Apollo 23 Read online

  'Or was that your answer to the last question? Right, guessing it was... Ah, yes - you just said.'

  Amy sighed. 'Look, is there some point to this conversation, or did you just call up to be all smug about having got back to Earth and left me stranded up here?'

  The Doctor was talking at the same time: 'You're probably wondering why I've called, and it's not just me being s mug about...' He hesitated, then went on: 'Oh, you are. Good.'

  'Doctor,' Amy said, 'I'm guessing you have things 108

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  to tell me, and I certainly have things to tell you. So rather than getting behind each other all the time, why don't you go first?'

  'Absolutely... Yes,' the Doctor said. Then, after a pause:

  'You go first.'

  'Me?'

  'Oh, I'm going first?' The Doctor sounded surprised. 'OK, if you're sure.'

  'I'm sure.'

  'You want to go first? Is that what you mean by "Me"?

  'No, no it isn't.' Amy was getting exasperated.

  'Sure you want to go first?' He paused, and Amy could imagine her voice coming out of the speakers back at the base in Houston. 'Good, off you go then.'

  Obviously she was going to have to go first after all. But before she could start, the Doctor said:

  'Sorry, what do you mean by "No it isn't?'"

  'Doctor, just be quiet. Whatever you're saying, when you hear this just shut up and listen to me, OK?'

  'I've obviously misunderstood,' the Doctor was saying. 'So let me tell you what's going on here, and you just won't believe what—' He broke off. 'Oh, all right then. Shutting up now. Off you go.'

  Amy's hands were like claws in front of her, miming the action of wringing the absent Doctor's neck. She took a deep breath, then described what had happened to her. She told him about speaking to Liz Didbrook, and about seeing Nurse Phillips, Professor Jackson and M ajor Carlisle go into the Process Chamber. She described her fight with the soldier, 109

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  an d h o w he h ad just so rt of switch ed off before bein g sent to the m edical cen t re by Nurse P h illip s.

  'An d t h ere h e was, h av in g h is h an d ban da ged a s if n o t h in g h ad h ap p en ed. W ell, no th in g ex cept h e'd burn ed h is h an d. Ho w can h e n ot rem em ber? An d ho w can h e th ink t h is is all n o rm al? I m ean , I kn o w th e m ilitary aren't alway s th e sh arpest to o ls in th e bo x , but ev en so ldiers m ust h av e so m e crit ical abilit ies. Th ey h av e to be able t o sh o ot gun s, do n 't t h ey ? So yo u'd h o p e th ey can t ell on e en d from t h e ot h er at least . M ay be I'v e been o v erest imatin g— '

  'Um , Am y ?' th e Do cto r in t errupt ed. 'I k n o w y o u said n ot to in t errup t, but just so y o u k no w, I'v e got Gen eral W alin sk i with m e h ere st ill. An d a co up le of o th er m ilit ary p eo p le. So rry, sho uld h av e m ent ion ed t h at earlier. It m ight be a bit lat e to t ell yo u th at by t h e t im e y o u h ear m e.'

  Am y clo sed her eyes an d crin ged in wardly . 'No but serio usly’

  sh e said quick ly . 'I was just k iddin g, I t hink so ldiers are great .

  Lo v ely ... un ifo rm s. So rry, Do cto r, wh at was th at ? Oh an d a great sen se o f h um o ur t o o , so t h ey 'll k n o w wh at I m ean .'

  Th ere was an awk ward p ause t h at seem ed t o last fo r ever.

  Th en a v o ice Amy reco gn ised as th e Gen eral fro m h is con versat ion wit h Captain Reev e earlier said lev elly : 'T hat was a lo n g few seco n ds.'

  'Lo n gest o f m y life,' Am y m utt ered. Lo uder, sh e wen t o n :

  'An y way , t h at 's wh at 's been h app en in g to m e. So , basically , I gues s t h e so ldier's m in d was affect ed so m eh o w, an d it h as t o be t o do wit h Jack so n's p ro cess. Min d-wip es an d all th at. It was lik e h e'd been h y p n o t ised o r p ro gram m ed o r so m et h in g.

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  Anyone could be affected, I don't know who to trust.' As she said it, she realised just how alone she was. 'I miss you, Doctor. When are you coming back? I need you here.'

