Doctor Who_ Ark In Space Part 1

DOCTOR WHO.

AND THE ARK IN s.p.a.cE.

By IAN MARTER.

Prologue

The Intruder.

Out among the remotest planets, in faithful orbit through the Solar System, the great Satellite revolved slowly in the glimmer of a billion distant suns, reflecting their faint light from its cold and silent surfaces. All within remained utterly quiet and still, but primed and ready: ready for the eventual moment of awakening. Deep in its innermost structure an atomic clock oscillated, waiting for the moment when it would cause a tiny electric current to flow, activating circuits which branched throughout the vast Satellite, bringing it to life once more out in the wilderness of s.p.a.ce.Patiently it waited. Then suddenly, after many centuries, something stirred within it: something alien, that was not part of its intricate programming. Panels began to slide smoothly open. Faintest shadows ran over the gleaming walls. The deserted tunnels and chambers, forming the 'rim', the 'spokes' and the 'hub' of the enormous wheel, which was the Satellite, began to echo with rustles, hoa.r.s.e squeaks and whistlings. Cautiously feeling its way into one of the spherical control chambers-positioned like gigantic pods along the 'spoke' sections-there crawled an intruder. It dragged its ma.s.sive leathery body along on angular tentacle-legs, which bristled with sharp hairs and scratched shrilly against the metallic walls. Swinging its domed head slowly from side to side, it pierced the half-light with giant, globular eyes. At the end of its long, scorpion tail there glinted a menacing claw which clattered in the creature's wake.As soon as it entered the control chamber, the alien intruder eagerly scanned the ma.s.s of inert instruments which covered the walls, like exhibits in an abandoned museum. From the domed ceiling there descended a s.h.i.+ning metallic sphere. For an instant the creature was reflected in its mirror-like surface; information was flashed to a central computer bank, a.n.a.lysed, and a command relayed back to the sphere. It glowed brilliantly for a second. The startled intruder stared defiantly upwards, and at the same instant a fierce burst of energy sent it clattering against a control console, its tentacles contracting in agony.For a few seconds all was still. Then the creature moved. Again the sphere glowed, and with a sharp crack hurled it back across the chamber in a blazing electrical discharge. The creature cowered, uttering hoa.r.s.e screams as a stream of brutal shock-waves pulsed from the sphere, blistering its body with burns. Staring at the cl.u.s.ters of delicate instruments, its huge eyes useless in the fierce light, the creature began to flail at the wall panels as if searching desperately for something. All at once, a section of the panelling slid open. Fighting the searing bursts of radiation from the sphere, the creature dragged itself through the opening into a second, similar chamber. Out of range of the sphere, but now blinded and almost paralysed, the intruder fumbled among the control consoles lining the chamber until it somehow located the section it sought.With frantic, crippled, movements it ripped open the instrument panel and pulled out a thick bundle of multi-coloured cables. Then, arching its segmented tail up over its head, it gripped the cables in its huge claw and severed them cleanly with a single slice. At that moment, all through the electronic nerve centres of the Satellite, certain vital systems were closed down.With an unearthly sigh of satisfaction the creature turned away, and in complete darkness now, crawled back through the first chamber and out into the labyrinth of tunnels and chambers. Its mission was almost completed; one final task remained. Slowly and painfully, but with deadly purpose, it made its way towards the sleeping humans. The brittle, splintering sound of its movements died away as panel after panel glided shut behind it. The sphere hung inert in the darkness.When at last the atomic clock signalled the beginning of the great Awakening, no current flowed. The circuits remained dead, the systems did not activate. The Satellite continued its eternal orbit, the Solar Energy Reservoirs absorbing and storing energy from the sun-though no longer for any purpose.Then there came a second invasion...

