The Girl Who Escaped Into Space and Time

It was so strange, one moment gravity was as resilient as ever within the TARDIS, and the next, it had simply disappeared. As Sarah stepped over the threshold of the time machine, she found herself swimming in midair, in an unoccupied room of blinking lights and oxygen regulators. She was grateful for her decision to wear leggings when she left the house; pulling a Marilyn Monroe every other moment would be inconvenient.

The area around them was small and cramped, as was to be expected from a 1980’s shuttle, and the TARDIS just barely fit within the confining space, the light at its top mere centimetres away from grazing the ceiling. Unlike Sarah, the Doctor seemed very accustomed to the lack of gravity. He had already moved outside, gripping a handle-like apparatus on the side of one wall while his tweed jacket billowed out rather unceremoniously around him.

Within seconds, he picked up on Sarah’s uncertainty, and extended an arm to her. “Here, take my hand,” offered the Doctor. “You’ll get used to zero gravity soon enough.”

Part of her wanted to protest, thinking she could learn and adapt on her own, but Sarah quickly dismissed the thought, taking up the offer. The Doctor gently pulled her through the air until she was able to reach a handhold of her own, which she used to maneuver herself to the door frame at the other end of the room. The walls themselves were lined with early Space Age technology, mostly monotonous gray in color, many of which appeared to have one or more important uses. While Sarah moved gingerly around them, uncertain of what would happen if she disturbed anything, the Doctor was perfectly at ease in this setting. It was as if he already knew each of the instruments’ functions, which ones to avoid, and which ones wouldn’t cause any harm.

Outside of the smaller chamber was the main area, more technological kibble covering nearly all of its surfaces save for the front windows and seating. The expedition’s crew, about eleven members, floated about in there, backs turned to the strangers as they engaged in lively conversation. Despite having reached the final frontier and being so far from home, they were quite relaxed, that is, until someone turned around.

“What’s the matter, John?” said one of the men, going silent when he followed his line of sight, as did the rest of the crew. They stared, open-mouthed, for a few seconds, before the man who had just spoken moved forward.

He seemed afraid, a fear that was quite plausible given the circumstances. As far as this man had been concerned, he and his crew were the only individuals aboard the Challenger, and there was no possible way that someone else could have gotten on. There wasn’t even supposed to be anyone else in space, and yet here they were, two odd strangers on the shuttle, calm as could be.

“Who are you?” asked the man, his face betraying fear and incredulity. “How did you even get here?” His voice was steady, but there was a slight yet discernible shake in his hands.

Without missing a single beat, the Doctor pulled something out of his jacket — a small black booklet with a single, blank card inside — and showed the man. “I’m the Doctor, and this is my friend Sarah. We’re just dropping by, just a normal, er...routine sort of thing. Making sure the flight is going well and all. No problems with the shuttle or anything, I’m guessing?”

“No, none at all. Oh, er, I’m Robert, by the way. Robert Crippen, commander.” He paused for a moment, thinking. “Mission Control never told us about you, though. They should have, would have told us…” Robert stopped himself in the middle of his sentence, dismissing whatever it was that he was about to say next, almost as if he didn’t know what to say next.

A woman, the only female member of the crew, moved forward to join Robert. She had a mass of curly hair and a face that Sarah recognized almost immediately; this was definitely Sally Ride.

“He says they’re here for some sort of flight check-in,” explained Robert, though the tone of his voice betrayed his doubt. “I’m still trying to figure out how they got on board in the first place. We didn’t pick up any airlock disturbances or anything. He...the, uh Doctor, he’s got all the right credentials. Definitely isn’t American, though; he’s got an English accent.”

“That’s right, Robert, definitely not American. I won’t bore you with the details, but my friend here, she’s always wanted to meet Sally. Thinks she might be a future relative and all.”

Sally’s face twisted in confusion. “Future relative? What?”

“We’re time travellers,” Sarah piped up. “I’m from 2016, and he’s from...I don’t know. We sort of just met, really. Please don’t worry, we’re not here to cause any harm.”

Behind the four of them, the rest of the crew were huddled together, talking quietly amongst themselves and cautiously glancing at Sarah and the Doctor.

