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Quiet, both of you! said the Brigadier through his
teeth.
Why should I give you my confidence?
You are powerful, Majesty. There is nobody to
challenge your might on the puny world of Earth. But in the
Galaxy
He s done it again, thought the Brigadier. He s trying to
make him feel small!
Maximilian was angry. I am the Emperor! he said. I
am the Lord of All!
The Doctor shook his head regretfully. Just as the
Godfathers share amongst the Families the territory they
control, the Lords of the Galaxy have parcelled out the
worlds they rule. I m afraid that you ll have to come to
terms with it and with them. I can
Again the giant man interrupted. Never! The Supreme
Being of this great Earth shall never bend his knee to
another. Are they invulnerable, these so called lords?
This is why you need me by your side, Master. You
need my knowledge and my advice.
361
Maximilian smiled contemptuously. Advise me then,
Doctor. The word sounded like an insult. Why should
Maximilian not become the Emperor of the Galaxy, of the
Universe?
Only the Brigadier, who knew him so well, could have
recognized the flicker of satisfaction in the Doctor s eyes.
You do not have the power.
What!
Just now, you could have killed me with one blast from
your finger. I tell you, there are those beyond the skies who
could incinerate the Earth with a look.
For a moment it seemed that Maximilian was non
plussed. But then his face cleared.
If you wish to see my power, look around you. You tell
me I need more?
With an imperious gesture he summoned the nearest of
the N-Forms, a savage creature with the hide of an alligator
but having the body and the teeth of a jaguar. It crawled up
to Maximilian crouched low on its belly snarling and
spitting.
Come, he said.
With a hair raising roar, the creature leapt upon him.
But instead of knocking him to the ground, or burying its
fangs in his unprotected throat, it melted into his body and
was gone.
362
You see? he said to the Doctor and beckoned to
another of the fiends.
No, Lord! said the Doctor, anxiously. You don know
what you are doing!
Do I not, little man? said Maximilian as the amoeba
like jelly swarmed up his leg to vanish as the other N-Form
had.
He turned to the waiting multitudes of fiends and lifted
his arm. Come, good sirs. Your Lord awaits you. Why do
you tarry?
At his words, they started to swarm forward. He turned
back to the Doctor, his face full of arrogance.
Have the Kings of the Galaxy such power as this? he
cried.
At first the N-Forms melted into his body one by one,
but soon, as they neared Maximilian, they were melding
with each other, becoming a tongue of fire which licked at
his body and merged into it, with a furnace roar. As the
pressure of the power that his body was assimilating grew,
so did he. As if to make room for the evil which was
flowing into him, the giant figure was becoming ever larger.
I beg you,. Majesty, said the Doctor, shrinking back
against the Dimensional Transducer, stop this madness. No
human frame, not even one which has the elixir of
363
immortality running in its veins, none could survive it. His
voice was full of panic.
Maximilian ignored him.
You see? he was shouting in triumph. You see? I am
the Emperor! None shall withstand my might! My glory
shall fill the Universe and put the stars to shame! Bow down
ye mortals and pay homage to your Lord!
The last flame flickered into his body, which was now
some seventy feet tall, a very Gulliver of evil.
He stretched his one good arm up high and cried out to
the silent sky: I am Maximilian!
Good bye, murmured the Doctor, and pulled the
switch.
When Sarah tried to remember afterwards exactly what
happened then, she found it difficult to focus her thoughts.
Certainly there was some sort of explosion, one which
deafened the mind rather than the ears. The flash of light
which hit the eyes and obscured the sight left no after glare.
Yet when it cleared and all that could be seen was the sky
and the sea and the earth, it seemed for a long shimmering
moment that the whole of creation had been shaken by the
passing of Maximilian.
I did warn him, said the Doctor mildly as he switched
off the machine.
364
Look, he added. A bonus. The flaw in the barrier has
closed up. Sure enough, the monstrous bloody gash in the
sky through which the N-Forms had come had vanished.
But what happened? asked the Brigadier. I could see
that you were teasing him into taking those things on board,
but what then?
I thought it was game, set and match to the Jolly old
Emperor, said Jeremy.
Oh ye of little faith, said Sarah. Do you think the
Doctor didn t know what he was doing?
I m not so sure, said the Brigadier.
How well you know me, Lethbridge Stewart, said the
Doctor with a twinkle. You re quite right. It could have
gone disastrously wrong if I d mistimed things.
He started to disconnect the Warping Template.
Just think what was going on inside him, he went on.
A veritable torrent of power pouring in; a literal
pandemonium of negativity and evil; his mind, his body
his whole being teetering on the edge of chaos. It s
possible that it might have been too much for him anyway,
just as I told him.
