As you must know, no properly structured organism need ever die from mere age, as long as the body cells can be adjusted to repair and replicate themselves indefinitely. That is what the formulation in these phials will do.
"Drink one measure, it is all you will ever need. Leave the rest for those who may follow after you. Then I will give you instructions that will guide you to me in person. Together we shall learn the secrets of the universe. We shall see suns being born and dying. If we have the desire we shall last until the end of time!"
Thorrin picked up one of the phials, broke it open and swallowed the contents. It burnt inside him, and for a moment he felt dizzy. Then a wonderful warmth began to infuse his bones. He looked at his hands, and thought he could already see the fine wrinkles across their backs begin to fade.
He had made it. And the only limit to what he might accomplish now was his imagination...
Gribbs was feeling weak from laughing and shouting. He saw Drorgon slump back on to a drift of precious stones and followed suit, panting heavily. It was rather like being drunk. That was it: they were drunk with riches. The sound of Alpha"s voice from his comm link gradually receded until it was no louder than the buzz of a fly.
Gribbs took one last shuddering breath, then he heard nothing more ever again.
In the antechamber, Alpha continued to shout into his communicator.
But there was no reply.
"I told you not to send them," said the Doctor despairingly, his voice more brittle than Peri had ever heard before. "She said there was nothing of true and lasting value." He turned to Shalvis.
"What is the major const.i.tuent of the atmosphere in the lesser treasure chamber?"
"An inert gas, Doctor, to help preserve the artworks?
"Then there was no more oxygen than they took in with them?"
"That is correct."
"What ghastly irony! They get their ephemeral wealth for the rest of their lives exactly as you promised - except that they are already dying!" he snapped back angrily.
"Yes."
Peri trembled, feeling sick. "I know they were sc.u.m... but how could you be so cold blooded?"
"We are simply keeping our trust," Shalvis replied, apparently unperturbed. "I advised them not to pa.s.s through that door.
Remember, I warned you all when we first met of both the dangers and the rewards of the quest."
The Doctor shook his head sadly. Arnella and Brockwell glanced anxiously at each other, then at the blue door through which the Marquis and Thorrin had gone.
"How fortunate," Alpha grated, "that in my new form, I do not require oxygen. An inert atmosphere will not trouble me at all. I shall examine this chamber."
He clipped his rifle to his side and rolled towards the door, which opened smoothly once again at the slightest touch, and pa.s.sed through. The door began to swing closed behind him even as Peri noticed how thick and heavy it was.
Then Alpha"s metal hands appeared around its edge as he fought to pull it back open. It slowed but did not quite stop and Peri realised it must be power-driven. Alpha began to force his tracked lower body back through with a sc.r.a.ping of metal. They could hear the whirr of servo systems under load.
"We can trap him in there!" the Doctor shouted, throwing himself forward and pressing back against Alpha"s gleaming torso. As though coming out of trance the rest joined him, except for Shalvis and Dynes. Red growled and whined at the back of the press of bodies.
But Alpha was too strong. Despite their efforts he was forcing his way back out. With a final shrill of metal he shot free, knocking them to the ground almost contemptuously with sweeps of his ma.s.sive arms. Then he turned to Shalvis.
"I congratulate you: an elementary but effective trap. I only noticed there was no means of opening the door from the inside just in time."
"They "are designed to let people in, not out," Shalvis admitted calmly. "If you recall, I said it would only lead to the chamber.
And both it and the doors are lined with collapsium, and would be quite impervious to your weapon."
"But it has failed, "Alpha pointed out triumphantly. And now I know the location of the real treasure, I shall find some means of obtaining un.o.bstructed access to it, however long it takes." His glowing eyes flickered across the rest of them still sprawled on the floor. "But you will not witness my success. As I had cause to explain to Qwaid shortly before his own demise, I do not indulge in revenge. This is merely sensible pre-emption to ensure you will trouble me no further..."
His rifle unlatched itself from the casing and sprang into his hand. They started to scrabble uselessly away from him. Red stood over Peri protectively, growling at Alpha.
"Remember I"m a neutral press observer, Mr Alpha," Dynes called out quickly. "I"d like to arrange an exclusive -"
Alpha"s gun blazed twice, and two of the three remaining DAVE units exploded in midair. Red gave a ferocious snarl of warning.
Alpha swung his gun round.
"No! Red, don"t!" Peri screamed.
