Untold Knowledge (Doctor Who x Genius Fem! Oc) [Book 1]

Chapter 24: The Age of Steel

Samuel Johnson wrote, "Almost all absurdity of conduct arises from the imitation of those who we cannot resemble."

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Echo, the Doctor and Mrs. Moore had been walking for a good minute before movement began. "Doctor, did that one just move?" Mrs. M asked with intense concern.

"It's just the torchlight. Keep going, come on." he replied, hoping their luck would hold out if just a little bit longer.

But when a Cyberman turned its head in his direction, Echo immediately took his hand in hers. "We gotta move!" she quickly ordered, then took off with her cohorts close behind. They ran along the row, to which fell in behind them and began clomping along. When they finally reached the end of the tunnel, they found nothing but a ladder. Without delay, the Doctor made sure Echo was the first one up and was followed by Mrs. Moore.

When they reached a trap door at the end of their vertical path, it took Echo only a second and a half to get it open. After they had scrambled out, the skilled Time Lord then closed and sealed the entry point. "Oh, bravo, Mrs. Moore." he complimented with a joyous grin.

Echo, too, smiled at her with a friendly pat on her shoulder. "Indeed. Very well done." she added with sincerity. The woman in question blushed slightly and smiled with pride in return, their comments boosting her confidence.

As they moved to continue on their journey, they came face to face with a lone Cyberman. "You are not upgraded." came its robotic observation.

Before Echo could take the metal man out, Mrs. M grabbed a metal canister like object from her bag. "Yeah? Well, upgrade this." She then threw the small rod with copper wire wrapped around it at the Cyberman. It stuck to its metal body and activated, making it jerk, spark, then collapse onto the floor.

"What the hell was that thing?" the Doctor asked with unexpected yet joyous surprise.

Echo stepped closer to examine the device. "Looks like an electromagnetic bomb, but modified." she said within seconds of looking at it.

Their delightful techie nodded, "It is. Takes out computers. I figured it might stop the cyber-suit."

"Once again, Mrs. Moore. Very well done." Echo complimented as she began accessing the inner technologies of the cyber being. Her main goal, now, was to further educate them on the aspects she had learned just three years previous. "It has an artificial central nervous system." She began as she showed them each part as she explained. "It's artificially grown then threaded throughout the suit, so that it'd respond like a living being. Oh, no..." she then trailed off as she found where most of the damage was.

The Doctor furrowed his brow in confusion. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Uhm... The emotional inhibitor has been damaged." she answered with sympathy for the still living being. When she saw Mrs. Moore's lack of understanding, she proceeded to alleviate her confusion. "It's what stops them from feeling any form of emotion."

The white-haired woman looked at the metal person, "But, why?"

"It's still got a human brain." the Doctor said gently as he felt just as much sorrow. "Imagine its reaction if it could see itself, realize itself inside this thing. They'd go insane."

She then understood what had happened. "So they cut out the one thing that makes them human." she muttered sadly.

"They'd have to." Echo confirmed with a frown. She didn't want to find out just how miserable such an existence would be.

"Why am I cold?" the Cyberman suddenly asked.

Mrs. Moore jumped a bit at the unexpected fright. "Oh, my God. It's alive. It can feel." she said with wide eyes.