She turned then, went below decks and left me to my memories.

I did not move. I wondered, instead, if the similarities I perceived between us were the result of a madness in myself I could not judge. We had suffered together, for the same length of time and for the same reason. I agreed with her. I deserved every punishment she could heap upon me.

While I was wallowing in self-pity, the men dropped anchor and lowered the last remaining boat into the water. Captain Stuart invited me aboard. Ten minutes later the men jumped with a splash into the waves, dragged the boat up through the surf and beached her.

I got off, swaying drunkenly. I had not realised how much I had become used to shipboard life. Now the ground seemed strange - alien to my experience. The rocks and sand were immobile beneath my feet. I found myself swaying to compensate for the motion of a deck that no longer moved beneath me.

'It'll take y'a while t'find your land-legs agin, I'll wager,' Captain Stuart said, his voice confident with experience. 'Take a walk - but be careful.

Here.' He offered me a pistol and a bag of powder. 'Don't try to shoot anyone with it. Run into trouble and loose a blast into the air. We'll hear it anywhere on the island.'

'I wish you'd had this much care in Portsmouth,' I said coldly, thereafter ignoring Stuart. But I took the pistol.

I moved across the beach, my feet growing used to the rocks, the clumps of sand between them. The bay spread out in a semicircle around us, encompa.s.sing perhaps two hundred degrees of arc. The cliffs sloped steeply upward from the beach. The cliffs were powdered with guano, reinforcing my first impression of thirty years ago that standing here was like standing at the bottom of a broken china cup some thousand yards from shoulder to shoulder. I shivered when I remembered that thought. Alexander had remarked that if Anakena was a cup then we should drink deeply from its archaeological and anthropological riches. I had agreed. A month later he was dead and I had begun another voyage - a life-changing one.

I moved up the beach, set my feet upon the rocky trail leading high up the cliffs and began to climb. A quarter of an hour pa.s.sed before I stood at the summit. A line of four moai moai topped a nearby bluff, rough stone shadowed by high sun, weathered features dripping black shadows along mossy flanks. A fifth stone face ended the line with a cap of red stone perched upon its brow, some two storeys height from the ground. I looked at the monolithic faces and shivered, though the sun was cooled by only a hint of cloud shadow. Unable to bear what, to me, were accusing gazes, I turned away. topped a nearby bluff, rough stone shadowed by high sun, weathered features dripping black shadows along mossy flanks. A fifth stone face ended the line with a cap of red stone perched upon its brow, some two storeys height from the ground. I looked at the monolithic faces and shivered, though the sun was cooled by only a hint of cloud shadow. Unable to bear what, to me, were accusing gazes, I turned away.

Rapa Nui lay spread out before me to the south, east and west, a green-brown lump of volcanic rock and scrub and bog. Rano Kao rose at the far end of the island, some eight miles to the south-west. The crater - largest on the island - blocked sight of jagged Motunui, the Bird Men's Island, further off the south-west point of the island. Ranu Raraku, home to many moai, moai, lay four miles to the southeast. I remembered the moon shining down on the statues there, as Tortorro had succ.u.mbed to the inexplicable madness that had resulted in his death. Would the islanders remember me when they finally came out of hiding to greet us? lay four miles to the southeast. I remembered the moon shining down on the statues there, as Tortorro had succ.u.mbed to the inexplicable madness that had resulted in his death. Would the islanders remember me when they finally came out of hiding to greet us?

I was thirty years older. The chances were most of the ones who were alive at the time of my previous expedition were now dead. I remembered Tortorro - his cheerful smile, his unflagging attempts to steal trinkets from us as gifts for his wife and son. I remembered how he had begged for - No. I put the memories aside. I did not want them. They were unwelcome visitors in a present that was torment enough already.

They - and another.