1

The Second Invasion

'Clumsy, ham-fisted idiot,' cried the Doctor, striding out of the TARDIS into pitch darkness.'I'm terribly sorry, Doctor. I was only trying to... trying to open the door...' stammered Harry Sullivan, just catching the door as it swung back in his face.'Come out of there at once, and don't touch anything else,' called the Doctor, pausing for a moment in the light streaming through the door of the TARDIS and staring about him.The Doctor was a tall, broad man with a riot of curly brown hair bubbling out from beneath a stylish felt hat. His generous face was animated with intense curiosity as his enormous eyes peered into the semi-darkness. His hands were thrust deep into the bulging pockets of a voluminous red velvet jacket, and the trailing ends of a long multi-coloured woollen scarf flapped around his legs as he moved cautiously away from the TARDIS.Surgeon Lieutenant Harry Sullivan RN stood uncertainly in the doorway, fiddling nervously with his cravat. He was an athletic young man in his late twenties, with a straight back and a square jaw. He wore a rowing club blazer and sharply pressed slacks.'Oh I say,' he exclaimed, 'we've gone.''Who's gone; Harry?' asked a bright, laughing voice behind him.He turned to face the mischievous smile of Sarah Jane Smith, who was watching his confusion with evident delight. Sarah was a slim, level-headed journalist, about the same age as Harry, her trim figure clad in a trendy denim trouser-suit, her short dark hair tucked into a saucy woollen hat.'Well, I mean this isn't... we aren't where we were when we...' began Harry, venturing a step or two into the gloom. A few minutes earlier, when he had entered the old, battered blue Police Telephone Box, at the Doctor's invitation to have a quick look round, it had been standing in a corner of the Laboratory at UNIT Headquarters, in broad daylight. 'I think I've gone mad,' he muttered at last.Sarah Jane touched his arm sympathetically. 'I know what you mean,' she said. 'That's exactly how I felt after my first trip. You'll find it takes quite a bit of getting used to.'The door of the TARDIS swung slowly shut behind them. In the pitch darkness they could hear the Doctor moving stealthily about..'Where are we, Doctor?' called Sarah casually. A powerful torch beam snapped on and swept round.'Do you know, Sarah, I have no idea,' replied the Doctor after a pause. Sarah knew precisely what that little pause meant She felt her way cautiously over to the Doctor's side. The roving torchlight revealed a large spherical chamber, its walls entirely covered in instruments, with several flat control consoles, like circular tables, grouped around it.'Just a little trip to the Caucasus, or perhaps once round the Moon'-Sarah imitated the Doctor in one of his off-hand moods-'just to prove to Harry that the old Police Box really could travel in...''I didn't expect him to start fiddling with the Helmic Orientators, Sarah,' interrupted the Doctor sharply. He broke off as the chamber was dimly illuminated again. Harry had opened the door of the TARDIS and was staring into it open-mouthed.'It's bigger than a Cathedral... on the inside...' he gasped in amazement. The Doctor strode over and locked the door. Still in a state of shock, Harry mumbled away in the darkness, 'You know you could make a fortune out of this thing, Doctor...' But the Doctor was already pacing about the chamber, sweeping the torch beam over the curved reflecting walls and closely examining the dense cl.u.s.ters of instruments.Grotesque shadows flapped around them. Sarah s.h.i.+vered. It was bitterly cold, and the air suddenly seemed terribly thin. It was quite an effort to breathe. Something loomed up against her. She jumped. It was Harry.'Sorry, Miss Smith,' he mumbled, loosening his cravat, 'but I'm a bit disorientated...''Not much oxygen,' remarked the Doctor from the shadows. 'Still,' he added cheerfully, 'nothing to worry about.'Sarah turned to Harry. 'So suffocation is nothing to worry about,' she whispered sarcastically.'Oh, we can survive for quite a time yet,' boomed the Doctor, suddenly right beside them. He was concentrating on spinning a yoyo effortlessly up and down its string in the torchlight.Harry decided it was time to speak up. 'Well, I've got quite a few patients to see at four o'clock,;' he tried to affect a casual air, 'so if you don't mind, Doctor, I'd like to be getting...''A simple gravity reading, Harry,' grinned the Doctor, putting away the yoyo. 'It would appear that we are inside some kind of artificial satellite. Now isn't that fascinating fascinating .' .''Doctor, it's dark, it's cold and it's getting very airless,' Sarah protested loudly. But the Doctor had left them again, and was busily examining a section of wall panelling away on the far side of the chamber. He seemed quite oblivious of their discomfort.Suddenly they were bathed in a harsh, unwelcoming white light.'There we are,' cried the Doctor, turning. away from the control panel and surveying the scene with childlike delight, taking in every detail of their surroundings. He seized the ends of his long scarf and spun them like propellers. 'Fascinating,' he murmured, 'fascinating.' In his resonant voice,. excitement, understanding and wonder were mingled as he crept respectfully round the chamber. For a moment, his companions' discomfort gave way to amazement.'What's it all for?' gasped Harry. He s.h.i.+elded his eyes from the glare and peered at the coded switches, dials, lights and b.u.t.tons covering the circular wall. Despite his anxiety to return to UNIT Headquarters where he was Chief Medical Officer, he yielded to an unfortunate curiosity that had already got him into trouble in the TARDIS. He tinkered with one or two micro-switches on a nearby console.At the same moment, an invisible panel in the wall slid open directly in front of Sarah.'Doctor,' she cried, 'look at this.' But the Doctor was deeply engrossed in examining the bright metallic sphere which was suspended from the centre of the domed ceiling.'Of terrestrial design certainly,' he muttered, 'but I can't quite place the period.''Well, none of it seems to be working now,' gasped Harry, leaning weakly against the control console in an effort to ease the increasing pain in his chest.Sarah looked round at her two heedless companions. She knew that once the Doctor became involved in something, it was quite impossible to distract him. Besides, she had a habit of striking out on her own in search of a good front-page story. She shrugged at their indifference, and suddenly oblivious of how difficult it was becoming to breathe, stepped lightly through the opening in front of her.She found herself in a similar, slightly smaller chamber, which was dominated by a low, couch-like construction supported on a single slender pillar in the centre of the floor. She recognised the stream-lined cabinets and tape-reels of computer memory banks set into the walls. The upper part of the circular wall was patterned with blank video screens and systems display panels. Sarah leaned against the couch, her head spinning and her heart pounding. Her eyes tried to focus on a section of instrument panelling that had been ripped open, spilling out a cl.u.s.ter of cable ends. She suddenly found herself fighting for breath. The voices of the Doctor and Harry in the other chamber gradually receded into the distance...'