Doctor Who - The Colony Of Lies Part 10

Billy Joe decided to get some fresh air but when he went to the door he found that it was locked. He was as much of a prisoner as Jamie. He shook the door and screamed for some attention but no one came. Jamie tried to comfort him, telling him that he was always being locked up and not to worry about it. He was a strange man - this off-worlder with his patterned skirt and his peculiar accent - but Billy Joe trusted him. If Jamie said it would be all right he was sure it would be. If only he could put that thought about his grandfather out of his mind.

In orbit far above the surface of Axista Four the ECSV Hannibal floated serenely without a care in the world. Inside the s.p.a.ceship in MediTheatre 3 things were a little less peaceful. The patient had already "died" twice on the operating table and the team of surgeons were determined not to let it happen a third time. They were not superst.i.tious by nature but were nevertheless convinced that third time might not be lucky. The man"s wounds were severe and he had lost a lot of blood. The stress of the operation was putting a great demand on his heart, an organ that was not in the best of health anyway. From the look of his toughened skin, the man had led a hard life and it had taken its toll on his body. Without unnecessary chat, and to the background of now traditional cla.s.sical music - in this case something by the ancient masters...o...b..tal - the team of surgeons got on with the job in hand. For the moment Tam Kartryte"s life hung in the balance. floated serenely without a care in the world. Inside the s.p.a.ceship in MediTheatre 3 things were a little less peaceful. The patient had already "died" twice on the operating table and the team of surgeons were determined not to let it happen a third time. They were not superst.i.tious by nature but were nevertheless convinced that third time might not be lucky. The man"s wounds were severe and he had lost a lot of blood. The stress of the operation was putting a great demand on his heart, an organ that was not in the best of health anyway. From the look of his toughened skin, the man had led a hard life and it had taken its toll on his body. Without unnecessary chat, and to the background of now traditional cla.s.sical music - in this case something by the ancient masters...o...b..tal - the team of surgeons got on with the job in hand. For the moment Tam Kartryte"s life hung in the balance.

Elsewhere in the Hannibal Hannibal Zoe was also undergoing treatment. However, unlike Tam, Zoe was being dealt with exclusively by machines. The cryo-unit she"d found herself trapped in had been hooked up to the cryo-systems on board the Hannibal and a pair of robot servitors had been activated to oversee her revival. First they had to download the ancient software routines that applied to the system used by the colonists, now very much yesterday"s technology. Nevertheless, the field of cryogenics was stable enough these days for the state-of-the-art equipment on board the Hannibal to be back ward compatible with the more primitive set-up that had been considered just as up to date on board The Big Bang. Zoe was also undergoing treatment. However, unlike Tam, Zoe was being dealt with exclusively by machines. The cryo-unit she"d found herself trapped in had been hooked up to the cryo-systems on board the Hannibal and a pair of robot servitors had been activated to oversee her revival. First they had to download the ancient software routines that applied to the system used by the colonists, now very much yesterday"s technology. Nevertheless, the field of cryogenics was stable enough these days for the state-of-the-art equipment on board the Hannibal to be back ward compatible with the more primitive set-up that had been considered just as up to date on board The Big Bang.

Slowly the droids reduced the temperature in Zoe"s unit and began pumping nutrients and stimulants into her bloodstream. It was going to take some time, and there were no guarantees about the outcome, but for the moment Zoe"s life was in their mechanical interface modules.

Down below, in Plymouth Hope, the Doctor, Val Freedom and Dee Willoughby were also thinking about cryogenics - but not only in relation to Zoe. It had been Val Freedom who had first raised the issue. Away from the public meeting he had admitted to both Dee and the Doctor that he had misgivings about continuing in his role as Acting Sheriff.

"Too much is happening right now, it"s not right," he explained to them.

"We need a leader at this time, Val, and you"re the obvious choice .With luck Tam will be back with us before long but right now it has to be you," Dee told him firmly but she could see that he had made up his mind and nothing she could say was going to change that.

"No, I can"t do it," he said sadly, and began to remove the silver badge. He looked at it for a moment and then reached out towards Dee with it. Horrified she raised her hands and backed off. "Don"t give it back to me," she demanded.

Freedom grinned, a glimpse of his old self-confidence emerging. "You were quick enough to pin it on me - but you"re not so quick to take the same medicine," he noted.

Both Freedom and Dee turned towards the Doctor, sharing the same thought.

"Oh no," said the Doctor, seeing the expression on their faces. "It never works out when you make the stranger who"s just ridden into town the sheriff. It"s a question of genre," he insisted, p.r.o.nouncing the final word with an exaggerated French accent.