I turned at the sound of boots upon the trail from the beach and was in time to see the Doctor whirling his prodigious scarf as he strode over the ridge that marked the edge of the cliff. He cut a strange figure in his long coat, hat, and whirling scarf, framed by the sky and the sea. In this place of stark extremes he seemed to me both out of place and - curiously - perfectly at home. Beyond him the bay stretched out, a calm, cerulean plane speckled with reef shadows, cupped hands of stone holding Tweed Tweed in a sun-dappled puddle as if the seventeen hundred-ton ship was nothing more than an intricate model. in a sun-dappled puddle as if the seventeen hundred-ton ship was nothing more than an intricate model.

Politely tipping his hat, the Doctor strode lightly on up the trail. He stopped beside the nearest moai. moai. The great stone head dwarfed even the Doctor's lanky frame. As I watched, he immediately set about using his scarf to measure the circ.u.mference and shadow length of the stone head. The great stone head dwarfed even the Doctor's lanky frame. As I watched, he immediately set about using his scarf to measure the circ.u.mference and shadow length of the stone head.

Unable to resist his unorthodox scientific methods, I walked slowly to join him. He did not look up, though I am sure he knew that I approached. Perhaps his behaviour was deliberate, designed to provoke my interest. I wondered why. If it were anyone else I would have a.s.sumed sympathy. Not the Doctor. That explanation seemed at once too simple and too complex. Simple because I knew the Doctor was a man of enormous intelligence and great capability but complex because, for all his worldly knowledge, he seemed at heart to embody the innocence of a child.

The Doctor had now rewrapped his scarf around his neck and pulled a black box from his pocket. The box was covered in k.n.o.bs and dials, resembling the controls of an engine, only much, much smaller. I marvelled at the ingenuity that could construct such a device even as I wondered what on Earth its function could be.

'It's a molecular a.n.a.lyser.' The Doctor seemed to know I was going to ask the question.

'What does it a.n.a.lyse?'

'Oh, you know... anything,' he shrugged. 'Well - anything formed from molecules.' The Doctor waved the device at the moai. moai. It bleeped and some of the lights flashed before he seemed ready to give any further amplification of his potentially revelatory statement. It bleeped and some of the lights flashed before he seemed ready to give any further amplification of his potentially revelatory statement.

'You have heard of the periodic table, I presume?' I waited for him to explain what he meant. 'Just out this year. All sorts of scientific revelations tied up with it, I understand.'

'It's been a long time since I walked in scientific circles, Doctor.'

'My dear fellow, anyone who claims to be a scientist and who hasn't heard of the periodic table is not so much walking as crawling - rather rapidly back into the Dark Ages.' I tried to keep my temper in check. This was after all the man who had financed the expedition.

The Doctor studied the flashing lights on his box for a moment, then switched the device off and jammed it back into his pocket. From another pocket he pulled a half-eaten apple. 'Care to join me in a spot of lunch, old fellow?' He noticed the apple core and threw it away. 'So sorry.' Trying another pocket he produced a flask and two china mugs. An expansive gesture reiterated the invitation.

Uncapping the flask he poured liquid into one of the mugs. I sniffed.

'Mushroom soup.'

'Mushroom and asparagus soup to be precise. Very nourishing.

Lots of protein and very little fat.'

'And all made of molecules.' molecules.' The Doctor refused to take my hint so I took the proffered mug and sipped instead. The Doctor replaced the flask and unused mug in his pocket. 'What were you doing with the machine? Your a.n.a.lyser.' The Doctor refused to take my hint so I took the proffered mug and sipped instead. The Doctor replaced the flask and unused mug in his pocket. 'What were you doing with the machine? Your a.n.a.lyser.'

'Examining the moai. moai. There are certain silicon-based life forms at large in the galaxy which fit your description of the walking stones and I wanted to make sure we were not dealing with something like that here. There are certain silicon-based life forms at large in the galaxy which fit your description of the walking stones and I wanted to make sure we were not dealing with something like that here.

The Ogri insinuate themselves into primitive cultures, quite often masquerading as sacrificial stones. They don't move very quickly, you see.

And they feed on human blood. Protective camouflage. Darwin was right, you see, and not just about this planet.'

