"Now, listen," said the Doctor urgently. "If this black-light power failure is allowed to get any worse, we"ll all be as dead as your three sleepers."
Humker stared at him. "Why?"
"Because there"s going to be a most enormous explosion, that"s why! An explosion in which everyone in your precious underground colony will be destroyed!"
7.
Escape "You must listen," said the Doctor urgently. "I can"t impress upon you enough how urgent it is that I go outside and look at that convertor aerial."
Drathro refused to listen. "A transparent ruse to escape.
Go on with your work."
The Doctor looked at his two a.s.sistants. "How do you stand him?" He paused. "Tell me, why is water so all-important down here?"
"The condensation plants produce only enough for five hundred work-units," said Humker.
"But it was raining buckets outside when I arrived."
"Precipitation on the surface has returned to normal,"
confirmed Drathro.
"Then why don"t you let them all pop up and help themselves?"
"I was programmed to maintain an underground survival system."
Typical robot behaviour, thought the Doctor. The system must be maintained though the need for it was long gone. "Inflexible little fellow aren"t you?" he muttered.
"Well, if you want me to carry on here, you"ll have to help me. Come on, aren"t you programmed to be user-friendly?"
He held out a lead, and the robot grasped it in a clamplike hand.
"At times like this one needs at least three hands," said the Doctor chattily. "You know, we bipeds are really a very inefficient design. You, Humbug, whatever your name is, hold that. And you, Handbag, you hold this one."
When all three were holding leads, the Doctor said, "that"s it, yes. Splendid!"
He threw a power switch and electricity surged through the console - and through Humker, Tandrell and Drathro, who stood fixed, vibrating in the current.
The Doctor turned and ran, out of the control room, across the anteroom and out into the main corridor - where he found his way barred by the Service Robot.
"Look!" shouted the Doctor.
Pointing to the left, he hared off to the right. The Service Robot hovered indecisively.
Drathro s.n.a.t.c.hed himself free from the console, cut the power and strode into the corridor.
"Follow him," he ordered. "Use your tracer disc. He must be brought back - unharmed!"
The Service Robot glided away in pursuit of the Doctor.
The prisoners were nearly back to the but when Glitz decided it was time to make a move.
He caught Dibber"s eye. "Ready?"
Dibber nodded.
"Run, Peri," shouted Glitz.
Peri ran.
Instinctively the guards pursued her - which put Dibber and Glitz behind them. It was a bad mistake.
Peri had run only a few yards when she heard gasps and the thud of blows. She turned and saw the first guard tripped by Glitz and knocked cold with the b.u.t.t of his own spear. In the same moment Dibber had clubbed the second guard to the ground with three savage blows from forearm, fist and knee.
"Well done, Dibber," panted Glitz. He produced a metal cylinder from under his tunic. "Here take this. Always keep something up your sleeve, eh Dibber?" He grinned. Now, my lad, I want you to conceal yourself in some muddy crevice while Peri and I lead off the hunt."
"What hunt?" asked Peri. So far their escape seemed to have pa.s.sed unnoticed.
Glitz pointed. In the distance a tall bearded figure was staring at them in horror.
It turned and began running towards the Queen"s hut.
"There"ll be a hunt soon," predicted Glitz confidently.
"Now Dibber, as soon as you can get the chance, I want you to blow that convertor to bits."
Dibber took the grenade. "Right. Where do we meet up?"
"The entrance to the tunnel. Come on, Peri."
They turned and ran from the village, heading for the woods.
Katryca was studying the sacred flame for omens when Broken Tooth dashed into the hut, shattering all the rules of etiquette.
"How dare you?" screamed Katryca.
Broken Tooth fell to his knees. "Forgive me, Majesty.
The prisoners have escaped!"
Katryca s.n.a.t.c.hed up Dibber"s laser rifle which was propped against her throne.
As Broken Tooth got to his feet, she tossed him the weapon.
"Take this. Lead the young men in a hunting party.
They must not escape."
Catching the gun, Broken Tooth ran from the Royal hut, bellowing for his warriors.
As the Doctor hurtled down the tunnel, running for his life, Merdeen, travelling through the corridors with Balazar and the two guards, heard the familiar voice of the Immortal through his helmet-speaker. "The Doctor has absconded. He must be found."
"Yes Immortal."
Merdeen raised his hand, bringing the little party to a halt. He stood listening to the Immortal"s instructions, then motioned his party onwards.
In the control room, Humker rubbed tingling fingers. "He should be killed."
"Very slowly," agreed Tandrell. "He hurt me. I hate being hurt."
"He hurt me more," said Humker.
"That is a subjective judgment!"
"He must not be killed," bellowed Drathro. "I need him!"
The Service Robot sped along the corridors, the tracer disc glowing brightly as it tried to pick up the fleeing Doctor.
Merdeen halted his party at a tunnel junction. He turned to the two guards. "You, search Area Red. You, Area Green." The two guards moved away.
Merdeen led Balazar to an nearby alcove.
Ever conscientious, Balazar said worriedly, "Should we not be searching for the Doctor?"
"Quiet," said Merdeen. He looked around, lowering his voice. "You are a clever man, Balazar."
"I am the Reader of the Books," said Balazar proudly.
"People like you are needed on the surface. I can direct you there!"
"The surface? But nothing lives there! The Fire"
"There is no Fire. There has been no Fire for hundreds of years. On the surface you will be beyond the Immortal"s reach. Do you understand me?"
Balazar nodded doubtfully, grappling with this new thought.
Suddenly he realized that he wanted to see the surface very much indeed. Somehow Merdeen had sensed that he was ripe for rebellion.
"But what shall I do, Merdeen. How will I live?"
"You will find others out there," said Merdeen proudly.
"Many of them I have saved from the Immortal."
"If the Immortal discovered this, you will die," said Balazar slowly. "Why do you risk your life, Merdeen?"
"I am sick of the Cullings," said Merdeen simply.
It was explanation enough. To keep the numbers constant at the sacred five hundred, periodic Cullings took place, in which men, women, even children, were taken away and brutally killed. Balazar, like every underground dweller had lost friends and family to the Cullings. His own turn would come one day... He had always accepted them as an inevitable fact of life - until now.
"I have to be very careful," Merdeen went on. "I think Grel suspects me already."
"What will you do now? asked Balazar.
"Find the Doctor and send him to you," said Merdeen.
"Come!"
As they moved away, a helmetted figure appeared from the shadows of a nearby alcove.
It was Grel.
Peri and Glitz were running through the woods, like hunted animals. Not far behind came the hunters from the village, led by Broken Nose, laser-rifle in hand. Glitz was panting hard, and beginning to fall behind.
Dibber waited until the attention of the village was fixed on the escapers and the hunt, then emerged cautiously from behind an empty hut.
Setting the timing on the grenade, Dibber placed it carefully at the base of the gleaming obelisk, then dashed for the shelter of a nearby hollow.
As he hurtled into the dip, stretching face-down in the muddy ground, he heard the crack of the explosion behind him, and turned in time to see the obelisk topple With a grin of satisfaction at a job well done, Dibber scrambled to his feet and set off for the woods.
Seconds later, the villagers began boiling from them huts like angry bees...
Arcs of electricity crackled like lightning around the control room, and even Drathro staggered about disorientated.
"What is happening?" he roared.
Humker and Tandrell wrestled with the console to no avail.