The other two stared at him, incomprehension written all over their faces. "It"s just not the done thing," the Doctor tried to explain. "Surely there"s someone better qualified who can do the job?"

And that was when Freedom had the idea. "Kirann," he said simply. "Kirann Ransom, the daughter of our great founder.

She"s up there in the wreck of the ship in the freezer."

"In a state of cryogenic suspended animation?" the Doctor translated. Freedom nodded.

Dee could see the logic. "If they can deal with Zoe"s revival maybe they can help us revive Kirann," she speculated.

Freedom pulled a face. "I don"t want help from Them, Them, though. They"re part of the problem." though. They"re part of the problem."

Dee shook her head angrily. "So why mention her name in the first place? If we haven"t had the wherewithal to revive her in the past one hundred years, why should we think we can do it now?" she demanded.

"Well," said a voice from behind them modestly, "you didn"t have me before."

Freedom and Dee, their argument forgotten, turned as one to the Doctor.

"You could do it?" asked Freedom in a surprised tone.

"But you said you weren"t a doctor of medicine!" added Dee.

The Doctor brushed his lapels. "Well, that"s true, but that doesn"t make me ignorant of the subject. I"ve been around, you know. Picked up the odd skill here and there. I am considered quite a technical wizard," he added proudly, his eyes twinkling, "by my travelling companions." For the first time that day, the Doctor was relieved that neither Jamie nor Zoe was with him right now to qualify that statement.

"Right, then," decided Freedom. "As my last act as Acting Leader I am formally asking you, Doctor, to supervise the revival of Kirann Ransom. Will you do this for us?"

"I"ll certainly give it a try," promised the Doctor. Dee and Freedom exchanged concerned looks. They"d been hoping for a little bit more confidence.

"Shall we get started, then?" suggested the Doctor, ignoring the worried expressions on their faces. "I think that young lady is overdue for an alarm call, don"t you?"

Chapter Nine.

The Doctor"s second visit to the crashed colony ship was very different from his first. Then he had been stumbling through virgin territory, exploring and discovering new things at every turn; this time he was accompanied by two expert guides who knew the place like the backs of their hands. Freedom and Dee confessed that they had both spent a lot of their youth exploring the derelict ship. There had been three of them, Dee explained, Val, the eldest, herself and Max Forde, younger but just as keen. The Doctor noted the sadness in her voice as she mentioned Max and filed it away mentally for later.

Freedom had taken them to a part of the ship that the Doctor hadn"t discovered before, a wing of the original structure that was all but intact. Here corridor after corridor, room after room was almost as it had been when the ship had been in flight. It was an astonishing contrast to the rest of the wreck. Freedom led them into a large circular room.

"Auxiliary bridge," he announced proudly. The Doctor was unable to resist the large command chair and he sat right down, giving it an experimental spin. To his delight it moved as if an engineer had oiled it just that morning. While the Doctor was playing, Freedom adjusted some controls on a panel at the front of the room and the place was suddenly alive with power.

"Rechargeable solar power batteries," he explained, "enough to power a small city." He grimaced, realising what he was saying. "Of course that"s the problem isn"t it? If only we could use it."

The Doctor stopped his chair swivelling and looked at Freedom. "You"re sympathetic to the rebels then - these so-called Realists?" he asked.

"Not exactly sympathetic," he began, but Dee interrupted him.

"What he means is that he didn"t have the guts to go when Max made his move. But he agrees with him. Most of us with half a brain cell do." Dee could see that the Doctor was shocked. She tried to explain herself.

"Max wasn"t saying anything that no one else had ever thought of. He was speaking for most of us. We"re our own people: why should we be bound by an ideology chosen by our great-grandparents years before we were born?"

"It"s not fair? Is that all?" The Doctor made it sound like they were being childish.

"No, it"s more than that," Dee continued. "Surely it"s a fundamental right to make your own decisions and mistakes, to live your life by rules you decide."

The Doctor was smiling indulgently. "No need to shout, Dee, I agree with you. I"ve had one or two... ideological differences with my own people..." he trailed off, not wanting to discuss his background any further.

"Who are your people, Doctor?" Freedom asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Oh, no one important," muttered the Doctor. Changing the subject, he threw a question back at Dee. "But if you agreed with Max Forde, why didn"t you join his Realists?"

Dee looked away, blushing.

Freedom filled in the silence. "Max took a new lover when he left; a firebrand called Hali."