I stared at the Doctor, soup momentarily forgotten, trying to fathom his words. Silicon life? Masquerading as stones? Protective camouflage? I added this to his earlier conversation and began to wonder - not for the first time - if he was quite sane I finished my soup and handed back the mug. The Doctor cleaned it with a handful of sand and thrust it carelessly back into his pocket.

'But these stones are not Ogri. No, they're much more peculiar.'

I nodded. 'They walked. They hunted me.'

The Doctor adjusted his hat. 'Well, I don't know about walked, but they do have one very interesting property.'

'And what's that?'

'Their ma.s.s isn't constant. It's fluctuating.'

'That's impossible. Doctor, if you feel the need to poke fun I would be grateful if you wasted someone else's time.'

'My dear chap, every ma.s.s alters with time. The simple conversion of matter to energy which is the basic tenet of existence of everything in the universe ensures that. Everything from stars and galaxies to chickens and politicians follows the same rules. No exceptions.' He hesitated. 'Though of course some politicians might not entirely agree.'

'What exactly do you mean when you say "fluctuating", then?'

'Well, I should have thought it was quite obvious. I mean changing.

Altering. Fluctuating. And if the ma.s.s of a thing is changing, then so is its energy state.'

'So the moai moai are giving off energy.' are giving off energy.'

'Or absorbing it. Or trans.m.u.ting it. Or transferring it. Or any combination of.'

'But why?'

The Doctor fixed me with a perfect smile. 'My dear chap, that's the wonder of the universe, isn't it? To seek the answer to the fundamental question of everything.'

'You mean you don't know.'

'No. I don't.' The grin broadened. 'But I intend to find out.'

'With a scarf and a stage prop?'

'Eratosthenes worked out the curvature of the earth with a few sticks and some string.'

'Eratosthenes was a genius.'

'And who do you think taught him what he knew?'

I frowned. 'Surely you do not suggest that you you taught taught Eratosthenes Eratosthenes his craft?' his craft?'

'Well, I can't claim all the credit. The Greeks were fairly intelligent chaps on the whole. Not particularly open-minded, open-minded, mind you - look at the peremptory way in which they ejected me from the staff at the library of Alexandria - but, as I say, on the whole, largely intelligent. Wrote jolly good plays as well, as I recall.' He frowned. 'Wouldn't let me borrow any though. Suppose they didn't trust me after I misshelved the Dead Sea Scrolls. Oh well. Can't have everything in life, can we? Oh dear, that reminds me.' He suddenly took a fob watch from his jacket pocket and worriedly checked the time. 'Young Ptolemy's mind you - look at the peremptory way in which they ejected me from the staff at the library of Alexandria - but, as I say, on the whole, largely intelligent. Wrote jolly good plays as well, as I recall.' He frowned. 'Wouldn't let me borrow any though. Suppose they didn't trust me after I misshelved the Dead Sea Scrolls. Oh well. Can't have everything in life, can we? Oh dear, that reminds me.' He suddenly took a fob watch from his jacket pocket and worriedly checked the time. 'Young Ptolemy's Treatise on the Treatise on the Structure, Position and Medicinal Nature of Celestial Bodies. Structure, Position and Medicinal Nature of Celestial Bodies. It's two thousand and ninety-three years and four months overdue. I hate to think how much the fine will be.' It's two thousand and ninety-three years and four months overdue. I hate to think how much the fine will be.'

I tried to work out whether the Doctor required a response to his ramblings. I confess I found it hard to accept the fellow's sudden, radical changes of mood. I needed to focus on something. Something in the here and now. Something that didn't seem like the rantings of Verne or Poe or, worse, someone taking me for a gullible fool. I turned away from the Doctor, placing my hand flat against the moai moai which he had been examining. I looked at my hand. Stared at it, studied every mark and fold. which he had been examining. I looked at my hand. Stared at it, studied every mark and fold.

Old, wrinkled skin, mottled with liver spots, the hairs turning grey even at my wrists. The last time I had touched stone like this the flesh had been smooth and muscular, a scientist's hands, an artist's: the hands of one who sculpted knowledge to show the truth. I think I may have suffered a minor revelation then. For the first time I found myself seriously considering the possibility that I had returned here to find not absolution but resolution. A final resolution. I wondered if I had returned to Rapa Nui to die.