  There was another long pause. Then the Doctor's voice came through:

  'My turn now, then, if you've finished. What? Oh, yes, I miss you too. Coming back? Well, slight problem there because the quantum link needs to be mended at your end.

  And I don't think there's anyone up there who can do it. Or at least, no one who wants to.'

  'You've confirmed Colonel Devenish's sabotage theory’

  Walinski said. 'Though we still don't have a motive, unless the Doctor's right.'

  Right about what? Amy almost asked. But she bit her tongue and kept quiet.

  Sure enough, the Doctor explained anyway. 'You're spot on about Jackson's process’ he said. 'I don't know if Jackson is behind it, but the process has been hijacked. You remember I said that there's a void left by removing the patient's memories? And it needs to be filled with something else? I think that's what's happening. Something has found the empty spaces and sneaked in. Maybe that's how these

  "Blanks" you mentioned are being programmed and controlled. Or perhaps that's a separate application of the process. But something is fixing on the blank spaces in the mind and taking up residence there.'

  'You mean, like downloading software onto a blank bit of hard disk, of computer memory?' Amy asked. 'Sorry’ she added quickly.

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  'I wish I could think of a good analogy’ the Doctor went on, oblivious. ' Something went wrong with that poor Prisoner Nine, and Jackson put some of his own memories into the man's brain. That was how he knew me, and how he recalled setting up the process in the first place. What Jackson does is he erases a bit of someone's memory, and into that space...' He paused. 'Yes...' He paused again. 'Oh that's very good, yes. That's exactly what it's like.

  Downloading, I like that. Actually, I don't like it at all, but the analogy is good.'

  'So who's downloading stuff into people's brains?' Amy asked.

  "The question is who's downloading stuff into people's brains,' Walinski said.

  'You both think so,' the Doctor said. 'Well, the answer is

  - I don't know. But it's something that has an affinity with the human brain. Something that can transmit into the mind itself. Something that has a purpose in doing just that.

  Something that definitely isn't human.'

  'And that has hostile intentions’ Walinski added.

  'Seems that way’ the Doctor agreed. 'Hold tight, Amy.

  I'm going to try to fix things from down here. I'll find a way to reconnect long enough for me to get back, then I can sort out the alien invaders, and we can all go home. Easy.'

  'Oh yeah, easy’ Amy said. Even over the radio, she could tell from his tone that the Doctor was more worried than he was letting on.

  'Just make sure no one else gets to find out about this’

  the Doctor said. 'You're right not to trust 112

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  an y o n e... Oh , glad y o u t h in k so . But it p robably wo n 't be so easy ...'

  In ano th er ro o m o n Base Dian a, th e Do ct o r's v o ice cam e clearly t hro ugh a sm all sp eak er wired in to th e m ain co mm un ication s sy st em s.

  'I'll talk to yo u again so o n. If y o u n eed to call us, yo u can t alk t o t h e Gen eral h ere, o r Agent Jen n in gs. Or y o u can ask fo r Can dace Heck er. Sh e's in ch arge o f research an d... st uff. So sh e'll k n o w wh at y o u're t alk in g abo ut . Pro bably. As m uch as an y o n e, an yway . Just sit t ight t ill I so rt so m ethin g o ut .'

  Th e un ifo rmed figure in th e roo m reached o ut an d t urn ed o ff t h e sp eak er. Th e Do ct o r was a p ro blem , ev en st ran ded back o n Eart h. T h ey wo ul d h av e t o m ake sure he n ev er got back t o th e m o o n .

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  Of one thing, Amy was sure - she wasn't going to 'just sit tight'

  until the Doctor sorted something out. That might be days -
/>
  or weeks, even. And for all she knew, the bad guys - Jackson or the aliens, if there were actually any aliens - were already suspicious of her. According to the Doctor, they'd tried to kill him, and had actually killed Colonel Devenish, just for interfering.

  She didn't doubt for a moment that the Doctor would be back. He wouldn't abandon her. He wouldn't abandon the TARDIS either, which was parked out on the lunar surface.

  When he did get back, it would be useful to know who they could trust, and who'd had their mind fried and occupied by the alien invaders.

  One encouraging thing was that the Doctor's theory made sense of some of the things that Liz Didbrook had said. In between the gibberish and rubbish, she'd talked about 'them'.

  Even the poor prisoner who'd

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  died after being processed had warned: 'They're here.' Was that Jackson himself, his mind free of the alien influence, trying to warn them through someone else's body?

