by Gerry Davis
The Doctor walked towards the Controller, his hands out of his pockets, with a respectful air. He cleared his throat.
The Cybermen turned their mask faces towards him, waiting for him to speak.
'May I ask you a question?' he said, dwarfed, yet seeming completely unbothered by the big silver figures with their still air of menace.
The Controller indicated by inclining his helmet a millimetre that the Doctor might talk.
'Why did you subject yourself to freezing?'
The Controller took a step nearer the Doctor to ex-amine him more thoroughly. The Doctor flinched slightly from the intense scrutiny of the giant.
'Er, well, you don't have to answer that, if you don't want to.'
'It was necessary...' The Controller's speech mechanism was still a little stiff and halting—like a talking computer. 'To survive,' he said.
'Ah...' said the Doctor ironically. 'I had guessed that bit. Well, if that's all you have to say.' He turned.
'Wait!' The Cyberman's voice gained volume. 'Our history computer contains full details of you and,' he looked over at Jamie, 'that young humanoid male there.'
'Oh, splendid!' said the Doctor lightly. 'It's so nice to be recognised, isn't it, Jamie?'
'We know of your high intelligence,' said the Controller.
'Thank you very much,' said. the Doctor, as if highly flattered by this compliment. 'Ah, yes,' he added. 'The lunar surface, you mean?'
'Yes. Our machinery had stopped and our supply of replacements was depleted,' continued the Cybercontroller.
'That's why you attacked the moonbase?' said the Doctor..
'It was necessary. You had destroyed our first planet, Mondas, and we were becoming extinct.' There was no anger or hint of revenge in the Cyberman's voice. Anger, hate and revenge were as unknown to him as love, pity or mercy.
'What difference does capturing us make?' called Jamie, suddenly finding his voice. 'You'll still become extinct.'
The Controller seemed to grow in height. His voice took on a new, deeper vibration. 'We will survive.' Around him the assembled Cybermen took up the chant echoing their credo.
'WE WILL SURVIVE.'
'And you will help us,' he added, as the reverberations of the Cybermen's harsh voices began to die away.
'What makes you think we are going to help you?' said Professor Parry with sudden courage. 'That murderer'—he pointed to Klieg— 'does not speak for us.'
'You will become the first of a new race of Cybermen,' answered the loud harsh voice. 'You will return to the Earth and control it for us.'
'Never! Never!' cried the Professor.
'Everything we decide is carried out,' continued the level voice of the Cyberman. 'It is useless to oppose our will.'
'A new race of Cybermen?' puzzled Jamie. 'But we're human. We're no like you—'
The huge Cyberleader turned and raised his hand threateningly. 'YOU... WILL... BE.'
As his sound died away, the humans shivered and stood closer together. But still the Cybermen did nothing more terrible than stand and seem to communicate together without spoken words. But while the Doctor had been talking, distracting the Cybermen's attention, Toberman had glided quietly away down the tunnel.
The Cybercontroller turned back and the Cybermen closed around him in a circle, as if to confer.
Now Jamie too dropped back from the cluster of humans. But he wasn't so quick that the hypersensitive antennae of the Cybermen hadn't noticed. One of the Cybermen silently moved to the back of the group towards the tunnel. Holding his breath, Jamie slipped into the entrance to the tunnel. Nothing happened ! His ears had been waiting for an explosion, his body held tense for a shot—but nothing had happened. Maybe he was going to get away. He turned the corner into the tunnel. Facing him was a Cyberman, his arm outstretched, his finger pointing at his head. A stream of sparks seemed to fly from the outstretched finger to Jamie's head. He twitched, and fell backwards into darkness.
Toberman had almost reached the ladder. He glanced behind him—but the tunnel was clear. Relieved, he set his foot up the rung, only to feel a large claw-like metal hand grip his foot in a vice-like hold.
A Cyberman! He must have come down from the up-ward sloping section of the tunnel. Toberman gripped his attacker by the helmet and exerted all his great strength, forcing the Cyberman to let go his hold. For a moment the computer-sensory messages in the Cyberman reacted as if to an equal in strength—but gradually the superior cybernetic power of the Cyberman's arms over-powered the great human and forced him backward on to the ground.