... and judging by that modified version of the Bennet Oscillator,' the Doctor was saying, 'I would estimate that all this was put together in the Thirtieth Century.''Oh no,' gasped Harry. 'The Thirtieth what what ?' ?''You don't agree?' Sarah heard the Doctor inquire indignantly. Harry muttered something incoherently. Then the Doctor's voice boomed confidently, 'Oh yes, the late Twenty-ninth or early Thirtieth I feel sure. For example, Harry, just look at this...'Sarah suddenly heard the panel glide shut behind her. She whirled round. There was no trace of it; she was confronted with a wall of blank instruments. Sarah stumbled over, her heart. thumping like a steam engine, and searched for the edges of the panel.'There must be a manual control,' she panted. She gulped for air, scarcely able to fill her lungs. In sudden panic, she pounded and kicked the panelling. 'Doctor... please... I can't breathe... there's no air in here.' She felt herself gripped, as if in a huge vice. Her ears were ringing and her limbs were numbed. Desperately she clawed at the wall. 'Doctor... Harry... please help me... pl...' Sarah sank to the cold floor.Harry was leaning against a corner of the TARDIS; despite the cold he was beginning to sweat with the effort of breathing. 'Look, Doctor... I'm a straightforward sort of chap,' he gasped, 'are you telling me that we're now in the middle of the Thirtieth Century?'The Doctor seemed totally unaffected by the coldness and the lack of oxygen. 'Gracious me, no, Harry,' he replied. 'Well beyond that.''But... where... Where Where are we?' pleaded Harry, not sure whether he was dreaming or going insane. The Doctor was kneeling down and listening intently to the floor through an ancient bra.s.s ear trumpet. are we?' pleaded Harry, not sure whether he was dreaming or going insane. The Doctor was kneeling down and listening intently to the floor through an ancient bra.s.s ear trumpet.'Difficult to say,' he murmured, sitting back on his heels and taking a large bag of jelly-babies from his pocket. 'All this is obviously quite old,' the Doctor popped a sweet into his mouth, 'several thousand years at least.' He chewed away thoughtfully.Suddenly he leaped to his feet. 'Where's Sarah?' he demanded, advancing on Harry who stared back at him, dumbfounded.'Perhaps she went back into the TARDIS,' said Harry.'Impossible,' snapped the Doctor. 'I have the key.' He strode about the chamber, peering closely at the walls through a huge magnifying gla.s.s. 'I have told her time and time again about wandering off by herself,' he said grimly.'Well... there... there must be a door... somewhere,' panted Harry, his head whirling.The Doctor stopped in his tracks and fixed him with a piercing stare.'Not necessarily.'Harry glanced longingly at the TARDIS; strange and incomprehensible though it was, it suddenly seemed very familiar and safe.'You haven't touched touched anything again, have you, Harry?' the Doctor demanded accusingly. anything again, have you, Harry?' the Doctor demanded accusingly.Harry quailed. He was feeling decidedly unwell in the airless conditions. 'No I... well, yes I... I think I did just press something...''Show me,' commanded the Doctor.'... but absolutely nothing happened,' protested Harry. He could barely stand upright now.'Show me exactly what you did, Harry,' coaxed the Doctor gently.Harry tottered over to the control console and stared down at the maze of instruments. Switches, dials and b.u.t.tons danced about before his eyes in the unrelenting white glare. He struggled to remember. The Doctor's voice seemed to reach him from the other end of a long long corridor full of slamming doors.'Just try to remember, Harry.' Harry's hand wavered uncertainly; in desperation he pressed a switch.Immediately, the panel slid open. Sarah lay just inside the smaller chamber in a crumpled heap. At once Harry recognised the bluish pallor around her lips. 'She's cyanosed,' he whispered. 'There's even less air in there. We must get her out.'As they bent down to lift Sarah, the panel glided shut automatically, trapping them all together. The Doctor searched feverishly for the panel control circuitry. Harry, now almost completely overcome, sank down against the wall and feebly tried to prop Sarah into a sitting position.'All my... m... my fault... sorry...' panted Harry.The Doctor had discovered the damaged panelling and the cl.u.s.ter of cable ends. He set to work with magnifier and sonic screwdriver. 'No, no, Harry, I got us into this,' he muttered, deftly sorting through the broken connections.His movements grew rapidly heavier and clumsier as the lack of oxygen finally began to take effect. 'This... this is quite extraordinary, Harry,' he panted. 'Gyroscopic Field Governor Circuit... Temperature Stabiliser... Ah... Oxygen Valves Servo Backup Circuits...' Several times the Doctor dropped the sonic screwdriver and the magnifying gla.s.s. Once or twice he glanced anxiously at Sarah and Harry. They were both unconscious. Sweat ran into his eyes. His two hearts laboured. His hands felt like rubber. He forced his mind to concentrate on the delicate operation of sonic-soldering the tiny, complex connections. He kept thinking of the faithful TARDIS waiting on the other side of the vacuum panel, ready to take them all to safety-or to anywhere...At last, after what seemed an eternity, valves opened with a precise clicking. There was a gentle hiss of oxygen all round the chamber. Soon Harry's eyes opened. He struggled into a sitting position.'Only just in time, Harry,' whispered the Doctor hoa.r.s.ely from across the chamber. 'Are you feeling better?''Convalescent,' replied Harry, managing a grin. 'All I need now is a couple of weeks in Blackpool.'They laid the unconscious Sarah gently on the couch construction, and Harry tried to revive her while the Doctor set about repairing the remaining circuits.'There's a mystery here, Harry,' he muttered, 'Something quite extraordinary; these cables have been bitten through.''Bitten,' echoed Harry, all but letting Sarah tumble to the floor.'Yes,' the Doctor continued quietly, 'and whatever was responsible clearly possessed a reasoning intelligence.''And very large teeth,' added Harry wryly. Sarah's eyelids flickered and then opened. 'Sarah's coming round,' he said, smiling with relief.At that moment the panel leading to the other chamber slid smoothly aside. The Doctor strode triumphantly through. 'Splendid,' he said. 'All systems go, wouldn't you say?'Harry checked Sarah's wavering pulse. 'Now take it easy, old girl,' he said gently, as she caught at his sleeve in a momentary spasm of fear. 