Doctor Who_ Cave Monsters - Malcolm Hulke [57]
'Well, we can't just stand here doing nothing,' the Brigadier said, and Liz noted a touch of hysteria in his voice now. 'One of these bits of paper may save the entire human race!'
Liz looked again at the Doctor's scribble now. She tried very hard to remember which was the last one he had made. 'It might be this one,' she said, choosing the one she thought she had seen him write last.
'All right,' said the Brigadier. 'Then let's 'phone it through to London.'
'Just one moment,' said Dr. Meredith. 'What if Miss Shaw has made a mistake?'
'In that eventuality,' said the Brigadier, 'we shall all be dead fairly soon. Satisfied?' He took Liz's arm and marched her down the corridor back to the conference room and the telephone.
18
A Hot World
The Doctor came to in one of the prisoner cages. K'to and Morka looked through the bars at him. 'How many humans have died in the epidemic?' K'to asked.
'Only a few,' said the Doctor. 'The majority will survive.'
'Speak the truth,' said Morka, and his third eye glowed red for a fraction of a second. The Doctor felt sudden pain through his arms and legs while the third eye glowed. 'What you say is impossible!'
K'to was more reasonable. 'You have discovered a cure?'
'Yes,' said the Doctor. 'Soon all the humans will be immune to your virus. Your plan has failed, just as your leader wanted it to fail.'
'That old leader is dead,' said Morka. 'I am now the leader.'
Another reptile man came up to Morka. 'The plan is now in operation. A large battle rages in the caves.' Morka acknowledged the report, and the reptile man went away.
'It's useless having battles in the caves,' said the Doctor. 'You should be making peace, not war. Even if you defeat the soldiers now in the caves, they will send more and more against you. You are totally outnumbered.'
'The battle is part of our plan,' said Morka. 'It doesn't matter if we lose this battle in the caves. While you slept in your cage, our soldiers attacked yours. All soldiers will be withdrawn from your research centre and put into the caves to fight us.'
'While you go back into the research centre,' asked the Doctor,
'through that tunnel you made?'
'Of course.' Morka turned to K'to. 'Is the destructor ready?'
'We need only the power,' said K'to. 'The electricity created by the humans.'
'Then you are going to be unlucky,' the Doctor said, 'because the nuclear generator has been shut down, thanks to you.'
'You will reactivate it for us,' said Morka. 'Either that or die.'
'The alternative doesn't sound very attractive,' said the Doctor.
'What does this destructor do?'
'A destructor,' said Morka, 'is something with which you destruct something else.' The scales of his cheeks quivered, which the Doctor took for laughter.
'Don't imagine you can destroy the human race with some gadget,' said the Doctor. 'It's too great a task even for your science!'
'We shall not try again to destroy the humans,' said K'to.
'Instead we shall change the world as they know it.' He turned to Morka. 'We should leave now.'
Morka looked at the lock on the cage door; his third eye glowed, and the lock clicked open. 'Come out of your cage,' he said.
'If you displease us, you will die instantly.'
The Doctor came out from the cage. 'You keep harping on my imminent death,' he said. 'Can't we talk about. something else?'
'He jokes,' said K'to. 'The little furry animals were always chattering and joking amongst themselves. You see, they have not really changed.'
'Follow me,' said Morka, and walked towards a section of wall which had let into it a perfectly smooth-walled passage. At the opening to the passage, Morka stopped. 'You will go first.' He gave a signal, and a number of other reptile men came forward. 'We shall all follow you.'
The Doctor walked down the narrow passage. 'Is there an opening at the other end?' he asked.
'There will be,' said Morka, right behind the Doctor. 'Continue.'
The Doctor continued until the passageway came to an abrupt stop. He felt Morka come up close behind him. Morka was directing his third eye over