'TO... STRUGGLE... IS... FUTILE'
The Controller's voice echoed through the cavern and along the tunnel passages as the Cyberman touched his hand to the man's head and released his knockout spark.
Above the hatch, Callum, using his engineer's know-how, had removed the control board and was examining the intricate mass of colour-coded wiring.
'You're sure they're the ones?' asked Hopper, as Callum isolated a multi-coloured group of lead wires.
'Yup,' said the engineer confidently. 'Only thing it could be. It leads up to... two control levers.' He indicated the levers on the left-hand side of the board.
Kaftan looked around her, saw the gun lying on the floor near her and edged towards it.
'Please hurry, Mr Hopper,' said Victoria anxiously as the two men prepared to try out the opening switch.
'Just keep back, will you,' said Hopper briskly. 'Leave this to us. Jim, stand by to cut the power off—just in case.'
He waved Victoria back out of the way, and the three of them braced themselves for the unexpected.
'Do not move!' cut in Kaftan's voice.
Startled, they turned around. She stood behind them, the gun in her hand. Victoria too turned and saw her. 'Oh, no!' she cried despairingly.
'Raise your hands.'
'Now look here, lady,' began Hopper, stepping for-ward.
'I shall kill you,' she said clearly. Hopper stopped and raised his arms.
'Look, your own men are down there too, remember?' Hopper said. 'What are you doing all this for, anyway?'
'Move away from that board,' she said, ignoring his words. 'Over here.' She indicated the side of the room opposite the hatch. 'I shall open the hatch when Klieg gives me the signal,' she said.
'But, why close it in the first place, for Pete's sake?'
'Eric Klieg must not be disturbed.'
'Klieg!' Victoria burst out, 'what about the Doctor, Jamie and the Professor?'
'Your friends will not escape from.there.'
'But I saved your life,' Victoria said. 'Does that mean nothing to you?'
'Nothing must interfere with our work,' Kaftan said, moving sideways past the control panel and keeping her gun levelled. Just a few more steps—but then her foot stubbed against something metal. The Cybermat. She did not dare look away from the men in case they jumped her.
Victoria could see that the Cybermat was still curled and lifeless, but she could also see the fear in Kaftan's face.
She screamed, piercingly.
Kaftan started, looked down at her feet, saw the Cybermat and jumped back in terror. In that moment Callum and Hopper jumped forward, grabbed the woman by the arms and took away the gun.
'O.K., Jim,' said Hopper: 'Take this.' He gave Callum the gun. 'Watch her. If she moves—let her have it.' He turned quickly to Victoria.
'That scream was pretty good, Vic,' he said to her with respect. 'Thanks.'
But Victoria was already at the control board.
'Come on, please,' said Victoria. 'Open the hatch.'
'We'll take the risk,' said Hopper. 'Stand by.'
He pressed two buttons—then pulled down the two levers. The gear noise started, rumbling from below in exactly the same way as before, and reassuring Victoria. Gradually, but hardly fast enough for her, the heavy hatch cover creaked back into its upright position. She rushed over and looked down the shaft, followed by Hopper and Callum.
The
y could see nothing but the ladder leading down to hidden depths. The melting of the ice had hardly begun here, and the blast of air from the tunnel had not warmed up enough to be noticeable.
'It's terribly quiet down there,' said Victoria, and felt a shiver across her back.
'Yeah,' said Hopper. 'Too quiet.'
'Something must have happened.'
'How long have they been down there?'
Victoria looked at her space-time watch. 'Nearly an hour.'
'Yep,' said Hopper. 'That's long enough.'
He swung his feet over.
'I'm going down.'
As he stood on the first rung, he pointed to Callum's. belt. Hanging from it were two metal canisters, rather like hand grenades.
'What are those things loaded with, Jim?' he asked. 'Smoke. I thought they might come in handy.'
'Great, let's have a couple,' said Hopper.
'Here,' said Callum. Hopper took the two slim metal canisters from him and tucked them in his anorak.
'Well,' he said, standing on the top rung and looking at Victoria. 'Here we go.'
'I'm coming too,' said Victoria.
