Dot and Bubble

[Lindy's home]

(Lindy wakes up in bed, smiling, and opens her hand.)

LINDY: Dot.

(The Dot she was holding flies into the air above her.)

LINDY: And Bubble.

(Her head is now in a bubble of constantly moving 'screens' showing individuals, with their names. Some are offline. One pops forward to speak. Social media without needing to click or swipe on anything. All other characters in the story are on these little screens, not actually present with Lindy.)

COOPER: Hi there, Lindy! It's such a super day! You look so good, baby!
LINDY: Oh, Cooper, you're so kind.
COOPER: Kindness all day long.
HARRY: Good morning to you. Another day.
HOOCHY: Don't lie in bed, Lindy girl. Hup-hup-hup, today is toasty.
VALERIE: Urgh, this day is already too much. I'm so tired of this, babes.
BLAKE: I heard from Lucien. He said he's so sorry. He said he made a mistake and it turns out that woman was her sister! I was laughing so hard.
LINDY: Hey, where's Jimbo? He always wakes up first. Jimbo? Jimbo Fennell? Jim? Come on, Jimbo, wake up.

(Jimbo is offline.)

GOTHIC: Have you heard from Mabel? And Neve? It's like they've disappeared. I tried to link, but... they're gone.
HOOCHY: Lindy babes, you lie there much longer and your blood is going to pool. I said get up!
DOT: Stand up. Turn left. Forward. Forward. Forward. Turn left. Forward. Forward. Forward. Turn right. Forward. Stop.

(Lindy, in her bubble of contacts, follows the arrows into the bathroom.)

LINDY: Do I need to pee?

(An AI image with no contact details answers.)

DR PEE: Urine content is zero for the third day in a row. Well done, Lindy. Remember, don't waste the day with daily waste.

(Lindy uses a glowing toothbrush that doesn't actually touch her teeth.)

ROTTERDAM TWINS: Oh, my days. Can't breathe. Cannot breathe. Have you seen? He is amazing. He's made a new post. Oh, Lindy, Ricky September is so beautiful. My eyes. If I ever met him... He chose me. ..I would simply die. He loves me, Lindy.
LINDY: Oh, wow. Open Ricky September.

(This account is a star account, in the top 0.01 percent.)

LINDY: Oh, my goodness.

(Ricky's music - Go on, girl. Go on, go on, go on, girl. Ah yeah. - is interrupted by an Unsolicited Request.)

DOCTOR: You don't know me, but my name is the Doctor, and your life is in danger, okay? There are creatures out there in the real world that are monsters, and they are coming to get you. No. No, Lindy, don't!
DOT: Blocked.

(And back to Ricky's music channel.)

(It was an itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka dot bikini, that she wore for the first time today.)

RICKY: Ah, yeah.

(An itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka dot bikini, so in the water she wanted to stay. Lindy bops along, and the slogan on her bathroom wall says 'Kindness All Day Long.' Something brown and yucky appears to the side of the screen just before the titles roll.)

[Finetime]

(A domed city.)

WEATHERMAN WILL: Finetime News, where everything's fine all of the time. Leave those Homeworld blues behind. And the weather report says it's another glorious day in Finetime. In theory. Not going to lie, we've got a little bit of trouble with the weather satellites, but we'll get that fixed as soon as we can. Have a fine time in Finetime.

(A few people are walking around with their heads in their own Bubbles.)

LINDY: So, my socks are a cotton derivative and my shoes are retro-buffed. I love them so much. The T-shirt is a classic design from the year five-dash-five. I adore it.
BLAKE: Oh, you look so beautiful, Lindy.
LINDY: And the thread is sourced from refurb so I'm not depleting any of Finetime's resources. I'm so careful about that.
DOT: Forward. Forward. Forward.
VALERIE: Oh, I wish I could look like you.
LINDY: And I have the same in teal, lilac and summer green. It's so soft.
HOOCHY: I'm going to buy that. I'm going to buy 100.
LINDY: I know I probably shouldn't say this, but...I look so cute.
HOOCHY: You are influencing me hard, girl.
DOT: Turn right. Turn left. Forward. Forward.

(Lindy has just swerved past someone lying on the pavement. Then it is dragged away, leaving a smear, and there is a scream.)

