My Enemy's Daughter, Part One: New Urbanka

Nyssa opened her eyes with a gasp. She didn't recognize the surroundings, and sat up quickly.

Villagra took her hand. "Easy, Nyssa, you're all right. Everything is going to be fine."

Nyssa stared wide-eyed at the Mayan princess. Her gaze took in the rest of the chamber: it appeared to be a hospital room, with a stone floor and Ionic columns at the doorway and corners. "What? Where am I? What's going on?" She blinked. "Princess Villagra? I thought you'd vowed not to speak until you were reunited with your people on Earth!"

The princess nodded. "Alas, the Doctor explained that, though my people's descendants still live on Earth, our culture has vanished into history. As I cannot return to my people, I must find a new people."

Nyssa stared at her. "My friends, the Doctor, Tegan, Adric -"

"They are all fine," Villagra promised. "At least, they were when I last saw them."

Nyssa swung her legs off the hospital bed. "I need to see them!" She paused when Villagra's face fell. "What is it?"

"They are gone, Nyssa."

"What?" Icy fear gripped Nyssa's heart. "No, they would not leave me!"

The princess's expression was unreadable. "There is something I must tell you." To Nyssa's horror, Villagra pointed at a place on the young woman's chest: an access port.

Nyssa went white. "No... no... no!" She slid off the bed and fell to her knees. "I did not want this - what did you do to me? You turned me into a ... the last thing I remember... Enlightenment... looking into her eyes..." She swallowed hard. "I was hypnotised, and then you changed me into this - thing -"

"Nyssa, wait," Villagra said gently. "Let me show you something." She addressed a computer monitor on the wall. "Control, show records of Monarch's death."

To Nyssa's shock, the monitor displayed a video of the Urbankan tyrant's fall, a victim of his own poison. Afterwards, she watched the Doctor, Tegan, and Adric - accompanied by herself - enter the TARDIS.

"This means... I'm just an android!" the young woman exclaimed. She put her hand to her heart - a heart that she knew was no longer there. Everything that made her Nyssa had been stolen. "I'm not even the real Nyssa," she cried. "I'm just a copy. A clone. A robot clone! How could you do this to me? This isn't the life I wanted - if you can even call it life!"

"It's true, Monarch copied your memories and your personality," the princess said. "Given the ethical considerations of creating a duplicate of a person without their consent, we debated for a long time whether to awaken you in an android copy of your body. Finally, someone persuaded us to give you the choice. She would like to speak with you, if you're ready."

Nyssa rose from the floor and brushed off her Trakenian garb, struggling to regain some dignity. What was she going to do? She considered Villagra's statement, then nodded. Who could possibly want to see her? The only other non-Urbankans she'd met on Monarch's ship had been men.

Villagra spoke out the doorway. "She's ready."

In glided a tall woman in a light green skirt. Over it, she wore a deep green brocade robe with a gentle pattern of white flowers. Lovely long blonde hair flowed over her right shoulder almost to her waist, and she had stunning green eyes.

"Enlightenment," Nyssa gasped. She stepped backwards and bumped into the hospital bed, her hand on her chest.

The woman shook her head. "No, Nyssa. The woman you knew as the Minister of Enlightenment was my mother. My name is Adana."

The clothes were different - Earth's Shang Dynasty instead of late Twentieth Century - and her shining blonde hair was longer. The features were the same, but her face and her voice seemed slightly younger, and the woman's expression was far gentler than Enlightenment's had ever been. Could it be true, Nyssa wondered.

"Will you two be all right? I imagine Adana has a lot of explaining to do," Villagra said.

Adana nodded, and the Mayan princess departed. Nyssa took a deep breath - this was too much to process. Then something struck her.

"Wait a moment. I'm a copy. My body is an android. Why am I breathing?"

Adana sat down on the bed next to her. "Urbankan androids are meant to mimic life, and to give us the sensations that we had when we were in -" she made a face "-Flesh Time. You don't need to breathe, but your body does it unless you consciously decide to stop. Your chest will keep on moving even in a vacuum. Besides, if you stop breathing, you won't be able to talk or to smell anything."