"My neighbour"s daughter. She was like a little sister to me,"

explained Dee. "She stole my fiance from me and then left the city - leaving me with no fiance and us with no doctor. I may have had some sympathy for the ideas Max had but I"ve no time for the so-called Realists. The day they broke away was the worst day of my life."

Lorvalan and Zenig were still continuing their evaluation of the humans. The small outcrop of buildings was quiet; it was hard to imagine that Dyselt could be in there somewhere.

Lorvalan was eating when he saw Zenig"s ears suddenly p.r.i.c.k up. He hurried across to the observation point and lay down next to his lieutenant.

"What is it?" he asked.

Zenig slipped the headset from his ears. "They were just talking about a prisoner that they have, an alien they captured recently," he explained. "The microphone couldn"t pick up all of the words but the overall meaning was clear.

They"ve got some creature they consider to be an off-worlder locked up. I think it must be Dyselt."

Lorvalan nodded. "I wonder how they managed to bring him down?" he mused. "Do you know where exactly he is being held?"

"I think I do," replied Zenig with confidence.

Lorvalan reached for his weapons. "I think we should stage a rescue," he announced.

Zenig hesitated. "Just the two of us?"

Lorvalan grinned savagely, "The mood I"m in, I"ll do it alone if you want."

After Dee"s emotional outburst, the group inside the wreck of the colony ship had continued in near silence. From the consoles on the auxiliary bridge Freedom located and released the locks on all the doors between them and the cryogenic chamber. Then he had led them off in a new direction. This time they did cross into the more badly damaged section of the wreck, through places where little was left, save for some bent metal, until they reached another area that was more solid. Dee nearly slipped and fell but the Doctor had been there to grab her hand and pull her to safely. Dee had muttered a thank you; the first words she had spoken since the outburst on the bridge. Nothing had changed but somehow hearing a voice cracked the ice and, as they neared the cryogenic areas, they began to converse again.

The Doctor was curious about the state of the ship, and asked Freedom what he knew about the actual crash.

Freedom confessed that it was something he knew very little about. There were stories, of course, oral history, legends, tales told to children about the heroic flight of The Big Bang The Big Bang and the brave and resourceful Stewart Ransom, but nothing very much in the way of detail. The Doctor shrugged. "Pity," and the brave and resourceful Stewart Ransom, but nothing very much in the way of detail. The Doctor shrugged. "Pity,"

he muttered. "I"d really like to know why some sections of the ship are so completely wrecked whereas other parts are relatively unscathed. It"s very odd."

Dee and Freedom had never thought about it. "It did hit the planet with a bit of an impact you know," Dee told the stranger.

"Yes, yes, of course it did," agreed the Doctor, "but I"ve seen more crashed s.p.a.ceships than you"ve had hot dinners and I"ve never seen anything quite like this before."

The Doctor may have continued in this vein but for the fact that Freedom announced that they had reached their destination.

There was an airlock at the entrance to the cryogenic control centre and, once the three of them had pa.s.sed through the second pair of automatic doors, they stepped into a spa.r.s.e white room with a strangely sterile feel to it.

There were a few computer consoles and about half a dozen raised beds". Through a ma.s.sive gla.s.s door they could see into the chill heart of the cryogenic chambers, row after row of what looked like quick-frozen coffins. The control room itself was not particularly cold but the Doctor felt a shiver nonetheless; perhaps it was the sense of deja vu deja vu he was feeling. But this wasn"t Telos and the living creatures entombed here were much less dangerous than Cybermen. At least he hoped they were... he was feeling. But this wasn"t Telos and the living creatures entombed here were much less dangerous than Cybermen. At least he hoped they were...

Watched by a fascinated Freedom and Dee, the Doctor set about examining the various controls, prodding b.u.t.tons and flicking switches apparently at random. Each new bleep or blip seemed to delight him and it looked to Freedom as if he might be happy to spend days just playing with the equipment for his own amus.e.m.e.nt. Freedom, however, had less patience than that.

"So," he asked after what seemed like an age, do you think you can do it?"

The Doctor stopped what he was doing and considered for a moment. "Oh yes," he answered after a moment"s thought, "I should think so... As far as I can make out, the system is pretty much fully automated. All you have to do is set it in motion and it should do the job for you." He paused, as if hearing the words had given rise to another thought. "Are you sure none of your people has ever tried this?" he asked, a trifle suspiciously.

Dee shook her head. "Not in recent times. Not long after Planet Fall there was one attempt made but it went horribly wrong. About seventy years ago some wanted to try again but they couldn"t persuade the computer that they had the authority. No one"s been near it since. We think that the automatic safety systems have locked us out."

