From: jfy@cis.ksu.edu (Joseph F. Young)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.drwho
Subject: Reposting of "Stories of Nyssa" PART 2 of 8 by David E. Woon
Summary: Part 2 of Stories of Nyssa by David E. Woon
Keywords: Nyssa, Story, repost
Date: 17 Dec 92 22:25:40 GMT
Followup-To: rec.arts.drwho
Organization: Kansas State University, Dept. of Computing and Information Scienc
NNTP-Posting-Host: crucis.cis.ksu.edu

This story was originally posted around February this year...


------------------------------------------------------------------------
  This is the SECOND episode in a series.  Please address comments or
     requests for further information or the previous episode to:
            ng436@pnlg.pnl.gov   (or)   ng436@traken.pnl.gov
  --  David E. Woon  --  Molecular Science Research Center -- BNL --
            --  Alumnus of Michigan Tech University  --
------------------------------------------------------------------------



                            THE LAST CYBERMAN
                            by David E. Woon


BACKGROUND:

Nyssa and the Doctor have travelled to Gallifrey by a long and pleasant
route.  She and the Doctor have been through the Procedure of Primo-
geniture, which has made her a Time Lord.  The procedure is complex and
involves medical/physical/technological adjustment to the heir, the
inevitable legal work, and culminates in the Ceremony of Recognition,
which is held before the High Council and led by the Lord President.

One purpose of this series of stories is to develop the character of
Nyssa further, and to explore the complex emotions in her life.  But
another purpose is to work in an area of the Who universe which has
never been touched upon: the earliest years in the experience of a Time
Lord.  There is little background upon which to build.

Whereas Time Lords are from Gallifrey, it is clear that all the people
on Gallifrey are not Time Lords.  Although the I have never heard the
idea of primogeniture mentioned in any Dr. Who story, it is a soundly
English concept.  I think my ideas are reasonable extensions of bits and
pieces of ideas thrown out over the years.  Time Lords have the tech-
nology to perform regeneration (see "Mawdryn Undead") and it should not
be too hard to accept that they might occasionally bestow their gifts on
outsiders.  The precedent of altering genetic material has also been
established ("The Two Doctors").  I hope that my visualization of the
Ceremony of Recognition fits both the Time Lord mythos as well as the
English love of ceremony.  By the way, a phrase or two in the ceremony
are based on the PhD ceremony at my alma mater, although I toned it down
a bit.

This story is a bit closer to what the average Whovian might expect to
actually see televised (although it is still going to be quietly paced
and fairly uneventful).  The first scene will, therefore, have nothing
to do with the Doctor or Nyssa initially, but will introduce one of the
main plots of this episode.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


SCENE 1:  the planet Armitage, home of the last cyberman

(Armitage: an Earth-like world.  The location is well off the beaten
 track, but not inaccessible.  It can be a quiet and lonely place.  The
 only thing in the vicinity which is of any interest to the outside
 world, beside the the last Cyberman, are the Lyssian caves.)

(The last Cyberman lives in a small, isolated hovel, which it is not
 far from a small town.  In terms of culture parallel to earth, it is
 similar to late 19th century England.  The people in the town know him
 well.  He helps them when he can.  Most trust him.)

(The Cyberman is in the town, helping a man to repair his house. Some
 form of transportation [a train, probably] arrives from a different
 district, and a family disembarks.  The little boy and his father and
 mother exchange a few words.)

B.  Father, it's the last of the Cybermen!

F.  So it is.  Be good while we're here or he'll eat you for supper.

M.  Jonan, don't tease him.

(They wander off toward an inn.  A couple of locals, having overheard,
 are seen to be shaking their heads.)


          - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


SCENE 2:  Gallifrey, outside of the Chamber of the High Council.  In
	  attendance are the Doctor, Nyssa and the Lord President,
	  ?????? (I see her as being the same Time Lord who was the
	  "Inquisitor" from "Trial of a Time Lord").  All, even the
	  Doctor, are wearing their proper ceremonial regalia.

D.  This is the last of it, Nyssa.

(Nyssa, although usually collected, is a bit overwhelmed by everything.
 She has only begun to adjust to the physical changes which have been
 made to her.)

