ARC OF DISCOVERY
The village that K-9 led them to was nearly an hour’s walk from the TARDIS, down in a valley. The temperature rise was evident, but the incline not enough to suggest they’d been in the mountains. Removing his gloves as they surveyed the area, Adric said, “K-9, what’s the weather temperature like now?”
“Maintained at twenty-five degrees Celsius, Young Master,” he replied.
“Well that’s no good,” the Doctor said, loosening his scarf from around his neck. “It’s clearly warmer down here than it was up there.”
“Don’t suppose anyone’s home?” Romana asked, glancing around the empty street. “Where do you think all the people have gone?”
“Reckon we’re maybe hiding from you, miss.”
The three turned at the voice, looking in surprise at the man who had materialized behind them. He was a tall fellow dressed in faded brown clothes. At his hip rested a sidearm, though his hand was not near it.
“Hello there,” the Doctor cheerfully said, stepping forward to put himself between his companions and the stranger. “I’m the Doctor. This is Romana, and Adric,” he added, gesturing to them with one hand. “Oh, and K-9, of course.”
The man’s eyes swept over the new arrivals, studying them coolly. “Name’s Evan. I run this town.”
“Where do you run it?” the Doctor asked cheerfully.
Clearly not understand the pun, Evan stepped back from them. “What do you folks want?”
“We’re just passing through, actually,” the Doctor said, scratching at his cheek absently. “We couldn’t help but notice the strange weather patterns you have here.”
“Yes, they’re very peculiar,” Romana added, sidling up beside the Doctor. “Our scanners say it’s a balmy twenty-five degrees, even when it’s snowing out.”
Evan’s eyes flashed. “Snowing? You went up the road?”
“Came down it, more like,” the Doctor replied.
“You three staying at the Inn?” Evan asked, eyes narrowed.
Romana and Adric exchanged looks, but the Doctor just lifted his head, flashing his teeth and smiled. “Why, yes. Yes, we are. Be a good man now, and show us the way there?”
Evan, looking none too pleased with the prospect, gave them all one last glare before turning and leading the way. Adric waited until Evan’s back was to them before speaking.
“Doctor,” he began, “did you notice the static charge in the air here?” Once he had the Doctor’s attention, he raised his now-gloveless hand out and ran it over his hair. A few loose strands of dark Alzarian hair lifted, rising to brush his palm.
“That is very strange,” the Doctor mused.
“What would fill the air with static charge?” Romana asked, turning to look at Adric. She examined his hair closer, as if it would reveal a sign.
The Doctor raised his hand behind her, holding it over her head. When her hair rose to meet his palm, he broke into a brilliant toothy grin. It was so absurd a sight that Adric burst out laughing.
The laughter made both Evan and Romana turn around. The latter narrowed his eyes suspiciously while Romana scowled. “This is hardly the time for games, Doctor,” she chided.
“It’s always time for games, Romana,” the Doctor replied, “it’s the location that’s sometimes off.”
Evan ended their repartee, gesturing to a non-descript brown building with one hand. “The Inn, Doctor.”
--
The Inn was very plain and relatively bare; it consisted of one floor and had only three rooms to let. It was obvious not many travelers came through the town. The Doctor stepped up to the front desk, which was manned by a very tired looking old woman. “Hello there,” he cheerfully said. “I’d like to let a room, please.” He patted himself down, looking for money.
The old woman eyed him critically before letting her eyes pass over Adric and Romana. She settled at last on Evan, who gave her a very small, encouraging nod. “Name?” she croaked.
“Ah, well, yes. I’m the Doctor, and this is Romana and Adric,” he added, gesturing.
The old woman raised an eyebrow. “You’re a doctor?” she questioned.
“I believe so, yes,” he answered. Leaning against the countertop to peer at her he added, “Why?”
“We’ve been in need of a skilled doctor for quite some time,” she said. “They send them from the city, on occasion, but they’ve been coming less and less lately.”
His curiosity now piqued, the Doctor asked, “Is there a sickness here?”
“No,” the old woman answered. “But too often those who fall ill don’t recover. Won’t you look at them, please, Doctor?”
Sighing deeply, the Doctor turned to address his two companions. “I suppose I must,” he said absently. “I’ll give your men a good looking over, you’ll rent us a room then?”
The old woman seemed hesitant, but then nodded her agreement. “Very well.”
“Romana?” the Doctor asked.
“It’s quite all right,” Romana said happily. “Adric and I will settle in and then explore.” She turned to brightly smile at Adric. “Won’t we?”
Adric shrugged. “I would like to see what’s causing the electricity charge,” he agreed.
“You’d be wise not to meddle in the affairs of strangers,” Evan said acidly.
The Doctor turned completely, clasping both Romana and Adric around the shoulders. “Do be careful,” he announced. “And try not to get into trouble.”
