Doctor Who - [083] - [Target Novel 09] -The Android Invasion Read online

  A few minutes after the soldiers moved off, one of the rushes rose from the lake's surface like a submarine periscope. Beneath it was the Doctor, the hollow reed in his mouth. He'd been hiding under the surface, using the reed as a breathing tube.

  Wringing out his wet clothes he hurried to the bush, and put on those that were still dry.

  * * *

  Sarah crouched motionless on her high branch while die soldiers and dogs moved beneath her through the forest. After that she waited and waited. Finally her patience ran out, and she climbed carefully down from her tree. Supporting herself on the trunk, she tested her ankle. Luckily it had been bruised rather than sprained, and she found she could walk with only the slightest of limps. Remembering the Doctor's instructions, she set off for the village.

  * * *

  When he found no trace of the Doctor and Sarah on the far side of the lake, Corporal Adams began to suspect his quarry must have doubled back. Quickly he led his men back through the woods. Then as they neared the village, the dogs began to whine and bark, and Adams saw a figure hurrying through the trees. "There she is," he shouted, and the soldiers ran forward.

  Sarah heard the noise behind her and tried to run. But her ankle slowed her pace to a stumbling trot, and very soon the soldiers began to close in. She stumbled and fell—and by the time she got to her feet, she was surrounded by armed men. A fist struck her behind the ear and she fell to the ground. The soldiers picked up the limp body and carried it away.

  * * *

  Styggron looked up as Crayford's face appeared on his monitor screen. "Well? Report! Report!"

  "The girl has been taken, Styggron. The Doctor must be somewhere nearby. Soon we shall have him too."

  "No! Locate him, but do not seize him. I have other plans for the Doctor."

  * * *

  The Doctor squelched towards the village, thankful that at least some of his clothes were still dry. Luckily his Time Lord constitution was strongly resistant to colds. He hurried through the outskirts of the village and turned into the main street. As before, it was completely empty. He saw a bus shelter just ahead, a telephone booth standing just beside it. He hurried to the box and was about to go inside when he heard the rumble of a car engine. Quickly he ducked down behind the shelter and waited. An army ambulance drove slowly down the street. Peering from his hiding place, the Doctor saw Corporal Adams at the wheel. As soon as the ambulance was out of sight, the Doctor slipped into the phone booth and picked up the receiver. The phone was dead. He jiggled the receiver-bar, but nothing happened. He slammed down the phone, and headed for the inn.

  * * *

  Sarah recovered consciousness to a sort of swaying motion Slowly she realized that she was lying down, yet moving at the same time. She opened her eyes and saw corridor walls going past. She was being carried somewhere on a stretcher. But why? Had she been ill? Was she in a hospital? Everything seemed hazy and vague, like that shadowy interval between waking and sleeping. Perhaps she was having a nightmare , . .

  She was lifted from the stretcher and. placed on a table. An operating table, thought Sarah wildly. She'd been hurt in an accident and now they were going to operate. Strange that there didn't seem to be any pain... But of course, they'd given her some kind of drug. That was why everything was so vague. She forced herself to open her eyes, and saw she was in a small circular room which was packed with complicated equipment. Lights flashed before her eyes, and there was a low background of electronic hums and beeps. Sarah frowned. It wasn't like any hospital she'd ever seen... The equipment and the room itself were strange. Sarah could distinguish monitor screens and a number of complex instruments, but their shapes were twisted and alien. The place looked like some gloomy underground grotto, a home for trolls and goblins.

  A face appeared, hovering above her. It was Harry. Good old Harry Sullivan. Naturally, he'd be there if she'd been hurt. After all, Harry was a doctor himself. Sarah smiled weakly at him, but his face was cold and hard. "It's all right, Miss Smith. Just lie still."

  "Harry?" she whispered weakly. Sudden panic swept over her and she started to struggle. But she couldn't move—there were clamps holding her to the table.

