Cold Fusion - Lance Parkin [27]
Adric bit into it. The skin was surprisingly soft, and juice squirted from it. It was a little bitter for Adric’s taste, but it was refreshing enough.
‘It grows in a low-temperature, high radiation environment that would simultaneously freeze and fry any Terran plant. It thrives here. Unlike Mars, this planet has no native life of its own, except for a small barnacle-like species found in some of the deeper caves.’
‘Some of my best friends are small, barnacle-like creatures,’ the Doctor objected.
Whitfield ignored him. ‘The Scientifica introduced some plant species to this world centuries ago as part of routine terraforming, but they faced problems. What little soil there is on this world has poor drainage and aeration.
It’s very acidic. Organic decay and bacteriological action are also slow. Plants here survived by becoming less colourful, harder.’
‘Like the Scientifica?’ the Doctor asked.
‘Exactly,’ the Chief Scientist answered. ‘Offworlders sometimes find us impersonal, unemotional. We are merely shaped by our environment, as are they. We have become...’ She searched for the word.
‘Cold?’ the Doctor suggested.
‘The very same. But we’ve adapted to our climate.
Evolved to fit this particular niche in the universal environment.’
‘Like pets growing to look like their owners?’
‘No,’ the Chief Scientist answered, apparently unaware that the Doctor was making a joke. The Provost-General laughed, though. He clearly wasn’t a native.
The Doctor leant over to Adric. ‘That seems to have broken the ice,’ he observed. Adric rolled his eyes and groaned. The Doctor was strolling over to the edge of the terrace. Adric joined him. The sky was a mass of black and grey clouds, bold shapes that twisted and reformed as they watched. This high, it was easy to see where the Strip had got its name. The city was a narrow line, a belt of orange and white lights disappearing to a vanishing point on the horizon. Beyond the city, there were hills and mountains, all coated with snow and ice. At night, the snow appeared a pale blue. There was the odd light twinkling out there on the snowfields – skitrains? isolated settlements? It was impossible to say.
‘The city is beautiful,’ the Doctor concluded. For just that moment, the Doctor’s tone of voice reminded Adric of the Doctor he had known first, His words carried the weight of the ages.
Whitfield stood at his shoulder. ‘It is far from perfect, especially now, but we continue to seek harmony.’
‘I left my own people to search for the ideal society, a place of ordered peace and civilized values. Instead I found blasted wastelands, tyranny and intolerance. I came to realize that I would never find perfection, but that fact should never stop me from looking.’ The Doctor paused for a moment, then turned back. ‘Forgive me, Provost-General. This hardly solving your problem. I volunteer my services: think of me as a scientific advisor, it’s a role I’ve played in the past.’
The Chief Scientist and Provost-General shared a look that Adric would have given anything to decipher:
‘Now, first question: what are so many Adjudicators doing on this planet? You told me before about the breakdown in social order,’ Adric noticed that the Chief Scientist frowned at that, ‘but that’s hardly a reason to justify the expense to deploy three entire legions.’
‘You sound like the Imperial Defence Select Committee
‘ Whitfield observed drily.
‘At the station you said that the terrorists attack the peacekeeping force. To what end, though, mmm? What do the terrorists want?’
‘They object to the presence of the Adjudicators. They have targeted Adjudicator Lodges, transporters, even attacked bars and clubs frequented by the peacekeepers.’
‘I see,’ the Doctor said thoughtfully.
‘We’re beginning to win the war, now. The terrorists are all but beaten – they have only a few snowships remaining.
We are on the verge of capturing Adam, their leader. The attack on the train might be in revenge for recent defeats.’
‘What was the train carrying?’ the Doctor asked.
‘That information is classified,’ the