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.As Dafydd had expected, Will was already out of bed and having his breakfast.He was dressed in his best white robe, ready for this important day.As the right hand of Mother Hilda, he would be largely responsible for the organisation of the ceremony.What were you doing out there anyway? Will asked.„Oh.I was out for a walk.And then I saw them.I can‟t be sure.But they certainly looked like the men from the ship.‟„Mm.I find it difficult to believe, Brother.Their brains must still be enfolded.‟Will was right, the whole ship‟s company would be under the influence of the juice for hours to come.This wasn‟t going to work! Alex had persuaded Dafydd against his will, and now he was going to be in trouble, real trouble.„Yes, that‟s why I was so surprised,‟ he said.„But I thought I‟d better let you know.‟Will sighed and got up from the table.„I suppose I‟ll have to come and have a look.Show me where you saw them.Are you suggesting that they might climb the cliff face?‟A reprieve!„It seems unlikely, I know,‟ said Dafydd, as he led Will out of the door.„But it wouldn‟t be the first time.Remember General Wolfe and the Heights of Abraham.‟That‟s what Alex had said.Will, who was taking out his walkie-talkie, gave him an exasperated look.„What the heck are you on about now?‟„Seventeen fifty-nine.The year of victories.‟Will gave a grunt.„Oh, history.Load of shit.‟As they came out through the immense wooden doors of the temple, he spoke into the handset.„Attention all units!Those near the foot of the mount, proceed to the cliff side.Intruders reported.‟Even more reason to get out of sight quick, thought Dafydd.* * *The next shot the Doctor wanted her to get was one of the temple.But that, too, was easier said than done.To start with, it was nearly a mile away - and they could hardly dance like Dorothy and her friends up the yellow-brick road.In any case, thought Sarah, according to the Polaroid it was really more of a mule-track, like the one they‟d come across in Anatolia, when Jenny took the wrong turning.For that matter, the guard showed no sign of moving off.And there‟d bound to be some of his mates scattered along the way.So they had to make their way through the jungle, which turned out to be more difficult than one might think.Clambering up and down the sandy slopes, and fighting through the thick vegetation in the dips between, was extraordinarily tiring.But even worse, there would be moments, brief flashes, when the trees, the beautiful flowering bushes and the lush undergrowth seemed to vanish and in their stead she found herself struggling with thorny shrubs, and the scent of tropical flowers was transmuted into the stink of the guano that covered the rocks at their feet.At first, it lasted only a fleeting moment at a time, but as it happened more and more often, it lasted longer, and in the end took over completely.The Doctor glanced round at her.„It‟s wearing off,‟ he said, and ploughed on.They must have been nearly there, when everything became too much.The effort of moving at all, together with the turmoil in her mind, brought Sarah to a halt.„I‟m sorry, Doctor,‟ she gasped, as he showed no signs of stopping for a rest, „I‟m knackered! You‟d better go on without me.Here, take the camera.‟„Of course not,‟ he said, immediately turning back.„How very thoughtless of me.We can‟t waste time, but a few minutes either way won‟t make a scrap of difference.„Here, come and sit down,‟ he went on, indicating a convenient rock.After a moment, she couldn‟t help blurting out what was uppermost in her thoughts.„What is going on, Doctor? Is it a sort of hypnotism, or what?‟„Keep your voice down,‟ he said, with a glance in the direction of the road.„Sorry,‟ she said in a half-whisper.„But I‟m thoroughly con-fused.We all saw the same things didn‟t we? I mean, everybody gets different trips on acid and stuff, don‟t they?So how can it be the effect of the juice, or the mist?‟„I‟m not absolutely certain myself yet,‟ he said after a pause.„A whole world has been constructed.As you say, we all experienced it.It‟s not the first time I‟ve come across something of the sort.In fact, you‟ve seen it yourself.‟„You mean the Experienced Reality thing on Parakon?‟„That‟s right.‟„A sort of telepathic computer, wasn‟t it?‟„More accurately, a radiated matrix of modulated psycho-magnetic beams.‟Well, of course it was.How stupid of her not to know that!„So this is the same sort of thing?‟ she asked.The Doctor shook his head.„It can‟t be.None of the requisite conditions are here.In any case, that was purely a visual and auditory illusion.Don‟t forget, you actually ate some of that food yesterday.‟„You mean.all the fruit and stuff wasn‟t real?‟„Oh, it was real, all right.It would have been something different, that‟s all.‟This didn‟t sound too good.„Different? What do you mean?What, for example?‟„Oh, seaweed, old leaves, slugs, that sort of thing.‟ He laughed when he saw her face.„Very nutritious,‟ he said.He stood up.„Ready?‟She hauled herself to her feet.As ready as she‟d ever be.* * *„Funny place to come for a walk,‟ said Will, as they came out onto the clifftop.„I just wanted a breath of fresh air,‟ replied Dafydd, leading the way along the edge.„Mm.Bloody stupid if you ask me.‟Dafydd didn‟t answer.He‟d be glad to see the back of Brother Will.He‟d always been a bully.„It‟s vanished!‟They had risked going through the gap in the rocks that, the day before, had taken them to the clearing at the foot of the great marble staircase.„I mean to say! How could we have climbed it, if it wasn‟t there?‟ said Sarah in a half-whisper.„All perception has a large input from the various structures of the brain,‟ the Doctor replied, equally quietly.„The raw sense perceptions would never mean anything.They have to be recognised, and categorised.And a lot more than fifty per cent of that process is a matter of making new clay fit into the old mould.‟„But if there‟s nothing there to be recognised.?‟„There‟s a track, isn‟t there? And your brain was manipulated in some way by your Skang friends.‟„No friends of mine,‟ muttered Sarah.The Doctor didn‟t reply, but silently pointed upwards.Of course.The temple had disappeared as well.Instead of the graceful pillars that had so elegantly crowned the summit, there was nothing but a few piles of boulders.Now, why should she feel so sad? Yesterday, the tears had sprung to her eyes at the very beauty of what they were seeing.But now she felt as if she‟d lost something.no, somebody.It was like grieving for a dead friend.She pulled out the Polaroid, and took a shot.Whether it would convince the Brig was doubtful.Everything looked so different it hardly seemed that they were in the same place.* * *„There.Where that bit sticks out.That‟s where I was standing when I saw them.Just below there, right at the bottom in the undergrowth.‟ Would he take the bait?With a sceptical look at Dafydd, Brother Will strode across to the very edge and peered over.Now! Slip away into the bushes, and try not to notice him as he turns to comment; and try not to hear the sound of the running footsteps, and the gut-wrenching yell that follows, only to be abruptly chopped off.In the awful silence afterwards, Dafydd scurried back the way they‟d come, in a total panic, as if he were being chased.„Oh, my God!‟The Doctor had turned back at the sound of the scream [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]