P.  Don't worry about the way you feel, dear.  You are experiencing what
    every Time Lord has gone through.  Remember that all of us under-
    stand.  You are surrounded by friends.

N.  Thank you, Lord President.

P.  I must go in now.  I wish you well.

(Exit P.  For the moment, Nyssa stands dazed.)

D.  There is one last thing to tell you.  After you are accepted into
    the Body of Time Lords, the Council will make a recommendation.
    They have studied your character and life and will pronounce their
    judgement of what they see in you.  Do not worry if some of their
    words are harsh, but it is important that you believe and trust what
    they say.  A common trait of the Master, the Rani, and the few other
    truly renegade Time Lords is that each of them scoffed at the pro-
    nouncements of the Council.

(A bit more waiting.)

D.  It's time to go in.

N.  I'm ready.

(The doors are opened and they enter the council chamber.  The room is
 filled with various Time Lords.  The Council is present, of course, as
 well as sizable contigents from the three (?) colleges.  A Bailiff
 starts the ceremony.)

B.  In days long past, Rassilon, the Father of all Time Lords, ordained
    the first High Council of Gallifrey and enpowered it to act on his
    behalf, in perpertuity, in the matter of granting his approval upon
    those who have been chosen to join the ranks of the Time Lords.  O
    Council, do you swear to uphold the standard of Rassilon, and permit
    only the worthy to be herein accepted?

C.  We do, inasmuch as we ourselves are worthy.

P.  Who pleads the cause of the candiate?

(The Doctor steps forward.)

D.  I do, Lord President.

P.  Will the candidate step forward?

(Nyssa steps ahead to stand at the Doctor's side.)

P.  Doctor, please present your candidate.

D.  I present Nyssa of Traken to the judgement of the High Council.  I
    have chosen to adopt her as the flesh of my flesh, and she has
    passed through the Procedure of Primogeniture without harm.

P.  Nyssa of Traken, you have come to the High Council to seek recog-
    nition as a Time Lord.  You have heard that it is our sworn duty to
    accept only those who are worthy, inasmuch as we are capable of
    judging.  It is our considered judgement that you be accepted.  We
    hereby grant you the rank of Time Lord, along with the concomitant
    rights, privileges and responsibilites thereof.

N.  Thank you, Lord President.

P.  It is usual at this point for a member of the Council to speak
    beyond the mere words of the ceremony, and give to you what we would
    hope is the benefit of our advice, accrued through many years of
    experience.  I myself will offer our collected judgement.

(There is small rustle among the spectators.  Although not an earth-
 shattering occurence, the President very rarely offers the judgement
 directly.  It is a sign of special interest.)

P.  Nyssa of Traken, we have studied you and your life.  We know of
    the pain you have suffered through the evil of one of our kind, and
    of the good with which the Doctor has attempted to counter the
    evil.  We hope that his generosity toward you will be rewarded with
    healing, and it is our belief that it will.  However, we wish to
    warn you that you will be given choices that may lead you toward a
    grim darkness of spirit.  You are very young and began as a member
    of a short-lived race that does not well-comprehend the magnitude of
    time.  Do nothing on impulse until you begin to grasp the potential
    of the length of days which you have now inherited as a Time Lord.
    If you fail to heed our words, you will surely become a true victim
    to the evil which you hate.  You will not know good by joy or by the
    satisfaction of successfully fighting evil, nor is it in sacrifice
    or hard work willingly done.  Good is in doing what is best for all
    involved, and good often doubts its own goodness, in the hope of
    something better.  The absolutes of good and evil do exist, and the
    challenge of our ephemeral lives is to discover the true differences
    between them as best we can.  These are the words of the Council:
    take heart from them, but also take heed.

N.  Thank you, Lord President.  I will follow your words, inasmuch as it
    is within my power to do so.

B.  The High Council is adjourned.

(The session ends and people leave their seats.  There are numerous
 introductions and congratulations all around.)


          - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


SCENE 3:  introducing Nyssa's TARDIS; the Doctor and Nyssa

(Nyssa is being given a modern TARDIS, far more dependable than the
 Doctor's [but less sentimentally quirky, of course].  It will have a
 few optional features which hadn't even been conceived of when the
 Type-40 series was in production.)