But dynamic conditions like that can crystallize into an
ordered structure in a moment. It s the way the world is
built. And if that had happened, I might have been the agent
365
in constructing a monster the like of which the Universe has
never seen.
So I thought I d better give him a bit of a push by
twisting his Space Time remember, he was standing right
where I d aimed the Warping Template. And over the edge
he went.
He took hold of the strange spiral construction, which
seemed to move in his hand as he picked it up, and marched
off to the TARDIS with a youthful spring in his step.
He doesn t look a day over six hundred, thought Sarah.
A feast it was. Umberto, Mario and Roberto had filled
the big table in the great hall with all sorts of Italian and
Sicilian goodies. There was pasta aplenty, of course, all
differently shaped and sauced; smoked ham, salami,
mortadella and five other sorts of sausage; tiny grilled
sardines; roasted leg of lamb and stuffed kid (which Sarah
couldn t bring herself to eat), with peppers cooked to a
crisp, and aubergine and fennel; cheeses galore; and if you
hadn t filled up to the brim on almond tartlets and
zabaglione you could add a layer of peach or apricot.
I like to give a piece of toast, said Mario, lifting his
glass when everybody had finished eating (except Jeremy,
who was on his third helping of zabaglione washed down
with a fifth glass of sweet sparkling spumante). I drink to
366
all of you all, in saying thank you for you saying good bye
to my enemy who I shot. One potato, two potato and out he
must go. Si? Little devils likeways. But especial to my good
Alistair, for cause he bring you here and will be Barone
when I peg it. Hear, hear.
He took a large swig of his Marsala and sat down to a
round of applause.
The Brigadier cleared his throat and spoke gruffly,
without looking up. Yes, well& he said. I ve been
meaning to say something about that.
Mario looked up brightly and leant forward eagerly.
Si? he said.
The Brigadier stared into his glass. It s just that& He
looked up and caught Mario s eye. Never mind. It s
nothing, he said gloomily, sighed and tossed back the rest
of his brandy.
Poor Brig, thought Sarah. He d got too much sense of
duty for his own good.
Roberto picked up his guitar, which was sitting by his
chair like a pet dog waiting for titbits, and quietly began to
sing Love Me Tender under his breath.
There s one thing I d like to know, Doctor, Sarah said,
partly to fill the rather embarrassing silence and partly
because she really did want to know.
367 [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl wyciskamy.pev.pl
Quiet, both of you! said the Brigadier through his
teeth.
Why should I give you my confidence?
You are powerful, Majesty. There is nobody to
challenge your might on the puny world of Earth. But in the
Galaxy
He s done it again, thought the Brigadier. He s trying to
make him feel small!
Maximilian was angry. I am the Emperor! he said. I
am the Lord of All!
The Doctor shook his head regretfully. Just as the
Godfathers share amongst the Families the territory they
control, the Lords of the Galaxy have parcelled out the
worlds they rule. I m afraid that you ll have to come to
terms with it and with them. I can
Again the giant man interrupted. Never! The Supreme
Being of this great Earth shall never bend his knee to
another. Are they invulnerable, these so called lords?
This is why you need me by your side, Master. You
need my knowledge and my advice.
361
Maximilian smiled contemptuously. Advise me then,
Doctor. The word sounded like an insult. Why should
Maximilian not become the Emperor of the Galaxy, of the
Universe?
Only the Brigadier, who knew him so well, could have
recognized the flicker of satisfaction in the Doctor s eyes.
You do not have the power.
What!
Just now, you could have killed me with one blast from
your finger. I tell you, there are those beyond the skies who
could incinerate the Earth with a look.
For a moment it seemed that Maximilian was non
plussed. But then his face cleared.
If you wish to see my power, look around you. You tell
me I need more?
With an imperious gesture he summoned the nearest of
the N-Forms, a savage creature with the hide of an alligator
but having the body and the teeth of a jaguar. It crawled up
to Maximilian crouched low on its belly snarling and
spitting.
Come, he said.
With a hair raising roar, the creature leapt upon him.
But instead of knocking him to the ground, or burying its
fangs in his unprotected throat, it melted into his body and
was gone.
362
You see? he said to the Doctor and beckoned to
another of the fiends.
No, Lord! said the Doctor, anxiously. You don know
what you are doing!
Do I not, little man? said Maximilian as the amoeba
like jelly swarmed up his leg to vanish as the other N-Form
had.
He turned to the waiting multitudes of fiends and lifted
his arm. Come, good sirs. Your Lord awaits you. Why do
you tarry?
At his words, they started to swarm forward. He turned
back to the Doctor, his face full of arrogance.
Have the Kings of the Galaxy such power as this? he
cried.
