Dreamers of Beauty

This story serves as a sequel to the Doctor Who Magazine comic strip "Dreamers of Death" by Steve Moore and the TV story "The Visitation" by Eric Saward. I do not own the characters of the Doctor, Sharon and Vernor Allen, or the Terileptils. Doctor Who is a trademark of the BBC.

Part Four: The Slinth Keepers

I

Once upon a time, on a farming world called Unicepter IV, there was a slinth named Miki who had a Dreamer named Vernor. For three years Miki sat on Vernor's shoulder, sharing his dreams, his fears, his feelings.

Together they created the most fantastic dreamscapes, transporting people to worlds with seven moons, to cities containing infinite secrets, to palaces made of crystal. People said Vernor's dreams were unusually poetic. They gave Miki none of the credit.

Vernor loved Miki very much. And Miki loved him back.

Of course, Miki was a psychic vampire, consuming Vernor's mental energies and those of his clients little by little, waiting for the day when he and his fellow slinths could turn on the humans who had colonised Unicepter.

But even vampires have feelings.

II

Sharon quickly turned back toward the corridor. The slinths had almost reached the threshold, moving faster as they became more wakeful. Their growls rose in pitch.

She heard a sharp intake of breath from Vernor. Turning to him, she saw him gazing fixedly at one of the approaching slinths, as though he had seen a ghost.

"It can't be…" he muttered, his voice tight. "Miki? Miki, is that you?"

Sharon looked at the approaching slinths. One of them certainly resembled the creature who was sitting on her husband's shoulder the first time she met him. It was the same size, and its fur was the same shade of brown. Still, all the slinths looked so much alike to her that she had to bite her tongue to keep from asking Vernor how he could tell this was Miki.

"Miki, old man, you wouldn't hurt us, would you?" Vernor asked, still gazing at the slinth. "It's your old buddy Vernor, and his new friend Sharon. You remember you met Sharon once?"

Sharon suddenly felt an extraordinarily vivid sense memory: the feel of long, silky brown fur under her fingertips, as she stroked the creature on the shoulder of the handsome young man she had just met. For a moment the whole scene flashed before her eyes: Garret and Camilla Berrace… Their daughter, Lyan, and her fiancé, Karith, gazing fondly at each other… And the Doctor, with his shock of curly brown hair and his multicoloured scarf, smiling at her and Vernor, his inner thoughts unknowable.

Then suddenly she was back in the present, still with Vernor – now her husband – and the Doctor – now with curly blond hair and a multicoloured coat, gazing almost absently at the three slinth keepers, his thoughts still unknowable.

Vernor was staring even more intently at the slinth who might be Miki, as though trying to re-establish a telepathic link with him. The slinth growled faintly, almost quizzically.

"Come on, Miki," Vernor said softly. "You know this isn't right. Don't do this, Miki."

Suddenly the slinth turned, bared its fangs, and lashed out at the slinth to its right. The other slinth squealed with anger and fought back viciously, its hidden claws taking chunks out of Miki's fur and striking other nearby slinths as well. Within moments the doorway of the room was filled with a seething mass of fiercely fighting slinths.

A slight movement behind her made Sharon whirl around to see the three keepers gazing slack-jawed at the fight. Trevor Allen had stepped forward slightly towards the doorway, but then stopped again. It was as though whoever was controlling the three men had given them no instructions for this eventuality, leaving them at a loss.

Seemingly unnoticed by the keepers, the Doctor was casually moving to his left, beyond their field of view. As the fight among the slinths raged on, the Doctor quickly and quietly stepped behind Trevor. Gazing with rapt attention at the battle, Vernor's controlled brother did not notice as the Doctor softly slipped the glowing green bracelet off his wrist.

Instantly Trevor took a step backwards, almost colliding with the Doctor.

"Why they even hired us instead of setting up the place to run automatically, I'll never know," Trevor said. "But what's that in the corner – a child?"

He rubbed his eyes and gazed around in confusion. Meanwhile, the Doctor was diving towards Andrew Calla.