D.  So this is the Type-43 model.  It looks like a fine TARDIS, Nyssa.
    I'm impressed.

N.  Doctor, I don't feel right about this.  It's too much.

D.  Nonsense.  You need to start thinking like a Time Lord: we must
    ignore the apparent material worth of objects and try to see the
    value in terms of time.  If I give you an acorn, see the tree it may
    become.  It is true, the material worth of a TARDIS is astronomical,
    but it pales before the worth of the thousands of lifetimes of
    research and labor that have made it possible.

N.  All you've done is convince me that I underestimated its worth.
    It's altogether too much.

D.  I see your point.  Let me explain it another way.  You are now a
    Time Lord.  Your worth as a person far outweighs the worth of a
    TARDIS.

N.  So the worth of any being outweighs the worth of a TARDIS.

D.  Precisely.

N.  Because all beings have worth, the same worth.  Time Lord ethics
    still seem a bit murky to me, but I'm beginning to get the flavor.

D.  Good.  Now, where shall we go on your first trip?

N.  I have no idea.

D.  Well, I tell you what.  I've heard that these new models have a sort
    of test drive built into them.

(He picks up the appropriate volume of the TARDIS manual).

D.  You know, my old Type-40 only has one volume of instructions.  Docu-
    mentation has gotten a bit out of hand.

(What we have now is a permanent shelving unit built into one of the
 walls, which contains dozens of various manuals.)

D.  Here it is.  (He goes over to one of the control consoles.)  Enter
    code 12h-hz12 into the flight computer and activate the time cir-
    cuits.

(Nyssa does this, and her TARDIS is off on its maiden voyage.  She does
 not realize that this is the beginning of the imprinting of her Amalgam
 and the beginning of her feeding her experiences into the Matrix.)

(The view screen will show a series of sights.  It might be cute if
 there is a running commentary relating the universe to the wonderful
 attributes of the TARDIS.  But maybe not...  I suppose the Time Lords'
 idea of a travelog would be a bit stuffy.)

(Eventually they return to Gallifrey.)

D.  That was a brief tour of the constellation of Kasterborus.  Your
    TARDIS has a good feel to it.

(Nyssa has been reading through the manual and doesn't look very happy.)

N.  When I travelled with you eight years ago, I was just able to fly
    your TARDIS a bit.  This is quite a bit more complicated.

D.  But the principles are the same.  I'm sure you'll pick it up
    quickly.  You may find that Gallifreyan technical jargon is less
    cumbersome that you once thought.

N.  It helps that I can now read High Gallifreyan.

D.  Just don't expect miracles.  Documentation will probably always be,
    to some extent, a lost art.

N.  All right, Doctor.  What do I do next?

D.  You might want to stay around Gallifrey a while longer, studying
    this and that, but soon you will be expected to take your TARDIS
    out solo.  What do you think about that?

N.  The prospect is a bit frightening.  Is there anywhere I'm supposed
    to go?

D.  Not in particular, but remember to think through the advice of the
    Council before you make up your mind.

N.  All right.

D.  And don't worry.  I have a few suggestions.

N.  I thought you might, Doctor.


	  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


SCENE 4:  Armitage, the previous town.  The inn where the family are
          staying

(The family is eating an evening meal, set apart from the few other
 patrons in order to preserve their privacy.  So far, they appear to be
 nothing more than a family travelling through the area.  This scene
 will consist of some hints about their true purpose and some back-
 ground about the Cyberman.)

F.  We're here, and we've already seen the Cyberman.

M.  Is he what you expected?

F.  We know what Cybermen look like: who could forget with all that
    they've done to terrorize the universe?  We're fortunate to live in
    times when their evil race has been reduced to only one survivor.

B.  Father, tell me the story again.

(The father looks across at his wife with a mixture of emotions stem-
 ming from having told the story endlessly before.)

F.  I told it to you three times on the train this morning.

B.  You did not.  You only told me some of the parts.  About the big
    war and dead planets and the alliance between the Earth people, the
    Draconians, Ice Warriors and the Vogans...

