Dr Who New Adventures 41 Zamber, by Gareth Roberts (v1.0) (pdf)

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graciously. Smith looked again at his kind, crumpled face. He
had the high forehead and inquisitive eyes of the scientist, but
there was a beaten quality to him. Like a ragged teddy bear, he
seemed much loved but exhausted. His genuine nature, after
eight years on Zamper, encouraged her own frankness. The
forbidden words came easily, giving her the sensation of
unburdening a guilty secret.
The Doctor blew on his tea to cool it. ‘The Management is
an artificial intelligence, then?’
‘He’s certainly much more than a computer. I think he’s
centred here, somewhere, but he has powerful links to outside
space, and is aware of external events. He represents Zamper
on the markets. His personality is highly developed. He
watches us, but not all the time. I’ve noticed that he can’t be
on two screens at once. Of course, we can’t be sure if he is
listening in at any given moment, and that makes the
surveillance all the more effective. Nula, the hostess here,
started to talk freely about the Management failing, and got
herself electrocuted. Faulty wiring on her own part, it was
said, but I have grave doubts.’
‘How long has this place been up and running?’
‘About five hundred years. The shareholders are the biggest
corporations. They’re contracted not to pry, and mainly they
don’t, the defence stations are a good deterrent. And of course,
nobody can tell when the gateway will open. The details are
beamed to the buyers, and if they talk, the contract’s cancelled
and the gate stays closed.’
‘It sounds very efficient.’
‘It was, Doctor. Zamper ships are expensive, but they’re
worth it. A big one lasts ninety years and has enough clout to
control the average federation of about five planets nicely. The
reputation of Zamper is untarnished.’
The Doctor raised an eyebrow. ‘You don’t sound very
happy about that. What led you to work here?’
‘I didn’t choose to work for Zamper, Doctor.’ She took a
deep breath. ‘I’m sorry, I haven’t been able to discuss these
things for some years. I’d been lecturing, I was on a university
tour of the Pelopennese. One night I went back to my room in
the halls at the academy, and there was a letter waiting for
me.’ She noted the Doctor’s reaction. ‘Yes, Doctor, an old-
fashioned written letter, envelope and all. Handwritten in ink.
It was sealed with the crest of Zamper, that big gold Z. The
letter stated politely that I had been selected, that my contract
was to last ten years, and that I’d be paid handsomely for my
time. Naturally, I was furious. I thought it was a student prank.
I tore up the letter, threw it in the dustbin, and slept soundly.
And when I woke, I woke in that bed.’ She pointed over the
Doctor’s shoulder, to the far room, where Bernice was resting.
‘You were a zoologist?’
‘We’re not permitted to discuss our previous lives. That’s
unimportant, so the Management says.’ She patted his hand.
‘Yes I was.’
‘Yes.’ The Doctor returned his drained cup to the tea tray
and examined a couple of Smith’s slides. ‘What is your job
here?’
‘It’s a long and complicated tale, Doctor. And you still
haven’t explained yourself.’
He avoided the subject, squinting at one of the slides and
saying, ‘These are from those mollusc creatures you’ve got
penned up in there?’ He looked into the specimen case. ‘They
really are a fascinating species.’
‘My brief was to observe them, study them in as much
detail as the Management allows. The position was created
specially for me; the Zamps hadn’t been studied before. That
makes me what the others call a “specialist”.’
‘Zamps? So they are natives?’ His brow furrowed and his
eyes flicked between the animals and the stained cells on the
slide.
‘It’s just a name,’ said Smith. ‘They must have been
imported here when the shipbuilding business was set up.
They’ve certainly been tampered with along the way. You
noticed some signs of the manipulation yourself.’
The Doctor knelt for a closer look at the captive Zamps.
‘And through their feelers they exert a telekinetic influence?’
‘Of enormous power. In fact, their brains, by design I’d
say, are almost entirely geared to producing that effect.’ She
took down a jar from the shelving and passed it over. ‘Look at
that.’
He turned the jar, studying the pickled brain inside. ‘This
side of the organ is swollen,’ he pointed out. ‘The enlargement
looks deliberate. Unnatural. It leaves no room for almost any
other more basic function. How does a Zamp find his food?’
‘He doesn’t. We supply it.’
The Doctor handed back the jar. ‘There you are, then. All
the facts point to these animals being specifically adapted to
form part of this operation. Way back when this place was set
up.’
‘Probably. The Management has no records, and his
creators obviously didn’t think it necessary to plan ahead.’ She
leaned closer. ‘Over the last twenty-five years there’s been a
twenty per cent drop in productivity. The Zamps are slowing
down.’
He looked between the slides, the specimens, and her.
‘Why?’
His gentle authority and concern, together with his childlike
enthusiasm for what had become her life’s work, came close
to overpowering Smith’s suspicions. She was caught in the
simple rapture of meeting a stranger, somebody she hadn’t
expected to see, who knew nothing of what was permitted and
not permitted, so much that it almost didn’t matter where he’d
mysteriously appeared from. But practicality triumphed.
‘Doctor, welcome as you are, I’d like to know how you and
Bernice managed to get safely through a dimensional portal,
past six defence stations, and onto that test ship.’
Several of the regular operators had been coaxed back to the
net by Taal, who was generous in the apologies he data-coiled
to the signatures lost in the power failure. There was no
provision for a check on the equipment, a task that was under
the supervision of the Management, so Taal was still uneasy as
he welcomed the players foolish or desperate enough to return.
The net could crash again at any moment. So far the failures
had occurred only during the initial stages of certain games,
before any monies staked had been lost or gathered. If there
was a shutdown later in play, and the data-coil was wiped,
Zamper would find itself liable to a hefty fine from the
authorities. That meant nothing to Taal, who was not
responsible for any losses, but he was curious to see how the
Management would react to such a claim. It would force him
to acknowledge his own weaknesses, and that’d be worth
seeing.
‘Ready for the game,’ Christie said brightly. Taal took
another look at her. Auburn hair, purple-blushered cheeks, and
what a kissable little nose. But no. Such fond thoughts had no
place on Zamper.
‘Carry on, dear.’
The door of the gaming room opened. Although fourteen
years on Zamper, and not without travelling experience before
his appointment as host, Taal felt his heart skip a beat at the
sight of the two snarling, slavering reptilian creatures entering
with Mr Jottipher. Chelonians. Once the masters of an empire
that crossed seven star systems, fearsome destroyers of over a
hundred and fifty colony worlds along the ninety-third galactic
frontier. Christie squeaked. He patted her bare shoulder.
‘There there my dear.’
‘And here, in the lobby of the guest suites, is our game
room,’ said Mr Jottipher in a voice that was pitched higher [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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