"What's happening to them right now?"

 The Doctor was pacing in front of the window, occasionally glancing out at a spaceship that had landed in the distance.

 The old woman to whom the question was directed spoke in a low voice. "I--that is, Bevin--will be chosen as suitable for conversion. They will put her into storage, and shortly after you make contact with the initial resistance movement, you will rescue her." She paused. "As for your friend..."

 "What happens to him?"

 "He will be considered unsuitable, due to a rare but benign oddity in his neural structure that would make it prohibitively difficult to install the cybernetic linkages in his brain. They will recycle his organic components."

 "Recycle? You mean they'll kill him?"

 "Yes." She watched as the Doctor started for the door. "There is nothing you can do, you know. I was there. I saw it happen."

 "You saw it happen once," the Doctor stated. "Whatever it is that sends you back is also what attracted the Cybermen to this planet. This means that your return to your own past created a temporal paradox... and thusly a time loop."

 "Exactly...an infinite chain of identical circumstances."

 "No, a finite chain of similar events! There are any number of things that can cause that loop to break and fly off on a tangent...and a Time Lord is most definitely one of them!" And with that, he burst out of the room.

 * * * * *

 Bevin watched in terror as the impassive face of the Cyberleader loomed over her. "This one is suitable for conversion," it stated in an odd, passionless voice. "You will put her into the cryogenic storage unit for later alteration into a member of the Cyber-Race."

 Two Cybermen moved with practiced efficiency and took hold of her arms. A third sprayed a white mist in front of her face, and she felt her mind grow numb. She let them lead her out of the room passively, but as they got to the door, both Cybermen stopped.

 The Doctor was standing there, both hands behind his back like an impatient schoolboy. "And let me guess," he said to the Cyberleader. "The other human is unsuitable for conversion. His useful organic components will be removed and stored for later use; the remainder will be recycled."

 The Cyberleader turned to the Doctor. "You are familiar with our procedures."

 "I've seen them before. Of course, that was a long time ago, and a slightly different group of Cybermen -- you would be survivors of Telos, correct?" The Cyberleader nodded. "But the general concept remains the same. Unique individuals are no more than resources to be exploited as far as you're concerned."

 "You show a great degree of knowledge of our tactics and procedures, and you have an irrational emotional attachment to these creatures. You must be the Doctor."

 "Guilty as charged, I'm afraid. I'm here to collect my friends."

 "You are the Doctor. You are an enemy of the Cyber-Race. Your destruction must become our first priority if the objective on this planet is to be achieved."

 The Doctor nodded and smiled, as though talking to a small child. "Of course...by the by, is this really a Sumaran ship?"

 "Your question is irrelevant. Destroy him."

 The Doctor dodged back as a Cyberman made a grab at him. "Well, I only ask because it appears a few systems are still active." A bolt of energy narrowly missed him, but he remained unfazed. "And of course, you probably wouldn't be aware of it, because Sumaran technology is based on psychic energy--particularly strong emotions." He ducked under a Cyberman's outstretched arms. "But there's always a danger, when using that sort of technology, of strong psychic feedback!" His hand slapped out at a few controls, and suddenly the Cybermen shuddered and collapsed, curling up into the fetal position.

 Quickly, the Doctor raced over to Wil, slapping him gently to wake him. "What--huh--Doctor?"

 "Ah, nice to see you back to normal, Wil. Shall we go?"

 "But what's happened to the Cybermen?"

 "They never properly disconnected the control circuits the Sumarans used to power the ship. Psychic feedback created a mild fear sensation--well, mild for us, but for a creature that normally is unable to feel emotions, it's a bit worse." He woke up Bevin, whose reaction was much the same as Wil's, and they raced from the room.

 "So, um, that's sorted out the Cybermen, then?" asked Wil.

 "No, no...shortly, their cybernetic systems should compensate for the psychic stimulation, and they'll be able to recover. Then they'll disconnect the systems I used to pull that trick. I'm afraid that they are still very much of a problem." He paused. "But, unfortunately, not the worst problem."

 "What's the worst problem?"

 "I just remembered the last answer to that trivia quiz."

 * * * * *

 The Cyberleader was the first to recover. "Systems now recovering from chemical imbalance. Institute protocols for psychic defense." All around him, Cybermen moved emotionlessly to their tasks.

 "Estimates of labor requirements for current mission objective show that 10% of the current planetary population will be needed for conversion. All additional units are to be considered superfluous to project needs, and may be eliminated, should their resistance exceed nominal levels. Squadrons 1, 3 and 4 are to be delegated for the purpose of acquiring and evaluating subjects for conversion. WE WILL SURVIVE. WE WILL SURVIVE. WE WILL SURVIVE."

 * * * * *

 Bevin looked at the Doctor oddly. "What trivia quiz?"

 "It was about...well, to be perfectly frank, it was about planets that either were destroyed, or whose entire population died. Altos 3 was the only one I couldn't remember, at least not until now."

 "Well, don't keep us in suspense," exclaimed Wil.

 The Doctor nodded. "Well, at first, people believed that it had simply disappeared. It wasn't where any astronomical charts said it would be, and all that remained was a trace of an unknown energy source. Given the course of later events, it was probably chronons, but that's not entirely important right now." He looked over at Bevin, his face growing dark. "Or perhaps it is. At any rate, it wasn't discovered for approximately fifty years. And when they did find it, they found it in the last place they looked.

