--William James, Varieties of Religious Experience
As the representatives filed out along the main hall of dreary grey, they failed to notice a small figure hiding in the shadows of a sub hallway. It waited until the Gold Usher passed, and it pulled him from the group, clamping a firm hand over his mouth. The Gold Usher struggled, but his assailant was too strong. He struggled to see his attacker; to his surprise, the Doctor stared him in the face.
"Doctor?" he gasped.
"Quiet!" whispered the Doctor harshly. "You will immediately inform the High Council there is to be an emergency meeting."
"But," the Gold Usher stammered. "On such short notice?"
"Now! And if you don't, I'll kill you!" Then the Doctor's glare of fury suddenly changed to a friendly grin. "Now, run along and inform them. I need to speak to them in an hours time, no later."
The Gold Usher thought of refusing. It went against all custom to call an emergency meeting of the council at the behest of some common Time Lord, an outcast at that! But he remembered the Doctor's dangerous glare. He stumbled after the departing High Council members. "Attention!" he shouted. "A new issue has come up and must be discussed. You are all to return to the Great Gallery in an hour's time."
The Council members looked at each other, bewildered. What was this new meeting about? In the end, they couldn't question, however. As Gold Usher, meetings were held at pre-specified times or when either he or the Lord President called them. The Gold Usher thought about running, now, to the safety of the Council members, but he gasped when he felt the sudden presence of the Doctor behind him, keeping out of sight, but close enough to discourage any trouble.
In the end, the Council members just shrugged and left for an hour long break. Soon, the hallway was empty, save for the Gold Usher and the Doctor. The Doctor nodded, apparently satisfied. "Thank you very much," he said. "You may go now."
The Gold Usher frowned. What was to stop him reporting the Doctor to the Chancellery Guards? But he decided not to question this opportunity. He turned and walked quickly down the main hallway to safety, only to suddenly drop to the floor, unconscious.
The Doctor rubbed his hand. He dragged the Gold Usher's body into an abandoned office and left it on a chair. Then he closed the office door and walked down the hallway.
The Doctor woke suddenly. He found himself standing in a glass cylinder. A bright light flooded into the column and was reflected back by the mirror-like base. Oxygen could be heard seeping in from an unknown opening.
Through the glass, he could see he was standing in the center of a circular room. Humming pipes and circuitry covered the circular room's opaque walls. Faint, white light seeped through the holes in the grille floors.
Where am I? he thought. The last thing he remembered was waking from his nightmare about Ace, then walking into the console room and suddenly being surrounded by a glistening cloud of light. Then there was the sudden darkness, and now he was here.
The Doctor's thoughts were interrupted when a section of the walls slid back. The Doctor barely managed to make out the bulky outline of a towering figure shadowed by the inrush of dense steam.
The Doctor sat in the Gold Usher's chair in the Great Gallery, his feet on the Usher's desk, in the Great Gallery. High walls of black/grey marble surrounded the circular table of ebony. Massive, gleaming chandeliers hung down from the mirrored dome ceiling. He had donned the scarlet and orange robes worn by the representatives of the Prydonian Chapter, to which his family had belonged. He was alone, so no one saw him speak into the air. "How long until the invasion?"
A low, toneless voice filled the room. "Ten minutes."
"Is the Doctor secured from interfering?"
"Yes."
The Doctor turned off the communications device under his robes as the large wooden doors of the Great Gallery opened and representatives of the High Council entered. They faced the Gold Usher's chair, and the Doctor swiveled around to face them all. A gasp of surprise filled the room, which was suddenly silenced when the Doctor tapped the Usher's desk with a gavel. "Unfortunately, the Gold Usher could not be with us at this meeting, so I've had to take over the proceedings myself.
I've called you here to put forward an idea of mine. I am proposing that we end our period of idleness and actively aid another advanced species."
The representatives muttered amongst themselves again, shocked. The Lord President stood up. She had a prim, elegant face, and long, flowing red hair. Her majestic voice carried through the entire gallery without aid of artificial amplification. "Doctor, you know that interfering with the affairs of other races has been banned for centuries."
The Doctor sat back, smiling. "Yes, but this species shows promise and, unlike the Minyans, there is hardly a chance of us causing damage to this elevated race. Their demands and needs are few, but vital."
