Doctor Who - [083] - [Target Novel 09] -The Android Invasion Page 5

  Styggron looked down in satisfaction. "You see, the androids are not immortal. What I can create, I can also destroy."

  Chedaki was unable to keep the awe from his voice. "That weapon... It is new, Styggron?"

  The Kraal scientist nodded. "Matter dispersion. So far it is effective only at short range. But we are developing a more powerful version for our space cruisers,- Science, Marshal Chedaki! It is science that will make the Kraals invincible. Now if you have no further objections—may I continue my experiment with the Doctor?

  * * *

  The Doctor reached the post office without incident, slipping along the lane that bordered the village. He walked round to the front of the building and went inside. The shop was the usual combination of newsstand, tobacconist and candyshop, with a counter across the back to mark off the post office. There were no lights on in the post office section, and the whole area was dark and shadowy,

  A board creaked as the Doctor moved forwards, and suddenly a shape popped up from behind the counter. "Is that you, Doctor?"

  "Of course it is, Sarah. What happened after I left you up that tree?"

  Sarah leaned weakly against the counter. "I climbed down a bit too soon and those soldiers caught me. They knocked me out, and I woke up in a sort of operating theater. I was so frightened, Doctor."

  "I'm sure you were," said the Doctor soothingly. "Here, have some gingerale!" He fished the bottle out of his pocket and handed it to her.

  Sarah drank thirstily, and went on with her story. "Harry Sullivan was there, Doctor. Not the real Harry of course, but I thought it was."

  "What do you mean—not the real Harry?"

  "That's what they're doing, Doctor. They're copying people."

  "Who are?"

  "I don't really know. But Crayford was there too. I think he's behind it all somehow."

  The Doctor shook his head. "No, it can't be Crayford. Not all by himself. Go on, what happened next?"

  "There's not much more to tell. They put me in some kind of machine and I passed out."

  "How did you get away?"

  "When I came round for the second time I heard Crayford talking to someone. That's when I discovered what they're doing. They're replacing people with these duplicates they make. The must have thought I was still unconscious. They went off and left me without a guard and I managed to slip away."

  The Doctor looked thoughtfully at her. "So you not only got away with suspicious ease, you were lucky enough to reach this place undetected and find the only telephone in the village that seems to work!"

  Sarah hacked away. "I don't understand."

  "Don't you see, Sarah, they let you escape. They let you make that telephone call. We're being tested. They want to find out how smart we are."

  Sarah rubbed a hand across her eyes. "No, Doctor, it can't be that."

  "Of course it's that!" The Doctor rubbed his chin. "But if they're so technologically advanced they can make facsimile humans who'll stand face-to-face examination, load them into those canisters and send them through a space-time warp to Earth—why should they be worried about us?"

  Sarah stared blankly at him, as if she couldn't take in what he was saying. The Doctor went on, "They must possess the weaponry to attack Earth by force. Instead they've created a bridgehead by stealth using fake humans, these androids." Suddenly he headed for the door. "Coming, Sarah?"

  "Where are we going?"

  "To use the communications equipment in the TARDIS." He hurried away.

  Sarah called, "Coming, Doctor. Wait for me." She hurried after him.

  As if in confirmation of the Doctor's theory, they made their way out of the village and through the woods without seeing a soul. Once a patrol of android mechanics passed by, heads moving from side to side as if scanning the countryside, but the Doctor and Sarah ducked behind a tree trunk and the mechanics passed them by.

  Some time later, the Doctor stopped and looked round, "We must be almost there by now. The TARDIS should be just behind that next clump of trees." But it wasn't. When they reached the spot the TARDIS was nowhere to be seen. "I'm sure it was here," said the Doctor. "It was standing by that very tree."

  Sarah looked round. "It's not here now, is it?" She shivered and buttoned up her jacket.

  The Doctor seemed to be thinking aloud. "Well, it's not programmed to auto-operate. Unless of course..."

  "Unless what?"

  "When we landed here, I still had my doubts about where we, were—so I set the TAKDIS onto pause-control, with the coordinates for Earth locked into the guidance-system." He paused, then said abruptly, "Have you still got the TARDIS key, Sarah?"