"Really?" The Doctor raised his eyes and rubbed his hands together. "We"ll soon see about that." The Doctor pushed up his sleeves and sat down at the master computer console.

"Now then, what input system do you use? Keyboard, mouse, pointer, voice... none of the above?" he asked, with increasing desperation.

"Voice when the system is online, keyboard for emergency work, but the main interface is through a BEM helmet."

The Doctor frowned. "I"m not sure I"m familiar with that technology."

"Neither are we," smiled Dee, "but we know what it is. It"s a brainwave-enhancing device that allows a direct mental link with the computer." She nodded in the direction of Freedom, who had opened a storage cupboard and produced an odd-looking contraption not unlike something that might once have dried your hair. There was a helmet that fitted over the head from which a number of wires trailed. Some of these were connected to different parts of the surface of the helmet, while others were joined together to form a thick lead, which Freedom carefully plugged into a socket in the console.

Freedom handed the helmet to the Doctor who took it a little gingerly.

"And this gives me access to the entire ship"s computing system?" he asked, curious as ever.

Freedom shook his head. "Just the local system that runs the cryogenics," he explained.

"Right, then," said the Doctor slipping the helmet onto his short black hair securely. Dee and Freedom couldn"t help but smile; the funny-looking man appeared very uncomfortable.

"How do I switch this on?" he asked. "You don"t; replied Freedom, trying not to laugh. I do." With that Freedom flicked a switch and the Doctor was suddenly somewhere else.

He blinked rapidly but this had no effect on what he was seeing; the image-generating software was interfacing with his optic nerves and replacing the real sensory input from his eyes with its own imagery. He appeared to be floating in a blue sky, which he shared with a few wispy clouds and some distant seagulls. He found himself approaching a ma.s.sive column that reached up from somewhere way below him, lost in thicker clouds. On the top of the column was a small-gated garden where a figure in a pale suit was sitting at a plastic garden table. As the Doctor drifted slowly down he could see the Stranger was pouring two cups of tea from a rather fine china teapot. The Doctor felt his feet make contact with the surface of the garden, his feet sinking slightly into the springy turf.

"Tea?" the Stranger offered with a trace of an accent, Scottish perhaps? "Three sugars, isn"t it?" he continued, tipping it in and stirring the cup without waiting for a reply."

The Doctor took the offered cup, had a quick sip of the remarkably good tea and sat down. He looked at the Stranger more closely; he was a little man, maybe even smaller than the Doctor, but he had eyes of infinite depth. Although the clothes and the face were very different from his own the Doctor had the instinctive feeling that he was looking into a kind of mirror.

"How many?" he asked simply.

The Stranger held up seven fingers. "But no more questions. I"m breaking enough rules as it is just being here."

The Doctor nodded. "Are They They still on our, sorry, your tail?" still on our, sorry, your tail?"

The Stranger smiled. "I said no questions."

The Doctor felt annoyed. "Well, there"s no need to be all mysterious and snotty about it. Just tell me why you"re here.

And how, come to that. They They don"t like this sort of thing, you know." don"t like this sort of thing, you know."

The Stranger sipped his own tea and then placed his teacup carefully back on the saucer.

"Which is a bit rich coming from Them!' Them!' he commented darkly. "Now then, to business. I"m not here, of course. I"m just a memory you haven"t had yet." he commented darkly. "Now then, to business. I"m not here, of course. I"m just a memory you haven"t had yet."

"Surely you mean I"m the memory you haven"t had yet, aren"t you?" the Doctor asked, his brow furrowed with concentration.

The Stranger waved the interruption away with a hand movement. "Never mind the details. The key thing is this. I was reading your Diary and it struck me that we may have made a mistake..."

Now it was the Doctor"s turn to be insistent. He jumped up, putting his fingers in his ears.

"No, no, no," he said, "I don"t want to know anything. If we start doing this where will it end? I could be revising my own history for eternity..."

But the Stranger was nodding in agreement. "Oh, don"t I know it. I tried for a while but..." He let his sentence trail off.

The Doctor, his fingers still hovering close to his ears, frowned. "So what are you here for?"

"I just wanted to remind you of something... We were more curious in your day, more p.r.o.ne to improvise and hope for the best. But sometimes you need a plan my friend, you really do. So when the time comes... make sure you use the data crystal."

The figure of the Stranger, the tea-set, the garden and everything else were beginning to become insubstantial.

"Well, really," the Doctor tutted. "What"s the point of crossing your timeline like that if you"re just going to be cryptic? What data crystal? And use it where?"