Stephen: A dangerous world
"I was wondering," Stephen mused to the head Dalek, "do you ever leave your casings willingly? Latoshk is safe now; you don't need to constantly isolate yourselves from the outside world within a battle tank."
"WHAT PURPOSE WOULD THAT SERVE?" the alien enquired.
"To start seeing yourselves as an integral part of the greater universe, for one. Also if you want to understand humans better, we certainly don't seclude ourselves in cramped cabins our entire lives." He looked up at the slightly hazy sun and decided the weather was perfect for a first go. "There, try sunlight. It feels good to us, and who knows, you may even find out you enjoy it too."
Convinced it would at least expand his knowledge, the Dalek opened his casing and bathed in the soft sunlight.
"Now we're all friends and everything, I thought it would be a good idea for them to loosen up a little. So, I suggested he opened his casing to start experiencing the world directly," Stephen related.
"And?" Lillian asked.
"Well, I thought sunlight would make for a nice first experience. The weather was ideal, not too hot, just pleasantly warm with a lovely breeze. I just hadn't thought his skin hadn't seen the sun before, ever."
She chuckled. "I see where this is going."
"Daleks are such crybabies. I had to ask Nancy to bring us a soothing cream immediately, even though his life support would have healed him within the hour."
[Next chapter will be about Nancy and the Dalek embryos: Can you guess why her cloning attempts failed?]
