DOCTOR WHO AND THE BRAIN OF MORBIUS

by Terrance Dicks

  Sarah dodged round it, and ran towards the stairs. Behind her the Monster began smashing up the laboratory of its creator with a methodical fury.

  Solon heard the noise from above and ran to the staircase, bumping into Sarah who was on her way down. He grabbed her shoulders. 'What is it? What's happening up there?'

  Sarah pulled herself free. 'You'd better do something, Solon. Your friend's on the rampage!'

  Solon stared wildly at her. 'No, not yet. It's much too soon, there must be a period of complete rest. I'll go and stop him.'

  Too taken aback to register that Sarah was no longer blind, Solon ran up the staircase. Sarah watched him go, shaking her head. From what she'd seen it was going to take more than Solon's best bedside manner to calm the Monster down. Still, that was Solon's worry and he was welcome to it.

  Sarah turned towards the door—and stopped at the sight of the sinister-looking casket. She ran across to it and looked inside. 'Doctor!'

  The Doctor opened one eye. 'Hullo, Sarah,' he said calmly.

  He climbed out of the casket like a very cheerful ghost, and Sarah flung herself into his arms. 'I thought... I thought...' she sobbed.

  'You thought I was dead?' finished the Doctor. 'You know, you're always making that mistake!'

  Sarah wiped her eyes. 'Well if you're not dead, what are you doing in a coffin?' she demanded logically.

  The Doctor chuckled. 'It was all the help I could persuade the Sisters to give me. I put myself into suspended animation and they delivered me in a coffin to put Solon off his guard. Now come on, Sarah, we've got to find the brain of Morbius. Solon wants to bring him back to life again, and he's got to be stopped. We'Il search the castle.' The Doctor prepared to dash off, but Sarah didn't move.

  'You're too late, Doctor.' There came a screaming and smashing from upstairs. She glanced towards the sound. 'I'm afraid Morbius is already up and about!'

  The Doctor looked at her severely. 'Too late, am I? My dear Sarah, I think you'd better tell me what's been going on.'

  Solon's laboratory was now a total wreck. Every piece of equipment was smashed and even the heavy lab benches were overturned.

  The Monster lurched through the broken wreckage to find itself facing a long mirror. For the moment the creature stared in horror at its own reflection. Then with a roar of anger, it wrenched the mirror from the wall and smashed it to the floor, shattering it to pieces. Solon ran in, and looked in horror at the. devastation all around him. 'My work... my experiments... What are you doing, Morbius?'

  The Monster swung round and Solon backed away. 'Morbius, this is Solon, your creator. Can you hear me?'

  The only answer was a guttural roar.

  'Morbius, it is just as I feared,' cried Solon. 'The speech centre isn't functioning. The brain may be damaged. You must let me examine you...'

  The Monster roared again and moved closer. Its movements were smoother now, and better co-ordinated. Suddenly it pounced, gripping Solon in a crushing bear-hug. Solon screamed. 'No, Morbius, don't! I made you... don't you recognise me? Morbius, no..?

  Solon's voice trailed away as a final vicious squeeze drove the breath from his body, and he slumped back unconscious. The Monster shook the limp body for a moment, and then threw it to one side. Morbius swung round and moved out of the laboratory.

  Sarah came to the end of a hasty and garbled recital of all that had been happening to her, finishing with an account of the Morbius Monster now rampaging about above their heads.

  The Doctor shook his head incredulously. 'A glass brain-case you say? Dear me!'

  Sarah waved an impatient hand. 'Glass, plastic, I don't know. The thing looks like an upside-down goldfish bowl. You can actually see Morbius's brain inside it.'

  'Good grief.' The Doctor shook his head wonderingly. 'I say, maybe we'll be able to read his thoughts.'

  'This is serious, Doctor. The whole thing's horribly serious:

  The Doctor nodded. 'Crude and inefficient as well. The brain might malfunction... and that could be dangerous.'

  The Doctor saw that Sarah was staring over his shoulder in horror. He swung round. The Monster was creeping soundlessly down the staircase towards them.

  The Doctor took Sarah's arm. 'Now keep calm, Sarah. Keep calm.' He glanced down at her. She was quite still, rigid with fear. 'That's right,' said the Doctor approvingly, 'you are calm. '

  The Doctor managed a welcoming smile as the Monster loomed over them. 'Hullo, Morbius. You remember me..

