Reverse Engineering (audio story)

Reverse Engineering was the second story in the audio anthology Purity Undreamed produced by Big Finish Productions. It was written by Jonathan Morris and featured Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor, Bonnie Langford as Melanie Bush, Ruth Madeley as Hebe Harrison and Imogen Stubbs as Patricia McBride.

Publisher's summary
When Patricia is invited to a secretive Swedish clinic by an old colleague, she tips off the Doctor, Mel and Hebe, who go undercover to investigate. Charismatic geneticist Killian Holm offers to restore youth to his wealthy patients, but the truth of his work is far more radical - and far more dangerous!

As an ancient horror reforms beneath the clinic, the Doctor must race to save humanity from an unspeakable temporal disaster.

Part one
Patricia is invited to the Emit Institute in Sweden by Killian Holm. Whilst waiting for a demonstration, she is surprised to see Mel, who has been working at the institute for two weeks but has come to see her slightly too early; she tells Patricia that, in a few minutes, she will see something strange and must contact the Doctor through Hebe. Patricia is shown a group of cloned Neanderthals and offered the chance to study them. When Killian is called away, she calls Hebe, who appears almost instantaneously.

Killian meets the Doctor and Hebe, calling themselves Dr Solace and Jane Bond and pretend not to recognise Patricia when she joins them. They are given a tour and learn that the clinic offers to restore youth, but the Doctor finds the presentation to be full of meaningless technobabble and wonders how it is really done. He signs up for the treatment and, later, goes with Hebe to meet up with Mel, who informs them that the institute's profits are funding secret research in the lower level. Having stolen Tarek Gamal's passcard, she takes them downstairs and they find a machine that causes time to travel in reverse.

Patricia goes for dinner with Killian, but he has to leave on a matter of security. He and Tarek find the Doctor, Mel and Hebe and has them locked in their room. Patricia rescues them and they head to the TARDIS in a maintenance storeroom where the Doctor collects a device which detects a dangerous amount of temporal distortion. Patricia tells them about the Neanderthals and, after the Doctor disables the camera systems and mechanic locks, heads to the laboratory with Mel.

The Doctor examines Killian's time machine and finds that it is not responsible for the distortion. He and Hebe find the remains of a crashed spaceship, generating a repair field which Killian is exploiting and which reconstitutes the body of the alien pilot. Meanwhile, Mel and Patricia are caught by Killian and Tarek and learn that Killian has bred what he calls the "perfect homo sapiens. Unless Patricia tells him who she is working for, Killian will age Mel to death.

Part two
to be added

Cast

 * The Doctor - Colin Baker
 * Mel Bush - Bonnie Langford
 * Hebe Harrison - Ruth Madeley
 * Patricia McBride - Imogen Stubbs
 * Killian Holm - Stephen Riddle
 * Tarek Gamal - Homer Todiwala

Continuity

 * The Doctor says that he would allow his appearance to be changed over his dead body. (TV: The Tenth Planet, etc.)
 * Mention is made of the groundwork laid by Whitaker and Kerensky in their efforts at time technology. (TV: Invasion of the Dinosaurs, City of Death)
 * It has been three months since "the Mindless business". (AUDIO: The Mindless Ones)
 * The Doctor once again demonstrates an ability to move against a conflicting current of temporal energy. (TV: Invasion of the Dinosaurs)
 * The Emit Institute is besieged by a time storm and its surrounding eddies. (TV: Dragonfire, The Three Doctors)