CHAPTER 7
"YOUR SECRET IS SAFE…"
Startled, the Doctor looked up to see Constance standing just inside the connecting door to the storeroom. She had entered through the door he had seen her silhouetted in all those hours ago, arriving just in time to witness Jason's shooting. She had been surprised that he did not notice her, and realized that his attention was completely focused on Tobias Black and getting him safely locked inside the enclosure.
Constance knelt beside the Doctor, her eyes widening as she took in Jason's wound. The destruction of his crystalline lattice was accelerating dramatically. The cracking had spread across his abdomen, all the way down one leg and part of the other, up and across his shoulder and down one arm. Within a few more minutes, his body would be completely engulfed after which the destruction would move inward, destroying his internal organs, and killing him in the process.
"Don't say…told you so…" Jason whispered as the woman got down beside him.
Constance looked into his eyes, but said nothing.
"Don't worry…" Jason said almost inaudibly, "your secret safe…with me. Heaven help me…your secret…sssafe…" His voice trailed off as he slipped into unconsciousness.
Constance turned to the Doctor. "Quickly, get him on the bed over there," she practically ordered, indicating a bed with a domed cover set against the wall on the far side of the room.
The Doctor looked in the direction indicated and scowled. The "bed" looked like a very large roll top desk with a padded interior. He gingerly lifted the limp youth into his arms, carrying him to the cabinet and carefully placing him inside. He studied the unfamiliar device as Miss Sorenson hurriedly prepared the equipment, reluctantly lowering the cover when instructed. As soon as this was done, the medical monitors came to life, displaying his companion's unstable vital signs.
Constance had already taken a seat at the nearby computer console. Her fingers clattered on the keyboard as she entered a steady stream of information. At the same time, the Doctor noticed the dome start to glow from within, Jason's form just discernible through the opaque cover.
After several minutes, Constance sighed and leaned back in her chair. "That's all I can do," she informed calmly. "It's up to him, now."
"How long before you know anything definite?" the Time Lord asked worriedly.
"Not for half an hour, at least."
The Doctor nodded and pulled up a stool to keep watch on the readings. Within a few minutes his companion's vital signs, although weak, started to stabilize and he breathed a sigh of relief, closing his eyes and leaning back against the wall. It was only then that he became aware of his own injuries and rubbed the gashes he had inflicted on his wrists.
Seeing this, Constance inquired, "Doctor, are you hurt?"
"I'll live," he replied tersely. He then asked her to explain the treatment Jason was undergoing and the function of the cabinet.
As the Doctor already knew, Alterrans were a silicon-based lifeform, their basic molecular structure crystalline. This allowed them to absorb large amounts of radiation and convert it to energy without being harmed. Miss Sorenson explained that a massive, concentrated energy burst overloaded this ability and shattered the crystalline lattice of an Alterran's cell structure, producing the cracking he had seen Jason's body. The duration and magnitude of the energy burst determined the extent and speed of the lattice damage. From what they had seen, it was apparent that Jason had been hit with a catastrophic amount of energy.
Constance went on to explain that the energy bed had been designed to produce a low intensity energy emission that halted the shattering of the lattice and allowed the occupant's vital signs to stabilize. Once this is accomplished, the unit supplied the necessary radiation for the occupant to absorb and convert in order for their body to repair itself.
"Sounds a bit like photoconductivity," the Doctor injected blandly. "I am familiar with the principle, Miss Sorenson."
"That's only part of the process, Doctor," she informed, adding, "And since we're going to be stuck here for a while, you might as well call me Constance." Motioning to the energy bed, she then said, "As for all this…well, I'm not really familiar with the conversion process myself. It's very complicated. Director Black installed the unit and taught me how to use it."
The Doctor gave her a wry smile. "It's ironic, don't you think? The most qualified person to operate it is probably Jason himself." He was about to ask another question when a sudden thought struck him and he got to his feet, taking a step away from the bed. "Just how much radiation does this thing produce, anyway?"
"Oh, we're quite safe, Doctor. Even when the dome is raised the radiation level is negligible. The frequency is set to the amount the occupant can absorb. If the demand changes, an alarm sounds." Constance scanned the readings and leaned back in her chair. "And now that it's stopped the destruction of the lattice, his body should be able to repair itself. Providing, of course," she added offhandedly, "the damage to his system isn't too extensive."
"And if it is, he'll die?" the Doctor said gravely.
Constance nodded. "Yes, I'm afraid so." She looked up sharply when the Time Lord said accusingly, "Are you? I wonder. If he dies, then whatever it is you're hiding dies with him, doesn't it?"
The woman at the computer returned this open accusation with an icy, contemptuous stare. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," she replied frostily.
"And I'm sure you do. Our friendly little maniac under glass over there has been blackmailing you and somehow Jason discovered what it was." As he spoke, the Doctor moved casually toward the storeroom where the enraged Tobias was currently pounding on the sides of his prison. Looking at his seemingly disinterested audience, he said mildly, "I know you're Alterran, by the way." Still receiving no response, he asked, "Tell me? Do you think Director Black can tell me what Changeling mania is?"
