Dead London ( audio story ) Publisher ' s summary . " Someone ' s playing with us . Manipulating time and space for their own ends . " The TARDIS lands in London . But which one ? The Doctor and Lucie find themselves trapped in a maze of interlocking Londons from Roman times to the present day . But they are not alone in this labyrinth : a killer is on their trail . Plot . The Eighth Doctor is in court , charged with “ Leaving a blue box on a double yellow line ” while Lucie is shopping . While waiting , he discovered a localised temporal shift in the area ; but this explanation is not enough to acquit him , and he is sentenced — to death , for a parking offence . The localised temporal shift is more local than he thought , it seems . He has suddenly , in the middle of the trial , been transported to the 17th century , to the dock of the Old Bailey court . Here he is being confused with someone else , but there ’ s no convincing the judge of that . The judge — “ Hanging ” judge Jeffreys — admits he may have met the Doctor before , but will not meet him again . Before he has the Doctor removed , the Doctor insists that the judge is not really Jeffreys , based on inconsistencies in his statements . While the Doctor is still present , the next prisoner is brought into the dock : a flamboyant young woman called “ Spring - Heeled Sophie ” , Sophia Shepherd , a tightrope walker who boasts about her skills while slipping her shackles . Lucie has become lost while shopping , and stranger still , the city has gone dark . She is nearly run down in the streets by a tram , before encountering an oddly yellow - skinned woman calling herself “ Yellow Beryl ” . Beryl explains that the strange colour is from the TNT that she works with in a munitions factory , and that England is fighting the Germans and Austrians . To Lucie ’ s surprise , it is the year 1917 . They are forced to take shelter as zeppelins fly over and begin dropping bombs . Sophie denies involvement in the robberies of which she is accused ; the Doctor comes to her defence , trying to prevent her from being hanged , but is shouted down . As the guards subdue him , he is knocked out . Sophie is sentenced to death , and the judge orders the court ’ s Turnkey to take the Doctor and Sophie to Newgate to await their hanging . They are temporarily placed in the condemned cell at the Old Bailey , where they introduce themselves to each other , with Sophie flirting with the Doctor . She offers to help him find Lucie if they can escape , and they pool their resources to try to bribe the guard . However , the Doctor is surprised to see Sophie ’ s contribution — a box made of telmonium , a non - terrestrial metal . The box is filled with flashing control lights , which Sophie calls fairies . He tells her it comes from a world called Quagreeg , which is inhabited by reptilian creatures ; it seems they are dealing with a more serious problem now . She admits that she has pressed the buttons on the box , which concerns the Doctor greatly ; he explains that it controls a system of tractor beams , which may have brought him here through time . He is sure the owner of the box will want it back , and may be dangerous . Beryl and Lucie make their way to the Underground station at St . Paul ’ s , for safety . Beryl explains that it ’ s not just the bombings ; there ’ s a killer on the loose , the Blackout Killer , who takes advantage of the air raids to kill his victims — respectable women in every case — during the blackouts . No one sees him ; they only hear the tapping of the stick he carries . At the underground station , the gates at the bottom are locked ; and a massive explosion nearby knocks them to the ground . Heading back to ground level , they find the building next door levelled by the bombs . They separate , as Beryl needs to get to the factory , but Lucie wants to find the Doctor ; Beryl gives her directions to the Holborn Viaduct , where she last saw him . Lucie almost immediately sees a river appear in front of her ; Beryl doubles back and tells her that the river appears and disappears at random , and usually has Fleet Street on the other side , dependent on what “ he ” wants . She refuses to elaborate , and warns Lucie not to ask too many questions — if you do , things become “ fuzzy ” and fade away . The Doctor questions Sophie further , searching for anything strange . She says that she escaped from a workhouse , and in the process she saw a flash and heard a loud noise . She found herself in a Roman temple inside a cave , where she found the