025 - Doctor Who and the Face of Evil

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Setting the controls for Earth, the Doctor is surprised

when the Tardis lands in a primeval forest. Has the Tracer

gone wrong or has some impulse deep in his unconscious

mind directed him to this alien planet? In investigating the

forest, the Doctor meets and assists Leela, a warrior

banished from her tribe, the Sevateem. Through Leela, it

gradually becomes apparent that the constant war

between the Sevateem and the Tesh has been instigated

by the god they both worship, Xoanon.

Xoanon, an all-powerful computer, is possessed by a

desperate madness—a madness that is directly related to

Doctor Who, that causes Xoanon to assume the voice and

form of the Doctor, a madness that is partly caused by the

Doctor and that only the Doctor himself can rectify!

The Doctor must not only do battle with Xoanon, but also

must escape from the savage practices of the Sevateem,

and the technically mind-controlling destructive impulses

of the Tesh.

ISBN 0 426 20006 3

DOCTOR WHO

AND THE

FACE OF EVIL

Based on the BBC television serial by Chris Boucher by arrangement

with the British Broadcasting Corporation

TERRANCE DICKS

published by

The Paperback Division of

W. H. Allen & Co. Ltd

CONTENTS

1 The Outcast

2 The Invisible Terror

3 Captured

4 The Face on the Mountain

5 Attack

6 Danger for Leela

7 The Test of the Horda

8 Beyond the Wall

9 The Tesh

10 The Summons

11 Xoanon

12 The Trap

13 The Last Battle

14 Recovery

15 Departure

A Target Book

Published in 1978

by the Paperback Division of W. H. Allen & Co. Ltd.

A Howard & Wyndham Company

44 Hill Street, London W1X 8LB

1977, 1978

Printed in Great Britain by

The Anchor Press Ltd, Tiptree, Essex

ISBN 0426 20006 3

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of

trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated

without the publisher's prior consent in any form of binding or

cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar

condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent

purchaser.

The Outcast

The Sevateem were holding a trial.

The big Council hut was packed with elders and warriors.

Andor, Chief of the Tribe, sat on his throne of shining metal. Around

him stood his Councillors, Tomas, Calib and Sole. In the shadows

behind the throne waited Neeva, Shaman, Witch Doctor, Speaker of

the Law.

It was a colourful, barbaric scene. Light from a ring of

smoking torches made the great Council hut bright as day. It glinted

from the weapons of the savage skin-clad warriors and the strange

regalia of the elders. It blazed fiercely on the prisoner who stood

before the throne, flanked by crossbow-carrying guards.

The prisoner was a girl called Leela. She was tall, with brown

hair and dark eyes, a broad clear forehead and a firm chin. Her arms

and legs, exposed by her brief skin costume, were brown and

smoothly muscular. She stood before her accusers wary but unafraid,

like a captured wild animal.

Calib had taken on the role of prosecutor. He was a wiry, thin-

faced man, his handsome features marred by an air of cunning. He

turned dramatically towards the Chief, as he concluded his speech of

accusation. 'You are our leader, Andor, and you know the Law.

There can be but one punishment for such an offence as this. She

must be banished.'

There was a growl of agreement from the crowd. Yet some

were silent, out of sympathy for the prisoner. The sentence of

banishment was a sentence of death. The offender would be cast out,

into the Beyond. Who could hope to survive without the protection

of the Tribe?

Andor tugged thoughtfully at his grizzled beard. He was a

stocky man in his fifties, a grim experienced warrior. He had fought

his way to the throne by strength and ruthless cunning. There was no

succession by right in the Tribe of Sevateem. The shining throne,

handed down from the Old Time, belonged to the man who could

take it—and keep it. He turned to Sole, his Chief Councillor, and

said, 'What say you, Sole?'

Sole, a man much like Andor himself, stared grimly ahead.

'You should not ask, Andor. The Law is the Law.' Andor had

expected such an answer from his old friend—even though Leela

was Sole's daughter.

