Fitz stared at the cushion. There was nothing there, except a small gla.s.s hemisphere. 'Where is he?'

'Ah,' said Dittero. 'I'm afraid you're unfamiliar with the Micron race. They face certain. . . challenges of scale. The Fabulous Micron is approximately one 81 millimetre high.' He handed Fitz a magnifying gla.s.s. 'Try not to get any sun on him.'

Fitz held the gla.s.s over the hemisphere. In the centre of the dome stood a figure, rather like a man but with chitinous insect limbs. It lifted a microphone to its lips.

'The Fabulous Micron is pleased to meet you,' gruffed one of the attendants, his finger to his ear.

Fitz almost dropped the gla.s.s in surprise. 'Er. . . h.e.l.lo.'

'The Fabulous Micron is one of the wealthiest creatures in the galaxy,' Dittero advised.

Fitz returned the magnifying gla.s.s to Dittero. Feeling rather foolish, he gave a small wave to the hemisphere.

'So now you have met us,' said Dittero, 'would you care to introduce us to your. . . a.s.sociate a.s.sociate?'

'My a.s.sociate?'

Dittero indicated, and Fitz turned. Tadek had emerged from cover. 'What is. . . it, Fitz?'

Fitz licked his lips, running possible explanations through his mind.

'Ah-ha,' said Dittero. 'It's one of the natives.'

'He can't see you ' Fitz said.

'Of course not. We're projecting an indiscernability field.' Dittero reached into his jacket pocket and withdrew a tubular device which he pointed at Tadek. It clicked.

Tadek's mouth sagged open and he gave a choking stutter. His eyes widened as he stumbled, his pincers swiping at the air. He fell forward on to his face.

'What have you done?' Fitz said. 'You've killed him '

Dittero was taken aback. 'Killed him? Oh, very much no no, no. After all, it's not as if he was alive to begin with, is it?'

'What d'you mean, Doctor, "more horrible than I had previously imagined"?'

Charlton asked, not sure he wanted to hear the answer.

The Doctor strode into the centre of the Gabak circle, the Gabak wheelchairs shifting to face him. 'It all makes an awful kind of sense. Six hundred years, you say, since your all-out war?'

'Yes,' said Galvakis.

The Doctor's hands remained raised, his sonic screwdriver held at his fingertips. 'Now, a nuclear war would lead to death and devastation on a scale unimaginable. . . A civilisation would have to take drastic action to survive.

I'm very much afraid that's what they did.'

'What did they do?' Trix sighed.

82.'The flesh is weak, susceptible to disease, law and order breaks down. . . so they began to change their natures. Am I right? Did you start with the minds or the hearts?'

'The process was rapid,' said Galvakis. 'Borne by necessity.'

'Necessity, of course it was, of course. You replaced replaced the hearts, you replaced the minds.' the hearts, you replaced the minds.'

'But they're still people, right?' said Charlton.

'Oh no,' said the Doctor. 'The people died died. What lived on was something else '

At that moment, the Doctor activated his sonic screwdriver. It made no sound, but the Gabaks, in unison, coughed and gurgled. Their bodies slumped forwards, like dead dolls.

'. . . something else entirely,' breathed the Doctor, crouching beside Galvakis's chair.

'What have you done?' said Trix.

'An electromagnetic pulse. It's scrambled their circuits. Temporarily.' The Doctor tugged back his coat sleeves and examined Galvakis's head, reaching but not touching the white, powdery scalp.

'Circuits?'

'They are machines, Trix. Machines! Unable to see beyond the war, the only thing they have ever known. Stuck, forever, doomed to re-enact the darkest days of a nuclear conflict. We were wrong, Charlton. There's no one here left to save.' The Doctor trailed a delicate finger down the side of Galvakis's lifeless neck.

'So why don't they look like robots, then?' said Trix, hands on hips, her head leaning to one side.

'At first, I thought the artificial limbs were the modifications, but they're not.

It's the flesh flesh that is the modification. Dead, artificial skin and muscle tissue concealing. . . ' that is the modification. Dead, artificial skin and muscle tissue concealing. . . '

The Doctor pinched the side of Galvakis's chin. The flesh flaked away like dry rubber. Beneath lay a metal jaw, studded with rivets, the teeth horribly bare.

'They are corpses,' continued the Doctor, pulling away more of the skin covering and throwing it to the floor. He uncovered Galvakis's left eye, connected to a bunch of flex. 'Puppets.'

'Why, though?' said Trix. 'Why do they look like '

'People? Because they're unable to break the pattern. They are stuck in the image of what they once were. Hence the "radiation injuries". They don't remember a time before that. What we are seeing are. . . recreations, parodies parodies of the people of this city who died six hundred years ago.' of the people of this city who died six hundred years ago.'

'And the Aztales,' said Charlton, 'are the same?'

83.'A parallel evolution. Robots against robots. They're no more alive than those giant spider things. The ultimate product of war. No joy, no hope. Just endless fear fear.'

'Except it's not endless, is it?' said Charlton, checking his portable Tomorrow Window. It showed him the occupants of the shelter, standing motionless, their eyes fixed ahead. Then the picture blurred, one image shifting over another.

It showed the air-raid shelter suffocated with smoke. The orange throb of a fire illuminated the faces of the p.r.o.ne Gabaks. Their flesh began to melt.