  Whether the Monster remembered the Doctor or not, it didn't seem to be interested in a reunion. It floored the Doctor with a sudden slash of the clawed arm, then turned its attention to Sarah.

  Sarah turned to run. But the Monster was too quick for her. It sidled round in front of her and began stalking her round the hall, always blocking any attempt at escape. Sarah screamed...

  On a nearby landing, the half-conscious Condo heard her cries and staggered to his feet. He had been badly wounded by Solon's blaster, and, animal-like, had crawled into a dark corner to recover or to die. Such was his strength and vitality, that he was able to climb to his feet and stagger down the staircase towards the hall.

  Sarah was running for the stairs, the Monster close behind, when Condo appeared, thrust her out of the way and grappled with the Monster. Such was Condo's strength that, wounded as he was, he was able for a time to hold his own against the Monster. The two giants reeled about the hall, both roaring with rage. Their combined bulk crashed into Sarah and sent her rolling down the stairs to the crypt, to land half-stunned at the bottom.

  Shaking his head, the Doctor started clambering to his feet.

  Condo and the Monster, locked in a death grip; staggered across the hall, splintered a heavy wooden table, and crashed to the ground, where they rolled over and over, still fighting savagely. Condo managed to draw his sword and hacked savagely at the Monster. With a scream of rage, the Monster smashed the blade aside and the huge claw clamped onto Condo's throat, slowly throttling the life out of him.

  By the time the Doctor had staggered to his feet, the Monster had risen to its feet, casting Condo's lifeless body aside. It gave a bellow of triumph, then lurched towards the front door, flinging it open and disappearing into the night. The Doctor watched it go with heartfelt relief, and started looking round for Sarah. Eventually he found her lying half-dazed at the bottom of the stairs. He picked her up and carried her into the crypt, laying her down on an empty laboratory bench.

  After a moment, Sarah opened her eyes, tried to sit up, and saw the Doctor frowning down at her. 'Are you all right?'

  'More or less.' Sarah sat up and looked round. 'What happened? Where's that... thing?'

  'Gone for a lurch, I think,' said the Doctor cheerfully.

  'What about Condo?'

  'I'm afraid it killed him.'

  Sarah shuddered. It hadn't exactly been a beautiful friendship, but Condo had saved her life on at least two occasions, and it saddened her to hear of his death.

  Abruptly the Doctor said, 'I'd better take a look around, see what happened to Solon. Stay here, I won't be long.'

  Before Sarah could argue he was gone. She thought of following him but a sudden tiredness overcame her. She decided to lie back and close her eyes, just for a moment. Soon she was fast asleep.

  Solon picked himself up slowly and painfully, hugging his sore ribs, rubbing the bruise on his forehead. He staggered through the wreckage of his laboratory to a wall locker, took out some hollow metal darts and filled them with a colourless fluid from a syringe. Wincing at the pain from his ribs, he made his way slowly downstairs and into the ruined hall. He looked at the wreckage, turned over Condo's body with his foot, then went to a wall cupboard. He unlocked it and took out a strangely shaped rifle, loading it with the plastic darts. As he turned, his eye was caught by the casket, and with a sudden shock he realised that it was empty. He was still staring at it when a mocking voice behind him said, 'It's one of those nights, isn't it, Solon?'

&nb
sp; Solon turned to see a tall figure leaning against the doorway that led to the stairs. 'Doctor,' he stammered. 'I thought... '

  'You thought I was nicely dead, didn't you? A gift-wrapped present from the Sisters.'

  The mention of the Sisterhood reminded Solon of his main preoccupation. 'Morbius has gone, Doctor. He must be stopped.'

  'He should never have been started,' said the Doctor severely.

  Obsessed with the fate of his beloved creation, Solon didn't seem to hear him. 'His brain is functioning only on the most primitive level,' he explained earnestly. 'You must help me find him, Doctor.'

  'Must I really?' The Doctor looked thoughtfully at Solon, realising that this strange man was so single-minded he was trying to enlist him as an ally.

  Solon seemed to assume that everyone shared his concern for his monstrous creation. 'It's the Sisterhood, you see, Doctor. Hatred for the Sisters is Morbius's most basic emotion at the moment.' Solon's voice dropped into a lecturer's tone. 'You see, at the instinctual level on which his mind is now functioning, that hatred is virtually certain to manifest itself as animal aggression.'