[Lindy's office]

LINDY: Hey, guys, has everyone seen my new outfit that I posted today? I thought it was so cute. That's great. Do you think so? Oh, it's so unfair now we have to work. Finetime never told us how boring it would be.
FRIENDS: Boring.
ALAN: I like it.
LINDY: Oh, you're so well behaved, Alan.
ALAN: No, we are helping the community to make Finetime the Number One Centre for substack processing. Who am I kidding? Boring!
COOPER: All this work, it chaps my hands. Like, I get really bad hand chapping.
LINDY: Isn't chapping a funny word?
HARRY: Oh, crazy days, it so is.
HOOCHY: I love that word.
ALAN: Chap-chap.
BLAKE: I get chapping everywhere.
GOTHIC: I'm serious, Lindy. Now there's no sign of Zackary. Like... he's disappeared, so I went to ask Rooster, but he's gone.
LINDY: Oh, you're no fun.
RUBY: Hi there, Lindy. I'm just doing a system check on behalf of Finetime Enterprises. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?
LINDY: Who are you?
RUBY: My name's Ruby Sunday. Hi.
LINDY: You're not on my Friends List.
RUBY: I know, but please? Everyone keeps turning me down. Super please, Lindy? Oh, I love that top.
LINDY: Okay. What do you want to know?
RUBY: Thank you. Can you tell me, what are you doing right now?
LINDY: Oh, my life, you're stupid.
RUBY: Yes, let's say I'm stupid. I know nothing. So what are you doing?
LINDY: This is work.
RUBY: And work is...?
LINDY: Oh, my gasp. Child. Work is data processing. We clean up substack information and deliver it back to the Homeworld. Do you approve?
RUBY: That's great. And everyone does this, the whole city?
LINDY: How stupid can you...? We all work, two hours a day. Two long hours. And then we get the rest of the day free. Isn't it obvious?
RUBY: And you work in an office of six?
LINDY: That is correct.
RUBY: Who are the six?
LINDY: Oh, come on. Okay, there's Danny and Vista Jay - they're brother and sister - plus Molly Champion, Sandy Brook and Bertie Lester.
RUBY: And... where are they?
LINDY: They're at work. It's work time.
RUBY: So they're in the same room as you?
LINDY: Yes. Danny and Vista Jay sit at the front. Next row back, in front of them, Molly Champion, Sandy Brook. Bertie and I are at the back.
RUBY: And... are they there?
LINDY: Are they where?
RUBY: At their desks.
LINDY: How should I know?
RUBY: You're in the same room.
LINDY: What am I supposed to do, look?
RUBY: Well, yes.
LINDY: You are so ridiculous. If you want to talk to Danny Jay, you can talk to him on here. Danny? Danny? Are you there?

(Offline.)

RUBY: So where is he?
LINDY: Danny? Danny Jay? Hello?
RUBY: Well, technically, he's in the same room. He's sitting two rows in front of you, isn't he?
LINDY: He must be.
RUBY: You could always see if he's there with your own eyes. I mean... you could lower your Bubble.
LINDY: Lower it? You mean turn it off?
RUBY: For a second.
LINDY: That's not what we do in Finetime. Oh, you are so offensive.

(Lindy slides Ruby away)

GOTHIC: I'm not kidding. Olive has disappeared, and Kipper, and no one's heard from Alannah.

(Ruby appears again)

LINDY: I slid you!
RUBY: I promise I will leave you alone if you could just look at the four desks in front of you.
LINDY: I am not... lowering... my Bubble.
RUBY: Okay. Can you stay inside and look beyond it? Can you do that?
LINDY: I can do whatever I want.
RUBY: Then... could you try?

(Lindy looks out through the gaps between the individual screens.)

RUBY: What can you see?
LINDY: There's no-one there.
RUBY: Okay. That's fine. Thank you.
LINDY: Where are they?
RUBY: That's why I asked.
LINDY: They can't not be here. We all have to work. It's what we do. We work, and then we play.
RUBY: Okay. Now, this is going to be tough, but I'm here with you, Lindy, because according to the chart, Bertie Lester sits next to you, to your right. Bertie sits about ten feet away.
LINDY: Yes.
RUBY: Is he there?
LINDY: Oh, who cares?
RUBY: Lindy, I want you to be very careful and look to your right.

(There is a non-human shape slobbering there.)

LINDY: I'd like to get back to work now.
RUBY: What did you see?
LINDY: I need to get back to work.
RUBY: Lindy, what did you see?
LINDY: I... I don't know.
RUBY: Okay, but I'm stuck outside Finetime. I can't see in. If you could just lower your Bubble, turn off the Dot and look, just for a second, then come back inside and tell me what's out there.
LINDY: I... I'd rather get back to work.
RUBY: I know, and I'm sorry, but we really need to know what you're sitting next to.
LINDY: Bubble down, Dot off.

(A giant slug is ingesting someone, but we can only see the brown check trousers and grey shoes.)

LINDY: Dot, Bubble.
RUBY: Lindy, it's okay, I'm here. Can... can you tell me what you saw?
DR PEE: I'm sorry, but your need to urinate has skyrocketed.
COOPER: So, here's a plan. After work, we can all plug into Aqua Marina...

