The Mind of The Daleks

Chapter 29: Explosion

"We remain linked," Isabel repeated.

She closed her eyes and forced her mind to go back to that brief moment of oneness with something completely alien, a moment which had seemed to span years even if it had taken less than a minute. In the rush of things that had happened in the very short time since then, it had been easy to avoid thinking about it. But now, maybe she didn't want to.

A sudden flood of information erupted the instant her memory touched it. It was all there still, of course; vast library-full's looming, monstrous, just waiting for the curtain to be pulled back. Isabel gasped and quickly opened her eyes again.

"It's not going away, is it?" she demanded. "I've got Daleks and all their garbage stuck in my head until the day I die!"

The Doctor blinked once or twice at the oncoming traffic as he took an exit ramp off the freeway. "Well, access to the entire Dalek computer system, so, um..."

"You know, don't even bother answering," Isabel interrupted; "I already know what you'd say. I don't think even amnesia would free me of this." She shook her head and turned to look out the window at the passing buildings. "I know what you said, Doctor; that you didn't have a choice. But you did. We could still have gotten away, even after the Controller died. It would have been close, but you're clever enough – you would've figured out something. And probably still managed to blow the entrances on the way out, too!"

"Perhaps," the Doctor admitted, and blew out his cheeks. "But I wouldn't have been able to get the information that I desperately need. You can't possibly understand how important that is!"

"Oh, I think I might!" Isabel retorted. "All that information you just couldn't go without! And now you know all about the Andromeda Fleet and the invasion plans and the war strategy. You even have a list of names of people who are willing to sell out to the Daleks - Senator Matheson, Representative Tranton, generals, admirals, directors, governors, sheriffs. You have everything you were looking for, and more. But tell me; was it worth it to sacrifice me?"

"It wasn't a sacrifice!" the Doctor insisted.

"A sacrifice of my mind, at least! And we saw what happened to the Controller. One little thing wrong, and it might have been a sacrifice of my life, too. You knew the dangers."

"I took every precaution!"

"It wasn't your decision to make!"

"There was no time to ask you. And even if I had, would you have agreed?"

"After what happened to the Controller? Not in a million years!"

"There you are!" the Doctor said triumphantly. "I had to act then, with or without your permission. There is far too much at risk!"

"Far too much?" Isabel spluttered, furious. "You know, I thought you were better than the Daleks! They don't consider taking life or freedom an obstacle to reaching their goals, but I thought that you were decent and human enough to consider life and freedom valuable. Well, apparently, I was wrong. When it's your own goals at risk – and I don't care if they are important in the big scheme of things – you don't even pause to think about whether something's wrong; you just go right ahead and do it!"

"This is," the Doctor observed with a small cough, "perhaps just a little melodramatic, don't you think, Isabel? I quite understand that you're a bit upset, but can't you see that there was no other way?"

"I have every right to be upset!" Isabel almost yelled. "Pull over here."

"Here? Are you certain?"