"Quickly, Trevor!" he cried. "Help me get these bracelets off your two colleagues. The three of you were being controlled –"

The Doctor broke off as he noticed that Andrew and Billy's bracelets were no longer glowing. They also were now rubbing their eyes and staring around themselves in confusion.

"But what is it?" Andrew asked. "Does it have something to do with the psychic field?"

"The psychic field!" the Doctor exclaimed. "Thank you for reminding me, young man."

In an instant the Doctor was at the control panel and had slammed the switch Trevor had pressed back into its normal position.

The slinths' growls grew quieter. Creatures who had been fighting each other ferociously a moment before gazed at each other sleepily, as though they had forgotten what they were fighting about. In another few moments the slinths were asleep on the floor, still blocking the doorway. Some were again resting on their stomachs with their stubby legs hidden, while others lolled on their backs.

Vernor fell to his knees beside Miki. There were gaping wounds in his old friend's fur. Even as the Doctor joined him, however, the wounds appeared to be healing.

"It seems," the Doctor observed, "that slinths heal quickly. Rather like Alzarians," he added, frowning slightly.

"Miki was always like that," Vernor said. "But it's lucky for him that the psychic field covers the entire building for safety, not just the slinth pens, so the battle stopped as soon as you switched it back on."

"I realise this may sound like a clichéd question," Andrew Calla asked, "but would someone please tell us what is going on?"

"I'm almost as surprised by it as you are," the Doctor said. "It appears that two of you were controlled through the third – through Trevor Allen, your supervisor. I've never known Terileptil control bracelets to work that way before…"

"Terileptils?" Billy Sul asked, confused. "What are they?"

"Terileptils!" Trevor Allen suddenly exclaimed, his whole body going rigid. "The masters! Don't you remember? I can still see them. Creatures like huge, beautiful tropical fish…" He shook himself, coming out of his brief trance. "But how did I know that? I've never seen such creatures."

"They were controlling your mind, Trevor," the Doctor explained. "They placed their own image into your thoughts as a symbol of power. Your two colleagues may not remember them because they were controlled through you, but you certainly do – even if you don't know how."

"But why did they pick out Trevor and the others to control?" Sharon asked.

"Presumably to ensure that the slinths could not be used against them," the Doctor speculated. "I wonder…"

"What is it, Doctor?" Vernor asked.

"Oh, I wonder many things, Vernor," the Doctor said. "I wonder why sausage tastes better in England than anywhere else in the Local Group. I wonder why the bowls of curry at tentaball matches on Zubenelgenubi IV cost more than the tickets to the game. Right now I'm wondering how many other inhabitants of Unicepter are being controlled."

"You mean they could have taken over anyone?" Sharon asked, gripped by a sudden feeling of paranoia.

"Anyone wearing one of these bracelets," the Doctor said. "And each group of controlled subjects must be manipulated through a single authority figure, like Trevor here. Perhaps an employer, a supervisor, an administrator…"

III

The Administrator of the Unicepter City Council, Ms. Meli Kaleek, glared across her desk at Mr. Munipalt.

"May I ask why you have come to visit us in the middle of the night, Mr. Munipalt?" she asked, glowering at the representative of the Parks Department.

Munipalt had to restrain himself from asking in return why Ms. Kaleek and the Council members were still in the Hall of Government. When he had called Ms. Kaleek on her portable visiphone he had expected to rouse her from sleep, only to see that she was in her office. Upon arriving at the Hall of Government, he had been even more surprised to find the five Councillors still there, wandering aimlessly around the building and conversing with each other about nothing of significance.

"I received a call from a night security guard at the Moonrise Amusement Park," Munipalt explained. "A massive sinkhole has been forming over the last few hours near the pool where the android appeared yesterday. The ground has been shaking throughout the park, as though gigantic machinery is moving underground."

"More of your seismic events?" Ms. Kaleek asked, a bored look on her face.

Munipalt wondered for a moment how Ms. Kaleek knew about what he had told the Council members earlier, since she was not in the room during his testimony before them. One of the Councillors must have told her, he assumed.