Constance remained motionless until the Doctor's hand was inches from the speaker switch. Then she was out of her seat like a shot. "No!" She stopped dead when the Doctor spun around, the laser pistol in his hand. He would never have used it, of course, but Constance had no way of knowing this.
"Well...?" the Time Lord ventured.
The Alterran raised her hands in surrender, keeping her large, dark eyes fixed on the deadly weapon. "Alright, alright, you win! Just…don't point that thing at me."
"My dear woman," the Doctor began indignantly, "so far tonight I've been kidnapped, locked up, strapped to an operating table and nearly strangled. After suffering the strength and agility of an Alterran firsthand, I think I'd prefer a discreet distance and considerable leverage in my favor. I'm sure you understand."
Constance said nothing, her eyes still fixed on the gun he held unwaveringly in his hand.
The Doctor's face darkened and his voice hardened as he said, "Now. Tell me about the Changeling mania."
Heaving a resigned sigh, Constance returned to her place by the computer. "To understand that, you have to understand what the Changeling Project was all about, and few outsiders even know about it."
"Oh, but I do, my dear Constance, I do," the Doctor informed. "One of the things I know is that it causes the eyes to change color—to black. Just like yours. Is that the secret Jason's keeping?"
Miss Sorenson made no reply.
"Tell me about the mania," the Doctor demanded. "And not the edited highlights, I know those already. I want specifics."
After studying his set expression as well as considering the gun in his hand, Constance resigned herself to telling him what he wanted to know, starting at the beginning…
The Alterran ability to transmute, as well as many of their other powers were all a result of generations of painstaking work by genetic engineers whose ultimate goal had been to perfect the race. As in all fields of research, the risk of something going wrong was always a possibility, but as the years pasted into decades and then centuries, this idea was virtually forgotten. Ultimately there was not just an accident, there was a catastrophe.
While working on a method to artificially enhance the intelligence, there was an explosion and the entire research team was exposed to the unrefined substance. The affects were not immediately evident, as each person had been exposed in varying degrees. It was not until later that they learned that, instead of enhancing the intellect, the substance magnified all the violent, sadistic tendencies. One-by-one the members of the group started to go insane, swinging from periods of lucidity to violent cruelty, this beginning of the mania. Eventually an affected individ ual would degenerate to a single fixation to kill with a savagery that was alien to the Alterran race, even in its most corrupt period. It was then that the group became known as the Changelings.
This devastating incident was the final the deciding factor that compelled the Alterran Emperor to take action, banning genetic engineering for all time. He then went on to horrify his people—and the remaining members of the research team—by ordering them put to death, whether insane or not. All two hundred and seventeen. A small group of Changelings who had not been affected (at least, not at the time) managed to escape, disappearing without a trace along with most of the documentation on the original research Project.
"If memory serves me correctly," the Doctor injected mildly, "the group was aided in their escape by one of the Time Lords who wasn't too keen on the newly formed Alliance between Alterrous and Gallifrey. According to the legend, his intention was to let these Changelings run amok in the future and thereby wreck the Alliance."
Constance blinked. First Jason had astonished her with his knowledge, and now the Doctor was doing exactly the same thing. She stopped herself from uttering an alarmed cry when he went on to say, "Of course, this never happened, and rumor has it the Changelings turned on their benefactor and killed him."
Willing herself to remain calm, Miss Sorenson gave the Doctor a polite half smile. "An interesting hypothesis."
"Isn't it? And here's another one for you. Tobias the Blackmailer over there discovered all or part of this and used it against you. Now which was it? The documents? Or the fact that you're one of the missing group?"
Constance remained silent a moment before saying, "Let's just say he threatened me with what he discovered. He said he'd turn me over to the Emperor if I didn't make it worth his wile." She glared over at Tobias, who glared back with unbridled hatred. "I made it worth his wile, alright, didn't I, Mr. Director?"
Now completely under the control of the mania, Tobias Black threw himself against the sides of his prison in a vain attempt to escape. He changed form repeatedly in an attempt to find one strong enough to break the seals on the enclosure. A chill ran down the Doctor's spine as he watched this frenzied display, realizing if the trapped lunatic did manage to break free, he would kill everyone on the entire estate.
The Doctor's disquieting reverie was broken as Constance said, "He thought he could correct the original problems with the project and perfect the substance himself—the fool. I didn't even know he'd dosed himself until Jason told me." Her voice hardened and there was a distinct edge of contempt in it as she observed, "Now look at him. A Changeling himself. A Changeling who'll do anything for the cure."
"I've been meaning to ask you that. What is the—" The Doctor broke off as a beeping suddenly came from the computer.
Constance turned her attention to the screen and set to work at the keyboard.
The Doctor went to the monitors attached to the energy bed and was horrified when he saw Jason's vital signs dropping. "What's wrong?" he demanded.
"He's stopped absorbing energy," Constance replied without looking up. Stopping her entries, she turned to the Doctor and said bluntly, "He's dying."