  'Oh wrap up, Solon,' said the Doctor inelegantly. Solon lapsed into an offended silence. The Doctor looked at him in a sort of amused disgust. The funny thing was that Solon was quite right. They were allies of a kind, at least until Morbius was found. 'All right, Solon, come on,' said the Doctor finally. He led the way out into the night.

  Activated by the hatred in the half-crazed brain of Morbius, the Monster staggered through the stormy night, heading by an unerring instinct for the Temple of the Sisterhood. From time to time it paused to roar defiance at the lightning overhead, then lurched determinedly on its way.

  The Doctor and Solon followed close behind. Since they already knew its destination they had no need to bother to track it. They simply headed for the Temple themselves by the most direct route, hoping to cut the Monster's trail somewhere on the way.

  They came at last to the boulder strewn slopes that overlooked the entrance to the cave. The Doctor paused and looked round. 'No sign of it. Either it's here already or we've arrived first. We'd better split up.'

  Solon nodded silently and disappeared amongst the rocks. The Doctor moved off in the other direction.

  It was the custom of the Sisters to spend an occasional night in meditation, keeping a kind of vigil. It was for this reason that a Sister called Kelia was standing motionless among the rocks, gazing raptly at the storm clouds that filled the sky.

  Her keen senses heard the rattle of a displaced stone. She turned unhurriedly, expecting to see one of the Sisterhood come to share her vigil. The sight of the dome-headed horror that confronted her shook her from her semi-trance, but she had time for no more than a single scream before the great daw closed on her throat...

  The Doctor and Solon both heard the choked cry and ran towards the sound. By the time they arrived, there was only a black-robed figure crumpled at the base of the boulder. The Doctor knelt to examine it, then looked up, shaking his head. 'Dead. The neck's broken. It can't be far away, Solon. Let's split up again, maybe we can corner him in these rocks.'

  But it wasn't the Monster who was cornered. The Doctor made his way cautiously between the boulders, peering into the darkness. He paused to listen, but there was only the rumble of thunder, the eerie moaning of the night-wind. He didn't see the monstrous shape that loomed up behind him... As the claw reached out Solon appeared on top of a nearby rock. 'Look out, Doctor!' he screamed. The Doctor turned and the Monster lunged forward. Solon threw the rifle to his shoulder and fired at the Monster's back.

  There was a 'phutt!' of compressed air, then another. The Monster twitched, half-turned, then returned to the attack. It lurched onto the Doctor who collapsed beneath its weight. He struggled furiously, then realised that the Monster hadn't so much jumped on him as fallen on him. It was lying motionless, breathing in deep snoring gasps.

  The Doctor wriggled out from beneath the Monster's bulk, to find Solon anxiously leaning over them with a torch. 'At least there's no damage, as far as I can tell.'

  'Damage?' asked the Doctor, picking himself up. 'No. I think I'm all right!' Then he realised that Solon was concerned only for the Monster.

  'There may be some slight contusions,' Solon was murmuring. 'I'll know better when I get him home.'

  The Doctor grabbed Solon's arm and pulled him to his feet. 'Do you realise, Solon, that this abomination you've created has just broken somebody's neck?'

  Solon waved away this unimportant detail. 'Simple animal instinct, Doctor. If Morbius was rational, he'd be very careful not to antagonise the Sisterhood—not at this stage. Help me up with him, would you?'

  The Doctor helped Solon to get the slumbering Monster to its feet. 'Come along, Doctor,' said Solon sharply. 'We must get him back to the laboratory before the anaesthetic-dart wears off.'

  The Doctor took a firmer grip on the Monster. 'All right, Solon. But when we do get him back, he's not going out again. He isn't going anywhereever!'

  Solon heaved the Monster round. 'What do you mean, Doctor?'

  'I mean this little experiment of yours is going to end where it began—on your operating table. As for the brain, it can be disconnected and returned to the Time Lords.'

  Solon made no reply as they staggered off, the inert bulk of the Monster supported between them. But there was a look on his face which suggested that his brief alliance with the Doctor would soon be over.

