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.The Doctor heaved him to his feet and dragged him inside the TARDIS.The door closed behind them.Suddenly there came a strange alien crackling from the Black Pool.Outlined in glowing red, an enormous dragon-like shape appeared.It was the Monster of the Black Pool.For a moment it reared above the TARDIS as if to swallow it up.Then it froze, motionless, recognising perhaps that the word of the Time Lord had been kept.Zeta Minor was whole once more.There was a wheezing, groaning sound and the TARDIS disappeared.The Monster flowed back into the Black Pool that was its home.Inside the TARDIS Professor Sorenson gazed around him with an air of total bafflement.‘Where am I? What am I doing here?’ Busy at the TARDIS console, the Doctor glanced over his shoulder.‘Professor Sorenson,’ he said solemnly, ‘you’re a very lucky man.You have been released.’‘Released?’‘Because I kept my promise and returned all the anti-matter.’Sorenson rubbed his eyes dazedly.‘I’ve been having the most terrible nightmares.Sornething about some kind of savage beast.’ He became aware of his surroundings.‘Where am I? This doesn’t look a bit like the Morestran Probe Ship.’‘It isn’t,’ said the Doctor drily.‘Just rest awhile, Professor.Everything’s going to be all right now.’Mentally the Doctor crossed his fingers.This was his second tricky navigational job in swift succession.He now had to put the TARDIS back inside a spaceship which was no doubt zooming away from Zeta Minor just as fast as it could travel.There was a slight jolt as the TARDIS landed.The Doctor opened the door and peered out.Sure enough, the TARDIS was back in the quarantine chamber, even standing in exactly the same spot against the wall.The Doctor beamed, and ushered Sorenson out.‘Come along, Professor, this is the Morestran Probe Ship.It’s time we rejoined our friends.’Vishinsky sat in his command chair and studied the rows of instruments in front of him with benign satisfaction.‘We’re making good progress now.Once we’re across the Galactic Frontier we can signal for an emergency re-fuelling.’The door slid open and Sorenson and the Doctor entered.‘Doctor,’ cried Sarah delightedly.Vishinsky was staring at the Doctor’s companion.‘Professor Sorenson,’ he exclaimed.‘Are you all right?’Sorenson looked baffled and the Doctor said cheerily,‘Don’t worry, Vishinsky, the Professor has quite recovered now.In fact he doesn’t even remember what’s happened.The less said the better, I think.’‘Remember?’ said Sorenson indignantly.‘Of course I remember.I’ve been doing some very important researches.I’ve discovered a new energy-source, using anti-matter reactions.’Hurriedly the Doctor said, ‘Actually, Professor, I think you’d abandoned that line.Far too many dangers.’‘I had?’The Doctor took Sorenson to one side.‘You were telling me you’d decided to concentrate on deriving energy from the kinetic force of actual planetary movement,’ he said confidentially.Sorenson was fascinated.‘Was I really?’‘Yes, indeed.In fact you’d worked out some very significant preliminary equations.’The Doctor snatched a pad from the console, scribbled rapidly and passed it over to Sorenson, who began studying it.‘Yes, of course.The kinetic force of the planets, an immense source of untapped power there.What a brilliant idea!’ He frowned, puzzled for a moment.‘I wonder how I came to think of it?’The Doctor smiled.Strictly speaking he was breaking a Time Lord rule by passing on such information.But it was worth it to divert Sorenson from his disastrous researches into anti-matter.And with all that had happened, the Morestrans were scarcely likely to send another expedition to Zeta Minor.Sarah was saying good-bye to Vishinsky with real regret.She’d grown very attached to the tough, laconic veteran who had saved their lives.She shook his hand.‘Goodbye, Vishinsky—and thank you!’Vishinsky began a clumsy speech of thanks, but the Doctor waved it aside.‘My pleasure, old chap, pleased to have been of service.Now, Sarah, we really must be going.We've an appointment in London and we're already thirty thousand years late.’A short time later there was a wheezing, groaning noise in the quarentine bay and the TARDIS faded away into the Space/Time Vortex.So the adventure ended, and they all went their different ways.Sorenson went home to begin a series of brilliant eperiments that was to make him the most famous scientist in the Morestran Empire.Vishinsky returned to a hero's welcome, and the promotion that had so long eluded him.And the Doctor and Sarah went off to begin their next adventure [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]