Nyssa nodded. "So the Doctor is gone, along with the real me. I'm stuck here." She paused. "Why are you here? Where are Bigon and Lin Futu and Kirkutji?" She stood up. "And why do you look like that?"

Adana smiled. "I'm here because I wanted to be. I was the one who insisted we craft you a body like your old one and wake you up. I believe we need you."

"Why?"

Adana rose, moved over to the silk curtain, and drew it aside. Nyssa walked over to her - and saw an amazing settlement.

A Greek temple stood in the centre, with a Chinese pavilion beside it. A Mayan step pyramid rose in the distance. There were many other buildings, with a mixture of those three styles - and even angular wooden houses that suggested Australian inspiration. Dozens of people - human-looking people - worked on more buildings at the edge of the settlement.

"Welcome to New Urbanka," Adana said kindly.

"I don't understand," Nyssa said. "If you're all Urbankans, why don't you look like Urbankans? Why do your buildings look like Earth buildings? Why aren't you building Urbankan houses? What about your own culture?"

"We didn't have a culture," Adana sighed. "Monarch controlled everything on Urbanka for most of our history. The buildings were all the same - featureless gray squares, like our ship. Anyone who created art, music, literature was sentenced to hard labour. He enjoyed recreationals, but even those came from our visits to Earth. Monarch was our culture, and we are glad to be rid of him."

"I thought all Urbankans worshipped him," Nyssa said. "That's what Bigon told the Doctor."

Adana shook her head. "Monarch lied to Bigon. He may have even lied to himself. Those of us who opposed him were too afraid of him to fight back. That's why you are one of our greatest heroines."

"What? Me?"

Adana nodded, and touched Nyssa's hand gently. "Bigon and the others learned my story from Monarch's records, which is why I was one of the first Urbankans they woke up - and why they gave me the android body my mother made for herself. As you can see, I made an improvement or two." Adana slid a hand over her long hair. "I think human hair is very beautiful."

Nyssa studied the Urbankan woman. "This is all going so fast. I don't even know if I'm real."

Adana looked at her softly. "Do you feel real?"

Nyssa stood up, stretched, looked in the mirror, and then sat down again. "I feel real."

"Then you are real as any of us," Adana said, touching Nyssa's hand again.

"You said you had a story?"

The green-clad woman nodded. "My mother was one of Monarch's chief advisors, as you know. What you may not know is that Monarch's rule on Urbanka was not as popular as he wanted everyone to believe. Everything his government said was a lie, everything it did was about him, with anyone and everyone else of no concern. There were many, many dissenters, but any he found out about were killed.

"I was lucky. I hated Monarch but he wouldn't move against me because he valued my mother's loyalty. I tried to reason with her, to get her to temper his tyranny. But she worshipped him."

Adana looked at the floor. "Monarch considered love a fantasy. By the time she became Minster of Enlightenment, so did my mother. She forgot what it was like to love, if she ever knew. It was more important to her to serve Monarch than it was to be my mother."

Nyssa touched Adana's hand. She wasn't sure whether to believe this story, but she felt compassion for the Urbankan woman, and decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.

"My mother did not report me to Monarch, though, so I was free to do as I pleased for a time - until his campaign to relieve us of Flesh Time." Adana's face hardened. "I was one of many who refused. But Monarch's assisters came in the night and replaced everyone with android copies who were unable to act against him. I confronted my mother and told her I would talk to our astronauts and build my own ship and leave Urbanka before they did that to me.

"And then my mother hypnotised me. I remember waking up in an android body. I felt - well, I think I felt how you must feel now."

"Your own mother?" Nyssa said, horrified. She felt a tightness in her chest, a revulsion at what Monarch and Enlightenment had done - then realised that her android body had responded to her emotions exactly as her original body had.

Adana nodded. "She said it was for the best and that I'd understand in time. She said she'd made me immortal and how grateful we must be that Monarch had developed this gift to save us from our polluted planet - after Monarch was the one who had poisoned Urbanka in the first place. Yes, I suppose we can live forever, but Monarch installed a fail-safe. We had free will, unless we stood up to him. I never spoke to my mother ever again."

