THE INVISIBLE HAND
CHAPTER SEVEN The guards stood aside as Sipar planted herself in front of the Doctor’s cell, silently looking down at him in triumph. He rolled his eyes again, and stretched out on the cot. “Look, if you’re going to just stand there and gloat, I might as well go and take a nap. I do find this whole lording it over the prisoner stuff, really, really..” the Doctor faked a yawn, “boring.” Sipar gave a small jerk of her head, and folded her arms, a sign of her annoyance. This wasn’t how a prisoner of their Mondo Leader should behave. Where was the fear, the respect? Then, to her further consternation, the Doctor actually began to whistle a tune, as if he hadn’t a care in the world. Giving a low growl of anger, Sipar showed her jagged teeth. She motioned for two of the guards to open the Doctor’s cell door. They went inside. At another gesture from Sipar, they silently jerked the Doctor to his feet, turning him around to face her. “You have no friends here, Doctor. You are on your own. We have your Tardis, and you’ve lost your sonic device.” She said in a low, threatening tone. “As for your human female…” “Where is she? Where’s Donna?” The Doctor shouted, straining against the hold his captors had on him. “I’m warning you, if anything has happened to her…” Throwing her head back, Sipar laughed. “You’re in no position to threaten us, Doctor. Still, I will tell you that she still lives….but, I don’t expect her to remain that way for long. Not in the wastelands of Kell. Our Mondo Leader has to have his entertainment. For many male species, life on a shopping mall planet can be quite dull, I’m afraid.” “Your mondo what?” The Doctor asked, his face scrunching up with an incredulous expression, uncertain if he’d heard correctly. “He who calls himself our Mondo Leader, is our doyen.” Sipar said rapturously. “That is who we answer to. He gives us whatever we desire. As long as we obey him, we can do whatever pleases us, with no rules to get in the way. He keeps us well fed, well-clothed, constantly entertained, and he gives us free rein over our…passions.” She said, eying the Doctor suggestively. The Doctor made a face which clearly said he didn’t care for the direction this conversation was going in. Sipar stepped back, and raised her arms reverently in the air. “Our doyen is simply the most awesome leader in all of creation! And we of the Mondo cult worship him!” Sipar shouted. As if on some invisible cue, all of the guards suddenly pumped their fists in the air. “All hail our super-awesome Mondo Leader!” they collectively said. The Doctor looked at Sipar askance. This was getting a bit weird, even for him. He took a deep breath. “Yeah, I’m sure he’s very….erm…awesome.” he agreed, as if humouring her. “But, Sipar, you said this ‘Mondo Leader‘,” the Doctor put a slight emphasis on the word, as if using quote marks, “is kidnapping humans. Why humans?” “Because their brains have the right wavelength for the processor.” She answered. “Oh the processor, yes, right.” the Doctor nodded his head sagely. Then paused. “What processor? What’s it do?” Sipar stepped forward, seemingly eager to tell the Doctor everything, which was perfectly alright by him. “Once the human is drawn in through the transmat’s gateway, they are automatically connected to the machine via their brain wave patterns. A micro-thin biogenetic processor in the machine, then attaches itself to the subject, and injects a hypnotic-hallucinogenic compound directly into their blood stream.” She boasted. “And that would mean…” The Doctor asked, as if he really already hadn’t guessed the horrible truth, hoping to keep the information from Sipar coming. “The end result Doctor,” Sipar bragged, “is that our Mondo Leader can make these silly humans believe anything which he programmes into their brains. They’ll think it’s absolutely real, and their minds and bodies will react accordingly. The Mondo can then play whatever games he wants with them.” The Doctor’s eyes darkened with a smouldering, indignant rage. He never liked to see innocents used, abused or killed, simply because they were in the way, or because someone didn’t have the courage to care about them. But, it was far worse, when someone committed mindless torture or violence purposely for their own diseased idea of pleasure…. “You know this is wrong,” the Doctor blurted out to Sipar, “somewhere inside you, you’ve got to know.” He pleaded with her. “A pretty dress or getting to do what you want, can’t be worth taking another being’s life. Sipar, you can’t be so empty, so completely without empathy….” “I am not empty, Doctor!” Sipar retorted, nostrils flaring. “Before the Mondo Leader came, my life was empty, yes. I did the same same things, saw the same people year after year, dwelling in a mundane habitation, in colourless neighbourhood. It was almost non-existence, living metacarpal to mouth all the time, with nothing to show for it, but the same four walls staring me in the face every day!” Sipar said angrily. But now,” she spread her arms adoringly, “now, I have whatever I want, all I have to do is ask Him for it.” Looking at her with sad eyes, the Doctor shook his head and sighed. “Then I’m sorry for you, Sipar. You treat this ‘Mondo Leader’ like some kind of cosmic slot machine.” He reached out for her, but the guards held him back. “Yes, the sort of life you describe can be hard. But, even in our struggles there’s still life, you still have the freedom to think for yourself. You have the power to be creative, find your self-expression, you can step outside your life and help others. It’s still you inside there Sipar, thinking for yourself, no one is handing you a free ride.” “Maybe I got tired of the struggles. I don’t care about self-expression, and I don’t want to be some namby-pampy do-gooder. Maybe, Doctor,” she said, flashing her teeth at him, “I happen to like free rides.” “But, when you decide to give up, Sipar, to let someone or something else run your life for you—it really does make you small and insignificant. And that’s what the Mondo Leader is doing.” the Doctor argued. Sipar jerked away from the Doctor, and started pacing in front of him. “You don’t know what you’re talking about, Doctor. But, you will, soon. Our leader has great plans for you.” “What plans?” the Doctor asked, warily. “Ask him yourself.” Sipar said, as the door down the hallway once again clanked open. Another guard arrived, and behind him, was the Mondo Leader. He was dressed in a gold shimmery suit, and wore a flowing crimson cape. Standing in front of the Doctor’s cell, he snapped his fingers and the two guards released the Doctor. “Welcome to my humble abode, Doctor.” the man said smoothly, “I do hope you’ve enjoyed your stay here…although I suspect the accommodations are somewhat rough for a someone as important as a Time Lord.” The Doctor could only gape at the man, as if he couldn’t believe his eyes. “It’s….it’s you!” the Doctor stammered. He gazed silently at the figure standing before him, gobsmacked. “Obviously.” the man said dryly. “I thought you’d have a more intelligent reaction than that. How disappointing. Haven’t you anything else to say?” “ You’re the Mondo Leader?” Was all the stunned Doctor could ask.
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