Read Doctor Who: War Machine Online

Authors: Ian Stuart Black

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BOOK: Doctor Who: War Machine
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He broke off as Brett hurried into the room, pushing past the Doctor without appearing to recognise him. The Doctor noted the strained expression on his face, and the fact that Brett was wearing a raincoat and gloves.

‘Sorry I couldn’t attend,’ called out Brett. His voice sounded different to the Doctor – impersonal, detached, as though he were reading a speech.

‘It was... unavoidable,’ went on Brett. ‘Apologies.’ ‘Now you’re here,’ said Sir Charles, ‘you might like to tell our guests something about –’

Brett interrupted curtly. ‘I’m afraid I’ve no time. I must speak to Professor Krimpton.’

Sir Charles was indignant. ‘The Press have come here on our invitation –’

‘This is urgent.’ Brett brushed him aside. ‘Where is.. ah, there you are, Krimpton.’

‘You wish to see me?’ Krimpton was taken aback. ‘Please come with me,’ said Brett.

‘I’m from the New York Daily Sketch... ’ called out someone from the floor.

‘No comment,’ said Brett. He took Krimpton by the arm.

‘You haven’t heard the question,’ shouted the journalist.

‘I can tell you nothing,’ said Brett. He was leading Krimpton from the room.

The Doctor noted the glazed look in Brett’s eyes. This was not the same man he had met that morning. The warmth had gone... He seemed to be driven along by some internal force.

‘Deus ex machina,’ whispered the Doctor to himself. ‘In one sense or another.’

He watched the two men leave the room, then made his way through the crowd of journalists – now with a ‘human story’ – more interesting than technicalities about computers - and joined Sir Charles.

‘Tell me, Sir Charles,’ he said, ‘who exactly is Krimpton? What is his contribution to the work?’ ‘Electronics,’ said Sir Charles sharply. ‘One of our top men. Still, there can’t be any excuse... Damn bad manners. Wonder if something’s gone wrong with the project. Must be serious before Brett would... I’d better check.’

Sir Charles hurried away.

The Doctor was thoughtful. The possibilities of what might have happened were many and various... But they were all too fantastic for the Doctor to accept.

Major Green had been suspicious ever since Brett had left his office. He had no idea what was wrong, but something very strange had taken place, and it was his job to make sure that the Restricted Area remained secure.

He patrolled the corridors outside the main office, double-checking every half-hour. He tried doors, tested locks, but there was nothing unusual. And yet some of Brett’s nervousness seemed to have rubbed off on him, and the Major found he was imagining things–sounds, movements, a strange atmosphere.

He stopped for the tenth time outside the door to Brett’s room. Was it his imagination? Or was the sound of the computer’s constant ticking louder? It sounded erratic. He listened, catching his breath... It was certainly different.

He hesitated before unlocking the door. Even as he opened it, he heard the sudden abrupt and irregular tone of the machine. It had never sounded like that before.

He went in and was shaken to see two vivid lights shining directly at him. The glare was blinding. He tried to shield his eyes.

He should have backed out, he told himself. But he was dazed by the beams. He experienced a strange helplessness, as though hypnotised, with no will of his own.

He closed the door and moved towards Wotan. There was no doubt; the machine was louder, stronger. Lights blazed, and there was an air of power and assurance about it as it dominated the room.

The Major moved to the front of the machine, and stood passively for a few seconds before putting both hands into the slot that delivered the printed messages.

His face was contorted with pain for a second, then he withdrew his hands. The bones were showing through the skin, giving a skeletal effect, as though a light were shining through the flesh. The Major put the tips of his fingers together.

He looked dumbly at the machine. ‘I understand,’ he said in reply.

He took a pair of gloves from his pocket and pulled them on. Then he crossed to the desk and began to dial a number.

‘It’s for you, Dodo,’ called Kitty above the noise. ‘Telephone. Corner of the bar.’

Dodo wondered who would know to call her there. Perhaps, the Doctor.

‘Hello... Yes... Who is that?’

‘Hold the line one moment,’ said the Major. He plugged the extension into the computer. Dodo’s voice could be heard through the machine. ‘Speak up. There’s so much noise.’

The reaction was immediate. Wotan went into action – lights leaping into life, a battery of signals seeming to race from within.