 "It was the planet Cassius."

 Wil blinked. "Cassius? The tenth planet in Earth's solar system? The one that astronomers didn't even discover until 2004? But--"

 "Exactly. Carbon dating showed the planet to be the same age as Earth, but tests showed that the two didn't come from the same stellar mass. Further, archaeologists were able to find some of the more durable fossils that showed without a doubt that the two were the same planet. A great mystery...unfortunately, I believe that we're to be present at the solution."

 "So what do we do?" asked Bevin.

 "We go to see Bev--er, your grandmother. She might be able to tell us more--although I suspect she's in for a bit of a shock."

 * * * * *

 "Impossible!" she shouted, her voice temporarily regaining some of its youthful vigor. "I saw him die! I was there!"

 The Doctor sighed. "As I already explained to you, he did die...before. But we've changed history. This time, Wil survived. This time, there might be a chance to avert this tragedy. But I need more information. You need to tell me what happens next."

 "I can't," she said, shaking her head. "I was in storage for this part; I don't know what happens to prompt the formation of the resistance movement. All I know is that it's headed by a Jacob Maguire, and that I was in love with him, before--" she broke off abruptly.

 The Doctor nodded. "I see...well, I suppose that you have your right to your secrets. But there may come a time when that should change as well. Remember that." He nodded airily. "Come along, Wil, Bevin, I'll answer all your questions along the way." Or at least those I can answer, he amended to himself. Things hadn't been this complicated and perverse since his seventh incarnation.

 * * * * *

 "You will surrender yourselves for evaluation and conversion into members of the Cyber-Race," the Cyberman intoned emotionlessly. "Those of you unnecessary for conversion will be allowed to remain alive, so long as your continued existence does not interfere with our objectives." In its mind, it considered whether or not it was more efficient to keep the promise made to the human unit, or to wait until the subjects had been converted and eliminate/recycle the unsuitable unit. In the end, such decisions would be prioritized for evaluation by the Cyberleader, though, so further speculation was a waste of computational resources. It refocused on the current situation, and evaluated the representative sent by the humans for his suitability as a member of the Cyber Race.

 The primary unit sent as decision maker was unsuitable, it decided. Inefficiency and waste had made it bloated and weak; it would require more resources than allotted to convert him into an effective Cyberman. His assistant, however, seemed on initial examination to be an ideal subject.

 All these thoughts passed through its enhanced mind before the primary unit could process the initial statement.

 "Well...how many, um, people would be required?" he asked nervously, mopping sweat from his brow.

 "Sir," said the assistant, designated 'Jacob Maguire' by the primary unit, "with all due respect, we should not even consider giving in to these--these things! In two previous wars with the Cyber Race, they had demonstrable weaknesses that could easily be exploited by a trained force!"

 The Cyberman realized that the assistant unit would present a potential focus for resistance. However, due to his apparent suitability for conversion, it would be illogical to destroy him before full evaluation. Therefore, it would be logical to utilize intimidation procedures to capitalize on human emotional weaknesses.

 The upshot of this was that Jacob Maguire suddenly found the Cyberman picking him up as though he weighed no more than a rag doll, and hurling him against the wall. The air slammed out of his lungs at the sudden impact, and he lay on the ground gasping.

 "Resistance is useless. The Cyber Race has no weaknesses for you to exploit. We are a superior order of life. Should you persist in this irrational and futile effort to oppose us, you will be destroyed."

 "As the bishop said to the actress," the Doctor said cheerfully as he walked into the room, Wil and Bevin close behind. "Now, I'm looking for a Jacob Maguire...would that be him on the floor by any chance?"

 The Cyberman spun around. "You are the Doctor. You are an enemy of the Cyber Race."

 "Quite right," the Doctor said agreeably. "Now can't you just push off and find something useful to do, like polish yourself? I need to chat with this fellow about a resistance movement."

 "Resistance is useless," the Cyberman said as it attempted to grab the Doctor, to no avail.

 "And repetition is pointless," the Doctor said as he rummaged through his pockets. "You really should come up with a new catchphrase, you know. Keep saying, 'Resistance is useless', often enough, and people just tune it out. Maybe you should try varying it slightly, like 'Resistance is futile', or 'Resistance is inadvisable', or 'Resistance is--gaakh!'" He broke off as the Cyberman finally grabbed him around the throat.

 "Doctor!" shouted Wil, pounding the Cyberman on the back with no visible effect.

 Bevin scarcely noticed. She was too occupied staring at the young man picking himself up off the floor. Briefly, she wondered how Nana had dated someone so obviously young and handsome, but then she shook herself out of it and helped him to his feet.

 "Hi," she said shyly. "My name's Bevin."

 "Jacob," the young man said with a smile. "Shouldn't we help your friend, the one turning bright red?"

 Bevin turned around to see the Doctor, his face strained with pain as the Cyberman relentlessly tightened its grip on his windpipe. Wil tried to interpose himself between the two, but the Cyberman flung him away one-handed and continued on its task relentlessly. Bevin reached for her gun, but realized it was empty.

 The Doctor flung something at her, just before he went limp...

 To Be continued...