(Snarling offscreen.)

COOPER: What is that noise?
LINDY: Play Ricky September.
SONG: Go on, go on, girl. Uno, dos, tres, cuatro. Itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka dot bikini, that she wore for the first time today. Ah, yeah. Itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka dot bikini...
RUBY: Lindy? Lindy, I'm sorry, but if I'm right, I think you saw some kind of... thing. But I've got a friend. He knows how to deal with it, I promise. Here he is.
LINDY: Oh, just leave me alone, will you? This is just getting so ridiculous.
DOCTOR: I know. I know. But, come on, babes, we need to get you out of there.
LINDY: Is that thing... is it something to do with you?
DOCTOR: No. I'm trying to find out what it is. But first things first, I'm here to save you, okay? So I want you to stand up and walk out... but without the Bubble.
LINDY: I... I can't do that.
DOCTOR: You need to lower the Bubble, because there are more of them.
LINDY: More?
DOCTOR: I think so. It's not just your office. And I don't think your Dot-system can see them. If you walk using those arrows, you could stroll right into one of those things and get swallowed alive.
RUBY: Doctor.
DOCTOR: It's the truth.
RUBY: Okay. But... Lindy, trust him. I learnt that a while back, and it's saved my life so many times.
DOCTOR: Bubble down, Dot off, walk out.
RUBY: You can do it. Bubble... down.
LINDY: Bubble down. Dot off.

(Lindy stands up, steps to the side, then tries walking forward and kicks the desk. Bertie has been consumed.)

LINDY: Oh, God, I'm so stupid. Dot, Bubble.
RUBY: Did you do it? Are you out?
LINDY: I don't know how to walk.
RUBY: What do you mean?
LINDY: I don't know how to walk without the arrows.
RUBY: You don't know how to walk?
LINDY: Without the arrows.
DOCTOR: You don't know how to walk without the arrows?
LINDY: That's what I just said. Now shut up. I hate you, I hate you, I hate you. Exit, please.
DOT: Forward. Turn right. Forward. Turn left. Forward. Forward. Forward. Forward. Forward. Turn left. Forward. Stop.
LINDY: Elevator down to ground floor. You see? The arrows work.
DOCTOR: Yeah, okay, that's good. You're... You're amazing, Lindy. I swear to the sky, you are doing really, really well.
LINDY: Oh, condescending much?

(The lift doors open to reveal another of the slugs reaching for her.)

DOT: Forward. Forward.
RUBY: Lindy, stop. Stop, stop, stop. Now run.
DOCTOR + RUBY: Run, run, run. No, no, no, not forward, not forward. Back, back. Go back. Move. Move. Don't follow the arrows. Get out the way. Do not follow the arrows. Just keep going back. Back, Lindy. Move back. Move back. It's in front of you. Move back, Lindy.
DOCTOR: Do not follow the arrows.
RUBY: Quickly!

(The creature comes out of the lift.)

DOT: Forward. Forward. Forward. Forward.
DOCTOR: It ignored you.
DOT: Forward.
DOCTOR: Why did it do that? What did you do?
DOT: Forward.
DOCTOR: That's two of them now just letting you go. Lindy, get in the lift.
DOT: Forward.
DOCTOR: Yes. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, lift. Lift, lift, lift.
DOT: Forward. Stop and turn.

[Lift]

DOCTOR: Lindy? Lindy, just think. Is there anything different about you? It might be a perfume or your blood type or just something different to Bertie Lester.
LINDY: Police.
POLICE: All lines are busy. We regret we cannot help you at this time.
LINDY: But I really need the police.
POLICE: All lines are busy. We regret we cannot help you at this time.
LINDY: But I really need the police. There... there's a murder. There was a murder ten feet to my right.
POLICE: All lines are busy. We regret we cannot help you at this time.
LINDY: Please will someone help me?
RUBY: That's why we're here. And we're going to get you out, I promise.
DOT: Foyer.
RUBY: Careful, careful, careful.
LINDY: What do I do now?
RUBY: Let's go out to the street. Is that okay? One step at a time.
DOT: Forward. Forward. Turn right. Forward. Turn left. Forward. Forward. Forward.

[Outside]

RUBY: And could you stop there?
DOCTOR: Now, Lindy, I know that you don't like lowering the Bubble, and I get that. I know. I understand. But we need to find out what it's like outside, full 360. And you're the only one who can tell us. Could you just lower the Bubble, just for ten teeny-tiny seconds?
LINDY: I'm not a child.
DOCTOR: Sorry. Sorry. But could you, please?
LINDY: Bubble down, Dot off.

(A woman in her Bubble walks past another being eaten. These are the first actual people we see apart from Lindy.)