At the other end of the line Dodo listened impassively. Then she said, ‘Yes... I understand.’

She put down the receiver, and turned towards the exit. No one noticed as she went – quietly, subdued, oblivious of her surroundings.

Brett led the way hurriedly and Krimpton was hustled along in his wake. He had never seen his old friend in such a state. Not at all like himself. Nevertheless it was an extraordinary way to behave!

‘I must say it’s very odd, Brett, to break up the meeting like that.’

‘I had no choice.’

‘What do you mean by that?’ They were striding through the Restricted Area towards Brett’s office. ‘You will soon understand.’ He didn’t offer any further explanation.

‘This is a bit much,’ protested Krimpton. ‘It’s late and I can spare only a couple of minutes..

‘Nothing is too much,’ said Brett coldly.

Krimpton supposed that the worst must have happened. ‘Has the computer system broken down?’ ‘On the contrary,’ said Brett, ‘it is we who have broken down. It is we who have failed.’

The man didn’t make sense. ‘We’ve failed?’ They reached the outer office. ‘In what way?’

‘Humanity has come to a standstill intellectually. We are unable to develop our Earth properly. Progress is beyond us.’

‘For heaven’s sake, Brett. This is nonsense!’

Brett was unlocking his office door, but he halted to look severely at his friend. ‘Be careful what you say, Krimpton. This is the conclusion reached by Wotan.’ He opened the door and ushered the other man in.

‘Are you joking? Do you mean to tell me that this machine..

‘It’s no joke,’ cut in Brett. ‘Wotan has decided the world cannot continue the way mankind is running it.’ He looked at Krimpton as though he were stating a Truth handed down from the heavens. It was comic! Krimpton began to laugh. The Professor was taking his invention too seriously.

‘And what does Wotan propose to do about it?’ he asked. ‘Take over the job from us?’

‘Correct.’ There was no flicker of a smile on Brett’s face. He was cold and aloof as Krimpton had never seen - him before. ‘From now on we are to serve.’

‘And what if mankind doesn’t cooperate? What happens? We all get obliterated?’

‘If necessary.’

The man was to unlike himself, so alien, that Krimpton was alarmed. ‘You’ve gone off your rocker, old fellow,’ he said, and backed cautiously towards the door.

‘You can’t get away,’ said Brett.

‘You’ve been working too hard, my friend,’ said Krimpton. He threw open the door. The Major was standing just outside.

‘Thank goodness you’re here, Major. He’s off his head... right round the bend!’

The Major shook his head. ‘He’s not mad, Professor Krimpton.’ There was the same impersonal look in the Major’s eyes, the same lack of emotion.

Krimpton tried to push past. ‘Let me out!’

He was no match for the Major as he was forced back into the room. ‘I refuse to be treated like this!’ he shouted. ‘I won’t stay... ’ He saw the phone on the desk and snatched it up.

‘Put that down,’ ordered the Major.

Krimpton was shaking so much that he couldn’t use the dial.

‘Let me go!’

The Major closed the door and came towards him. ‘Keep away,’ pleaded Krimpton. ‘Just leave me alone... Let me... ’ The strength had gone out of him, and his voice trailed away. He became aware of two powerful beams of light playing over him.

The computer had been silent, but now gradually came to life. The sound of its electronic pulses quickkened.

Krimpton gazed at it with alarm. ‘It’s not possible,’ he whispered. ‘Not possible... not possible..

He tried to cover his eyes, but there was no protection from the light.

He made a last protest, calling out, ‘I don’t believe it! I won’t serve you... I am not a machine... I am a person... A human being! The most important thing is human life. It doesn’t matter if we are not as efficient as you are. Machines are not masters... We made you for our purposes... ’ His voice cracked. He stopped for a few seconds, then moved trance-like to stand before Wotan.

‘What do you want?’ he asked in a flat, impersonal voice.

It was shortly before the Doctor arrived to collect Dodo from ‘The Inferno’ Club that Polly discovered that the girl was missing. She, Kitty and Ben searched the cellars, but there was no sign of her.

‘Surely she wouldn’t just leave without a word,’ said Polly. ‘I’m worried. I’m supposed to be looking after her.’

The Doctor made an impressive contrast with the rest of those who still packed the floors as he arrived. ‘There you are!’ he greeted them. ‘I imagine you and Dodo have enjoyed yourselves – if the amount of noise is anything to go by.’