  Sarah shook her head. "I must have lost it."

  The Doctor's voice hardened. "No! You haven't lost it because you never had it. Sarah came here and put the key in the lock, and left it there. That canceled the pause control and the TARDIS continued on its set co-ordinates—back to Earth!"

  Sarah looked at him as if he was mad. "I don't understand..."

  "Oh yes you do," said the Doctor savagely. He pulled a twig from the nearest tree and snapped it in half, "This isn't wood, it's plastic. Those aren't real trees, this isn't real Earth—and you're not the real Sarah!"

  The Countdown

  As the Doctor moved forward, the android Sarah jumped back and pulled a gun from beneath her jacket. "Get back, Doctor."

  "I began to suspect when I saw that jacket—a jacket I left under a bush! And you've buttoned it on the wrong side. You're a mirror-image Sarah—just like that mirror-image Harry, with his medals on the wrong side." The Doctor sprang forward, grasping the android's gun-arm and forcing it upwards. The gun exploded in the air, and the Doctor wrenched it from the android's hand, shaking his captive savagely. "Where's the real Sarah? What have you done with her? Answer me!"

  The android broke free, tripped, and cannoned into the trunk of the nearest tree, hitting its head on the trunk. Horrifying, its "Sarah" face was jolted loose, rolling away across the ground. The Doctor looked down at the collapsed android. Packed into the skull cavity was a maze of wire and miniaturized transistors.

  Sickened, he turned away—and the android's fingers groped towards the gun butt which lay close to its hand. The Doctor heard the movement, spun round and a bullet whizzed close to his head. Ducking and weaving as he ran, the Doctor turned and fled.

  * * *

  The Doctor's retreating figure could be seen on the monitor screen in Styggron's control room. Chedaki said mockingly, "So much for your foolish experiment, Styggron. Now the Doctor is at large."

  "There is no way of escape. He can do no harm." But there was a trace of uncertainty in Styggron's voice.

  Chedaki seized his advantage. "Your experiment is at an end, Styggron. The androids are now fully trained, and the village simulation has served its purpose. It must be destroyed in precisely nine minutes and the Doctor with it."

  Styggron seemed stunned by the Doctor's escape. "Nine minutes?"

  "The invasion countdown has begun," Chedaki reminded him sternly. "There can be no variation in the schedule. You have arranged a safe method of destroying the training ground?"

  "A matter-dissolving bomb. I shall place it in position myself."

  "Excellent!" Chedaki turned to leave, and noticed a shrouded figure laying on a wheeled gurney. He bent to examine it. "This is the Earth female. Why is she still alive?"

  "Another of my foolish experiments," said Styggron wearily. "The virus which our androids will use to cleanse Earth of its human population has been tested only in the laboratory. I wish to try it on a living organism. Now, shall we attend to the evacuation and destruction of the simulation?" He led the way out of the room, and Chedaki followed. As they left the sheet over the gurney was thrown back, and Sarah, the real Sarah, sat up. She had been conscious for some time, and had lain still, gathering her strength. She swung her legs down from the gurney and stood up. She was still a little shaky—but she could walk. "Nine minutes," she muttered. "Got to find-
the Doctor." Hurriedly she followed after the two Kraals.

  * * *

  The Doctor was moving cautiously through the deserted village when the wail of a siren shattered the peace of the empty street. A truck roared around the corner and parked in the center of the main street. People began emerging from the buildings, houses and shops and climbing into the back. Mr. Morgan appeared from the pub and got in with the others. As soon as the truck was full, it drove away.

  The Doctor stepped out into the street and looked around. There was no one in sight. Now the village really was deserted.

  * * *

  Sarah followed the two Kraal leaders through a long gloomy tunnel. She heard the bustle of a crowd somewhere ahead of her. The tunnel led steeply upward to an open door, through which the entire population of the village seemed to be returning to the Kraals' underground headquarters. It was rather like Noah's ark. Crayford and Harry Sullivan stood and watched as villagers, soldiers and white-overalled mechanics marched in and moved away. A last squad of soldiers came through, followed by Benton. "That's the lot, sir," he reported. "Everyone's inside."