"Yes, Ms. Kaleek," he said forcefully. "It proves what I've been saying all along. There's something huge and dangerous buried under the theme park, probably put there by a hostile alien power, and for sure the place of origin of that android that zapped people yesterday afternoon. Now, I need the Council's approval to evacuate the security guards, call in the planetary defence forces, and maybe evacuate the part of the city around the park –"

As Munipalt spoke he saw the bored look on Ms. Kaleek's face replaced by a peculiarly intent expression. She cocked her head, almost as though listening to another voice from far away. Suddenly she interrupted Munipalt in the middle of a sentence, as though she had not heard him.

"I need you to put this on," she said, fishing in her desk drawer and bringing out a green bracelet, similar to the one she herself wore. "The military have ordered that the heads of all civic departments wear them."

"I'm not the head of the Parks Department," Munipalt objected. "That's Mr. Laeg, although he's getting up there in years –"

"I need you to put this on, Mr. Munipalt," Ms. Kaleek repeated, holding the bracelet out to him.

Munipalt looked incredulously at the bracelet in Ms. Kaleek's hand. It glowed green within, as though powered by the silver cylinder set into it. An irrational feeling of dread prickled along his spine.

"Are you sure?" Munipalt asked. "Have you asked Lord Yelreeg? He has friends in the military, you know."

"Please put this bracelet on, Mr. Munipalt," Ms. Kaleek said. She rose from her chair and stretched out her hand to grab his left wrist.

"Thanks for your time," Munipalt said, and heaved his thick frame out the door of her office faster than he would have thought possible, slamming it behind him.

As he raced down the marble staircase of the Hall of Government, breathing hard, Munipalt heard the door of the office open behind him. The sound of Ms. Kaleek's footsteps followed him, slow, implacable, like something out of a nightmare.

His mind flooded with relief as he saw Lord Yelreeg – one of the two Councillors friendliest to him – standing at the bottom of the stairs, his hands clasped behind his back.

"Your Lordship!" Munipalt called out. "I think the Administrator needs to get some rest. She's behaving strangely –"

The blood turned to ice in his veins as he saw Lord Yelreeg bring his hands forward. A bracelet identical to the one Ms. Kaleek had offered him was in Yelreeg's right hand. Another encircled Yelreeg's wrist.

"Ah, Munipalt!" Yelreeg said cheerfully, holding out the bracelet to him. "Have you heard the latest? The military have ordered that all heads of civic departments –"

"I'm not the head of the Parks Department, thank God!" Munipalt shouted, shoving Lord Yelreeg aside and racing toward the front door of the building.

The Unicepter Hall of Government had three doors at the front entrance, but only the middle one was kept unlocked after hours. Munipalt's heart sank as he saw Lady Noham standing just inside the middle door, completely blocking it.

"Mr. Munipalt!" she exclaimed sweetly, brushing back her unwashed hair with her braceleted hand while holding yet another bracelet out to him with the other. "Why be so unreasonable? Is there nothing the City Council can do to persuade you?"

Munipalt stood still, hope dying within him. He could hear multiple sets of footsteps behind him. Even without turning, he knew what he would see if he did: the other four Councillors and their Administrator, all advancing inexorably towards him with glowing green bracelets in their outstretched hands.

Only one crazy idea leapt into his mind. None but the bold, he thought.

"Yeah, there is, Your Ladyship," he said. "There is something you can do."

"And what might that be?" Lady Noham asked, smiling.

"Kiss me."

Lady Noham took a step backwards towards the door. Munipalt heard the others' footsteps stop, as though they, too, were puzzled by his request.

"What did you say?" Lady Noham asked blankly.

"Kiss me, Your Ladyship," Munipalt repeated.

There was no reply. Lady Noham stood rooted to the spot, staring emptily at Munipalt as though she had never heard of kissing before. There was no sound of movement from the other Council members or Ms. Kaleek, who were apparently equally puzzled.

Taking Lady Noham's silence for acquiescence, Munipalt stepped forward and kissed her hard on the lips. After a long moment, her eyes closed and she sighed deeply. Not wasting any more time, Munipalt shoved her aside, pushed open the door and felt the night air hit his face.