'Later maybe,' said Hopper's voice. 'Not this trip. We don't know what's going on down there. You stay with him.'
Callum and Victoria watched as he disappeared into the cold dark. Then Callum sat down to wait, his gun still held ready for action—pointing at Kaftan. Victoria sat down too, wondering what was going on below the icy shaft. It seemed an age since she had last seen the Doctor and Jamie. What could be happening to them?
In the tomb the humans still huddled in one corner while the Cybermen, now with their voice boxes activated, talked together quietly beside the tombs that had been their homes for so long.
Jamie, shaken but not badly hurt, had been dragged back to join the others by the Cybermen. Toberman had also been carried easily on the back of the attacking Cyberman and left unconscious on the cavern floor.
There was a click, the humans looked up and saw that the Cybermen were ready to speak to them. The five leading Cybermen again formed a semicircle and the Controller strode over to the humans. He spoke to Klieg. 'We have decided how you will be used.'
'Yes?' said Klieg hopefully. He stood before the silver giant like an ambitious young army officer before his king.
'You are a logician,' said the Cyberleader. 'Our race is also logical. You will be the leader of the new race.'
'You will listen to my proposals then?' asked Klieg eagerly.
'Yes,' said the Controller's flat electronic voice. 'We will listen. But first you will be altered.'
'Altered in what way?'
'Your brain.'
Klieg shrank back, horror dawning on his face.
'You have fear?' came the deep chords of the Super-cyber voice. 'We will eliminate fear from your brain. You will be first.'
He took another step towards Klieg, who stumbled away from him, his confident expression disintegrating in terror.
The semicircle of Cybermen moved a step nearer.
'And you,' said the first of the Cybermen, reaching out towards Parry, 'will be next.'
His steel hand gripped Parry's arm, closed in on it steadily.
'YOU...WILL... ALL... BE... MADE... LIKE... US,' rang the voice of the Controller through the cavern and tunnel.
In the tunnel beyond a figure was standing flat against the now damp walls. Captain Hopper, his hands on the smoke bombs, stood listening to the echo of the terrible voice.
'YOU... WILL... BE... LIKE... US.'
The Captain pulled the firing pin out from one of the smoke grenades and cupped it ready in his palm.
'To die is unnecessary,' he heard the Controller say. 'You will be frozen until we are ready to use you. Your lives will be suspended,' said the level emotionless voice. 'Prepare the tombs.'
From the tunnel Hopper saw the Cybercontroller press down the console temperature lever and almost immediately the cold air rushed into the cavern and the thin sheet of melting water in the tunnel began to freeze again.
Hopper edged forward a few centimetres. Now he could see Klieg and Parry in the steel grip of the Cybermen, crushed bowed humans being pressed into the empty Cybercells and. new membrane walls being rolled out ready to be bolted on them.
'They really mean it! They are going to freeze us,' cried Parry.
'Not me!' burst out Jamie, ready to make a run for it.
'No, Jamie, not that way,' said the Doctor, grabbing his arm.
Hopper threw his first bomb into the group of Cybermen. There was a flash, a tremendous bang and the floor of the cabin filled with- thick blinding smoke.
The Cybermen staggered, spun, toppled in bewilderment. They let go of the humans.
'Come on, you guys! Make a run for it!' shouted Hopper, throwing the second smoke bomb at the confused Cybermen.
'Quick, get the Professor,' the Doctor called to Jamie. Their lungs bursting with the smoke, they reached Parry,.and half supporting him, staggered from the cavern, easily evading the blundering Cybermen.
Jamie held up Parry, half dragging him along the corridor, with the Doctor running beside him.
'Is he all right, Jamie?' asked the Doctor.
'Aye, Doctor,' said Jamie, looking at the drooping figure leaning against him.
They came to a junction in the tunnel.
'That's funny. I canna remember this,' Jamie said. 'The Cybermen must have opened a door,' said the Doctor.
They looked baffled at the two. ways, both of which seemed to run upwards.
'This way,' said the Doctor.
'Are you sure?'
'No, but try it,' said the Doctor decisively. 'I'll join you in a moment.'