F.  That's enough.  I'll tell you another part.

(The narration of the story could be accompanied with flashback footage
 of the past events, with some shots of the family interspersed.)

B.  Tell me the part about the snuffing bombs.

M.  I wish you wouldn't, Jonan.

(The father doesn't hesitate.)

F.  The brilliant scientists of all the allied peoples invented a power-
    ful weapon called the snuffing bomb, which spread a aurum-based
    virus which was deadly to Cybermen.  It was called "The Gold Bug."
    Snuffing bombs were used to systematically destroy all of the
    Cybermen installations and ships.  It happened so quickly that they
    were all dead before any of them could do a thing about it.  And
    before any of the liberals could complain about genocide.

B.  Why would anyone want to stop killing all the Cybermen?

F.  Ask you mother.  She understands better than I do.

M.  It's not easy for me to understand either, dear.  These people hoped
    there might be some other way.  They said they were tired of the old
    justification for the wars against the Cybermen, that it was kill or
    be killed.

F.  The catchword in those days was "Meet mercy with mercy; meet murder
    with murder."

M.  The pacificists may have been more successful if they had actually
    had an alternative, Jonan.  They didn't, and the governments treated
    them as crackpots at best.  Some planets had them shot as traitors.

(The child disapproves of the philosophical tangent.)

B.  So all the Cybermen were killed except one?

F.  All but one small ship crewed by half a dozen Cybermen.  It crashed
    here on Armitage over 400 years ago.  As far as we know today, three
    were killed in the crash and two were destroyed by the our ances-
    tors.   The last one was seriously hurt, but managed to escape and
    hide deeply in the Lyssian caves.  He went into some sort of healing
    dormancy which lasted about 150 years.  When he emerged, healthy
    again, he found that he was the last Cyberman to survive.

B.  Why didn't they kill him, too?

F.  The stories say he helped save someone's life, and the people
    decided to leave him alone.

B.  Why would a Cyberman save someone's life?

F.  That is a question a lot of people would like to know the answer
    to.


	  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


SCENE 5:  Nyssa's TARDIS

(She is about to depart on her first solo trip.)

N.  I've thought about what sort of place I would like to visit.  I
    think that I should avoid most of the places you'd go, Doctor.  I
    don't want to get into a lot of hot water on my first journey.  The
    advice of the council was based partly on my youthfulness.  Maybe I
    should go some place where I can develop a better perspective on
    time.

D.  You could go to the end of time.  That gives you a true appreci-
    ation for eternity.  It is a bit boring, though.  Nothing but
    background radiation and silence for centuries is every direction.

N.  You speak of time as if it's a volume.

D.  Did I?  Then I'm probably right.

N.  Do you have any suggestions which might be a little less eternal?

(The Doctor claps his hands in the suddenness of inspiration.)

D.  Ah.  I have the perfect place.  I've always meant to get out there
    myself and have a quiet chat with him.  You can go instead and tell
    me what he's like.

N.  Who, Doctor?

D.  The last Cyberman.  That would be the world of Armitage, in the
    Orlogana sector.

N.  A cyberman?  Aren't they one of the deadliest races in the universe?

D.  Only when they were around in large number.  The problem with races
    which set themselves upon the task of decimating large populations
    of other beings is that they invoke a similar response in their
    victims, aimed in a reciprocal manner.  It's one of Bosco's basic
    premises of trans-stellar sociology.  Pity the Cybermen, Daleks, and
    so on have never read their Bosco.

N.  It does sound interesting.  Will it be safe?

D.  By all accounts.

N.  That means you don't know.

D.  Why else would anyone want to go look him up?

N.  That almost makes sense, Doctor.

D.  I would recommend that you don't wear anything gold.  Cybermen don't
    like gold.  It wouldn't be polite.  You should hide that locket
    you're wearing.

(It is, of course, the same locket introduced previously.  She has taken
 to wearing it publicly, although even the Doctor doesn't understand
 what it represents.  She is wearing her vulnerability more visibly, but
 it remains hidden.)

(As a consequence, she hesitates to respond to the Doctor long enough
 that he has time to sense the deeper conflict.  This interchange should
 be clear from body language.  She then takes the locket from around her
 neck and holds it in her closed hand.)