It was a measure of Mr. Munipalt's chivalry that he felt a slight twinge of guilt as he heard Lady Noham tumble to her knees behind him. An instant later, however, the door had closed and Munipalt was racing across the forecourt of the building towards his parked hovercar.

"Her kisses are like poison, anyway," he muttered to himself as he punched a course for the Moonrise Amusement Park into the car's nav unit.

IV

The Terileptil Leader grunted with frustration as he glared at the screen showing events from the point of view of the controlled Administrator.

"First the Time Lord releases the slinth keepers from our control," he said to his subordinate. "Now the human who knows of our presence beneath the amusement park has escaped without receiving a control bracelet. Our mind-control technology cannot cope with the somatic manifestations of human reproductive desire!"

"He does not know of our presence, Leader," his subordinate corrected him. "He only suspects the existence of alien technology in this location."

"He may still pose a grave danger to us," the Leader proclaimed. "Transmat one of the small androids into his vehicle to place a bracelet on his wrist."

"It is difficult to transmat the androids into moving objects, Leader," the other Terileptil objected. "In any case, we must maintain power reserves for the launch of the electromagnetic pulse device and the announcement of our terms."

"Yes, you are correct," the Leader said reluctantly, shifting his weight in his control chair. "Once the device has been detonated, our plan will move rapidly to its culmination."

V

At the Moonrise Amusement Park, the four night security guards – two young men and two young women – stood nervously in the open space where the android had appeared the previous day. The mysterious pool around the floodlight had disappeared, as had the floodlight itself. Instead, a gigantic sinkhole occupied much of the area. The ground under the guards' feet throbbed with regular vibrations, as though in time with the rhythm of pounding machinery under the park.

"What should we do?" one of the women asked nervously.

"Don't worry about it, Sally," a male guard replied. "I called Mr. Munipalt. He'll handle it with the city government, or show up here himself. Mr. Munipalt does everything for Unicepter City."

"Do you think we should evacuate, Tommy?" the other young man asked.

"Don't be stupid, Mike," Tommy said. "Our work schedules clearly state we're supposed to patrol the park all night. It's more than our jobs are worth if we leave."

"Maybe we should patrol some other part of the park, then?" Sally asked.

No one replied. All four guards continued staring silently into the blackness of the sinkhole, as though mesmerised by it. Suddenly there was a shout from Mike.

"What's that?"

A black sphere was shooting up into the air from the centre of the sinkhole. When it had nearly reached the height of the top of the roller-coaster, it glowed dazzlingly bright for a moment. The guards, staring up into the air after it, threw their hands in front of their faces.

And when they looked again, everything had gone black, except the stars.

VI

At the Slinth House, the Doctor had removed the bracelets from Billy and Andrew's wrists and had stowed them safely in his own pocket, along with Trevor's bracelet. The Doctor, Sharon and Vernor had also explained the situation more fully to the three keepers.

"Now, it is of the utmost importance that you endeavour to remember what information the Terileptils accessed from your minds," the Doctor was saying to Trevor and his colleagues. "Just as they placed their own image in Trevor's mind, they will have learned about what you have been doing, and transmitting the instructions that you followed while you were controlled."

Trevor closed his eyes, concentrating.

"I told them…" he muttered. "I told them we were slinth keepers, that we guarded the slinths for their own protection and that of others."

"I think… I think I told them about breaking up with my girlfriend," Andrew said. "How embarrassing."

"Yes, yes, I know, but the slinths?" the Doctor asked urgently. "Do they know about their dream-inducing capabilities?"

"I don't remember telling them that…" Trevor murmured.

"I try not to think about it," Billy said, his eyes also closed. "It's too sad."

"Andrew?" the Doctor prompted. The other two keepers opened their eyes and stared at him.

"No," Andrew replied. "I didn't tell them. At least – I don't think so."

