Doctor Who_ So Vile A Sin Part 37

Shhh, said the Brotherhood. said the Brotherhood. Don't use your mouth. Don't use your mouth.

'My mouth?' said Chris.

261.

Don't use your mouth, repeated the Brotherhood. repeated the Brotherhood.

Chris realized he was slumped forward in his chair, as though he'd nodded off. He sat up straight.

Nothing had changed. He was still sitting in the gazebo, on a long Callisto morning, facing what the Brotherhood had done to Iaomnet.

Everything has changed, said the Brotherhood. said the Brotherhood.

Chris looked at himself. He was wearing black. Tight black trousers, black s.h.i.+rt with a high collar, tall black boots with four wraparound buckles. His big jacket was hanging over the back of the chair.

His normal uniform, then. He looked at the rank flash over his left breast. A balance, bright red. He was still the Pontifex Saecularis, then.

Everything has changed, the Brotherhood insisted. the Brotherhood insisted.

Chris listened.

There were two guards behind him. One was bored by all the weirdness, and was admiring the garden, because he'd been stuck on a courier run for over a week and it was nice to be breathing fresh air again. The other was focused, watching Chris's back for the slightest sign of trouble, determined to do his job right for the Emperor. Both of them were Brotherhood operatives, not psis, just hired muscle.

'What have you done to me?' he said cautiously.

The Brotherhood said, in one hundred and seven perfectly clear voices, You are one of us now. Not one of the gestalt. One of the You are one of us now. Not one of the gestalt. One of the Brotherhood. Tell us everything you know about the Nexus. Help Brotherhood. Tell us everything you know about the Nexus. Help us. Join us. You are us. us. Join us. You are us.

'We were right,' said Chris. 'There is another Nexus. Another fake crater. On Tethys. That's why the Brotherhood was there, in the Temple of the G.o.ddess.'

The Brotherhood just watched him. He needed to stall for time, find out what was going on. 'What are you waiting for?' he said.

He stood up, pulling on his jacket, smoothing the shoulders so the red epaulettes sat straight. 'What do you expect me to do?'

What you did on Yemaya, said the Brotherhood patiently. said the Brotherhood patiently.

'You're going to do this to everybody,' he said. 'You know what it is and you know how to use it.' G.o.ddess, it was obvious 262 now, the investigation coming together. 'No. You don't know how to use it. Just a little bit. Just enough to twist those poor people into monsters. Just enough to make little changes. You switched allegiance from Armand to Walid when you saw which one had the best chance of becoming Emperor. Do you know what I did on Yemaya?'

He looked at the Brotherhood. Iaomnet's face stared blankly back.

'Bang,' said Chris.

He reached out and cut off her connection to the gestalt.

She tumbled out of her chair, becoming a tangle of arms and legs on the gazebo floor.

'He shouldn't be able to do that,' said one of the guards.

Chris turned around. He shoved with all the might of his enhanced mind. They both flew backward, one flipping over the railing, the other smas.h.i.+ng right through the plastiwood and landing in a pile of splinters.

'He shouldn't be able to do that, either!' shouted the second guard.

'And who is this?' The Brotherhood said through Martinique's mouth.

'My name is Huitzilin,' said the man with the blue eyes. 'And I think you've just made a very serious mistake.' He reached out for the Brotherhood's speaker with a hungry hand.

But the hand was s.h.i.+fting, suddenly, and the Doctor was back.

He lost his balance, tumbling from the chair.

'We have only another ten minutes of conjunction,' said Martinique, in his dozens of voices. 'I think we should move on to the alternatives in which you died.'

The Doctor tensed on the floor, trying to get up.

The Brotherhood watched as the change washed over him. 'I see,' they said. 'In this alternative, your throat was torn open by a werewolf. Intriguing.' They watched as the change ebbed away.

'Again?' said the Brotherhood.

'Yes,' moaned the Doctor. His fingers dug into the carpet, as though trying to find something to hold on to.

263.

The change flowed over him. 'In this alternative,' said the Brotherhood, 'you died of shock while being interrogated by a military telepath.'

The Brotherhood watched as the Doctor's existence stretched and changed, stretched and changed. 'A long life, and a busy one,' they said. 'And thousands of moments where you might might have died.' have died.'

'I'll die before I help you,' he whispered.

'Yes,' said the Brotherhood. 'Thousands of times.'

'You won't find a reality where I helped you.'

'Again?' said the Brotherhood.

Stop this.

Martinique joined him on the floor, open-eyed marionette, dropped and empty.

'What happened?' breathed the Doctor. He seemed to be himself again. It was just that he didn't seem to be able to get up off the floor.

Genevieve wanted to go to the Emperor and ask him what the h.e.l.l was going on. She wanted to know why the palace was suddenly full of strangers, why half the security guards had been replaced, and what they wanted with Chris Cwej.

Part of her mind was telling her to accept the changes as a natural part of Walid's coronation. Of course he was upgrading the staff, of course there'd be all sorts of strange visitors. She knew she could trust the Duke, the Emperor.

Even if for some strange reason he didn't want to talk to her at the moment. For the last week.

Part of her mind was telling her to get out, fast.

