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inner door to the capsule only to discover Lesterson had
already been inside.
For the first time Bragen looked across at the capsule.
His eyes widened as he saw the inner door now open.
The Doctor pointed to Bragen s astonished look. That s
how you d have reacted if you were telling the truth, he
informed Lesterson. You re playing about with things you
don t understand.
Realizing there was no further point in lying, Lesterson
said defiantly, All right. I admit it, I was in there
And you nicked a Dalek! Ben accused.
Dalek? Bragen was rapidly losing his grip on the
situation, which was doing little to improve his temper.
Do you know what Daleks are? the Doctor asked,
almost in tears. He couldn t come right out and ask them
what year this was. That would ruin any credibility he had
in their eyes. He had been hoping almost praying that
it was some time after the Daleks had invaded the Earth.
I presume it s the name you ve given to those two metal
creations, Lesterson replied, deflating the Doctor s hopes
completely. Humanity on Earth had not yet met the
Daleks.
Yes, the Doctor agreed. And they re worse than
anything you can possibly imagine in a million years!
Lumps of metal, Lesterson scoffed. They re quite
inactive.
Recalling the scratching sounds that he d heard in the
capsule made Ben shudder. That s what you think, mate,
he said.
They re dead, Lesterson insisted.
The Doctor caught Ben s eye before he could blurt out
what they had been searching for. He gave a slight shake of
his head and a mournful no note on his recorder. Knowing
Lesterson s passion for this thing, news of a living being
inside it would only spark further foolish attempts to
research it. Dormant, not dead, he said, gesturing at the
two Dalek machines. I want them broken up or melted
down. Up or down - I don t care which. Just do it!
Lesterson reared back, furious. I refuse to allow it!
You re very pig-headed! Polly snapped, unable to
control herself any longer. You must listen.
Polly, Ben said, plucking at her arm and trying to get
her to quieten down. But it was to no avail. Only Polly got
started, she was harder to stop than a battleship.
No, Ben. She nodded at the Doctor. He may well be
right. Those... things give me the creeps.
The creeps! Lesterson scoffed. How terribly scientific.
Keep out of this. He turned his back on her, treating her
like a stupid child intruding on the talk of adults. He
rammed his finger almost into the Doctor s face. I m
warning you all of you keep away from my laboratory.
Keep your hands off my experiments.
Bragen tried once again to regain charge of things.
Gentlemen, he said winningly, please! Shall we just
I m the Examiner, the Doctor yelled at Lesterson,
completely ignoring the security man. I demand that those
Daleks be destroyed!
You re exceeding your authority, Lesterson snapped
back.
Perhaps we should let the Governor decide that, the
Doctor replied, and rounded on Bragen. I want to see the
Governor immediately.
That won t do you any good, Lesterson said.
I m afraid he ll be asleep, Bragen explained, glancing at
the clock on the laboratory wall. It was, after all, the
middle of the night.
Then we ll wake him up, the Doctor said. I m going to
wake you all up. You don t know the danger of the Daleks
and I do! Spinning on his heels, he marched straight for
the door. Like a procession, Ben and Polly fell in behind
him
Bragen directed a glance at Lesterson and Resno and
then followed. The silent security guard was the last to
leave.
Resno closed the door and turned back to his boss.
Could he stop the experiments? he asked.
I don t know! Lesterson snapped. He was polishing his
glasses again, a sign of great agitation. Anyway, that s none
of your concern. He thought feverishly. If that idiot did
convince Hensell, there might be trouble. Hensell hadn t
actually given his approval for what Lesterson had done so
far, and he was angling for a solid reason to reprimand him
publicly. This could be all the excuse he d need. Lesterson
glared at Resno, as if it were somehow all his fault. Go and
get Janley and come back yourself. We haven t got much
time left. Resno nodded and opened his mouth. Hurry up,
Resno! Couldn t he see that this was an emergency?
Quickly, man, quickly! The urgency in Lesterson s voice
finally seemed to sink in. Resno set off at a trot down the
corridor. Lesterson locked the door behind him. Then he
crossed to the capsule.
The compartment containing the two... Daleks? Why on
Earth did this idiotic Examiner call them that? Giving
these machines names, like they were pets or something!
They were robots, that was all - alien robots, granted, but
they could represent an incredible breakthrough for him.
Reaching into the right-hand side of the hatch,
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