WOMAN: Yeah, it's fine. It's fine.
LINDY: Hey, be careful! Watch out!

(And another walks straight past a creature, while someone is being eaten at their window, and a man is being consumed on the pavement.)

MAN: Help me! Help. Help me.
LINDY: Dot and Bubble. Hiding place, please.
DOT: Turn left. Turn left. Turn left. Turn left.

(Lindy slumps at the corner of a building.)

RUBY: Hi there.
DOCTOR: Hello.
RUBY: Sorry. I know this is terrible. I really know. Believe me, I've seen some... things. But we just... can't reach you, Lindy. We're trying, but we can't.
DOCTOR: And we might not have much time. Can you tell us, what is it like on the street? What did you see?
LINDY: They're everywhere, those things. But there was this one girl, she walked right past and it ignored her, but then this other girl, she got eaten alive.
DOCTOR: It's some of you. Some of you get eaten and some of you don't. Maybe it's your diet. Or your height. Or something in your DNA. And why can't the Dot see those things?
LINDY: They must be from the Wild Woods.
RUBY: What do you mean?
LINDY: We're told, from Day One, never touch the Wild Woods. The whole of Finetime is surrounded by this woodland forest thing. It's, like, really natural. But we have forcefields. We're shielded off. How did they get inside?
DOCTOR: Your security is crazy tight. It's blocked me. I'm stuck on the outside of the city. So how would those great big bugs sneak in?
RUBY: Lindy, do you mind if I ask, what is Finetime? How does it work?
LINDY: Jiminy, you're stupid. We come here from the Homeworld. No stinky old folk, just people ages 17 to 27. I mean, no, not just anyone. If you can afford it, obviously.
RUBY: Ah, so you're the rich kids.
LINDY: Er, I should hope so.
RUBY: I thought you were, like, office drones, but that's why you only work two hours a day. So the rest of the time...?
LINDY: We party.
RUBY: (to the Doctor) It's like Love Island: The Planet.
LINDY: Mummy paid for it all.
PENNY: (Susan Twist) We miss you so much, darling. But I'd pay for the whole moon to make you happy. Just look up at the sky and wave to us on the Homeworld. Happy Finetime, Lindy-Loo. And don't forget, you're only a Bubble away.
DOCTOR: Who is that?
LINDY: I told you. It's Mummy.
RUBY: Hold on, I've seen her before.
DOCTOR: Yeah, she's like... She's the face of the Ambulance on Kastarion 3.
RUBY: No, no, no, I've seen her somewhere else.
LINDY: Are you two in the same room?
BOTH: No.
RUBY: No.
DOCTOR: Er, sorry, we'll save that for later
LINDY: You are. You're in the same room. You're together.
DOCTOR: Oh, what the hell. Yes. Mmm hmm.

(The Doctor walks into Ruby's screen then back to his own.)

LINDY: You... you lied to me. This is like a conspiracy. Who are you?
RUBY: We're just trying to help.
LINDY: You. I blocked you. Didn't I block you? I knew it, I did. I thought that you just looked the same, but you're... How did you do that?

(The Doctor points his sonic.)

DOCTOR: Unblocked, babes.
LINDY: You can't unblock. There is no such thing as unblocking. That's breaking all the rules. Oh, my hazy days, why am I even talking to you two? You're criminals. I... I actually have proper friends. Guys? Guys. Close Friends, Priority One, initiate group chat now.

(Six of her twelve friends are Offline.)

FRIENDS: You did not just Priority One us. You can't Priority One. You're going to be disciplined for this. Does that even exist? Seriously.
GOTHIC: We need Priority One. I'm so glad you did that.
LINDY: Mute. Guys, guys, sorry-not-sorry, but this is much more important. I have evidence. Just look at my Close Friends. Look how many are missing. Jimbo. And Bobbie. Oh, my God, where's Cooper Mercy? She... she was here five minutes ago. Cooper? Can you hear me? Cooper Mercy? Cooper Mercy was my best friend. And... And Valerie? Has she gone? Calling Valerie Nook. Unmute Gothic Paul.
GOTHIC: Guys, I've been try to say. People have been disappearing. Stewie Bloom. When was the last time you saw him? Rooster Jacket? Joseph and Lucy. And I've not seen Kirstie Book-keeper since last week.
LINDY: This is the weird thing. Some of us get eaten, and some of us don't.
GOTHIC: I'm sorry, some of us get what?
LINDY: Eaten.
GOTHIC: What do you mean, eaten?
LINDY: Eaten alive. There are things out there in the real world, and I swear they are eating us alive.
GOTHIC: Oh, for land's sake, Lindy, don't be so silly. Not even I would say something like that. Just because someone goes offline...