  When Ohica learned of the death of Kelia she ordered the body to be brought before Maren in the Temple. The old High Priestess glared down angrily at the' crumpled form. 'Who is responsible, Ohica? Who killed Kelia, our Sister?'

  'She was found just outside the caves, High One. The guards report seeing a monstrous creature moving amongst the rocks. Others saw Solon and the Doctor hunting for it.'

  'So—Solon has succeeded in his vile experiments!'

  'So it would seem, High One. And if the Doctor is right, Solon will have given this Monster the brain of our ancient enemy, Morbius.'

  'If this is so—then our Sisterhood faces its greatest crisis. What should we do, Ohica?'

  Ohica stared at her in astonishment. It was the first time she had ever seen the High One express any kind of doubt.

  The Monster lay stretched out on the laboratory bench, with Solon hovering solicitously over it. The Doctor paused in the doorway. 'I'll give you five minutes, Solon. Five minutes and no more.'

  Solon looked up, an expression of anguish on his face. 'Doctor, you're asking me to destroy the work of a lifetime.'

  There was no sympathy in the Doctor's voice. 'You've spent a lifetime attempting to resurrect evil. Now, if you won't disconnect that brain, I'll do it myself.' The Doctor grabbed a hacksaw from a litter of instruments on the floor, and advanced towards the Monster. 'Though I warn you, my surgical techniques are a bit rough and ready.'

  Solon shuddered, waving him away. 'I'll do it, Doctor, I promise.'

  The Doctor threw down the saw. 'Five minutes, Solon—and I'll be back to count the pieces!'

  The Doctor marched off, the gun tucked under his arm. Solon paused for a minute, then crept down the corridor after him. His face was a mask of hatred.

  11

  Deathlock!

  When the Doctor entered the crypt Sarah was sound asleep on the bench. He gave her a gentle shake. Sarah opened her eyes and stared sleepily at him. She yawned, and propped herself up on one elbow. 'D'you know, Doctor, I've been having the most terrible dream. More like a kind of nightmare really. First I was blinded, then I was attacked by something that looked as if it was made of butcher's left-overs.'

  The Doctor grinned. 'No doubt you were knocked down a flight of stairs as well?'

  'How did you know?'

  'I was there!'

  Sarah sat up and looked around her. 'So it was all real, then? What happened to Mister Allsorts?'

  'We managed to track him down. Solon's dismantling him now.'

 
Sarah raised her eyebrows. 'Just like that? I'm surprised he didn't raise more of a fuss.'

  The Doctor smiled grimly, tapping the gun. 'I'm afraid I insisted. We're lucky he botched the initial operation. The brain of Morbius in a body like that makes a terrifying combination. I've got to see Solon destroy his handiwork, for the sake of the entire universe.'

  'Morbius was really that dangerous?'

  'Morbius?' The Doctor's face was grave. 'You've seen this planet, Sarah. Some of it anyway. Well, there was a great civilisation here once. And this is just one of many other such planets. All destroyed because of Morbius, nothing but ashes left behind...'

  The Doctor moved to the door. 'I'd better go and see if he's finished.' He tried to open the door but it was locked. 'It seems I underestimated Solon. I thought he was thoroughly cowed. He's sneaked down after us and locked us in.'

  'Tit for tat—I did the same to him! Now how do we get out of here? Sonic screwdriver?'

  The Doctor patted his pockets. 'Left it in the TARDIS.'

  'Shoot the lock out?'

  'With a dart-gun? I'm sorry, Sarah, but for the moment we seem to be well and truly trapped.'

  Listening from the other side of the door, Solon smiled in satisfaction and hurried back to his laboratory. Hastily he set about salvaging his instruments, and assembling an operating set-up. Laser scalpel in hand he approached the sleeping Monster. 'This time, Morbius, I promise you, there will be no mistakes!'

  Maren sat impassively on her throne. Beside her Ohica spoke, in a low pleading voice. 'Is it just, High One, that we should let the Doctor fight our battles for us? Morbius is our enemy also.'

  'There is no proof, Ohica, that the brain of Morbius survives. That was simply the Doctor's theory.'

  'A theory which gives meaning to the experiments of Solon. And now we have the death of Kelia to avenge! Morbius is sworn to destroy us—there will be other deaths unless he is stopped.'

  Still Maren hesitated. 'Away from the Flame, without the Circle of Power, our powers fade. There is little we can do.'