'You'll be right as ninepence in a few...' The words froze on his lips as, from the other chamber, there came a deafening crack. Harry ran across to the panel opening. The Doctor was nowhere to be seen. Something bright caught his eye. Glancing upwards he saw his own distorted reflection in the polished sphere suspended from the ceiling. Before he could step forward he was seized by one ankle and dragged to the floor. As he fell, something struck his other foot with the force of a cannonball, tearing off his shoe. He lay quite still, half under one of the control consoles. The acrid smell of burnt rubber filled the chamber. For a moment he dared not open his eyes; one foot was completely numbed, and the other was still held in an iron grip. He tried to twist himself round and sit upright. His head was at once thrust roughly back to the floor.'Keep down, Harry,' hissed the Doctor in his ear.Sarah lay limp on the couch. She felt as if she had floated to the surface from the bottom of a deep pool. There, in the fresh air, had been Harry's welcoming smile, but all at once he had disappeared again and she was alone. She heard the fierce cracking sounds and Harry's scream of terror. She struggled to get up, but found herself forced down on to the couch by invisible hands. Everything about her began to wobble and tiny electric shocks rippled suddenly through her entire body. She tried to call out, but no sound would come. Very slowly, and very gently, she was being pulled apart...Outside, in the Main Control Chamber, Harry and the Doctor crouched silently in the confined s.p.a.ce beneath the instrument console.'What happened?' croaked Harry at last, his throat parched with fear.'Just don't move,' whispered the Doctor. He had balanced his hat on the end of the telescopic probe he always carried, and was stealthily inching it up into the air above the edge of the console. At once came the shattering whipcrack from above them; the hat flew into the shadows beside the TARDIS and lay smouldering. The Doctor stared at it in anguish. 'I'm afraid we're trapped again, Harry,' he sighed.'But what is is it?' gasped Harry. it?' gasped Harry.'That,' said the Doctor, casting his eyes upward, 'is an OMDSS.''A what?''An Organic Matter Detector Surveillance System,' answered the Doctor patiently.'A sort of electronic sentry,' suggested Harry, suddenly catching sight of the shoe that had been blown off his numb foot; it lay curled up like a charred kipper. He shuddered.'Precisely,' said the Doctor. 'I must confess I was not expecting this-my repairs next door were a little too thorough.'At that moment Harry's mind cleared. He craned his head to look into the adjacent chamber where they had just left Sarah, but he could not see the couch construction.'Sarah... keep away from the door,' he called. There was no reply. 'Sarah... can you hear me... Sarah?' But the only sound from the other chamber was a faint humming. Harry glanced worriedly at the Doctor, but he was totally absorbed in jiggling the metal probe about in the air. Nothing happened.'Just as I thought,' he muttered, 'the system only reacts to organic matter in motion.''Well that hardly helps us,' said Harry. 'We're organic.''Not under here we're not,' grinned the Doctor mischievously; his voice booming in the confined s.p.a.ce. Harry watched blankly as the Doctor adjusted the sonic screwdriver and directed it at the joint between the console support-strut and the floor. The beam of ultra-high and ultra-low frequency waves soon unsealed the sonic welds...'... A little to the right... forward... steady now. One slip, Harry, and we'll be charcoal.'On hands and knees, sheltered by the heavy console which they carried like a giant umbrella, the Doctor and Harry inched their way across to the opposite side of the chamber. The silence from the other chamber was ominous: what if Sarah had blacked out again? Or worse, what if she suddenly came stumbling through the opening, unaware of the glittering electronic 'watchdog' in the domed ceiling?Gradually they progressed round the chamber, the console swaying precariously in their combined grip. Even when they paused for a moment's rest, they had to support the top-heavy 'parasol' by its single centre leg. Raw-kneed and breathless with effort, Harry decided that if this really was the Thirtieth Century, then it was an awfully long way to go just to play the fool.At last, the Doctor called a halt. 'There it is, but it's well beyond reach,' he said, craning upward. Harry was beginning to resent always being several moves behind.' What What is?' he asked, exasperated. is?' he asked, exasperated.'The Surveillance System Cutout, of course,' replied the Doctor, deftly fas.h.i.+oning his scarf into a la.s.so. He flung the loop up at the switches. There was the now familiar flash and crack, and the scarf fluttered down in two blazing pieces.'Bad luck. Good try though,' whispered Harry admiringly.'This is not a game of cricket,' snapped the Doctor.'Sorry,' whispered Harry, chastened. 'Mind you, if I had a ball I could jolly soon reach that switch.' The Doctor silently produced a worn cricket ball from one of his many pockets. Swallowing his amazement, Harry took it. He polished it on his lapel. His moment had come at last.The ball, with a good off-spin to it, had scarcely left his hand than it exploded into a shower of carbon fragments. 'Organic, of course,' he muttered, crest-fallen.The Doctor leaned forward, slipped off Harry's remaining shoe, and handed it to him. 'You don't need this any more, do you, Harry?' he said significantly. Harry was becoming more and more convinced that he was in the company of a madman, with no hope of rescuing Sarah or of ever getting back to reality. He opened his mouth to speak. 'No. Good,' interrupted the Doctor. 'Now listen carefully,' and he quickly outlined a simple plan...... A few moments later, at a prearranged signal from the Doctor, Harry flung his shoe high over the console under which they were still hiding. At the same instant, the Doctor leapt up at the switch; there was a rapid series of cracks, a smell of burning rubber, and then silence.After a long pause, the Doctor's head appeared slowly over the top of the control desk, followed, after another long pause, by Harry's. Cautiously they both stood up. 'That foxed you,' said the Doctor pulling a face at himself in the mirror surface of the OMDSS. He wandered over to retrieve the remains of his hat and his scarf, calling brightly, 'It's all right now, Sarah, you can come out.'Harry picked up his two melted shoes. 'The Brigadier will never believe a word of this,' he thought.Suddenly the Doctor's voice sounded urgently from the other chamber. 'Sarah... Sarah, where are you... ?'With a shoe in each hand, Harry padded over to the opening. The Doctor was standing alone beside the couch. All around, the chamber lights were beginning to flash on the instrument panels, and a mult.i.tude of quiet humming sounds enveloped them. The chamber seemed almost to be coming alive. The Doctor turned to Harry, his face filled with anxiety.'Sarah's not here,' he said.

