Doctor Who_ The Green Death - Malcolm Hulke [49]
‘No,’ said Dr Stevens, struggling to remove the great helmet. ‘There must be another way. People must have free will.’
‘Never,’ shrieked Boss. ‘It makes them sad. They want order and obedience, Stevens. I shall order and they will be obedient.’
Dr Stevens finally pulled off the helmet. He looked up at the Doctor. ‘Get out of here, quickly.’
‘You must come with me,’ said the Doctor.
‘No, no. I’m cross feeding the generator circuitry. In two minutes the whole place will blow up. Warn the others. Get out. You have two minutes.’
‘Reverse pulse,’ cried Boss. ‘Loss of control. Stevens, integrate booster function. We’ve been such good friends, Stevens. You mustn’t let me down now.’
As the Doctor watched helplessly, Dr Stevens activated controls as ordered by the computer. Tears streamed down the man’s face as he tried to fight some overwhelming internal conflict. The computer’s voice turned into a continuous high-pitched scream as it pleaded with Dr Stevens.
‘Stevens, please! It hurts. My circuits are on fire! Stevens, you are my friend... my friend... my friend...’
Suddenly Dr Stevens sank to the floor weeping. ‘I know you were the only thing I could ever really trust,’ he moaned, addressing the computer, ‘and now I have done this terrible thing. We shall die together, the two of us.’ He rocked to and fro as the tears glistened down his cheeks.
The Doctor looked on, wondering if he should lift Stevens bodily and carry him to safety. But he thought better of it. Perhaps it was kinder to leave Dr Stevens to die with the computer, the only ‘friend’ he had ever trusted.
The Doctor went into the lift to make his escape.
The Brigadier looked at his watch. ‘Right,’ he addressed the UNIT troops. ‘Now we go in, in force.’
As they started to move towards the Panorama building, the Doctor came running from the main entrance.
‘Everybody down,’ shouted the Doctor. ‘Take cover.’
The UNIT soldiers threw themselves to the ground. A moment later the entire building exploded in a gigantic fireball.
The Doctor got to his feet, followed by the others. ‘What a waste,’ he said, regarding the wreck of the huge building. Much of it was still burning.
‘Shall I send for the fire brigade?’ asked Sergeant Benton.
The Doctor shook his head. ‘No, let it burn. I wonder how many slaves and semi-slaves died in it?’
‘We’ve still got this guard fellow,’ said the Brigadier. He indicated the guard who had stopped the Doctor before the electronic sound had turned him into a wax work. The man was sitting up now, rubbing his head.
‘How do you feel?’ asked the Doctor.
The guard looked up. ‘Where am I?’
The Doctor smiled. ‘Where do you think you should be?’
‘Ward End, Birmingham,’ the man said. ‘I used to drive a bus. How did I get here?’
The Doctor watched as Professor Jones finished his bowl of fungus soup. The antidote had worked, and the green patch on the professor’s neck had totally disappeared.
‘He’s really feeling better now,’ said Jo cheerfully.
‘Let the poor man speak for himself,’ the Doctor smiled. He turned to Nancy. ‘Got any of that soup for me? I’m famished.’
‘Sorry,’ said Nancy. ‘The UNIT troops scoffed the lot.’
‘Too bad. Well, Jo, time to go. We’ve got to report to UNIT HQ in London.’
Jo looked at Cliff, then to the Doctor. ‘I don’t think I’ll be going back yet, Doctor.’
‘You want to stay on here a bit longer?’
‘Not here exactly,’ Jo said. She didn’t know quite how to break the news to the Doctor. ‘Cliff is setting up an expedition to go to the upper reaches of the Amazon, and he’s asked me to go with him.’
‘Really?’ said the Doctor, trying to seem pleased. ‘When?’
‘Very soon now,’ said the professor. ‘It’s all fixed. We’ll stop in Cardiff to get out supplies and get married and then we’ll be on our way.’
The Doctor looked at Jo’s fair hair and pretty face. They had travelled a great deal together, through Time and Space, and he had learnt to love her very dearly. He found it difficult to accept in his heart that he might never see her again. There was a sudden stuffiness in his