CHAPTER 15

THE TRUTH AT LAST

The Doctor knew he would be disoriented upon entering the computer, but this still did not prepare him for what he found when he finally materialized in the Eldarian collective. As before, he was a projection of his physical self, but instead of being in a blackened room he found himself in the center of an enormous arena filled to capacity. He looked around in blank astonishment at the thousands of spectators. "The Coliseum was never like this," he muttered.

Holding out his arms, the Time Lord addressed the assembly. "Can anyone tell me who is in charge here?" he called out in a grand tone.

The crowd laughed uproariously.

Undaunted, the Doctor repeated the question. This time there was a reply. It was calm, quiet—and from directly behind him. "There is no one in charge here."

Startled, the Doctor spun around, seeing a small gray-haired man wearing a Roman toga, which, despite their surroundings, the Doctor found absurdly incongruous.

"We are all slaves to the computer," the man went on. "And now, so are you."


Bryce Miller muttered to himself as he struggled at the console. The Doctor's processing was proving to be just as difficult as he anticipated. It appeared it would take some time before every thing was fully stabilized.

An alarm suddenly sounded from a different panel and Miller shot a quick glance at it, a grin of irony coming to his face.

"What's wrong?" Azure asked.

"The relay transmitter for the forward section has just gone off-line," he replied. Looking pointedly at the motionless Time Lord, he added, "Now I wonder how that could've happened?"

"Shall I see to it?"

"Yes. Without it we won't be able to reestablish control over the front sections."

Azure threw a quick glance in Jason's direction, ordered him to stay where he was and then headed for the door.


The Doctor followed the man who called himself simply the Caretaker through the surreal world within the computer. It reminded him of a similar surrealistic journey into the Matrix on Gallifrey and he wondered if this system could be manipulated in a similar fashion.

Stopping outside a set of double doors, the Caretaker pulled them open to reveal an enormous library beyond. The shelves were lined with hundreds of thousands of books.

"I'm very grateful for the tour, Caretaker," the Doctor was saying, "but if I'm to be here for ever, I'd appreciate it if you'd answer a question or two."

Holding out a hand, the Caretaker said grandly, "All your questions will be answered within. Enter and learn."

"No, I don't think so," the Time Lord replied firmly. "If I'm not mistaken, a library is a repository of knowledge." He paused a beat before saying, "Just like the living mind. And I'm not going to go mucking about in other people's minds like Bryce Miller."

The Caretaker stiffened visibly, a startled look coming to his face, both indications that the arrow had found its mark. "I don't know what you mean, Doctor," he said at last.

"Yes, you do." The Doctor looked through the door and then back the way they came. "Not everyone wants to leave do they? I mean, why should they? No day-to-day worries. No problems or stress. All their cares, their desires taken care of."

"Exactly," the Caretaker said excitedly, thinking he had found an ally in the Doctor. He was about to learn otherwise.

The Doctor rounded angrily on him. "Yes, exactly. Exactly nothing! Nothing to strive for. Nothing to aim for. No growth! No progress! No reason for living—if you can call this living. It's stagnation!"

Before the Caretaker could respond he was abruptly yanked backwards and thrust through the open door of the library, the door slamming shut.

The Doctor was just as startled as the Eldarian at this occurrence and stood staring as a bar was dropped across the library doors. It was not until the mystery assailant turned around that the Doctor realized who it was. "Tierron!" he gasped, not quite believing it himself. "I left you in the lobby."

"No time to explain that now, Doctor," Tierron replied with a clarity that startled the Time Lord again. "I came to help you find the truth. You won't find it with him." He nodded back at the door. "He wouldn't know it if it got up and bit him."

"Tierron, I'm awfully glad you're here, but I don't want to put you in anymore danger."

"I'm not the one in danger, Doctor," the Eldarian replied gravely. "You are."

The Doctor blinked. "Me? How?"

"You've probably already noticed I have no trouble communicating in here. That's because it's all mental energy. Out there it's different. Out there, the others know my thoughts. I can't shield them, nor can I know the thoughts of other races. Not so with you. That's what Bryce is after."

"Are you saying…?" The Doctor scowled, throwing an annoyed look at the library door. The Caretaker was making a great deal of noise hammering on it, making it difficult to think. "Come on, let's go somewhere quiet," he said, taking Tierron by the arm and leading him away.