Andor looked at the prisoner, who returned his gaze proudly.

Such a pity, he thought. She was a fine strong girl, one of the bravest

and fiercest of his warriors. Soon she would have married and had

fine sons and daughters to serve the Tribe. Andor had noticed that

Tomas, youngest of his Council, spent much time with Leela. Now

the girl had condemned herself, by her own rashness. 'The Council is

agreed,' said Andor gruffly. 'Leela must be sent Beyond.'

Impulsively Tomas stepped forward. 'No, Andor, pardon her.

She is young.'

'Do not beg, Tomas,' said Leela fiercely. 'What I said was

truth.' Neeva stepped out from behind the throne, into the torch-light.

He was a small man, with a smooth, ageless face. His head was

shaved to denote his priestly rank. His ceremonial. robe hung from

his shoulders. It was a strange, silvery garment, all in one piece, with

arms and legs and a round helmet at the neck. It was a sacred relic of

the Old Time, and Neeva wore it draped over his shoulders like a

cloak.

Neeva was a figure of great authority in the Tribe, second only

to Andor himself. There was a respectful hush as he spoke. 'The girl

is a blasphemer. She has profaned the holy purpose of the Tribe of

Sevateem.'

Leela seemed determined to condemn herself. 'Holy purpose?

To die for nothing in another useless attack?'

'The god Xoanon demands she be cast out,' said Neeva angrily.

'He told me this!'

'Liar!' snapped Leela. 'There is no Xoanon!'

There was a shocked murmuring from the Tribe. Neeva spread

out his hands. 'Blasphemy,' he said triumphantly.

Andor looked at Leela's proud face, and at the impassive

features of her father. There was nothing he could do for her now.

She had condemned herself before all the Tribe. Yet there was one

faint hope of life he could offer her—life or a quicker death. 'Leela!

Will you take the Test of the Horda?'

Silently Leela shook her head. Better the unknown terrors of

the Beyond than death in the Pit of the Horda.

Andor looked round the crowded hut. 'Will any take it for her?'

No one moved or spoke. Many warriors had looked with

favour on Leela. But life was precious, and after all, there were other

women. Andor looked at Tomas, who dropped his eyes in shame.

Even his love was not strong enough to face almost-certain death.

'I will take the Test.' Sole left his place and came to stand

before the throne.

'No,' shouted Leela. 'You'll be killed—'

'Be silent, daughter,' commanded Sole. 'You have said enough.'

Andor raised a commanding hand. 'Test him!' Two guards led

Sole away.

Leela could face the prospect of her own death unafraid, but

the thought that her rashness would destroy her father was more than

she could bear. She fell to her knees before the throne. 'Andor,

please. Don't let him... Call them back!' She looked up at Neeva.

'Great Shaman, Speaker of the Law, I was wrong to speak as I did.

Forgive me, please, please...'

Andor leaned forward on his throne. 'Be silent, girl. Your

father is a warrior. Do not shame him.'

There was a long, long silence. Leela got slowly to her feet,

brushing tears from her eyes as if ashamed of her outburst.

The silence was broken at last by a brief scream of agony from

the outskirts of the village. Leela bowed her head, touching throat,

left shoulder and left hip in a ritual gesture. Many others in the

Council hut did the same.

Andor rose and pronounced sentence. 'Outcast of the Tribe of

Sevateem be gone from us.'

Neeva's voice rose in a kind of chant. 'Spawn of the Evil One,

return to your Master!'

'You have until sunrise,' said Andor sternly. 'If, by then, you

are still within the Boundary, you will be thrown to the Horda.'

Leela turned and walked away. The crowd drew apart to let her

pass. She was unclean now, accursed, an outcast from the tribe.

