Doctor Who_ The Last Dodo - Jacqueline Rayner [30]
‘Celia. One moment, please.’ Of course, Celia was on duty – although her partner was currently unavailable, thanks to the Doctor. But in the short term… the phrase ‘killing two birds with one stone’ fitted the case perfectly, ironic indeed for a venture dedicated to saving life. Eve looked at the frozen figure in front of her. ‘The Doctor suggests that Martha could accompany you for now. He and I are busy, currently. It will give her something to do.’ She didn’t smile knowingly; she didn’t give an evil laugh. It was a lie to achieve a purpose – it gave her no pleasure nor caused her any distress.
There was a moment’s pause, then a background voice, that of Martha, could be heard saying ‘OK.’
‘Good,’ Eve said. ‘I’ll programme you in. Be ready, time is precious.’
She pushed herself up from the floor, regaining her feet in one swift, perfectly balanced movement, then walked briskly back to the door that would transport her to her office. It wasn’t long before she was sat in front of the computer and enabling Martha’s travel pendant to receive the same alert transmissions and coordinates as Celia’s.
Seconds later, a little window popped up on her screen to inform her that the two women had left the museum, hot on the trail.
But of course the problem of Martha had not been resolved, just postponed.
THE ISPYDER BOOK OF EARTH CREATURES
TASMANIAN TIGER
Thylacinus cynocephalus
Location: Australasia
The doglike Tasmanian tiger, also known as the Thylacine, is a carnivorous, predatory marsupial. It has a smooth brown coat with black or darker brown stripes on its rear and is approximately 160 centimetres in length, with about a third of that being its tail. The male is generally larger than the female.
Addendum:
Last reported sighting: AD 1936.
Cause of extinction: hunting by man (several bounties were placed on the animals’ heads during the 19th and early 20th centuries); disease.
ISpyder points value: 300
THE ISPYDER BOOK OF EARTH CREATURES
Creature Points
Subtotal 33500
Dodo 800
Megatherium 500
Paradise parrot 500
Velociraptor 250
Mountain gorilla 500
Aye‐aye 900
Siberian tiger 600
Kakapo 900
Indefatigable Galapagos mouse 1500
Stegosaurus 500
Triceratops 550
Diplodocus 600
Ankylosaurus 650
Dimetrodon 600
Passenger pigeon 100
Thylacine 250
Black rhinoceros 300
Mervin the missing link 23500
NINE
There was a time, once, when I was caged.
I wanted to wander, and They said: No. But I needed – I need – to wander, and so it hurt. It really hurt.
They said: But at least you’re safe there. No danger. Not like in your wandering days.
No danger, perhaps. But no life, either. They said: Really, it’s for your own good.
But who were They to decide? They’d never lived as I had, never traversed the wide open spaces, felt the adrenalin of the chase, seen the beauty – the incomparable, indescribable beauty of my natural habitat.
For my own good, indeed!
See me pacing the tiny space, trapped. I was going out of my mind! They watched me. They used me. They said: You can help the people around you.
So I did, because I had no choice. The people around me treated me like a resource, not understanding that their every desire tightened the chains that bound me.
But of course They didn’t care.
Now They’re all gone. There’s only me left. I’m free, now.
I’m the last of my kind, and I miss Them. You’d think I’d forgive Them for what they did, so long ago. But I can’t. Some things are unforgivable.
I was a Time Lord in exile.
Or was I an animal in a zoo?
Martha blinked, her pupils contracting suddenly after the transition from the dim artificial light of the MOTLO canteen to brilliant sunshine. If her eardrums