Doctor Brian

It had been a late work night for Brian. This is what happens when you can't delegate and you own your own business. As you slide the loft door open you're surprised to see Justin is still up. The sound of some late night radio talk show filled the loft while you saw Justin in the corner working on some art project.

Justin heard the door slide and that got him to look up and once he saw who it was, that got Brian one of his famous smiles. "You worked late," Justin observed.

"Had a big project that had to be done, I didn't want to leave it for tomorrow. And it seems I'm not the only one working late," I also observed. "What are you listening to? You're not one for talk radio."

"It's some show on UFO's. Guys talking about all the spaceships they got stashed at Area 51. It's kind of funny how people believe him." He smirked.

That got me thinking about what I had stashed in the basement. It had been a long time since I thought about it. I really have been in Pittsburgh for a long time. Maybe it was time to move on but I hate traveling alone. That got me to wonder if Justin has what it takes to do the kind of traveling I do and if he'd like to come along.

"Hey where did you just disappear to?" Justin asked.

Justin's voice snaps you back to the present. "What if I told you he was right?" I asked.

"You think he's telling the truth?" he asked in an amused sort of way.

"I know he is."

"And how would you know?"

"My spaceship is in the basement," I said in a matter of fact tone.

Justin, finding what I said so unbelievable, just stared at me. "I thought you stopped getting your drugs from Anita," he finally said.

"I'm not kidding."

Justin just laughed for a moment. "Ok, Brian, I'll play along. Does it have warp drive too?"

"Come on," I said, refusing to be baited as I lead him to the basement.

You opened the door to the storage shed and pointed to a wooden box standing in the corner. It was about 2 foot square and stood about seven feet tall. "That's it," you tell Justin as you pointed.

I know Brian's been working hard but could he have finally snapped. You're not sure what to do but you know you can't play along anymore. "Now you're scaring me, Brian. You actually sound like you believe this."

"Seeing is believing," you tell Justin. You walk over to the box and open the side. It swings open toward Justin and blocks his view of the interior. "C'mon," you say as you walk in.

Justin saw Brian disappear inside. It must be some kind of practical joke. You decide to play along and step into the box.

You find yourself standing in a room many times larger than the box. Brian is at a central console flicking switches. You immediately turn around and run out. You're back in the storage shed. You walk around the box and see it's free standing. How can something larger be in something smaller, you ask yourself?

It happens every time, Brian thought to himself. They see the size difference and not believing their eyes they make a run for it. You walk over to the door and see Justin standing at the entrance, afraid to come in. You gently wave him in hoping it will help him feel safe and slowly he reenters while you explain as best you can.

"She's called a TARDIS. That stands for Time and Relative Dimensions in Space. This is my ship."

"How?" Justin asked, sounding both scared and curious at the same time.

"It's a technology that's not invented yet on Earth."

"You mean it's alien?"

"Yes." That monkey brain of his is making the leap. Good, that means there's a chance he's got what it takes.

"Does that make you…?"

"Just call me the ultimate illegal alien," you answer. "We're called Time Lords. We're from a planet that was called Gallifrey."

"But I've seen you naked."

"We look human on the outside; inside I've got a few extra parts arranged a little different," you explain. "I've got two hearts, which would be a surprise to Mel because I know she thinks I don't even have one."

Then Justin realized what Brian had said about his home world. "You said 'was' about your home?"

"It's gone. I saw it destroyed in a great war," Brian answers with a great deal of sadness in his voice.

Justin hears the pain and reaches out and touches Brian's arm. You knew Brian was a loner but you never really knew before just how utterly alone he truly was. Then you realize something else he said. "You said we. There are others?"

"There were a few survivors," Brian answers. "There's one in particular I'm friends with. Calls himself the Doctor and speaks with this phony English accent. Worst dresser I've ever known."

Now that Justin has finally seemed to accept what he was hearing he had a few questions that were more personal. "Of all the places in the universe why Pittsburgh?" you ask.

"It just happened," you answer. "We won the war but lost so much. I was just tired. It was time to settle down for awhile. I impersonated a human teenager and the rest is history. No one else knows but you."

"So why tell me now?"

"It might be time to move on for awhile. But I didn't want to go alone," Brian answers.

It took a minute for what Brian was saying to sink in. "You want me to go with you?" Justin asked.

"Did I mention it's a time machine too? I can take you anywhere from the Big Bang to the Big Crunch and anywhere in between. Could show you forms of art you could never imagine. Paintings of sound. Art works that are the size of solar systems. Things you would never believe." You could see Justin was tempted. You continue. "I know you always wanted to go to Europe and study the Old Masters. How'd you like to study with the Old Masters?"

"It's possible?"

"Why not, Leonardo owes me a few favors. Got that old geezer some dates with some cute guys." You could see that Justin doesn't quit believe what you're saying. You hold your hand out and ask him, "Want to take a ride?"

"But we'll be missed?"

"We can be gone for years and return to this moment and no one would be the wiser."

Justin stood there torn by the magnitude of what he was being offered. But in the end there was only one answer and that was to trust the one he cared about the most.

"Let's go."

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