Jamie ran down the right-hand fork and the Doctor waited while Klieg staggered up behind him, stumbling with the fear and the smoke. He halted for a moment at the junction, hardly noticed the Doctor, then took the left fork.
'Hey, this way,' called the Doctor. But Klieg took no notice, pressing on down the tunnel. Hopper returned, glancing anxiously behind him for the dangerous gleam of silver. 'Hurry, will ya! They'll soon recover. It was only smoke.'
'We've got to stop them,' said the Doctor.
'Block off this tunnel perhaps,' said Hopper.
'Not a hope. We'll just have to get out before they do. Come on!'
They ran down the right-hand fork after Jamie and the Professor. Toberman appeared stumbling and coughing, partially blinded by the smoke, feeling his way along the slippery walls of the passage.
In his path loomed something silver—a Cyberman. Toberman turned to run but the Cyberman reached out a hand and grabbed his shoulder. Toberman turned and delivered a massive blow at the Cyberman's neck and sent the Monster clanging back against the metal walls of the tunnel. Toberman turned to run, only to face another Cyberman. He pointed his metal finger at Toberman and the terrible spark came out like a laser and struck Toberman on the forehead.
Toberman staggered and blinked—but this time he did not go down. He stayed standing, his human muscles gleaming with the sweat of effort as he wrestled with the two silver beings, a human with nothing but muscle and strength against the bionic power of the Cybermen.
And in the end he fell.
Through the smoke loomed the Cybercontroller. 'Where are the others?'
'They have escaped through to the ladder,' one of the Cybermen replied.
'Follow them,' said the Controller. He turned to look down at Toberman. 'This humanoid is powerful. We will use him. Prepare him.'
The other two Cybermen picked up the inert Toberman and carried him like. a dead warrior back to the waiting tomb.
Jamie and Hopper were pulling the half-conscious Professor up the ladder, sweating with the effort and the need for speed.
'Can't you hurry up?' said Hopper. 'For Pete's sake, get a move on.'
Finally, the two of them managed to drag Parry over the top, helped by Callum and Victoria. She saw Jamie behind the Professor.
'Jamie!' she
cried, almost weeping with relief. 'Look at all that smoke!' Behind them, curling out of the shaft, the smoke began to well out into the control room.
'Keep back, Victoria,' said Jamie. 'There's the others to come yet.'
Hopper's head showed. 'The Cybermen! They're right behind us,' he shouted, breathless, and as he climbed out they saw the Doctor a long way below, and behind him the horrible gleam they had been waiting for—a Cyberman, climbing fast.
'Quick, Doctor. Hurry.' Victoria wrung her hands and looked helplessly down the hatch as the Doctor scrambled up the gigantic rungs. The Cyberman below, moving with a steady driving rhythm, was catching up with him.
'Start closing it!' shouted Hopper. Callum threw the switch and the great lid started creaking down over the Doctor and the swift-moving terror below.
The Doctor's head and shoulders came over the hatch-way to be grabbed by Jamie and Hopper.
'He's got my foot!'
'Stop the hatch!' Hopper called over. Callum pressed a button, the gears stopped, suspending the hatch half-way open over the Doctor.
'It's no use!' gasped the Doctor. 'I can't get free.'
Victoria looked round in desperation. There must be something she could use. The coffee flask! She ran over to it, picked it up and threw it at the Cyberman. The vacuum exploded on the Cyberman's head. He let go of the Doctor and quickly Hopper and Jamie dragged him to safety.
'The hatch,' shouted Hopper. But Callum had already activated the mechanism. The hatch started to move down again and the watching group held their breath, as they saw the Cyberman's long silver arm come up to try to hold it open. For a moment it seemed to stop, but even he could not prevail against the power of the gears, and millimetre by millimetre, the massive metal crushed down on him, driving him back down the shaft, and the lid was closed.
Thud! Thud! The Cyberman beat upon the closed hatch with his steel fists. At each blow a small dent appeared in the heavy metal, but the hatch held. Finally, the great clanging blows died away, as the Cyberman gave up and retired down the ladder.
Everyone in the control room drew a long breath, feeling their fast throbbing pulses subside. The Doctor massaged his foot, but smiled at the others and indicated that it was all right.
