The Ice Warriors by Brian Hayles Page A

‘
If
what you say is true… he must have arrived… by spaceship.’
    ‘And where’s that spaceship now, do you reckon?’ enquired the Doctor gently. He answered his own question. ‘In the glacier…’
    Arden began to daydream again, his eyes shining with the possibilities. ‘It could still be intact! The Ice Warrior showed no signs of damage or mutilation. They might not have crashed; they might have actually
landed
– to explore Earth!’ He turned from Miss Garrett to Clent, almost begging them to share his exultation. ‘Can’t you see what it means? Intelligent contact with beings from another planet!’
    The Doctor spoke more soberly. ‘I think Leader Clent also sees the inherent dangers.’
    Clent nodded grimly. ‘The propulsion unit of the spacecraft…’ he began.
    Jan, too, saw what the Doctor was getting at, and whispered, ‘Could it be reactor powered?’
    ‘Quite so, Miss Garrett,’ applauded the Doctor. ‘And if you were to use the Ioniser at anything like full power…’
    ‘The heat…’ she hesitated, then went on, ‘the spaceship’s reactor could go critical… and we’d have no way of preventing it from exploding…’
    ‘The radiation…’ Arden looked at the others, his face now full of anxiety. ‘The whole area would be contaminated – possibly for centuries!’
    ‘And what if we don’t use the Ioniser – what happens then?’ broke in Clent. ‘We are part of a world plan! If we hold back, the whole operation must fail!’
    ‘We could try holding it at minimal power,’ suggested Jan.
    ‘You know that won’t work!’ snapped Clent. ‘It increases the risks of a power feed-back here, with a resulting explosion in our
own
reactor!’
    At last it had been spelled out. While the others considered their desperate position, the Doctor murmured his apology.
    ‘Sorry. But I thought you ought to know.’
    ‘You were quite right to do so,’ Clent acknowledged with a tired gesture. ‘We must inform the computer, of course.’
    Before he could take steps to do so, the doors clattered open, to reveal Jamie, still dazed. He clung desperately to the doorframe. A trickle of blood had dried on his forehead.
    ‘Doctor!’ he called out, his face tense with effort.
    Within seconds, the Doctor had helped Jamie into the nearest chair. He saw at a glance that the cut on Jamie’s head was no more than a graze. But it was obvious that something was seriously the matter. And where was Victoria? Jamie’s breathless words explained everything – and added yet another amazing twist to the already desperate situation.
    ‘It’s that Warrior fellow!’ he gasped. ‘He’s come alive!’
    Both Clent and Miss Garrett were stunned into silence, but Arden cried out in disbelief. ‘What!’
    ‘I couldn’t stop him. He packs a punch like a charging bull!’
    ‘Victoria,’ demanded the Doctor, ‘where is she? Is she all right?’
    Jamie looked at him, sober-faced, and shook his head miserably. ‘I don’t know,’ he muttered. ‘He took her with him!’
    With Clent leading the way, it was only a matter of minutes before the group arrived at the laboratory. The scene spoke for itself: the trolley, empty but for a mass of crushed ice, the shattered power pack, and the overturned vibro-chair. The Ice Warrior’s past had erupted into the present. Jamie, still dazed, sat down. While the others talked, the Doctor examined the trolley and the electrodes that had once been attached to the great ice block.
    ‘There’s something very strange about this,’ he remarked.
    Clent, utterly bewildered, was questioning Jamie. ‘But what did you do to make it happen?’
    ‘How do I know? We were just talking, and then I turned, and there he was – standing right over me!’
    ‘It’s impossible,’ insisted Arden.
    ‘For a human being, perhaps…’ said the Doctor, mysteriously.
    Clent stared at him, uncomprehending.
    ‘Look at this table,’ the Doctor pointed to its surface. It was cracked and