(Gothic gets grabbed and goes offline. The others have seen it.)

LINDY: Mute. Oh. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Oh, no, no, no, no, no. I told you! I told you! Why didn't you listen to me? I told you!
DOCTOR: Lindy? Lindy, it's okay. I think that I can get you out.
LINDY: I muted you.
DOCTOR: (sonic) Unmuted, honey.
LINDY: I was so right to hate you.
DOCTOR: Okay, but I need to talk to everyone. Let me just... let me just squeeze in.
LINDY: You can't do that.
DOCTOR: Yeah? Well, I just did.
RUBY: Okay, if you all could just listen...
LINDY: Guys, I... I know this is wrong, and when this is over, he is going to be so disciplined. I can't wait. But...just give him a shot, okay? I think he's not as stupid as he looks.
DOCTOR: You don't have to like me. The only important thing is to get you out. And I've found it. I've got access to the plans of the city. There is a river running underground underneath the town. If you can get to the river, there is help, there is safety, there is an escape. Okay, there are conduits throughout the city, like tunnels, vertical tunnels. The river was generating electricity back in the old days, and the conduits still stand. I'm sending you all locations. You all live within a half a mile of a conduit, so get there. The conduits are locked. Once you find them, I can send you a code.
RUBY: But you've got to be careful, because it means going out onto the streets with those... things.
LINDY: I'm sorry, guys, it's true.
RUBY: But we can't work out why they eat some of you and not all of you.
DOCTOR: You lot. You lot, is there something you've all got in common? Is there something you drink that other people don't? Or something you don't drink that other people do?
RUBY: Or maybe something you touch that Gothic Paul didn't, or Cooper? Like,why were they eaten?
DOT: Your power is low.
LINDY: Oh, no. No, no, no, not now.
DOT: Please charge your Dot.
RUBY: Lindy, what's happening?
LINDY: Oh, I'm out of power.
DOCTOR: You are kidding me!
RUBY: You still have battery problems?
LINDY: We charge up at work. And you... you stopped me working, you took me away from my desk. This is your fault!
DOCTOR: Okay, everyone, everyone head to your conduits. Follow my instructions. Go. Now. Lindy? Listen to me. Your conduit has an access point on Plaza 55. It's inside Building Number 7...

(Lindy's Dot drops, and a creature is coming near. Then two.)

LINDY: What? Building Number what? Which... which way do I go? Which plaza? What was it, 55? Where do I go? What...? Oh. Oh, come on, Lindy.... Okay. Come on, Lindy. It's this way. Yes. No. Yes.

(She heads out onto a street. The creatures are everywhere.)

LINDY: Forward. Forward.

(Straight into a lamp post. Twice.)

LINDY: Oh. Oh. Lindy. Forward.

(She is confronted by four creatures at...)

[Plaza 55]

LINDY: Plaza 55... is... forward. Forward. Oh... No, no, no, no. Forward.

(She nearly walks into one.)

LINDY: I'm so stupid.
RICKY [OC]: Turn left, take two steps forward.
LINDY: What?
RICKY [OC]: Turn left, take two steps forward.
LINDY: Who's that?
RICKY [OC]: Just follow my voice. Turn left and then take two steps forward. Stop. Turn right.
LINDY: Is this... for real?
RICKY: I know. It's me. Just listen to my voice. All you have to do is walk forward. Use me like the arrows.
LINDY: But...
RICKY: I'm not on screen. I'm over here.
LINDY: But you look like Ricky September.
RICKY: I am Ricky September.
LINDY: Oh, my gosh.
RICKY: But we do need to get out. This whole city's going mad. You just have to do what I say and walk forwards. What's your name?
LINDY: Lindy Pepper-Bean.
RICKY: Oh, you're one of my followers.
LINDY: How do you know that?
RICKY: Well, okay, everybody is. Follow my voice? Walk forward. Forward. Forward. Forward. Forward. Forward. Forward. Forward. Forward. Forward. That's it, that's it. Well done, Lindy. You did it.

(She totters into his arms.)

LINDY: Sorry. I'm sorry, it's just that's the first time I've ever done that.
RICKY: Oh no, well, it's not every day you walk past monsters.
LINDY: No, I mean the hug.
RICKY: That was your first hug?
LINDY: Yeah.
RICKY: I'm so sorry, I should've asked.
LINDY: No. No, I made you. It was my fault, I shouldn't have. But it was nice.
RICKY: It was great.
LINDY: You're Ricky September.
RICKY: Yep, every day. But we do have to get moving. I tried to warn people on my videos, but they kept getting deleted, cos it's weird - these things, they eat some people but not everyone. And I can't help but think that they're saving us till last.
LINDY: I know, but there's this conduit, like an escape. It's like a tunnel sort of thing on Plaza 55.
RICKY: Building Number 7Z2.
LINDY: No way. How do you know that?