At first the N-Forms melted into his body one by one,
but soon, as they neared Maximilian, they were melding
with each other, becoming a tongue of fire which licked at
his body and merged into it, with a furnace roar. As the
pressure of the power that his body was assimilating grew,
so did he. As if to make room for the evil which was
flowing into him, the giant figure was becoming ever larger.
I beg you,. Majesty, said the Doctor, shrinking back
against the Dimensional Transducer, stop this madness. No
human frame, not even one which has the elixir of
363
immortality running in its veins, none could survive it. His
voice was full of panic.
Maximilian ignored him.
You see? he was shouting in triumph. You see? I am
the Emperor! None shall withstand my might! My glory
shall fill the Universe and put the stars to shame! Bow down
ye mortals and pay homage to your Lord!
The last flame flickered into his body, which was now
some seventy feet tall, a very Gulliver of evil.
He stretched his one good arm up high and cried out to
the silent sky: I am Maximilian!
Good bye, murmured the Doctor, and pulled the
switch.
When Sarah tried to remember afterwards exactly what
happened then, she found it difficult to focus her thoughts.
Certainly there was some sort of explosion, one which
deafened the mind rather than the ears. The flash of light
which hit the eyes and obscured the sight left no after glare.
Yet when it cleared and all that could be seen was the sky
and the sea and the earth, it seemed for a long shimmering
moment that the whole of creation had been shaken by the
passing of Maximilian.
I did warn him, said the Doctor mildly as he switched
off the machine.
364
Look, he added. A bonus. The flaw in the barrier has
closed up. Sure enough, the monstrous bloody gash in the
sky through which the N-Forms had come had vanished.
But what happened? asked the Brigadier. I could see
that you were teasing him into taking those things on board,
but what then?
I thought it was game, set and match to the Jolly old
Emperor, said Jeremy.
Oh ye of little faith, said Sarah. Do you think the
Doctor didn t know what he was doing?
I m not so sure, said the Brigadier.
How well you know me, Lethbridge Stewart, said the
Doctor with a twinkle. You re quite right. It could have
gone disastrously wrong if I d mistimed things.
He started to disconnect the Warping Template.
Just think what was going on inside him, he went on.
A veritable torrent of power pouring in; a literal
pandemonium of negativity and evil; his mind, his body
his whole being teetering on the edge of chaos. It s
possible that it might have been too much for him anyway,
just as I told him.
But dynamic conditions like that can crystallize into an
ordered structure in a moment. It s the way the world is
built. And if that had happened, I might have been the agent
365
in constructing a monster the like of which the Universe has
never seen.
So I thought I d better give him a bit of a push by
twisting his Space Time remember, he was standing right
where I d aimed the Warping Template. And over the edge
he went.
He took hold of the strange spiral construction, which
seemed to move in his hand as he picked it up, and marched
off to the TARDIS with a youthful spring in his step.
He doesn t look a day over six hundred, thought Sarah.
A feast it was. Umberto, Mario and Roberto had filled
the big table in the great hall with all sorts of Italian and
Sicilian goodies. There was pasta aplenty, of course, all
differently shaped and sauced; smoked ham, salami,
mortadella and five other sorts of sausage; tiny grilled
sardines; roasted leg of lamb and stuffed kid (which Sarah
couldn t bring herself to eat), with peppers cooked to a
crisp, and aubergine and fennel; cheeses galore; and if you
hadn t filled up to the brim on almond tartlets and
zabaglione you could add a layer of peach or apricot.
I like to give a piece of toast, said Mario, lifting his
glass when everybody had finished eating (except Jeremy,
who was on his third helping of zabaglione washed down
with a fifth glass of sweet sparkling spumante). I drink to
366
all of you all, in saying thank you for you saying good bye
to my enemy who I shot. One potato, two potato and out he
must go. Si? Little devils likeways. But especial to my good
Alistair, for cause he bring you here and will be Barone
when I peg it. Hear, hear.
He took a large swig of his Marsala and sat down to a
round of applause.
The Brigadier cleared his throat and spoke gruffly,
without looking up. Yes, well& he said. I ve been
meaning to say something about that.
Mario looked up brightly and leant forward eagerly.
Si? he said.
The Brigadier stared into his glass. It s just that& He
looked up and caught Mario s eye. Never mind. It s
nothing, he said gloomily, sighed and tossed back the rest
of his brandy.
Poor Brig, thought Sarah. He d got too much sense of
duty for his own good.
Roberto picked up his guitar, which was sitting by his
chair like a pet dog waiting for titbits, and quietly began to
sing Love Me Tender under his breath.
There s one thing I d like to know, Doctor, Sarah said,
partly to fill the rather embarrassing silence and partly
because she really did want to know.
367 [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]