N.  All right, Doctor.

D.  You already know that the TARDIS will use its sensors to find the
    spatial destination which satisfies the chronology you give it as
    well as the ideas in your head.  You can override it if you have to,
    but the placer circuit usually works well.

N.  I was surprised to see how many automatic circuits a TARDIS has.

D.  You couldn't function without them and the symbiotic link you have
    with the TARDIS.

N.  I noticed that you have bypassed one of the primary circuits in
    your TARDIS.

(The Doctor acts innocent.)

D.  Which circuit might that be?

N.  The failsafe which is supposed to keep Time Lords away from major
    events which he might influence in any way, significantly meddling
    with history.

D.  I've never had much use for that circuit.  I never meddle.

N.  You probably used the parts for something else.

D.  That's it.  I stopped an invasion with it.

N.  So much for not meddling in history.

D.  It was only a small invasion.

N.  Yes, Doctor.

(He decides that it is time for her to go.)

D.  Well, I want to wish you the best of luck.  If you get into a
    serious scrape, remember that I'll know (putting his hand over one
    of his hearts) where you are.

N.  Thank you, Doctor.  It seems strange to go off alone in a TARDIS
    without you.

D.  But I'm proud of you.  And don't forget anything you learn from the
    cyberman: I'll want to hear the entire story when you get back.

N.  Bye, Doctor.  When I come back, I want to ask you a question.

D.  Very well.  Good-bye, Nyssa.

(Exit the Doctor, an unprecedented act.  The scene flashes to the
 exterior of Nyssa's TARDIS, which subsequently vanishes.  The
 Doctor is left standing, alone.)


	  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


SCENE 6:  the Amalgam pub

(Enter the Doctor's Amalgam.)

D.  Are you always here?

M.  It's my favorite refuge from the Master.

D.  I thought you lived for the sake of irritating him.

M.  Even I can't stand him very long.  (Always on the edge of irrita-
    tion, he goes on.)  Does something in particular bring you here?

D.  Yes.  Brace yourself for news you may find painful.

M.  If I must.

D.  It's about Nyssa.

(This, as always, causes an involuntary spasm in the Master's Amalgam.)

M.  Well, tell me.

D.  The Doctor has decided to adopt her.  She has undergone the Pro-
    cedure of Primogeniture.  She is now a Time Lord.

(The Master's Amalgam reacts in a manner opposite to that which the
 Doctor's Amalgam expected.  For that matter, he is surprised himself.)

M.  That's a good move.

D.  I don't understand.

M.  I feel it in my bones: the Doctor has set into motion a series of
    events that will nearly destroy my Master.  I can hardly wait.

(Both are confused and disquieted; outbursts which have the weight of
 prophecy often have that kind of effect.)


	  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


SCENE 7:  Nyssa is about to land her TARDIS on Armitage.

(She has had an interesting several days of travel.  She used some of
 the time to study details about Armitage from the TARDIS memory banks,
 as well as to learn more about her TARDIS and what she has herself
 become.  It was also the first time she became aware of her links to
 other things.  She could feel the symbiotic link to the TARDIS, could
 feel it responding to her.  Far away, she could also feel the Doctor.
 As she moved away through space, it felt one way; when she shifted out
 through time, it felt different.  She knew she could find him again
 just by the changes.  Later, the the feel of the changes will tell her
 precisely where and when he is at all times.)

(She now brings the TARDIS in on Armitage, landing behind the very inn
 in which the family is staying.  [God bless you, Charles Dickens.])

(By the way, her chameleon circuit works.  It has transformed the outer
 appearance of her TARDIS to look like a packing crate.)

(Before she leaves her TARDIS, we see her place the locket in a safe
 place.  She is leaving her memories for the moment, but for the
 moment only.)

(She exits the TARDIS and begins to explore the little town.  She is
 a bit more cautious than the Doctor and has made an effort to blend
 in as an observer rather than to dominate every encounter she might
 make [in the manner of someone else].  She has timed her arrival to
 coincide with that of the train.)