  Amy was sure that she couldn't trust either Jackson, Nurse Phillips or Major Carlisle - not that she liked the Major anyway. But there was no one, not even the ever-attentive and charming Captain Reeve, that she was sure she could trust.

  No one except Liz Didbrook. And Amy could only trust her in those brief moments when she slipped nuggets of information and words of warning between the random sentences that perhaps kept the aliens in her mind at bay. If she'd been an early victim of the process, maybe it had gone wrong or not worked properly on her...

  Without having really made a decision, Amy found she was walking towards the Medical Centre. If Liz was possessed by some alien mind parasite then it already knew about Amy's interest. Talking to her again could hardly make things worse.

  Hoping she was right, Amy peered carefully round the door to the Medical Centre. She'd rather Nurse Phillips didn't know she'd come back for another chat with the star patient.

  Nurse Phillips was standing at her desk in the small reception area. The fact that she was standing up was hopeful.

  Unless she'd just arrived and was about to sit down... Amy waited, hardly daring to breath, and ready to duck back out of sight if Nurse Phillips looked towards the door. But she seemed intent on something on the desk. She reached down, and turned a sheet of paper. She was reading something -

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  a m edical rep o rt p robably .

  Aft er wh at seem ed an age, Nurse P h illip s st raighten ed up , ch eck ed h er watch , an d th en h eaded p urp o sefully to wards t h e do o r.

  Am y quick ly ran back do wn t h e co rrido r. Sh e h adn 't t ho ugh t abo ut wh at t o do if Nurse Ph illip s act ually left . Sh e'd h op ed t h e wo m an wo ul d go t h ro ugh in to th e m ain p art of th e M edical Cen t re t o check on som eon e o r so m et h in g so sh e co uld slip in side an d get t o Liz Didbro o k .

  Am y op en ed t h e n earest do o r an d h urried in side. T h e roo m was dark , an d Am y quick ly p ush ed t h e do or almo st sh ut beh in d h er. Sh e left a crack of light , wat ch in g unt il Nurse P h illip s h ad walk ed p ast . Th en Am y breath ed a h eavy sigh of relief. Sh e was abo ut t o o p en t h e do o r again wh en t h e ligh ts cam e o n .

  'Ho ly M o ley !' a gruff v o ice an n o un ced. 'W h o are you?'

  Am y sp un ro un d. Sh e was in a bedro om , ident ical to th e on e Capt ain Reeve had assign ed t o h er. Ex cept th at t h is was n ot h er bedro o m . An d t h e so ldier it did belo n g to was sitt in g up in bed, m et al do gt ags rat tlin g again st h is bare chest.

  'Oh , er h i,' Amy said. 'Healt h an d Safety , just check in g y o ur do o r. M ak in g sure t he h in ges do n 't squeak . In t he dark .' Sh e o p en ed an d clo sed th e do o r a co up le o f t imes just to sho w. 'See. No p ro blem .'

  Th e so ldier didn 't loo k co nv in ced. In fact h e look ed rath er irritat ed - an gry ev en . He swun g h is bare legs o ut o f th e bed, an d as th e sh eet s loo ked abo ut t o fall away , Amy p ulled th e do o r op en an d h urried o ut int o t he co rridor. 'Giv e yo urself an Al rat in g fo r y o ur

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  hinges’ she called back. 'Sorry to disturb you’

  There was a quiet, steady blip from the equipment. Liz was asleep, breathing regularly and calmly. Amy hoped she wasn't heavily sedated. She shook the young woman's shoulder gently. Then more firmly.

  After several seconds, Liz's eyes flickered open. 'What?

  Is it time for milk and honey?'

  'It's me, Amy. I spoke to you before, remember?'

  'Memory cheats’ Liz said sleepily. 'Other people's memories are not their own.'

  'I know -1 know what you mean now. I know why you have to speak nonsense. It's to stop them getting a hold in your mind, so they don't realise that you're telling me things, isn't it?'

  'I tried to tell everyone. I put a wolf in the wood.'

  'A spanner in the works? Is that what you mean?'

  'A fly in the ointment.'

  'You mean the sabotage?' Amy was talking in a loud whisper, though she was pretty sure there was no one else about. 'You sabotaged the systems, is that what you're saying?'

  'Neglected children seek it. Soldiers stand to it.'

