Menagerie Part 19

'Then you are sure it's not the brotherhood?'

'Absolutely sure,' replied Araboam. Jamie smiled to himself, knowing the reason for Araboam's confidence. He shifted his weight slightly, straining to catch their words as the men appeared to move towards the door.

'Now, I have important business to attend to,' said Araboam. 'I'll talk with you later, Captain.'

'I notice you have Argaabil under guard.'

'We suspect him of liaising with Defrabax,' explained Araboam hastily.

'That's surely a matter for the City Guard.'

'Not where Defrabax is concerned.'

'Very well. We guards have much to do at the Furnace.'

'Indeed. Good night, Captain.'

The door clicked closed and Jamie could just hear Araboam cursing under his breath. How much longer could he and Kaquaan stay where they were, undetected? Kaquaan was obviously thinking the same thing. In the darkness she reached out to squeeze Jamie's hand.

Despite himself, Jamie smiled.

A moment later Jamie heard Araboam walking across the room towards the wardrobe, the click of his footsteps on the floor growing louder. Jamie tensed, ready to spring, when suddenly there was a crash from the other side of the room.

'Get in there, you drink-sodden sc.u.m!' Jamie did not recognize the voice. There was a low thump as something or someone hit the floor, followed by a whimpering sound that was a grotesque parody of human speech.

'Grand Knight Zaitabor,' stammered Araboam. 'As you can see, I was just about to question Argaabil.'

'He's already told me,' replied Zaitabor. 'He's been talking to the Doctor's friend and the wh.o.r.e that you let free. We have to a.s.sume that without the correct stimulation and prayer the effects of the herbs will soon wear off. The boy will remember everything that happened.'

'But, my lord, I only told them -' Jamie recognized the voice as that of the fat Furnace worker. There was a cry of pain, and Argaabil lapsed into shivering silence.

'You were an excellent executioner and destroyer,' said Zaitabor. 'But I am sure that I can perform some of your functions with similar efficiency.' There was the metallic hiss of metal as a sword was drawn, and then a choked cry.

A pause, and then a shout from Zaitabor, presumably to knights at the door. 'Take this carca.s.s away and feed it to the birds!'

'Grand Knight, was it right to kill him when we still need to preserve some element of -'

'The hiding is over!' exclaimed Zaitabor. 'The brotherhood will no longer skulk in the shadows or work to change people's memories through fear. I am acting Grand Knight. Defrabax has been precipitated into action. The final meeting will go ahead at dawn as planned. It's time for all people to feel the true might of the Brotherhood of Rexulon.'

'And the knights who have resisted the entreaties of the brothers?'

'They shall be destroyed. Only the Brotherhood of Rexulon are capable of governing and interceding with the Higher for the people of this city. Defrabax has done us a favour in destroying the most obvious blight of science upon our land. Although steeped in sin at birth, the Higher has seen fit to use even him.'

'What are my orders, lord?'

'Prepare for the final meeting. I have good news to bring before the brotherhood.' A pause. 'I'll send some brothers along to clear up this offal.'

'My lord is very gracious,' said Araboam.

'The Higher is gracious to all who cling to the true way,'

stated Zaitabor. A few moments later the door thumped shut.

Jamie gritted his teeth again. When Araboam opened the wardrobe door for his robes Jamie sprang like a wildcat and clubbed him to the floor. The look of shocked surprise was visible even on his unconscious face.

Jamie helped Kaquaan out of the wardrobe. 'Time to attend our second meeting of the Brotherhood of Rexulon.'

'Your memory?'

'As the man said, it's slowly coming back to me,' said Jamie. 'Let's see if we can learn from the mistakes of last time.'

The Doctor and the Dugraq scout proceeded quickly through the underground city. The light emitted by the power station was such that the Doctor was convinced that he could have plotted the course on his own if he had to.

'What do you know about the android?' asked the Doctor as they walked.

'A little,' said the creature. 'I am led to believe that there were a good many in this city, but this one was the only survivor.'

'Does it always obey commands? Did you ever face any problems with it?'

'I do not think so,' said the Dugraq. 'Once we knew how to operate it we used it to check on the Mecrim and to try to ensure that the Rocarbies did not find a way to the surface.

It was the perfect spy, always following its orders exactly and with great efficiency. A few repairs were needed, I believe, but its essential functions were undamaged.'

'Including its limiter preventing it taking human life?'

The Dugraq shook his head. 'It was a military worker. It will simply obey an order. That safeguard would not have proved any help to us even if it had functioned.' The shrew-creature looked the Doctor up and down. 'Don't forget: we aren't human.'

'And you just gave the android to Defrabax when he asked for it?'

'We trusted him at that moment. It seemed to be a sensible course of action. As far as I am aware Defrabax took the android away and fashioned it into a pa.s.sable homunculus. Since then it has functioned as his eyes and ears down here in our city.'

'We all make mistakes,' said the Doctor, smiling. 'Tell me, what do you know of this city?'

'Our legends walk hand-in-hand with our knowledge. I believe it was a large research installation.'

'Working on projects funded by the military?'