(She enters the inn after a bit of wandering about, carrying a piece
 of appropriate baggage.  Instruments in the TARDIS have pinpointed the
 location of the Cyberman's dwelling, but she wants to get a feel for
 the context of his world.  She approaches the middle-aged woman who
 runs the inn.)

N.  Good day.

W.  Good day to you, young lady.

N.  Have you a room?  I'd like to stay several days.

W.  I have a nice room I'm sure you'll like.  (She finds a key.)  Please
    follow me.

N.  Thank you.  By the way, I'm Nyssa.

W.  Pleased to meet you, Nyssa.  I'm Marsus Biggins.

N.  Pleased to meet you.

(They wander off.  The family then almost immediately enters from the
 street.  The common room is otherwise vacant.)

F.  Molli, I think I'll go for a hike in the woods.  I expect I'll be
    back well before evening meal.

(A high level of concern shows on her face.)

M.  Don't go too far.  You don't know this place very well.

F.  I'll try to keep from getting lost.

(Exit the father.)


	  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


SCENE 8:  a bit later, outside the town.

(A simple scene: Jonan is seen stumbling out of the last Cyberman's
 hut and back toward town, holding his arm and in quite a bit of pain.)


	  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


SCENE 9:  near the dwelling of the Cyberman.

(The dwelling is not large, but looks strong and built to last.  There
 are no windows and a single door.  It is entirely utilitarian, without
 ornament.)

(Nyssa is seen approaching.  She makes it to the door.  This might be
 a good place for some ambiguous music.  A bit of suspense, but not
 exactly "Jaws".)

N.  Hello, is anyone home?

C.  Who is there?

N.  My name is Nyssa.  I would like to make your acquaintance.

C.  Then enter, if you would.

(We cut to the inside of the hovel.  It is reasonably clean.  The most
 notable feature [beside the inhabitant] is the large quantity of books.
 The Cyberman himself is at a rough table, reading by candlelight.
 There are notes and writing implements.)

(It is hard to say what might be different about the last generation of
 the Cyber race.  The biggest differences are not in his physical form
 anyway, but in his accomodations to living among a humanoid race.  He
 is sitting, but it doesn't look natural.  He reads, but with the
 expressionless Cyber face, he could be thinking about anything.)

C.  Why have you come here?

(His voice is essentially toneless.  It is hard to judge what is behind
 the words.  It could be menace or it could be a simple, logical
 question.)

N.  My name is Nyssa.  I have just come to talk to you.

C.  Many have come, as you say, to talk.  But you do not say the deepest
    "why?", and I must know.

(She involuntarity takes a small step back.  She is not sure what to
 do -- she did not expect this sort of conversation.)

C.  Some want to talk about what I am or what I was.  I am a Cyberman.
    I can answer no other way.  I am the last Cyberman.  When my systems
    degrade and fail, I will cease and there will be no more Cybermen.
    This causes me no disturbance.  It does not make me sad or angry or
    lonely.  I only know emotion by theory, from what I have studied.

N.  You sound as though you're irritated.

C.  Although I cannot feel emotion, I can identify many.  I know you are
    at loss and I speak to fill conversation and give you information.

N.  I expected to find a being more human.  It was irrational, but it
    was the image I had.  I'm rethinking.

C.  That is a common response in those who stay this long.

N.  Many leave quickly?

C.  Many cannot get past the first question.  They do not know why they
    have come.  You have not answered it either.

N.  I'm here to gain an appreciation of time.

C.  That is a unique reason, but I think that it is not the deepest "why?".

N.  I don't understand what you mean by the deepest "why?"?

C.  I ask why you come.  You answer, to talk.  I think to ask, Why
    talk?  You say, to appreciate time.  I think to ask, Why talk to
    me about time? or Why do you seek to gain such appreciation?

N.  I begin to understand.  You want to know about my motivations.

C.  Correct.  Human motivations are not easily ascertained.  Cyber moti-
    vation is simple: we are built to serve one kind of purpose and to
    obey commands from those who command.

N.  Why are my motivations important to you?

C.  I no longer have one who commands.  I can command myself a small
    amount, but only with sufficient facts.  If I understand your
    deepest "why?" for coming, I will know how to command myself.  If
    you come for information, I will give you information.  If you have
    come to destroy me, I will destroy you.

