Archiwum
- Index
- James Alan Gardner [League Of Peoples 07] Radiant
- Georgie's Beau Azod, Shara
- Greenberg, Martin H & Tier, Mark Give Me Liberty
- Chess Strategy
- Cabot Particia Amazonka
- R1031. Winters Rebecca Cudowna terapia
- D010. Woods Sherryl Nie o osmej, kochanie
- Fern Michaels Pod niebem Vegas
- Gordon Dickson Time Storm
- Edigey Jerzy Najgorszy jest poniedzialek
- zanotowane.pl
- doc.pisz.pl
- pdf.pisz.pl
- epicusfuror.xlx.pl
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Instead it's given us an opportunity to survive, by continually proving
our intelligence.'
'That is so,' agreed Bellal. 'But what is its purpose in doing this
?'
'Perhaps by passing the tests we show we have an intelligence-
level that could be useful. We might have knowledge that it can add
to its data-banks for instance.'
'And afterwards?'
'The one thing that menaces the City is the development of any
outside intelligence on the planet. I believe it lures any intelligent
beings inside with its tests and once it has taken their knowledge, it
destroys them.'
'Then I was right after all. We have entered a trap.'
'Perhaps so. But remember, traps can be made to open as well
as close.'
Suddenly they came to a dead-end.
The lights in the corridor began to pulse. Strange whirling
colours began flashing before their eyes, and the air was filled with
discordant electronic noises.
'What is it, Doctor?' cried Bellal. 'What's happening?'
'I think it's the ultimate test an assault on our sanity ! Resist
it, Bellal. Try to block it from your mind.'
Reality began to blur and shimmer round them as walls and
floor began spinning into twisted, writhing multi-coloured shapes.
Electronic shrieks howled through their brains, making thought
impossible. Bellal dropped to the floor. Arms wrapped round his
head and knees drawn up to his chin, he rolled himself into a tight
ball, trying vainly to shut out the lights and the sounds.
The Doctor however forced himself to stare unblinkingly into
the screaming vortex of madness. 'You are an illusion,' he shouted.
'You have no substance, no truth. You do not exist. You do not exist!'
There was utter silence. The swirling lights disappeared, the
sounds cut off, walls and floor returned to solid reality. The Doctor
helped Bellal to get up. 'It's all right,' he said gently. 'It's over now.'
Bellal's eyes were staring over the Doctor's shoulder. 'Look,
Doctor,' he breathed.
The Doctor turned. A door slid back in the wall before them,
revealing an enormous control room. It was lined with complex
instrument panels and dominated by one central console. There was a
chair before this console and in it a white-robed figure. It sat
motionless, regarding them, eyes bright in the mummified face
beneath the hood.
'The last survivor,' whispered the Doctor. 'Perhaps the City
kept him here to serve it.' He took a step nearer and the wizened
figure shimmered, blurred, and dissolved into a pile of dust. Bellal
jumped back with a cry of horror.
'Our fault, I'm afraid,' said the Doctor. 'Our entry set up an air
current and that was enough to break the surface tension that held
him together.'
The door closed behind them, blocking their escape. Bellal
looked at the banks of complex instruments. 'Is this the heart of the
City?'
'The heart, the brain, and the nervous system. This is what we
have to destroy.'
Bellal lowered his voice in awe. 'For thousands of years the
City has defied all attempts to harm it. Can we really end its power?'
The Doctor too was looking round. 'I think there is a way. But
to destroy it, I must first know more about it.' He began moving
about the room, studying the complex instrument panels, whirling
dials and luminous gauges with absorbed attention.
Bellal looked on, feeling as usual a little lost. He knew he
could never hope to understand the complex science of his ancestors.
He wandered over to the far side of the wall, where a number of
translucent screens were set into the wall. As he stared at them, they
slowly became transparent. They seemed like windows to another
room adjoining the one they were in, an immense shadowy room
filled with swirling mists.
Bellal stared into the mist in fascination. As he watched,
strange, monstrous shapes started forming behind the screens...
13
The Antibodies
Bellal sprang back in alarm. 'Doctor, come quickly.;
The Doctor came over to him, and they both stood staring in
fascination. The giant shapes were larger now, more distinct, and
they were beginning to take on a vaguely humanoid form. 'I'm afraid
we have less time than I thought,' said the Doctor gravely.
'What is it, Doctor? What's happening?'
'The City is creating these creatures to protect itself like
antibodies. I think it has decided we're a danger to it, so it's devising
means to neutralise us.' He turned away, reaching for his sonic
screwdriver. 'Keep an eye on them for me, Bellal. Warn me when
they seem to be complete.' Hurrying to the central computer
terminal, the Doctor began dismantling the control panel.
Ignoring the pain in his aching muscles, Peter Hamilton
dragged himself on to the topmost ledge of the beacon tower.
Gasping for breath he reached down and took the bombs Galloway
passed up to him, stowing them well away from the edge. Then with
one final heave, he helped Galloway to scramble on to the ledge
beside him. For a moment the two men lay there gasping, recovering
from the tremendous effort of the climb. It had been a nightmarish
business, all the worse because it had been so repetitive. They had
repeated the same set of actions over and over again, working
themselves, and the bombs, up the endless ledges.
Now, at last, they had reached the top. Every few seconds the
glare of the flashing beacon lit up the area for miles around. They
could see the sprawling white buildings and towers of the City, and
the bare rocky plain all around. Far below was the tiny figure of the
watchful Dalek, waiting for them to complete their mission and come
down.
Hamilton looked up. The beacon itself was set upon a kind of
metallic framework rather like a miniature Eiffel Tower, which rose
out of the block on which they were standing. 'Four supporting legs,
four bombs,' said Hamilton. 'Come on, let's fix a bomb on each one
and then get down.'
He fished the magnetic tape from his pocket and used it to lash
the bomb to the first support. He raised the detonating section,
flicked it into activity and thrust home the activating plunger.
Working his way round the ledge he fixed the second bomb and the
third. He waited for Galloway to pass him the fourth and last bomb,
but Galloway shook his head. 'No. Not this one.'
'Look, that Dalek is watching every move we make.'
Determinedly Galloway tucked the last little cylinder inside his
tunic. 'It can't make out details at this range. 'Three charges will bring
down the beacon just as well as four. This is the only weapon we've
got, and we're taking it back with us. Now come on. Those bombs
are ticking, remember.' Galloway dropped down on to the ledge
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