Part 17 (1/2)

The Doctor was murmuring, head lolling on Zendaak's shoulder.

President Vargeld nodded to the troopers. 'Do as he says, but stay hot.'

Zendaak carried the Doctor round to where President Vargeld stood, the senators in a ragged semicircle around him.

Tibis brought forward a chair into which Zendaak lowered the Doctor. Medics cl.u.s.tered round, scanning instruments busy. 'He's OK,' said one of them in surprise. 'A little shaken, but OK.'

Zendaak nodded curtly. 'Then it is a good job I got to him in time.' He waved a claw at the isolation chamber, where the floor was melting under the acid drops produced by the gas creature. As they watched, the deadly rain thinned out and stopped.

President Vargeld wasn't sure if it was a good job. 'Why did you rescue him, Zendaak? Why did you risk your life?'

Zendaak fixed the President with a narrow-eyed stare. 'He could prove the innocence of the Anthaurk race!'

President Vargeld had expected this. Just about everything Zendaak did was to further the interests of his own species. 'That remains to be seen. We don't even know who he is.'

The Doctor opened his eyes. They were completely normal, a bright blue with a slightly manic light. He groaned, leaned over the side of the chair and vomited on the tiled floor of the laboratory.

'Sorry about that,' he croaked. 'Why are you all staring at me?'

Everyone began shouting questions at him until President Vargeld called for silence.

'I'll tell you all you want to know, but not now,' said the Doctor hoa.r.s.ely. 'Be in the Senate chamber in half an hour. My need for hot, sweet tea has never been greater.'

Exactly thirty minutes later, refreshed by several cups of Luvian tea, the Doctor stood in the centre of the makes.h.i.+ft Senate chamber on Aloysius, his back to the circular s.p.a.ce window. He had the complete and undivided attention of everyone in the room. Great.

'While that creature was trapped in my respiratory bypa.s.s system,' he began, ignoring the puzzled frowns, 'I was able to commune with it.'

'Commune?' said President Vargeld, with a suspicious glare. Clearly, he was going to believe only what he wanted to believe.

'Yes, telepathically.' The Doctor could tell that the man thought he was still possessed. The creature had taken him over very briefly, but it wasn't very bright, and certainly no match for a Time Lord mind. 'I know exactly what it is and what it wants.'

'And how to destroy it?' said President Vargeld.

The Doctor pursed his lips. Hadn't there been enough destruction? 'I'll come to that. Now, these creatures call themselves Omnethoth. It's a rather bombastic name, quite meaningless, designed to instil fear. Just like their p.r.o.nouncement ”solid mortals” indeed!'

'Designed?' rumbled Senator Krukon.

The Doctor loved giving explanations, especially when he had a large audience. 'Yes. Designed. You see, these Omnethoth aren't a naturally evolved, sentient species, though they'd like to think they are. They are or rather it is a weapon.'

There were several exclamations of alarm.

'An Anthaurk weapon!' cried Fandel, predictably.

The Doctor wagged a long, bony finger. 'No, no. Despite their rather militaristic bent, the Anthaurk are totally innocent of the destruction of Yquatine.'

Zendaak's lipless mouth expanded in a wide grin. The Doctor almost expected him to say 'I told you so', but apparently the Anthaurk weren't familiar with the expression.

'If you're expecting an apology then you're seriously deluding yourself,' said President Vargeld. 'Before the Omnethoth attack we were on the brink of war!'

'I do not want you to apologise,' hissed Zendaak. 'Just accept the truth.'

There was a dangerous edge to the Anthaurk senator's voice. The Doctor resolved to keep an eye on him. He coughed loudly, to return attention to himself. 'The truth', he announced, pointing at his own head, 'resides in here, if you'd care to listen.'

'We're listening,' grated Krukon, with a baleful glare at Zendaak.

The Doctor continued. 'The Omnethoth were developed millennia ago by a race they call the Masters.' He frowned. 'Terrible choice of name. Anyway, these Masters made the mistake of many ancient races who believed themselves invulnerable. They decided to rule the universe and created a sentient weapon which turned against them' The Doctor sighed and smoothed his left eyebrow with his little finger. 'Silly billies.'

'So, how did the things end up here, now?' asked the President.

The Doctor shrugged. 'Apparently the Omnethoth died out millions of years ago, but before they did they seeded the universe with colonisation clouds' He looked at Vargeld thoughtfully. 'Someone on Yquatine must have become infected with Omnethoth spores and drawn the invasion fleet here. Somehow.'

'That doesn't explain how thousands of s.h.i.+ps appeared from nowhere,' said Krukon.

The Doctor scratched his chin. 'Yes, well that is quite a mystery. I'll have to commune with the creature again to get to the bottom of it. It looks as though the activation of the Omnethoth happened by chance. Maybe one of their colonisation clouds drifted into the System.'

President Vargeld interrupted. 'You mean to say, Yquatine was destroyed by a product? A sentient weapon, no better than one of our own smart bombs?'

The Doctor nodded gravely. 'Yes. That's more or less the truth' It was the truth. And it was horrible. Millions had died, millions more would die unless the Omnethoth were dealt with. The Doctor deliberately focused on what he'd discovered, diverting his mind from the phenomenal loss of life.

President Vargeld was staring at the floor. The Doctor walked up to him, full of concern. 'I know how you must feel. I've faced death countless times '

President Vargeld looked up, his youthful face strained. eyes hostile. 'How can you know how I feel? How we all must feel?'

The Doctor stepped back, mentally admonis.h.i.+ng himself. That was a bad bit of counselling: never, ever say 'I know how you feel', even if it was true. It was the last word in patronisation.

'We don't even know how we should be feeling,' said the President in a hoa.r.s.e, broken voice. 'We've had our heart ripped out. We can't even begin to imagine what the future will be like.'

Rhombus-Alpha spoke up. 'Emotional out bursts are counter-productive but the Ixtricite must also register our deepest perturbation at this tragic turn of events.'

President Vargeld walked up to Zendaak. 'I almost wish you were the aggressors.' He laughed and clapped the Anthaurk on the shoulders. 'Because we could and would have beaten you!'

Zendaak pulled away. 'Don't be so sure of that.' he muttered darkly.

'But instead we have to face this senseless, manufactured thing. Striking us from out of nowhere. By accident.' The last two words were a whisper of horrified disbelief.

Things were getting a hit too emotional. 'By accident'. repeated the Doctor, 'is how the universe operates. In the universal whole. nothing is just or unjust. It may only seem that way to us poor individuals. We call it fate or destiny, perceiving patterns where there are none, connecting events. creating our own interpretations of the universe like tapestries of wishes and dreams. The truth is, the universal process has no favourites. The Omnethoth could have struck anywhere. It's just unfortunate for us that it's here and now.'

Senator Juvingeld rose from his seat. 'I do not agree. We Eldrig believe in the prophecies of our forefathers, laid down when our world was young. There is a pattern to everything.'

The Doctor smiled indulgently. 'And have all these prophecies come true? Was this current tragedy foreseen?'

Juvingeld shook his head. 'It depends upon the interpretations of the prophecies.'

The Doctor clicked his fingers. 'There you are, then. With respect to Senator Juvingeld, predestination cannot exist.' Not even for a time traveller like himself, he reflected his biodata could be and had been extensively rewritten so he wasn't even sure of the past, let alone the future.