“My name is Sarah,” she continued. “Sarah Ride. I’m eighteen years old and I’m from Canada. We have the same last name, and it’s always been something I’ve wondered, if I might be related to the first American woman in space.”

Sally was absolutely baffled. “I...I don’t think I have any family in Canada right now,” she stammered. “I don’t have any children either, so your guess is as good as mine, really.” There was a brief moment of silence between the pair, a singular beat where there was no sound but the ambience of the shuttle and the conversation behind them, before Sarah and Sally simultaneously burst into laughter.

“You’re a time traveller! I don’t believe this! That’s crazy, time travel isn’t real, but you’re right here and we’re talking!”

Sarah shrugged, as much as one could shrug in zero gravity. “I’m still processing all of this too, believe it or not. This guy here…” She gestured to the Doctor. “...He’s got all the real time travel-ey answers in that box of his.”

“Erm, Robert, is it?” inquired the Doctor. “You’re not placing any of this into the ship’s log, are you?”

“I hadn’t even thought of that until now, why?”

“If I were you, I wouldn’t bother.” Robert was absolutely shocked at the Doctor’s words, but nevertheless let the strange man continue speaking. “Trust me here, it’s a bit too early for that sort of thing, and if anything your time as an astronaut may be discontinued. I know a bit of the eighties, and NASA isn’t going to believe it.”

“But the historical implications!” sputtered the astronaut. “The research that could be forwarded—”

“Without any hard evidence, it won’t go far, I’m afraid.” He put a hand on the man’s left shoulder. “I know all of this is absurd to all of you, but I need you to trust me on this one thing. Can you do that, Robert?”

“To anyone else, I would say no,” he responded. “But something about you tells me I should; a gut feeling, I guess.” Rather shakily, Robert’s right hand rose to his forehead in a salute. “You have my trust, sir.”

The Doctor nodded respectfully at Robert. “Good man,” he said. “Trust me, you’ll be thankful later.”

Meanwhile, Sarah and Sally were chatting excitedly to one another, the topic of their conversation seeming to focus mostly upon timelines, asking about one another’s time and whatnot. Being an astronaut herself, Sally was curious to see how technology had advanced in the way of space travel, and what new achievements were made.

“And what about the Wow! Signal?” she inquired of the young woman. “Has that one been solved yet? Has humankind…” Sally lowered her voice so that she was out of earshot of her fellow crew members. “Have we made contact yet?”

Sarah giggled quietly, smiling to herself. In Sally’s time, extraterrestrial life was something more so limited to forty-cent comic books and isolated conspiracy theorists, not certified NASA members. “As sad as it is, that one is a no, none that the government is letting on. Except for the Doctor anyway.” Just as the words left her mouth, a thought came to mind, a sudden realization, and she gasped. “That must make me the first!”

“The first? I don’t understand...wait. The Doctor? But he looks human!”

“He’s from another planet, he says. Starts with a ‘G’; I can’t remember it. I’ll have to ask him again.”

Sally appeared doubtful. “Just because he said that, you believe him?” she asked. “I’m not trying to judge you, but I’m a woman of science and evidence.”

The question caught her by surprise. Sarah hadn’t considered evidence of him actually being an alien; the TARDIS was evidence enough with its impossible dimensions and capabilities. “His time machine, it’s not from here,” replied Sarah. “There’s no way it’s built by humans, it’s bigger on the inside! I guess when you put that into perspective, an alien that looks like one of us is nothing.”

“That’s a lot to take in,” Sally admitted. Sarah could visibly see her processing it all, behind the confident, professional demeanor she wore. “Sometimes the only choice is to believe, I suppose.”

“Did I hear someone talking about my TARDIS?” asked the Doctor suddenly, moving over behind Sarah. He glanced between the two of them, a bit skeptical. “Better not be anything bad, she’s got a bit of a temper.”

Sarah’s face scrunched up, confused. “The TARDIS?”

“Yes, who else do you think I was talking about, Sally here? Yes, the TARDIS is a bit finicky, so be nice to her.” The Doctor was silly yet stern about it, wagging a finger and all.

From the front of the shuttle came a signaling, beeping sort of sound, almost as if a Space Age telephone was ringing.

“Oh, that’s Mission Control,” said Robert offhandedly. “Checking in with us, same as usual.”