  A low hypnotic beep began filling Sarah's ears, multicolored lights pulsed steadily in her eyes, and she felt consciousness slipping away …

  Harry moved away and a moment later another face appeared. It seemed strangely distorted, and Sarah blinked furiously forcing herself to concentrate. As her vision cleared, she gave a gasp of pure horror. The face hovering over her was broad and flat with leathery greenish skin: It was heavily jowled with a squashed pig-like snout, underhung jaw, and enormous ears set flat against a massive skull. Huge eyes glowed in cavernous sockets beneath the jutting brows. The hideous vision loomed larger and larger—then Sarah's head slumped and she slipped into unconsciousness.

  The voice of Harry Sullivan said impassively, "She is ready, Styggron."

  "Good. Commence the analysis of the brain."

  * * *

  Some time later, Styggron left the disorientation laboratory and returned to his control room. Almost immediately the agitated face of Guy Crayford flashed up on his screen. "The Doctor has been located in the village. He is being kept under observation as you ordered but..."

  "Well?"

  "I don't like leaving him even this much freedom. He's a dangerous man."

  "The Doctor is not a danger to us, Crayford. Not when we can keep him under constant observation."

  "But I know his reputation. He's a man of exceptional intelligence. He might discover our entire plan."

  '"That is why he will make such an excellent subject for experiment," said Styggron arrogantly. "After all, if the Doctor is deceived, we shall know that our programming is perfect."

  * * *

  The Doctor pushed open the door of the inn and looked around. Once again the place was empty. He saw a telephone on the corner of the bar, and he hurried over to it and lifted the receiver. But the phone was dead—just like the one in-the village phone booth. The door behind the bar opened suddenly and a burly figure appeared. It was Morgan, the landlord. "Something you want, sir?"

  The Doctor replaced the receiver. "Yes, a telephone that works. Yours is out of order."

  Morgan leaned on the bar. "Ah, likely it is," he said placidly.

  "So is your public phone booth."

  "There was a gale last night, sir. Brought all the lines down, it did."

  The Doctor sighed. "I always told Alexander Bell wires were unreliable."

  Morgan looked blankly at him. "Can I get you something to drink, sir?"

  The Doctor beamed, "Certainly," he said expansively. "I'll have a pint."

  "A pint of what, sir?" asked Morgan patiently.

  "A pint of gingerale!"

  Morgan reached under the bar and produced a bottle and a glass. As he poured the Doctor's drink, he asked casually, "I suppose you'll be one of them scientists from the Research Center, sir?"

  "Yes and no," said the Doctor vaguely. "Or rather, no and yes!" He took a swig of the gingerale. "Get a lot of customers in here, do you?" The Doctor began wandering aimlessly round the bar.

  Morgan watched him uneasily. "Not a lot, sir. No one comes here very much. Nothing here, you see. Nothing for strangers in a place like this"

  The Doctor lifted a set of darts from the ledge beside the board. "Too quiet, I suppose. Is it always this quiet?"

  "On and off, sir. Except for darts club night, of course."

  The doctor walked back to the aiming mark, turned, and flung all the darts at once. All three landed quivering in the bullseye. The Doctor strolled back to examine his score. "I see you've got a brand-new board," he said chattily. "This one's never been used."

  * * *

  As he peered curiously at the dartboard, the Doctor's face loomed large on Styggron's monitor screen. Styggron turned triumphantly to the figure at his side. "You see? He is puzzled, suspicious even. But he is not certain."

 
Styggron's companion was called Chedaki, He had the same flat pig-like features as Styggron, and wore the same tabard-like uniform, with its curious resemblance to a kind of armor. But the insignia on Chedak's uniform were of different shape and color. Styggron was the Chief Scientist of the Kraal Expedition, while Chedaki was only its military commander.

  Not for the first time, scientist and soldier were at loggerheads. "There is no value in this experiment," rumbled Chedaki, "Our strategy is already settled."

  "Strategy must be formulated upon knowledge, Chedaki."

  "The time for experiments is past, Styggron."

  Wearily Styggron shook his massive head at the perpetual narrowness of the military mind. "In the case of Earth, perhaps so. But there are other worlds for the Kraals to conquer. It is important to see that our basic techniques are flawless. And the Doctor is unprogrammed, Chedaki! A free agent. He can provide a test better than any we can set up ourselves. Crayford!"

