Chase The Wind: Doctor Who/Studio C [Book 1]

Evolution of the Daleks (Part 2)

The walk back to the laboratory only gave the Doctor time to stew. His rage grew and he found himself bursting out as soon as he saw Sec, rounding on the hybrid. "Those people were defenseless! You only wanted me but no, that wasn't good enough for you! You had to start killing, 'cause that's the only thing a Dalek's good for!"

"Their deaths... were wrong."

Like a bucket of cold water of the fire of his anger, Sec's words washed over him and he blinked, mouth open. "I'm sorry?"

"That man, their leader. Solomon. He showed courage."

"And that's good?"

"That's... excellent."

"Is it me, or are you just becoming a little bit more... human?"

"You are the last of your kind," Sec said. "And now I am the first of mine."

"But what do you want me for?" the Doctor asked.

"We tried everything to survive when we found ourselves stranded in this ignorant age," Sec explained. "First we tried growing new Dalek embryos, but their flesh was too weak."

"Yeah, I found one of your experiments," the Doctor said scathingly. "Just left to die, out there in the dark."

"It forced us to conclude: what is the greatest resource of this planet? Its people."

Sec flicked a lever on the wall and lights in the ceiling began to come on with booming clangs, revealing hundreds of human-sized trays hanging from the ceiling. The hybrid switched another lever and one of them lowered to the floor, holding a shrouded body.

"We stole them. We stole human beings for our purpose. Look inside," Sec invited. The Doctor moved the covering away, revealing a perfectly still body. "This is the true extent of the Final Experiment."

"Is he dead?" the Doctor asked bluntly.

"Near death," Sec corrected. "With his mind wiped. Ready to be filled with new ideas."

"Dalek ideas," the Time Lord spat.

"The Human-Dalek race."

"All of these people. How many?"

"We have caverns beyond this storing more than a thousand."

"Is there any way to restore them? Make them human again?"

"Everything that they were... has been lost," Sec said.

"So they're like shells. You've got empty human beings ready to be converted. That's going to take a hell of a lot of power. This planet hasn't even split the atom yet. How're you gonna do it?"

"Open the conductor plan," Sec ordered the Daleks.

~~~

"Mal, would you quit pacing? You're making me dizzy."

"I think better when I walk," she snapped in return. She did still for a moment, slapping the psychic paper against her palm. "Wait, wait. Down in the sewers the Daleks mentioned an energy conductor."

"What does that mean?" Tallulah asked.

"I don't know."

"All right, let's think about this for a moment," Matt put in. "Energy. There's not all that much in the way of electricity in the world right now; probably not enough for whatever they're up to. Lightning, maybe?"