Adric was quite certain that last bit had been directed at himself. “I’m not going to get into trouble.”
Romana wormed out from under the Doctor’s arm. “I’m perfectly capable of keeping an eye on Adric,” she chided. “Go and tend to the sick if that’s what they want you to do. We’ll meet you back here tonight and let you know what we’ve found.”
“All right then,” the Doctor said. He gave Adric’s shoulder a squeeze before removing his hand, fixing both of his companions with another bright, toothy grin. “Keep an eye on her, Adric, won’t you?” he said almost under his breath. “She does get overzealous at times.”
Adric smiled back. “We’ll be fine.”
“Your key,” the old woman said, tapping the Doctor on the shoulder to hand him his room key.
“Ah, yes, thank you,” the Doctor replied. He studied the key for a moment before handing it over to Romana. “Well, until tonight then!” He inclined his head and headed back out.
--
“K-9, can you locate where the static charge field is emanating from?” Adric asked once they were back outside. They had left their heavy coats in their room and were considerably cooler for the change.
The robot dog’s sensors swiveled as he computed. “Affirmative, young master,” he said. Without further ado, he began rolling along.
“What are you up to? Romana asked as she fell into step beside Adric. K-9 was heading back in the direction they’d come from. “You think the static electricity is causing the weather fluctuation?”
“Don’t you?” Adric asked earnestly.
“Well, I do admit there is probably some connection.”
K-9 turned up the path that would lead them back toward the TARDIS but only followed it for a few minutes before veering off again. They ended up not far from the town, but several feet above ground level, on a ledge in the mountains. It wasn’t quite snowing where they were, but the temperature felt much cooler. Below them they could see a thick carpeting of trees and the small town nestled therein. Beyond the trees grew a sandy shore before stretching into the ocean. The town was situated in a bay; the mountain range curved along the land, following the shore with about a kilometer distance between the ocean and the mountains. The sight was quite enchanting.
Romana stood looking at it for a while, but Adric was already pushing aside bushes on the ledge they’d arrived on. “Look, I’ve found something!” he exclaimed.
Turning away from the view, Romana followed Adric to his discovery. Hidden very neatly behind the bushes, and recessed slightly into the mountain wall, was a large piece of machinery. It produced no light or noise, but the static electricity charge was much greater; to the extent that the ends of Adric’s hair floated toward the machinery when he got too close.
“K-9, what do you make of this?” Romana asked, moving to squat down beside Adric. The ends of her hair shifted toward the machine as well.
K-9 extended his receptor and touched the metal panel. “It appears to be a high density electric generator, Mistress.”
“Do you think it’s affecting the weather?” Adric questioned. His fingers skirted along the smooth metal siding, searching for a release mechanism to open it.
“Well, it’s certainly not doing nothing,” Romana pointed out. She gently nudged Adric out of the way, producing from her pocket her own sonic screwdriver. Adric stared at her curiously as she used it to undo the bolts on the paneling. Eventually it loosened and fell off. Rather pointedly she said, “The Doctor’s hardly the first Time Lord to ever use a sonic device.” Adric reached for the instrument, eager to study it, but she quickly slipped it back into her pocket, returning to the machinery.
“This is definitely beyond the technology I expected to find here,” she said. Reaching in to turn a valve, she suddenly let out a hiss and jerked her hand back. “It’s hot!” she cried.
“Readings indicate machinery operating at 300% efficiency,” K-9 announced.
“300%!” Adric repeated. “What! It should have run down long ago, overexerting itself like that.”
“It’s burning out, that’s for sure,” Romana agreed. She tenderly touched her burned hand before looking back in at the generator. “This thing extends deeper into the mountain.” Rising to her feet, she studied the rock face above them, hoping to see some telltale sign of other technology, but there was nothing. “If it’s as big as I think it is, it could control this whole region.”
Adric stayed on his knees, peering into the machinery with a furrowed brow. “You think it controls the weather for the whole area? It must be massive then!”
“Affirmative,” K-9 agreed. “Mass indicators suggest electronics extend as far as sixteen meters inside the mountainside.”
“Controlling weather,” Romana mused, displeased. “It’s a foolish and dangerous practice even when it’s very well monitored. Out here, with no one around who even seems to know it exists? It’s absurd!”
“It’s broken, anyway,” Adric pointed out. He extended a finger to point at an output screen, careful not to touch the metal. “All of these numbers are indicating a gradually increasing rise of variables, but then it stops here. Either the coding is off or, more likely, the generator has broken. That’d account for the strange temperature readings K-9 picked up,” he mused.
“And the snow at an altitude not possibly high enough for it,” Romana agreed. “Can you fix it?” she inquired, moving to kneel beside him again.
