALICIA
(quietly)
It’s gone.

DOCTOR
There we go! Excellent. My mind was too strong
for it. I overloaded it with memories and,
basically, I killed it. You’re completely safe
now. With the Xanathi getting so much stronger,
I’m surprised you lasted as long as you did.
 ALICIA
(still quietly)
You’ve been through a lot. A lot more than I
thought.

DOCTOR
Me? Well, what do you expect? 900 years is a
long time. We’ve just met and think of all
that’s happened. I have something of a busy
life. Do you still want those muffins, by the
way?

ALICIA
There’s a lot of hard decisions you’ve had to
make.

DOCTOR
Yes. Can we move on?

ALICIA
Well, I just think that, maybe it’s hard for me
to imagine that my father could do anything
wrong, or that there would ever be any reason
to kill him. But I think there must have been a
very good one for you to do it. You hate to let
people die... I guess what I’m trying to say

is that I’ll try not to judge you too harshly

until I know you a bit better.

DOCTOR
Yes.. But enough about that! Let’s keep moving!
There’s still a whole universe out there to
see. Planets to visit. People to save.
Polarities to reverse. Maybe we could go see
the Aplans. I’ve been meaning to pop in. Or
we could do whatever you want to, Alicia.

ALICIA
Well, I don’t know. I guess I am a bit hungry
now, though. Those cupcakes sound good.

DOCTOR
Aha. I knew you’d come around, eventually.

NARRATOR
In deep space, the TARDIS dematerialises,
leaving the large floating block of metal to
rust for the rest of time.
THE END