A horseshoe table enabled all those present to study one another. Most of those present knew each other anyway, so the main foci of attention were the oddly dressed young man and the silver giant. Most had heard tales of the Cybermen, a few knew enough history to feel an unease at the very presence of the creature.
Some relief greeted the arrival of the adjudicator, whom the Doctor recognised from previously. He glanced at the man and their eyes met for a minute. It was not the Doctor’s intention to influence the decision to be made, but he sensed that he had a friend in the fight that was to come.
‘If I could have some order then these proceedings may begin,’ although the adjudicator noted that there was a silence more pronounced than usual. It was not difficult to guess the reason why and he found his own gaze shifting towards the Cyberman. The smoothness of its features (could they really be called features?) and its body created the illusion that his gaze could find nothing on which to fix. Even when he tried to stare at its eyes he found that he could not stare at them for long. From this distance it was not so much losing a staring match as simply seeing them as two dark holes with nothing beyond. The adjudicator was reminded of an ancient saying "the eyes are the windows of the soul". The void which seemed to exist beyond spoke volumes and yet gave away nothing.
‘This meeting has been called because of concerns raised by the Head of the Science Facility, Doctor Angela Morris. Also present is a traveller, with temporary citizen status, who wishes to be identified as the Doctor.’
The Doctor watched the Cyberman out of the corner of his eye, but wasn’t surprised when there was no reaction. If this particular Cybermen was aware of who he was it was hardly like to jump up and down, point at him and proclaim the Doctor to be an enemy of the Cyber race.
‘Also present is one of a group of Cybermen found aboard a derelict ship some months ago. Most of us will be familiar with history and the place that the Cybermen have in that history. It has been agreed that I will continue to act, in my impartial role, as an adjudicator in these proceedings. The case before this judiciary is whether or not we continue with the current Penal programme of Rehabilitation, namely the conversion of Locusts to Cybermen.
‘It is the contention of the Doctor...’
Courtrooms were all the same the Doctor concluded, procedures to be followed, facts to be presented, stories to be told, laws to be upheld. Sometimes the innocent fell before the blind machine of justice, simply because they did not understand the mechanisms involved. Naďveté was not something the Doctor was guilty of, but he was aware of the danger of complacency. Humans could be stubborn, their determination to survive so strong that they would use any means to continue their own struggle, regardless of any sane argument to the contrary. These people might sit and listen to what he had to say but the Cyberman had one advantage over him. If it was from Mondas stock then it had once been human, it understood humanity. It could see into the human mind, understand the human viewpoint and then use that knowledge to gain a foothold.
The Doctor might argue morality and ethics but the Cybermen might coerce with promises, appealing to the greed of humanity. A game of words was about to begin and the Doctor had to choose his weapons carefully.
‘Doctor Morris, would you care to explain the background?’
Angela stood up, avoiding looking at the Doctor and explained about the discovery of the derelict and the Cybermen, their subsequent revival and the deal which had been struck.
‘I see that a few of the people here were present at the time when the first debate was held. For the benefit of those who were not present then it was agreed that we would revive one of the Cybermen under secure conditions. Careful study of history texts and the revived Cyberman indicated that maintaining a low temperature environment effectively reduced the efficacy of the Cyberman.
‘After monitoring the situation it was decided that we should interrogate the subject. We needed to learn more about the Cybermen so we presented it with a deal: we could provide each other with what we needed otherwise the Cybermen on board the ship would be destroyed.
‘During these discussions it was determined that we could solve the problem regarding the Locusts, in return we could construct an army of Cybermen for the express purpose of patrolling the spacelanes. With a crew of Cybermen effectively you have a twenty-four hour guard.’
The Adjudicator looked at the Cyberman, ‘What guarantee did we have that this new army of Cybermen would not turn against us?’
Angela finally looked at the Doctor, ‘I was not present when the final decision was made, I only implemented the decision of the Council. We already had the crew of one Locust vessel in a holding cell - they were sent to us and we tried out the conversion process. It succeeded.’
A voice, slow, precise and evidently artificial in origin caught the attention of everyone in the room. All eyes turned to the lone Cyberman.
‘An answer was provided to a problem. The Council made a logical decision based on the need to survive, the need to defend the means by which it will survive. This world is isolated and is a viable target for scavengers. The humans require the appropriate tools with which to defend themselves. Cyber technology is a tool which will enable mutual survival.’
