Chapter 2 The Malicious Microbe
[SYSTEM: DNA assimilation failed. Unknown biological entity. Re-routing all sensor arrays to analysis mode.]
[SYSTEM: Warning: Host is now a carrier for a microscopic alien entity. Recommend containment and quarantine.]
[Time – The Next Day – TBD] [Location – Medical Research Ship, orbiting Earth] [Date – TBD]
The air inside the medical ship was still and clean, the kind of quiet that feels less like peace and more like a held breath. All the lights were on, but there was no one. The beds in the infirmary bays were empty. The lab equipment was humming, but the screens were blank.
Clara held her phone, her brow furrowed. "He said it was an emergency. A new strain of something. He sounded… frantic."
The Doctor, of course, was already exploring, his sonic screwdriver humming softly as he scanned the walls. "Hmm. No power fluctuations. No obvious signs of forced entry. It's too neat. This is a deliberate absence, not a violent one. Everyone just... walked away. Or were walked away."
Adam trailed behind them, his hands shoved in his pockets. The memory of the Ood and its warning felt like a bad dream. The Mimic System had been quiet since they'd landed, a blissful silence that was now unnerving.
"Where are you, you cheeky little devil?" Adam thought, a flicker of irritation.
[SYSTEM: Offline. Awaiting Host command. Power reserved for analysis of the unknown biological entity.]
"Right," Adam said aloud, startling Clara. "The voice is back. It says it's 'analyzing an unknown biological entity.' Where is it?"
The Doctor stopped and turned, a flash of genuine interest in his eyes. "Inside you, I'd wager. It's a closed loop system. It'll be analyzing anything you touch. Which means... you touched something. What was it?"
Adam thought back. He hadn't touched anything. Not really. He'd just brushed past an empty gurney as they entered the ship. "Just... a gurney. It was... I don't know, a little sticky."
The Doctor whipped around, scanning the gurney with his screwdriver. "There's nothing here. No. It's too small. Adam, what exactly did you feel?"
"Just... a tiny prickle. Like static electricity," Adam said, a cold unease settling over him. "What if it's not a thing? What if it's a living thing? A microbe?"
Clara, ignoring the Doctor's frantic movements, was peering into a nearby lab. "Doctor... I think I found someone."
They hurried over. A man sat slumped in a chair, his face a sickly grey. He was breathing in slow, ragged gasps. Patches of his skin were turning translucent, with a faint, blackish-blue web of lines spreading beneath the surface.
"It's the bacteria," the man whispered, his voice strained and thin. "It's... inside me."
Clara took a step forward, her hand reaching out. "We can help you. What happened?"
The man looked up, his eyes wide and terrified. "It's not just a bacteria. It's a message. It's an echo."
[Time – A Few Moments Later – TBD] [Location – The Ship's Lab] [Date – TBD]
The Doctor was running a frantic series of scans, his sonic screwdriver now working in tandem with the ship's own sophisticated medical instruments. Adam stood by, watching the lines on the monitor, a growing sense of dread in his stomach.
"What is it, Doctor? Can you help him?" Clara asked, her voice tight with concern.
"It's not a virus, it's not a parasite... it's a blueprint," the Doctor said, his voice a low, horrified whisper. "It's taking his organic matter and rewriting it. From the inside out. Like a computer virus. It's a hyper-evolved form of... no, that's not possible. That's a nightmare from the past."
"What is it?" Adam asked, his mind racing.
"The nanogenes," the Doctor said, his voice flat. "From the Daleks. But this is... this is evolved. They aren't turning him into a Dalek. They're turning him into... something else. A human-Dalek hybrid. With a mind of its own."
Adam felt a cold pang in his gut. He reached out, his hand hovering over the man's arm.
[SYSTEM: Warning: DNA assimilation failed. Non-biological components detected. Hybrid entity contains both organic and non-organic matter. Host cannot mimic.]
Adam recoiled, a jolt of static pain shooting up his arm. The Mimic System's voice was different, too—frantic, almost panicked.
"It didn't work," Adam said, his voice hollow. "It won't let me. It says it's... not biological."
The man in the chair looked up at him, a terrible, knowing smile on his face. The translucent skin on his face seemed to ripple, and Adam felt the psychic scream again, but this time, it was different. It wasn't the lonely cry of the lichen. It was a cold, calculating, and victorious shout.
"It's an echo," the man whispered, and the voice that came out was not his own. It was a metallic, synthesized drone. "An echo... of our glorious purpose."
The Doctor's eyes widened in horror. "Adam, get back! It's a broadcast signal! A beacon!"
The man's body began to convulse, and the intricate web of black lines on his skin pulsed with a faint, malevolent red light. The entire ship's console began to flicker, and a low, grinding sound filled the room.
"It's not just a sickness," Clara whispered, her face pale. "It's a way for them to talk. To find us."
The psychic echo from Adam's brief contact with the gurney intensified, not just a feeling, but a vision. He saw a hidden signal, a faint, almost invisible wave of energy, pulsing out from the ship. It wasn't a broadcast. It was a summons. A call for reinforcements.
[SYSTEM: Warning: The entity is not a mimic target. It is a mimicked object. It is a tool. The real threat is incoming. The user has failed to absorb the entity. It is now absorbing the user's data. Recommend immediate escape.]
The man's body slumped, lifeless, and the black lines on his face glowed a brilliant, malevolent red. Adam looked at the Doctor, his face a mask of terror. "What do we do?"
"We run," the Doctor said, grabbing Clara's arm. "We run right now, and we hope the TARDIS can get a lock before they get here."