‘We can’t find Dodo,’ Polly told him. ‘We think she must have gone.’

The Doctor frowned. ‘But where could she go? She doesn’t know anyone here nowadays.’

‘She had a phone call... about half an hour ago. We haven’t seen her since, ‘Who was the call from?’

No one knew.

‘And who is this young man?’ He indicated the young sailor.

‘The name’s Ben. He’s been helping to look for Dodo.’

‘Very well,’ said the Doctor. ‘We’ll have another quick search. After all, she might still be somewhere in this crowd.’

There was no longer any discord in the office. The three men were united in a common purpose.

‘We are here to serve Wotan,’ said Brett. ‘On his instructions new machines must be constructed. The best and finest human brains must be conscripted to accomplish this task. It is top priority. We must design the new models to supersede human life, then they in turn will take over the march of progress, and they will design a further generation. We are all servants to this cause. It is the purpose of our existence.’

The other two men nodded. They understood and approved.

‘We must plan this campaign under the instructions of Wotan,’ went on Brett. ‘We are fortunate to be enlisted at the very start of this historic undertaking. Once we have collected the team that Wotan demands we will launch the next step in the operations.’ There was a moment’s silence before he continued. ‘I speak for Wotan and, Major, you are in charge of planning.’

He handed a slip of instructions to Krimpton. ‘You are to supervise the electronic design and construction of the new machines.’ There was total acceptance and dedication from all.

‘We failed in one important aspect when Wotan was designed,’ added Brett. ‘The new machines are to be mobile, able to move freely, and each is to have an independent, self-generating, source of power.’

Krimpton read out his fresh instruction. ‘They must all carry their own weapons.’

There was a rapid outburst of signals from Wotan. It was possible to feel the frustration within the machine at having to be dependent on three such fallible human beings.

‘All control is to be centralised in this office,’ said the Major.

There was a pause, then Brett announced, ‘The first step to be taken is to complete the planning team. For that Wotan demands one special brain. We are instructed to make sure he is brought here with great urgency. In three days’ time a switch-on which links up a network of computers will take place. That is our deadline.’

‘What is this special brain?’ asked Krimpton. ‘It is forbidden to ask questions,’ said Brett. ‘We obey orders,’ said the Major.

‘The task of enlisting the special brain is already under way,’ Brett told them. ‘To lure him here we have had to provide ourselves with bait.’

The Major lifted a warning hand. ‘Someone is coming.’

Brett was not concerned. ‘It is the fourth member of our planning staff. Summoned to receive instructions.’ They didn’t know whom to expect as the door opened, but they were startled to see a girl walk in.

‘The Doctor’s secretary!’ said Brett.

Dodo didn’t appear to notice the three men. She walked towards Wotan and stood directly before the machine.

‘What are my instructions?’ asked Dodo.

The computer reacted explosively. Noise and lights reached an alarming pitch... but there was no electronic message, no slip of paper with instructions followed. Instead there was a sudden silence, then a strange metallic sound. The voice that came from the machine was synthetic, and high-pitched – totally impersonal.

‘You... are to... bring the Doctor... here... The Doctor... is required... You understand?’

Dodo made no reply. She turned and left the room as she had entered, oblivious of everything else around her.

 

5. Putting the Team Together

The two powerful lights that shone from Wotan dominated the office, and they now appeared more than ever like eyes. To the three men the machine took on more and more the essence of some great controller, an almost god-like figure. Neither Brett nor Krimpton had any sense of having created this monster; they knew they were its creatures, cogs in its mechanism —there merely to perform a function, without thoughts of their own, without personality, without humanity, in fact. The reversal of roles was complete. As for Major Green, he had transferred his loyalty from one set of masters to another. What he had done for Security he would now do for Wotan – with one difference. He was totally dedicated to this new master. There would be no qualifications; he was ready to die in its service.

Each man understood the part he had to play in Wotan’s scheme of things. Brett was its mouthpiece. The energy used by the machine’s effort to speak was enormous. Even as it intoned in its metallic fashion, ‘Instructions must be given,’ dynamos reached a pitch that shook the room. Brett took over–the words merely being transmitted through him.

BOOK: Doctor Who: War Machine
10.33Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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