I felt the Doctor beside me again. He moved quietly and quickly. His presence was... I couldn't find the right word for it. He seemed to fill the s.p.a.ce wherever he was. My drawing room. A cabin on board ship. There was a lot of s.p.a.ce out here on the cliff top but his presence seemed to fill it effortlessly.

I showed him my hands. 'How much blood is on these hands now? How many more deaths will occur because of my obsession?'

The Doctor tipped back his hat and looked upward. He seemed to be studying the sky. 'Quern di diligunt adulescens moritut.' 'Quern di diligunt adulescens moritut.'

The Doctor's glib quotation annoyed me. He had not left a friend to die on this island. Plautus, "He whom the G.o.ds favour dies young." You want to comfort me. I know it is well meant, but your gold is all I ever needed from you, Doctor. You can keep your absolution.'

'They're not dead, you know.' His voice was quiet. I knew he was referring to Leela and James, and that angered me further.

'How can they not be? You saw the seas! It has been a month or more.

They had neither food, fresh water nor boat. They are dead, Doctor, both my friend and yours. And for that I am sorry. Leela had a good heart.'

'Her heart still beats.'

'How can you know that?'

'Because where Leela comes from the G.o.ds are real. And they do not not favour her.' The Doctor hesitated. I sensed his words were as much a comfort to himself as me. If the ship's boats had not been so severely damaged during the cyclone he would surely have taken one and returned to find our companions. As it was he had spent almost two whole days pet.i.tioning the Captain to put about and search for them. I feel sure he would have led the crew to mutiny if there had been the remotest chance it would have succeeded, in order to rescue Leela and James. Now doubt showed on his face. I recognised it there because it was so like my own. 'She will live to be old and wise as you, Horace, if Plautus knew anything about anything. And if she is alive, you can bet James Royston is as well.' favour her.' The Doctor hesitated. I sensed his words were as much a comfort to himself as me. If the ship's boats had not been so severely damaged during the cyclone he would surely have taken one and returned to find our companions. As it was he had spent almost two whole days pet.i.tioning the Captain to put about and search for them. I feel sure he would have led the crew to mutiny if there had been the remotest chance it would have succeeded, in order to rescue Leela and James. Now doubt showed on his face. I recognised it there because it was so like my own. 'She will live to be old and wise as you, Horace, if Plautus knew anything about anything. And if she is alive, you can bet James Royston is as well.'

'Do not offer me hope. I will not believe in it. I cannot believe in it.'

' "Hope is a good breakfast." Francis Bacon said that. Quite appropriate when you think about it.'

The image of someone named Bacon quoting hope as a breakfast was amusing. 'True enough Doctor. "A good breakfast - but a bad supper." '

The Doctor scowled. 'Quotes are tools, Horace. You don't have to get pedantic about them.'

'You are worried about Leela. And you use things to your own ends. Are you using me?'

Avoiding my question, the Doctor countered with one of his own. 'Do you know the Earth is my favourite planet in the whole galaxy and I've never been to Easter Island before?'

'Never?'

'Never. And I'm told that everyone should have at least one sea voyage in their armoury of experience.'

'Indeed.'

'Well, Columbus thought so and if ever there was a man whose judgement we should respect, young Christopher was he, don't you think?' I was on the point of observing Columbus to be a braggart and a scoundrel and nearly four centuries dead to boot, when the Doctor turned away from the moai moai with a characteristically abrupt movement.' with a characteristically abrupt movement.'

Shouldn't there be natives scurrying about and trying to steal things from us?'

On that matter at least, he was right. 'That is what happened the last time I was here.'

The Doctor began to walk inland, heading roughly southeast. Did he know Ranu Raraku lay in that direction? Was he deliberately trying to stir my memories?

'Why don't you tell me about your last expedition?'

I was right. 'You know the end of it.'

'Then tell me the beginning. Tell me everything.'