Billy groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Two-and-a-half out of three isn't bad," the Doctor said, raising an eyebrow. "I think we can proceed on the assumption, then, that the Terileptils know only that the slinths are potentially fearsome creatures who could be turned against them unless their keepers are controlled. They don't know where the true power and danger of the slinths comes from."

"But why does that matter, Doctor?" Trevor asked.

Suddenly, all the lights in the building went out.

VII

Gazing impatiently ahead through the windscreen of his hovercar, Mr. Munipalt could see the large roller-coaster at the Moonrise Amusement Park, now less than a minute away. And then, suddenly, he could not see it. The floodlights illuminating it went out. So did every other light in the city. His softly glowing dashboard blinked once, and then faded into blackness.

Munipalt struggled with the controls as his engine cut out. He used the last dying reserves of the car's power to swerve to the side of the road and make a landing that could almost, but not quite, be described as soft. His front bumper crumpled against a signpost, and Munipalt felt a wrenching pain in his lower back.

The doors would not open, but fortunately the hovercar had an open top. With some difficulty Munipalt hauled himself over the passenger-side door and dropped achily to the pavement. Operating now on pure adrenaline, he charged ahead toward the amusement park entrance.

VIII

"What's happened, Doctor?" Sharon asked, straining to see through the inky darkness that now filled the Slinth House. Every source of illumination had failed: not only the lights, but the computer screens, monitors and displays in the control room where they stood.

"The Terileptils have detonated their EMP bomb," the Doctor's voice pronounced solemnly. "Every piece of electrical or electronic equipment above ground in Unicepter City has ceased to function. Unless, of course, you count the interior of my TARDIS as being in Unicepter City, but, since it occupies its own separate space-time continuum and is quite effectually shielded from the exterior universe, I would not consider that it qualifies."

"Never mind all that, Doctor," Vernor said urgently. "The question is, what do we do?"

"At the moment, it would seem that all we can do is await the Terileptils' announcement of their terms," the Doctor said. "I am still not certain how the Terileptils intend to make their announcement, having disabled the city's communications, but there can be no doubt that they will somehow do so presently."

"What are their terms?" Andrew asked nervously.

"You're not going to like them," Sharon said.

As they lapsed into silence, a faint growling and stirring could be heard in the dark.

"Please tell me that noise isn't what I think it is," Billy said.

"Afraid I can't, Billy," Trevor replied. "The psychic field went down again along with the rest of the systems. Any minute now, our furry friends will be awake and angry."

IX

Mr. Munipalt charged through the employee entrance of the Moonrise Amusement Park as though crossing the finish line of the New Torino Marathon. Orienting himself by the black silhouette of the roller-coaster against the stars, he headed for the area of the sinkhole.

As he ran, the ground shook under his feet. Tree branches cracked against each other as though caught in a high wind, and frightening noises echoed through the park as fixtures fell off buildings and walls were undermined. "Minor seismic events – kiss my behind, Your Ladyships," he thought rather than muttered, having no breath to spare for speech.

Munipalt entered the open area where the android had appeared. The sinkhole now covered nearly the entire area. It was growing larger by the second, shelves of soft earth slipping downwards into its darkness.

By the summer starlight, Munipalt faintly perceived the four guards standing around the sinkhole, gaping at it. They seemed paralysed with awe at the terrifying sight.

"What are you standing there for?" Munipalt yelled, skidding to a halt and grabbing the nearest guard by the shoulder. "Evacuate the park – now!"

"Is that you, Mr. Munipalt?" the young man asked. "We don't have authorisation to leave our posts. Our work schedule requires –"

"I'm authorising it, you idiot," Munipalt shouted, pulling the guard with him back towards the entrance. "All of you – out!"

The other three guards broke into a run as the sinkhole grew larger and larger. From behind him, Munipalt heard a choked cry that dwindled into silence.

"Mike lost his footing!" one of the young women shouted. "He fell in!"

"There's nothing we can do for him now!" Munipalt yelled. "Get out!"

As Munipalt emerged from the employee entrance, he turned to see Sally and the other young woman, Lu, following him. He rounded savagely upon Tommy, the young man he had dragged with him out of the park.

