Doctor Who_ The Green Death - Malcolm Hulke [47]
‘Could you make out anything he said?’
Jo shook her head. ‘No, nothing.’ Her eyes were reddened with crying.
The Doctor straightened up. ‘Well, I shall have to hope for some serendipity of my own—a happy accident.’
He turned to go. ‘I shall be in the professor’s laboratory.’
‘Just a minute,’ said Jo. ‘That word—serendipity. I had an accident in the lab. I knocked over some powder on to his slides, and he wasn’t very happy about it.’
The Doctor was suddenly excited. ‘Can you show me which powder?’
‘Of course.’
‘Then show me, quickly.’ He raced off to the laboratory, Jo close on his heels.
12 One World, One People, One BOSS!
Using great thongs to lift the maggots, UNIT soldiers were putting the carcasses into sacks to clear the slag heap. Sergeant Benton came up to the Brigadier and saluted.
‘Almost finished, sir.’ He grinned. ‘Should be able to get back to London pretty soon.’
‘Why?’ asked the Brigadier. ‘Doesn’t the local beer suit you?’
‘If you think about it, sir,’ said Benton, deferentially, ‘none of the men have had a moment to taste any yet.’
‘We shall go when we have sorted out Panorama Chemicals...’ The Brigadier’s words tailed off as he saw Yates running towards them.
‘Sir!’ shouted Yates. He ran up to the Brigadier. ‘The computer, sir!’ He was out of breath and could hardly get the words out. ‘It’s... it’s going to make slaves of everyone... sir.’
‘Come on,’ said the Brigadier, helping Yates to his jeep. ‘Catch your breath, then explain it all to the Doctor.’
When they arrived at the Nut Hatch they found the Doctor busily working on Professor Jones’s slides and calculations. Yates explained what he had discovered on his return visit to Panorama Chemicals. ‘Whatever it’s going to do, Doctor,’ he concluded, ‘it’s going to happen at four o’clock today.’
The Brigadier looked at his watch. ‘By Jove, we’d better get there right away. Ready, Doctor?’
‘As soon as I’ve finished this,’ said the Doctor, still working.
Nancy asked, ‘What is it you’re doing exactly?’
‘Making an aqueous extract of the amino fraction of this fungus,’ the Doctor replied. ‘For an injection for Professor Jones.’
‘I can do that,’ Nancy smiled. ‘I’m not only a mum here, you know.’
‘Great,’ said the Doctor. He turned to Jo. ‘You make a paste with some more of that fungus powder and apply it to the green stain on Cliff’s neck. And mind you don’t knock anything over!’
‘Doctor,’ Jo protested, ‘if I hadn’t knocked over the powder on to the slides...’
But the Doctor had already hurried out, followed by the Brigadier. Yates smiled at Jo. ‘Do you ever feel he doesn’t appreciate you?’
Jo nodded. ‘Frequently!’ She continued to make the paste.
In the room at the top of the Panorama building, Dr Stevens was being admonished by Boss. ‘Not only are you a fool,’ Boss told him, ‘you are an inefficient fool. As Oscar Wilde so nearly said, to lose one prisoner may be accounted a misfortune, to lose two smacks of carelessness.’
‘I am very sorry,’ said Dr Stevens. ‘Are we still going ahead?’
‘Naturally,’ said Boss. ‘Report, please.’
‘The medical staff have completed all implantations,’ said Dr Stevens. ‘The slave units are ready to be activated.’
‘Then the countdown to Phase One can begin,’ said Boss. ‘Establish links with the seven international computers.’
‘Yes,’ said Dr Stevens.
‘Don’t you feel happy, my little superman?’ asked Boss. ‘Very happy,’ replied Dr Stevens, although there was no hint of happiness in his voice.
‘Just imagine,’. said Boss. ‘Very soon everyone will be happy. You do want everyone to be happy, don’t you?’
Dr Stevens looked up the room towards the giant computer. For a disloyal moment he imagined himself walking free in those mountains that he so often looked at from his office window. Then he gave the reply he hoped would please Boss. ‘I want everyone to be happy.’
‘Good,’ said Boss. ‘As from tomorrow the whole world will be united for the first time in history. One world, one people, one Boss!’
Dr Stevens remembered as a little boy tuning his father’s radio into a Nazi station and hearing Adolf Hitler screaming