THERE WAS A moment of silence. It was followed by a moment of utter confusion, as everything seemed to happen at once.
Skagra pulled himself free of the Doctor and gestured exultantly to the sphere.
Professor Chronotis ripped off his glasses and stared meaningfully at Skagra.
The Doctor shouted, ‘K-9, the sphere! Blast it!’
The Kraag Commander straightened up manfully.
The sphere zoomed towards Professor Chronotis.
K-9’s nose laser loosed a sizzling, bright red beam at the sphere.
The sphere shattered – but not into fragments. It divided. There were now ten spheres, smaller, but identical in every other way to the original.
One of the small spheres attached itself to the forehead of Professor Chronotis. The Professor dropped to his knees in agony, his glasses flying from his hand.
The Doctor raced towards his old friend. His path was blocked instantly by the remaining spheres.
‘Salyavin!’ cried Skagra. ‘At last! It is my destiny!’ He pointed to the sphere on the Professor’s forehead and barked, ‘Total extraction! Break through his barriers! Remove the mind of Salyavin!’
At about this point, Chris Parsons began to wonder if he had done something wrong.
The Professor gave a final agonised cry.
Then, suddenly, he straightened, got to his feet with remarkable agility and turned to face Skagra. His face was totally blank, the sphere still attached to his forehead.
Professor Chronotis’s eyes were now jet-black orbs.
Then Skagra did something none of them had ever seen before. He threw back his head and laughed. It was as extreme an emotional reaction as the tears he had dried only moments before. Romana stepped back in revulsion from this appalling sight.
The laughter ended as abruptly as it had begun. ‘Now, Doctor,’ said Skagra, seemingly as composed as ever, ‘you shall see the beginning of the Universal Mind!’
He swept a hand in a grand gesture. Nine of the spheres broke formation and scattered around the chamber.
Three of them settled on the foreheads of Subjatric, Rundgar and Scintilla, the Ancient Outlaws. Immediately they snapped to attention, faces blank, eyes black.
Another sphere zoomed down, attaching itself to the metallic head of K-9. His red eye-screen flickered and turned black.
Chris was too busy looking at this in utter horror to see another sphere heading straight for him. Immediately it touched his forehead he straightened to attention, his face blank, his eyes black.
And Skagra’s laugh began anew. But now the chamber rang with laughter, many different voices joining to form a cacophony of almost childish cruelty and derision. Everyone affixed by a sphere was now part of the ghastly chorus. The little Professor, the Ancient Outlaws, Chris, even K-9. Laughing and laughing in exactly the same rhythm as Skagra. Laughing at the Doctor and Romana.
Romana huddled closer to the Doctor as they were surrounded by the laughing mind-slaves, their black eyes shining.
Skagra stopped laughing.
The mind-slaves stopped laughing, their expressions mirroring the triumph on Skagra’s face. Even K-9 somehow exuded an air of vicious smugness and superiority.
Skagra stepped smoothly and slowly away from the empty cabinet. ‘Now, Doctor, Romana,’ said Skagra. ‘I have the power of Salyavin. You have been privileged to witness the birth of the Universal Mind. My mission is not to bring death, but life.’
The Doctor couldn’t keep the disgust from his voice. ‘You call that life?’ he sneered, indicating the slaves.
Skagra held up a gloved finger. ‘But you didn’t let me finish, Doctor. Yes, I bring life. But in your case, I intend to make an exception!’
The Doctor and Romana huddled together as the mind-slaves of Skagra moved as one around them, arms outstretched. Chris, the Professor and K-9 moved closer still, K-9 extending his nose laser.
Their own friends were going to kill them.