Her mother's wedding presents had included five acres of reclaimed land in Kenya, a gorgeous candelabra, a city block in New Zealand, and a secret chateau on Triton hidden under one of the cryovulcanism research bases, deep in a crater that spat out liquid nitrogen at odd intervals. It had a numbered account and a robot staff and no one in their right mind would go anywhere near it. 'The Duke's a powerful man,' said her mother. 'If he ever does anything that makes you afraid, go right there. And call me.'

264.

Genevieve pulled on a red suit and some sensible shoes and pocketed the keycard to the safe house. She stuffed her handbag with credit cards and added a personal blaster. She left a message in her open diary saying she was going to do some shopping on Europa.

She was halfway to her shuttle when she heard the screams.

She looked back at the maze, horrified. What were they doing to that poor man?

A figure burst from the maze. For a moment she expected to see Mr Cwej, the security guards in full pursuit.

But it was Nikin, the little Jeopard servant.

' Haraktai'en! Haraktai'en! ' the Jeopard shouted, racing past. Genevieve caught the lithe cat-man. ' ' the Jeopard shouted, racing past. Genevieve caught the lithe cat-man. ' Ja'Ra'shten shay! Ja'Ra'shten shay! ' he yelled, trying to break free. ' ' he yelled, trying to break free. ' Ke cepep shay, haran, Ja'Ra'shten, Ke mishtla ke Ke cepep shay, haran, Ja'Ra'shten, Ke mishtla ke misht, haran! misht, haran! ' '

Genevieve said, ' Ra'shten shay? Ra'shten shay? ' '

' Ja'Turtle, Ja'Turtle, ' said the Jeopard. He looked back into the lab complex in terror. ' ' said the Jeopard. He looked back into the lab complex in terror. ' Jiran tai? Ke Ched Ja'Ra'shten. Jiran tai? Jiran tai? Ke Ched Ja'Ra'shten. Jiran tai? ' '

' Jiranai, Jiranai, ' Genevieve let the alien go. He bolted. ' Genevieve let the alien go. He bolted.

There were shots from inside the maze.

The Turtle is here. The one who eats everyone.

Genevieve started running towards the maze.

No, said a voice in her head, loud as a shout in the ear. She dropped the gun, pressing her hands to her ears. said a voice in her head, loud as a shout in the ear. She dropped the gun, pressing her hands to her ears.

Doctor!

The Doctor was still lying on the floor. It was a particularly comfortable carpet, a pleasant shade of lilac.

At least he'd managed to keep Roz out of all of this. Out of the centre of it, at any rate. There was still a way out for her.

Get up, Doctor, said Chris. said Chris.

All she had to do was not get involved.

Doctor, said Chris, said Chris, you have to get out of here. You have to get you have to get out of here. You have to get back to the back to the Model Citizen Model Citizen right now. right now.

'Why?' said the Doctor. 'What's the point? It's just one d.a.m.ned thing after another.'

Don't you dare give up, said Chris. said Chris. Get your Gallifreyan b.u.t.t Get your Gallifreyan b.u.t.t up off that floor and run for it. up off that floor and run for it.

265.

'What happened to you?' said the Doctor, grabbing the chair and pulling himself up.

I'll make sure you get there. Go, Doctor.

'I can't leave you here!'

Don't be stupid, said Chris, said Chris, I'm coming with you! I'm coming with you!

Genevieve ran through the palace. Ever since the coronation, there had been guards everywhere. Now they all seemed to have run out into the garden.

But there were some who couldn't leave their posts. Genevieve spotted Grey Cloud, one of the Duke's personal guard, in the foyer, talking frantically into a communicator.

'Well, I don't know either!' he said. 'Just find him.'

'Grey Cloud,' she said, running up to him. 'Where's the Duke?'

He looked right through her. 'He can't be invisible,' said Grey Cloud. 'Not to the psi bloodhounds. I don't want to hear it! Just find him!'

She waved her hand in front of his face. He didn't see it.

Right, the voice in her head had got to Grey Cloud, too. She needed to use that help while it lasted. 'Where is he?' she shouted.

He heard her. Second level. Office with light purple carpet. Second level. Office with light purple carpet.

'I know the one,' she said out loud.

There's only five minutes of the conjunction left, said the voice. said the voice.

Five minutes to get out of here.

Genevieve s.n.a.t.c.hed the DataStream from her trousers pocket.

She tapped in her security codes. Not fast enough.

She closed her eyes, activated the biode, and flicked her way through the menus, faster and faster.

Do you want to come with us? the voice wanted to know. the voice wanted to know.

'Don't break my concentration!' she snapped.

The Doctor bolted out through a side door and legged it for the landing site.

Change rippled through him, changing his height and weight, sending him sprawling across the lawn. Unfamiliar, long-fingered 266 hands tried to push him up, but the change moved through him again, making the world spin.

Someone grabbed him and pulled him to his feet. Chris, in a strange uniform, ten years too old.

'Who was that?' asked Chris.

'Me,' said the Doctor. 'Don't tell me who I was like. What I will be like.' He looked at Chris. 'Oh,' he said.

'Let's get to the Model Citizen Model Citizen,' said Chris. 'Genevieve is running interference for us. We can exchange notes once we're aboard.'

The Doctor followed Chris as they ran for the s.h.i.+p. Behind them there were shouts and shots, but distant. It was as though they were invisible. Or the guards were distracted by something else.