At his last words, a strange surge of anger entered the Doctor's voice.
He stood up and glared at the representatives.
"Doctor?" said an astonished Council member.
"As chosen representative," the Doctor continued. "I propose that, with our secrets of regeneration, we can transform this species into a supreme race - we Time Lords as their creators. Using them as a super army, the Time Lords could finally take up the long deserved position of rulers of the Universe!"
"He's mad!" yelled another Council member.
"Security, get security!" the Lord President shouted above the commotion.
"Put the Doctor in custody!"
The crimson uniformed Chancellery Guards ran to the Usher's chair and caught hold of the Doctor's small form. The whole group of them were suddenly thrust to the ground. The Doctor glared at the Council. "You think your puny guards can arrest me?" He sneered. "I see by the expressions on your faces that you refuse to help me. So, in the meantime, you will be held as hostages within this room."
"Who will hold us here, Doctor - you?" a council member shouted back defiantly.
"Quiet!" shouted the Doctor in a fit of rage. "I wasn't referring to myself."
"Who, then?" demanded the Lord President.
"I'll tell you who," the Doctor replied. He peered at his wristwatch.
"Ladies and Gentlemen of the High Council, may I present-" Before he could finish, he was interrupted by the wooden doors of the Great Gallery bursting open by laser fire. An army of towering figures walked in, and surrounded the High Council. Their features were illustriously silver, their bodies were covered in metallic armour, and small, pulsating cables ran throughout their joints. Their helmets were roughly human, but their silver faceplates were devoid of emotion.
"Doctor!" shouted the Lord President, horrified. She struggled in the creature's grip which threatened to break her collar bone. "How could you betray us to the Cybermen?"
"This is why," the Doctor replied, and his features began to blur. They dissolved and took new shape; and the High Council recognized the features of another Cyberman. This creature was smaller, less bulky, and closer to that of a normal humanoid. In a toneless, grating voice emanating from a small metal grille in the mouth region of his face plate, the Impostor said, "I am the Cyber-2: Cyber chameleon and covert operations unit." Then the features began to blur again, and Cyber-2's appearance, uniform and voice changed back into those of the Doctor's, in his regular apparel. "The secret of regeneration will be ours."
Back aboard the Cyber ship, hovering near the Panopticon, the Doctor was getting worried. He had been a prisoner of the Cybermen for hours, and he saw no route of escape. His captor emerged through the steam-filled doorway with a tray of repulsive looking, mush-like food.
"What are you holding me here for?" asked the Doctor, with more bravado than he felt.
The Cyberman did not answer. It approached the glass column; the glass separated, like water, around the gloved hands as it deposited the tray at the Doctor's feet. The glass reformed as it withdrew its hands.
It then turned silently and left the room, the doorway closing behind it.
The Doctor tried to pass his hands through the glass - it remained solid. He tried again all over the column, wherever he could reach, but he was unable to duplicate the Cyberman's trick.
How am I supposed to escape now? he thought. He tried rummaging through his pockets and found a couple of elastic bands, a pocket calculator, a hand mirror, a pen and a few coins. He peered closely at the coins. "Gold?" he said hopefully, then he frowned. "Silver. Darn!"
The Panopticon was a scene of mass confusion. All over, retreating Chancellery guards were desperately trying to hold back the overpowering force of heavily armed Cybermen. Their staser fire had no effect on the Cybermen's armoured form, and more and more Chancellery guards were wounded or killed by the minute. The wounded guards found themselves huddled with other captured Time Lords and technicians. In groups, they were led to different chambers within the Panopticon and forced inside. They were locked away as prisoners while Cybermen stood guard outside.
The Cyber Leader watched all this on the screen. It differed from other Cybermen in that its metal skin was like black gun-metal. The Cyber Lieutenant approached; its rank was identified by the black handles attached to its helmet. "Most of the Time Lords, defense guards and maintenance workers have been imprisoned, Leader."
"Excellent," the Cyber Leader responded in a deep, toneless voice. "See that it remains that way."
"Any further orders, Leader?"
The Cyber Leader's CPU accessed a range of options pertaining to the success of their mission, selecting the one that seemed most applicable. "Immediately assemble a force, and commence the search for the chamber containing the Time Lords' Nanodevice Liquid Drug."
