Playback (short story)

Playback was the first story in the anthology Decalog. It was written by Stephen James Walker. It featured the Seventh Doctor.

Summary
Bart Addison is sitting in his office afternoon when a stranger enters. The man claims to have lost his memory, and thinks he was brainwashed or hypnotised. Addison suggests he check his wallet. The man searches through his pockets, bringing out dozens of items, but no wallet. Addison has an idea.

The two head for the home of Silverman. The gate is locked, so they climb over. As they make their way into the house, Addison is attacked by a large man. The stranger is about to hit the man with a rock, but Addison stops him. The man is Ramon, Silverman's guard, and he apologises profusely to Addison for attacking him, as he did not recognise him. They enter the house.

Addison explains his client's problem to Silverman. Silverman is a psychic who can use psychometry on the stranger's possessions to determine information about them. He chooses one item after another and tells Addison and the stranger the history behind each.

One after another, Silverman examines a mechanical duck, a phial of mercury, a pamphlet with a drawing on it, a crystal scarab and a nugget of gold, and tells a story connected with each one. The stranger seems to be a person, called the Doctor, who can apparently change his appearance. When Addison suggests a newspaper with a headline about UFOs, the stranger objects, and Silverman chooses a piece of chalk instead. He then examines, against the stranger's wishes, something that looks like a lightbulb, followed by a computer disk and a saxophone mouthpiece.

Characters

 * Seventh Doctor
 * Bart Addison
 * Silverman
 * Mykloz
 * Ramon
 * Syloz
 * Harkoz

Continuity

 * The Doctor encountered Mykloz in his sixth incarnation. (PROSE: The Golden Door)