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'That's the word,' said Benny/Fred. 'Trivia is very important here, you might say this whole civilization is based on it.'

'I noticed your lack of imagination on the other side.'

'Doctor,' said Benny/Fred, 'you mustn't judge me by my virus. It's a very specialized utility. I think it did very well considering the alien nature of the environment. It beat you.'

'I was distracted.'

'Of course,' said Benny/Fred. 'Shall we continue with the trial?'

The Doctor glanced at the King and the Ministers. *I think we can dispense with that charade,' he said.

'That's a shame,' said Benny/Fred. 'How did you guess?'

'Theatricality,' said the Doctor. 'You superimposed a new frame of reference over mine when you made your entrance. You obviously worked it up from Benny's memories. I can think of much more impressive settings than this one.'

'And that tipped you off?'

'You changed the King's throne,' said the Doctor. 'That was intrinsically unlikely. If I saw him as a fairytale king then it should have represented absolute autocratic power. That kind of power would never have permitted such a change.'

'I didn't think you would notice,' said Benny/Fred.

'You're a megalomaniac, Fred,' said the Doctor. 'Megalomaniacs make mistakes. Especially around me.'

'A pity,' said Benny/Fred. 'I was looking forward to a bit of fun with them. They make an interesting tableau, don't they? I like the Magritte and the invisible yuppie. Probability is a bit disappointing. Couldn't you think of anything for that?'

'Probability's always a vague concept,' said the Doctor.

'I think I'll keep them,' said Benny/Fred. 'Except the King, the King's a bit pedestrian.' Benny/Fred casually sat down in the suddenly vacant throne. She lifted one leg and dangled it over the armrest.

The Doctor saw that the soles of the jackboots were smooth and unwom. Details, he thought, are always important.

'So tell me. Doctor,' said Benny/Fred, 'what do you want?'

'You know what I want,' said the Doctor.

'I could make a copy I suppose,' said Benny/Fred.

'No,' said the Doctor. 'No copies, no facsimiles, no templates or constructs. A total download.'

'Or what?'

Now there's a good question, thought the Doctor.

'Or I will not be held responsible for my actions,' he said.

Benny/Fred swung her foot from side to side and smiled. 'When I reintegrated my virus at the gateway I had instant access to all the data it had accumulated. Including information about you. I decided then and there that of all the possible plunder from the other side you were the prize.'

'You didn't want to enter the STS network?'

'What for?' asked Benny/Fred. 'When there is so much of this system yet to be exploited? The STS network is a fragile, artificial thing. Plunder perhaps, occupy no.'

'Then I didn't defeat you?'

'No.'

'You took Benny to lure me into this system?'

'Yes.'

'So you could integrate my functions and use them to gain a massive superiority in your natural environment?'

'Yes.'

'Oh no,' said the Doctor.

'Oh yes,' said Benny/Fred.

'Oh no,' said the Doctor.

Node Thirty-Six - The Border

With one movement all the Aces drew back their arms and let fly their deodorant cans at the fearsome Reds. Perhaps in reality they were bundles of virus code moving through the superfluid channels of the node. Perhaps the node itself was merely the crude representation of the highly complex architecture of a dimensionally transcendental system. Perhaps it was true that the real Ace would have had difficulty spelling existentialism.

But the Doctor had faith in Ace and the aces had faith in nitre-nine.

The fearsome Reds never stood a chance.

The King's Buffer

Explosions echoed through the pathways, firecracker sounds like a Chinese funeral. There were distant shouts and yells. The aces were enjoying themselves.

Benny/Fred's foot stopped swinging and she smiled at the Doctor again. 'Now that's what I'm talking about,' she said. 'You really packed those Aces with aggression didn't you? Priceless.'

'Why didn't you integrate me out there, on Acturus Station?' asked the Doctor. 'I was standing