2

Sarah Vanishes

Sarah tried to scream, but the only sound she heard was a distant murmuring which grew gradually louder and more distinct. It was repeating over and over again a hypnotic refrain. 'Welcome, Sister, welcome to Terra Nova... Welcome, Sister, welcome to Terra Nova...'Finding herself suddenly free of the invisible hands that had seemed to tear at her body, Sarah struggled feebly to sit up. At once the mysterious voice spoke firmly but gently. 'No, Sister, do not move. Do not attempt to leave the Tranquiller. Remain in contact with the Biocryonic vibrations.' Too weak to disobey, Sarah lay back and stared listlessly about her. She was too exhausted even to be afraid.All she could remember was a terrifying sense of suffocation, then a brief moment of relief with the Doctor and Harry bending over her, followed by the sounds of a violent struggle and Harry's cry of distress, and finally the sensation of being slowly dismembered. The couch on which she was lying seemed familiar, but she did not remember it being encased in the translucent, gla.s.s-like canopy which now confined her. As she stared at it, the surface of the curved s.h.i.+eld appeared to be in constant motion, just like the surface of a soap bubble. The harder she stared, so the patterns changed until they began to resemble huge, eerie shadows cast by something moving about on the other side of the gla.s.s.The soothing voice began again, scarcely audible, and for a moment Sarah imagined that she could hear the Doctor and Harry talking, and that it was their shadows playing over the canopy. She tried to call out to them, but still she could make no sound. Panic-stricken, she attempted to hammer on the gla.s.s to attract attention, but found she could not raise her arms from the couch. She was trapped.As before, the strange voice grew more distinct. It had a slightly mechanical tone, and echoed around her as if she were inside a vast cathedral. 'Sister, the princ.i.p.al phase of your Biocryogenic Processing is about to commence...'... Cryogenic... cryogenic... the word reverberated in Sarah's mind. She tried to remember; what was it? Something to do with freezing... yes, freezing... the theory of tissue preservation for long periods of time... from the Greek word for frost... She fought hard to keep hold of her train of thought, but the trance-like voice went inexorably on-'... If you have any message that you wish to be conveyed to the members of your Community, you may record it at the end of this announcement. Please preface your message with your Personal and your Community Identification Codes...'During the pause which followed, the s.p.a.ce around Sarah began to fill with a white vapour that chilled her body. As it grew thicker and thicker, she felt her skin tightening and growing numb. The more she gasped with the coldness, the more the freezing vapour pierced her lungs. As it filled the capsule in which she was trapped, it seemed to solidify into a gelatinous ma.s.s; Sarah lay like a fish imprisoned in ice. She felt her blood running literally cold, her veins and arteries contracted around the chilling fluid as it coursed through her. She felt her heartbeat slowing and labouring. Her body appeared to merge into the cold jelly surrounding her. Shattering ripples burst through her as the substance began to vibrate at an ever increasing frequency. Within a few minutes, Sarah had lost all sense of her physical reality. She was aware only of her failing consciousness, and of the sound of a new voice, the quiet, authoritative voice of an elderly woman.'Greetings, Sister Volunteer. On behalf of the World Executive, I, the High Minister, salute you who are about to make the supreme sacrifice. In a moment you will pa.s.s beyond life. Lest there should remain any doubt in your mind or fear in your heart, remember; you take with you not only your own, but all our pasts. We, who remain to perish here, will live again in you. You are our only future... our only hope...' The voice finally faded into silence, and with it, Sarah lost consciousness. After a while, the white substance thinned and finally vapourised and disappeared. When it cleared, the couch was empty.'Harry, I am an idiot.' The Doctor and Harry were bending anxiously over the couch on which, five minutes earlier, they had placed the semi-conscious Sarah. While they had been fighting their duel with the OMDSS in the other chamber, Sarah had apparently disappeared into thin air. Having satisfied himself that there were no more concealed panels through which she could have gone, the Doctor had removed a part of the upholstered section of the couch, and exposed a honeycomb of small cells, each about the size and shape of the reflector in a bicycle lamp. The cells were interconnected with fine coppery wiring embedded in a perspex frame.Harry was relieved that, just for once, he was not to blame for what had happened.'Fortunately it's only an internal relay,' said the Doctor, glancing up at one of the instrument displays set into the circular wall.'A what?' Harry looked from the couch to the instrument panel and back to the Doctor.'A short-range Matter Transmitter,' snapped the Doctor, striding back into the main chamber. Harry padded after him, still clutching the remains of his shoes.'What on earth does that that mean?' mean?''It means,' called the Doctor, stepping through another panel in the main chamber which opened automatically as he approached it, 'that Sarah can't be very far away. Do come along, Harry.'Slithering on the smooth metal flooring, Harry followed. As he entered the long tunnel-like pa.s.sage leading from the chamber, he was amazed to see that the Doctor had already reached the other end and was waiting impatiently for him. All at once, Harry's feet were swept from under him, and he found himself sitting on a moving track running down the centre of the tunnel. It carried him smoothly with a faint hum to the far end. Just as he scrambled to his feet, convinced that he was about to crash headlong into the bulkhead at the end of the tunnel, the track slowed and stopped. Harry had no time to express his astonishment; the Doctor was already disappearing through a panel he had opened in the bulkhead wall.They found themselves at a 'T' junction, where the tunnel joined at right angles with a s.p.a.cious gallery which curved away out of sight in both directions. The Doctor motioned Harry to stay where he was, then advanced cautiously into the middle of the intersection. All the surfaces of the gallery were made of the same highly reflective metal, and a harsh white light flooded everywhere from a concealed source. Along the outer wall of the gallery, at intervals of a few metres, were set large ovoid window panels of tinted gla.s.s, through which a brilliantly clear night sky blazed. It was clearer than Harry had ever seen it before.'I say,' he breathed. 'It's beautiful...' The words faded from his lips as he realised with a start that the billions of stars were moving slowly but unmistakably across the panels. He felt momentarily unsteady, as if a s.h.i.+p's deck were heaving beneath his feet. 'We're... we're moving moving ,' he said, his eyes wide. ,' he said, his eyes wide.'This is no time for star-gazing, Harry,' called the Doctor, setting off briskly to the left. When Harry finally tore his eyes away from the splendid panorama through the observation panels, the Doctor had already disappeared round the curve.'This must be the size of a running track,' panted Harry, as he hurried to catch up.'Naturally.' The Doctor grinned over his shoulder. 'We are now in the Cincture Structure.''The what?' Harry skidded in his stockinged feet.'The outer wheel,' called the Doctor. 'We appear to be inside an old Centrifugal Gravity Satellite, shaped rather like a doughnut with an eclair stuck through the middle and connected to it by several chocolate fingers.'Harry rather resented the Doctor's oversimplified explanation. 'I suppose we are now walking round inside a doughnut,' he remarked. But his sarcasm was lost on the Doctor.'Exactly,' he said. 'Of course it has been converted to a more sophisticated Electrostatic Field Gravity System, but it still revolves on its axis because there's simply nothing to stop it.'They were approaching another bulkhead. In the centre of its sealed panel there was a stencilled notice in green and maroon striped computer lettering: FIRST.