The Doctor stood up, ‘Why did the Council agree to this deal? Has it been so long since anyone encountered the Cybermen that you have all forgotten the destruction they have caused?’
One of the other people present in the chamber stood up, ‘I was a member of that Council. We weighed up all the evidence. There have been no other discoveries like this one. In all likelihood the crew of the derelict ship are the last of the Cybermen. Humanity has matured, we are no longer a warlike race. We are not killers nor are we primitives to solve all our problems with brute force.
‘The Cybermen are a force for good. History has shown that in any encounter with the Cybermen no effort has been made to compromise. The Cybermen were perceived as some malevolent threat and so we attacked them. Now, we can see them as a race like any other - simply trying to survive.
‘The simple fact is that we had a choice between hoping that if there were any more Cybermen out there they would not decide to attack our world, or we could prove how civilised we had become, offer them an alliance. This we have done. A new generation of Cybermen is about to arise, a new alliance has been forged with an old foe. This is a moment for history, and into the bargain we achieve the successful rehabilitation of the galaxy’s misfits.
‘One day new worlds can be settled without fear that scavengers will come and strip them of everything - their lands, their future.’
The Doctor looked at the Cyberman, wondering if perhaps he had misjudged them, but memories of previous encounters made him realise that the humans were deluding themselves.
‘Worlds without fear, yes, because one day all worlds will belong to the Cybermen. One day you will all be Cybermen, and Cybermen have no fear. That’s the future you are building for yourselves.’
‘And on what do you base this evidence, Doctor? Have you seen the worlds devastated by Locusts? Seen the graves of children, their lives taken away by these scavengers?’
‘I’ve seen the graves of children, yes. I have seen the worlds devastated by the Cybermen. You mention the Locusts - various races that scavenge, loot other worlds. Centuries ago the Earth colonies suffered similar fates, their worlds stripped off minerals and even their populations. These looters took everything, leaving nothing behind. Your history texts are either incomplete or you just don’t want to face the truth. Those looters were called Cybermen and the lives they took - men, women, older children - these all became more Cybermen.
‘That is exactly what you are doing now, except you are willingly handing over people.’
‘It is not the same, these people are criminals. Would you rather we had them executed? Its not enough to lock them away for a few years, slap them across the wrists and tell them not to do it again - because they will. These Locusts keep on coming back.’
The Cyberman spoke again, ‘The Locusts are human - they have emotions like revenge and hate. Imprison one and others will attempt a rescue, they will cause much death and destruction in the process. Kill one and the others will retaliate - again there will be death and destruction.’
Moving towards the Cyberman the Doctor raised his index finger, ‘And what about converting them? Do you think that will stop the Locusts from coming. Won’t they retaliate in response to such an action? Or is that part of the plan? You want them to come, they attack and you fight them off. Everybody sees what a wonderful ally you are and they let you convert the prisoners. More Cybermen, a bigger army to defend the planet when other Locusts come. After a while they stop coming so someone somewhere decides to take the fight to them,’ the Doctor turned on his heel and faced the adjudicator, ‘Until finally you have an army of Cybermen. Then where do you think they will strike next? Should they perhaps take on some other world, a world where history warns of such creatures? Or a world which trusts them implicitly? A world which thinks them to be protectors?’
‘This is preposterous, this Doctor has yet to show us evidence. He stands here, telling us his wild theories and that is all they are! He has no proof of these statements. There are no records to support that the missing colonists during the Cyber War were turned into Cybermen...’
The Doctor rounded on the Council man, ‘At what point did it occur to someone to solve the Locust problem by converting them? Did it occur to you, to some other member of the council, one of the scientists or did the Cybermen suggest it?’
Silence reigned for a few seconds and the Cyberman spoke, ‘I made the suggestion. I also informed the council that there was no other logical recourse. Consider the alternatives.
‘Do nothing, allow the colony to be destroyed by the Locusts.
‘Kill all prisoners and invite retaliation’
‘Imprison the Locusts, use up resources to maintain these prisons.
‘Convert them into Cybermen. They will serve a useful function within society. They will not turn against the colony. Information will spread regarding this course of action. Humans know fear and will not wish to attack a world defended by Cybermen.
‘As you say, history documents the strength and might of the Cybermen. Disorganised groups such as the Locusts cannot hope to take on the might of the Cybermen.
