'Odd feeling, this,' said the Doctor.
'What is?'
'Standing in your own throat! '
Leela and the Doctor moved cautiously forward. They were some way down the tunnel when there was a junction, and from it a light was moving towards them.
What is it?' whispered Leela.
The Doctor put a finger to his lips for silence.
They waited silently as the light came nearer. A hulking distorted shadow appeared on the wall.
9
The Tesh
'Tomas! Tomas, over here.'
Tomas checked his panic-stricken rush through the forest and listened. Calib appeared from behind a tree-trunk, and Tomas went over to join him.
'I heard the noise,' whispered Calib. 'What was it?
'The Evil One,' gasped Tomas. 'It was huge... It killed Andor.'
Characteristically, Calib's first thoughts were of his own advantage. 'Then I'm leader now.'
'And where will you lead us, Calib?' Before Calib could reply Tomas said, 'Listen!' There was a trampling sound deep in the forest behind them. They could see tree-tops waving and hear deep, hoarse breathing. 'That thing's on the move again.'
Calib looked at the heavy disruptor gun in Tomas's hands. 'But the weapon worked?'
'It revealed the Evil One's face, and drove it away—for a time.'
Calib's mind was busy with his new responsibilities. 'We must get back to the village. If we move quietly it may pass us by.'
The Doctor and Leela watched the distorted shadow come closer.
'What is it?' whispered Leela again.
'There's only one way to find out.' Keeping flat against the wall they edged along until they could see down the side-tunnel. An extraordinary figure was moving slowly towards them. It wore some kind of all-over protective suit with helmet and gauntlets. Instinctively Leela raised her crossbow, but the Doctor put a restraining hand on her arrn.
The figure stopped and turned. For a moment it stood facing a stretch of blank tunnel wall. It took a sudden pace forward, and suddenly it was bathed in green light. Then it vanished.
Leela gave a gasp of astonishment. 'It's gone? Where did it go?'
She ran forward to look at the patch of wall. The Doctor went on past her, down to the other end of the tunnel, where light was pouring through the far entrance. For a long time the Doctor stood staring at the view of the world beyond the Barrier.
He was looking out on to arid rocky plain, illuminated by the harsh glare of the planet's two suns. In its centre stood a huge rocket ship, its harsh, functional lines sweeping skywards like a great tower of steel. 'Now I remember,' breathed the Doctor. 'The Mordee expedition. And I thought I was helping them! ' He stood as if in a trance as the memories flooded back into his mind.
Leela's voice broke into his reverie. 'Doctor, what are you doing? Why don't you come and help me find the Tesh?'
Slowly the Doctor walked back along the tunnel. 'Tesh? How do you know it was a Tesh? Have you ever seen a Tesh?'
Leela was bemused by the barrage of questions. 'Its skin was loose and shiny, as we were told. And it had two heads, one inside the other.'
'That was a protective suit. Must be a different environment in there.' The Doctor took a step forward, a green light bathed his body and he disappeared.
Leela jumped back terrified, making the sign of protection. The Doctor's impatient voice came through the wall. 'Come on, then! '
'How can I? It's a solid wall.'
'Nonsense, it's an illusion. It's called a psi-tri projection, a three-dimensional image which deceives the eye. Close both eyes, take one step back, then just walk forward.'
Leela shut her eyes tightly, and obeyed. She moved forward expecting every minute to crash into the wall. Instead, she bumped into the Doctor. She opened her eyes to find herself in a small metal-walled chamber, the Doctor beside her. Leela stared round in-credulously. 'Great Xoanon, where are we?'
'It's called an anti-grav transporter. It'll take us to the ship in no time at all.'
The capsule vibrated slightly, and began to move...
Inside the swirling chaos of light that was the fragmented mind of Xoanon, voices were speaking. Male and female, young and old, together and separate, they blended into an ecstatic chorus. 'We are here. We are returned. Now we shall be one. We are here. We are returned. Now we shall be one. Now we must destroy us. Now we must destroy us and become one.'
The voices rose to a frenzied chant. 'Now we must destroy us and become one... one... one!'
