Chapter 8

The Key

The Doctor could not help but wonder if his friend's strange behavior was a delayed reaction to seeing Professor Turner murdered so callously. Perhaps it had brought back the memories of the Alterran's own brush with death at the Master's hands.

Tegan returned to her perch on the counter top and closed the air vent. Turlough took a seat in front of the computer terminal while the Doctor sat down beside Jason. Taking a deep breath, the Time Lord leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. Jason needed time to collect himself; he needed time to think. The only problem was nothing made any sense, and he said so.

"No, Doctor, it makes perfect sense," Jason said, staring into space, a glazed look in his eyes. "All of a sudden, everything just…fell into place."

The Doctor looked at him in bewilderment, turning to his equally baffled companions.

"I've been such an idiot," the Alterran went on, growing more angry with himself as he went. "I should've realized something more was going on. I should've known! All those additional tests. The scanning. All those new tests on the scanning." He looked mournfully at the Doctor. "I've played right into the Master's hands, Doctor, and now you're all in danger. And it's all my fault!"

The Doctor was completely thrown, not knowing how to respond to this tumultuous outburst. Fortunately, he didn't have to. Turlough found his voice. "Your fault? How can any of this possibly be your fault?"

Jason took a deep breath and shook his head as if to clear it. "I'm sorry. I have been rambling, haven't I?"

"Perhaps you should start at the beginning," the Doctor suggested gently.

"No, I think I should start at the ending. I think the Master's after the secret of molecular transmutation," Jason said gravely.

"Oh, dear."

"Worse than that. I think he may've found the key—Me."

A detachment of security guards arrived outside the quarters Jason had abandoned hours earlier. A search of the rooms turned up nothing but the aristocrat's collar of rank. The leader of the group reported these findings, or lack thereof, to Guard Leader Saunders.

In the Security Center, Saunders acknowledged the report and then put his head in his hands in an agony of disbelief. As if things weren't bad enough. Not only could he not find the three intruders, but now he had also managed to misplace the Crown Prince of Tel-Shye.

Jason had been explaining how he came to be at the Institute in the first place. He had been sent to take part in a research program—or more accurately, he was the research program. As far as anyone knew, Jason's ability to scan something simply by touching it was unique. It was all the more intriguing because it was such an integral part of his gift of total recall. After scanning something once, he could remember not only the specific details, but also the events surrounding it, no matter how much time had past; be it weeks, months, decades, or centuries. His scanning had been kept secret by his family so he could enjoy as normal a life as possible, the Doctor having been the only one outside his family entrusted with the secret.

Tegan asked why, after so much time, he had suddenly decided to let the secret out. Jason explained that he actually had not. His father had been the one to approach Professor Turner, revealing no specific details about the project until an assurance of secrecy was obtained. Jason was then sent to the Institute to see if it could be established whether his ability was paranormal or physiological.

The Prince remarked that the Professor had made several changes in the original project. Not a month into the work, different tests were added that were related to his ability to transmute rather than his scanning. Jason had found this an irritant, since the original program was already a lengthy one. He was told the tests were supposed to help determine whether the two abilities were linked in any way.

As an aside comment, Jason mentioned that it was around this time that the new Security Com mander, whom they now knew to the Master, took office.

The Doctor asked if the behavior of the guards had also changed at that time, and Jason confirmed that it had. In fact, it had become increasingly more erratic, the culmination being when the surveillance equipment and communications went out at the same time.

"The weirdest thing is," the Prince said thoughtfully, "the Professor didn't seem bothered by any of it. Whenever I mentioned how odd the guards were getting, he'd just brush it off and say I was overreacting."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. He knew a great many people he could accuse of overreacting at times, but Jason was not one of them. "When are you supposed to complete this project of yours?" he inquired.

"I've already finished. Everything that involves me directly was wrapped up yesterday. I'm going back to Tel-Shye as soon as my transport arrives."

"You finished yesterday? When the surveillance system went out?"

Jason nodded. He could tell the Doctor was fishing.

"Doctor," Turlough interrupted, "we started getting that time-phase pulse yesterday."

"So we did…" the Time Lord said thoughtfully, adding this piece to the others he was fitting together in his mind. "Jason, how long has the Containment Area been on a different security system than the Complex?"

