Chapter 8: DNA
A/N: I own nothing. The characters all come from much more brilliant minds than mine. I am just playing with them, the way others may play with dolls. I was thinking about the end of Breaking Dawn and how it reminded me of one of my favourite TV shows and so the two were combined. Obviously this is following the story in Daleks in Manhattan and Evolution of the Daleks so a lot of the dialogue is based on the transcripts of those eps.
The silence was overpowering while we waited for the return of the Daleks and the Doctor. I continued to pace my breathing with the other empty shells around me. As a result of the silence, the Doctor's arrival was all the more violent, "Those people were defenceless! You only wanted me, but no, that wasn't enough for you! You had to start killing 'cause that's the only thing a Dalek's good for!"
The hybrid seemed almost ashamed, "The deaths…were wrong."
"I'm sorry?"
"That man, their leader Solomon, he showed courage."
"And that's good?"
"That's excellent."
"Is it me or are you just becoming a little bit more human?"
"You are the last of your kind and now I am the first of mine." I almost thought the Hybrid sounded pleased.
"What do you want me for?"
"We tried everything to survive when we found ourselves stranded in this ignorant age. First we tried growing new Dalek embryos but their flesh was too weak."
The Doctor was disgusted, "Yeah, I found one of your experiments. Just left to die out there in the dark."
"It forced us to conclude what is the greatest resource of this planet—its people."
I heard him flick a switch. I could see the change in shadows as the lights flickered on. Another switch was flicked. I felt the platform I was on being lowered.
"We stole them. We stole human beings for our purpose. Look…inside."
I felt the sheet pulled back. As was my habit in stressful situations, I froze. Solid marble. If the Doctor was surprised to see me, he hid it well. There was no change in his breathing, no speeding in his hearts.
The hybrid spoke again, "This…is the extent of the Final Experiment."
"Is he dead?"I felt the Doctor tuck a wire further under my arm. It must have looked loose.
"Near death with his mind wiped ready to be filled with new ideas."
The Doctor was disgusted, "Dalek ideas."
"The Human-Dalek race."
The Doctor's voice became sad, "All of these people. How many?"
"We have caverns beyond this storing more than a thousand."
"Is there any way to restore them? Make them human again?"
"Everything they were has been lost."
The anger was back when the Doctor spoke again, "So they're like shells. You've got empty human beings ready to be converted. That's going to take a hell of a lot of power. This planet hasn't even split the atom yet. How're you gonna do it?"
The hybrid spoke to the other Daleks, "Open the conductor plan."
I longed to know what they were seeing but I played my part well.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. The Empire State Building. We're right underneath that. I worked that out already, thanks. But what, you hijacked the whole building?"
"We needed an energy conductor."
"What for?"
"I…am the genetic template. My altered DNA was to be administered to each human body. A strong enough blast of gamma radiation can splice the Dalek and human genetic codes and wake each body from its sleep."
The Doctor sounded confused, "Gamma radiation? What are-- Oh, the sun. You're using the sun."
"Soon…the greatest solar flare for a thousand years will hit the Earth. Gamma radiation will be drawn to the energy conductor and when it strikes..."
"The army wakes. I still don't know what you need me for."
"Your genius. Consider a pure Dalek; intelligent but emotionless."
The Doctor spoke with disgust, "Removing the emotions makes you stronger. That's what your creator thought all those years ago."
"He was wrong."
This statement seemed to surprise the Doctor more than anything else he had seen "He was what?"
"It makes us lesser than our enemies. We must return to the flesh. And also…the heart."
"You wouldn't be the supreme beings anymore."
"And that is good."
Another Dalek spoke then, "That is incorrect."
"Daleks are supreme."A third Dalek added.
The hybrid spoke, "No, not anymore."
"But that is our purpose." The tinny voice seemed angry.
"Then our purpose is wrong! Where has our quest for supremacy led us? To this. Hiding in the sewers on a primitive world. Just four of us left. If we do not change now then we deserve extinction."
The Doctor spoke, he seemed thoughtful, "So you want to change everything that makes a Dalek a Dalek."
"If…you can help me. Your knowledge of genetic engineering is even greater than ours. The new race must be ready by the time the solar flare erupts."
"But you're the template. I thought they were getting a dose of you."
"I want to change the gene sequence."
The Doctor realised what he meant. "To make them even more human?
"Humans are the great survivors. We need that ability."
"Hold on a minute. There's no way this lot are gonna let you do it."
"I am their leader."
The Doctor sounded sceptical, "Oh, and that's enough for you, is it?"
"Daleks must follow orders."
"Dalek Sec commands, we obey."
The hybrid, Dalek Sec spoke again, "If you don't help me…nothing will change."
"There's no room on Earth for another race of people."
