Chapter 28: An Invite to Dinner
"So where are we off to next?" River asked as she dumped her coat on the side of the sofa. The Doctor pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it.
"Right well, we've seen the Hanging Gardens of Babylon in 600 BC. Lovely machinery for the circulating water." He said as he read down the list.
"Yes, even more better with a little tweaking." She added.
"A little sonic here, and it could last for a thousand years. Seventy feet high, multi levelled gardens with trees that grow on the roof. Brilliant!"
"It didn't stand for that long though. Earthquake."
The Doctor shrugged his shoulders as he crossed it off the list. "Anyway, how about, the Acropolis of Athens? Built for Nebuchadnezzar the Second for his wife Amytis of Media. I visited them quite a while ago, but I could probably wrangle a tour of the place. There's supposed to be a ghost haunting the steps at night." He waggled his eyebrows.
River nodded her head. "Sounds like a plan!"
The Doctor reached over to the zig-zag plotter but then he paused as a crackling sound emanated from his pocket.
"Hello? Doctor? Can you hear me?" A woman's voice called and he pulled out a large bright yellow walkie talkie and stared at it. "Hello?"
The Doctor pressed the speaker button and spoke cheerfully. "Hello, Doctor speaking."
"Doctor. I call to invite you back to Egypt. Although, this device is quite strange, I have never seen anything like it made from Egyptian or Roman hands." The woman replied.
"Okay." The Doctor replied slowly. "Although I'll be bringing a friend with me." He added.
"Any and all friends of the Doctor are always welcome." The woman replied.
"See you in a few minutes." He said before dropping the walkie talkie back into his pocket. "Guess where we're going is already decided then."
"Egypt. I've never been there before." River said interested as she leaned over the side to read the monitor as he inputted the coordinates. "40 BC."
"It'd be nice to have dinner. Little bit of relaxing time, away from Amy's questions and Rory's..." The Doctor pointed to his nose and River pursed her lips, unamused. Then she reached over and pressed a button sending the TARDIS spinning through the time vortex to the past, and to ancient history.
"So who was she?" River asked as the TARDIS jerked to the left.
"Cleo." The Doctor replied and River simply stared at him, wanting him to explain made. "Cleopatra VII Thea Philopater. But she calls herself Nea Isis. In your time frame her story was famous by Shakespeare, but described as beautiful, witty and extremely clever. An excellent tactician, don't want to argue with her."
"Anything else?"
"She liked roses..." The Doctor offered but River simply huffed as the TARDIS rocked. She reached for the monitor and then pulled a lever and pressed three buttons in an attempt to stabilise their flight pattern. The Doctor muttered something about 'borring-ers' but River didn't hear anything.
"And the Egyptians?" River asked after the TARDIS stopped rocking so violently.
"Marvellous inventors. Ink and paper, the very first ox-drawn ploughs, sails for their boats, hieroglyphics as system of writing. Not to mention figuring out the three hundred and sixty five day year, right down to the extra quarter of a day."
