Vindication of the Whale

 ‘Damn it, Bones.  Isn’t there anything you can do for him?’

 ‘He’s dead, Jim.’

 ‘I’ve seen this one.’

 ‘Shhh.’

 ‘No, really.  Spock comes back and kills half the crew.  Turns out his brain was 
switched with that of a klingon.’

 ‘Oh, Doctor, do be quiet!’

 ‘I’m sorry Benny,’ he mumbled like a small child would have.

 ‘Can’t you keep things to yourself?’

 ‘Sorry.’

 Benny got up from the couch.  She paced around for a minute and sat back down.
‘Why are we here?’ she asked.

 ‘Well Benny,’ he began, ‘scientists and philosophers have been wrestling with 
that question since time began.’

 ‘All right, let me rephrase that.  What are we doing here?’

 ‘You tell me.’ replied the Doctor.

 ‘If I had known we were here, then I wouldn’t have asked.’

 ‘True,’ the Doctor agreed.  He used the remote control to change the channel on
the television.  Now, instead of Star Trek, it was airing a documentary on how novelty
condoms are made.  The Doctor quickly turned off the television.  ‘We are here 
to prevent someone from making a very big mistake.’

 ‘And who would that be?’ Benny asked.

 ‘Someone very important.  He will grow up to be an accomplished actor and writer.
You know him very well.’

 ‘Oh yeah?  Who?’

 At that moment, a young man walked into the room.  He was rather tall and somewhat
heavyset.  Blond-brown hair stuck out from underneath his black fedora.  He looked from
the Doctor to Benny and back.

 ‘Erm, hello?  What are you doing here?’ he asked.

 ‘Hello, I’m the Doctor and this is my friend Benny.’

 ‘Yes, yes.  I know who you are.  I write about you.  You’re fictional characters.  
My God, this is like "Head Games", isn’t it?  You,’ he pointed at the Doctor, 
‘were created by the BBC in 1963.  And you, Benny, were created by Paul Cornell, 
one of my favorite authors.’

 ‘No, we’re not fictional.  It’s too complicated to explain right now, but it involved
a time warp, several writers and a large bottle of Ol' Janx Spirit.’

 ‘Quite a good year, too…’ Benny mused.

 The young man said excitedly, ‘OK, so you’re real.  In that case can I have your autographs?
I’ve always loved your work.’  He thrust a pen and a copy of "Human Nature" under the Doctor’s
nose.

 ‘Oh, yes, of course.’  He hastily scribbled his signature on the first page and passed the book 
to Benny.  ‘Now.  You’ve been a bit depressed lately, correct?’

 ‘Yeah, your…fictional…exploits have been the only thing keeping me going .  Life has been sort 
of empty as of late.’

 ‘Why?’ asked Benny.

 ‘Everything.  No one likes or appreciates me, my girlfriend left me, what few other ‘friends’ 
I have ignore me, my parents are pushing me to be someone I’m not, my Mom is a 
paranoid prescription drug addict who holds fictional conversations with me in 
her head, and other students despise me for being so damn smart.  I’m one big 
cosmic joke.’

 ‘Joke?  But laughter makes the universe go ‘round.’ said the Doctor.

 ‘Yes but being laughed at is different than being laughed with.  One is because you’re humorous, 
the other is just ill humor.  Does that make any sense?’

 ‘Yes, I’m afraid.  It’s happened to me often enough.’ replied the Doctor.

 ‘Which is, in part, why I fell in love with the programme.’

 ‘Well, if you’ve watched even second-hand accounts of my adventures you know 
there are better ways of dealing with things than running away.’

 ‘Running away?  Who said anything about running away?’ asked Benny.

 ‘I’ve been thinking about running away from my problems.’ said the young man after a minute, 
‘Not running away from home or anything like that.  I’m not stupid.  No, just 
being the person that every one wants me to be, a conformist.  Creating a new identity, 
ending this charade of a life.’

 ‘No!  You mustn’t!’ said the Doctor, forcefully, ‘You are destined for great things.
If you end your life, this life, then something wonderful will be extinguished from the 
universe before it even began.’

 ‘But, surely, you can’t tell me this. Aren’t the choices I make my own?  What about the Laws 
of Time and Causality?’

 ‘Sometimes to do what is right, you have to disobey the law.  With the experiences you gain 
during this time you will create a world for yourself and for others that will do for them what
I did for you.’

 ‘But I’m a hack!  I can’t think of my own characters so I use you and Benny.’

 ‘Shakespeare was a hack.  But now he’s the English language’s most famous writer.’

 ‘So you’re saying I’ll be the next Will Shakespeare?’

 ‘No,’ Benny piped up, ‘he’s saying you give yourself too little credit.’

 ‘But I a huge ego and I’m a shameless self-promoter.’ he protested.

 ‘That’s not the same thing.  If you will yourself to succeed then you will.  You’re not giving yourself 
a chance.’

 ‘Benny’s right.’ said the Doctor.  ‘Without your work, the world will be a much different place.’

 ‘This isn’t going to turn into "A Wonderful Life" is it?  No, I won’t let it.  I’ll continue this seemingly
pointless life.’

 ‘It’ll turn out all right.’ the Doctor said.

 ‘Promise?’

 ‘Promise.’

 Benny kissed the young man on the cheek.  ‘I’ve always loved your work.’
she said, realizing who this young man was.

 ‘Really?’ the young man asked.

 ‘Yes.’

 ‘You don’t think, maybe…’

 ‘You’re seventeen years old!’

 ‘Nearly eighteen!’

 ‘OK, but it’d never work.’

 ‘Just as well, you look almost exactly like my best friend.’

 ‘The life of an adventurer and the life of a poet seldom work well together,’ she said, ‘look 
at all the bad times Xena and Gabrielle had.’

 ‘That a television show.  It’s fictional.’

 ‘That’s what you think.’ said the Doctor.  ‘Now we really must be going.  As you yourself
pointed out, I really shouldn’t be here at all.’

 ‘Goodbye Doctor, Benny,’ the young man said, shaking their hands in turn.  ‘It was a profound 
pleasure meeting you both.’

 And with that they walked out of the room.  The young man never saw them 
again, except in his dreams.