It shrivelled and crisped, like ancient paper. Flames licked away the flesh to reveal the leering robot skulls beneath.

Charlton returned the Window to the safety of his jacket. 'Something is gonna happen. In about ten minutes.'

The Doctor gave him a grave look. 'Yes. We should leave. But first. . . Fitz.

We must find Fitz.'

'How?' said Trix.

The Doctor adjusted his sonic screwdriver. Their lungs rattling, the four Gabaks lifted themselves back up in their seats, their tongues tracing across their lips. Galvakis's face remained half exposed, his jaw clamping up and down.

'Galvakis,' said the Doctor. 'You haven't seen a friend of mine, by any chance? He would have been upstairs when your bomb went off, if that jogs any memories?'

Galvakis said, 'The Octobots gave chase but he escaped.'

'He's alive!' exclaimed Trix.

The Doctor rubbed his lips. 'Right, right. We need to '

A siren sounded at ear-splitting volume. The wail rose in pitch to a shriek.

Charlton exchanged terrified glances with Trix and the Doctor. 'What?' he asked, but he couldn't hear himself The Gabaks each gripped their joysticks and propelled themselves over to their control desks.

'We're under attack!' shouted the Doctor, putting his arms around Trix's and Charlton's shoulders.

'What?' yelled Charlton. 'I thought the Aztales. . . '

'Not the Aztales.' The Doctor shook his head. 'Something else.'

Charlton looked back at the monitor screens. One showed an empty corridor, the lower portion of the picture flickering. Static scrolled up and down.

Except the static wasn't part of the picture.

A shape formed. A blurred figure in a black suit composed of pixels, its face white, its mouth and eyes shadows. It grew until its face filled the screen. Its features were streaked with interference.

84.The other screens showed more of the creatures fuzzing into existence, drifting through the deserted corridors of the Gabak city.

'Ceccecs,' gasped Charlton. 's.h.i.t! What are they doing here?'

'I think they intend to end the world. . . ' said the Doctor.

There was a grinding screech from overhead and the bulkhead door clattered shut. They were trapped.

As the door m.u.f.fled the siren, Charlton heard a hiss of static. His spine shivered as he turned to the source of the noise. In the corner of the control room, amid some rolling interference, a creature took shape.

Dittero checked his watch. 'Time we were elsewhere. If you will care to follow me back to Utopia, refreshments will, of course, be naturally naturally provided.' provided.'

Dittero had his hand in his jacket, and withdrew it holding a door handle.

He held it out in front of him, pressed a b.u.t.ton on the handle and slid open a door in mid air. Beyond the door shimmered a beach of golden sand. Fronds shivered in the breeze. Ocean glinted. White plaster buildings basked on the quayside. Female laughter played in the air.

'Paradise,' said Fitz.

' Utopia Utopia,' Dittero corrected. 'Our show-planet. One of Welwyn's finest. A real cla.s.sic cla.s.sic.' He beckoned the tour party through the tele-door. The walrus, Nimbit, was first, followed by Question Intonation, and Vors.h.a.gg. Micron's attendants were next. Poozle hovered at Dittero's shoulder as the estate agent tapped his clipboard.

'I can't leave,' said Fitz. 'I need to find my friends.'

'You have a.s.sociates here? More "representatives"?'

'Somewhere here, yes.'

Dittero examined his watch. 'How inconvenient. If we're delayed now that puts out the schedule for the whole day.'

'Leave the door open for me '

'I'm afraid that would prove imprudent. This whole area will be rendered uninhabitable in a few seconds' time.'

'What?'

'Some dispute among the current tenants. . . which will, we are expecting, cause them to vacate the property.'

Fitz rubbed his forehead. 'My friends are down there '

'I'll tell you what I can do.' Dittero reached into his jacket and recovered the tubular device. He tapped a series of b.u.t.tons on its surface, examining the flashing display.

'What are you doing?'

85.'This device locates any non-terrestrial life forms. All indigenous traces are keyed out, so it should be able to ah-ha! Magnificent Magnificent.' He checked the readings. 'Got them.'

'Where are they?'

'About four hundred yards down and in something of a pickle.'

'So what do we do now?'

'What you do now, Mr Kreiner, is you place your trust in me.'

'Doctor ' said Charlton.

The Doctor nodded. He had seen the figure forming. It rotated, becoming flat when it was side-on. Its body jittered between states, its resolution blocky and jagged.

Its black eye-s.p.a.ces turned on Charlton. He backed away, the Doctor's hand on his sleeve guiding him into the corner.

'So that's a Ceccec,' said Trix.

'Yes,' whispered the Doctor. Charlton flattened himself against the wall beside Trix. 'And it's here for a reason.'

The Gabaks trained their gun barrels upon the Ceccec. 'You are an enemy of the Gabaks,' spat Galvakis. 'You must be eradicated!'

The other Gabaks joined in the chant. 'Eradicate! Eradicate! Eradicate!'

The Ceccec floated over to the desk with the red b.u.t.ton. It did not touch the floor, moving as though superimposed.

Then the Gabaks fired. Each of their guns shot a narrow, ice-blue ray.

Each ray slammed into the desk. For an instant, all was brilliant, inverted whiteness, then the unit exploded into a thousand blazing fragments.