"You lot would let robbers into an art museum if they claimed to be police!" he snarled. But he wept as he said it.

"I'm sorry," Tommy muttered. "I don't know what we were thinking –"

"Look!" Lu shouted, pointing back toward the park.

Munipalt spun round to see a vast shape rising into the night sky from the location of the sinkhole. It seemed at first to be a tower; then a huge dish unfurled from it, overtopping the dimly visible roller-coaster.

Suddenly, a million lights sprang into life on the giant object, dazzlingly bright in the darkened city. The dish and its tower seemed to be covered with jewels in every colour of the visible spectrum. A vague memory flitted through Munipalt's mind of a class he had taken during his one year of university, a course on "Galactic Popular Music and Visual Design Aesthetics". A memory of a single word, describing an old Earth cultural phenomenon: "Glam-rock".

There was a throbbing hum from the dish; a sound that briefly made Munipalt feel like his heartbeat was changing. Then a calm, strangely human-sounding voice spoke from the dish. It did not seem terribly loud, and yet Munipalt knew it must be audible throughout Unicepter City.

"Citizens of Unicepter," the voice said. "We are the Terileptils. The tale of our skill for war has preceded us throughout the galaxy."

Munipalt heard a sharp intake of breath from Tommy, still standing next to him, but he remained focused on what the voice would say next.

"A heavily armed Terileptil warship is in orbit around your planet," the voice continued. "A module occupied by Terileptil personnel and armed with weapons of many kinds is located underneath your city. This module is impregnable and cannot be attacked by you in any way."

X

"We have now detonated an electromagnetic pulse device which has disrupted all power and communications systems in your city. Even the farming robots outside your city limits have ceased to function. This is merely a hint of our power."

"More clichés," Andrew Calla muttered as the all-pervading sound of the announcement reached the six people in the control room of the Slinth House, almost drowning out the rising growls of the slinths.

The Doctor had struck a match he had found in one of his capacious pockets. It seemed to be burning unusually long and unusually bright, throwing heavy bands of shadow across his grim face.

XI

"We demand the unconditional surrender of Unicepter, which shall immediately be absorbed into the Terileptil Empire. All governmental authority in the human Unicepter colony shall be dissolved, and all military and paramilitary units shall stand down without resistance."

In the lobby of the Hall of Government, the five City Councillors and their Administrator stood motionless, as though forgotten by the intelligence controlling them since their failure to prevent Munipalt's escape. The bracelets around their wrists, however, seemed to glow more brightly than ever in the darkness as they silently listened to their master's voice.

At the reference to military and paramilitary forces, both Lord Yelreeg and Lady Noham sighed softly, as though buried remnants of their true personalities were quietly protesting the words of the announcement.

XII

"We will give you one hour to accept our demands," the Terileptil Leader said into a grille on the wall of his control room. "That should be long enough for you to complete initial communications repairs. If our terms are not accepted at that time, we will release a variety of biological agents onto the surface of Unicepter."

The Leader paused for a moment for effect, and then continued.

"These agents are deadly to all known forms of organic life in this galaxy. All life on the surface of Unicepter will be eradicated. The Terileptil Empire will gain another dead world that can be colonised in one thousand years, when the plague agents die out.

"Once again, you have one hour to choose. Life under Terileptil rule is far more pleasant than the lingering and horrible deaths you will experience if you do not surrender. The decision is yours."

The Leader snapped off the transmitter grille and turned to his subordinate with a curiously gently smile of satisfaction.

"Now," he said, "we wait."

XIII

The slinths had grown angry again. Still blocking the door to the corridor, the mass of brown furry creatures was growling more and more loudly. To Sharon's surprise, and somewhat to her dismay, Vernor had picked up Miki as he awakened and placed him on his shoulder, where he had rested for so many years. Glancing at the Doctor, Sharon saw that he also was taken aback by this development. However, although Miki was growling softly, he had as yet shown no signs of open hostility to Vernor.

Perhaps there truly was some residual loyalty there, Sharon thought. But as Miki yawned, seemingly still drowsy, Sharon glimpsed his teeth only inches from her husband's neck and shuddered inwardly.