'Everything?'

'Yes. Everything.'

I hesitated. I did not want to remember. Something about the Doctor's voice brought those first moments back to me. I had thought I remembered everything. How wrong I was. For now every last detail came back. I could recall with frightening clarity everything about the arrival at Rapa Nui of the Stockwood-Richards expedition.

'No one really knows the name of this island. The natives call it Rapa Nui. In their legend it is called Te Pito o to Henua, Te Pito o to Henua, the Navel of the World. Even that may be more strictly poetry than a real description. the Navel of the World. Even that may be more strictly poetry than a real description.

Other names have included the Frontier of Heaven or the Eye Which Sees Heaven. The name Easter Island derives from its discovery by the Dutchman Roggeveen, on the afternoon of Easter Day in 1722.' I paused for a moment and we walked in silence over the tufted gra.s.s and hills of volcanic rock. The wind tumbled sand and gra.s.s seeds around us. A gull cried out from a great height above.

'I remember how quiet it was,' I continued at length. 'Even the gentle slap of waves and creak of timbers on the ship made the silence all the more perfect. It was night when we hove to. Heaven itself was our companion, the stars at our masthead whirling in eternal blackness above us. If not for that movement I should have thought time itself had come to a halt and we were beached on the sh.o.r.es of eternity, not some rocky knoll in mid-Pacific.

'Of the island we could see little in the starlight. Our approach had been from the west so our first glimpse as the sun set behind us had been of a brazen sh.o.r.e, a jagged skyline broken by black dots that were the moai moai ranged along the island. Not a soul could I see anywhere on sh.o.r.e. The only movement was from the waves themselves, breaking against a line of lava blocks which formed the sh.o.r.e, as the setting sun drew night down around us like a cloak.' ranged along the island. Not a soul could I see anywhere on sh.o.r.e. The only movement was from the waves themselves, breaking against a line of lava blocks which formed the sh.o.r.e, as the setting sun drew night down around us like a cloak.'

The Doctor nodded. " 'It was as though we had anch.o.r.ed with a hovering s.p.a.ce-ship off the sh.o.r.e of an extinct world." Thor Heyerdahl wrote that a hundred years from now. The magic does not fade.'

I nodded, surprised at the depth of the Doctor's understanding.

His image was perfect, even if his source was scarcely believable.

'Strictly speaking we should have announced our arrival. We thought it better to wait until morning. An arrival such as ours would herald one of the greatest moments of the year for the islanders. We did not want to disturb anyone at such an inconvenient time. We anch.o.r.ed under the lee of the cliffs and the next morning sailed around the island until we spotted a likely landing place in Anakena Bay.

'We were greeted almost before the anchor fell. Hordes of brown-skinned islanders swam out to meet the ship, swarming over the sides with more enthusiasm than sense, we felt. They wore little clothing, their bodies small and wiry. Their bodies were smothered with tattoos, princ.i.p.ally of birds and strange figures which seemed to represent flying men. Some of their ears were... deformed, stretched by weights and by being fixed with thread to their shoulders until their length was prodigious. These people were lighter-skinned than the rest. Many had flame-red hair. All of them talked incessantly. Jabbered would be a more appropriate word. A Polynesian we had aboard translated for us.

They were offering us things in trade: little wooden sculptures, bands and necklaces made of volcanic gla.s.s tied with dried gra.s.ses, trinkets of that nature. And every one of them was a thief of the most cunning skill I have yet laid eyes on. One man more persistent than the rest was shot and wounded before we realised what was happening. They gave back everything they had taken when we asked, only to steal it again at the first opportunity. One man of the crew had his pipe stolen and recovered no fewer than five times. It became a kind of game.

'We were greeted in person by the Mayor. We knew him to be such because he wore a cloak of bark cloth and what skin was visible was tattooed in a continuous pattern of birds and strange figures. He wore a crown of feathers on his head. His ears had been lengthened until the lobes hung about his shoulders. He wore pegs in them. Later we saw these pegs used to hold up the lobes as the islanders went about their daily work.