Tomas stood silent, head bowed in shame. He should have

taken the Test of the Horda. Yet what would have been the use? Not

one in a hundred survided the Test. Besides, Leela was guilty, she

had blasphemed the Law of the Tribe. Tomas looked up and saw

Neeva deep in conversation with two of his acolytes—young warrior

priests who had been chosen to serve him. The warriors hurried out

of the hut clearly following Leela. Tomas watched them leave, and

then set off after them. Perhaps he could still do something for Leela

after all.

In a forest clearing, not very far away, a strange, wheezing

groaning sound broke the silence and a square blue shape

materialised beneath the mighty trees. A door opened and a tall

curly-haired man stepped out. He wore loose, comfortable clothes

with a vaguely Bohemian air. A broad-brimmed soft hat was jammed

on the back of a tangle of curly hair, and an incredibly long scarf

dangled round his neck.

The Doctor stood staring rather bemusedly about him, as if not

sure where he was, or what he was doing there. The most recent

events seemed vague and remote in his mind. He'd defeated the

Master's diabolical scheme to destroy the Time Lord planet of

Gallifrey. Then he'd set course for Earth. Or had he? Had his fingers

sent the TARDIS to some other destination, guided by some impulse

deep in his unconscious mind.

The Doctor looked around. He was in a small clearing in a

huge primeval forest. Giant trees towered around him in all

directions, cutting off most of the light from the sky. The trees were

festooned with dangling vines, dense shrubs and bushes filled the

space between tree trunks and there was a deep, soft carpet of leaves

beneath his feet. 'Not Hyde Park, I think,' muttered the Doctor.

'Could be a nexial discontinuity, I suppose. I really must remember to

overhaul that Tracer. I'll put a knot in my hanky...' He groped in his

pockets and produced a red-spotted handkerchief—with a knot in one

corner. 'I wonder what that was for?' The Doctor scratched his head,

feeling that things were getting away from him. It was as if some

long-buried memory was trying to push its way to the surface.

Somehow this place was familiar...

The Doctor shrugged. If he had brought himself back here for

some purpose there was only one way to find out. 'Little look round,

Doctor?' he murmured. 'Why not?'

He set off into the forest then stopped with an obscure feeling

of something missing. Of course! Sarah Jane Smith. She should have

been beside him as usual, grumbling about their unexpected arrival in

a strange destination, and the dangers they were sure to meet. The

Doctor gave a rueful smile. Sarah was back on Earth now, like Harry

Sullivan and the Brigadier. It had been the Doctor's own decision to

take her back. Time Lord law had prevented him from taking her to

Gallifrey. Besides, it was more than time that she took up her own

ordinary human life again. Yes, the Doctor decided, he'd acted for

the best. But as he walked through the forest, he couldn't help feeling

a little lonely...

Leela moved cautiously ahead, crossbow at the ready. She was

still inside the Boundary, but despite this all her hunter's instincts

were on the alert. There were noises not far behind her. Disturbed

shrubbery whispering back into place, the crackle of dry leaves

underfoot. Tiny, almost inaudible sounds, but to Leela they told a

clear story. Something was tracking her.

She came to a kind of natural road through the forest. It

stretched at right angles in front of her, barring her way. Leela

hesitated. She had to cross it—but the moment she stepped into the

open she would be exposed to her pursuer. Since there was no

alternative, Leela took a cautious step into the open. Higher up the

glade to her right, someone else did exactly the same thing. It was

one of Neeva's temple guards, crossbow in hand.

For a fraction of a second they confronted each other in mutual

astonishment. The guard whipped up his crossbow. Leela's bow was

aimed and ready, and she fired first. The guard reeled back and fell, a

crossbow bolt through his heart.

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摘要：

SettingthecontrolsforEarth,theDoctorissurprisedwhentheTardislandsinaprimevalforest.HastheTracergonewrongorhassomeimpulsedeepinhisunconsciousminddirectedhimtothisalienplanet?Ininvestigatingtheforest,theDoctormeetsandassistsLeela,awarriorbanishedfromhertribe,theSevateem.ThroughLeela,itgraduallybecomes...

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025 - Doctor Who and the Face of Evil

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