"Yes, Leader." The Cyber Lieutenant turned and left.
The Cyber Leader turned back to the monitor screen. Its opaque form disappeared in the office's pitch blackness. Its optical sensors focused on the groups of Gallifreyan prisoners that passed by the camera.
Back aboard the Cyberman ship, the door facing the Doctor slid open again, and the Cyberman returned to collect the untouched meal tray. It was approaching the glass column when it twitched, suddenly; its CPU could not compute the possibility for the illuminated column being empty.
It bent down and pressed a button on the control display at the column's base. Immediately, the glass disappeared. The Cyberman walked onto the base and began inspecting the area. Nothing. The Doctor was missing. This would have to be reported to the Cyber Lieutenant on board.
It was about to step down from the base when, suddenly, the glass column reappeared. It bounced back and immediately rushed forward, pounding the glass with its metal fists, but the glass was unbreakable.
The Cyberman looked down to see the Doctor standing up from the control display at the base of the column. It's head began to twitch again as its CPU was further confused by the Doctor's mysterious reappearance.
"A mirror trick," the Doctor replied, answering the Cyberman's unasked question, "taught to me by my old guru." He waved his little hand mirror and nodded his head, indicating the mirror like base and ceiling within the column. "Though, I was quite surprised I actually got the trick right this time - K'anpo would have been pleased!"
The Doctor flashed the Cyberman with a smile, then exited through the circular room's still open doorway.
He found himself standing in a steam-filled, narrow walkway; the only light coming from beneath the grille floor. He walked cautiously down the walkway, alert for any Cybermen that might be on patrol. As he walked, he felt one of the pulsating pipes that lined the walls. The vibrations shook his arm violently, and he pulled his hand away. Obviously a Cyber-ship, he thought. This was the first time he'd been aboard one. It didn't surprise him to find it as functional and drab as he had expected.
He noticed an animated computer screen further down the walkway. He strode towards it, but stopped suddenly when he found himself at an intersection. He peered around one corner and saw nothing. He peered around the other corner, then quickly pressed himself against the vibrating pipes as a Cyberman passed by.
"Close one," he muttered to himself when he was sure the Cyberman was out of earshot. He looked down both corridors again, and saw nothing this time. He stepped to the computer screen built directly into the wall. Displayed were the words "CYBER-SHIP 53-C-001. [DATA BANK] REQUESTED INFORMATION:"
"Perfect!" the Doctor exclaimed. The words choked off, and he looked around in all directions to make sure he hadn't been heard. When he was certain he was alone, he turned back to the computer screen. There was a digital keyboard extending out from beneath the monitor. The Doctor debated which information to access first; a map of the ship to help him find the exit, or what the Cybermen were up to. After a moment, the Doctor typed in the query "MISSION STATUS?"
Data appeared instantly on the screen.
ACCOMPLISHED:
- CAPTURING OF TIME LORD: "DOCTOR" AND HIS TIME/SPACE VESSEL: "TARDIS"
- INTERCHANGING TIME LORD: "DOCTOR WITH CYBER-2 IN "DOCTOR" FORM BY USE OF CYBER-TRANSMAT NIMBUS.
- INFILTRATION OF GALLIFREY'S TRANSDUCTION BARRIER.
- TAKE OVER OF TIME LORD POLITICAL CENTER: "PANOPTICON".
- LOCATING GALLIFREYAN NANO-INJECTION CHAMBER.
The Doctor frowned, reflecting on the computer's message. The Cybermen were certainly aiming high in their newest attempt to further their position in the galaxy. But what was this "GALLIFREYAN NANO-INJECTION CHAMBER"? Nano obviously had something to do with Nanotechnology. He'd learned about it in his first year at the Academy, when he was very young. Borusa had defined it as "The concept of building machines so small they are virtually the same size as occurring microbes or viruses." Borusa could have saved a lot of time by simply defining it as building micron-sized machines; but then Borusa wasn't one for simple answers.
But still, what use did the Cybermen have for locating the "Nano-Injection Chamber"? What was the "Nano-Injection Chamber" anyway? He thought about it for a moment, then his eyes opened wide in shock. If the Cybermen got a hold of the chamber... No, it was too fantastic.
