Brinbek accompanied the Doctor and Alison to the throne room. He was still uncertain that the Doctor's tale could be believed, but he trusted Alison, and he gave her his word that they would be granted a visit. Perhaps his father could make some sense of the Doctor's story, or at the very least, alleviate his fears. They entered to find Degrett already seated, his guards waiting patiently at his side. Brinbek stepped in front of Alison and the Doctor. He bowed deeply "Honorable One."

"Rise" said Degrett.

Brinbek cleared his throat "The man we rescued from the plateau wishes to speak with you."

Degrett looked at the Doctor with interest. He nodded and beckoned him closer with an aged wing. The Doctor stepped forward and bowed "Honorable One" he said softly.

"You may speak."

The Doctor rose. "Your people are in great danger. The Antazi have nearly finished constructing a weapon that..."

"The Antazi?" Degrett muttered. A low chuckle began to rise from deep in his chest. "I believe you are mistaken."

"...a weapon" the Doctor continued "that will allow them to seize control of your city."

At this the sovereign laughed out loud. "How?" he choked "How can they do this? They are savages, still dependent upon wood to keep themselves warm, still living as they did hundreds of years ago..."

"Sodium." the Doctor answered.

"Sood..." Degrett stumbled over the word.

"An element that reacts explosively with water" the Doctor explained. "The Antazi leader has found a way to obtain it in pure form."

Degrett sat in confused silence. "And how..." he finally spoke "could this possibly harm our city."

"Malik isn't interested in attacking the city, he means to target the dam."

Alison stepped forward "You mean he plans to flood them out?"

The Doctor looked at her and shook his head. "The city's well above the flood line, and in any case Malik wants to preserve it for himself." He turned back to Degrett "Once the casing on the weapon splits open the sodium will contact the river water and blow dozens of fissures into the dam's surface."

Brinbek stood at attention "Dozens..." he said as the enormity of the situation began to dawn on him. "We would not be able to repair them all before the dam collapsed!"

"Ridiculous!" the sovereign snorted.

"Is it?" said the Doctor "How well have you prepared for the winter? I noticed no grain silos or other facilities for food storage when I looked down on your city..." he raised his brows questioningly "no wood to keep you warm?" The king was stunned silent, the look in his eyes indicated that he clearly thought the Doctor was insane.

Alison moved to the Doctor and touched his arm. "Then Malik means to cut off their power source and leave them completely dependent on the Antazi." She turned to look at Brinbek with concern. "Can he do it?"

The Doctor nodded "Most definitely. I couldn't be sure until the Toroth were shooting at me on the plateau, now I'm certain. They can take out the dam, and they will."

"Impossible!" Degrett shouted "How do you propose they deliver this weapon? The Antazi are intellectually stunted... inferior. They have neither the ability nor the means to harm us in any way."

The Doctor's eyes narrowed, then he shook his head and continued. "It doesn't take a great deal of intelligence to create a solid-fuel rocket." He began to pace before Degrett's throne "Simply vary the component amounts of that peculiar gunpowder your people use, and you have a fuel that's made to burn instead of explode." He stopped and looked directly at Degrett. "I think we both know how Malik gained that information."

Degrett's guards stiffened noticeably. The sovereign exhaled and leaned forward "That will do. This meeting has ended..."

"Your son went to the Antazi" the Doctor continued.

"I am well aware of my son's treachery."

"And because of it you left him to their tender mercies, to rot in an Antazi prison."

"THAT WILL DO!" Degrett roared. With a swift flick of his wing the two guards flew to the Doctor and Alison. They gripped their arms tightly and began to drag them from the throne room. Brinbek watched helplessly.

"This doesn't end here Degrett!" the Doctor called out "Your perfect world is about to change!"

And the two of them were quickly dragged through the double doors.

Alison had brought the Doctor to her room after they were released by the guards. She didn't feel that taking him to see the Master would be particularly helpful. Apparently they were still Brinbek's guests and therefore free to move about the city, but they could no longer approach the King. The Doctor sat on a cushioned chair... fuming.

"Of all the complacent... conceited..."

"Does the ranting help?" asked Alison.

"Not really, no" he replied sullenly.

"And how long will you be at it?"

"Until I feel better!" he shouted. He stared at the crackling fireplace. "I suppose they do use fire for warmth?" he asked hopefully.

Alison shook her head "Only for guests, apparently it's a sort of superfluous comfort."

The room grew silent, then for the first time since he'd entered it, the Doctor noticed the stacks of books. "What's all this?"

"Where the Toroth's technology comes from I'm afraid, Brinbek tells me we brought it to them."

"We?"

"Well, people like me anyway..." she smiled apologetically "humans."

The Doctor sighed "Well that would explain a great deal."

"Doctor, how could this have happened?"

The Doctor walked to the storage spikes by Alison's bed and pulled one of the glittering shafts from it's resting place. He tipped it slowly in his hand and watched as an iridescent shine played across it's surface. "Not too long after humans achieved space flight and had made contact with other intelligent life forms they began a program of seeding alien worlds."

"Seeding?"

The Doctor nodded "They were almost obsessively concerned with spreading their own knowledge and culture to other planets. It was short lived of course, little came of it. Most of the backwater worlds selected for the program returned to their previous ways the moment the humans left."

"That doesn't seem to be the case here."

"No," the Doctor muttered "and look what's been accomplished, a technological discrepancy that's caused feuding for generations." He let the spike drop to the floor where it shattered noisily. "There was no regard for whether the planet's residents were emotionally mature enough to handle the changes that would follow."

"But it wasn't all technology" said Alison hopefully as she plucked a book from the top of one of the stacks "They brought information on art and literature too." She handed him the book "At least they were well intentioned."

The Doctor rolled his eyes "Literature" he said, nearly spitting out the word "yes I suppose that will give the Toroth something to mull over after their way of life has been destroyed." He flipped carelessly through the book, then stopped on a random page. A shadow fell over his face as he began to read.

"And the wild regrets and bloody sweats

None knew so well as I,

For he who lives more lives than one

More deaths than one must die."

Alison's brows lifted in recognition "Oscar Wilde."

The Doctor stood in silence for a moment, then turned and hurled the book into the fireplace.

"Isn't that a little excessive?" asked Alison as she watched the book's pages blacken and curl.

"We should burn the lot of it," he muttered "every last page."

Alison put a hand on his shoulder. "You did what you could, it's not your fault if they refuse to listen."

"I suppose you're right." he said, a tone of resignation in his voice. Alison watched his shoulders slump. He was obviously exhausted, but for the first time since she'd met him he seemed truly old.

"Come with me" she said suddenly, she turned him to face her "there's something I want you to see."