Doctor Who_ Halflife - Mark Michalowski [55]
TRANSFERRED MYSELF TO YOU. IT WILL TAKE A WHILE – A FEW HOURS, PERHAPS A DAY – BUT ONCE MY CONTROL OVER YOUR BODY IS COMPLETE, YOUR
PERSONA WILL CEASE TO BE NECESSARY AND IT WILL BE DISPOSED OF.
Oh God, please, no. She realised that she was begging, but her pride was the last thing on her mind. Why? Why d’you have to do it? Can’t we carry on like this, coexist? I can help you, help you find your toy or whatever it is you’re looking for. I can help. Trix was panicking. But just at the moment, it didn’t seem like there was any other option.
NO, TRIX said Reo calmly, and Trix got the impression that he (or she or it, she supposed) was busy behind the scenes of her body, doing other stuff as he talked to her. He sounded vaguely distracted. THAT WOULD NOT WORK. YOU
CANNOT HELP ME – YOU WOULD ONLY ATTEMPT TO IMPEDE ME; YOU WOULD
CONSTANTLY BE TRYING TO FIND WAYS TO REASSERT CONTROL. AND ALTHOUGH
THAT WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE, IT WOULD BECOME TIRING FOR ME.
Can’t you find another host, another carrier? An animal or something – what about one of those night beasts? They’re strong, powerful. Imagine having a body like that.
THAT WOULD BE NEITHER POSSIBLE NOR DESIRABLE. WE HAVE USED LOWER
ANIMALS TEMPORARILY, BUT THEY ARE NOT IDEAL. THEY LACK THE REFINED
CONTROL OF THEIR OWN MUSCULATURE, OR THEIR BRAINS ARE INCONVENIENTLY STRUCTURED. THERE ARE MANY REASONS WHY WE PREFER TO USE
SENTIENT SPECIES. THIS CARRIER WILL SERVE PERFECTLY – BETTER THAN THE
BOY, SINCE YOU HAVE ACCESS TO INFORMATION ABOUT THE SOLDIERS THAT HE
DID NOT. ONCE I HAVE FULLY SUBVERTED YOUR BODY AND COMPLETED THE
CONVERSION PROCESS, IT WILL BE A BETTER CARRIER FOR ME THAN YOU CAN
EVER IMAGINE, TRIX.
Conversion? The word had a horrible ring to it, a finality that made her want to slam her fists against something hard.
I WILL RECONSTRUCT YOUR BODY FROM THE INSIDE OUT, USING YOUR OWN
DNA, PHYSIOLOGY AND PHYSIOGNOMY AS A TEMPLATE. BUT IT WILL BE BETTER: I WILL IMPROVE YOUR MUSCULATURE, YOUR REFLEXES. I WILL REFINE
YOUR DNA AND MANY ASPECTS OF YOUR CELLULAR AND BODILY METABOLISM.
EXTERNALLY, YOU WILL LOOK LITTLE DIFFERENT – APART FROM WHEN I CHOOSE.
I AM ALREADY REFILTERING AND REFINING YOUR SENSORY PATHWAYS, AS YOU
HAVE NOTICED. WHEN THE CONVERSION IS COMPLETE, YOUR BODY WILL BE A PERFECT CARRIER FOR ME, CAPABLE OF ALMOST ANY HUMANOID APPEARANCE I CHOOSE.
102
The chameleon thing? Reo’s changing appearance? That’s how he did it?
THAT IS CORRECT. I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO CREATE EXTRA MASS, BUT I WILL BE
ABLE TO RAPIDLY REDISTRIBUTE THE MASS YOU POSSESS TO MAKE YOU TALLER
OR SHORTER, TO APPEAR FATTER OR THINNER. CHROMATOPHORES IN YOUR
SKIN AND HAIR WILL ENABLE ME TO MAKE RAPID CHANGES IN YOUR APPEARANCE: HUMAN VOCAL COMMUNICATION IS LIMITED FOR US. THE CHANGES WILL
ALLOW ME TO COMMUNICATE WITH OTHER MAKERS FASTER THROUGH RAPID
PIGMENTATION SHIFTS AND PATTERNING. YOU WILL BE BETTER, TRIX.
This last was delivered perfectly flatly, as if Reo could not possibly conceive that his definition of ‘better’ was not one that she shared.
But I won’t be me, will I? she said again. I won’t be me.
THAT IS CORRECT the voice in her head said calmly. YOU WILL BE ME.
Please, implored Trix, feeling the muscles of her arms and legs rippling and twitching in a creepy way – as though they were being stimulated externally. It reminded her of adverts for those electrical pads that you strapped to yourself for a ‘fitter, flatter stomach’ and the way they made your muscles twitch and spasm. Please don’t do this – I’ll help you, honestly. Anything. Please. . .
WHILE I ADJUST TO YOUR METABOLISM AND MAP OUT YOUR CRITICAL PATHWAYS, IT WOULD BE BETTER IF YOU FORGOT THAT I WAS HERE, TRIX. THOSE
MEN THAT ATTACKED US EARLIER – THEY HINTED THAT YOUR FRIEND FITZ HAD
BEEN SEEN NEAR OR IN THE PALACE. THE WOMAN WITH HIM WAS PRINCESS
SENSIMI. SHE HAS AN INTEREST IN THE NIGHT BEASTS, THE SOLDIERS