Doctor Who_ Island of Death - Barry Letts [84]
“reward” - a massive overdose of the hallucinogen you use to give them their earthly paradise. No wonder they die in ecstasy. And all to supply food - and a psychic orgasm? - for a tribe of interplanetary leeches. Or am I wrong?‟
For a moment he thought he‟d succeeded. A flash of something very like anger passed across her face. But it was instantly replaced by her usual expression of calm and equanimity.
„A most unpleasant image, Doctor. May I offer you a more wholesome one? A swarm of bees. It‟s difficult to tease out whether the swarm itself is the individual or whether it is the particular bee. But each bee gathers the honey to feed the hive - and in return gives life to the next generation of the flowers it visits.‟
„In return for what is taken, the Skang heals the wound in the human spirit. All those born on this planet know only too well the emptiness that lies beyond their deepest yearning.
The Skang fills that gap. Perfect symbiosis. My students would probably have called it a win-win situation.‟
„Let me explain. I don‟t know whether the Great Skang...
and of course this is merely what it is called on Earth... I don‟t know whether there are a lot of them out there, or if it‟s a solitary mutation. I would suspect that there are countless examples, otherwise I can‟t see how it could have evolved in the first place. But I know only the one. It has drifted through space for ages past.‟
„Aimlessly drifting? That hardly fits the facts.‟
Dame Hilda nodded. „You‟re right of course. It controls its path by the interaction of gravity and its own psionic energy.
You might call it a colony of proto-Skang, with one consciousness and one purpose - to search out planets with intelligent races, which can feed its need for the psionic energy that keeps it going.‟
The Doctor was beginning to understand. „And when it chances upon a possible world,‟ he said, „some scouts leave the swarm and fly off to make sure that the honey exists and can be gathered?‟
„That‟s right. And the colony waits. It‟s waiting now. The Great Skang himself is in orbit, just beyond the moon.‟
„...and I feel sure that there‟ll be many opportunities. With the colossal task that lies ahead, I shall need your help, my dear. There has been far too little female input so far. Mother Hilda‟s unconscious jealousy, perhaps, of those who are younger and... let‟s be frank... more attractive!‟
Sister Till, from Holland, blushed. But she didn‟t take her hand away from Alex‟s.
Silly old bat, he thought. Fifty plus and counting, with the face of a frog and a figure to match. „In any case,‟ he went on, with a twinkle and the suspicion of a wink, „it‟ll give us an opportunity to get to know each other better.‟
She opened her eyes very wide. Had he gone too far?
She took a deep, visibly shivering breath. „Oh! I‟d like that,‟
she murmured, when she managed to speak.
Alex, with a hint of the famous smile so beloved by his caricaturists, moved on through the gathering disciples. He‟d spotted another possible.
Alex turned, as he felt Dafydd at his shoulder. „Shouldn‟t you be gathering up the Celtic fringe?‟ he asked irritably.
Watching him leave with his tail down, he shook his head.
If anyone qualified as a loser, Dafydd was out in front. The sooner he got rid of him the better.
„Ah, good, I was hoping to bump into you,‟ he said to his next target, the teacher from Madrid. „I expect you‟ve heard that I‟ve been asked to lead the New Council.‟
Brother Manoel frowned. „There have been all sorts of rumours, yes. And I must say that I‟m not at all...‟
„I just wanted to assure you that I shall say nothing about the unfortunate business of the...‟ he lowered his voice, „...the Ronaldo legacy.‟
The blood drained from Manoel‟s cheeks. „But... I told you about that in confidence!‟
„Exactly. That‟s why I‟ll keep quiet. Unless, of course, it really becomes necessary.‟
„Necessary? What do you mean?‟
„But of course it