TECHNOP TECHNOP.

PERSONNEL ONLY PERSONNEL ONLY.

MEDTECH.

Just before they reached it, the Doctor darted suddenly through yet another automatic panel which opened silently in the inner side wall. He re-emerged immediately, much to Harry's relief. 'Well, Sarah's not in Just before they reached it, the Doctor darted suddenly through yet another automatic panel which opened silently in the inner side wall. He re-emerged immediately, much to Harry's relief. 'Well, Sarah's not in there there ,' he said, striding on towards the bulkhead barring their way. All at once a disembodied metallic voice barked at them: 'STERILE AREA'. ,' he said, striding on towards the bulkhead barring their way. All at once a disembodied metallic voice barked at them: 'STERILE AREA'.The Doctor paused in his tracks, and Harry leaped backwards as if he had trodden on a nail. All these hidden, automatic panels, electronic guards, hidden voices and moving floors made him feel as if he were trapped in a crazy maze at a funfair. However the Doctor seemed perfectly at home; he had rested his head against a small copper plate at the side of the bulkhead panel, and seemed to be meditating. After a few seconds the panel opened.'How did you do that?' exclaimed Harry.'Alpha waves and things,' the Doctor tapped his head. 'It's surprising what one can do with a little thought.' He ushered Harry through the opening.'Do you think we should?' asked Harry anxiously, remembering the curt, nightmarish announcement they had just heard.'Probably not,' grinned the Doctor mischievously, turning to close the panel behind them.At that moment, Harry caught a glimpse of something moving, just at the point where the gallery ahead curved out of sight. Something appeared to slither quickly across the floor; he had a momentary impression of a pulsating cl.u.s.ter of fluorescent bubbles, and of a faint crackling sound like toffee paper. He froze, speechless with fright, then grabbed the Doctor's sleeve.'Doctor, there's something there,' he whispered, pointing to the spot. The gallery stretched in a graceful arc, the bright stars gliding slowly across the observation panels.The Doctor looked doubtful. 'Trick of the light, Harry,' he shrugged.'No. I saw something moving,' Harry insisted. He crept forward a few metres. Suddenly he found his stockinged feet glued firmly to the floor. He gave a startled yelp, and looked slowly down. He had stepped on a faint, silvery trail of sticky substance-about thirty centimetres wide-which traversed the gallery from wall to wall.The Doctor knelt down and examined it closely through his magnifier. 'Fascinating,' he exclaimed at last. 'Just like the track left by a gastropod mollusc.'Harry stared incredulously at him. 'A snail? That That size?' He tore his feet free from the adhesive trail, leaving wisps of wool stuck fast to the floor. 'That's impossible, Doctor, and anyway, how could it have got through there?' Harry pointed to the fine-mesh grille set into the base of the inner wall, into which the trail disappeared. The Doctor grunted, tracing the silver track across the gallery and up the outer wall where it disappeared into a similar grille set between two of the window panels. size?' He tore his feet free from the adhesive trail, leaving wisps of wool stuck fast to the floor. 'That's impossible, Doctor, and anyway, how could it have got through there?' Harry pointed to the fine-mesh grille set into the base of the inner wall, into which the trail disappeared. The Doctor grunted, tracing the silver track across the gallery and up the outer wall where it disappeared into a similar grille set between two of the window panels.'A multi-nucleate organism perhaps?' he said.Harry's confidence began to return. Here was a subject about which he felt he knew something. 'But surely, Doctor, such an organism would not be capable of moving that fast...''Come on,' interrupted the Doctor, 'let's find Sarah first. Ah, this looks promising.' He strode towards a panel in the inner wall, a few metres along from the grating. As before, he knelt down and rested his forehead against the small plate set into the wall, frowning in profound concentration. Nothing happened; the panel remained shut. The Doctor stood up for a moment and mopped his brow, then he leaned forward and tried again, his face creased with effort. After a long pause, Harry jumped as the panel suddenly zipped open.. Even the Doctor looked a trifle surprised.'That must have been some idea some idea you had.' Harry grinned admiringly. you had.' Harry grinned admiringly.The Doctor shrugged. 'Oh, just a little notion for a new opening gambit in four-dimensional chess.'They stepped into a small cubicle resembling a lift. The panel closed behind them. They stood awkwardly nose to nose.'Well, she's obviously not in here...' began Harry wearily. A rapid series of extremely uncomfortable sensations pulsed through, his entire body, as if it were expanding to the size of an elephant and at once contracting to that of a flea, and then expanding again in quick succession.'Decontamination Chamber,' said the Doctor, quite unaffected. Harry felt as if he were being shaken to a jelly. 'Ultra high and low frequency oscillations,' the Doctor added casually, 'confuses the microbes-much more efficient than your old-fas.h.i.+oned antibiotics.'When the vibrations stopped, a second panel opened in the opposite wall, revealing a long straight tunnel bathed in soft greenish light. Another moving track carried them smoothly and swiftly along it.'This must lead to the central hub-structure,' said the Doctor eagerly. He continued to mutter to himself, gesturing from side to side at the fluorescent systems-displays which lit up one by one as they pa.s.sed. Harry struggled to keep upright as they glided along, his head whirling like a stone at the end of a long string. Without warning, the Doctor put out his hand towards the wall of the tunnel and the conveyor stopped moving. Harry all but fell flat on his face.The Doctor was staring at a large, complex display marked:

NEURO ADVANCE/r.e.t.a.r.d PULSORS.

The display consisted of a ma.s.s of regularly arranged, tiny neon lamps with illuminated connecting circuits. Some were pulsing weakly, others were inactive, and a few were flas.h.i.+ng strongly with a long slow rhythm. The Doctor's eyes widened: 'Harry, do you realise what all this is?' he said excitedly, removing his hand from the wall and setting the floor in motion again with a jerk. 'It's a complete Cryogenic Suspension System inside a converted Navigation Satellite.' But Harry scarcely heard; he was still clutching his aching head. The Doctor stopped the conveyor every few metres to examine the complex displays of coded circuitry which lit up as if by magic. He grew more and more animated. 'There's not the slightest doubt...' he cried... 'Fascinating...' Harry could only manage a groan of pain and confusion.When they reached the far end of the softly-lit tunnel, they were confronted with yet another panel. It bore a stencilled identification: ACCESS CHAMBER: FIRST.

TECHNOP TECHNOP.