Red sprang as Alpha fired.
The energy bolt struck Red in the chest, pa.s.sed straight through him and out of his back, blasting his saddle mount free.
But his momentum carried him on and he struck Alpha, sending him skidding back on his tracks to crash against the wall. Alpha fired again, burning a long furrow into Red"s flanks. But somehow Red remained on his feet, and tore the rifle out of Alpha"s grasp with one swipe of his ma.s.sive forepaw With a whirr of tracks Alpha drove forward, his hands reaching out to clasp Red"s neck. Red twisted his head and his huge jaws snapped shut about Alpha, teeth grating on metal. With a tremendous heave Red jerked the glittering body aloft, even as Alpha"s fists beat upon his snout and jaw, smashing into his mask of armour plates with ringing blows. Red began to shake him as a terrier would shake a rat, his head snapping from side to side. But he was standing so that on each alternate swing Alpha"s head and shoulders were dashed against the hard wall with ringing crashes. Silver arms flailed uselessly and shards of broken metal started to fly free. Suddenly, blue smoke hissed from Alpha"s strained joints.
There was a sharp bang, a crackle of electricity, and a shower of sparks. Red sank to the ground. With a final effort, his neck twisted and his jaws jerked open. Alpha"s mangled form was tossed aside, writhing and jerking, whirring and sparking fitfully.
Incoherent groans and gurgles came from its voicebox. Gradually they subsided. The flailing arms froze, and the baleful glowing eyes in the half-flattened cranium dimmed and went out.
Warily they got to their feet. Jaharnus picked up Alpha"s rifle and edged forward until she could kick his outstretched hand. It did not move.
"It"s all right," she said with a sigh. "He"s finished."
"All find their just reward on Gelsandor, both good and evil."
Shalvis said.
Peri was not listening. She was staring down at Red"s scarred body as it lay very still. She touched his furry side, but there was no trace of a heartbeat. Her eyes filled unashamedly with tears.
"Why did he have to be so brave?"
The Doctor patted her consolingly on the shoulder. "He was certainly a remarkable animal," he agreed.
"A n.o.ble beast," Loxley proclaimed sincerely.
Arnella and Brockwell approached Shalvis. "We have to know,"
Arnella asked brokenly. "What has happened to my uncle and the professor? Are they... dead as well?"
"No," said Shalvis calmly. "Knowing you have chosen another way and cannot follow or aid them in any way, do you wish to learn their destiny?"
They exchanged searching glances, then nodded. Shalvis turned to the others.
"Have you decided yet? You must choose not to go through the blue door before I can reveal this."
"My job"s done," said Jaharnus. "Green for me."
"And I", said Loxley. "One bold deed is enough for the day. And I shall have enough genuine tales to tell now."
Peri simply shook her head, still staring at Red.
"Certainly not," the Doctor confirmed.
She looked questioningly at Dynes, who had rapidly recovered his composure and was directing the single remaining DAVE in recording the remains of Alpha and Red.
"Can I get a better shot from inside?" he asked simply "Not substantially," Shalvis replied.
"Then count me out."
Shalvis crossed to the blank wall beside the four doors and touched its surface. The wall seemed to become transparent, like a giant screen. The image on it was softly lit, but they could clearly make out Rosscarrino and Thorrin reclining side by side in full body-contoured chairs. Their eyes were closed and they lay very still.
"Are they asleep?" Arnella asked tremulously.
"In a manner of speaking. When an impossible dream becomes an obsession, and life becomes intolerable while it remains unfulfilled, then only illusions can bring release. The Marquis would never have believed Rovan did not leave the Book of Lineage amongst his treasury, nor would the professor accept that we do not possess the secret of immortality. The truth would have destroyed them. They are at peace now, and will live out their lives believing they succeeded..."
The screen viewpoint slowly withdrew to reveal the rest of the chamber, and they saw it was huge and filled with row upon row of the contoured chairs. Each bore a still figure. There were creatures of many races in all manner of costumes, some ragged and torn, but none of them stirred. Every single one of that silent mult.i.tude slept the same eternal sleep as the Marquis and Thorrin. And as the viewpoint glided between their ranks, Peri realised that most of them were very, very old.
"Despite what you may think, Rovan was not entirely unmerciful, and neither are we." Shalvis said.
The screen darkened and the image of the sleepers vanished.