“In that case,” responded the Doctor. “We’d best be taking our leave. Don’t want to tamper with the timeline or anything.”

Sarah picked up on his words, quickly following suit. “It was nice to meet you, Sally. Good luck with your future travels!”

“And to you and the Doctor as well!” said Sally with a smile.

The two of them waved goodbye then began navigating their way to the back, where the TARDIS waited. Just as they were out of sight from the main area, the communication line crackled to life, and a voice could be heard from the other end, checking in with the crew.

“Sometimes it’s best to leave a timeline be,” commented the Doctor as he finally reached the TARDIS door. “Especially in the case of America, they’re so —”

“Hostile?” Sarah volunteered.

“Yes! Exactly! You’ve got Reagan, the Cold War, all that nonsense, it wouldn’t take much to stir it up and change the course of time. And, especially when you’re dealing with something as massive as NASA, when space travel is just beginning? I’d say it’s a point best left alone.” He gave a little curtsy toward the TARDIS, gesturing for her to enter first.

Switching from zero gravity to normal gravity was, once again, a bizarre thing for Sarah. Her arms grabbed a bit awkwardly at the side of the time machine’s exterior, grasping for a handhold, and she found that she stood as normal again as soon as she made physical contact with the thing. The Doctor opened the front door rather gingerly and stepped inside, leaving the entrance ajar for Sarah to follow suit.

She wasn’t the most knowledgeable about American history, but knew enough to take the Doctor’s advice without hesitation. Pivotal and sensitive points in time were best left alone; any misstep could bring about a nation-wide conflict, and that was not something Sarah wanted to start. His words swam about in her mind as she entered the time machine, pondering the idea of alternate timelines as she closed the TARDIS door behind her.

The Doctor had already started towards the console, but rather than setting the TARDIS toward another destination, he turned around to face Sarah.

“So, what did you think?” He clasped his hands together, eyes bright with enthusiasm as he awaited a response. “2016 to 1983 in the blink of an eye, Sally Ride, space? How was it?”

Sarah wasn’t sure exactly how to reply. How did one even rate a trip through time; it wasn’t like giving feedback for a vacation or hotel service. She laughed awkwardly, a hand messing through her hair, and she leaned one arm on one of the TARDIS railings. “Unbelievable? Incredible? I’m still kind of wondering if this is all a dream, but it’s a bit too real.”

“Ah yes, makes sense. Everyone adapts differently after all, though you seem to be picking up faster than most. No screaming or stuttering or anything; that happens more than you might think.”

Screaming? “Why, do you keep scary alien stuff in here or something?”

The Doctor smirked, amused by her comment. “Oh, no. Well...maybe? Depends what you consider scary. No, it’s the ones who are firmly set on what should and shouldn’t be. Engineers and such, the people who really know the laws of physics. Boggles their minds a bit.” He turned back to the console, fiddling with some of the instruments there. “I’m assuming you’ll want to go back home now.” The sentence was spoken as a statement, though it came out as a question as well.

“No!” Sarah blurted. The word came out so fast, her face immediately reddening with embarrassment. Why didn’t she just wait and say it better, it sounded so pathetic and desperate then and there, but it was the truth. After seeing what was out there, even the smallest bit of it, the last thing she wanted to do was go back home, to that house, to her family, to her empty existence there. “Please, don’t take me back.”

The Doctor’s back straightened and he spun around to face her once more. He wore an expression that was difficult to decipher; a pinch of concern quickly outshadowed by his normal cheery attitude. Sarah could tell, he’d picked up on it, on that tiny something, but was polite enough not to pry. “I knew it,” he smirked.

“What?” Sarah was thoroughly taken aback. “What do you mean, you knew it? Knew what?”

“You have a certain sense for adventure. You’re curious, going inside a box that appeared near your home in the middle of the night, agreeing to travel through time with someone you just met. You’ve got the qualities of an adventurer, that’s for certain, and there’s so much more this TARDIS can do than go to the 80’s.”

“The 80’s in space,” she added.

“My point exactly! Now, where to next?”

“Well, we’re already in space,” mused Sarah. “How about another planet?” She ran up to the console to join him, though her hands kept a safe distance from its innumerable pieces. “You say you’re an alien, so we both know those exist. There’s gotta be more of them, all different kinds. Let’s go see what there is!”