(He takes her hand.)

RICKY: Come on, it's almost night-cycle. We've got about ten minutes till the sun clicks off. Oh. Is that okay?
LINDY: It's fine. You're so good at walking.
RICKY: Don't tell anyone, but... I open the Bubble, drop my songs, and then... I turn the Dot off for the rest of the day.
LINDY: Oh, my eyes, you're wild.
RICKY: I know. I just... stay in my apartment and... read, kind of thing.
LINDY: Oh, you're crazy.
RICKY: That's how I know about the conduits. I read, like, er, history. And during the Great Abrogation, this whole city was sealed off. But there's a river running underground, underneath the city, and I think...

(Someone is being eaten. Ricky blocks her view.)

RICKY: Whoa, whoa, um, don't look at that. Look at me, look at me. Don't look at that, look at me. Lindy Pepper-Bean, I will get you out of here. I promise.
LINDY: I thought this was the worst day of my life, but maybe it's the best.
RICKY: There's still thousands of people being eaten alive.
LINDY: Yeah, but...

[Building 7Z2]

LINDY: Oh. I can charge up. Yahoo.
RICKY: Yes, and they've got a planet-link. I can call the Homeworld.
LINDY: Do you think they can help us?
RICKY: Oh, it's going to be massive. Up there, in the sky, is a planet full of our mums and dads, and they're gonna be so cross. They're gonna be righteous. And they'll come down here with... rocket ships and flame-throwers and weedkillers...
LINDY: There was this man, and he said there was a code. He was horrible. He was so rude. He said the conduit has a code.

(Ricky is staring at the planet-link screen. Homeworld population zero, and the creatures are there too.)

RICKY: Yeah?
LINDY: Did you get through? What are they saying? Can I speak to Mummy?
RICKY: Link's busy. They're probably getting millions of calls. But they're coming. They're on their way. It just might, you know, take a little while. And we need to find that conduit. We can sit and wait. We'll be safe.
DOT: Completed.
LINDY: Okay, charged up. 60 seconds till night-cycle. Come on.
RICKY: Let's go.

[Tunnel]

RICKY: This way. Oh, mind your head. Down here.

(Down several flights of metal stairs.)

RICKY: Yeah. This way.

[Conduit entrance]

LINDY: Oh, my gosh, this is so... manual.
RICKY: Yeah, people used to work like this back in the old days. Got paid in money. I've read about it. That life was tough.
LINDY: My job's not easy. I get chapping.
RICKY: Hey, I think this is it. This is the conduit to the river. And you've got the code?
LINDY: Yes, I certainly have. Dot and Bubble.
DOCTOR: Lindy, Lindy, you are still with us.
RUBY: Oh, there you are. You're alive.
DOCTOR: Brilliant. Excellent.
LINDY: Don't be so surprised. I found it. I'm at the conduit. But guess what? I'm with Ricky September.
RUBY: Ah! What, Ricky the singer?
LINDY: That's him.
RUBY: Oh, nice one.
DOCTOR: He's hot.
BOTH: (to each other) Hands off.

(Ricky steps into Lindy's Bubble.)

RICKY: Yo, hi. Hi, guys. Er, yeah, the codes? So we can get out of here?
DOCTOR: Sorry, yeah. Hi, Ricky. Wow.

(Ruby is preening and subtly flirting.)

RICKY: Hi.
DOCTOR: So that door is mono-sealed 'cos they closed it off when they disinfected the city. I can send you the pulse numbers one at a time. You get the numbers for five seconds. Type it in like a combination. But you'e got to be fast, yeah? Don't miss a number. They only stay live for five seconds, and there's 100 numbers in total.
RICKY: Yeah, it's OK, you don't... I've studied pulse codes, so... I kind of know how they work.
DOCTOR: Oh, you're clever as well.
RICKY: Ah.
RUBY: Okay, heart-stopper.
DOCTOR: Sending you the numbers now.

(Activates sonic. Ricky ducks out of the Bubble and goes to the door key pad. The numbers come up on a screen.)

