Doctor Who_ Island of Death - Barry Letts [58]
„I say... What about Alex, shut up down there all by himself? Shouldn‟t we let him out, and take him ashore with us? He deserves a bit of fun. And we did promise, after all.
Poor old blighter.‟
This was a step too far. For a moment, the Doctor‟s world view shattered into ten thousand shards of broken concepts.
But then it settled, as the pieces of glass in a kaleidoscope settle, to make a new picture. If you came down to it, the world didn‟t make sense. Any proposition, taken to its ultimate extent, could dissolve into contradiction. Why else did no philosopher ever reach an unarguable conclusion?
And what about Zen?
It was supposed to be a sign of a mature intelligence, to be able to hold as true two totally contradictory views. The main thing was to hang onto them both, and not let either take over. And if he wasn‟t mature after all these years...
Even though he could still see the evident danger, he found himself nodding in agreement as the Brigadier took up Sarah‟s suggestion with enthusiasm, and gave the order for the release of Brother Alex.
As the first launch came alongside the large flat rock that almost seemed to have been designed as a landing stage, and the Captain‟s party climbed out, Alex kept down low, letting himself be obscured by the burly figures of the half-dozen seamen as they hung back not quite sure of what to do.
He couldn‟t help feeling a vast sense of relief - in spite of his contempt for the methods Hilda Hutchens always chose to use. Everything that the Skang community could do had been done to ensure that the suspicions of the investigators were completely allayed. Even if the Smith girl had been thinking of betraying him, she‟d be quite disarmed by their reception.
He should have anticipated it. If he had still been part of the group, he‟d have taken it for granted that this was the way she‟d play it. His paranoid behaviour must have been a regression to the old pre-Skang Whitbread, quite understandable in the circumstances.
Hilda herself, a motherly figure in her long white robe, with Will Cabot in close attendance, stood with both arms outstretched as if she were greeting her long-lost children.
„Welcome!‟ she said. „Welcome to Skang Island!‟
Behind her, led by the teachers and organisers in their long robes, the white-clad crowd of smiling followers burst into spontaneous applause.
„Doctor! How good of you to come all this way to see us.
Won‟t you introduce me to your friends?‟
As Alex, still doing his best to stay hidden, watched the little party exchanging courtesies, he was swept once more with a wave of bitterness at the way he‟d been treated. It had nothing to do with his behaviour in London, of that he was sure. It was a political ploy by Hilda to get rid of a rival who looked at their project in a very different way.
Never mind. This very softness of heart, this craven use of the Skang secret to engender good will, had turned out on this occasion to be to his advantage - and if he played the game correctly, he could use it to get his position back, and then...
When he‟d fallen from grace and been dismissed from the government, the bitterest thing to face was the inevitable loss of his long-standing ambition to become prime minister - but now, with the help of his friends in the group, a much bigger prize could be his.
„Where‟s the beer, then?‟ Dusty Miller‟s voice rang out, followed by a cheer from his mates, now divested of their armoury and determined to live up to their reputation as jolly Jack Tars.
The second boat had now come alongside the first, and Hilda turned with a smile and nodded to the assembled Skang faithful.
Laughing and chattering, they swarmed forward towards the remaining occupants of the two boats as they piled ashore. Taking them by their hands, they led them towards the tables, laden with platefuls of luscious fruits and other delicacies, and the goblets of sparkling drink, which had been set out at the top of the beach.
Alex Whitbread allowed himself to be swept up with the rest.
Now was not