‘An optimum defence force of Cybermen will exist within one solar orbit. With no further threat from the Locusts the colony will be safe. With no further prisoners the defence force will not expand.’
‘And you will be satisfied with a token number of Cybermen? You reach an optimum number of defenders and then everything will be all right?’
Again, there was silence. The Doctor began to realise that the Council believed all this, but then they had probably argued this point long before, when the Cyberman had first been revived. The promise of an army of Cybermen to protect them, an army which would cease to grow once it had achieved the purpose it had been created for - all this had appealed to the humans. As far as they could see there was no threat. The army of Cybermen would not reach enormous proportions and subsequently would not pose a threat to the colony itself.
The Doctor returned to his seat. It was one thing to be battling the Cybermen as they tried to gain control of some isolated outpost, but to argue about control of a world in a council chamber? Sensing that he had lost the Doctor sat down, tilted his had back slightly and looked at the ceiling.
The adjudicator looked all around him. Everyone except the Doctor, Angela Morris and the Cyberman was looking at him, awaiting his verdict. From his own childhood he had remembered the single history lesson telling of the war with the Cybermen. It was as distant as any war mentioned in history. The colony was like many others, a cosmopolitan community. People from different cultures tolerating one another, embracing each other’s differences. Some of his friends were descended from the peoples involved in ancient conflicts - the Germanic and Russian races. Could he turn his back on them because of what had happened over a thousand years ago? Then again, history had not been his favourite subject. Ironic, considering that it was a part of his job to know historic statutes - their origins and their evolution.
A great many moments in the history of the Terran Empire had been skirted over during his scholastic life and he had never really explored those moments in any great detail.
‘There will be a thirty minute recess. Upon my return a verdict will be given,’ the adjudicator stood up, determined to have a quick peek at some more detailed history texts. He wanted to be sure about his decision. Everyone rose, except for the Cybermen which had never been seated, and watched as the adjudicator departed from the chamber. A buffet droid trundled into the chamber, its surface covered with all sorts of dishes. Angela helped herself to a few things and then noticed that the Doctor was standing alone, staring out of the window. The Cyberman remained where it had stood throughout the session.
Angela took herself and her plate to stand beside the Doctor, ‘I told you that this would happen. The council made its decision a long time ago. Every possible contingent was considered.’
‘Except the enslavement of this world by the Cybermen.’
‘We are a much more advanced race now than we were during the Cyber War. I’m confident that we could hold our own should they try to bite the hand that feeds them.
‘Can you be so sure that the Cybermen are nothing more than scavengers?’
‘I’ve fought them many times, Angela. I know the Cybermen. They were once human and they sought to better themselves, to find a way to fight the odds. Every piece of technology they developed that ensured their survival became more than just a machine. In time they realised that the only other step left was to become one with the machine, to merge with it. They guaranteed their survival but at a price.
‘Every living thing must die, with death comes change and diversity. The Cybermen didn’t change the rules, they cheated death, but they didn’t change anything. They achieved a kind of immortality but sacrificed change and diversity. The only way they could ever improve on anything was to take from others. They understood that before they became Cybermen, so they programmed themselves before the last great change. And that final programme was to absorb everything else, to change themselves by taking from others. They will always be scavengers. In order for them to survive they must take from others. For now they fulfil the needs of your colony. Once they have nothing else to take from outside they will turn inwards. Trust me on this Angela, if your people decide to continue working with the Cybermen then you should leave,’ a thought struck the Doctor, ‘Come with me, Angela. Let me show you the truth of what I am saying. Let me show you the wonders of the universe as well as the monsters in the closet.’
‘Are you asking me to run away, to abandon my family, my friends, everyone I know? If you are telling me the truth then how can you expect me to be so inhuman, so selfish, as to abandon my fellow citizens to these Cybermen?’
‘That’s not what I meant. Spend some time with me, on my ship. I’ll bring you back and once you know what I know then at least you’ll be sure that you’re doing the right thing when the time comes to stand against the Cybermen.’
Angela looked at the Doctor, wondering if this was all some bizarre scheme, a massive deception devised for the sake of asking her out on a date. It was so elaborate as to be laughable. She prided herself that she could tell when someone had the hots for her, but she saw nothing in the Doctor’s face to indicate that he was being anything other than sincere. Was that his only interest in her? Someone who could take his side in a fight only he believed would take place?
