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.When the first stirrings of the simoon wind breathed across the Doctor's broad forehead he was grateful for their relief but the zephyr soon became a stiff breeze that grew rapidly into a driving tormenting force which whipped stinging sand into his now reddened and streaming eyes.The lashing wind then lowered abruptly into a monotonous keening presence that tormented by its very constancy.Wearily, the Doctor made himself trudge on until he could hardly summon the strength to push one throbbing foot past the other.'Back.must.go.back.'he muttered to himself, halting, tired out and sand-blown, swaying under the maddening constantly prying wind.Squinting, then turning, the Doctor searched for his footprints that would lead him back to wherever it was he had journeyed from.Seeing nothing he realised, with a lurch of panic, that the simoon wind had swept away all trace of his steps.All around was sand.Desert.Arid miles of searing red grit that reflected heat under a flaring sun that pulsated with a stream of rays that shrivelled everything that it encountered below.Just as suddenly as it had attacked the Doctor the force of the wind slackened and dropped to a whisper that stirred the sand against his shoes and now seemed as nothing after the blast of torment it had achieved before.Thirsty and dehydrated from his exertions the Doctor peered ahead into what appeared to be a dreamy haze.He brushed the air before his eyes to clear his vision but still the heat distortion shimmered ahead.Then, magically, the burnished landscape faded and a verdant green island of palm trees with a cool flowing stream appeared, on the far bank of which a peacock strutted accompanied by a familiar figure.'What?' the Doctor croaked confusedly and stumbled forward as he realised that the figure in blue blouse and shorts was waving, beckoning with one arm while holding in her other hand a silver salver that supported a gleaming ice bucket and a tall green pear-shaped bottle of sparkling mineral water.'Peri!' the Doctor shouted hoarsely, stumbling and forcing himself through the clinging sand that grew ever more resistant with each frantic clumsy stride.The Doctor made towards the oasis and the cool blue figure of Peri and the longed-for refreshment of iced water which she held so invitingly towards him.'Peri.Peri!' the Doctor forced out through his cracked lips as, cruelly, the vision receded, leaving only a shimmer of empty air as the Doctor once more found himself utterly alone in the harsh desert landscape.Mockingly, the cruel simoon wind began to rise once more and whipped up the particles of hot sand against skin still raw and ravaged from its previous onslaught.The sand was everywhere, under eyelids, in eyes, ears, mouth; choking, spitting, the Doctor tried to clear his dry, dust-filled throat but the wind forced yet more scorching sand upon him until, heaving for breath, he fell to his knees.There seemed no escape except oblivion.The Doctor coughed, fell forward prostate on the ground, hauled himself up onto his elbows then rolled onto his back and stared upwards into the merciless molten glaring eye of the sun.Then his body separated from his spirit and moved no more.'Gur.gur.gur-gaargh!' The sound of Sil's maniacal laughter filled the communication centre where Sil, the Chief, Governor and Bax had been watching the Doctor's struggle for existence in an empty corridor of the Punishment Dome that contained not one grain of sand.Over Sil's continuing cackle of laughter the Chief shook his head wonderingly.'What a wonderful thing a mind is.The hallucinatory inductor makes him believe he cannot survive and soon he cannot even draw one breath after the next.''It was a very fine joke,' Sil gasped.'Thank you for such fine entertainment, Governor.''My pleasure,' the Governor replied formally but felt a vague dissatisfaction which he found hard to understand; after all, the death of the Doctor was only the latest of so many others he had witnessed.Arak, staring at his screen that still showed the inert body of the Doctor, licked his lips.'We got anything to drink, Etta?' he asked, suddenly feeling a deep thirst as if he too had been battling against a sandstorm driven by a simoon wind.'Go and look,' his wife said, staring unblinkingly at the screen before her.'What now, sir?' Bax turned to the Governor.'Go in close, establish there is no flicker of life.''Yes, sir.' Bax shifted his cameras into a big close-up that brought the Doctor's waxen face so close that it filled the screen.Not a muscle twitched nor was a tremor of breath evident.'He's dead, sir.''I agree.' The Governor watched the Doctor for a moment more than snapped his fingers.'Cut it now, Bax,' he ordered and watched the technician terminate the transmission by a flick of a switch that brought up the station'V logo and the mournful military march that always played as the evening's entertainment from the Punishment Dome drew to a close.8NIGHT AND SILENCEThe Governor lay back in his official transport car and watched the harsh landscape of Varos pass outside the clear plastic tubing that surrounded the monorail that propelled the car.Various lighted domes of differing sizes loomed and passed like giant globules of light scattered about the pitted rocky surface.As the monorail curved into the docking bay and glided to a halt the Governor felt so tired from the mental and physical battering of the day that he felt hardly able to haul himself out of the padded leather seating and go into the special luxury dome reserved for himself and the rest of the officer guard.Dragging himself along, he entered the transition bay, pressed the entry button and watched the numbers flash by as the underfloor traction belt carried him smoothly towards his spacious living quarters.His trusty, Sevrin, was waiting to help the Governor through the doorway whose panels had opened noiselessly on recognising the particular aura of the leader's body.'Bath, sir?' The ageing servant unbuckled the black leather belt and reverently lifted the sash of office from the grey serge uniform of the Governor before placing it carefully in the special wardrobe kept for the trappings of state while the Governor wandered towards the splashing sounds of a bath filling.The bathroom was large and marbled with twin gold cherubim that held water flagons that poured precious water into a deep oval sunken bath.Yellow and black polva plants and imported black orchids filled the corners of the mirrored opulent room.Sighing with pleasure the Governor slipped into the warm welcoming water and luxuriated in its comforting and refreshing depths.'Sir.' Sevrin lowered a tray to him with a bottle of wine and glasses.Thank you.' The drink, blue and sparkling, was the Governor's favourite vintage from the vineyards of the planet Emsidium.The first sip brought a sharp invigorating tang on his palate which was followed by the mellow flush of well-being as the famous wine achieved its familiar conquest of fear and depression.Idly the Governor waggled a foot, watching the water cascade from ankle and calf.Born to the officer class he had no troubling thoughts as to why he should not enjoy comfort and wealth while the rest of the population of Varos suffered poverty and deprivation.It had always been like this for the chosen few officer families who ruled the former prison planet [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]