Doctor Who_ Island of Death - Barry Letts [88]
Knowing that time was running out, the Doctor was making one last effort.
„Well tried, Doctor. But you‟re forgetting that I‟m a Skang.
To fulfil our purpose is not just a categorical imperative. It‟s the essence of our survival. Everything gives way to that.‟
Mother Hilda glanced at her watch and stood up; and then she tilted her head on one side and gave a little laugh. „There you are, you see, Doctor,‟ she said. „A perfect example of our dual existence. Hilda Hutchens has to run her life to a strict timetable; she has done for years, so why should she stop now? But I don‟t need a mechanical gadget to tell me that we have to bring this discussion to an end. I can feel in my real body that it won‟t be long now before the sun and the moon will have aligned themselves with the Earth. The gravity waves are as palpable to me as a breeze on the cheek is to you.‟
So. All that was left was the hope that Sarah had managed to warn Lethbridge-Stewart.
„What are you going to do with me?‟ he asked.
„You‟ll be confined in here until after the ceremony. I can‟t make the decision on my own. It may be that the Great Skang will decide to seed you whether you want it or not. I hope so, Doctor. I‟ve enjoyed our talk. It would be pleasant to think that we might be able to continue it at some time in the future.‟
A voice came from the doorway. „There you are, you see. I told you she wasn‟t to be trusted!‟
They both turned. Alex Whitbread was standing in the opening, flanked by half a dozen or more of the teachers and a couple of brawny guards.
„Here‟s clear evidence of her treachery,‟ he went on.
Dame Hilda‟s years of authority came to the fore. „What the devil do you think you‟re doing, Alex Whitbread?‟
She might have been talking to a bolshie undergraduate.
„You‟ve been deposed, Sister Hilda. You are no longer the leader. I have been asked to take over.‟
She looked at him over her glasses. „Leader? What sort of talk is that? When have I ever called myself a “leader”?‟
„Silence! You‟ve had your say for too long. Guards!‟
The two men stepped forward. Unlike any other of the protectors of the Skang the Doctor had so far seen, they were carrying what appeared to be primitive but deadly spears of thick bamboo, with wickedly sharpened points.
„You will be kept in protective custody until the New Council decides your fate. I have no doubt that they will agree with me that mere dissolution would be too good for you.‟
„Meaning?‟
„You showed me no mercy. Why should I show you any?
You called yourself Mother. Very fitting. You sentenced me to excision as casually as Mummy used to force her children to swallow tablespoonfuls of castor oil...‟
„In the hope that it might do them some good, yes! I can see that in this case the medicine has failed to do its job.‟
„Well, Daddy Alex has your best welfare at heart. We‟ll see how you like the taste.‟ He turned to the Doctor. „As for you,‟
he said, „it‟s merely a matter of deciding the most satisfying way to rid our world of you. It was plain to me all along that it was you who was really the one in charge of the feeble attempt to hunt us down, not that fool of a soldier.‟
„You‟d be well advised not to underestimate the Brigadier, Mr Whitbread.‟
„Is that so, Doctor? Maybe you‟re right. The point is academic. HMS Hallaton has sailed out of the lagoon. Your friends have gone home and left you. What a pity you‟ll have no opportunity to say goodbye.‟ He turned to the guards.
„Helmut, stay at the door - and Hank at the window. Come along, the rest of you. We have some mopping up to do before the ceremony.‟
He stalked away, followed by his little retinue. As they disappeared, his voice floated back. „If they try to escape, kill them.‟
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
There were different sorts of fear, thought Sarah, as she kept watching the path up to the top of the mountain. This wasn‟t the old butterflies in the tummy bit. This was more the solid lump rising into the throat that you got when you were ludicrously late for work, and you‟d been warned,