box . The description of the temple tells the Doctor it is a temple to the god Mithras ; the flash of light is characteristic of the tractor beams , but this one seems to be for space only , not time , as Sophie is from this time period . The temple is at the end of the river ; she agrees to take them there , if they can escape . The Doctor considers , and concludes that the 17th century and Roman versions of London are now adjacent — an impressive piece of temporal engineering . As they wait , they hear the Bellman , the town crier , making announcements outside ; the Doctor thinks he has heard the man ’ s voice before . Lucie asks Beryl where to find the mysterious “ he ” , but Beryl is no help ; she says that “ he ” is everywhere . Beryl is strangely at ease with encountering people from other times . Lucie intends to cross the river , but Beryl wishes her luck and moves on . Lucie searches for a bridge , and sees modern buildings on the other side ; she concludes that the varying times are now geographically related , and she is getting close to one . Nearby , a figure sniffs the air , and a stick can be heard tapping as he follows Lucie . The Turnkey delivers the Doctor and Sophie to Newgate , and hands them over to the chief warder , Jack Ketch . Ketch makes Sophie uncomfortable , and says he intends to take the Doctor ’ s coat after the execution ; he doubles as the hangman . The Doctor is unimpressed , and tells him to drop his disguise ; he recognises Ketch as the same man who was posing as the Judge , the Magistrate ( in the modern court before the time shift ) and the Bellman . He is sure the man is really a shape - shifting alien , probably from Quagreeg , given the source of the box . He deduces that the alien transferred him here to avoid disrupting his 2008 version of London when he deals with the Doctor . The Doctor assures him he won ’ t get the TARDIS if that is what he wants ; in reply , Ketch says he will make sure the Doctor takes a long time to die . He puts them in a carriage to take them to the gallows at Tyburn . The Doctor tries again , this time speaking in the Quagreeg language ; Ketch obliges him and changes into a reptilian creature from Quagreeg . The creature says that he and his other avatars are called Sepulchre here , after St . Sepulchre ’ s church . Lucie realises she ’ s being followed . She finds herself near a modern pub , clearly in 2008 ; she asks some people outside if there is a bridge she can use to cross to their side . One young man offers to help , but is called away , and asks her to join him if she gets across . She is then accosted by the Blackout Killer . She runs from him , but finds herself at a dead end ; the killer taunts her , and tells her he is also a lookout for the Zeppelins , and hearing her in her hiding spot is no trouble for him . He confronts her , and says that “ they ” need new blood , then transforms into a reptilian creature , similar to the one confronting the Doctor . She manages to push it into the river and escape . She makes her way to a bridge , but upon crossing , she finds she is not in 2008 — she is in the 17th century . Sepulchre explains that his race is a hive mind . He has transported many of the poor — who won ’ t be missed — from various eras into re - enactment chambers , where they are killed over time . He insists it ’ s not for pleasure , but is necessary for their race ’ s well - being . The Doctor intends to put a stop to it ; Sepulchre , for his part , is thrilled to have captured a Time Lord , as his death will greatly enhance the Quagreegs . He resumes the image of Ketch , and says he doesn ’ t understand the Doctor ’ s care for the humans . At the gallows , a crowd waits . Ketch prepares them for execution , and Sophie spits in his face . The Doctor gives a speech , but it ’ s not the rant Sepulchre expects ; the Doctor ’ s lack of fear confuses him , and the Doctor reminds him that this is not real , just a re - enactment . Sophie realises that the area is breaking down ; Sepulchre seems to be losing control of this re - enactment . The Doctor makes a rather overblown speech , irritating Sepulchre , but he continues , allowing Sophie to slip her chains and undo the Doctor ’ s chains as well . She pulls the trapdoor , on which Ketch happens to be standing , and he falls through , allowing the Doctor and Sophie to escape . They escape to the River Fleet , where Sophie had previously hidden a boat . The Doctor realises the river connects the various re - enactment chambers , and asks Sophie to take him via