(The impact of this statement should swirl around Nyssa's head a few
 times.)

N.  I have no wish to harm you.  I'm more interested in information.

C.  I have much, but I cannot give it all to you.

N.  I suppose that talking to you is like trying to get a book to tell
    you something of its own accord.  It's difficult if you don't know
    the right references.

C.  I have observed that humans use associative means of reasoning.
    I know now everything I have ever known.  At this moment, you only
    know a very limited part of all you know.  The rest is not absent,
    but accessible if one of the present parts is like one of the hidden
    parts.

N.  All of your knowledge is at a consious level, while most of ours is
    subconsious.  You have done a very successful study of the human
    mind.

C.  Yes.  It was necessary in order to know how to command myself.

N.  What happened to you after you came to this planet?

C.  My fellow Cybermen were all killed.  All were dead and I was near
    ceasing.  I escaped and hid.  For a long time I could not move.  My
    systems reconstructed themselves and my mind processed the facts of
    my environment and circumstances.  Even if I could have moved
    sooner, I was incapable of acting.  My last orders were to survive
    by killing as many of the attacking alien beings as possible, and I
    had satisfied the orders.

N.  So you found yourself in a position where you had to learn how to
    command yourself.

C.  Yes.

N.  How did you come to associate with people as you have?  Why didn't
    you keep trying to kill them?

C.  I was discovered in my cave by a man.  He did not try to kill me, so
    I did not try to kill him either.  He asked me why I was hidden
    underground and if I was injured.  I told him what I have told you,
    that I could not move because I did not know how to command myself.
    He talked a long time to me about motivations, and he commanded me
    that I must try to comprehend motivation in humanoid beings.

N.  He commanded you?

C.  It was difficult.  The Cyber race are ingrained with obedience, but
    as obedience to those who command.  After much effort on the man's
    part, I was able to respond to his command.

N.  He commanded you to understand motivation?

C.  He also commanded me to command myself when I understood moti-
    vation.

N.  What else did he do?

C.  He told me about the people on the planet.  He said that they no
    longer killed Cybermen because they were all dead except for me.  He
    told me that I could live among them if I did not kill any of them.

N.  I think perhaps he did more than that.  He probably also told the
    people here that you would not kill them, either.

C.  You are correct.  I started working with them.  The man helped.  We
    built things and repaired things.  The people here have come to
    accept me.

N.  But what about the rest of the people on this planet?  This place is
    known far and wide as the home of the last Cyberman.

C.  Most people do not think much about me.  I represent the dead past.

(This is a good place for Jonan to burst in.  He is wild-eyed and on the
 edge of hysteria.  No one from the town would listen to him.)

C.  You have returned.

(He notices Nyssa and becomes only slightly less wild-eyed.  His arm is
 bandaged, but still giving him pain.)

(The Cyberman turns to Nyssa to complete the answer to her previous
 question.)

C.  But sometimes outsiders come to destroy me.

J.  You're a murderer.  Murder should be punished.

N.  He killed because he was commanded to.  In the last 400 years the
    only harm he may have caused has been to protect himself.  Why
    don't you sit down, calm down and explain yourself?

(Is this too straightforward and logical?  After all, Jonan may only
 be in a state.  He's unarmed.  Since Nyssa is in the only other chair,
 she gives it up to Jonan.)

N.  Now, who are you and why have you come here?

J.  My name is Jonan.  I'm an historian who specializes in the history
    of the Cyber wars.  I wanted to find out if the character of this
    Cyberman has changed.  No one has been able to adequately explain
    how a Cyberman could live in apparent peace for so many years.  Most
    historians have assumed that something fundamental must have changed
    in him -- maybe due to injuries.  I came here several hours ago and
    learned the truth: this Cyberman is no different than any of the
    others.  He's still a killer.

C.  That is correct.  I could still kill if necessary.

J.  He even admits it willingly.

N.  What happened to your arm?

J.  He did this.  He attacked me.

N.  With or without provocation?

C.  This one is deeply emotional, but hides emotion beneath super-
    ficial rationality.  As we talked earlier, he became increasingly
    distraught.  He reached a point where he tried to assault me.
    I stopped him, but did not command myself to kill him because he
    had no true desire to kill me.  His confusion of emotion drove
    him to do what he did not truly desire to do.

