The weapon was pointed unwaveringly at Leela's chest. Even with her amazing reflexes she knew she would never be able to leap aside before this ... thing had fired.

 Snap! The sound of a twig being broken caused the glowing creature to shift its gaze for a split second, and Leela was moving like lightning. She was surprised that she wasn't either gunned down or pursued by the glowing man. When she was certain it was safe she stopped. She could still see the glowing beast through the undergrowth. It was gazing down slightly, weapon pointed to a nearby section of the ground. Leela wondered for a moment what could have caused the creature to lose all interest in her.

 Then she remembered the Matralan.

 Rakshan looked at the figures writhing on the floor. The ape turned to him. The thing was disturbingly smooth in its movements, but walked with care, as if bipedal propulsion was something altogether new. Its faintly glowing eyes looked at him with glee.

 "And now, little Ajare - helpless little Ajare," it said, pointing at Rakshan's damaged weapon. "You next." Rakshan backed away as the ape produced a pistol from its dinner jacket.

 "The weapon is nearby?" as before, there was no way of telling what the thing meant apart from his words. As Leela knew from being a hunter, creatures expressed themselves in the way they moved. But also, in the case of humanoids, by how they speak. No expression existed here. Leela was reminded of the birds on her home planet which could be carefully trained to say the holy "Mayday" rite of Xoanon. It was the same feeling she got listening to this thing's voice. No feeling - or meaning. Even the Matralan being had life in his voice. The Matralan that was talking to this creature, well, not like an old friend, but certainly not like captor and prisoner.

 "I'm afraid there has been a delay." it quavered. "The weapon is near completion but not yet operational."

 "You know the penalty for late delivery." Glowing Man stated. Z'viskah'l, although having no face, at least in the ordinary sense, seemed to pale.

 "You wouldn't!" he whispered.

 "The agreement was made. You agreed to the terms."

 "But a 30% reduction in payment plus expenses? It's barbaric!" The box now seemed to radiate disbelief...

 "Who are you?"

 "Z'viskah'l, of course." The answer was immediate, and curt.

 "No, you can't be. That's my name."

 "Was your name. I must admit that your little defence system caught me a little off-guard, but now I have learned how to ride the waves of this reality - slipping between the synapses of primitive brains. And now between the defences of your hyperspacial interface. Soon the Primus will emerge, and under my control..." the voice became smooth, like honeyed arsenic. "Anything will be possible. Now, " it said. "Get out of my way, I need another perspective on matters, and yours will do quite nicely."

 "I am ready to die, Glowing Man." she told it, bracing herself to go to the RezQ Part E - her culture's afterlife. "Your state of preparation is irrelevant," it said, getting ready to fire. The Matralan on its shoulder, suddenly came to life. It waved its tentacles to get its allies' attention.

 "Wait," it said. "I've got a better idea." The apes had proven possible, after all. And even though the virus had been eliminated in this female, traces remained. It would be enough. And with the savage in its posession, the Doctor would prove easy to deal with.

 "Open my lid," it told the creature.

 The ape formerly known as Vickers turned to him. "Be silent!" it hissed. "The Resurrection is at hand. If you do not interrupt I shall allow you to bear witness to this event."

 The Doctor frowned. "Well, you see that's all very well, but I've got a sleepy foot." His left hand closed around a round, metal object in his pocket. Too small for his sonic screwdriver. A dog whistle, perhaps? Ah, perfect. "And if I don't get to scratch it soon..." he placed the whistle to his lips and blew. Both simians dropped to the floor screaming - leaving the Doctor free to stand. "Thank you," he told the now semiconscious creature. He looked up at the shaking figure of Rakshan, who was by this time dark purple.

 "Well, " he said impatiently. "Aren't you going to ask me how I did that? It's common procedure in these circumstances." "I, I..." Rakshan stuttered, something unusual both for its species as a whole. He had nearly been killed, and the Doctor was worried about procedure? It looked at the Doctor's bedraggled figure, still grinning like mad and realised not. The Doctor just wanted to show off. "Alright, how did you do that?"

 "Well, I guessed that the Matralan hyperspacial connection must have an audio control - probably out of the normal range of our hearing. This is a dog whistle, and blowing it plays havoc with their interface. Useful thing," he said as he put the whistle back into a pocket. "Maybe I'll find another use for it one day. Now," the Doctor rubbed his hands together, straightened his mangled scarf and looked expectantly at Rakshan. "Will you please find something to tie this poor things up with before they wake up? Oh, and be careful with Mr. Andrews here - he's about to give birth, I think."

 "Wait a minute, did you say these ... creatures were controlled by the Matralan?" Rakshan was only just returning to a normal hue. The chemicals released in the excitement had aided in the weapon regrowth. Good. Helplessness was not something it had enjoyed.

 "Well, one Matralan to be exact," said the Doctor, looking up from examining the Andrews ape. "One who I think everybody seems to have underestimated." 

 Z'viskah'l was convulsing. For a brief moment he saw through three sets of eyes: one artificial, two real. and then there was nothing. This was not the comforting sensation of full hyperspacial emersion. This was simply.. nothing. He would have sighed, but his lack of any physical presence made this difficult. All he could do was wait.

 "Now, if I could just find a way of amplifying the benefits and reducing the risks... oh well, no-one's perfect. Rakshan," he turned to the Ajare. "Tell me, when did you know about the alien presence?"

 "When they arrived in orbit, of course." it could tell the Doctor was on to something, and the curious part of its mind wanted to listen.

 "Hmm. And you've ever heard a Matralan mention them before this?"

 "No."

 "I wonder," said the Doctor. Well, there were some nasty suspicions in his mind. It was time to test one or two of them out.

 Just then the cellar door was knocked down and a Frenchman of average build and looks pointed a gun at the Doctor. He had 'Secret Agent' written all over him, thought the Doctor wryly.

 "Oh, hello. You must be the postman," he said. "I'm the Doctor and this is Rakshan - he's an asexual alien policeman. These are Vickers and Andrews. They've been regressed back to this state by a virus and were very recently in the thrall of a very powerful mind."

 "I don't care about these monkeys!" snapped Peret. Tell me where the Primus is located."

 The Andrews ape moaned softly, screamed and then ripped itself apart. Emerging from the mess, wet , bloody and impossibly large, was what the Doctor could only guess was the Primus.

 "You shouldn't have called him a monkey," he said to Peret. "I think you've upset him." It advanced towards all three people, tentacles and jaws both in equal proportion. It was a nightmare to look at, as if the contents of a butcher's shop had been sewn together and gone for a walk.

 "Stay where you are." A command rang out from the doorway. The creature paused, and dropped itself into a position which would, in a biped, have resembled a stand to attention.

 "Thank you for taking care of the birth for me Doctor. I would have loved to have been here for the occasion, but your little tin whistle prevented that."

 "Well," said the Doctor modestly, trying to make out the figure still in shadow. "I do my best. Sorry if you were looking forward to it all that much. I'd offer you a cigar, but since you're not the legal parent.."

 "Oh there's no need to apologize, Doctor. Your interfernce gave me chance to explore new horizons, so to speak. Matralan interfaces have always been easy but the human brain is so deceptively simple. I would never have believed how pleasurable it can be to have a bipedal body at your diposal. And I far prefer this one to the simian over there. Although it will go the same way eventually. Unavoidable."

 "I take it you're the missing Matralan," said the Doctor, straining to see the source of the eerily familiar voice.

 "Oh yes. But I've found myself now. And I've found some helpers. And you'll never guess what else I found." The speaker stepped into the light. A human, eyes glowing faintly green and smiling oddly. It was Leela.

 To be concluded....