'That is correct. We've managed to access some computer terminals, but we tend to leave the main military plant well alone.'

'Because of the Mecrim?'

The scout said nothing, and the Doctor took the silence to be an affirmative.

'And what role did your ancestors have all those years ago?'

The scout paused for a moment at a junction before turning right into what appeared to be a small shopping precinct. 'There were a small number of Dugraq people kept in cages for experimentation. Despite our intelligence, we were kept by the humans because we are genetically very similar to h.o.m.o sapiens h.o.m.o sapiens. They thought we were mere animals.' The creature snorted.

'And yet you are clearly a very trusting people,' said the Doctor.

'We greatly prize forgiveness. But we strive to remember and learn from our knowledge of how our race was treated in the past.'

'And the Rocarbies?' asked the Doctor. 'I a.s.sume that the Mecrim had a direct military function. What did the original colony want of the Rocarbies?'

'They are manufactured creatures, derived from primates that naturally occur towards the equator of this planet. The files tell us that they were being bred and manipulated as part of a programme financed by a mining company.'

'Few things appal me more,' said the Doctor, 'than when warmongers and big business climb into the same bed. I a.s.sume the mining company wanted cheap labour?'

'As always. The Interplanetary Mining Corporation - formerly the Issigri Mining Corporation - spent millions of credits on high-tech solutions to mining problems. But sometimes only muscle gets the job done.'

'Hold on a minute,' said the Doctor. 'Did you say the Issigri Mining Corporation? Dom and Madeleine are decent people -'

'Businesses change, evolve . . . Degenerate.' The Dugraq sniffed. 'By the time of this civilization the IMC was a company out of control, a step or two above common terrorists. Its money ensured that it stayed on the right side of the law.'

The Doctor paused for a moment in thought. 'If the Rocarbies - or at least their ancestors - are native to this planet, then I a.s.sume that you are not?'

The Dugraq sighed and was silent for some minutes. The Doctor thought that perhaps this was an area which even the Dugraqs did not speak of, but eventually the scout did answer, his voice almost a whisper. 'We haven't accessed the files that might give us an insight into our origins.'

'Can I ask why not?'

'In the interest of peace on this planet it was felt best that we do not try to leave this world of shadows for the surface and the s.p.a.ce and planets beyond. As a race we might have the learning and the morality to cope with the treasures beyond these dark caves. The Rocarbies and the Taculbain do not.'

'It is very n.o.ble of you to sacrifice your potential future for the sake of peace.'

'It is not n.o.ble,' said the Dugraq. 'It is sensible. And, in any case, all of us - Rocarbies, Taculbain, Dugraqs - have now had contact with the world over our heads. We will need to draw up a new policy, once this situation sorts itself out.'

The Doctor smiled in the perpetual twilight. 'I a.s.sure you that once we've sorted out "this situation", as you put it, I will do all I can to help you find your destiny.'

'Thank you, Traveller,' said the Dugraq scout. 'I knew you had a trustworthy face.'

'Which you could recognize even whilst upside down in a Taculbain coc.o.o.n? That is remarkable!'

The power station was now fully in view, a large block of grey stone with gla.s.s tubes containing lifts and stairways connected to the outside walls. As light shone from the various windows the building resembled a crude gem in need of further polishing.

'It's very poor form to leave the lights on like that,'

remarked the Doctor. 'Although I am grateful. I've not had as long as you to adjust to the dark.'

'I wonder if we will ever adjust to the harsh light of the world above us,' said the Dugraq, pa.s.sing a hand over a sensor to trigger the main gate. 'I am used to a solid, unmoving sky that seems almost within reach. A sky full of - what are they called . . .? A sky full of clouds, a sky that seems without end . . . These things terrify me, Traveller.'

They began to walk down the driveway, past the skeletons of parked automobiles and personal transports.

There was a fountain, dust idling where once water flowed, at the front of the main entrance to the building. It was in the same style as the building, and the Doctor couldn't help but grimace.

'And the Taculbain?' he asked. 'Where did they fit into the scheme of things?'

'Scientific curiosities,' said the scout. 'A small hive of specimens was kept. I believe that research was being carried out into their collective mentality.'

'You are very well informed,' said the Doctor as they approached the door.

'The Taculbain share knowledge and thought through their biology and under the guidance of their Queen,' said the Dugraq. 'We share through education. All Dugraqs have much the same knowledge. Our leaders are chosen because of their great wisdom.'

'Yours is indeed a wise culture,' remarked the Doctor.

'Now, this building. It's difficult to establish from the exterior what generating principles it uses. Its proximity to the residential areas is probably due to nothing more than the restrictions of s.p.a.ce.'

'The old files have ill.u.s.trations of the wall that once went around this entire establishment. Everything had to be self-contained and able to resist attack.'

'Let's go in,' said the Doctor.

Another sensor was triggered and the huge door hissed open.

Commander Zaitabor, acting Grand Knight of Kuabris, strode boldly down the corridor. Even now he was not quite sure exactly what circ.u.mstances had changed, exactly which event had encouraged him to strike. But the time was right. That knowledge alone was enough.