  'What?'

  'An elastic band gets stretched and has it.'

  It wasn't nonsense at all, Amy realised. More like a code, and she was just beginning to get the hang of it. 'A tension.

  You mean attention - you sabotaged the systems to get attention? Well, you got me and the Doctor, so it sort of worked.'

  Suddenly Liz sat up. 'Have you come to take me to the party? Will I see all the others now? I'm

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  sleepy. I could go to the party. The sleepover party. All sleeping.'

  'What party?' Amy asked. 'What do you mean?'

  'Or am I too sleepy?' The woman s lumped backwards on to her pillow. Her grey eyes closed. 'You go for me. At quarter past nine, or just after. 21.17 it opens. But don't sleep over.

  Never sleep over. Waking is best. Gatecrashers not wanted, oh no. Naughty.'

  'OK,' Amy said. 'Seriously confused now. So, where is this party you want me to gatecrash?' She put her hand on Liz's shoulder. 'Where?'

  The eyes snapped open again - vivid blue irises staring at Amy. 'Pod 7,' Liz said. 'Party on.' Then her eyes closed again, and she began to snore softly.

  The woman in the reception area of the Medical Centre turned sharply as Amy walked in.

  'Oh, it's you,' Amy said. 'I don't think Nurse Phillips is here, I was just looking for her.'

  'No problem,' Major Carlisle said shortly. 'You know how long she'll be?'

  Amy shook her head. 'She wasn't here when I arrived.'

  'You and the Doctor - why are you really here?'

  'To fix the systems.' It came out like a question. Amy sensed she was being interrogated.

  'I just wonder if I can trust you,' Major Carlisle said.

  'Oh absolutely. Very trustworthy. Something you want to confess?' Maybe that was going too far, Amy thought. But she'd said it now.

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  anything odd since you arrived here on Diana?'

  'Apart from the fact the quantum thing isn't working.'

  'Not the equipment, the people.' Major Carlisle stared intently at Amy, as if trying to read the answer in her freckles.

  'The people?' This must be a trick. How Amy answered could mean the difference between life and death, liberty and... being processed. 'No, everyone's been very good and helpful. Why do you ask?'

  Major Carlisle's eyes narrowed slightly. 'No reason. Just that I want to be sure my team is giving you all the help and attention you need.'

  'Oh yes’ Amy assured her. 'I'm getting all the attention I need.' Then, as Major Carlisle turned to leave, Amy said:

  'What's in Pod 7?'

  Carlisle paused, then turned back. 'Why do you ask?'

  'Just wond
ered. Something someone said.'

  'Someone?'

  'One of your team.'

  Major Carlisle nodded as if this made sense. 'Pod 7 is a holding and processing area for new prisoners. We've had none for several months and none are due - even before the current transportation problems.'

  'So, what's in there?'

  'Nothing. Pod 7 is completely empty.' Carlisle tilted her head slightly to one side. 'Does that answer your question, Miss Pond?'

  It does, thank you, Major Carlisle.'

  'Then I'll leave you to it.'

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  'Stupid, stupid, stupid,' Amy muttered to herself over and over. It was stupid to have asked about Pod 7 and tipped Major Carlisle off like that. Of course she'd given nothing away. But then again, maybe she'd think that Amy believed her - why wouldn't she, after all?

  Amy had headed to the canteen and got herself a coffee -

  that tasted foul. She was pretty sure she wasn't being followed. Major Carlisle had gone off towards the admin area. Pod 7 was on the other side of the base. Well away from everything else, it was a separate area extending out from the main part of the base. That made sense if it was where the prisoners arrived. Isolated and self-contained. But it also meant there was only one corridor leading to it.

  To get to that one corridor, Amy had to pass the cell block.

  She stared out at the central hub, knowing now that there were people incarcerated there. The door at the far end of the long room was locked, a numeric keypad beside it. There was also a small, square glass plate like a fire alarm activator.

  Amy was tempted to break the plate, but it would probably set off an alarm and there was no guarantee it would unlock the door. And who knew what else it might do?

  But she didn't know the code. Or did she? Liz had said the party was at 21.17, which had seemed like an odd time even for an imaginary party. What exactly had she said? '21.17 it opens.' That had to be it. Amy keyed in 2117, and the door slid open.

  'Yes!' Amy said in triumph. Immediately, she turned to check there was no one there.