PERSONNEL ONLY PERSONNEL ONLY.

MEDTECH.

The Doctor immediately took out his ear trumpet and placed the horn against the bulkhead frame. He listened intently for a while. 'We're in luck, Harry,' he said at last. 'The release-lag relay has operated-we can go in.' Harry was not at all sure that was a good thing, but he was in no condition to protest. The Doctor immediately took out his ear trumpet and placed the horn against the bulkhead frame. He listened intently for a while. 'We're in luck, Harry,' he said at last. 'The release-lag relay has operated-we can go in.' Harry was not at all sure that was a good thing, but he was in no condition to protest.They entered a 'fat' crescent-shaped chamber, much larger than those they had already seen. One entire half of the straighter wall was patterned with a multi-coloured chequer-board of tiny coded panels. On the other side of a large access panel in the centre of the wall, there was a series of semicircular observation ports emitting a faint, bluish light. Opposite, set into the inner wall of the crescent, was a couch, identical to the one in the Control Chamber from which Sarah had disappeared, except that this one was covered by a curved transparent s.h.i.+eld. Control consoles, elegant flat structures supported on single struts, were grouped all round the chamber. The subdued lighting gave the chamber a solemn, church-like atmosphere.'We're getting warm, Harry,' said the Doctor, striding over to examine first the couch, then the control consoles.Harry s.h.i.+vered; on the contrary, it seemed to him to be decidedly chillier in here. He tottered over and leaned against the chequered section of wall, still feeling the effects of the Decontamination Chamber. He stared across at the empty couch. 'Well, she certainly isn't here here ,' he said. ,' he said.Totally absorbed, the Doctor darted over to peer through the observation ports: ' Balaenoptera musculus Balaenoptera musculus ,' he exclaimed, his eyes brightening. ,' he exclaimed, his eyes brightening.'The Blue Whale,' Harry translated mechanically. Then he froze.Something had touched him on the shoulder from behind, and pushed him firmly away from the wall. He staggered forward, mute with terror, and collapsed in a heap. The Doctor glanced round. His enormous eyes opened wide. He leaped over the spreadeagled Harry with a cry. Harry dared not turn his head.'Just look at this this ,' the Doctor shouted delightedly. One of the little coded panels had sprung open, revealing itself to be a long narrow drawer, packed with what looked like miniature tape ca.s.settes. The Doctor quickly opened several others. 'Everything they considered worth preserving,' said the Doctor slowly. 'Architecture... Electronics... Agriculture... Music... the sum of human knowledge... here.' ,' the Doctor shouted delightedly. One of the little coded panels had sprung open, revealing itself to be a long narrow drawer, packed with what looked like miniature tape ca.s.settes. The Doctor quickly opened several others. 'Everything they considered worth preserving,' said the Doctor slowly. 'Architecture... Electronics... Agriculture... Music... the sum of human knowledge... here.''Who... I mean what for...?' muttered Harry, hauling himself to his feet.'Posterity?' shrugged the Doctor, wandering thoughtfully round the chamber. He suddenly stopped directly in front of Harry. 'What's missing, Harry?' he demanded. Harry was about to point out that for one thing Sarah was missing, when the Doctor seized him by the arm and marched him over to the observation ports. Harry screwed up his eyes and peered into one marked ANIMAL AND BOTANIC.Dim shapes hung in the cobalt gloom. For a moment Harry thought he glimpsed an elephant-or rather two elephants-and something that looked very like a palm tree. He backed away, rubbing his eyes. 'Please, Doctor,' he implored, 'the straightforward human mind isn't capable of...''Exactly,' the Doctor smiled. 'Man-The Human Species is quite conspicuously absent.' He sat down and gestured around him. 'If we a.s.sume that some catastrophe occurred on Earth and that, before the end, this Satellite was converted to function as a Cryogenic Preservation System...''A sort of Noah's Ark,' said Harry. The Doctor nodded...'... The missing element is Man himself. What has happened to the Human Species, Harry?' The Doctor fixed Harry with a penetrating stare and leaned back on the instrument panel, his elbow depressing a series of touch-b.u.t.tons...From behind the reflecting surfaces of the chamber walls came the subdued clatter of relays operating. With a sonorous humming, a section of the wall slid slowly aside. The s.p.a.ce beyond was filled with a faint, iridescent glow quite unlike anything Harry had ever seen. A wave of coldness enveloped them, as if a long imprisoned breath had been released from the phosph.o.r.escent depths with an almost audible sigh. It was as if the chamber beyond were whispering to itself.Awestruck, Harry followed the Doctor over to the opening, and stood at his shoulder. They were on the threshold of an immensely tall chamber composed of three semicircular bays arranged around a broad shaft rising through the centre. At its widest, the chamber was at least thirty metres across. Alcoved sections, each containing a covered pallet, were grouped side by side around the bays. The rows of recessed pallets were ranged in storeys stretching out of sight into pitch darkness above them, and each storey was surrounded by a narrow gallery connected to the circular central shaft by catwalks. The criss-cross of glinting metal tracery reminded Harry of the framework of an airs.h.i.+p stood on end.The phosph.o.r.escent light filling the chamber came from the translucent s.h.i.+elds protecting the pallets; each s.h.i.+eld was moulded to the contours of the human form. As their eyes became accustomed to the alien half-light, the Doctor and Harry discerned the outline of a human body suspended in each alcove. In the cold silence the effect was like that of entering a huge mausoleum.'What a pl...' began Harry. His voice rang and reverberated round the chamber. He went on in an abashed whisper, 'What a place for a Mortuary. Look, Doctor, there must be hundreds hundreds of them.' of them.'The Doctor advanced a few paces, craning upwards with an air of respect. 'This is no Mortuary, Harry. Quite the reverse. It's an old principle, but I've never seen it applied on this scale before.'As they began to walk slowly round, staring up at the seemingly endless array of bodies, Harry tried to conceal his unease beneath an air of professional detachment. 'When you've seen one corpse you've seen them all,' he shrugged.The Doctor wandered into the shadows of the next bay, peering through the s.h.i.+elds as if examining exhibits in a museum. 'These people are not dead, Harry, they're asleep.' He continued to speak, his voice rising and echoing majestically around the vast vaults. '... h.o.m.o Sapiens... what an indomitable species... it is only a few million years since it crawled up out of the sea and learned to walk... a puny defenceless biped... it has survived flood, plague, famine, war... and now here it is out among the stars... awaiting a new life. That's something for you to be proud of, Harry... Harry Harry ! What do you think you are doing?' ! What do you think you are doing?'The Doctor had made a complete circuit of the chamber, and come upon Harry examining the pupils of an occupant whose s.h.i.+eld he had managed to prise open. Harry pointed to the slim, fair-haired young man lying there inert with open, staring eyes. He was dressed in a simple white uniform with green identification flashes. There was no colour in his face, and his skin was waxen and cold.'There you are, Doctor,' said Harry triumphantly, 'not a flicker of life.''Suspended Animation,' retorted the Doctor, pus.h.i.+ng Harry aside and quickly closing the s.h.i.+eld.'But there are no metabolic functions at all,' protested Harry. 'Even in the deepest coma you will, find that the...''Total Cryogenic Suspension, Harry,' the Doctor interrupted impatiently. 'You can't survive ten thousand years in a coma.'Harry stared at the shrouded figure. 'Ten... thousand years?' he said. 'That's impossible...''Oh, ten thousand... fifty thousand-the time is immaterial. Provided, of course, that no one interferes with the systems,' the Doctor added pointedly. Harry glanced wildly about at the ranks of inert human bodies, his mind reeling. The Doctor spoke in an almost reverent hush. 'The future of the entire human race in one chamber.'Carefully he checked that the pallet Harry had opened was firmly closed and sealed again. 'Come along, Harry,' he said. 'We must find Sarah, and then take our leave. We're intruders here.'Anxious not to irritate the Doctor any further, Harry resisted the flood of questions rising in his mind and followed him towards the entrance. As he turned for a last look at. the awesome spectacle, Harry's heart missed a beat; his shoeless feet were suddenly held in a fierce grip that all but toppled him over.'Doctor, look look ,' he breathed. He was stuck fast to another silvery trail snaking across the floor of the chamber. It was identical to the one they had found earlier. It disappeared into a grille at the base of the central shaft. ,' he breathed. He was stuck fast to another silvery trail snaking across the floor of the chamber. It was identical to the one they had found earlier. It disappeared into a grille at the base of the central shaft.The Doctor dropped to his knees and began tracing the sticky trail as it wound away into the shadows.'Perhaps it's some kind of mould,' suggested Harry.'But you said you saw something moving before,' the Doctor reminded him. Harry s.h.i.+vered and looked uneasily around. He remembered the Doctor's reference to giant snails.Something caught his eye in one of the pallets in the opposite bay. It looked different from the others. The Doctor was busy trying to sc.r.a.pe off a sliver of the tacky substance with the probe. On tip-toe, his socks still sticking slightly to the floor, Harry cautiously approached the pallet. As he peered into it, he thought he detected a swirling, vaporous movement. Glancing round to make sure the Doctor was still occupied, Harry eased open the magnetic s.h.i.+eld...There, her skin like chalk and her body cold and rigid, lay Sarah Jane Smith. For a moment Harry was speechless, riveted by Sarah's fixed, expressionless gaze. Then he gasped 'Sarah...'The Doctor was at his side in an instant, ready to reprove him for his meddlesome ways. When he saw Sarah his huge eyes nearly popped out of his head. Very quietly he said, 'There's nothing we can do for her, Harry.' Instinctively Harry moved forward to lift Sarah out of the pallet. The Doctor firmly gripped him by the arm. 'We're too late,' he whispered. 'She's become part of the process. We'll only harm her if we interfere now.'Harry stared at him in horror. 'There must be something I can do,' he cried.Shaking his head firmly, the Doctor started to close the magnetic shroud. 'Sarah will remain like that for a thousand years at least.''Not if I can help it,' said Harry defiantly. Earlier he had noticed the outlines of coded inspection panels set into the central shaft. He gestured hope-fully towards them. 'Couldn't we break into the works?' he pleaded. 'Reverse the process or something?' But again the Doctor shook his head resolutely.On a sudden impulse, Harry darted across to the shaft and began clawing frantically at the smooth, sealed edges of the panels. Before the Doctor could restrain him, he had sprung open a hatch the size of a door. He found himself staring into a dark cubicle, and for a split second he caught a glimpse of an enormous locust-like figure with gigantic eyes, looming over him like an insect Buddha. Then, as he sprang backwards with a scream of terror, something toppled slowly past him with a sickening crunching sound. There was a clatter of brittle tentacles and antennae which fractured and scattered a gelatinous cobweb substance all over him.

