Doctor Who_ Curse of Peladon - Brian Hayles [18]
‘This is outrageous,’ wailed Alpha Centauri, tentacles thrashing about wildly. ‘Terrible! We could have been killed.’
The hexapod’s colour was palpitating green and blue.
Arcturus was, as expected, unemotional. He trundled close to the fallen statue.
‘The gravitational forces involved were in excess of humanoid resistance,’ he computed flatly. ‘Serious damage would have resulted on impact.’
‘Your objective reaction is admirable,’ observed the Doctor drily, ‘but you might’ve been killed too, Arcturus.’
‘My sensor readings are not concerned with emotional response,’ commented the mechanical voice, ‘—only deduction.’
‘Even deductive processes can be annihilated,’ said Izlyr, with icy reasoning.
‘Alright, Jo?’ asked the Doctor, seeing his young companions drawn face grow even paler.
‘Just a bit wobbly at the knees, that’s all,’ replied Jo bravely.
She suddenly found herself pushed aside by Hepesh, who stood staring down at the shattered stone image.
‘Aggedor has been merciful.’ he spoke bleakly, silently registering the fact that, thanks to this new Earthling delegate, not one of the aliens had been harmed. He didn’t allow his disappointment to show, however, as he raised his eyes to the Doctor’s. ‘We must give thanks that you have all been spared...’
‘First Torbis dies,’ observed Izlyr coldly. ‘Now this.’
‘Yes,’ agreed the Doctor, ‘but why didn’t the Aggedor manifestation actually appear? Strange, that.’
‘An investigation into the cause is necessary,’ rasped Arcturus. ‘A full report must be prepared!’
‘The cause is simple, exclaimed Hepesh. ‘This is yet another sign of Aggedor’s anger! His ghost walks among us!’
‘A pretty substantial ghost, then,’ remarked the Doctor, looking up at the balcony above them, ‘to be able to shift a solid granite statue.’
‘The spirit of Aggedor can move mountains!’ claimed the High Priest.
His face showed deep irritation at the alien’s lack of piety and respect.
Jo had moved to a position where she could work out the trajectory of the statue from the balcony. ‘It seems more like he was trying to remove us!’
Alpha Centauri had calmed down considerably, but was still distraught, its skin colour fluctuating wildly from mauve to pale green. ‘But why should he seek to attack us?’ the hexapod squealed. ‘Our mission is peaceful. We come to raise the people of Peladon from barbarism!’
‘Maybe they don’t want to be raised,’ muttered Jo, still staring at the layout of the balcony. The Doctor caught her eye, and nodded, indicating with a slight movement of his head where he thought access to the balcony could be found: close by the throne room doorway. As the others continued to query Hepesh’s gloomy predictions of doom, Jo sidled quietly towards the doorway, unobserved.
‘Hepesh,’ demanded Izlyr impatiently, ‘you say this manifestation is foretold in your ancient writings. What form is it supposed to take? Tell us that!’
‘It is written, declaimed the High Priest dramatically, ‘that his coming shall be full of terror and darkness. His cry of warning shall be heard in the night, and death shall ride in the land of Peladon!’
Apart from Alpha Centauri, who trembled and turned a peculiar shade of green, the others were unimpressed, even sceptical.
‘But there was no cry of warning’, pointed out the Doctor,
‘and none of us saw him. You can’t seriously count the statue as a spiritual appearance, can you?’
Hepesh glared at the Doctor through angry, narrowed eyes, and snarled his reply. ‘To the unbeliever, all signs are as dust upon the wind!’
‘The point is,’ said the Doctor, ‘what does King Peladon believe?’
‘If this religious administrator is the mouthpiece for the King’s opinions’, hissed Izlyr, ‘then our purpose here is wasted.’
Arcturus was quick to recognise the logic of this observation.
‘If that is so, the conference must be cancelled’, the mechanical voice pronounced emphatically.
Hepesh tried not to show his feeling of triumph. His face remained impassive as he spoke with