"Trevor," the Doctor asked, "what are your emergency procedures in the event that the psychic field malfunctions? What have you been instructed to do to control the slinths?"

Trevor shook himself, still dazed by the terrifying announcement they had all just heard from the Terileptil Leader.

"Right," he said. "Emergency projectile weapons. There are some in the storeroom, which we can't get to now, but there are some more in the lockers below the monitor screens."

"Of course!" the Doctor exclaimed. "That's how Vernor attacked them during the Slinth Crisis. Energy weapons wouldn't work on them, since they would merely absorb the power and grow stronger."

As Trevor quickly unlocked the foot-level cabinets below the monitors, Miki's soft growling rose slightly in pitch.

"I know, old man!" Vernor said. "I had no choice. Even at the time, I was afraid I might hurt you with that thing, but I didn't know what else to do. I even told Sharon that – don't you remember, Sharon?"

"Yes. I do remember," Sharon said softly.

"It appears that your psychic link with your mammalian colleague is fully re-established, Vernor," the Doctor observed. "That may be useful in what lies before us, or it may be dangerous. I must admit I had anticipated that you and Sharon would find two slinths other than Riki to take with us."

"His name is Miki, Doctor," Vernor corrected him.

"Ah, yes. Miki. Of course."

Sharon shook her head in bewilderment.

"I still can't believe Vernor and I each have to take one of those things back to the TARDIS with us," she said.

"It is necessary to the plan, Sharon," the Doctor replied. "That is, of course, unless you want Unicepter to become the galaxy's largest Petri dish."

Behind the Doctor, Billy Sul groaned. Sharon turned to see whether he was offended by the Doctor's somewhat inappropriate remark, only to find him awkwardly clutching a projectile rifle of an old Earth design which Trevor had handed to him out of the locker. Trevor and Andrew were also armed.

"Don't worry," Trevor said, smiling slightly. "They're kept loaded."

"I've only ever fired one of these things once," Billy said. "I don't know how much use I'll be holding the slinths off."

"Just like closing time at the Winchester," Andrew muttered.

Everyone turned to him, puzzled.

"What was that?" Trevor asked.

"Oh, nothing," Andrew answered, embarrassed. "Just an obscure Earth movie reference."

"Is that related to Star Trek?" Sharon asked.

"Indirectly. You see –"

"Never mind that now," the Doctor said hurriedly. "Is there another way out of this room?"

"There's an emergency exit at the back," Trevor said. "It leads into a corridor to the rear door of the building. There are no slinth pens back there, so you should be able to make it."

"And will you and your colleagues be able to hold off the slinths without us?" the Doctor asked.

"Not a problem," Andrew said quickly. Trevor and Billy stared at him for a moment, but managed to stifle the inappropriate giggles that nearly came out.

"Very good," the Doctor said. He removed another match from his coat pocket and handed it to Trevor, who had armed himself with an old-fashioned revolver.

"This is a so-called 'everlasting' match, Trevor," he explained. "The name may be something of an exaggeration, but it should provide illumination as long as you need it."

He turned to Vernor.

"I'm still not certain that it's wise for you to take Miki rather than some other slinth. Your psychic link to him may prove to be a double-edged blessing."

"I'm not going to be separated from him again – at least, not yet," Vernor said firmly. "I've missed him, and I know he's missed me."

"Que será, será, then," the Doctor said resignedly. "Sharon, you may as well pick out a slinth that looks moderately friendly."

Sharon shuddered. Although the slinths, confused by the switching on and off of the psychic field, had not yet returned to their former pitch of ferocity, all of them except Miki were growling and baring their fangs.

"You can't find one, Sharon? I suppose I shall have to select one for you, then."

The Doctor sighed theatrically. He fixed his eyes on a reddish-brown slinth that had slowly advanced to within the threshold. He stared at it for a moment, and then closed his eyes, concentrating.

The slinth's growls became less insistent. In a few moments it was completely calm, and yet still awake, gazing up curiously at Sharon.

