Part 30 (2/2)

'It's incredible,' he murmured.

Powerless Friendless extruded a pseudo-limb and caressed the s.h.i.+p's skin.

It seemed to bend slightly under the pressure of his tentacular fingers.

'No sign of any power,' he said. 'I was half afraid that they might have found a way to turn the engines on, but without the nexus '

'The nexus?' Bernice asked, but Powerless Friendless turned away.

Cwej ran his hand over the hull as well. Turning to Powerless Friendless, he asked, 'What was it armed with?'

'Klypstromic warheads,' the Hith said softly, 'quark projectors, high-power masers and long-range transdyne impellers. All the energy we saved by using the new power source was diverted to weapon systems. It was our last, best hope.'

Cwej's breath hissed out in a long impressed exhalation.

'Incredible,' he murmured. 'This s.h.i.+p could've won the war.'

'Tell me about it,' the Hith murmured.

'Powerless Friendless,' Bernice said, 'you mentioned that this s.h.i.+p had a new power source. What was it?'

'Something called an icaron ring,' he said. 'That's what the engineers called it. Apparently these icarons are particles that prefer to be in hypers.p.a.ce.

That's their natural habitat. The icaron ring kept them circulating inside a magnetic Klein bottle. The theory was that if enough energy was pumped in, they started to slip into the real universe.'

Icarons. That word was familiar. Cwej scratched his head, trying to recall what it meant. He could see from the puzzled expression on Forrester's face that it was familiar to her as well.

'Icarons,' Bernice mused. 'The Doctor mentioned them.' Her face suddenly brightened at the same time that Cwej remembered where he had heard the word before.

'Purgatory!' they exclaimed together.

'The things that drive people mad,' Forrester added. They all gazed up at the jester-coloured bulk of the Skel'Ske Skel'Ske with something approaching dread. with something approaching dread.

'Look,' Bernice said eventually, 'offhand, I can't think of any good reason to go in there.'

With no warning, fire suddenly bloomed across the hull of the s.h.i.+p. The three of them recoiled in the sudden heat.

'What the . . . ?' Bernice started to say as she turned, but the words dried in her mouth at the sight of the three bots pounding along the walkway towards them. They were tall, sleek, four-armed and terribly familiar.

'I can,' said Forrester, and dived through the hatch.

190.Hater Of Humans's eyestalks perked up, then dropped slowly.

'No, Doctor,' it said. 'I appreciate your efforts to help, but our agents work as cleaners in every major corporation on Earth, including INITEC. If the Skel'Ske Skel'Ske was there, we would have known about it.' was there, we would have known about it.'

'Not,' the Doctor said, 'if it was held in hypers.p.a.ce.'

There was silence around the table as they all digested the idea. Even Zebulon Pryce's eyes opened in interest.

'Explain,' Hater Of Humans snapped.

'Unlike ordinary s.h.i.+ps, the Skel'Ske Skel'Ske was designed to be able to stay in hypers.p.a.ce with a zero power output.' The Doctor waved his hands in the air as if clutching at pa.s.sing thoughts with which he was building his theory. 'All the Interstellar Nanoatomic ITEC had to do was to leave it there, and build some kind of hypers.p.a.ce portal in their building. That way, they could get to the s.h.i.+p easily while still keeping it isolated from Hith s.p.a.ce. That's why your predictions were wrong about the levels of madness that should have swept the Earth by now. The particles only emerge, beaming like a searchlight across s.p.a.ceport Five, when the door is opened.' was designed to be able to stay in hypers.p.a.ce with a zero power output.' The Doctor waved his hands in the air as if clutching at pa.s.sing thoughts with which he was building his theory. 'All the Interstellar Nanoatomic ITEC had to do was to leave it there, and build some kind of hypers.p.a.ce portal in their building. That way, they could get to the s.h.i.+p easily while still keeping it isolated from Hith s.p.a.ce. That's why your predictions were wrong about the levels of madness that should have swept the Earth by now. The particles only emerge, beaming like a searchlight across s.p.a.ceport Five, when the door is opened.'

'A s.h.i.+p in hypers.p.a.ce on Earth!' Beltempest said, stunned. 'It's never even been attempted before. The amount of power required to keep it there, so close to a planetary core, would destroy the planet entirely!'

'Not with this s.h.i.+p,' the Doctor said. 'Remember: it likes being in hypers.p.a.ce. It prefers prefers it. With the engines off, it's almost impossible for it to be anywhere else.' it. With the engines off, it's almost impossible for it to be anywhere else.'

'But the icaron radiation is still escaping,' Hater Of Humans said. 'Our predictions may have been wrong, but humans are still going mad. If the s.h.i.+p was in hypers.p.a.ce . . . '

'Whoever is in charge of taking it apart has to get to it,' the Doctor persisted.

'The portal has to be opened in order to get the workers to and from it, and to get components back and forth. If they'd known about icarons driving people mad they could have fitted a double door at least, but they obviously haven't, despite ' He glanced over at Pryce. ' despite the evidence. If your s.h.i.+p is in the INITEC building on Earth, then the urgent thing is to switch the icaron power source off. Can you do it?'

In reply, Hater Of Humans beckoned to Hopeless Itinerant, who picked up the box at his feet and slithered forward, placing it on the table in front of Hater Of Humans, who said: 'In this box is a control nexus for the Skel'Ske Skel'Ske.

As with much of our technology, it is a living being, genetically engineered for its task.'

'Is it intelligent?' the Doctor asked, intrigued.

'To a certain extent,' Hater of Humans replied. 'These mechanisms require some measure of self-determination in order to carry out their tasks. This one 191is more intelligent than most, as it has to control the functions of our most advanced craft.'

'A spare, I presume?'

'The original was on board the Skel'Ske Skel'Ske,' Hater of Humans admitted, dipping its head. 'We must presume that either the pilot or the navigator stole it.'

'And their names were Homeless Forsaken Betrayed And Alone and Powerless Friendless And Scattered Through s.p.a.ce,' the Doctor said quietly.

'How did you know?' Hater Of Humans was incredulous.

The Doctor just shook his head. 'It's a small universe,' he said. 'I met one of them on '

He was interrupted by Zebulon Pryce, who calmly leaned forward and picked up the box.

'Put the nexus down!' Hater Of Humans screamed.

'Am I right in thinking,' Pryce said casually, 'that this organic device is the only thing that can switch the icaron generator off?'

'Put it down down!'

Pryce's long fingers flicked the lid of the box up. Something s.h.i.+fted inside, and he reached in. A thin, piercing shriek filled the room, making Hater Of Humans, Hopeless Itinerant and the two guards flinch.

'Am I right?' he repeated, his voice calm and level.

'Yes,' Hater Of Humans said tightly. 'It is our last hope. Put it '

'And if it is destroyed, then thousands, if not millions of people will go mad and kill each other?' He withdrew his hand from the box. He was holding a small creature shaped rather like an Earth cuttlefish. Its skin was slimy and orange, and its three stalked eyes had a nasty gleam in them. It twisted in Pryce's hand and sank its cogwheel teeth into his palm. He smiled slightly as the blood trickled down his arm.

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