From the Journal of Sarah Jane

Give sorrow words; the grief that does not speak whispers the o'er-fraught heart and bids it break. ~William Shakespeare

From The Times
Januray 28, 2009
Universe mourns loss of saviour
One man’s life made all the difference and yet, no one can live forever.

Sarah Jane Smith

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Most of the articles you will read in today’s papers will tell you this: the world is in danger. The world is, in fact, in more danger than it has ever been before. I would know. In my life, I have often been at the forefront of the brink of disaster. I have seen things few others on Earth had ever witnessed until yesterday. And I can tell you this: those articles you will read today do not lie.

But as UNIT and Torchwood control the panic here in Britain and as similar institutions also work to do so around the globe, I ask a moment of your time. One moment, that is all I ask. Because, amidst all those other articles you will read today, this one will tell you something different.

This one article, you see, tells a story. It is the story of a man – a most incredible man who sacrificed everything for a world that wasn’t even his own. He died yesterday. And he was my best friend. I couldn’t help him. However, I can do this. I can tell his story.

As the truth of extraterrestrial existence has become evident to the public once again, there is nothing left to hide. There is no one to censor my words, there is no one left to protect. You might still fancy this as fiction. It certainly wouldn’t be surprising. I wish more than anything it was. But I assure you, everything written here is the truth.

He was born a long time ago on a planet far away, a planet called Gallifrey. His youth was not like any you would imagine. He was very much a rebel and, at first chance, he ran away to see the stars. He had this machine, you see, called a TARDIS. Time and Relative Dimensions in Space. He used it to travel all over time and space, but again and again, his trips brought him to Earth.

I travelled with him for a time, when I was younger and far more reckless than I am now. I had known him for less than a year before I discovered his greatest secret. He had been mortally wounded in protecting his friends, and this planet, from a hostile force. I thought he would die. In fact, his last words still echo in my head to this day. “A tear...Sarah Jane?” he said. “No, don't cry. While there's life there's...”

And then, miracles of miracles, he lived. His species, it turned out, had a gift. When near death, they could choose to regenerate and take a new form. With a new face, he could continue to live for years and years to come. He could continue to travel and, more than anything, he could continue to protect this planet.

When I travelled with him, I never quite understood how he could be so transfixed with Earth when given all the wonders in the universe. It took me years to realise how precious life on Earth was. I dedicated myself to continue his work. I couldn’t go back to a normal life after what I had seen. That was the sort of thing he inspired in people: bravery, loyalty, a commitment to protect those in need. He never liked travelling alone, he almost never did.

Martha Jones, a UNIT liaison doctor and his current companion, was there when he died. While not available for interview, she did grant me a call.

7:55 pm, Tuesday, January 27, 2009, Piccadilly Circus: the man most commonly known as the Doctor was killed in a surprise attack. Two gun shots were fired nearly simultaneously, a fatal bullet in each of his two hearts. He never had a chance to react. Nor did he have the chance to regenerate.

The identity of the murderer still remains unknown, although Martha reported that the individual appeared in the form of a human male. Less than minutes after the event, television waves all over the planet were interrupted with an anonymous threat. We had been conquered by Cell 114.

Although seemingly unprofessional, I will leave the details of the message and subsequent events to other journalists to report. The intention of this article is not to warn you of the danger we face from the Sleepers, as they have thus been nicknamed. Instead, this article is written with the intent to honour the memory and the life of Earth’s greatest hero.

The Doctor could appear to be the most unassuming of men. He appeared absolutely ordinary at first sight, but he was anything but.

Unable to save his own planet, I beg of you: do not let his death be in vain. Remember the Doctor. And follow the lead brave souls like Martha Jones and all the other companions that came before her. “The fight will go on,” as Prime Minister Wilton announced on a BBC telecast early this evening. “We will not cave to the demands of Cell 114.”

No words could ever do the man the Doctor was justice. In the end, looking back upon my own words, I see this only as the vain attempt to convey a most remarkable individual that only a handful of people were ever blessed to meet.

I was reaching for stars in writing this article.

But in his life, he found them.