Doctor Who and the Robots of Death

by Terrance Dicks

  'Just do it, Toos,' snapped the Doctor. The speaker went silent.

  Toos sat up and swung herself painfully off the bunk, rubbing her bruised shoulder.

  Suddenly her door opened. V.6 was standing in the corridor. Toos looked at the robot in astonishment. 'Go back to your duties!' she ordered.

  Silently V.6 held out its silver hand. In the palm lay a glowing red disc—a corpse marker.

  Toos gave a sudden cry of fear and stabbed frantically at the door controls. The door began to close. The robot was already reaching for Toos, when the door slammed shut, trapping its arm.

  Toos backed away. The robot's arm was wriggling and flexing, trying to pull back the door. Toos looked round wildly, and snatched up a statuette from a nearby table. Using the heavy metal object as a club, she smashed again and again at the robot's arm, sobbing in panic. At last the elbow joint snapped, and the robot's arm dropped into the room. The door slid fully closed and Toos ran to the door control, punching up the locking code.

  She ran back to the communicator. 'Doctor! Doctor, can you hear me?'

  'What is it, Toos? What's happening?'

  'Help me please, it's outside.'

  'What's outside?'

  'You were right, Doctor! There's a robot trying to kill me!'

  Before the Doctor could reply, D.84 said calmly, 'Please, let me go, Doctor, I am faster, and stronger.'

  'Are you sure?'

  'I think so.'

  The Doctor nodded, and D.84 ran swiftly from the room.

  Toos called again. 'Doctor, are you there? Please help me!'

  'Help's on the way,' said the Doctor's voice reassuringly. 'It'd better hurry!'

  'It's hurrying as fast as it can!'

  In the corridor, V.6 was busy at the control panel, punching up a code sequence that would override Toos's locking order. 'The door is not a barrier to me, Commander,' it called complacently.

  The voice of Toos came from inside the room. 'What do you want?'

  'To kill you, Commander. I must obey my new orders.'

  'It's forbidden for robots to harm humans.'

  'My command programme has been restructured,' explained the robot placidly. 'All humans are to die.'

  V.5 walked slowly through the storage area, the silver head swinging from side to side, alert for any sound.

  As the robot passed on its way, the door to one of the storage compartments slid open, and Leela looked out. She had spotted the robot approaching, and had decided that from now on it would be safer to assume that all robots were potential killers.

  She was about to resume her search for the Doctor when she paused, listening. Leela's senses were more acute than any robot's and they told her that someone was in the storage section with her. There was a faint stir of movement, a cautiously drawn breath. She followed the sounds to a cramped space behind one of the storage tanks. There she found Poul, curled into a tight ball, as if pretending he wasn't really there at all.

  She touched him on the shoulder and he twitched convulsively. 'Poul,' whispered Leela. 'What's the matter?'

  'No,' mumbled Poul. 'Please, no..

  'Are you hurt?'

  Poul's voice was a soft, barely coherent babble. 'Please, go away. They'll know I talked to you. They watch me all the time, they hate me. They did what I told them, but only because that gave them the power, you see...'

  Leela could scarcely hear his words, let alone understand them. 'Do you mean the robots?'

  'They're not really robots,' whispered Poul slyly. 'They're the walking dead! They pretend we control them but really...' His body began to shake uncontrollably.

  'Poul, you can't stay here...'

  Leela tried to pull him out from behind the tank, but Poul drew back. 'No,' he sobbed. 'They don't mind me being here. It's you they want, not me.'

  'But you need help, Poul.' Leela tried to pull him out, but he wrenched himself away.

  'No, please,' he sobbed. Then he began to shout. 'No, please, no! Help, help! She's in here!'

  Leela's hand clamped over his mouth. 'All right,' she whispered fiercely. 'Stay here. But just keep quiet! You mustn't make another sound, do you understand?'

  Poul nodded dumbly, and Leela took away her hand. Immediately Poul huddled down again.

  Leela shook her head in astonishment, and slipped silently away.

  The Doctor heard footsteps approaching the workroom door. He looked round quickly but there was nowhere to hide, the place was far too small.

  The door began to open.

  The Doctor waited, curious to see who would appear. It was Uvanov, a blaster in his hand. 'What are you doing here, Doctor?'

  The Doctor edged round to the other side of the table. 'Why, does it upset you in some way?'

