Doctor Who_ Blue Box - Kate Orman [36]
‘If you prefer, imagine the device we found to be the product of a secret weapons laboratory, years ahead of other research.’
‘So it is a weapon,’ I said The damn thing was in the trunk of the car. I slid off the bonnet.
‘It could be used as one,’ said the Doctor. ‘By someone who penetrated its secrets.’
‘But if it’s so far advanced, wouldn’t it be like a caveman trying to figure out how, I dunno, an electric toothbrush works?’
‘A persistent enough caveman will eventually find the on-switch,’ said the Doctor.
‘OK,’ I said. ‘I can go along with that. So what’s your angle?’ He raised his eyebrows. ‘You’re working for the
“Eridani”, right?’
‘Not in the sense you mean. They asked for my help, and I was more than happy to help clean up the mess they’d got themselves into.’
And the mess they’ve got our vulnerable little world into.’
‘Indeed.’
‘So, altruism.’
‘If you like. Or think of it as involvement. My people –
most people simply sit back and watch the universe go by. I prefer to roll up my sleeves and plunge my hands in. Get them wet, or dirty. Whatever’s required.’
I was grinning. ‘I bet in school you were the kid who always ate the Playdough.’
‘Something like that,’ he said.
‘I’ve got my hands plenty dirty,’ I said, seriously ‘I’ve done all the hard living I plan to. I’ve earned some time to sit back.’
‘How old are you, Chick?’ asked the Doctor.
‘Thirty-three,’ I said. ‘Sometimes I feel about a thousand.’
‘Hmmm.’ He began the elaborate process of extracting a peanut butter cup from its wrapping. ‘You and I have both seen more of life than either Bob or Peri. Their enthusiasm and idealism hasn’t been worn down against the grindstone of time.’ I wasn’t so sure about Peri’s enthusiasm, but I held my tongue. ‘When you’re young, it’s hard to grasp the fact that other people can and will hurt you. It seems so unfair. We’re both old enough to know that someone like Swan doesn’t care about abstract ideas like fairness or privacy. When she wants to attack someone, nothing will stop her. If she gets hold of one of those devices, Mr Peters, I promise you that no-one’s personal affairs will ever be private again.’
‘Ah shoot – now what?’
‘I want you to give someone a little advice,’ I told Mondy.
I heard him sigh at the other end of the phone. ‘He doesn’t know who you are, and he doesn’t need to know. And I’m not going to ask you to do anything. I just want you to let him pick your brains for half an hour.’
‘What if Swan’s listening in?’
‘I know you can find a safe place to talk somewhere In the bowels of Ma Bell. Come on, Mondy. You owe me one!’
‘If Swan finds out I’m even talking to you,’ said Mondy,
‘I’m a dead man.’
‘Well, I’d better hand you over then,’ I said. I passed the phone to Bob.
Three
Our glorious return to the nation’s capital: two rooms in a hotel slightly less crappy than the last one. Oh well, appreciate the advantages over home: room service, no housework, and a soda machine down the hall. If I’d had a spare shirt I’ve have sent it down to be laundered.
This time Peri butted in while Bob was talking to the receptionist, and insisted on having her own room. I think it just hadn’t occurred to him or the Doctor that she might like a little privacy. After this morning’s bathroom gymnastics I was tempted to get a room of my own as well, but I wanted to be able to eavesdrop.
Bob rented another car and buzzed off to see about tapping Swan’s phones. I was torn between wanting to accompany him to see how it was done, and wanting to hang around the Doctor to see what he’d do next. In the end I decided to stick with him, if only to minimise the chances of being spotted by Swan.
Peri also insisted on having something to do. ‘I might not be a computer expert, but I’ve got a brain,’ she reminded the Doctor. ‘There must be some way I can help. Anything’s better than watching you guys play with that chunk of plastic.’
‘Yes indeed there is, young Peri,’ said the Doctor, brightening. We were sitting around in his room while he fiddled