Part 4
Having an entire civilization chattering inside your head can be distracting. It was even distracting for Susan, who by this point had grown accustomed to the mumbling in her mind. And they were a civilization. She could hear them, she could feel them in her mind, not just the sadness of the sponges in the laboratory, but the life and energy of those living miles and miles beneath them, and around them, throughout the vast ocean.
It was a strange sensation, and though she had difficulty explaining it the first time she found that, if she'd been asked to explain it now, it would be far trickier. They weren't quite voices, they weren't quite talking, but they were communicating. They were using thought, and feeling, to ask her who she was, to ask whether she was there to help, to ask why she could hear them at all…
Yet, despite the volume of voices now in her mind, it didn't seem to be too much to handle. They fluctuated, reaching out to her and pulling back, but all the time another part of her was still able to process what was happening in the room, in a strange sort of slow-motion, like the power of thought had made the world slow to treacle around her.
Ian and Barbara were standing protectively in front of Susan, Ian trying to stand in front of Barbara as well. The Doctor had his bottle plugged into the tank, and the gas had just mixed and been diffused. Yandi had his gun out, and Reina leapt, seeming to soar through the air at a tectonic speed.
But Yandi didn't shoot. Before Reina tackled him to the ground, moving more out of instinct than anything at this point, he collapsed to his knees and dropped his gun. The last Susan saw of him, before Reina's body completely knocked him out of the way, was Yandi's wide-eyed face, blankly staring at the ground in front of him.
And then, or so it felt, time happened again.
The Doctor dashed over to Ian and Barbara, while Ian went to Reina to help her. She had Yandi pinned to the ground, but the scientist wasn't struggling at all. Susan could see that his face was still blank, but as she watched she saw a deep sadness developing in his expression.
Reina got up and knelt over him, next to Ian.
"I had to," Yandi said in a quiet voice. "Don't you see? I had to."
"And why did you have to, mm, young man?" asked the Doctor.
"So much energy," said Yandi. "I could have started a golden age for humanity! But the screaming, the endless screaming. I had to make it stop."
"You could have made it stop," said Barbara evenly. "But you didn't."
"You know what I mean." Yandi sighed. "I couldn't give up a source of energy and innovation like this. So we designed organic psychic shields. A way to block the voices out. I'd almost forgotten what it sounded like."
"Well, soon, everybody in the city will hear them," said the Doctor. "And then, I think, you shall have to find another source of energy."
"We really did start as a geothermal plant," said Reina. "The sponges we found quite by accident. Most of the geothermal equipment is still working."
The Doctor smiled. "Well then," he said. "It seems that we have, we have done what you asked. And, in exchange?"
Reina looked at Yandi and lifted him up by his arm. He didn't protest, still trembling, his eyes blank save for sadness.
"I don't think he'll be a problem now," she said. "Come, Doctor. I'll get you your equipment, and you can be off."
They followed Reina back through the corridors. Susan was pleased to see that, this time, they didn't have to feel their way through the darkness. As they went through the laboratories, they met with different scientists, and interns, including Theodore, all bleary-eyed, having just been woken by the sound of a city in their mind.
"It's over," said Reina, shortly, as they passed scientists. Some appeared annoyed, others relieved. Theodore was simply confused.
They picked up the equipment the Doctor needed for the TARDIS scanner, and Susan tried her best to explain to Theodore what had happened.
"Psychic sponges?" he repeated. He paused, in thought. "Yes," he said. "They're telling me that's what they are. How odd."
"Well, I shouldn't think you'll be able to speak with them for much longer," said Susan. "Grandfather just made a short term solution. Enough to stop you hurting them."
Theodore nodded. "I can't believe we… I… a side-effect of the pressure? I can't be that gullible."
"You weren't, at first," said Reina.
"No, indeed," said the Doctor. "There was some kind of a, of a drug in the gas, wasn't there? To make them complacent, hmm?"
Reina nodded. "Yes. It took a lot out of me to fight that. I'm glad you all came when you did."
By this point, they had returned to the TARDIS.
"I tried to get in, you know," said Yandi. Susan jumped slightly. She'd forgotten he was there at all. "I couldn't open it at all."
The Doctor tapped the side of his nose. "Well, of course not," he said. "This is the safest ship in the universe."
Ian and Barbara exchanged a conspiratorial smile. The Doctor harrumphed, slipped his key into the lock, and opened the door. They stepped inside, and Susan giggled at the scientists' expressions.
"Don't worry," she said. "You'll figure it out."
Barbara stayed outside for a few moments, while the Doctor tinkered with the scanner in the TARDIS.
"What will you do now?" she asked Reina.
"Make sure people know," said Reina. "Though I'm sure they're starting to, now. Switch back to geothermal energy, and, well… I can't lead this institution by myself, but I don't think Yandi is suited for it, either. I'll do what I can."
Barbara smiled. "Well, I wish you the best."
"Oh, Barbara!" called Ian's voice from inside the TARDIS. "We're ready!"
Barbara sighed and looked at the ocean around her once more.
"You know," she said, "it really would be nice to go somewhere peaceful, for once."
"I still don't understand," Theodore said. "Where do you travel? How does that ship work."
"Do you know, I haven't the faintest idea," said Barbara. "And between you and me, I don't think the Doctor knows either." She stepped into the TARDIS. "But if you're confused now, well… just look at this."
And she closed the door.
The light on the blue box began to flash, and it made a wheezing sound as it gradually faded from view. The scientists goggled at the phone booth, and heard the voices inside growing faint.
"Oh, grandfather," they heard Susan say. "Can we show Barbara and Ian the Rings of Akhaten?"
They heard the Doctor hum and haw, but he was much, much quieter, almost a whisper on the breeze, as he said, "we shall see, my dear. We shall see."