  Crayford nodded. "Good, See that all blast doors are closed, Sullivan. Styggron is placing the bomb now. It is due to explode in exactly four minutes."

  "Yes, sir." Harry Sullivan, or rather his android replica, hurried away. Crayford touched a control and the door slid closed. Then he too moved off,

  Sarah waited until everyone had gone, ran down the tunnel and went over to the door. She touched the control she'd seen Crayford use and the door slid open. She stepped outside and found herself in another long tunnel, sloping upwards. She followed it and emerged in an empty barn. The Kraals had hidden the entrance to their headquarters in a disused building.

  Sarah was about to run off, when she paused, looking at the open door. She hunted around the door area and found a small control button set just above it. She pressed it and the door slid closed. Sarah turned and sprinted towards the village. She reckoned she had about three minutes to find the Doctor and bring him back to safety.

  * * *

  Blissfully unaware of his danger, the Doctor was wondering what to do next. He decided to go back to the Research Center and look for Sarah when the problem of his future was abruptly solved for him. He turned into a street that led towards the Research Center, and ran straight into Styggron. Immediately the Kraal's great paw flashed out and clamped round his arm. "I heard you coming, Doctor."

  "With those ears, I'm not surprised." The Doctor tried to pull free but the grip on his arm was quite unbreakable.

  "Resistance is inadvisable," growled Styggron. "We Kraals are the strongest species in the Galaxy."

  "As well as the ugliest?" asked the Doctor impolitely. "Kraals, eh? So we're on Oseidon, And who might you be?"

  "I am Styggron, Chief Scientist of the Kraals!" The Kraal began dragging the Doctor towards the village green. "Come. There is no time for pleasantries."

  "How about unpleasantries, pig face?" said the Doctor rudely. He didn't much care for being hauled along like a reluctant toddler, but there was little he could do about it. Styggron dragged him to the war memorial that stood in the center of the village green. It took the form of a simple granite pillar on a low stone pedestal. Styggron slammed the Doctor against the pillar with a force that knocked the breath from his body. Two white-coated mechanics appeared and lashed the Doctor to the pillar with a coil of plastic rope.

  Styggron went away for a moment, and reappeared with a plain metal cylinder which he placed at the Doctor's feet. "I think you will find this unpleasant enough, Doctor."

  The Doctor looked down. There was a simple timing dial set into the top of the cylinder, which gave off a steady 'beeping' sound. "A matter dispersal bomb?" asked the Doctor calmly.

  "Exactly. In precisely three minutes everything within a radius of one-quarter Earth-mile will evaporate. Goodbye Doctor!"

  Styggron turned away.

  "You're not leaving already," called the Doctor plaintively. Styggron ignored him, and disappeared between the buildings. The mechanics followed.

  The Doctor began struggling furiously, but the plastic had some kind of self-binding quality. The more he struggled the tighter it became.

  At his feet the bomb beeped steadily away. To his astonishment he heard a voice somewhere in the distance. "Doctor, can you hear me? Where are you?"

  "Sarah, over here!" yelled the Doctor, and a few seconds later Sarah came running across the green towards him. She was shouting as she ran, "Doctor, they're going to blow this place sky-high any minute. Don't just stand there-come on I"

  "I am not just standing here," said the Doctor with dignity. "If you'll look a little closer..."

  Sarah saw the plastic ropes fastening the Doctor to the war memorial, the ticking bomb at his feet. "Oh no," she gasped and began wrestling with his bonds.

  But the plastic had a life of its own and it seemed to fight against her fingers. "Find the free end and give one steady pull," said the Doctor calmly.

  Sarah did her best, but the plastic seemed determined not to budge. "How long have we got?"

  "A little over a minute. I think you'd better give up and save yourself, Sarah."

  "No, I've got it... it's coming," The plastic coil began to pull away at last, and Sarah unwound with panic-stricken haste. As the Doctor stepped down Sarah grabbed his hand. "Come on, Doctor, run. There's only one place well be safe."

