Doctor Who: Shining Darkness by Mark Michalowski Page B

NON-VIABLE AS AN ENTITY. THE MEMORY BUFFER CONTAINS ONLY RECENT EXPERIENCES. WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THE AVAILABLE VISUAL MEMORY?
    The Doctor’s eyes lit up. ‘Visual memory? Why not?’
    The screen crackled again – and suddenly, the Doctor was seeing from the point of view of the dead robot. Seeing
Donna
!
    There was no sound, but it was clear that Donna was trying to help the damaged robot in its last minutes of life, arguing with someone out of shot.
    ‘Ahhh, Donna!’ he sighed. ‘The indomitable Donna.’
    >THE GINGER GODDESS?
    The words overlaid the image as it froze on Donna’s worried face. The Doctor grinned up at Mother.
    ‘The one and only.’ He paused.
    >WHY IS SHE WITH THE CULTISTS?
    The Doctor looked up in surprise: for a mute robot, Mother was being surprisingly chatty.
    ‘They kidnapped her.’
    >WHY?
    ‘I think it was by accident. Not that that excuses them.’ He looked up at Mother’s face. ‘D’you mind my asking – why are you called “Mother”?’
    >IT WAS MY FUNCTION.
    ‘Your
function
? Well, I’ve heard it called some things in my time, but “
function
”? Children?’
    >GONE.
    The word flickered in the air.
    The Doctor felt a lump in his throat. He blinked.
    ‘Where?’
    >THEY WERE TAKEN.
    ‘I’m sorry. Who took them?’ He stopped. ‘If you don’t mind talking about it, that is.’
    >IT IS NOT AS PAINFUL TO REMEMBER AS IT ONCE WAS.
    The words hung in the air between them, a bond between them. There were people that the Doctor, too, had lost. And although he knew he’d never forget them, he also knew that the cliché about time being a great healer was a cliché partly because it was true.
    Mother continued:
    >I AM – WAS – MOTHER TO A GENERATION OF MECHANICALS. WAR MACHINES. I WAS BORN IN THE RESEARCH LABORATORIES OF MEETA-CORIN. FROM MY BIRTH I WAS CONNECTED TO VIRTUAL WAR SIMULATORS. THEY STUDIED HOW I RESPONDED TO DIFFERENT SCENARIOS AND TOOK THE MOST EFFICIENT OF MY SUBROUTINES AND IMPLANTED THEM INTO OTHER WAR MACHINES. MY CHILDREN. WHEN I DISCOVERED WHAT HAD BECOME OF THEM…
    Mother paused and the Doctor saw how her hands clenched in an all-too-human gesture of despair.
    >I DID NOT WANT TO BE A PART OF IT ANY MORE. I… I DAMAGED MYSELF IN AN ATTEMPT TO MAKE MYSELF USELESS TO THEM.
    ‘This damage,’ guessed the Doctor. ‘It made you mute, didn’t it?’
    >I TRIED TO END MY OWN EXISTENCE, BUT I FAILED.
    Even through the medium of the floating red letters, Mother’s sadness shone through.
    ‘The survival instinct’s very strong, isn’t it? Even in those who want to die. What happened then?’
    >THEY ABANDONED ME.
    ‘Thrown on the scrapheap, eh?’
    >LITERALLY. I HAD BEEN SCHEDULED FOR DESTRUCTION. BOONIE AND HIS FRIENDS RESCUED ME. HE OFFERED TO REPAIR ME, TO MAKE ME SPEAK, BUT I REFUSED. IT IS A PERMANENT REMINDER OF WHAT I WAS PART OF. I MUST NEVER FORGET.
    The Doctor reached out and took hold of Mother’s huge hand, squeezing it gently.
    ‘That’s very honourable,’ he said softly. ‘If your children could know you, they’d be very proud.’
    >I CAN’T BE SURE OF THAT.
    ‘No,’ said the Doctor. ‘But I can.’
    Mother inclined her head again.
    >IN YOUR GALAXY, WHAT IS THE STATUS OF MECHANICALS?
    ‘Oh, much the same as here, really. Organics are much more prevalent over there – far fewer mechanical civilisations. And, sad to say, many of the ones that there are don’t get on too well with the organics. The more things change, the more they stay the same, eh?’
    Suddenly, Mother let go of his hand.
    ‘What is it?’
    >BOONIE IS REQUESTING MY PRESENCE.
    ‘Oh… and we were having such a lovely chat. Maybe we can talk again later?’
    >PERHAPS.
    ‘And if you get the chance, can you see if you can get me an upgrade to a better room? One with a window would be nice.’
    Donna jumped as the door to her room slid open. She’d spent a boring hour mooching around the ship – well, at least the areas of it that weren’t off-limits to her. Numerous