N.  (To Jonan.)  Is he making sense to you?  Did you want to harm the
    Cyberman?

J.  I don't know.  I didn't come her to hurt him.  I wanted to ask
    questions and learn what he was really like.  When I saw that he
    was as much a killer now as before, I started to lose control of
    myself.

N.  You are right.  His character has not changed.  It startled me at
    first and frightened me as well.  I have never met a Cyberman
    before, but I knew their reputation.  I'd made the same wrong
    assumption as all your historians about what he has become.

J.  Then what has happened to him?

N.  His environment has changed.  I suggest you talk with him further.
    If you are patient and try to avoid let your personal values get in
    the way, you will see what he is.  Maybe you'll also see that there
    might have been a way to have stopped the wars.

J.  (To the Cyberman.)  You won't be offended to talk to me more?

C.  I do not have the emotion of offense.  I will talk and try to
    understand your motivations more accurately.

J.  (To Nyssa.)  I see your point.  He thinks differently.  (To the
    Cyberman.)  I will come back, then.  Perhaps you can help me to
    understand human motivations.

C.  If that is helpful, I can do it.

J.  Well, I should go tell my wife that I'm all right.  I will be back
    tomorrow.

C.  I will be here.

J.  Thank you...

N.  My name is Nyssa.

J.  Thank you, Nyssa.  It's a good thing you were here.

(Exit Jonan.)

N.  Do things like that happen very often?

C.  Not much any more.  Most seem to consider me harmless now.

N.  That's not exactly true.

C.  You are correct.

N.  But it's not too far wrong.  I should tell you that I am not of this
    world or of this time.  I am a Time Lord.  I was afraid to tell you
    before, because Time Lords have helped fight the Cybermen.  Now, I
    am not afarid.

C.  I cannot hold animosity toward those who have been the enemies of my
    my people.

N.  I didn't think you could.

C.  At the same time, time travel creates possibilities.

N.  Do you want to rejoin your people?

C.  No, I am not commanded to do that.  I am commanded to understand the
    motivations of humanoids.

N.  Then what possibilities are you thinking of?

C.  I could go and try to understand the people who fought in the Cyber
    wars to destroy the Cyber race.

N.  I cannot do that.  I would not be allowed to disturb time so much.
    Besides, people would destroy you.  Even if they believed everything
    else you said, they would think your purpose in trying to understand
    them was linked to helping the Cybermen to win the wars.

C.  That would not be my purpose.

N.  Tell me your motivation for doing it.

C.  I am commanded to understand human emotion and motivation.

N.  What would you do when you understood?  How would you act?

C.  I would not act.  I could not act; I can only command myself in a
    small way.

N.  You have seen the way human motivation works -- we hardly ever know
    when we have reached the deepest, truest level of motivation.  We
    find it very hard to trust each other at times because of it.  It
    makes it very difficult to accept a being like you whose motiva-
    tions are simple, visible and pure.

C.  You are teaching me useful knowledge about motivation.

N.  It's only based on what you were saying when I first arrived.

C.  But it is new to me.  I cannot make anything new.

N.  I understand.

(It has become time for Nyssa to move on.  There is really no way for
 the Cyberman to break off a conversation.)

N.  It is time that I leave.  I may come back again some day.

C.  I will continue to be here as long as my systems last.

(Exit Nyssa.)


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SCENE 10:  Gallifrey (moments after she left)

(Nyssa's TARDIS materialises, and she emerges from within.)

D.  How was your trip?

N.  Eye-opening.

D.  Not what you expected?

N.  No.

D.  So what was the question you wanted to ask me?

N.  I'll ask it soon.  In the meantime, I have another question.  How
    long ago did you visit the planet Armitage?

(The Doctor only smiles.)


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------------------------------------------------------------------------
                            End of Episode Two
------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- 
Joseph Young, Systems Programmer
KSU Department of Computing and Information Sciences
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Internet: jfy@cis.ksu.edu  UUCP: rutgers!depot!jfy 
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