Part 25 (1/2)

The Doctor nodded, and they ran up the stairs.

At the top of the stairs, Fortalexa was standing with his back to them, looking back into the room. His hands were on his hips and he was watching intently what was happening on the other side of the box. The Doctor reached him first, took one look at the scene in the room, dropped his shoulder and without slowing his speed crashed into Fortalexa. The Doctor's soulder caught the man in the small of the back and sent him sprawling across the room. The Doctor continued for a few paces, then skidded to a halt.

Bernice was just behind him and like the Doctor took in the scene at a glance. Ace was backed into a far corner of the box, almost pressed up against the gla.s.s wall. A large metal figure was walking slowly but steadily towards her, robotic arms extended, servos whirring as its legs smoothly inched forward. The whole construction looked like a man the size of an Ice Warrior had been stripped to the muscle and bone, then encased in metal and sent on a body building course.

Ace was throwing anything to hand at the robot which now meant very little. But judging by the trail of electrical components and broken furniture, she had been holding off the inevitable for a while. Now she was almost out of ammunition.

The Doctor used the weapon he had immediately available: his umbrella. He smashed the robot across the head with it. His umbrella was bent almost double; the robot seemed not to notice. Its right hand closed on Ace's neck.

'Stop,' shouted the Doctor, but his cry had no effect. The robot's fingers were touching the gla.s.s wall, its palm and te crook between thumb and forefinger tight against Ace's neck. Benny could see Ace's eyes begin to glaze over as the robot arm moved slowly up the wall.

Benny ran over and grabbed the robot's arm with both hands, trying to pull it away from Ace's throat. Ace was on tiptoes now. Another inch and her feet would leave the floor. The robot's left hand connected with Benny's head as it swatted her, and she went spinning across the room, cras.h.i.+ng into the wall and collapsing in a heap on the floor.

Fortalexa was watching, silent. He had picked himself up after the Doctor had knocked him over, but he made no attempt to help either the robot or Ace. His lips were curled into a set smile.

'Do something!' Benny screamed at him, but he didn't move.

'Stop.' The Doctor's voice was quieter this time, but somehow more authoritative. He was standing beside the machine, his bent umbrella poised above the main control panel. 'Stop, or I destroy the machine.'

The robot froze. One of Ace's feet was off the floor, braced against the gla.s.s wall. The other was on its toes ballet*style.

'That's better. Now let her down slowly. Then release her.'

Ace collapsed to her knees as soon as the pressure of the hand was released. She gasped in air and clutched her throat, pulling open her collar. Benny could see her neck beginning to discolour as the bruising surfaced.

The robot remained frozen in position, its red eyes glowing but otherwise inanimate. By contrast, Fortalexa was exasperated. He stayed clear of the Doctor and the machine, but his hands were clenching and unclenching, his head swaying to and fro.

'Now,' said the Doctor, holding his umbrella above the machine with one hand and adjusting controls with the other. 'Let's see just how good this dimensional osmosis really is, shall we?' He winked at Benny and jabbed at a final sequence of b.u.t.tons.

A red glow seeped across the room from the machine. It wafted towards the silent metal figure by the wall, paused, then slowly surrounded it. It spread like a mist over the area of the room where the robot stood. Ace crawled away as it expanded, enveloping the robot completely, thickening until the shape of the figure was longer discernible. Then it faded, thinned and disappeared. The robot was gone.

'I wish I'd known about that,' croaked Ace.

The Doctor smiled and shouldered his battered umbrella. 'All part of the service.' He turned back to the panel.

But before he could operate another control, Fortalexa was on him, dragging him away. Benny ran across to help, aware of Ace pulling herself to her feet behind her. Fortalexa pulled the Doctor clear of the machine and hurled him at Benny. They collided and fell in a tangle of limbs and umbrella. Ace, just behind Benny, tripped on the Doctor's thras.h.i.+ng arms and joined the melee.

'You're clever, Doctor,' Fortalexa was tapping a command sequence into the machine. 'Clever, but too late.' And for the first time since they had arrived on Heletia, he laughed.

Benny, Ace, and the Doctor were managing to extricate themselves from their scrum on the floor. Now they all watched in amazement as Fortalexa's body rocked with mirth. Tears began to roll down his cheeks and he gasped for breath between bouts of laughter.

'You can't stop it now,' Fortalexa gasped between snorts of laughter. He wiped a tear from his eye. 'The programme's running on the timer the reality envelope is already forming down there, in the theatre. There's nothing even you, Doctor, can do to change that.'

'Hmmm big joke.' Benny pulled herself to her feet and helped Ace up. 'Is he right, Doctor?'

