August stepped forward. ‘Dr Smith. Have you brought the Pod?’

‘Yes.’ The figure stepped forward, his left hand in his pocket, his right holding the red sphere. ‘Where’s Joan?’

‘Here.’ Hoff activated a control and Joan stood up. He took a key and loosed her from her chains.

August studied the little man before him. ‘You’ve finally given up, then? No last-minute tricks? No desperate gambits?’

‘Only a request. Reconsider. What’s in that sphere is vast and terrible. It’s a tremendous responsibility. Do you really want to take it on?’

‘I’ve thought about it long and hard, believe me.’ August reached out, and, with an anticipatory pause, took the Pod from the other man’s palm. ‘I’ve prepared for this transformation. I’ve had psionic blockers placed in my brain to filter Time Lord personality data and stop it replacing my own. What I’ll get is all the information, all the memories, but none of the compulsions or traits that made the Doctor what he was. He will, in effect, die, but in so doing he will create a new species. A very strong one. Now.’

He slowly raised the Pod to his forehead. Blue sparks began to dance between the two surfaces.

They touched.

August screamed in pain and doubled over, his hand clutching the Pod in determined agony. Hoff stared at the scene, covering the others with his gun.

Suddenly, August jumped to his feet again and spun to look at Hoff, his arms extended. His pupils were shining silver, information spiralling across them. ‘Hoff, I can feel it, it’s wonderful!’

He spasmed again, twisting into a crouch, his hand still wrapped tight around the Pod.

His eyes met those of the little man in the shadows.

A look of horror passed across the silver pupils.

And then it was gone.

August slowly straightened up and tossed the Pod from hand to hand. He smiled a satisfied smile and stretched. ‘Let her go, Hoff. We’ve got what we wanted.’

Hoff stared. ‘It worked? You’re a Time Lord?’

‘Yes! I feel as if I could fly!’ He walked up to Joan, and waved a hand before her sightless eyes. ‘I want her to see me.’ He plucked the dart from her neck and she jerked back to life, staring at the man who stood before her.

The smile was enough to tell her what had happened. ‘You…’ Her eyes narrowed, and she glanced between the three men in the dome. Then she said carefully: ‘You gave him what he wanted.’

‘No.’ The man with the umbrella stepped forward. ‘I didn’t.’

August touched Joan’s chin, extremely tenderly. ‘He’s right.’

Hoff frowned, realising that something was happening that he didn’t understand.

He grabbed Joan, pulling her away from August, and pressed his gun into her neck.

‘Wait!’

‘Hoff…’ August spread his hands, amazed. ‘What’s wrong?’