COMPUTER: Thirty three. Forty five.
LINDY: My friends, are they... still alive?
RUBY: They are, but... I'm sorry, they're still at their desks.
LINDY: I told them. And they all saw Gothic Paul being eaten.
RUBY: One of them went on the run. The one with the trumpet?
LINDY: Hoochy Pie.
RUBY: Hoochy Pie. We lost her signal, but she's still running.
DOCTOR: Good thing is, none of them have been eaten... so far. Why?
LINDY: Well, Ricky says - my friend Ricky September - he says they're saving us to eat last. Maybe we're the most tasty? Well, Ricky is.
RICKY: Steady.
DOCTOR: If only it was that simple. That would imply that they've got a list... No.
COMPUTER: Zero two.
DOCTOR: No. Wait a minute.
RUBY: What is it?
DOCTOR: It can't be.
LINDY: What?
DOCTOR: No way. No. No, no, no, no. Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
RUBY: Doctor, stop it, tell us.
DOCTOR: No. Lindy. Lindy, your friend Gothic Paul, is he a Paul who's Gothic, or is Paul his surname?
LINDY: It's his surname. Alexander Paul. Gothic's just a nickname.
DOCTOR: Which means... No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Really? Gothic Paul got eaten. Before that, Valerie Nook. Before that, Cooper Mercy. Before that, Bertie Lester. Don't you see? It's... it's been a week since anyone has heard from Kirstie Book-keeper.
RUBY: Oh! No, it can't be.
LINDY: I don't understand.

(The Doctor sonicks up a display of her offline friends.)

LINDY: Oh. My poor friends.
DOCTOR: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But look.

(Rearranges the list.)

LINDY: Yeah, what's the difference?
DOCTOR: Those are their names in alphabetical order.
LINDY: So?
DOCTOR: They are in alphabetical order.
LINDY: Yes, I can see that. So?
COMPUTER: Ninety eight.
DOCTOR: They died in alphabetical order.
LINDY: I don't understand.
DOCTOR: Oh. Gah, it was right in front of me. Those things are eating people in alphabetical order right across the city.
LINDY: But that's impossible.
RUBY: Lindy, your surname, Pepper-Bean. Is that P for Pepper or B for Bean?
LINDY: It's P for Pepper, which comes after Gothic Paul, but I'm still alive. We ran past those things outside, and they didn't even look at me.
DOCTOR: Yeah, there's a lot of people beginning with P. Maybe they're still eating the ones that come before you. All the Pauls have gone. Alison Partner, dead. Pattersons, there are 25 Pattersons, all of them dead. Pavilions, dead. Pavings, dead.
LINDY: Oh, my God. It's working its way towards me.
DOCTOR: Peach, dead. Pebble, dead. Pelican, dead. Wait. Wait, wait, wait. There's someone... Suzie Pentecost. She's still... Here she is.
SUZIE: Oh, hi there, Lindy. You look like fun. Hello. Happy day.
LINDY: Hi, Suzie.
SUZIE: I guess I need some new friends. It's all gone so quiet out there. Have they declared a holiday or something? But it's really, really nice to meet you. You're so pretty...

(Enter a creatures, Suzie goes offline.)

LINDY: But I'm next! Pepper's next!
RUBY: Hurry up with those numbers.
LINDY: I get eaten next! Oh, my soul, it's me. They're coming for me.
RICKY: Okay, hang on now. Hang on.
LINDY: They're coming to eat me!
RICKY: Listen. Lindy! No, they're not. Listen to me. You might be next, but we're safe in this room.
COMPUTER: Forty five.
RICKY: Those things, they aren't down here. And even if they do chase after you, they're slow. And all I've got to do is punch in 30 more numbers into this keypad, and then we're gone. I've got this. Lindy, I'm getting you out of here.
COMPUTER: Sixty five.
LINDY: Oh, Ricky babes.
RUBY: Oh, he's a keeper.
LINDY: Oh, my hopscotch. That's a relief. I just... I keep getting lucky, don't I?
DOCTOR: Except...
COMPUTER: Ninety eight.
DOCTOR: ..I hate to say this, but if those things are eating in alphabetical order, they're not bugs from the outside. They have been created. They're grown. They are designed. And I keep saying, why can't the Dot see them?
LINDY: And...?
DOCTOR: Well, what if it can? What if it wants you to walk right into them?
LINDY: Why would it do that?
DOCTOR: Imagine if that Dot has achieved sentience and then it has to spend all day hovering and listening to you lot chattering away. I'm... I'm not being rude, but I think it's learnt to hate you.
RUBY: Lindy, turn off your Dot.
LINDY: But it's just a Dot.
RUBY: Turn it off right now.
DOCTOR: That is a powerful antigrav psychocombination device. If it wants you dead, it can kill you itself. Dot off!
RUBY: Dot off!
BOTH: Dot off! Dot off!
LINDY: Bubble down, Dot off. I said, Dot off.

(The bubble goes off but the Dot's red 'eye' stares at her.)

RICKY: Lindy, what's it doing?
LINDY: You will obey me. Dot off!

(The Dot flies at her, jabbing her painfully.)

RICKY: Lindy, do the numbers. Come here, take my place. Lindy, come here, do the numbers.
LINDY: Help me!

(Ricky swings at the Dot with a piece of piping, sending it flying.)