Using the edge of his fingernail, Adric pried open a tiny little panel inside the machinery, revealing a small keyboard. “I think so,” he said, shifting to get into a better position. “It’s just a series of algorithms, after all. That should at least reset the circuits. From there we could run a diagnostic to see what else is wrong.”
“Can I help?” Romana asked, watching him.
“Yes, you can—ouch!” Adric jerked his hand back, putting his finger in his mouth. “Wish I’d thought to bring my gloves,” he mused, eyeing his burned finger. “We’re going to have to find out what’s causing this heat and divert it; I can’t use the keyboard until we do.”
“K-9?” Romana asked, glancing over her shoulder at the dog. “Can you tell where the heat is emanating from?”
K-9’s sensors went swiveling again before he replied, “Heat source is emanating two meters to the left, Mistress.” Romana got to her feet, following K-9’s directions. She pulled back another set of brambles, revealing another part of the machine. She made quick work of the panels and squatted down to peer inside. It was immediately obvious what was causing the heat: a rapidly spinning discus was heating the surrounding metal up to such a degree that it was glowing red-gold.
After carefully assessing the situation, Romana wrapped her sleeve around her hand and reached in, twisting a valve. It promptly caused the discus to stop spinning and the metal swiftly darkened as it cooled. “Try it now, Adric. I think I’ve stopped the heat.”
Adric very gingerly touched the controls, then quickly began typing once he realized she had succeeded. “It’s all right now!” he called.
Romana smiled, pleased at her swift deduction and assessment of the situation, but her frown returned as she realized that, even with her sleeve protecting her, the valve was still generating energy, and was soon going to grow much hotter than she could hold. “I’m not sure I can hold on to this for very long,” she warned. “Are you nearly done?”
“I’m doing the calculations as fast as I can!” Adric said. “I’ve taken the system offline. Just hold on—if you release now there won’t be anywhere for the energy to flow. We’ll get a terrible back lash.”
“Well then stop talking and keep computing!”
For a time, she received no reply from Adric. All she could hear was the faint clicking of the keys as he worked several meters away. Her palm grew intolerably hot and she managed to switch to her other hand, which provided temporary relief. Her eyes traveled to K-9, wondering if she could somehow rig a system so he could depress the valve. He was not immune to heat but it would affect him less than her.
“It’s not working!” Adric lamented. “It’s just too big! There must be hundreds of generators on this planet, and they’re all faulty! I fix one and the rest fall out of alignment!”
“Adric, I can’t hold on to this valve very much longer,” Romana tersely said. “Return the settings and let’s go. We’ll have the Doctor look at it.”
There was a hesitation before Adric replied. “I’m not sure I can,” he said, his voice wavering. “I had to take the system offline to access the mainframe.” His fingers ran over the keys again. “But now everything is misaligned. It won’t go back online.”
“Well that’s a quandary!” Romana cried. “My hand is about to burn off.”
“I’ll try to realign this region,” Adric quickly said. He grew quiet as he concentrated on imputing the equations into the system.
Feeling at last that she could hold the valve no longer, Romana testily said, “Adric, is there a red valve on your side? Not very big but very hot?”
The typing didn’t cease as Adric answered, “Yes.”
“Wrap your hand around your sleeve and try to turn it. It might divert some of the temperature.”
“I’ve got to finish realigning this!” he retorted.
“I’m going to let go of the valve!” Romana shouted. “If I do, I’m afraid it’s going to blast through to your side. If you turn the valve on your end, it might not be as strong.”
“I’m almost finished!” Adric snapped.
“Stop being so stubborn and do as I say!” she shouted.
At last Adric abandoned his figures, wrapped his sleeve around his hand and turned the valve that Romana had indicated. It was very hot, even through his sleeve, and difficult to turn. He was halfway through the process when he heard Romana cry out, “Adric!” and then the area erupted in a fiery ball, sending the boy flat on his back and knocking him unconscious.
“Adric!” Romana cried again. She jammed her hand back down on the valve, regardless of the pain it incurred and the blaze where the Alzarian was immediately went out. But now that Adric had half managed to twist his own valve, her side was beginning to smolder. Acrid black smoke began pouring out of the valve joint. “Adric, you must wake up! K-9!” she shouted. “Can you wake him?”
“Attempting rescue, Mistress,” he replied, rolling forward.
After several nudges of his cool metal, Adric stirred, coughing violently. He rolled onto his side and let out a pained yelp, then threw his arms around K-9’s neck and pulled himself to a sitting position. His arms were badly burned and blistered and he was shivering.
Craning her neck around the bushes, Romana tried to see what was happening. Her hands felt like they were about to combust. “Adric, you must concentrate. Finish turning the valve or it’s very likely this entire generator is going to overheat and blow!”
“I can’t,” he moaned.
