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Unfortunately, I have the benefit of experience to go by.
I ve seen all too much of what the Daleks are capable of
doing.
Maybe that s the answer? Ben suggested brightly. How
about kidnapping Lesterson and hiding him away for a
bit?
Polly gave him a look of revulsion. And what good
would that do?
Ben s face fell. Well, it would stop him from bringing
the Daleks back to life, he said, realizing that his
suggestion had fallen rather flat.
Would it, Ben? The Doctor jumped to his feet, slipping
the device he d just finished into one of his oversized
pockets. That would be true if Lesterson was still the
driving force. But that s no longer the case. Now the
Daleks are in control and they are using him. And all the
time they are feeding his ego, making him all that much
easier to manipulate.
Polly realized that the Doctor, for all his jovial
appearance, was quite frightened. But they aren t armed,
she said.
And neither are we, the Doctor replied.
We could go back to the TARDIS, she suggested.
When Ben snorted, she glared at him. I know it sounds
like I m advocating running away, but I didn t mean it like
that! I meant for us to find a safe and quiet place to think.
While we re here, we re being used for some sort of power
struggle. Things are happening around us that aren t
connected to the Daleks.
So we re back to Quinn s rebels again, eh? Ben asked.
Yes, the Doctor agreed, and Polly s quite right. The
Daleks are not the only trouble here. But they are
definitely the most important one.
So, what do we do? Ben said, looking at the Doctor for
a plan of action.
The significance of this was not lost on the Doctor. He
favoured Ben with a grateful look, knowing he was now
accepted for who he claimed to be. I think it s time we
took another look at Lesterson s Daleks. Come along. He
led the way into the corridor, then turned towards the
laboratory. And while we re going, consider a few points.
First, if there really are rebels, what are they rebelling
against?
Hensell, Ben replied promptly. He s a pompous little
jackass, if you ask me
He s a politician, the Doctor observed. It s a common
failing. But that s not enough of itself. People draw
cartoons or write parodies of people like Hensell. They
don t start revolutions
Why do you think they re rebelling, then? Polly asked.
Ben, the Doctor said, evasively, you ve got a good,
practical eye. From what you ve seen of this colony, how
much would you say it cost to build it?
Crikey, you want me to be a regular Arthur Negus! Ben
moaned. But there was a faint smile on his lips. Hard to
say, isn t it? Billions, at the very least. And they d need a
good merchant marine of space just to bring in supplies.
Exactly. The Doctor nodded happily. The sort of
thing you d expect a government to fund, right? Then he
stopped abruptly and tapped the side of his nose. It was a
gesture that they d seen the old Doctor perform many
times. So where are the flags?
The what? Ben asked, bewildered once again.
The flags, the Doctor repeated, gesturing at the spartan
walls. Surely you remember from the South Pole all the
spaceships, all the men, all the equipment had little flags
and stickers plastered to them. So, if this place is run by
some country or other, why haven t we seen any evidence
of it?
Polly shook her head. Now that you mention it, there
hasn t been anything like that. But if this place isn t
American, or British, or whatever, who does fund it?
The Doctor smiled. Don t dawdle, he said, and set off
at a brisk pace again. Polly set off after him, with a final
shrug of her shoulders at Ben.
Lesterson was in heaven. He and Janley were in the
laboratory, the disarmed Dalek in front of them. Janley
held a small computer note-pad at the ready, jotting down
observations as fast as Lesterson could make them. The
Dalek stood watching and waiting. It shifted back and
forth very slightly, as if impatient, eager to be doing other,
more interesting, things.
He couldn t blame it. The tests he d been running were
child s play to this magnificent robot. But, scientific
method was called for here, and he had to stick to it. Even
if both he and the Dalek wanted to run faster and further
ahead.
Test fourteen, Lesterson announced, as Janley tapped
the keys of the pad. He couldn t keep the excitement from
his voice.
I am ready, the Dalek answered. Its voice showed no
emotion at all. Naturally not what use would a machine
have for emotions?
When sodium acts on ethyl alcohol, what is the
derivative? Lesterson glanced at the stopwatch he
clutched in his hand. The question wasn t as simple as it
sounded. The Dalek had a remarkable grasp of chemistry,
but it had been necessary for Lesterson to feed it
information on the human notations involved. The Dalek
not only had to work out the answer to the question, but
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