Peri shivered. Arnella and Brockwell remained staring at the blank wall for a long time, then they slowly turned and walked hand in hand through the green door that led back to the surface. Loxley and Jaharnus followed at a respectful distance.
"Any final comments?" Dynes asked hopefully, as he and the single surviving DAVE headed after them, leaving Peri and the Doctor alone with Shalvis.
Peri glanced sadly once more at Red"s still form. Then she frowned and edged closer. "Doctor, why is there no blood?"
Before he could reply a swirling shimmering light enveloped Red"s body, and it seemed to shrink inward. Then the light was gone and in its place stood a familiar form, with the ghosts of the wounds Red had suffered dissolving into its silver body sh.e.l.l as though they had never been.
"Kamelion?" Peri gasped in disbelief.
"I had interfaced with the TARDIS shortly before the Master took control of me," Kamelion explained in his familiar deferential tones, having politely allowed them a few moments to recover.
"Also, I have a pseudo-metabolic extension into the fifth dimension, where I store or draw on ma.s.s to suit varied body forms. It was through this and the tenuous interface link that my mental pattern survived, trapped within the TARDIS"s hyperdimensional fields. But I was confused and could not contact you nor regenerate a new physical form. It was not until we arrived here that I was released."
"Ah," said the Doctor knowingly, glancing at Shalvis.
"Yes, we were responsible," Shalvis admitted. "We foresaw Kamelion"s coming and his part in the defeat of Alpha. Through an illusion we made you think you had locked your TARDIS when you left on the quest. This allowed us to bring an amorphous plasmoidal form we had created within reach of Kamelion"s mind. With our help he was able to make the initial transition. This did not break the spirit of our trust with Rovan, nor was it totally selfish. Our actions were already part of a potential future, and in a manner of speaking Kamelion was on a quest of his own. Remember, it is our purpose to aid seekers of whatever kind to achieve their true destiny. And defeating Alpha was part of Kamelion"s."
Peri turned back to Kamelion. "But why didn"t you appear to me like this first off?"
"On Sarn I had caused you alarm and pain in this form. You would have been mistrustful to see it once again. Yet there you had also called me "friend" and cared for me, and I wished to repay that kindness. So when I traced your mind pattern in the woods, I a.n.a.lysed your desires and combined them in a form that would best serve and rea.s.sure you."
Peri suddenly understood. "Just before you appeared I was thinking of heroic dogs, knights in armour, and America. And I got something that combined all three, right down to the patriotic colour scheme!" She chuckled. "It was a great disguise, Kamelion.
I"ll always remember "Red". But it"s good to have you back as you are."
"Thank you, but I regret I cannot rejoin you."
"Why not?" the Doctor asked.
"This form is unstable, Doctor. Too many of my functions were lost with my original body, and they can never be regained.
Gradually I would lose control of my patterns and become a liability once more. I have decided it is best if I leave you now with, if I may so call it, dignity."
"No!" Peri exclaimed. "Not again..."
But even as she spoke she realised Kamelion was fading. She began to see through him, as though he were turning into ice which was slowly vaporising before her eyes.
"Kamelion, you must hang on," the Doctor said urgently. "There may be a way to stabilise your new body."
"Thank you, Doctor, but it is useless. You granted me a merciful release once, now allow me the same freedom to choose my ultimate destiny. It has pleased me to redeem myself. I hope 1 have fulfilled my functions adequately and given satisfaction."
He was growing fainter by the second.
"Yes you have," Peri said desperately, but please don"t go like this!"
"Do not concern yourself any further, Peri Brown, or you Doctor. I am finally at peace..."
She tried to touch him one last time, but there was only a shape of mist. "Goodbye... " she said simply.
Then he was gone.
Peri swallowed hard and wiped her eyes. She looked up at the Doctor and saw a look of tender compa.s.sion. He put a rea.s.suring arm around her shoulders.
"I know, it"s not fair. But the universe is not fair, it just is. At least Kamelion had a chance to make good second time round, which is more than most beings get. Let"s remember him at his best," he suggested gently, "acting with courage and purpose."
She sighed. "I"m just sorry I started this whole thing."
"But if we, and especially Kamelion, hadn"t been here, things might not have gone so well for everyone else."
"I suppose so," she agreed.
"And what"s more," he added, his voice lowering to a conspiratorial whisper, "Remember, Dynes will never know what a scoop he"s just missed: Heroic Beast Really Reincarnated Shapeshifter Android!"