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every last Dalek... He reached for a long metal rod and
turned to face her, holding it firmly in both hands.
Janley took a single look and fled, clearly terrified he
was going to use it on her head.
Go on! he screamed down the corridor after her. Go
and tell them all about Resno! I don t care. He had a
mission now, one that was too important to worry about
petty details like the death of one human being. I m still
going to destroy the Daleks. Crossing to the comm unit,
he picked up the handset. Hello? Get me the Examiner
now!
I m sorry, Lesterson, came the reply. It was that uppity
tech, Valmar. The Examiner is in prison. Bragen s given
orders that
Prison? Lesterson faltered, confused. Who put him
there? Why? Before Valmar could reply, the scientist burst
out: But I ve got to talk to him! I ve got to! Don t you
understand me?
I m sorry. Valmar clicked off the connection.
Lesterson stared at the dead unit in his hand, confused.
He knew that the Examiner would have worked with him
on this. He had wanted the Daleks destroyed from the
start. If only Lesterson had listened. Now it looked like it
might be too late for that. The Governor, he finally
decided. Got to tell him. Melt them down, that s what
we ll do. He was dangerously close to the precipice of
madness.
There was a scraping sound from behind him. Lesterson
whirled around. The heavy cabinet was moving aside from
the capsule entrance. Lesterson bit his knuckles, watching
as a single Dalek effortlessly pushed the huge cabinet out
of the way. Then its eye-stick swung to cover him.
How did you get here? Lesterson whimpered. I cut off
your power!
The Dalek glided towards him. It was one of the
disarmed ones. How many of them were there? We can
store power, it informed him. Soon we will have our own
supply.
Your own power? Lesterson stammered.
Why was the capsule door closed? the Dalek
demanded. It was almost up to Lesterson now.
With a delirious cry, the scientist spun around and fled
the laboratory. The Dalek stopped still, its eye trained on
the doorway. Behind it, another Dalek appeared in the
doorway to the capsule. The first Dalek swivelled its dome
about to look back.
Seal off the capsule s secret entrance, it ordered.
I obey. It spun around, ready to implement the order.
The first Dalek moved to the door, examining the corridor.
There were no signs of humans. Wait, it commanded. The
second Dalek froze in place. No more than three Daleks
are to be seen together at any time.
I obey.
Continue, the first Dalek said. The second moved back
to close off the entrance to the manufacturing plant. The
first Dalek moved into the corridor outside the laboratory.
There was no sign of Lesterson. The Dalek, satisfied,
returned to the laboratory. It moved to the generator,
studying the connections that Lesterson had broken.
We are not yet ready to teach these human beings the
law of the Daleks, it said to itself. But soon, very soon,
they would be.
Lesterson ran down the corridor, weaving erratically to
avoid startled colonists. He ignored them, concentrating
on the single thought in his mind: he had to contact the
Examiner. He would know what to do about the Daleks.
He would be able to save Vulcan from the plague that
Lesterson had unleashed. In the back of his mind he knew
that there was a problem with his solution, but he couldn t
quite grasp it. Wiping his sweating brows with his sleeve,
he stumbled onward, searching.
Finally, he saw one of Bragen s guards. The bulky man
was off to do whatever they did when there was no real
need for them. Lesterson cried out incoherently, and the
guard turned around. The scientist grabbed his sleeve,
partly to stop the man from leaving, partly for support. His
legs were shaking badly.
You can help me! Lesterson said in a quavering voice.
The guard sniffed at Lesterson s face, but there was no
reek of alcohol. What s the matter? he asked brusquely,
trying to shake loose the bony fist clutching his sleeve.
Where s the Examiner? Lesterson demanded, his eyes
flickering all around the corridor, as if he expected the
man to pop out any second and yell Boo.
The Examiner s in prison, the guard replied. He finally
managed to pry Lesterson s fingers from his uniform.
That was the fallacy in his solution. Wearily, Lesterson
fell back against the wall. That s right, he muttered to
himself. I forgot.
The thuggish guard peered at him suspiciously. What s
the matter with you? he demanded. While there was no
smell of alcohol, the thin scientist was exhibiting all the
earmarks of having taken several measures too many. Why
were you running? He started to reach for the possible
drunk.
Lesterson s fuzzy brain managed to realize that the
guard might be arresting him next. Maybe the Daleks had
convinced Bragen that he was a source of trouble. They
seemed able to lie as easily as they thought. Lesterson
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