Nyssa nodded. "My stepmother was deceived by a tyrant - a man who called himself the Master. He killed her, then killed my father, then unleashed a disaster that destroyed my whole world."

"Will you go for a walk with me? Wait a moment. There is something I want to show you." Adana addressed the monitor. "Control, show us the record of Nyssa's interview with Monarch."

For Nyssa, it had only been a few hours since she'd stood in the Urbankan throne room and defied the autocrat. Adana, however, was enraptured - she gazed reverently at the video.

"That is why I wanted to wake you up," Adana said when it finished. "You defied Monarch. You are exactly the kind of person New Urbanka needs. You believe in freedom and love!" The alien woman paused. "I know exactly how you must feel, knowing that your memories and personality were copied onto nanochips in an android body, but I want to make my life here work, and I hope you will want that too."

Nyssa shook her head. "I spoke my mind. That doesn't make me a heroine, Adana."

"It does to me," the beautiful alien replied. "But watch this. I know you don't remember this, but look what happened after your memories were copied. Control, show us the record of when Monarch ordered the Doctor's execution."

Nyssa gasped, but turned to the video - and saw her original self thwart Monarch's soldiers with a sonic screwdriver and a pencil.

"See?" Adana said. "Nyssa of Traken, you are brave, and intelligent, and moral. Your quick thinking saved your friends' lives. Please, let me show you our settlement."

Nyssa nodded. The two young women left the hospital, and Adana guided Nyssa on a tour. "New Urbanka is perfect for us," the alien woman explained. "It's very much like Earth - and I suppose what Traken must have been. It has minerals and some plant life, but the highest animals are insects, so we're not disturbing any sentient life by settling here."

"That's moral of you."

"Bigon insisted on it. He has been named interim president until we have revived enough people to hold an election. His Athenians are our largest group." She motioned to a number of people in chilton garments and himation cloaks.

Nyssa stopped in her tracks. "Let me get this straight. Your people are adopting Athenian culture? And clothing?"

"Some are," Adana told her. "Bigon and the others decided the first Urbankans they revived would be those most likely to embrace a future without Monarch. It turned out I wasn't the only dissenter. Many of us disliked him so much we were happy for something different. A majority of us prefer a human appearance, down to the clothes. We're using Earth architecture as well, as everything Urbankan reminds us of Monarch.

"We have been adopting Mayan, Chinese and Australian ways too," Adana said, gesturing to her Asian robe. "I was hoping you could tell us of Traken."

"Traken?" Nyssa echoed. "But why are you interested in my home? We never even met before today."

Adana stopped and turned to face the other woman, and took Nyssa's hands in her own. "The culture that produced you must be amazing, Nyssa. You're a scientist, a woman of education, intellect, courage. Bigon told me how the Doctor described your home planet - a whole empire held together by people being nice to each other. That is what New Urbanka needs - not more tyranny."

The beautiful alien's green eyes shone. For a moment Nyssa remembered Enlightenment's hypnotic powers, how she'd been tempted to surrender herself to the alien minister's green eyes - but that was not who Adana was. Unlike her mother, she did not see Nyssa as a tool to be used.

"A place like Traken," Adana continued, "a place of advanced science, of compassion - is the example New Urbanka should follow. You can help us. Traken's morality can be part of our new culture, along with Athenian democracy and Australian spirituality." The alien woman gazed at her, not with arrogance, but with hope.

Nyssa did not reply, and Adana let go of her hands and dropped her gaze to the ground. "Oh, Nyssa, I'm sorry," the blonde woman said. "I must be putting a lot of pressure on you. You don't have to answer straight away."

Nyssa touched the alien's arm. "Like you said, this can't be any worse than what you went through when you woke to find out you'd been turned into an android. But I have a hope now that you didn't have back then. We have a future without Monarch."

The two women continued walking, with Adana pointing out the sights. Though many Urbankans had chosen human form, a few retained their original appearance. Others chose something in-between. A few had chosen even more exotic looks - with blue or purple skin. Most had adopted a visage smoother than the Urbankan norm.