It was all coming back to him. He remembered how, many years ago, the Time Lords were looking into possibilities of enhancing their regeneration process. The biological procedure, a trait of all Time Lords, wasn't always predictable: side-effects, some minor, some extreme, occurred often. This had made the Time Lords very uneasy. Should such an extreme side-effect occur during regeneration, and the proper medical facilities weren't at hand, death was certain.
The Time Lords' first development from their research was a metamorphic symbiosis regenerator. But, while still in the testing stage, it was stolen by a team of eight alien scientists, whose leader was named Mawdryn. The Doctor felt his heart sink as he remembered how Mawdryn, and his associates, proved the regenerator to be faulty.
The second and final development was the Nanodevice Injector. This device injected into the body a Liquid Drug which contained Nanodevices, programmed to correct the body using microsurgery. The device was a success: it augmented the Time Lords' natural abilities and made the regenerations easier and more stable.
A further development with the Nanotechnology was allowing the injected Time Lord to have a sensible number of regenerations. The number of natural ones a Time Lord could have was, again, unpredictable: some four or five, others fourteen or more; Nanodevices were commonly programmed to carry out twelve.
Eventually, the Time Lords' natural biological regeneration process was no longer needed, or wanted. In fact, as the Minyan experiment showed, these Nanodevices could also work on non-Time Lord species.
The Doctor recalled hearing a rumour that the chamber housing the Nano-Injectors - the Nano-Injection Chamber - had been concealed soon after the Minyan disaster to prevent the device's use on lesser species. The secret had become deeply entrenched in Time Lord society. Those that required the Nano-injection were often put under anesthetic before being taken to the chamber, not because the procedure was painful, but to keep that Time Lord from discovering where the Chamber lay.
Such technology could become dangerous if misused, and the Cybermen, most assuredly, wanted to misuse it. He could rest assured that the metal brutes would leave no stone unturned in their mission to discover the Chamber.
He returned to reality with a jolt. It would do him no good to just stand at a computer screen, staring off into space; do this long enough and it would surely mean detection. "Shoot," he muttered, after looking around to make sure he was the only one in the walkway. "I have to remember not to let my mind drift off like that."
Seeing that he was still alone, he looked back at the data on the screen, and quickly examined it for anything else that could be of use. "Ah, hello," he said as his eyes passed the message: "INTERCHANGING TIME LORD: 'DOCTOR' WITH CYBER-2 IN "DOCTOR" FORM BY USE OF CYBER-TRANSMAT NIMBUS"
A Cyber-2? That was new to him, maybe the computer could tell him about it. He turned back to the computer display and answered the computer's request for "REQUIRED INFORMATION" with "CYBER-2"
A message followed:
CYBER-2:
- CYBER CHAMELEON AND COVERT OPERATIONS UNIT.
- SIMULATING APPEARANCE OF SELECTED HUMANOID-SIZED ORGANISM BY USE OF HOLO-PROJECTION LENS LOCATED ON BREASTPLATE
- SIMULATING SELECTED HUMANOID-SIZED ORGANISM'S ACTIONS AND PERSONALITY BY USE OF IMPLANTED CYBER-COM VIDEO/MEMORY BANKS.
- INTERCHANGING WITH TIME LORD: "DOCTOR" BY USE OF CYBER-TRANSMAT NIMBUS
- SUCCESSFULLY PASSING THROUGH GALLIFREY TRANSDUCTION BARRIER, BY PASSING AS "DOCTOR"
- REDUCING TRANSDUCTION BARRIER SO THAT CYBER-SHIP 53-C-001 CAN LAND ON GALLIFREY
- KEEPING TIME LORD HIGH COUNCIL GATHERED TOGETHER FOR EASY CAPTURE DURING TAKE OVER OF PANOPTICON.
Great! How was he supposed to aid Gallifrey now when everybody would think the Cyber-2 was him, and that he had turned evil! He'd have to do something now before the Cyber-2 did any more damage to his respected image. But first, he'd have to find a way off this ship. He was about to request the location of the exit on the computer, when he suddenly heard heavy footsteps coming his way.
He looked to his right, only to find it to be a dead end. He'd have to take his chances going back the way he had come. He cautiously made his way back to the intersection. He peered around the corner, only to be looking directly at the oncoming form of a Cyberman. It had already seen him. Desperately, the Doctor dashed down the walkway, away from the creature.