Surprised, Sharon carefully lifted the creature and draped it around her shoulders. Although it was as heavy as a heavy rucksack, the feel of its soft fur on her neck and its warm breath on her cheek was surprisingly comforting. Sharon could understand why Vernor had loved carrying Miki so much.

"Blimey, it's as gentle as a lamb now!" she said.

"I'm using my own, not especially powerful, telepathic abilities to keep your new friend in a semi-somnolent state," the Doctor explained. "I am doing the same for Miki, as it happens. Despite his affection for you, Vernor, he would still bite your neck if he were in contact with the feelings of aggression and resentment stored up in the other slinths."

"Thank you, Doctor," Vernor said, a slightly disbelieving note in his voice.

As the three of them moved toward the emergency exit, Trevor, Andrew and Billy took their stand with their guns near the door to the corridor.

"See you tomorrow, Trev," Vernor called back to his brother.

"Oh, you'll see him today, Vernor," the Doctor said impatiently. "It's long past midnight."

The Doctor pushed open the emergency door and strode out of the room. Vernor only had time for another quick glance back at Trevor before he and Sharon followed the Time Lord out.

XIV

The three surviving guards were still standing in the darkness outside the amusement park, horror-struck by the Terileptils' announcement.

"The military won't really stand down, will they?" Lu asked.

"They may as well," Tommy said bitterly. "None of their equipment will work any more than the lights do."

Sally was frantically tapping away at her portable visiphone.

"This thing is on batteries, and it doesn't work!" she exclaimed in frustration. "How are we supposed to call anyone for help?"

"What do we do, Mr. Munipalt?" Lu asked.

A long moment passed before Munipalt spoke.

"There's only one thing I can think of to do," he said. "And it's the last thing I want to do, but we have no choice. We have to go see the City Council."

XV

The Doctor, Sharon and Vernor had groped their way down a darkened corridor to the rear doors of the Slinth House, only to find that they were locked.

"Trevor must have the key," Vernor said.

"Should we go back and get it?" Sharon asked. "I'm not sure the emergency exit from the control room opens from this side."

"In any case, your brother-in-law and his associates have quite a lot to deal with at the moment," the Doctor said. "Sharon, would you do the honours?"

Somewhat embarrassed, Sharon pulled the safety pin from her pocket again and tried the lock. She struggled with it for several moments, but without success.

"I know I should be able to do it, but I can't," Sharon said, frustrated. "We must have only about forty-five minutes left!"

"Allow me, Sharon," the Doctor said. Taking the safety pin from her, he jiggled it in the lock. Two seconds later the door creaked open.

"How did you do that?" Sharon demanded. "And you said you were mildly disappointed in me!"

"I should have introduced you to Harry Houdini during our travels," the Doctor said, smiling. "You could have learned advanced escapology skills and a gustatory appreciation for bagels with lox."

"Back to the TARDIS?" Vernor asked as they emerged from darkness into slightly less deep darkness.

"As rapidly as possible," the Doctor agreed. "And remember, a plethora of occurrences can eventuate in three-quarters of an hour."

XVI

The Terileptil Leader and his subordinate had returned to the uppermost chamber of their underground module. This was the place from which they had launched the EMP bomb into the sky over the theme park.

The launch unit now contained a different kind of weapon: a sealed capsule about the size of a Terileptil's head. Inside, the Leader knew, were enough genetically engineered bacteria, viruses and hyper-prions to eliminate all life on Unicepter.

"It is, of course, unlikely that we shall have to use this weapon," the subordinate Terileptil remarked. "Given that we control the minds of the governing body of this city, surrender is assured."

"I am not so certain," the Leader said. "And I am displeased by your lack of warrior spirit. That lack is not shared by the Time Lord, or by the human, Munipalt. If either of them succeeds in interfering with this planet's surrender or our victory, then for a thousand years Unicepter will be nothing but a mote of contagion spinning through the universe!"

The chronometer next to the launch tube displayed the countdown to the release of the pathogens. Thirty-nine minutes remained…

END OF PART FOUR