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every variety of living creature on the planet. Yet they
sneered at him and refused to admit a newcomer through
the portals of their societies and gentlemen s clubs.
It was the fate of any great innovator to be
misunderstood and ridiculed; he was no exception. He had
no blood lineage, neither had he been to the right school.
He was an outsider, condemned to stare through the
steamy window of Victorian respectability. But if there was
a future, they would learn to change their attitudes just as
it was in him to change, chameleon-like, to teach them
who was dominant. Let them all mock, but he would not
be alienated!
The lift jolted to a halt. The Doctor slid back the gate
and directed Josiah out with the Geiger counter. From the
far end of the passage came a tremulous pulse of sound and
a glow made almost tangible by the mist that hovered
there. Josiah clutched at the wall in fear. Light! he
choked.
... at the end of the tunnel, added the Doctor.
He paused to examine the paintings on the curved walls.
The brushwork was fine and detailed, even nineteenth
century gothic in style.
Palaeolithic cave paintings, he mused, but done in
oils. Nimrod must be getting homesick.
The Doctor urged Josiah further on until they reached
the veil of light that marked the entrance to the inner
chamber.
From the outside, the Doctor could make out the
contours of the chamber which was lit by flickering screens
whose shifting patterns coloured the mist blue to green to
gold. The walls groaned their protest as vents around the
chamber jetted steam into the area. At its heart, from
which all its power stemmed, the giant oval membrane
throbbed with piercing luminescence.
Josiah held back at the mouth of the passage. He was
close to panic and taking short gulps of air. He warily eyed
the scene until the Doctor pushed him into the centre. The
penetrated veil emitted its shrill cry, either of alarm or
acknowledgement, and it was like standing in the heart of a
living jewel. Colour and light shimmered and darted
around Josiah and the Doctor, it silhouetted the figure that
rose from beside the membrane and moved towards them.
Ace flung her arms around the Doctor and demanded to
know where he had been.
Where haven t I been? he replied, slightly embarrassed
at this show of affection in front of his prisoner. I came as
quick as I could, he added brusquely.
Josiah ignored the Doctor s gun and rounded on Ace.
What have you done to my observatory? he accused.
It s what it nearly did to me! she retorted.
The Doctor glanced around the chamber, taking in the
Victorian furnishings in their archaic surroundings.
Through the hissing jets of steam he could see two
motionless shapes standing hunched by the closed door of
a cell and a figure that knelt before the huge membrane
and stared deep into its glowing heart at the shadow that
stirred there.
The Doctor turned sternly back to his protegee and said,
Ace? Have you been tampering?
It was an accident! she protested.
Josiah was not slow to shift the blame and attention
from his own shoulders. All my work could be ruined! he
declared.
That s my girl, the Doctor said proudly. He handed
her the Geiger counter.
Ace studied it for a second before the Doctor removed it
from her grasp, turned it round, gave it back and directed
her aim towards Josiah.
Keep him covered, said the Doctor before he sauntered
across the chamber towards the figure that knelt beside the
membrane.
One of the jets of steam spurted out and almost caught
the Doctor in the face. He scooped up a brass waste-paper
basket from the floor, caught the jet in it and plugged the
basket over the vent on the wall.
Not a patch on the Flying Scotsman, he muttered,
dusting off his hands and flicking at an outcrop of crystals
beside the vent.
Josiah watched as the steam jets died around the
chamber. The Doctor was interfering with his property
and he was powerless to stop it. He must find out the
extent of the damage. He looked back at the girl as she
aimed the gun squarely at his head, and noticed how the
flickering instrumentation on the weapon altered as the
energetic activity in the chamber subsided.
Don t try anything, Ace said fiercely.
Shielding his eyes against the glare, Josiah saw the
Doctor bending over the figure by the membrane. The
shadow was still shifting uneasily inside; he had to act
now.
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