  Crayford appeared on the screen. "Yes, Styggron?"

  "We will now go ahead with the final test."

  "Direct communication, Styggron? Is that wise?"

  "Yes I Are the preparations complete?"

  Crayford said worriedly, "Everything should be ready by now. Ill check," He moved away from the screen.

  Chedaki was studying the flow of symbols flashing across a read-out screen. "According to the data drained from the girl, this Doctor has a long association with libertarian causes. His entire history is one of opposition to such conquests as ours. While he is alive he is a threat to us."

  Styggron chuckled hoarsely. "The Doctor's history will come to an abrupt end soon. I shall end it when I have nothing further to learn from studying him."

  "Do not underestimate him, Styggron." Chedaki gestured towards the read-out screen. "The Doctor's record is here. I suggest you study it." He turned and marched angrily from the room.

  Styggron gave a snort of disgust, and turned to the monitor, where the Doctor could be seen sipping his gingerale and chatting idly with the landlord. Styggron brooded over the screen.

  "There is no way of escape. What can he do? He is like a wingless fly trapped under my microscope. When his usefulness is ended—I shall crush him." Styggron's great clawed fist smashed down on the control console.

  The Test

  When Crayford reached the disorientation laboratory the operating table was empty. Harry Sullivan was moving about the control room checking instrument readings. Crayford nodded towards the table. "You have finished with the girl?"

  "The analysis is complete. We have her memory print and body parameters. They are being coded now."

  "See that the girl is well guarded. Styggron wants to run a final test on the Doctor. Inform me as soon as the program is complete."

  * * *

  "Plastic horse brasses," said the Doctor reprovingly. "Ugh!" For some time he had been wandering around the bar examining anything and everything with a curiosity that was somehow both casual and intense at the same time. He looked at Morgan, who was watching him impassively. "I've arranged to meet someone here, Mr. Morgan, but don't let me detain you."

  "That's all right," said Morgan heavily.

  The Doctor grinned at him. "I can see you're a busy man. Barrels to tap, empties to count, that sort of thing..."

  "Plenty of time for all that, sir."

  "Right then. In that case, I'll have another pint.

  "Pint of what, sir?" asked Morgan mechanically.

  "Gingerale, of course."

  The Doctor sank into a chair and glanced idly at a calendar on the wall beside him. It showed the month of September. He lifted the calendar-sheet, but there was no page for October underneath it. "Strange. A village without a future ..."

  Morgan responded to this observation with the same blank stare that had greeted all the Doctor's earlier remarks. He was about to open another bottle of gingerale when the phone rang and he picked it up. "Fleur de Lys?" He listened for a moment and then looked at the Doctor. "I think it's for you, sir."

  The Doctor took the receiver. "Hullo?"

  "Doctor, is that you?"

  "Well of course it is. Is that you, Sarah? What's happened? Where are you?"

  Sarah's voice was hurried and urgent, and the words seemed to tumble out. "Listen, Doctor, Crayford caught me. They drugged me but I woke up earlier than they expected, and I managed to escape. I heard them talking when they thought I was still out. I've found the whole plan. I can't come to the inn, it's one of their centers, so I came here."

  "Sarah, where are you?"

  "Village post office. You can cut through to it along the alleyway behind the pub. I'll wait for you here, but be careful. Those robot mechanics are everywhere."

  "Don't worry, Sarah, I'll be careful. Who'd notice an inconspicuous chap like me anyway!" The Doctor put down the phone and turned to Morgan. "I've got to be going now. Thanks for your hospitality."

  He turned to leave, then suddenly turned back, snatched up the phone and listened. "Well, would you believe it, it's out of order again!" With a farewell wave, the Doctor picked up the still unpoured gingerale bottle and shot out.

  * * *

  Styggron looked up as Chedaki marched impatiently into his control room, and demanded peevishly, "How much longer?"

  Styggron went on checking instrument readings. "Once this experiment is concluded, we shall be ready."

  Chedaki said impatiently, "Always one more experiment!"

  "This is the last," said Styggron calmly. "The Doctor is an ideal subject. It would be foolish to waste him."

  "The longer he is allowed to live, the more he learns. The more he learns the more dangerous he becomes."