The capsule stopped, a door slid open, and the Doctor and Leela emerged. They found themselves in a short metal corridor. It ended in another door, which also slid open before them. The Doctor stepped confidently through, and Leela followed, crossbow at the ready.
They were in the main control room of the space ship, but a control room which had been fantastically transformed. Instrument consoles were draped with elaborately decorated tapestries, monitor screens garlanded with flowers, like the idols in some jungle temple. Joss sticks and ceremonial candles burned be-fore rows of controls.
'It's a shrine,' whispered Leela,
'I'm afraid so... It seems the Tesh are as ignorant of their origins as your own people.'
'And what are their origins?'
'How does the Litany go? The bit about Paradise, I mean.'
Leela stared at him, and the Doctor said impatiently, 'You said you learned it as a child. You said you knew it...'
'I do, I do...' Leela began to recite. 'The Sevateem were sent forth by god to seek Paradise. The Tesh remained at the Place of Land...'
'Well, there you are. In other words, the Sevateem explored the planet, the Tesh stayed to work on the ship in the place where it landed. Here.'
Leela struggled to take it all in. 'Then we're the same people?'
'That's right. The Tesh were the technicians and the Sevateem were the survey team. You're all human beings from this colonist ship.'
'Then what happened to us, Doctor? What happened?'
'I'm afraid I did.'
The Doctor stood staring into space, remembering. It had been somewhere near the beginning of that business with the Giant Robot. The Doctor had just undergone his latest regeneration. The early days of a new incarnation are always a tricky period for a Time Lord, and in this case the process had been hurriedly accelerated in order to save his life. He had been in a confused, irresponsible state, his new personality still not fully established. Even now his memories of those first days were hazy. There had been Sarah, and the Brigadier, and the problem of the Robot to grapple with... And all the time there had been this overwhelming urge to go off into the TARDIS and just disappear. One night the urge had been too strong and the Doctor had given way. He had sped off alone in the TARDIS to another time and another planet—this planet. He had found the colonists in trouble, repaired their computer with careless expertise and gone on his way—leaving, he now realised, a terrible legacy behind him. Since the TARDIS had returned him to Earth within minutes of his departure, no one ever knew that he'd been away.
Indeed, he himself had almost forgotten the strange dream-like interlude. But somehow his unconscious mind knew—and it had brought him back to this planet to undo the harm he had done.
Vaguely the Doctor became aware of Leela's voice. 'Answer me, Doctor. What did you do?'
'I misunderstood what Xoanon was.'
'Is he a human being?'
'At the time I didn't realise he was a being at all.' The Doctor flicked dials on a nearby console. 'These instruments are dead...'
'What did you think Xoanon was?' persisted Leela.
Before the Doctor could answer, a strange figure appeared from the rear of the control room. He was tall and thin, white-haired with a thin, lined face. The simple robes he wore gave him the air of some kind of priest. He bowed and smiled. 'Welcome, Lord.' His voice was soft and gentle.
The Doctor looked curiously at him. For all his mild manner there was a feeli
ng of tremendous power about this man. Power rigidly controlled, held in check. Despite the quiet voice and the friendly smile, he had the fierce, burning eyes of a fanatic.
The man took another step forward. Instinctively Leela raised her bow to cover him.
At once the man's face changed, becoming hard and set. He stared coldly at Leela. Suddenly she found her muscles locked in the grip of some invisible force. Fighting every inch of the way she sank slowly to her knees.
The Doctor grabbed the man by the shoulder, and shook him. 'Will you please stop doing that?'
The man pulled away from the Doctor and Leela slumped to the ground.
The Doctor ran to her and knelt by her side. She was quite unconscious. He heard the calm voice of the stranger. 'She is not damaged. My acolytes will attend to her.'
Two more men, both wearing similar robes, both with the same fanatical look about them, came into the control room, picked up Leela and started to carry her away. The Doctor moved to block their path. 'Where are they taking her?'
'She will be tended. We recognise her value, Lord.'
