it!'
'I will not!'
The Administrator's
mouth twisted into a sadistic smirk as he delivered his coup de
grace.
'I wear your sash
of office now. Who is to know that I am not the Second Elder?'
Into the Darkness
Carol looked
admiringly at the Doctor: she had a lot to thank him for. Not only
had he rescued her from the Sensorites' mental assaults, teaching her
to face her fear rather than hide from it, but he had also arranged
for John's treatment; and now that he had found a cure for the
Sensorites' disease it seemed that he had even won them back their
freedom. He was quite simply the most extraordinary man she had ever
met.
She wondered just
how old he really was. He could deliver abuse and criticism like any
crotchety old man; and the next moment he would approach a new and
apparently insuperable problem with all the unbridled enthusiasm of a
little boy. Beneath his thick white mane of hair his face was lined
and ancient. But in his firm blue eyes there sparked the mischievous
twinkle of youth, like two bright faraway stars in the night sky at
home.
But there was
something else in his eyes too, something which he shared with his
granddaughter, Susan. Carol found it hard to define but it was a deep
strangeness, an other-worldliness, something which set them apart
from everyone else. Just who were the Doctor and Susan? Where had
they come from? And, for that matter, where were they going?
Carol smiled at
him. 'You're tired out, Doctor,' she said.
'It's a happy
tiredness, my dear,' he sighed and eased himself out of his seat to
cross over to where John was still strapped to the Sensorites' mind
restorer, slipping in and out of consciousness. There were now but a
few streaks of white in the astronaut's otherwise dark hair.
'He's improving,'
said Carol in response to the Doctor's unspoken question. 'But
sometimes he goes back to that old state of confusion.'
'Well, you must
expect that. It will take some time but he will be cured. The mind is
a very delicate thing, you know.'
At that moment the
Senior Scientist entered the room, holding a jar containing a
solution of the antidote. The Doctor uncorked the bottle and took a
cursory sniff at the contents.
'Excellent, my
friend,' he said to the Senior Scientist. 'Make this up in large
quantities and see that all your people who are ill get it. And take
this to my granddaughter, Susan.'
'I shall send a
messenger immediately,' said the Sensorite and left the room with the
bottle.
The Doctor turned
back to Carol. 'Now we shall soon be off this planet, my dear, once
the Sensorites see the efficacy of my cure.' He rubbed his hands with
glee. 'You know, I was rather baffled by this atropine poisoning at
first because it only seemed to appear in one part of the City, in
one reservoir at a time. It's all very curious . . .'
'But you've
discovered an antidote now,' said Carol. 'What's the use of worrying
over it?'
'Ah yes, that's a
cure - but why cure something when we can stamp it out altogether,
hmm?'
Carol was about to
question the Doctor further when John distracted her. He was
semiconscious and muttering to himself.
She bent down to
listen to him: 'Enemy . . . plotting . . .'
'He's more coherent
now,' Carol explained, 'but it's as if he were living in a dream
where he's surrounded by enemies.'
John was now fully
conscious and had caught Carol's words. 'Yes! Enemies, making plots .
. .'
The Doctor regarded
John thoughtfully, tapping his fingertips together. 'He might be more
lucid that you think,' he observed. 'I must leave you now, but I want
you to take a careful note of what he says.'
'Where are you
going to, Doctor?' asked Carol, surprised at the old man's renewed
burst of energy.
'I'm going after
the Senior Scientist and then we're setting off on a little
expedition. It isn't dangerous of course,' he said hastily in
response to Carol's look of concern. 'But when I've solved my problem
I'm sure we'll all be out of trouble.'
And without
explaining exactly what he
'I will not!'
The Administrator's
mouth twisted into a sadistic smirk as he delivered his coup de
grace.
'I wear your sash
of office now. Who is to know that I am not the Second Elder?'
Into the Darkness
Carol looked
admiringly at the Doctor: she had a lot to thank him for. Not only
had he rescued her from the Sensorites' mental assaults, teaching her
to face her fear rather than hide from it, but he had also arranged
for John's treatment; and now that he had found a cure for the
Sensorites' disease it seemed that he had even won them back their
freedom. He was quite simply the most extraordinary man she had ever
met.
She wondered just
how old he really was. He could deliver abuse and criticism like any
crotchety old man; and the next moment he would approach a new and
apparently insuperable problem with all the unbridled enthusiasm of a
little boy. Beneath his thick white mane of hair his face was lined
and ancient. But in his firm blue eyes there sparked the mischievous
twinkle of youth, like two bright faraway stars in the night sky at
home.
But there was
something else in his eyes too, something which he shared with his
granddaughter, Susan. Carol found it hard to define but it was a deep
strangeness, an other-worldliness, something which set them apart
from everyone else. Just who were the Doctor and Susan? Where had
they come from? And, for that matter, where were they going?
Carol smiled at
him. 'You're tired out, Doctor,' she said.
'It's a happy
tiredness, my dear,' he sighed and eased himself out of his seat to
cross over to where John was still strapped to the Sensorites' mind
restorer, slipping in and out of consciousness. There were now but a
few streaks of white in the astronaut's otherwise dark hair.
'He's improving,'
said Carol in response to the Doctor's unspoken question. 'But
sometimes he goes back to that old state of confusion.'
'Well, you must
expect that. It will take some time but he will be cured. The mind is
a very delicate thing, you know.'
At that moment the
Senior Scientist entered the room, holding a jar containing a
solution of the antidote. The Doctor uncorked the bottle and took a
cursory sniff at the contents.
'Excellent, my
friend,' he said to the Senior Scientist. 'Make this up in large
quantities and see that all your people who are ill get it. And take
this to my granddaughter, Susan.'
'I shall send a
messenger immediately,' said the Sensorite and left the room with the
bottle.
The Doctor turned
back to Carol. 'Now we shall soon be off this planet, my dear, once
the Sensorites see the efficacy of my cure.' He rubbed his hands with
glee. 'You know, I was rather baffled by this atropine poisoning at
first because it only seemed to appear in one part of the City, in
one reservoir at a time. It's all very curious . . .'
'But you've
discovered an antidote now,' said Carol. 'What's the use of worrying
over it?'
'Ah yes, that's a
cure - but why cure something when we can stamp it out altogether,
hmm?'
Carol was about to
question the Doctor further when John distracted her. He was
semiconscious and muttering to himself.
She bent down to
listen to him: 'Enemy . . . plotting . . .'
'He's more coherent
now,' Carol explained, 'but it's as if he were living in a dream
where he's surrounded by enemies.'
John was now fully
conscious and had caught Carol's words. 'Yes! Enemies, making plots .
. .'
The Doctor regarded
John thoughtfully, tapping his fingertips together. 'He might be more
lucid that you think,' he observed. 'I must leave you now, but I want
you to take a careful note of what he says.'
'Where are you
going to, Doctor?' asked Carol, surprised at the old man's renewed
burst of energy.
'I'm going after
the Senior Scientist and then we're setting off on a little
expedition. It isn't dangerous of course,' he said hastily in
response to Carol's look of concern. 'But when I've solved my problem
I'm sure we'll all be out of trouble.'
And without
explaining exactly what he
Similar Books