“You must!” she insisted. “Adric, you must!” Sensing that perhaps she wasn’t going to be able to break through Adric’s pain, she changed tactics. “K-9—go back to the village and find the Doctor. Bring him here! Go quickly!”
“Yes, Mistress!” K-9 said. He had some difficulty moving, as Adric still clung to him, but eventually he was able to back up and roll away.
Adric fell into the dirt again and the action jostled him awake more. “Doctor, I hurt,” he complained.
“The Doctor is on his way,” Romana said. She fished with her free hand into her pocket, pulling out her sonic screwdriver. She attempted to use it to hold the valve down, and when that proved futile she tried to wedge the instrument between the wall and the valve to hold it down. That did not work either, and the instrument went clattering to the ground. In the process of picking it up, her hand slipped off the valve for a second.
That caused a burst of heat to flare through again on Adric’s side. He was on his stomach now, so most of the blaze passed over him, but it seared his back and made him cry out again.
“I’m so sorry, Adric!” Romana called and clung to the valve with both hands, determined to let her skin burn away before she released it again. “If you can’t finish turning your valve, then get away from the generator. It might explode!”
Very groggily Adric came to his senses. His body screamed in pain unlike anything he’d ever known, but he forced himself to his knees. Romana’s voice had gone from commanding to frightened and he registered the tonal differences in the back of his mind as extremely important. Something was very wrong and she needed his help to fix it. “Romana?” he said between coughs.
“Adric!” she returned. “Adric, are you all right?”
“I think I will be,” he groaned, though he wasn’t quite sure what was going on. “Where’s the Doctor?”
“He’s on his way. Listen, you must finish turning the red valve in front of you. Do you see it?” Her voice was clipped and insistent.
“Yes.”
“Good. Now, it may hurt but you must turn it anyway or there’s no hope for either of us.”
“All right,” he said, defeated. He took a long look at the valve before grasping it with both of his hands and turning it the rest of the way. The instant he did, the generator roared and the static electricity field reinstated. With the incomplete calculations, however, the static was unable to discharge. The electricity crackled out of the valves, dancing along and through Adric’s forearms as it sought release.
Romana experienced much the same on her end, but the rubber soles of her boots prevented the electricity from grounding through her legs—instead it arced through the air overhead, causing her hair to stand on end as it followed the pull. There was a dull roar in her ears and only after she shook her head did it clear. She grew dimly aware of Adric screaming, but found that her hands had spasmed and now held tight to the valve, glued there by the force of the electricity.
Though she could barely see him around the bushes and arcing light, she surmised Adric was in a similar situation. The panic in her chest tightened as she realized there was no way to get out of this situation. If she released the valve—if she even could—the heat would flood through to Adric’s side, most likely incinerating him. If Adric let go, the reverse would happen to her. If they did nothing, they would soon be electrocuted to death.
In that final moment of despair, Romana heard voices. Tearing her eyes off what she could see of Adric—rigid and unresponsive—she focused on the new sound. K-9 had succeeded in finding the Doctor and he was running up the trail as fast as he could, scarf whipping about around him. Behind him hurried several other townsfolk, Evan among them.
“Romana!” he called.
“Doctor!” she answered. “Don’t come any closer or the electricity will ground through you!” Her eyes were wide and wild as she focused on him. “We’re stuck in a burn loop,” she explained through her pain.
The Doctor took careful assessment of the situation. That made him notice Adric’s condition—he was very badly burned on top of the electric charge now running through him. His hands still gripped tightly to the red valve, but his body was still—he seemed dead. That sealed it in the Doctor’s mind: without thinking about it any longer he pulled his scarf off, threw it out and looped it around Adric.
When he pulled, Adric fell tumbling into his arms and he swept him off his feet so the electricity couldn’t follow. At that action, the electric link between the two humanoids broke as well, and Romana pulled her hands free, flinging her body away and into the bushes. She rolled for a bit and then came to a halt as safe distance from the generator.
The Doctor dropped to his knees, cradling Adric’s body against his own, and turned his back to the generator as it overheated. The townsfolk let up a roar of shock and then the generator exploded, sending shrapnel and burning debris flying out around them. When the immediate danger had cleared and only the bushes behind them burned, the Doctor pulled back enough to check on Adric. Fearful he’d gone into cardiac arrest because of the electricity coursing through him, the Doctor prepared to do a cardiovascular resuscitation, but Adric was coughing. He was clearly in pain, and quite injured, but his heart hadn’t stopped.
Scooping the limp body up in his arms, the Doctor turned toward Romana. She was already on her hands and knees but cringing at the pain that caused her. “You there!” the Doctor said, demanding Evan’s attention. “Help me carry them back to the Inn. They need medical attention.”
Evan made to protest but the Doctor’s glare shut him up. He took one last glance around at the burning ledge before hurrying back down the mountainside.
--