Adana introduced her to many of them.

"I feel like Alice in Wonderland," Nyssa told Adana after meeting a blue-skinned Urbankan with Tiger-like stripes.

"Who?"

"Oh - it's an Earth children's story."

"You must tell me about it sometime," Adana said with a smile.

"Speaking of hope," Nyssa said as they arrived at the Chinese pavilion, "the fail-safe! How can we have freedom, have democracy, if whoever controls the fail-safe can stop anyone from standing up for themselves?"

"The fail-safe has been disabled," Adana said gently. "All new android bodies are being built without it. Lin Futu fixed my own and the others', too. And yours."

Nyssa thought for a moment. "I just realized," she added, "We've been walking for over an hour and I don't feel tired. I wouldn't have chosen this, Adana, but maybe it's not all bad."

"Oh, I agree," the alien woman said. "If I had a choice to return to Flesh Time, I would - but this way I can look in the mirror and not be reminded of Monarch." She caressed her own smooth cheek. "On Urbanka I was infamous for my love of hats." She swished her long hair around with a grin, then gathered it up and let it fall over her shoulder. "My mother may have based this body on a sketch your friend made, but with this lovely human-looking hair I don't need hats anymore."

"That's a question!" Nyssa said. "I know these android bodies are very sophisticated. Do we eat? Does our hair grow? Do our nails? I'm not tired - do we sleep?"

Adana smiled. "No food required. Our batteries are self-charging. Our hair and nails don't grow, but they can break - in which case we can go to a Mobilliary and get them replaced. They're just proteins, which are easy to grow."

Nyssa started to smile. "Can we go to one?"

Adana smiled back at her and looped an arm through hers. "Of course! We only have the one at the moment, but there will be more when we have more settlements."

"What about sleep?" Nyssa asked as they walked.

"Everyone needs rest," Adana explained. "Being androids means we don't get tired, but we still have organic psychology even if we don't have organic bodies. We don't get sleepy, exactly, but after being awake for twenty hours or so we do start to get fatigued. At that point we need to go to a dark room and close our eyes - some people like to lie down - and quiet our minds. We let our thoughts become random and enter a sort of dream state while our reason nanochip indexes our new memories. It's more like meditation than sleep, but it's easy to master, and it only takes an hour or two to refresh and regain focus." The alien woman grinned. "I - er - took a quick look at your personality profile when we were installing your nanochips into your body. I'm confident that you'll pick it up in no time, especially with your telepathic ability. If you need any help, you can talk to Kirkutji - or I would be happy to hypnotise you."

This stopped Nyssa in her tracks. "You can do that?"

Adana nodded. "Hypnosis comes easily to Urbankans. It's a tool we used to help each other - but then Monarch used it to promote his regime, then to force everyone to give up Flesh Time." She sighed. "Monarch ruined everything he touched."

Nyssa shuddered. "I'm not sure what I think about hypnosis. I know it can be put to good uses, but when Enlightenment..." She paused. "Something in me knew it was a bad idea, but it happened anyway."

"I am so sorry you went through that," Adana said earnestly. "If it helps, I know exactly what you went through, as my mother did that to me, too." She brightened. "At least there is one benefit."

"What's that?"

"When they copied your memories, and intellect, and personality onto the nanochip set," Adana explained, "you were given the Urbankan abilities that the nanochips were originally designed for. I'm sure you can use hypnosis as well as any Urbankan." She smiled. "With that genius-level intelligence of yours, I'm sure you'll be an expert in no time. I know you're a biologist and cyberneticist, but I'm sure you'd be an amazing therapist, as well."

Nyssa nodded, but then she thought of something else. "You said telepathic ability?"

Adana looked at her oddly. "Yes, you're telepathic."

Nyssa looked at her blankly.

"Didn't you know?" Adana asked.

Nyssa shook her head.