  Uvanov glanced round the workshop. 'The penalty for what you've done is death!'

  He stepped forward, raising the blaster, and the Doctor snatched up the Laserson probe from the table. 'That's far enough. Now, what are you doing here?'

  Uvanov smiled. 'I've been following you, Doctor. Now I've tracked you to your lair.'

  The Doctor's eyes widened. A tall figure had appeared in the doorway behind Uvanov. 'Ah!' he said softly. 'I'd move over here if I were you, Commander. Slowly now...'

  Uvanov glanced over his shoulder and saw the robot looming over him. Instinctively he stepped back. 'What's the matter?'

  The Doctor's eyes were fixed upon the robot. 'Now, it either followed you here, or it homed in on this.' He tapped D.4's communicator. 'It depends which of us it's programmed to kill first.'

  It was V.4 who answered the question, its eyes flaring red. 'Kill the Doctor,' it said tonelessly. 'I must kill the Doctor.' With astonishing speed, the robot lunged forward, and seized the Doctor by the throat.

  12 Robot Rebellion

  The Doctor struggled frantically, but the robot's grip was quite immovable. Metal hands clamped around his throat, cutting off air from his lungs, and blood from his brain. The Doctor made a final hopeless effort, but consciousness was slipping away... The Laserson probe slipped from his hands...

  Suddenly there was a whining, buzzing sound, V.4 lurched backwards, and the Doctor was free. Uvanov had snatched up the Laserson probe, switched it on, and plunged it into the back of the robot's head. The robot's grip loosened and the Doctor fell gasping and rubbing his throat. V.4 staggered helplessly about the workshop, the probe jutting from its head. 'Kill! Kill! Kill-I-I.' The voice slurred and failed, and the robot crashed to the floor.

  Uvanov helped the Doctor to his feet. 'You all right?'

  'Finish it off,' croaked the Doctor, 'Before it's too late!'

  The lights dimmed and the high-pitched whining of the probe cut off. 'It's a power failure,' gasped Uvanov.

  The Doctor nodded. 'And the probe's stopped. Can you switch the robot off?'

  Uvanov nodded, and went over to the fallen V.4.

  The robot stirred.

  'Look out!' called the Doctor.

  'Kill! Kill! Kill!' shouted V.4 and again began flailing about wildly. One arm caught Uvanov a glancing blow, knocking him to the ground. As the robot crashed round the workshop, the Doctor caught Uvanov by the shoulders and dragged him towards the door.

  Toos stood watching her cabin door, petrified with fear. She knew it was only a matter of time before the robot succeeded in overcoming the locking command. Sure enough, the door began sliding slowly back...

  V.6 stood on the threshold for a moment, then moved into the room.

  Toos backed away. She was a courageous woman but her world had been turned upside down. To be attacked by a robot, to discover that a robot was capable of attacking her, had been a totally shattering experience. 'No,' she sobbed. 'No, please don't...'

  'It has to be done,' explained V.6 calmly. 'It is an order.' Robot hands reached for her throat.

  The Doctor hurried down the long metal corridor, half-supporting the semi-conscious Uvanov. The Commander had recovered enough to walk by now, though he was still dazed. />
  They had good reason to hurry. V.4 had suddenly recovered and the damaged robot was desperately trying to carry out the last command it had been given—to kill the Doctor.

  They could hear its dragging footsteps close behind as it lurched down the darkened corridor after them, chanting 'Kill! Kill! Kill!' in a deep, groaning voice.

  Suddenly another silver figure loomed up in front of them, barring their way, hands reaching for them. Peering at its collar, the Doctor saw that it was V.5. The Doctor and Uvanov came to a halt.

  Behind them the dragging footsteps came closer. 'Kill! Kill!' groaned V.4. They were trapped.

  A second robot came to join V.5. With a sudden surge of hope the Doctor saw it was the Controller.

  'Don't just stand there, SV.7,' he yelled. 'Come and give us a hand, quickly!'

  The crippled, murderous V.4 was very near now. To move forward would bring them in range of V.5's out-stretched hands.

  SV.7 stepped aside and pointed to the Doctor and Uvanov. 'Kill them!'

  One in front, one behind, the robot killers closed in.

  'Kill! Kill! Kill!' chanted V.4 in a deep, blurred, stuttering voice.