  The bomb timer was already measuring off its last few seconds.

  * * *

  Styggron glared angrily at the empty gurney. He returned to his console and touched a communicator switch. "The Earth girl has escaped. Find her." He paused and checked his instruments. "The countdown to matter-dispersion has entered final phase." He began counting off the last few seconds. "Zero minus sixty... fifty-nine... fifty-eight..." Magnified by the communication system, Styggron's voice boomed through the Kraal base. On his monitor screen the village of Devesham basked peacefully in the sun.

  * * *

  The Doctor and Sarah sprinted across a field and into the barn. Sarah hurried to the corner and opened the hatch that concealeed the Kraal tunnel.

  As they ran down the steep tunnel they could hear a voice chanting. "Ten... nine... eight... seven..."

  They reached the blast-door at the end of the tunnel at last and Sarah groped in the darkness for the control. "Six... five... four..." chanted the voice.

  The door slid back and the Doctor and Sarah dived through. The magnified voice boomed in their ears. "Three... two... one..." A shattering explosion rocked the corridor, knocking them both off their feet...

  * * *

  (In Styggron's control room, the peaceful village scene faded from the monitor. It was replaced by a barren rocky landscape—the natural surface of Oseidon).

  Dislodged rock was still falling from the ceiling as the Doctor and Sarah picked themselves up. "A close-run thing," said the Doctor solemnly.

  "I wouldn't care to have run it any closer―"

  Sarah broke off as Crayford and a squad of soldiers appeared at the end of the corridor. The Doctor and Sarah turned to run, but Harry Sullivan and more soldiers were blocking the way behind them.

  The Doctor looked at Sarah, and they raised their hands. They were prisoners again, but at least they were alive. "Take them to the detention cell," ordered Crayford. "I must report to Styggron."

  "That's the warty chap with the big nose, isn't it?" said the Doctor conversationally.

  "Move," snapped the android, and the soldiers bustled them off.

  As they were being led away, the Doctor said, "I prefer our version of Harry, don't you, Sarah? Much better mannered."

  * * *

  On Styggron's monitor, the barren landscape of Oseidon was replaced by a rocketship.

  Marshal Chedaki's voice came over the communicator. "Leader rocket ship in launch frame."

  "Have the pre-launch checks been completed?"

  "Yes, Styggron. The androids ar
e being loaded now."

  Crayford hurried in. "Styggron, we have recaptured the girl." He paused. "The Doctor was with her."

  Styggron swung round, the deep-set eyes flaring with anger. "The Doctor? I destroyed him with the village."

  "It seems he escaped."

  Styggron turned back to his controls. "He must be disposed of. Kill him, immediately. Kill them both!"

  8

  Braindrain

  Crayford stared at the Kraal leader in distress. "Kill them? Surely that's no longer necessary."

  "You sing a different song now, Crayford," Jeered Styggron. "They must be eliminated. Isn't that what you said?"

  Crayford was aware that somehow his feelings had changed. "When I thought they were a danger to the plan, yes. But the preliminary stage is over now. What harm can they do locked in a detention cell?"

  Styggron said indifferently, "The Doctor is no longer o£ any use to me."

  "You're wrong, Styggron. He would make a valuable subject for your braindrain machine."

  "To what purpose?"

  "He's a brilliant man—a genius. All his knowledge and experience would make a useful addition to your data banks."

  Styggron said scornfully, "You were prepared to accept his death provided that I killed him. You are squeamish, Crayford, a puny weakling, like all your race."

  "Think what you like, Styggron. But you gave me your word. You said no one would be harmed unnecessarily."

  Styggron turned away. "Oh very well, very well. Let him live for now."

  "Thank you, Styggron."

  As Crayford left the control room Styggron muttered, "I shall drain every atom of knowledge from his brain—and then he shall die!"

  * * *

  The Doctor was busily attacking the cell door with his sonic screwdriver, though without much success. As he worked he did his best to explain the Kraal plan to Sarah, who was finding it difficult to take in.

  "Not Earth, Doctor? What do you mean?"