COMPUTER: Seventy three.
RICKY: Okay. Every five seconds, a new number.
COMPUTER: Forty five. Fifty seven.
RICKY: I'll fight it off. Do the numbers.
COMPUTER: Fifty six.
RICKY: Come on. Come on.
COMPUTER: Forty five. Twenty one. Access granted.
LINDY: I've got it!
RICKY: Go through. Don't worry about me.

(Lindy struggles with the heavy door. The Dot flies upwards and breaks a chain, dropping a big metal hook onto Ricky.)

RICKY: Lindy, watch out.

(The Dot flies over to her.)

LINDY: His surname is Coombes. He was born Richard Coombes. Cos I know everything about him. He changed his name to Ricky September when he reached 50,000 followers, but check your files. He was born Coombes. C comes before P!

(Ricky stares at her in disbelief.)

RICKY: Lindy...

(Lindy saves herself, closing the door behind her as the Dot kills Ricky, before bouncing off the metal as it goes for her.)

[River level]

BREWSTER: Everyone make sure you have your provisions before we depart.

(The Doctor and Ruby are here, along with a lot of other actual people. Lindy ignores them.)

WOMAN: Make an orderly queue, starting here, please. That's it, quick as you can. Remember your partner.
LINDY: Hoochy Pie!
HOOCHY: Woohoo! Blazing days, sweetie.

(Lindy hugs her.)

HOOCHY: Oh. Is... is that what we do now?
LINDY: We do. We hug. I was taught that by a very wonderful man.
HOOCHY: Oh.
RUBY: Hey, er... where's Ricky? Is he with you?
HOOCHY: He went back. He said he had other people to save. I couldn't stop him. He was so brave. And... well... Gosh. You two. This is strange. I suppose I should say... thank you.
DOCTOR: That's okay.
RUBY: No need.
LINDY: It was er... nice of you.
HOOCHY: You got here just in time. We're going, Lindy. We're leaving.
LINDY: Going where?
BREWSTER: Outside. The Great Beyond. The world outside Finetime. You must be Lindy Pepper-Bean. I've heard a lot about you. Brewster Cavendish. We haven't got titles yet, but if the role of leader was up for grabs, I guess I'd put myself forward.
LINDY: What do you mean, the Great Beyond?
HOOCHY: The Wild Wood.
BREWSTER: And further than that. The river leads down to the sea, and there's a whole world out there, untamed.
LINDY: But I thought the Homeworld would just come and save us.
HOOCHY: That might take a while, hon.
BREWSTER: They're not coming, Lindy. There's only us.
LINDY: But... what about Mummy?
HOOCHY: She's not there, darling pie.
LINDY: You mean she... she's gone... to the Sky?
HOOCHY: That's right.
LINDY: Well, lucky Mummy.
HOOCHY: That's what I said.
LINDY: That's so lucky.
BREWSTER: Now we can go out there, to this planet, and we can fight it and tame it and own it. We'll be pioneers, just like our ancestors.
DOCTOR: Or you could come with us.
LINDY: We could what?
DOCTOR: Come with us.
LINDY: Yeah. We helped you escape, didn't we? So we could get you out of here in the blink of an eye.
DOCTOR: I have a ship. It's called the TARDIS. That blue box. It harnesses technology that makes it bigger on the inside than on the outside. I could take you all. I could carry you to the stars. I... could find you a home that is safe and clean and everything you want.
LINDY: But... we couldn't travel with you.
RUBY: What? Why... Why not?
LINDY: Because you, sir, are not one of us. I mean, you were kind, although it was your duty to save me, obviously. I mean, screen-to-screen contact is just about acceptable, but... in person? That's impossible.
HOOCHY: Like, you have a magic box? Seriously?
BREWSTER: Bigger on the inside?
HOOCHY: Excuse me, sir, that's voodoo. And it doesn't matter where we end up living, because it is our God-given duty to maintain the standards of Finetime, for ever. Now thank you, and goodbye.
RUBY: Oh, I can't even...
DOCTOR: I don't care what you think. And you can say whatever you want. You can think absolutely anything. I will do anything if you just allow me to save your lives.
BREWSTER: If you'll turn away, ladies, before you're contaminated.
DOCTOR: You will die out there! And I can save your lives! Now let me!

(They all turn away and get into a boat.)

DOCTOR: Oh! Damn! Gah!
HOOCHY: Here you are.
LINDY: Thank you.

(The little boat heads off down the river... The Doctor returns to the TARDIS, disbelief and anguish in his eyes.)

Transcript originally provided by Chrissie. Adapted by TARDIS.guide. The transcripts are for educational and entertainment purposes only. All other copyrights property of their respective holders.

Back to top