3

Sabotage!

Harry stood with his back pressed against the curved wall of the shaft. He was trembling, and his face was beaded with sweat. He stared at the enormous 'insect' which lay crumbling at his feet. The surface of its segmented body was a glossy indigo colour; here and there were patches of twisted and blackened tissue, like scorched plastic. The six tentacular legs bristled with razor-sharp 'hairs'. The creature's octopus head contained a huge globular eye on each side, and each eye was composed of thousands of cells in which Harry saw himself reflected over and over again. The creature was fully three metres long from the top of its domed head to the tip of the fearsome pincer in which its tail terminated.At last Harry managed to speak. 'At least it's dead,' he gasped.The Doctor calmly picked up a shattered length of tentacle which powdered and crumbled in his fingers. 'Practically mummified,' he nodded.'Just look at the size of its brain pan,' said Harry, his fear gradually giving way to fascination.'Clearly a creature of considerable intelligence,' murmured the Doctor, taking out his magnifying gla.s.s and probe. He knelt down beside the ma.s.sive corpse.'But what is is it?' Harry asked, amazed at the Doctor's apparently fearless curiosity. The Doctor always liked to have a ready answer for his insatiably inquisitive human companions, but this was one occasion when he found himself rather at a loss. He did not answer, but became totally absorbed in an anatomical investigation. it?' Harry asked, amazed at the Doctor's apparently fearless curiosity. The Doctor always liked to have a ready answer for his insatiably inquisitive human companions, but this was one occasion when he found himself rather at a loss. He did not answer, but became totally absorbed in an anatomical investigation.Harry remained with his back firmly against the shaft, afraid to move. He looked across at Sarah. She seemed to stare straight back at him, her face an impa.s.sive mask. Harry imagined the open eyes of all the other humans 'sleeping' in the vast chamber, staring sightlessly at their own reflections in the polished surfaces, for perhaps thousands of years the Doctor had said, their bodies without heartbeat or consciousness, yet alive.Suddenly he felt a p.r.i.c.kling sensation at the back of his neck. In one of the pallets the phosph.o.r.escent glow seemed to have intensified. It grew rapidly brighter until he could hardly bear to look at it, and the silhouette of the occupant appeared to undulate with the same rhythm as an eerie wobbling hum that filled the chamber and made Harry cover his ears. The glare and the vibrations overwhelmed him for a moment. When he came to, he saw the Doctor standing motionless in front of the pallet which was now quiet again. The s.h.i.+eld was open. Harry moved cautiously round the central shaft to avoid the huge crumbling corpse, and padded across the chamber to join the Doctor.The pallet was occupied by a dark-haired woman in her thirties, wearing the same simple white uniform with green flashes as the young man Harry had examined earlier. But the young woman's skin was glowing with healthy colour, and Harry noticed that her pupils were dilating and contracting. She lay with her arms at their sides, palms outward. In her wrist, Harry's practised eye caught the beat of a regular pulse.Suddenly, her slim body arched in a spasm of pain; then it relaxed with a gasping intake of breath. She lay panting for a few moments, her head rolling from side to side. Then her eyes focussed on the Doctor. A shadow of incomprehension pa.s.sed across her face. Slowly she brought her hands together and stared at them. Then she looked up again at the Doctor, her fingers making urgent grasping movements.'Please do not be alarmed,' the Doctor said gently. 'We are friends.''She wants us to help her up,' said Harry, hurrying forward.'No, Harry. I think this is what she needs.' The Doctor leaned across and took a small transparent container from a holder fitted to the inside of the pallet cover. Visible inside the container were several coloured spheres, like billiard b.a.l.l.s, and a gleaming instrument resembling a spray gun.'I shouldn't have opened the s.h.i.+eld,' muttered the Doctor, watching intently as the woman eagerly took out the spray gun, and carefully fitted one of the small spherical objects into the base of the handle. She then pressed the star-shaped nozzle against her forehead and operated a b.u.t.ton. There was a brief high-pitched whirr. The woman's body convulsed and then went limp. After a few moments, she rose gracefully from the pallet and stood motionless, fixing the Doctor and Harry with a piercing stare. She was fully two metres tall, and even the Doctor seemed a little disconcerted by her detached, authoritative air. She betrayed no emotion at her awakening.'Explain your presence here,' she suddenly ordered in a toneless, clinical voice. She seemed neither surprised nor afraid.'Well, there's very little to explain,' began the Doctor amiably. 'We are travellers in s.p.a.ce and time like yourself.'The woman walked slowly round them. 'That is not adequate,' she retorted.Harry felt extremely uncomfortable under her cold, relentless stare. 'My name's Sullivan... Surgeon Lieutenant Harry Sullivan... and this... this is the Doctor,' he mumbled.The woman's eyes widened. 'You claim to be Medtechs?' The note of incredulity in her voice suddenly made her seem a little more human.'Oh, my Doctorate is purely honorary,' said the Doctor with a conciliatory smile, 'and Harry here is...'The woman raised her hand imperiously for silence. 'My name is Vira. I am First Medtech,' she announced.'How very fortunate,' said the Doctor. 'We have a dear young friend over there who needs your help desperately.' He pointed across the chamber to where Sarah lay.For a moment, Vira stared at the Doctor, evidently on her guard. Then she walked gracefully across to Sarah's pallet. She looked at Sarah without emotion. 'The female is an intruder, like yourselves,' she said icily. Vira turned abruptly away, as if losing all interest in them. 'She was not among the Chosen,' she said, looking round at the inert and shadowy forms surrounding them. She appeared to be listening, waiting-her eyes alert and s.h.i.+ning.'Well, she's among the Chosen now now , isn't she?' blurted out Harry. Vira turned a withering, blank stare upon him. Harry retreated a step and bit his lip, regretting his sarcasm. , isn't she?' blurted out Harry. Vira turned a withering, blank stare upon him. Harry retreated a step and bit his lip, regretting his sarcasm.The Doctor intervened gently. 'Is there any method of reversing the Cryogenic function at this stage?''It would be dangerous,' Vira replied distantly. 'Is the female of value?'This was too much for Harry. 'What kind of question is that?' he exploded, wincing as the Doctor stood firmly on his stockinged toes.'She is of great value to us,' the Doctor said quietly.Vira hesitated a moment, then pa.s.sed her hand over a section of the pallet frame, activating a small fluorescent systems display. 'Neural activity is rapidly receding,' she declared. 'I will discharge a monod block.' Vira took out the instruments from the pallet kit, and repeated the procedure she had performed upon herself earlier. She pressed the probe against Sarah's temple and triggered the charge. 'The female will revive soon, or die,' she said flatly, replacing the equipment in the holder. 'At this stage, the action of anti-protonic is not predictable.'Vira turned. On the far side of the chamber, the pallet next to her own was beginning to glow and to emit the same pulsing hum which had heralded her own awakening. There was a sudden yielding in her face. 'Commander,' she whispered, crossing swiftly into the vibrating glare. 'This is our Prime Unit-Noah.'Harry s.h.i.+elded his eyes, and turned to the Doctor.'As in Noah's Ark, eh?' he said.'Your colony speech has no meaning,' said Vira. 'We called him Noah as an amus.e.m.e.nt.''A joke,' Harry corrected her.Vira nodded gravely, her eyes fixed on the incandescent s.h.i.+eld of the pallet. 'There was not much joke in the last days,' she added quietly.The Doctor moved to her side. Like Vira, he seemed unaffected by the fierce light. 'What happened during those last days on Earth?' he asked gently.Without taking her eyes from the pallet, Vira replied in amazement, 'Has your colony no records? Where are you from?''Well, Harry's from Earth, and I...' began the Doctor.'That is not possible,' said Vira. 'The solar flares destroyed all life on the Earth.'The Doctor nodded. 'Of course, solar flares.'Vira opened the s.h.i.+eld, now that the radiation had subsided, and checked the pallet systems-display. 'We calculated that it would be ten thousand years before the biosphere became viable again,' she said.'At the very least,' agreed the Doctor. 'But I think you have overslept by several thousand years. When we arrived, we found a ma.s.sive systems failure. Your alarm clock failed to work.'Vira shook her head. 'The systems have a negative fault capacity,' she replied sharply.The Doctor took her firmly by the arm. 'Possibly,' he said. 'But at some time you have had other visitors besides ourselves.' He led Vira across the chamber into the bay beyond the central shaft, where the monstrous corpse of the locust-like creature lay in the shadows. Vira showed no fear, only surprise. The Doctor watched her reaction closely. 'A truant from your Animal and Botanic Section perhaps?' he suggested.'What is it?' Vira demanded suspiciously.'I don't know yet,' said the Doctor, peering into one of the creature's great yellow eyes. 'But it had some purpose in coming here...''What purpose?' said Vira, suddenly tense, her eyes roaming over the ranks of softly glowing pallets stretched all around and above them.Before the Doctor could reply, she turned with a gasp and sped across the chamber to Noah's pallet. The quiet, rhythmic pulse of light and sound had become irregular and staccato. 'There is a fault in the Bionosphere,' she cried in disbelief. She wrung her hands in desperation. Harry was amazed at her sudden helplessness.The Doctor swiftly ran his eye over the systems-display. 'There is an optimum overload in the central power supply,' he said. 'We must prevent a cascade tripout.'Vira gestured to the other pallets in the bay. 'But we have no Technops, Doctor,' she cried. 'The Programme was planned so that First Technops and First Medtechs would undergo simultaneous Revivification.' Again she stared suspiciously at them. 'There has been interference,' she added threateningly.The Doctor strode towards the Access Chamber. 'I think I can help you,' he said. 'Harry, you keep an eye on Sarah while I'm gone.' Before Vira could protest he ran out of the chamber.Meanwhile, deep in the Infrastructure of the Satellite, far down inside the central hub of the great wheel where, little by little over the centuries, energy from the pale and distant Sun had been focussed and stored in huge reservoirs, a voracious alien life-form had established its lair. The surfaces of many of the spherical reservoirs were covered in a glistening, bubbling substance which pulsated in the dull amber glow of the chamber. Here and there, along the conduits connecting one reservoir to another, slid cl.u.s.ters of viscous matter which stretched out and then gathered again into globules with a dry crackling sound.As it spread slowly over the surface. of the reservoirs, the substance became denser, more opaque and brittle. Occasionally the crackling globules formed weird, nightmare shapes which swelled and then burst into long, twisting fronds, hissing and spitting like snakes. Colossal quant.i.ties of the precious energy were absorbed by the parasite bubbles, so that the vital systems of the Satellite were increasingly starved of essential power...The Doctor swiftly made his way from the Cryogenic-Section back to the Control Centre where the TARDIS had materialised. As he hurried along the softly-lit tunnels, he paused briefly to examine fresh trails of the tacky, silver substance clinging to the floors, walls and even ceilings. He was rapidly becoming convinced that something was, at that very moment, engaged in a destructive attack on the Satellite from within. He crept with the ste