His tone was calm, and utterly sincere. Reassured the Doctor let the men take Leela off. He turned and the newcomer knelt at his feet, head bowed.
With some embarrassment the Doctor said, 'Er, have you dropped something?'
'I do you honour, Lord of Time. We have waited long for your return.'
'I see,' said the Doctor thoughtfully. 'Well, thank you for the honour, but it's really information I need at present. Do get up.'
The man raised his head, but did not rise.
The Doctor looked down at him. 'What's your name?'
'I am Jabel, Lord, Captain of the People of Tesh.'
The Doctor realised that his questions would have to be framed in a way that Jabel could accept and understand. 'Tell me, Jabel, do your people have a holy purpose?'
'Yes, Lord,' said Jabel proudly. 'We serve Xoanon and tend the holy places. We guard this Tower against the Savage. We deny the flesh that our minds may find communion with Xoanon.'
The Doctor began striding about the control room. 'Yes, there's a sort of logic. Outside the Barrier physical courage and strength. Inside, paraphysical development, the sort of mental power you used on Leela. Selective breeding—it's an experiment in eugenics! '
'Yes, Lord,' agreed Jabel meekly.
The Doctor stopped his pacing, realising that Jabel was still on his knees. 'Oh do get up, that floor must be very hard. Did no one ever tell you kneeling stunts your growth?'
Slowly Jabel rose. His eyes were troubled, as if somehow the Doctor wasn't quite what he'd expected.
'Now then, Jabel,' said the Doctor briskly. 'Do you know where Xoanon is?'
'Yes, Lord.'
'Where?'
'He is in no one place, Lord. He is all around us, everywhere.'
The Doctor sighed. 'So you don't know. I didn't think you did.'
'You and he are as one, Lord. You will show us the Way.'
The Doctor was in no mood for mysticism. 'Do you know what a computer is?'
'No, Lord,' said Jabel, still with the same infuriating calm.
The Doctor began ripping the ornamental draperies from the control panels. 'I've got to find that thing before it kills us all.'
When Leela recovered she was lying on a metal table in a metal-walled room. Above her was suspended an elaborate array of sinister-looking apparatus. She struggled to get up, and found herself fixed to the table by metal clamps. A low electronic hum came from the instruments above her, as if machinery was warming up. There was a low chime, and a calm female voice said, 'Final warning, final warning. Particle analyser has entered terminal phase countdown. All personnel please clear the area.'
Leela struggled wildly, but the metal clamps held her fast.
The Doctor rampaged round the control room, testing keyboards and switches in vain. 'This whole control room has been disconnected. On a ship this size it could take me days to find the central complex.' He looked at Jabel again. If he could frame the question in a way that Jabel could understand...
'I must be slipping,' he muttered to himself. 'Jabel, where is the holy of holies?'
'All of the Place of Land is holy.'
'There must be somewhere on this ship where no one's allowed to go. A kind of Inner Sanctum.'
'Yes, Lord,' said Jabel promptly. 'The Sacred Chamber.'
The Doctor gave a sigh of relief. 'Yes, that's what I mean. Where is it?'
'On level thirty-seven, Lord.'
The Doctor's fiddling with controls had not been entirely without result. A monitor screen had come to life. On it he could see Leela, strapped to a metal table. 'What's going on? What are they doing to her?'
'Particle analysis, Lord. We shall reduce the subject to its constituent parts.'
'But that will kill her! '
'Yes, Lord. But she is only a Savage.'
'That's not a good enough reason!' Frantically the Doctor began hunting for an off button for the analyser.
Jabel stared at the Doctor in puzzlement, unable to understand his concern. 'At intervals the Savages have power to open the Barrier. The particle analyser may tell us how they do it. Surely that is why you brought her to us?'
'The Savages don't open the Barrier, you lack-brain,' said the Doctor furiously. 'Xoanon does. Do you understand? Xoanon! '
For the first time Jabel showed emotion. 'You lie! '
'Give the order to stop that particle analyser,' commanded the Doctor.
'You are not the Lord of Time, come again to save us!'
'Will you give that order?'
'No! You are a blasphemer, an impostor.'