"Stop at once," the Cyberman called after him. "Stop or I'll fire."
The Doctor came to another dead end. He looked behind him. The Cyberman was approaching fast.
"You will remain where you are, or I'll fire," the Cyberman ordered.
The Doctor racked his brain for a way out. His eyes lit up as he remembered the information on the computer screen. It was a longshot, but it was worth a try.
He faced the Cyberman, showing no trace of emotion. "You do not recognize me?" he asked, his voice lower and almost without tone.
"Remain quiet," said the Cyberman, stopping directly in front of him, "or I will fire."
The Doctor continued in the same toneless voice. "That would mean your termination - assaulting a superior officer."
The Cyberman was quiet for a moment, a low whirring came from its CPU as it tried to access the reason for the prisoner's strange behaviour. "You are the Cyber-2?"
"Yes."
The low whirring from the Cyberman's CPU continued. "I assumed you were already in the Panopticon with the others."
The Doctor thanked his lucky stars that this breed of Cybermen did not have direct communication links with the ship's central computer, or with other Cybermen. This Cyberman obviously did not have the power to scan for electrical or infrared information, or it would have identified him as a biological organism within seconds. "No, I returned to collect necessary supplies. I have gathered them. Escort me to the exit."
"Yes, Leader."
The Cyberman led him back down the walkway and they strode deeper into the ship until they arrived at the opening of a large, dim passageway. There, veiled in the shroud of steam that filled the entire ship, was the exit.
"You will return to your duties, now," the Doctor ordered. He turned and strode methodically out the exit.
The Cyberman turned and headed back in the other direction.
Then an intercom crackled. The voice of a Cyberman echoed through the pipe-filled walls: "This is the on board Cyber Lieutenant. All unassigned units on this ship must report to either the Cyber Leader or Cyber-2 within the Panopticon."
The Cyberman's CPU whirred, assessing this discontinuity. One answer came to mind immediately. "He has tricked me." It whirled around, raised its laser cannon and ran back to the exit. Its optical sensors only just managed to catch a glimpse of the Doctor's retreating form before the view was cut off by the image of the exit doors closing.
Its quarry had gone.
The Doctor tried to catch his breath as he waited within the rising lift that would take him to one of the Panopticon's higher floors. He chuckled at his success of eluding the Cyberman. Though they were powerful, some of them were easy to fool!
The lift stopped and the door slid open. The Doctor cautiously peered out into the halls. He saw nothing. He quietly walked down the brightly lit corridor, making sure to look behind him every so often. Cybermen could be lurking anywhere, with their laser cannons at the ready.
He reached a corner and peered around it. Still he was alone, so he continued his walk. As he made his way further down the hallway, he noticed a small alcove up ahead, and he slowed his pace cautiously. He was about to peer inside when a figure jumped out at him, striking him in the face. As he recovered from the blow, dabbing at his bleeding nose, another sharp pain cut through the side of his head; immediately he recognized the thin, round barrel of a Chancellery Guard's staser.
"Would you mind easing up on the pistol?" he asked the owner of the gun with more bravado than he felt. The figure was behind him, just out of eyesight.
"Into the alcove!" the figure ordered angrily. "I wouldn't want you to give me away!"
"I'd like to stay and chat, but I'm kind of busy formulating a plan to defeat the Cybermen," he said innocently. "Have you seen any around?"
"You're saying that to confuse me!" the figure whispered harshly at him. "It was you who betrayed Gallifrey by letting them through the Transduction Barrier! Now, get into the alcove or I'll blow your CPU to bits!"
"What? Oh, I see! You've got me confused for -"
"Now!"
"All right, no need to be rash," the Doctor said, annoyed by his captor's hastiness, and he walked into the alcove. It was dark and spacious, well out of view from the corridor; a perfect place to kill someone and hide the body long enough to get away. He swallowed hard and added, "I can explain, you know. There's a special Cyberman called the Cyber-2 and-"
"Shut up!" the figure hissed, jabbing the barrel of the gun hard against his neck, just below the ear. He could sense his captor's finger tightening on the trigger. "Prepare to die, traitor, in the name of Gallifrey!"