"So what you're saying," the Doctor said, continuing with his original thought, "is your people's telepathic ability is closed? Eldarians can only communicate with other Eldarians?"

"Yes."

The Doctor stopped, and then started pacing, unable to contain himself. This one piece of information put a great deal into perspective. If the Eldarians were "true" telepaths, they would have been able to read Jason's mind on what they were doing, as the boy was untrained in concealing his thoughts. It was at that moment the Doctor decided to fully train his companion how to utilize his telepathic ability. That is, if he got out of the computer.

"Bryce Miller wants my mind because I'm telepathic, is that what you're telling me?"

"Because you are a trained telepathic, Doctor," Tierron corrected. "You closed him out in the lobby. You would not have been able to do that without some training. We can't be trained as you have. Something about our make up prevents it."

Several thoughts went through the Time Lord's mind, but he kept them to himself, a grin spreading across his face. "Than he's in for a surprise," he remarked. Looking up, he added, "He's taking his time, isn't he?"

Now it was Tierron's turn to grin. "No, that's me. He believes you're taking longer to process because you're not Eldarian. With the help of those of us you freed, we've hidden you from him."

The Doctor flashed a broad smile. "Then we shouldn't waste time with ideal chitchat," he said, suddenly very serious. "So tell me, how did a race of telepaths get themselves trapped like this?"

Tierron lowered his eyes guiltily. "Greed, mostly," he admitted. He went on to explain that Bryce had persuaded them if they combined their mental energies together, they would be able to achieve greatness. The combined efforts of so many great minds could answer the deepest questions, plumb the depths of the cosmos, fathom the unfathomable.

"And reap the rewards of doing it," the Doctor concluded. While on the surface this was all very noble, it carried along with it the undeniable lure of power and wealth.

"How did he engineer it all?" the Doctor then asked. "I mean, he didn't just appear out of no where and offer the Golden Apple, did he?"

"I don't understand the illusion, Doctor," Tierron remarked, "but the engineering was easy for him. He's one of us. Cosmetically changed, but Eldarian just the same."

"What!"

"He left Solus Wistos many years ago and then reappeared as this Bryce Miller person. We didn't learn his true identity until it was too late."

"I wonder where he acquired the technology. Hakol, presumably," the Doctor muttered thought fully. Returning his full attention to Tierron, he pressed on. "And the control collars. Where did they come from? Presumably they didn't just spring fully formed aboard this ship after the crash."

"No. And neither did we. The Captain and his crew didn't know it but it was Bryce who commissioned them. They were to rendezvous with him somewhere to transfer cargo."

"It must've annoyed him when the ship crashed."

Tierron gave him a puzzled look before going on to explain how the CEO managed to get hold of the vessel and then convert it into The Gathering Dome. The technology that awaited the captives was simply transferred onboard and utilized as the Doctor had already witnessed.

The appalled Time Lord was prevented from asking further questions when the Caretaker and several others suddenly appeared all around them.

"Time to take your place, Doctor," the Caretaker snarled.

The Doctor grinned unabashedly at him. "You know, Caretaker, I'd love to. But I'm afraid I've more pressing business elsewhere. Good-bye." With a wave of his hand, he abruptly vanished.


The abrupt appearances and disappearances of the Doctor's conscious energy was beginning to annoy Bryce as he struggled at the computer. Had he known the Doctor possessed the power to move at will through the system he would have realized it was deliberate. Instead, he simply thought it to be a processing error and continued tracing the fault. So intent was his concentration that he actually jumped when a woman suddenly cried out in the next room. He looked up just in time to see Azure enter, pulling LiaDonna in with her.

"We have all kinds of wandering guests today," Azure remarked dryly.

"I don't have time for this," the irritated Bryce snapped, returning his attention to the con sole. "Kill her."

LiaDonna screamed, hiding her face in her hands as Azure raised her weapon.

"No!" Jason instantly sprang to life, putting himself between the gun and his terrified mother.

"Apparently the relay is out in this part of the building too," Bryce observed blandly, not even bothering to look up.

"Think what you like," the Alterran responded coldly, his eyes locked on the weapon in Azure's hands. "I'd just like to point out that I'm not a weak-minded boy, nor am I useless."

"No," Azure replied coldly. "You're dead."