Doctor Who_ The Gallifrey Chronicles - Lance Parkin [19]
CONNECTING
‘W8! Who R U? >:-(’
The Doctor looked around curiously. The girls’ voice had no trace of puberty, but it did have a slight electronic warble. It reminded the Doctor of a couple of the seances he’d attended in the 1920s – the girls were possessed. But what was doing this?
‘I am the Doctor,’ he told the girls gently.
‘Dr? Dr??’ came the confused reply.
40
‘Indeed.’
The Doctor hesitated. He decided to pick on the girl he recognised. ‘And you’re Rachel, aren’t you?’
‘nt rachL n e more we r d Netwk’
‘The Network?’ the Doctor echoed. He thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers. ‘Intelligent software that runs on a human brain instead of a computer. Self-replicating telecommunications technology. It was only a matter of time.’
‘u knO of us’
‘Not specifically. But already the telephone network of this planet has as many individual connections as there are neurons in the human brain. It’s only one step from that to behaving like a brain.’
‘Y D age of orgnic lfe is over 2moro b lgs 2 us :-)’
‘But you’re not of this Earth, R U? I mean. . . Are you?’
‘N. We hve Xisted 4x10(2d8) yrs. Netwk Coverage will b universal.’
‘Broadcast from one planet to another, spreading out in irresistible wave-fronts at the speed of light, picked up by any planet with sufficiently advanced technology. Ingenious.’
The Doctor moved around the control stations, trying to work it out.
‘So those are the ends, but what are the means?’
He glanced at the cables. There was the mast outside. Why children? Every screen was flashing the same message:
CONNECTING
‘You’re just the advance party, though, aren’t you? You’re going to try to receive a signal from space. Then what?’
‘N1 cn stop us not evn U Dr :-)’
‘You’re probably right. So if you’d just explain your plan to me, omitting no detail?’
‘N’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Y’
‘Fair enough. No harm in asking. Saves a bit of time, that’s all. Right, I’ll have to work it out for myself.’
An instrument was confusing him. A Geiger counter. The Doctor recoiled.
‘Children’s brains are more susceptible to radiation than adult brains. Mind control via radiation emissions. Total mental domination of the human population.’
‘UR > clver thn U :dr’
‘Do you mind if I. . . ?’
The Doctor grabbed Rachel, pushed her off her chair, took her place, snatched the phone from her and started working at the controls.
41
Rachel picked herself up, grabbed the Doctor’s wrist and squeezed so hard he had to let the phone go. He tried to pull away, pushing his wrists down between her thumb and fingers, the weakest point of any grip. But he could barely move his hand.
‘And you are stronger than you look,’ the Doctor noted ruefully. She threw him across the room.
‘Limin8 d dr :-)’
W8!!
The great booming voice seemed to come from high above them. The Doctor looked around, trying to identify the exact source.
‘Y Gr8 Provider?’ the three girls chorused, without looking up from their phones.
d Dr s kwn 2 me of old. We hve f0 aX time & spce. He has of10 cut us off :-)
‘You know me?’ the Doctor asked.
Y
‘And you call yourself the Great Provider?’
Y
‘I don’t remember you, I’m afraid.’
d dr hs gr8 knwledge. We s%d + his memries 2 our d8abase.
‘Oh, I don’t really have memories. I’ve misplaced them somewhere. A long story, at least I assume it is. How can I explain this to you? Well, I suppose you could say that my memory tapes have been wiped.’
d dr tries 2 DCve us. Attach d h&s free headset.
‘If d dr tries 2 resist :-(?’
normal terms & conditions apply.
The Doctor tried to stand up, but two of the girls put their hands on his shoulders and forced him back down.
The third girl was bringing over a pair of chunky silver headphones. She clamped them over the Doctor’s ears. He could hear a screech, then a high-pitched burble. A string of digital information, he realised.
‘Calling,’ the Doctor said. ‘Connecting. . . ’
He could feel a new presence. It was as though his brain had swallowed iced water and he could feel it working its way around. A mind of