‘I’m sorry, Doctor, but I think you are mistaken. From what you are saying you intend to leave, and if it means anything to you, I wish you would stay. You could make such a difference here.’
The Doctor shook his head and said nothing more. With nothing remaining to be said Angela drifted away and spoke to other members of the crowd.
Glancing at the reflection of the chamber in the window the Doctor watched the motionless figure of the Cyberman. Thoughts raced through his head, but he knew that short of attacking it outright there was nothing he could do to generate a reaction from the Cyberman. And if he did that it would only shatter his own argument. If the Cyberman did react it would purely be in self-defence, not that there was much the Doctor could do to damage it. When the adjudicator returned the Doctor remained at the window, staring outside. Perhaps out of some respect for the Doctor’s feelings the adjudicator allowed him to remain where he was, even waving at one member of the Council to sit down when she began to move towards the Doctor, evidently to admonish him for not taking his seat during the session.
‘I have thought about this matter. It is my opinion that the Council have given sufficient though to the matter and that appropriate precautions have been taken. In light of the Doctor’s concerns I feel that further restrictions be placed upon the project. These restrictions to be discussed at length and held between the Council and the Think Tank.
‘It is my advice that a definite limit be placed upon the size of the Cyberman army; that patrols be manned jointly by humans and Cybermen; that Locust activity be closely monitored but no action to be taken unless there is direct provocation. These matters should be considered and it is my hope that this will be to the satisfaction of all involved. This session is now concluded.’
The Doctor turned away from the window and smiled at the adjudicator. On this occasion he did not receive a smile in response, instead the adjudicator avoided his gaze entirely and left the chamber. The rest of the Council grumbled among themselves until Angela stood up and announced that she fully intended to ensure that most if not all of the adjudicator’s advice was implemented. Slowly the chamber began to empty until finally the only remaining people were Angela, the Doctor and the Cyberman. Neither moved towards the other, but after a minute of inaction the Doctor moved towards Angela, his eyes looking towards the Cyberman. It was hardly likely to try and kill him, but it paid not too be over confident.
‘So, at least something is being done.’
‘Quite,’ the Doctor looked at Angela and then held out his hand.
‘You’re going?’
‘There isn’t anything else to be done here, not yet. I may return, some day. Perhaps, there won’t be any need for me return.’
Puzzled, Angela shook his hand, ‘This is a victory, wouldn’t you agree?’
‘I told you that Cybermen have infinite patience. There may be other Cybermen waiting out there, it may takes months or it may take decades for them to get together an army, but they will.
‘Take my advice, Angela, try to implement all those rules, perhaps even add a few more. Don’t let the Cybermen gain a foothold, otherwise your world won’t have a future. And then the same will happen to other worlds. It will start over again.’
The Doctor let go off her hand and walked out of the chamber. Angela watched him go and then she turned to look at the Cyberman, ‘If we decide that there will be no further conversions what would you do.’
The Cyberman bowed its head slightly so as to look down at her, ‘You have given us the chance to survive. We are not your enemy, you are not our enemy. Nothing will be gained by destroying us. Nothing will be gained by destroying you. We can protect you, you can restore the power of the Cybermen.’
Why should it lie, Angela asked herself? If all emotion had been removed then surely it would not be afraid of extinction, it would hate confinement? Shrugging she left the chamber, the Cyberman striding behind her.
Afterword
In the early 1990s, just after the rumours began of a US backed Doctor Who, I found myself wondering how the series would work as "hour" long episodes. Would each episode stand alone or would the episodic nature of the original series be retained? Perhaps a mixture of both with some apparent stand alone episodes actually serving as prologues to other stories. I had a number of ideas, including an idea for a prologue story i.e. Foothold. Originally an 8th Doctor adventure which I seriously considered submitting to the BBC should the series return the story instead became the first contribution to my fiction zine. This was around the end of 1995, pre Paul McGann so the story was to be a 7th Doctor adventure.
A few months later, after the unveiling of Doctor number 8 the story reverted to its original concept, with a few changes. Although it was intended to be the prologue to another adventure I have never actually devised the next chapter in the saga, at least not yet. The only other story I had lined up for the US Doctor Who will appear in a later issue of Sparrows Fall. So watch out for Stepping Stone.