  "You said I should not underestimate him, Chedaki, but I think you overestimate this Doctor. He is completely in my power."

  "But he is unprogrammed, a free agent!"

  "Only in appearance. In reality, he is trapped."

  "I have studied his record with great care, Styggron. It is necessary to know the enemy. The Doctor has formidable intelligence, great resources, strange abilities..."

  Styggron produced the dry croaking that is the Kraal form of laughter. "Stop, Chedaki, stop, or I shall be frozen with fear!"

  "Oh, I know I am no scientist," said Chedaki angrily. "But a dead foe is a safe foe—every soldier knows that."

  (The Kraals are a short-tempered race, and spend almost as much time fighting each other as in planning the conquest of other races. This ferocious temperament was the cause of the many savage atomic wars which had devastated their planet and reduced the Kraal race to a mere handful, totally dependent on the androids.)

  Now Styggron too became angry. "Keep your imbecilic military maxims for your recruits, Marshal Chedaki. I shall destroy the Doctor in my own time—once he has served my purpose."

  The closeness of zero hour made Chedaki nervous and tense, and he seemed perversely determined to find reasons to worry.

  "If the androids fail in their task the Kraal invasion of Earth is doomed. Suppose the Doctor turns the androids against us? He could ruin the entire operation."

  Styggron spoke with the weary patience of someone attempting to calm the irrational fears of a child. "That is impossible." He tapped the console. "The androids are all centrally governed. Their programming is controlled from here."

  "Since the androids are programmed, they could be re-programmed. The Doctor has the knowledge. That is why he is so dangerous... The androids are a double-edged weapon, Styggron. They are unstoppable, indestructible."

  Styggron stared impatiently at his frantic colleague. To some extent the Marshal was only expressing an old grievance. All Kraal soldiers resented the dominance of the scientists who ranked far above mere soldiers in Kraal society.

  "The questions you raise have already been considered, Marshal Chedaki," said Styggron coldly. "Perhaps it is time for me to give you a demonstration."

  They were interrupted by the entrance of Crayford. "Everything is ready, Styggron.
"

  The Kraal scientist snapped, "Not quite, we need one more android. I am afraid we must call upon you for help in its production."

  Crayford said wildly, "Please, Styggron, not again. I've been through it once. I can't stand the strain..."

  "We need one more random unit, Crayford," said Styggron implacably. "We need an android programmed to attack Kraals. I am planning a little experiment to reassure the Marshal. Do not argue, Crayford. Come with me!"

  Meekly Crayford followed the Kraals from the control room.

  * * *

  Crayford lay in a coffin-shaped plastic container, electrodes clamped to his temples. Not far away was another, similar container, at present empty. A complex web of electronic circuitry bridged the two. Styggron stood at a nearby control panel. Chedaki looked on impatiently.

  Styggron's hand moved over the controls. "This should answer all your fears, Marshal Chedaki. From the suppressed hatred in Crayford's memory-cells we shall now create a totally hostile android." He touched a control.

  Crayford screamed. "Don't, Styggron, I beg you..." His body arched and he lost consciousness as the power flooded through him.

  A formless bubbling substance was flooding into the second container. It heaved and bubbled and hissed, half-gas, half-liquid. Styggron adjusted more controls. "I shall feed in the physical parameters of one of the Earth soldiers."

  The substance in the other container solidified, took shape. Gradually it assumed the form of a soldier, dressed in combat gear, and armed with a rifle. The soldier's eyes snapped open and he stepped from the coffin.

  "I shall now activate the hostility circuits," said Styggron calmly. The soldier sprang into a sudden crouch, his eyes sweeping round the room. At the sight of the two Kraals his eyes narrowed with hate. His gun swung up to cover them—and Styggron stepped forward. In his hand was an oddly shaped pistol with a bulbous handle. He fired and the weapon sprayed a fine mist around the attacking soldier. The soldier staggered back. He tried to raise the gun, but already his shape was beginning to blur. Styggron fired again and again, and the android soldier dissolved into a land of globby puddle across the floor. Half-seen inside it was the spindly shape of the robot skeleton,