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The Brigadier had had enough of Major Barker. He decided the only way to deal with the man was to be rude in return. 'I demand,' he said, 'that you say what you have to say, and then clear out!'

Major Barker stood there, hardly believing what the Brigadier had just said. For a moment the Brigadier thought the man was going to break into tears. 'All right,' he said at last, 'I shall tell you. This man you call the Doctor is some kind of spy!'

For a moment nobody said anything, not because they were angry but because they were trying to stop themselves from laughing.

The Brigadier was the first to be able to speak. 'Have you proof of that?' he asked, in a matter of fact way.

'As soon as your Doctor arrived here,' said Barker, 'I ran a security check on him. He isn't on the files anywhere. Neither the Home Office, the Ministry of Defence, nor even the police have ever heard of him.'

'Because,' said the Brigadier, 'he belongs to UNIT. He's on my files.'

Major Barker's moment of glory was over. He had made himself a fool. 'I see,' he said, 'but as security officer of this government establishment, I think I have a right to see this man's credentials.'

'You are absolutely right,' said the Doctor, 'and if I had any I would show them to you. But since we are together again, I wonder if you'd tell me about the "planned, deliberate programme of sabotage" that you mentioned before?'

'It's as plain as a pikestaff there's sabotage going on,' said Barker, taking the Doctor's bait without realising it. 'Anyone can see that.'

'I may agree with you,' the Doctor said. 'But sabotage by whom?'

'Communists, of course.' Major Barker gave his answer as though it should have been obvious to everyone.

'Why should communists cause these power losses?' said the Doctor.

They hate England, that's why.' Barker started to warm to his subject. 'They train people to come here to destroy us.'

'I see,' said the Doctor. 'Are these Chinese communists or Russian communists?'

'There's no difference between them,' said Barker. 'And if it isn't them, it's the fascists. Or the Americans.'

'The Americans?' said Liz, almost but not quite laughing.

Major Barker turned to Liz. 'Miss Shaw, England was once the heart of an empire, the greatest empire the world has ever known.

But the bankers and the trade-unionists have destroyed that great heritage. Now we are alone, backs to the wall, just as we were in 1940, only there is no Winston Churchill to lead us. The whole world is snapping at us like a pack of hungry wolves. But the day will come, Miss Shaw, when England will rise again...'

As Barker got more and more excited with his theme, the lights started to flicker. The Brigadier sprang out of his swivel-chair.

'Power loss,' he shouted, and made for the door. 'Follow me!'

The Doctor and Liz sped down passageways following the Brigadier. Major Barker puffed along behind them. By the time they reached the cyclotron room the main lights were already out and the technicians were working by dim emergency lighting from batteries.

The Brigadier could only just see Dr. Quinn and Miss Dawson working at their control consoles on the far side of the room. He hurried over to Quinn, the Doctor following.

'What's happening?' he asked Quinn.

Dr. Quinn calmly adjusted some controls, but the Brigadier could detect strain in Quinn's face. 'Power loss, that's all.'

'That's all!' said the Brigadier, amazed by Quinn's apparent lack of concern.

Miss Dawson answered for Dr. Quinn. 'We're now so used to it, Brigadier.'

'What exactly are you doing?' asked the Doctor.

'Reducing the output of the reactor,' said Quinn, without taking his eyes from the meters in front of him. 'Otherwise the whole place may turn into an atomic bomb, or perhaps you already know that.'

The Brigadier felt someone tugging at his arm. He turned, and saw Liz. 'Brigadier,' she said very quietly, 'come over here. You, too, Doctor.' Without speaking, the Brigadier followed Liz to where a young technician was