boat to the temple where she obtained the control box . If he is right , it will be Sepulchre ’ s base of operations ; and the real being may be present , instead of his avatars … Sophie at first refuses , but the Doctor talks her into it ; while they talk , she discovers someone watching from the shadows , and so they give the illusion of continued arguing . Sophie lassoes the figure , and finds that it is Lucie , who is overjoyed to be reunited with the Doctor ; she admits to waiting to approach so that she could be sure of his identity , having already met one shapeshifter . As a group of rough - looking men approach , the trio flees in the boat . Judge Jeffreys — another avatar — finds and awakens Ketch . Their meeting is a break in protocol , but it ’ s allowed for now , as Ketch failed to kill the Doctor . They go in pursuit of the Doctor and his companions . The river takes the group underground , and Sophie lights a lantern . The Doctor explains how the river connects the zones , serving not just for transport , but for information transmission , like a neural pathway . He expects to find the real Sepulchre at the temple , and can use the box on him — but only on the real being . In the temple , Sepulchre is watching their progress with several avatars . He intends to see the Doctor killed before he can arrive here , and decides to route them to another time ; Ketch suggests the attack on London by Boudicca during the Roman era . However , Sepulchre realises the box is missing , and can ’ t send the Doctor without it . Though this represents a danger , there is another way to send the Doctor … A lock gate opens , sending a flood of water into the river , and pulling the boat away from the Temple . It carries them over a waterfall . The boat is smashed , and they find themselves above Roman London , trapped with a hundred others inside a giant Wicker Man . Sepulchre intends to burn them , then recover the box from the Doctor ’ s ashes . The Doctor wants Sophie to use the rope she brought from the boat to set a line for them to walk from the Wicker Man , but she refuses , as the Doctor and Lucie are amateurs with no tightrope - walking experience . Lucie sees a man with a torch , who ritually sets the Wicker Man aflame ; the Doctor recognises him as Boudicca ’ s arch - druid , and also an avatar . Sepulchre , satisfied with this fate , sends Ketch and Jeffreys back to their own eras , and goes to watch the burning personally . As the smoke begins to choke them , the Doctor has Sophie lasso part of the city gate instead , creating not a tightrope but a zipline , which they can navigate with their belts . He uses the sonic screwdriver to weaken the wicker , allowing them to break out . The Doctor insists the other captives aren ’ t actually in danger , and they slide down the line ; and the Wicker Man vanishes . The Doctor reminds them that the re - enactments are contingent on Sepulchre ’ s authority ; if something unexpected happens , they break down . Sepulchre appears and congratulates the Doctor on deducing the situation — but the Doctor has missed one critical piece . The river isn ’ t just like a neural pathway , it is a neural pathway ; and they are all inside Sepulchre ’ s brain ! The box ’ s tractor beams , like the TARDIS , are dimensionally transcendental — Sepulchre ’ s mind is bigger in the inside . Sepulchre demands the box , and Lucie tells the Doctor to use it on Sepulchre instead . He refuses , knowing it would kill not only Sepulchre , but everyone inside his mind . Instead , he berates Sepulchre for treating humans like cattle ; and he uses his sonic screwdriver to shut off various neural connections . The re - enactments will still function , but they are now disconnected from each other . The group finds themselves back in the 17th century re - enactment . Sepulchre can no longer hide behind his avatars ; and the crowd sees him as a demon . Militia officers arrive and take custody of him , placing him with Ketch and Jeffreys . He swears revenge on the Doctor . The Doctor is optimistic ; he can ’ t remove the people from the re - enactments , but as long as Sepulchre lives , they will as well , and will be free of his tyranny . Sophie , of course , has to stay , but intends to learn to write and become a novelist — with her first book based on herself , of course . The Doctor and Lucie find their way back to the 2008 re - enactment , and find the TARDIS , which is covered in parking tickets . As they leave , Lucie listens to the city , which now sounds very much alive .