The Doctor began groping in his pockets. 'Right then, I'll go and deal with it myself.'
He was turning to leave the control room when Jabel fixed him with a sudden fierce stare. The Doctor went down, as if struck by a heavy club.
small metal mirror in the palm. 'To be strictly accurate, it broke itself. Luckily this was already in my hand when Jabel knocked me out. All I did was reflect the power back with it. Still, I don't suppose the owners will see it that way. We'd better be off!'
10
The Summons
An urgent voice was shouting in the Doctor's ear. 'Doctor, Doctor, please wake up!' He opened his eyes to find himself strapped to a metal table next to Leela.
A danger light was flashing on the wall beside them, and a countdown clock showed there were only seconds to go before the machine would dissolve them to constituent particles, killing them in the process. Leela saw the Doctor twist round frantically, aiming something in his hand at the battery of lights and projectors above them. The last second of countdown ticked away, and a fierce ray of light beamed down on them from above. There was a sudden explosion, a shower of sparks, the machinery above them went dead, and the clamps holding them to the table sprang open.
A little gingerly the Doctor sat up. 'Be thankful you're living and trust to your luck, and march to your front like a soldier,' he said solemnly. 'Kipling—or was it Gertrude Stein? Someone like that, anyway.' He helped Leela down from the table.
She looked up unbelievingly at the charred and twisted machinery above them. 'I think you've broken it. How did you manage that?'
The. Doctor held out his hand and showed her a small metal mirror in the palm. 'To be strictly accurate, it broke itself. Luckily this was already in my hand when Jabel knocked me out. All I did was reflect the power back with it. Still, I don't suppose the owners will see it that way. We'd better be off!'
Jabel stood waiting in the control room. Gentek, his chief acolyte, entered and bowed low. 'They have escaped, Captain,' he said calmly. All display of emotion was forbidden amongst the People of Tesh.
With equal calm Jabel said, 'They must be found and killed. This will take precedence over all other duties and devotions.'
Gentek bowed again. 'Then he is not the Lord of Time, the One Who Will Return?'
'He is our enemy and the ene
my of Xoanon. Kill him—and the Savage.'
Gentek bowed again, Jabel returned the bow, and the acolyte left the control room.
Jabel moved slowly over to the nearest console. His face remained calm and composed—then suddenly he smashed his fist down on to the console.
The sudden flare of emotion over, he resumed his measured pacing of the control room.
The Doctor and Leela ducked back out of sight as an acolyte armed with a blaster hurried past the end of the corridor.
'He seems to be looking for something,' said the Doctor.
'Us?'
'Very probably.'
'Doctor, you didn't finish telling me. What is Xoanon?'
'A machine that became a living creature. An omniscient computer with acute schizophrenia—not a very pretty thought, is it? And all my fault.'
'How is it your fault?'
'When I was here before, the Mordee were having trouble with their new computer. I repaired and re-programmed it for them. Unfortunately I forgot to wipe my personality prints from the data core... or did I really forget? I forget if I forgot or not...'
'You're not making yourself very clear, Doctor.'
'Well, I wasn't quite myself at the time. It may just have been my own egotism. Anyway, now the computer has a split personality, and part of it is mine. Now, is that clear?'
'No,' said Leela.
'Oh well, never mind. Let's get moving again.' As they moved away, a sensor in the wall glowed brightly.
In the glowing sphere at the centre of Xoanon's brain was a picture of the Doctor and Leela moving away down the corridor. 'Us within us,' crooned Xoanon softly. 'Soon we shall make two, one.' There was a peal of mad laughter.
It was very dark in the forest, and the air was full of the screams of dying men, and the bellowing of invisible monsters. Moving quietly through the darkness, Tomas lifted the disruptor gun and fired at the nearest sound. There was a scream of pain and the invisible creature retreated. Tomas fired again, and the gun went dead. He had used the weapon once too often. Its power-charge was exhausted. Tossing the gun aside, Tomas ran to find Calib, who was hiding nearby. 'The gun is useless now, Calib. The power's used up.'
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