Mortal Thoughts (short story)

Mortal Thoughts was the fifth short story in the Short Trips anthology Short Trips: Life Science. It was written by Trevor Baxendale. It featured the Sixth Doctor and Mel.

Summary
Simon, a Robohuman, has asked the Doctor and Mel for help. Simon thinks he can dream, but the Doctor doesn't think it's possible. Mel tries to convince the Doctor that it's possible, and convinces the Doctor to investigate. The Doctor asks Simon to go offline for ten minutes while the Doctor looks at his CPU.

When Simon is offline, however, the Doctor moves quickly. He gives Mel a watch to keep track of the time, and he begins to search the apartment. They follow a trail of flies to the bedroom, where they find a decapitated corpse. Suddenly, Simon appears at the door, having gone offline for only eight minutes.

He tries to explain what he's done. He has always felt he was missing something organic, so he persuaded a "student" named Eryk Zang to help him. He killed Eryk, connecting Eryk's brain to his cognitive processor. When the Doctor tries to tell Simon what he has done is wrong, Simon approaches Mel and tries to kill her. The Doctor shoves a pair of pliers into the back of Simon's head.

The Doctor and Mel report to Detective Inspector Naylar, who informs them that Simon will be memory-wiped. He also tells them that Zang was actually a convicted serial killer.

Characters

 * Sixth Doctor
 * Melanie Bush
 * Simon
 * Detective Inspector Naylar
 * Eryk Zang

Worldbuilding

 * Mel mentions the Hippocratic Oath.
 * The Doctor has a green pocketwatch.
 * Eryk had been imprisoned on Titan Penal Base.

Continuity
to be added