"You have your TARDIS. Take us across the stars. Find us a new home and allow the new Daleks to start again."
"When's that solar flare?"
"Eleven minutes."
The Doctor seemed excited, "Right then. Better get to work." He was going to help them? "There's no point in chromosomal grafting. It's too erratic. You need to split the genome and force the Dalek-human sequence right into the cortex."
Dalek Sec called to the other Daleks, "We need more chromatin solution."
The other Daleks still sounded angry, "The pig slaves have it."
The Doctor seemed to note the appearance of the pig-men again, "These pig slaves, what happens to them in the grand plan?"
"Nothing. They're just simple beasts. Their lifespan is limited. None survive beyond a few weeks. Power up the engine feeds."
The Doctor was speaking to someone else now, "Lazlo, I can't undo what they've done to you, but they won't do it to anyone else."
Whoever Lazlo was, he asked the Doctor, "Do you trust him?"
"I know that one man can change the course of history. Right idea in the right place at the right time is all it takes. I've got to believe it's possible."
There was a lot of commotion. Things were being moved and bumped. Finally a Dalek spoke, "The line feeds are ready."
The Doctor took a second before saying, "Then it's all systems go."
Dalek Sec called, "The solar flare is imminent. The radiation…will reach Earth in a matter of minutes."
"We'll be ready for it." The Doctor paused, it sounded like he was injecting something into a tube, "That compound will allow the gene bonds to reconfigure in a brand new pattern. Power up!"
I heard the flick of some switches.
Dalek Sec sounded positively ecstatic, "Start…the line feeds.
A mechanical noise started. I heard the Doctor speak over it, "There goes the gene solution."
Dalek Sec called, "The life blood."
One of the tubes near me started to leak some fluid. I shifted my arm slightly so that I was blocking the flow. Suddenly a klaxon sounded. Red warning lights started to flash. I worried that maybe I was causing a back up in the system.
The Doctor asked, "What's that?"
Dalek Sec seemed just as confused, "What's happening? Is there a malfunction? Answer me!"
"No, no, no. The gene feed! They're overriding the gene feed!" The Doctor sounded panicked as he pushed buttons.
"Impossible. They cannot disobey orders."
A Dalek spoke, its metallic voice filled with hatred, "The Doctor will step away from the controls."
Dalek Sec sounded infuriated, "Stop! You will not fire."
"He is an enemy of the Daleks."
"And so are you." I longed to look at what was happening. I risked opening my eyes to slits for half a second and taking in everything I could in my peripheral vision. The Daleks had their 'arms' pointed at the Doctor and Dalek Sec, I understood that this was a weapon. I had to close my eyes again before they noticed me.
"I am your commander. I am Dalek Sec."
"You have lost your authority. You are no longer a Dalek."
The Doctor seemed less concerned with the weapon pointed at him and more concerned with the human life all around me, "What have you done with the gene feed?"
"The new bodies will be 100% Dalek."
Dalek Sec was horrified, "No. You can't do this!"
"Pig slaves, restrain Dalek Sec and the Doctor."
"Release me. I created you. I am your master."
The Daleks ignored him, "Solar flare approaching. Prepare to intercept."
A lift bell dinged. The voice that had conversed with the Doctor before, Lazlo, spoke, "There's the lift." I risked opening my eyes to slits again. The Doctor and a pig-slave were standing by the elevator.
"After you." The Doctor called and pushed his way in.
"The Doctor is escaping! Stop him! Stop him!" The rest of the pig-slaves started after them but it was too late. The lift doors were already closing.
Dalek Sec cried out to the other Daleks, "You have betrayed me."
"You told us to imagine. And we imagined your irrelevance."
"I was your leader. I am Dalek Sec. Obey me!"
I heard fighting, the pig-slaves were wrestling with Dalek Sec. As I stole another glance they fastened a shackle around his neck and chained him to the floor.
The other Daleks continued as if nothing had happened, "Confirm time until solar intercept."
"Gamma strike, four minutes and counting."
The silence was broken by the lift bell.
"Pig slaves will take the lift. Find the Doctor. Kill him."
The Daleks studied the read-out in silence. After a few minutes one of them called, "Gamma strike imminent. In 40 rels. 39…38…37…" It continued to count down, somehow making the moment more ominous. "12…11…10…"
I help my breath as he counted down the last few precious seconds,
"Zero. Gamma strike!"
Lightening seemed to course through the entire lab. I listened as the breathing around me started to change no longer in ringing in a rhythmic pattern. The Daleks confirmed what I feared, "The army awakes."
I watched as the bodies around me started to wake. The Daleks lowered the rest of the tables. I timed my movements with the rest of the army. I didn't want to draw attention to myself but wondered how long I could keep up the ruse. I could play a corpse easily enough, but a Dalek?