  'How fast are these robots?' whispered the Doctor.

  Uvanov stared at him. 'They can outrun any human—and they never tire.'

  'I meant fast as in nimble actually.' The Doctor pulled his floppy hat from one big pocket, and unwound his scarf. 'Never mind, we'll soon find out.'

  'Kill! Kill! Kill!' came the mad robot voice and V.4 was upon them. The Doctor pulled Uvanov away—closer and closer to V.5, who moved forward to the attack. SV.7 stood impassively watching.

  As the robots converged, the Doctor jammed the floppy hat onto V.5's head, wound the scarf to hold it in place, and pulled Uvanov aside. A fully functioning robot would never have been deceived, but V.4's brain had been damaged by the probe. Seeing the tall, hatted figure before it, V.4 leaped forward to the attack. Suddenly the two killer robots were locked in a death-grapple. Before the astonished SV.7 could react, the Doctor tugged Uvanov past it, and they disappeared down the corridor.

  SV.7 tried to separate the struggling robots. 'V.4, that is not the Doctor!' But the damaged robot did not respond. It continued its attempt to strangle V.5 with berserk fury. Since the robots were of the same design, and exactly matched in strength, the struggle looked like going on indefinitely. SV.7 realised that more help was needed and tuned in to the robot command circuit.

  'V.6! Come to corridor section J immediately.'

  Toos darted to and fro in her cabin like a trapped rat, but V.6, like some great metal cat, gradually forced her into a corner where there was no retreat. Toos let out a last despairing scream as the metal hands closed round her throat.

  Suddenly V.6 dropped its hands and straightened up.

  'The order is understood, SV.7.' The robot turned and strode from the room.

  Toos put her hands to her neck, unable to believe she was still alive. Then she slipped to the ground in a dead faint.

  The Doctor led the way quickly along the darkened corridors. Uvanov, still dazed from the blow on the head, was forced to stop and rest. He leaned against the wall, rubbing his bruised forehead and gasping for breath.

  'Come on,' said the Doctor impatiently. 'We've got to get back to the Command Deck.'

  'No use,' gasped Uvanov. 'SV.7 controls all the rest of the robots. If it's gone bad, they all have.'

  'SV.7 hasn't gone anything. Its brain has been modified, the command circuits changed.'

  'But no one could do that!'

  'Taren Capel could,' said the Doctor grimly.

  'Taren Capel?'

  'The mad scientist... The very mad scientist,' said the Doctor reflectively.

  Leela ran into the cabin and saw a robot bending over the unconscious body of Toos. Instinctively she reached for her knife, but the robot straightened up and said plaintively, 'Please do not throw things at me. Toos will recover.' It was D.84.

  Leela went over to Toos and shook her gently by the shoulders. 'What is it, Toos? What happened?'

  Toos muttered feebly, 'Robot...' Her eyes opened, and then widened in fear as she caught sight of D.84. 'It's all right,' said Leela soothingly, 'this one's a friend.'

  'Toos was attacked by a robot,' explained D.84. 'The Doctor sent me to her assistance.' But we were in a distant part of the ship, and I was delayed by the power failure.'

  Leela looked round. 'Where's the Doctor then? And where's the robot?'

  'The robot received a priority call to go to section J. I heard the instruction on my command circuit.'

  Toos was struggling to sit up. 'The Doctor said every-one should go to the Command Deck. How many of us are left?'

  Leela frowned. 'The only one I have seen is Poul. He will be useless, his mind has broken. I haven't seen Uvanov or Dask.'

  'Where is Poul?' asked D.84.

  'I left him hiding in the storage section.'

  'I had better bring him to the Command Deck,' announced D.84, and moved away.

  Leela helped Toos to her feet. 'Do you think you can make it?'

  Toos smiled wryly. 'I'd better—hadn't I?'

  With the help of the newly arrived V.6, SV.7 and V.5 had finally managed to subdue and deactivate the berserk V.4. It stood statue-Iike and motionless in the corridor. SV.7 studied the Laserson probe jutting from its head. 'There will be extensive damage to the sensors.' Delicately SV.7 removed the probe. 'I must report this to the Controller. Your orders are now to find and destroy all remaining human beings. Secrecy is no longer necessary. Confirm.'

  'The order is understood,' said V.6.

  'Understood,' echoed V.5.