Adana thought for a moment. "Telepathy isn't something that ever existed on Urbanka. We copied your brain patterns exactly, so you should be able to do it just like you did in Flesh Time - or could in Flesh Time. Even Lin Futu doesn't know how to wire someone's nanochips for telepathy if they didn't have it innately. I think this is a unique event in our science, Nyssa. You have a power you didn't know you had."

As the two arrived at the Mobilliary, Nyssa closed her eyes and took some deep, steady breaths. After a moment she opened her eyes and the two women went inside.

"What was that?" Adana asked curiously.

"I wanted to see if I could read anyone's thoughts," Nyssa said with a quick smile. "I have no extra-sensory perception at all, as far as I can tell."

"Meditate on it," Adana recommended. "If you'd like we can try hypnosis. I'm available to help you whenever you'd like. By the way, why are we here?"

Nyssa smiled.

The two women emerged a few minutes later. Nyssa looked exactly the same - except that her long brown curls now tumbled down to her waist.

"I like it," Adana told her. "I like it a lot. It suits you. You look very beautiful, Nyssa." She reached forward, then hesitated. "May I?"

With a smile, Nyssa nodded, and the other woman gave Nyssa's hair a gentle caress. "Wearing our hair this long wasn't a fashion on Traken," Nyssa said, "but I suppose this is a good time to try new things."

Adana caressed Nyssa's hair again. "Then you think you'll stay with us?"

Nyssa nodded. "I miss the Doctor, Tegan, and Adric. I miss my home. But here, I can put the skills I learned on Traken to use helping others. This isn't the life I would have chosen, Adana, but since I'm here I will make the most of it. It's what my father would want, what the Doctor would want, what my friends would want, and what the other me would want. I may not be real, but I feel real. If your people are truly interested, I would be proud to teach you about Traken."

Adana embraced the other woman, and Nyssa gently hugged her back. "Thank you, Nyssa," Adana murmured into Nyssa's hair. "Thank you."

Adana stepped back, but neither young woman let go. Instead, Nyssa found herself gazing into the alien woman's eyes - but unlike the time she'd been captured by Enlightenment's stare, there was no coldness or calculation. Adana's eyes held nothing but kindness.

The mutual stare went on, and Nyssa felt butterflies in her stomach. "Your eyes are getting heavy," she murmured suddenly. "They are getting heavier, and heavier, and heavier."

Adana's eyelids fluttered, then opened wide. Both women broke into giggles. The blonde woman stepped back, but her hands slid down Nyssa's arms and gently took her hands again.

"You want to practice now?" she asked.

Nyssa shook her head. "Sorry. I couldn't help it."

"I'm sorry too," Adana said. She squeezed Nyssa's hands lightly, and Nyssa squeezed back. "I don't mean to pressure you. It's just - I know Urbankans and Trakenians are biologically dissimilar, but Trakenian eyes are very much like Urbankan eyes, and yours are very beautiful, Nyssa."

"You're not pressuring me," Nyssa whispered.

"I really like your eyes," Adana murmured.

"I like yours too," Nyssa told her. They were staring into each other's eyes again, and both women smiled softly. Nyssa would never have dared gaze into Enlightenment's eyes again, but Adana was nothing like her mother. The alien woman's vivid green eyes were soft and gentle.

The next thing either of them knew, they were kissing.

When they finally separated, they hugged each other again, laughing and smiling. "Would you like to see my chambers?" Adana asked.

"Of course," Nyssa grinned. Holding hands, the alien woman led her down the path towards the residences, towards the sunset.

Adana drew Nyssa's hand to her lips and kissed it. "I'm reminded of your words to Monarch."

"Which ones?"

"He said he had overthrown tyranny - external and internal organs. You asked him about love."

Nyssa blinked. "I don't think I said anything quite so elegant!"

"You did," Adana said.

Nyssa looked at her oddly. "How many times did you watch that?"

The alien woman smiled shyly. "About a hundred."

"A hundred!"

"Yes, well, as you can see I was quite taken with you." Adana paused. "My point is, Nyssa, Monarch replaced the so-called tyranny of Flesh Time with his own. And you overthrew it."

"Well, I helped."

"Yes, you helped," Adana said. "You did it with love."