"A couple of weeks, I think. That's one of the reasons the Institute's shut down just now. Why?" Jason scowled, wondering where this was leading.

"And it just happened to coincide with when your project was in progress?"

"Yes, I suppose so." The Prince noticed a change come over the Time Lord's face the instant he replied. He knew that look of old.

So did Turlough. "You're on to something, aren't you, Doctor?"

The Doctor gave a wry smile. "Who would've had to implement and oversee this operation?" he asked innocently.

"That's easy. The Comm—" Jason's eyes grew wide with the sudden realization. "The Master!"

"The Master," the Doctor said blandly, his suspicions confirmed. He rose to his feet and paced like a caged lion, his hands thrust deep into his pockets. Part of the puzzle was coming together. The faulty chamber was bait to lure him to the Institute. The surveillance system going out would put the already paranoid guards on their toes, and since Professor Turner's group was the only one in the facility, any new face would stand out instantly.

"That explains the how," the Doctor concluded, "but it still doesn't explain the why. Why go to all this trouble to bring me here?" Sitting down again, he furrowed his brow in concentration. "I've missed something," he muttered in frustration. "I'm sure I've missed something."

Tegan gave a heavy sigh. "You're not the only one. I'm completely lost. I'll bet if you asked me what's one and one, it'd come out three."

Jason caught his breath and stared hard at her. "What did you say?"

Tegan felt a little embarrassed. "I'm sorry. You're trying to…"

The Alterran was no longer listening. He sprang to his feet in excitement. "One and one makes three! That's it! It has to be. Doctor, that's the real reason I'm here. Oh, Tegan, I could kiss you!"

"Before you get carried away," chided the Doctor, "perhaps you might enlighten us."

Jason gave the Time Lord a sour look before telling of how Professor Turner had been working on a theory that genetic information from one subject could be extracted and transferred to another. Later he began work based on the theory that genetic information could be extracted from two separate subjects, combined and then transferred into a third thereby creating a being possessing the qualities of all three in combination. The Professor had even gone so far as to start experiments based on his theory. But instead of using DNA, he had used mature subjects, his reasoning being that a fully formed subject would possess more of the subtleties of personality than a DNA blueprint. Unfortunately, there was one major flaw. None of the subjects ever survived the extraction process.

"That's monstrous!" The Doctor was horrified. "I thought your people banned genetic engineering centuries ago."

"You know perfectly well they did," the Alterran snapped defensively. "As soon as word got out what he was doing, the Lord Emperor gave him an ultimatum. Stop the experiments or re-sign the Directorship." Jason went on to explain that his coming to the Institute for tests had actually been a ruse that he and his father had concocted at the request of the Emperor to make sure the Professor had kept his word. As far as Jason had been able to ascertain the experiments had been stopped. "I've been blind as well as stupid," he said angrily. "He had to've been in league with Master. That way he could continue his work in secret."

"Very probably," the Doctor injected.

"Why couldn't I see it?" Jason grumbled, becoming more annoyed with himself as he went. "The only place in the whole Institute that's off limits is the security center."

"I know I'm going to sound incredibly thick," Turlough injected, "but that still doesn't explain why we're here. What does the Doctor have that the Master wants so badly."

Jason did not have the vaguest idea and turned to the Doctor, who did not have a clue, either. Where did he fit into all this? It was reasonable to assume the Master wanted Jason's ability to transmute, but what did he want from him? After all, they were both Time Lords. There wasn't anything one had that the other…

"Regeneration!" the Doctor cried triumphantly, only to turn sharply to the Alterran, realizing the implications of what he had just said. "What a dreadful thought. The Master with the power to transmute and regenerate."

"And scan," Jason added. "I'm positive the ability—the power—is genetically based, somehow."

"Just how much power would all that give him?" Tegan asked reluctantly.

Before Jason could reply the Doctor asked, "Would that put him in the First Circle?"

This brought a horrified look to the Alterran's face. The First Circle referred to those few of his race who could take on another form without diminishing the powers of their true selves, he being one of them. "If he knows about that…beyond," Jason breathed, overcome by the idea. "Doctor, there are things I can do that even you don't know about. He'd be unstoppable. We can't let that happen."