  'Then go.' The two robots moved away. SV.7 watched them go, then turned off in the other direction. The abandoned V.4 stood statue-like in the gloomy corridor.

  The two women were passing the storage section on their way to the Command Deck. Leela heard footsteps—robot footsteps. She pulled Toos into the nearest hopper. 'In here, quick!'

  'What in the universe...'

  'Quiet!' hissed Leela.

  The footsteps came closer, closer—and stopped. 'We should search each hopper,' said one of the robots.

  A second voice said, 'That is not necessary. V.35 and V.40 have searched in there already.'

  'Then we must search the other storage bays.'

  The robots moved off. Inside the hopper, Leela gave a sigh of relief, thankful for the robot logic that assumed that a place once searched need not be searched again.

  Toos shook her head wearily, still unable to understand the revolution that had upset her world. 'I just don't understand. Robots can't harm humans, it's the first principle.'

  'And the second principle is that humans can't harm robots,' said Leela grimly. 'I know, I've tried—and they don't bleed!'

  Toos spotted a wall-communicator. 'I think we'd better warn the Doctor.' She flicked on the transmit control. 'Doctor, can you hear me? Answer please.'

  A robot voice said, 'SV.7 here. Is that you, Acting-Commander Toos?'

  'Yes, it's me, SV.7. Listen, some of the Voc-class robots are running berserk. They're out of control, and dangerous. Do you understand?'

  'Understood,' said the voice soothingly. 'Counter-measures are already being taken. Report your position, please.'

  'I'm...' Toos broke off, as Leela tugged her arm, shaking her head vigorously.

  'Please say again, Acting-Commander Toos,' said the voice. 'I must know your position.' 'I'm in my cabin.'

  'Please stay in your cabin, Acting-Commander Toos. There is great danger if you leave it.' The speaker went silent.

  Toos looked at Leela. 'What was all that about?'

  'Something was wrong. I could feel it.'

  'I didn't notice anything,' said Toos, puzzled. 'Except...'

  'You see? There was something!'

  'Robots recognise people by voice patterns,' said Toos slowly. 'My voice print is in the command programme. So why did SV.7 ask if it was me? And why w
as it so keen to know exactly where I was?'

  Uvanov and the Doctor hurried onto the Command Deck—to be greeted by the welcome sight of a number of robots standing completely motionless. 'Ah, good,' said Uvanov with satisfaction. 'Someone's had the sense to hit the robot deactivator switch. I expect it was Dask.'

  The Doctor studied the motionless robots. 'A deactivator switch? Yes, of course, I suppose there had to be one.' For all their precautions, humans never entirely trusted robots. 'I should have thought of that before.'

  Uvanov was astonished. 'You mean you didn't know, Doctor? I thought that Was what we came here for.' He pointed to a red lever on the main control console.

  Leela and Toos hurried in. 'You were right, Doctor,' called Toos. 'The robots are out of control.'

  'Not any more,' said Uvanov. 'We're quite safe now.'

  'Safe?' said the Doctor indignantly. 'Safe?'

  Uvanov shrugged. 'Well, we'll need a bit of help getting back to base. But we can send up a satellite distress beacon, and sit tight till we're rescued, that's no problem.'

  'My dear Uvanov,' said the Doctor sternly. 'You remind me very strongly of a lady called Marie Antoinette, in a long-ago episode of human history called the French Revolution. She wouldn't listen either, and she ended up losing her head!' Uvanov gaped at him, and the Doctor went on, 'There's a robot revolution going on out there and you say there's no problem!'

  Uvanov laughed. 'But the robots have all been turned off, Doctor. There isn't a single robot still activated.' 'Oh, isn't there?' said the Doctor. 'Just look over there!'

  Uvanov looked. D.84 was standing in the doorway, with Poul in his arms. The robot came forward into the room.

  Uvanov shook his head. 'I don't understand. How come that thing's still operational?'

  'Because it's on a special command circuit, under the direct control of Poul. They're undercover agents for the Company.' The Doctor turned. 'Shut all the doors to the Command Deck, Toos, or there may not be time for explanations.'

  Toos went to a control console, and the Doctor turned back to Uvanov. 'Unfortunately D.84 isn't the only robot still on the move. There's a new generation of killer robots about, Uvanov—controlled by Taren Capel!'