The Doctor nodded. 'Yes and no. He's right that I can't stop it. But then again, I don't want to.'

Ace was still wheezing and rubbing her neck, as she staggered towards the machine. And Fortalexa's laughter turned into a cry of pain.

The red mist drifted out of the machine again. Ace was silhouetted against it as the thin cloud curled round Fortalexa, seeming to grab at his arms and legs. He was screaming now, his cries m.u.f.fled by the mist as it pulled at his limbs, dragging his arms and legs apart, seeming to snap his head backwards.

'Doctor?' But the Doctor shook his head in answer to Benny.

The red of the glow deepened, becoming more opaque. Ace stepped back, away from it, affording Benny a clear view as it closed over Fortalexa just at the moment it looked like his arms and legs must tear away from his body. His screams became more distant, then suddenly they cut off. When the red mist cleared, he was gone.

'Fascinating.' The Doctor seemed not at all worried by the strange events.

'What where did he go?'

'Go, Ace? Back inside the machine.' The Doctor wandered over to where the last vestiges of the mist were dissipating. 'In a sense, you see he was never really really here he was a projection of the machine.' here he was a projection of the machine.'

'No, Doctor. Benny shook her head. 'He was on the mission before we even reached Menaxus.'

'Oh I've no doubt the real person was on the mission, and we met him and joked with him. This Fortalexa, the one who faded away so dramatically, was a copy. At some stage on the journey home, the machine replaced him with its own version.'

Ace nodded. 'That would explain why he lost his sense of humour.'

'Yes he had to follow a script written to accommodate his character. The instincts and wit were not part of this role. Though judging by the surprise he showed at the end you saw how he screamed I don't think the copy even realized he wasn't real. He actually believed he was was Fortalexa. Fortalexa.

'Must have been quite a shock when he found out he wasn't.' Benny had another question: 'Doctor, how did you know that threatening to destroy the machine would stop the robot? Lucky guess?'

'No, Benny. You told us.'

'I did?'

'Yes. Remember when you first found the machine. It tried to kill you; you thought someone had grabbed you from behind But when you were about to damage the machine, it stopped. The machine stopped attacking you in order to defend and protect itself. It seemed reasonable to expect the same behaviour again.'

'Well, whatever the explanation, thanks Doctor.' Ace joined him by the machine. Now can we destroy this thing and get out of here?' She reached out for the control panel, but the Doctor slapped her hand away.

'You're forever trying to destroy things, Ace. This time I think it's better for all of us if we leave it be. Besides,' he went on, 'I doubt we can stop it I think Fortalexa was right about that.'

The Doctor reached out to the control panel and experimentally pushed a b.u.t.ton. Almost as soon as it touched the control, he whipped his finger back with a cry. Benny heard the faint crackle, like a static discharge, from across the room. 'What is it, Doctor? Static?'

'I don't know.' He held his hand up level with his eyes, palm facing down. 'It's made the hairs on the back of my hand stand on end look,' he laughed. Then he cautiously jabbed at the b.u.t.ton again. This time there was no noise, and he rested his hand on the panel. He thought for a moment. 'Probably a residual energy image of Fortalexa. The machine retrieved him in something of a hurry; bound to be something tangible left behind.'

'I still say we smash it up.' Ace was hunting through the mess of broken equipment and furniture on the floor. Benny a.s.sumed she was looking for a suitable implement to break up the machine. Ace worked her way across the floor, head down, scanning the debris. As Benny watched her progress towards the door, she realized that there was a figure standing in the doorway, watching the proceedings.

But before she had time to comment, Ace had picked up the broken metal leg of a chair and returned to the machine. The Doctor rushed round from behind it, but he was not in time to stop Ace bringing the leg clanging down on the side of the machine. It connected with a flat area of the side plate, denting it and deflecting off sideways and downwards. Ace raised the metal bar again, but the Doctor caught her hands as they reached the top of her upswing. His eyes were level with Ace's and Benny could see them burning with anger.

Marlock coughed: 'Smash it up? So, sabotage as well as espionage.'

Ace was startled dropped her weapon and backed away towards the machine.

The Doctor stepped forward and grabbed her wrists. 'Perhaps, Marlock, you would be good enough to lock her away again before she can do any more damage.'

Ace looked startled. The other woman, who Marlock had not seen before, stood her ground. He thought for a moment she might cause trouble too, but a look from the Doctor stayed her. The Doctor Marlock was still not quite sure about him. But Ace certainly needed attention. Marlock stepped into the room and gestured for his bodyguards to restrain her.